The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... #80 to 71

As always, you'd be better reading this on the mothership, not on Facebook, because of video, photos and the general screw up in lay out that happens when it imports into FB...

The 100th to 91st Coolest Things of 2010
The 90th to 81st Coolest Things of 2010

80... Affleck Robs a Bank
So, he gets a bad rap, but somehow, someway, not only as Ben Affleck turned into a credible actor, he's actually a pretty good director too.  In 2007, he directed--and starred in--"Gone Baby Gone", an excellent Boston crime mystery, and now, he's back with "The Town".



The story simply is that Affleck and a few of his buddies are bank robbers, including an excellent Jeremy Renner, and are trying to finish up their theivery career.  The film then follows Doug (Affleck) and his boys as they try to pick up the pieces after a robbery goes wrong, and after he ends up with a relationship with a chick they took hostage.

Jon Hamm, from "Mad Men", shows up as an FBI agent chasing them and... okay, I know, I know what you are thinking... "This sounds like every other bank robber movie, with a main character and an impossible romance (check) and heist gone wrong (check) and being talked into one last heist that they didn't want to do (check) and the rogue agent right on their tail (check)..." but seriously, its better than that.

There is a load of language in it, including a whole lotta F-bombs, and there is some violence--it is about criminals robbing banks, after all--and the like, perhaps not as Emmy Turnbow Safe as you'd want it to be.  But a great film, nonetheless.

79... "American Honey"
Song by Lady Antebellum off of their "Need You Now" CD.  What can I say?  Great song.

78... The A-Team Gets a Redux
Much like "Unstoppable",  the 81st Coolest Thing of 2010, "The A-Team" is nothing more than a popcorn flick, though what it has over "Unstoppable"--for better or worse--is characters that anyone over 25 will be familiar with.

Here's what I said on June 21st:

All in all,you can tell that this movie was made by people who loved the original TV show... it didn't set out to mock the show, or move the show from its original direction, it modernizes the tale, brings it to nowadays and sets up what might be a mildly successful movie franchise.


Bottom line, if you liked the TV show, you can consider this a PG-13, one hour and forty two minute version of that very show... most people I know liked this movie alot, and those people loved the original show... however, if you didn't like the TV show, you won't like this film at all. If you have no concept of the TV show, you'll view this movie as a popcorn ride with some interesting characters who's names you might be familiar with.

You can read the full review by clicking here...

I know this might be blasphemy, but a few weeks after I saw the movie, I was flipping channels and happened to see that an episode of The A-Team was coming on some ethnic channel called Centric One.  So, I flipped over and watched about half of it... and... well... it was bad.  I mean, really bad.  When I was 11 years old, this show was the junk.  Everything about it was rockin' awesome.  Now, especially since I feel like my tastes are more refined, I couldn't watch it.  The acting was bad, the story was bad, the jokes were horrid... maybe if I watched it again, my bar will be much, much lower, but I guess I was shocked by how terrible it was.  Just sayin'.

77... Jeff Bridges Finds a Legacy
Back in 1982, a little movie came out called TRON, and for its day (I'm sure you've heard this before, but I'll reiterate), it was revolutionary.  The graphics were new, the special effects were amazing, the story was creative and brand new, and it was all the rage.  But like many films from that era, or any era, it slowly slipped into the forgotten movies pile, becoming something only a certain aged section of the population would even remember, or even recognize by name.  TRON was a forgotten movie.  Even seeing it some years later, the story holds up, but the special effects are... ehh.

Smashcut to 2009, when a huge announcement was made--they were doing a sequel to TRON.  No one knew what it was about, no one knew how it would be recieved, but finally, another TRON movie would be presented to the world, one that would reunite the fans of the original with the Light Cycles and The Grid, one that would introduce new fans to just such things. 



TRON: Legacy came out in December 2010, and I went to see it as quick as I could... and I loved it.  It was just what the doctor ordered for the continuation of TRON.  Okay, I'll be real here--some of it is kind of hokey, especially when you see there are homeless "people" in The Grid, and when you discover there is an actual nightclub with real DJs and everything.  But the Light Cycles are worth the price of admission... no longer were they single beams of light cutting at immediate right and left angles (which itself was really cool), they were cycles that went in all directions, up, down, side to side and back again, which made for a great little Cycle Battle scene.

The effects have gotten worlds better, and even though its no secret that Jeff Bridges plays not only the main character, Flynn, in both TRON and its sequel, but they superimposed a much younger version of his face onto the villian, Clu, and at some points it looks terrible--but that's neither here nor there.  This was made to be a fun, futuristic, eat popcorn movie and I ate popcorn, thought it was fun and enjoyed it immensely.

Oh, and if you've seen the original and then watch Legacy, and think that "Alan Bradley" looks familiar, just wait.  It took me a minute, but I caught it.

76... Auburn Wins Alot
Who'd thunk it?  While Auburn didn't technically win their championship until January 2011, their magnificent season alone was worth a mention in the Coolest 100 of 2010.  You could have called them the Cardiac Cats, and many people did, at the first part of the season, as they kept getting way behind, then playing catch up all game, and pulling out the victory.

Which meant when they fell behind 24 points to Alabama, Cam Newton simply said, "Eh, we got this..." and darn if they didn't do just that.  Big Daddy Ron and Bro-in-Law Tyler went to the game, and when Bama had their big lead at halftime, with Tyler celebrating and high fiving everyone around, Ron just smiled and said, "This ain't enough... we didn't score enough points..." 

Yep, I'm a Gator Guy.  I still appreciated Auburn's win, and the SEC's fourth straight BCS Championship and what, five in seven years?  That's called domination.

Y'all Bammers call it what you want.  We all know that if Cam Newton had chosen Alabama, had won the school a 2nd consecutive Heisman, then led them to another nation championship (14th?  17th?  328th?) then every member of the Roll Tide nation would have defended him just like Auburn did, and conversely, every Auburn fan would be accusing Alabama of winning a dirty title.  Let's be real here.

75... Glee Finds a Queen
The Lovely Steph Leann loves her some Glee... I mean, like, l-o-v-es her some Glee on Tuesday nights, so much so that she's been completely excited when I've bought her Glee CDs as presents for certain occasions.  Now I must tell you in the spirit of full disclosure, I like Glee.  I don't love Glee, but I do enjoy it when I happen to be with The Lovely Steph Leann in the same room, and its on.  Maybe its the frequent appearances by Kristen Chenoweth.



Anyway, their versions of songs are usually good, but very rarely do they top the originals--but "Somebody To Love" is magnificent.  Its the Queen song, which usually ranks at the bottom of my Queen Favorite Songs List, that when is sung by Glee, takes on a whole new meaning and a whole new sound.  Love it.

74... Wal-Mart Has an Effect
So, in March of 2010, I read a book on Wal-Mart.  Don't ask me why, but I thought it was well written and told a great story of Wal-Mart's rise and business practices.  Here's what I wrote on April 3rd of last year:

I picked up the most fascinating book two weeks ago, solidifying the theory that I will read anything if it grabs my attention in the first chapter. "The Wal-Mart Effect" by Charles Fishman is a book all about... well, not just Wal-Mart, but the effect it has on those who buy from there, those vendors who Wal-Mart buys from, those communities in which Wal-Mart chooses to plant themselves... and also those people who don't buy from Wal-Mart, those vendors who Wal-Mart doesn't buy from (or doesn't anymore), and those communities from which Wal-Mart chooses to not be a part of--or be a part of anymore.

The book isn't about the history of Wal-Mart, though it does devote a page or two to its beginnings and its founders. Mostly, its about the good... and bad... of the largest private company in the history of the world. Fishman does his best to make sure he covers both sides of the equation... like, all the good Wal-Mart has done...

You can read the complete post here.

73... The Author Leaves a Note
Imagine my own surprise when I opened up my blog site, a day after reviewing "The Wal-Mart Effect", which you just read about above, and finding out that the author of the book itself left a comment on the page.  Sez Charles Fishman:
 
Wow, fabulous review. Almost as long as the book itself... The one thing you didn't offer your readers is a link to the book's website, where people can read reviews and other excerpts. http://www.walmarteffectbook.com.   Or, of course:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0143038788/thewalmarte09-20

Thanks for the close and appreciative read.
Charles Fishman
Author, "The Wal-Mart Effect"
cnfish@mindspring.com

How great is that?  I thought it was... well, cool.  You can also find a few more links, plus a funny Wal-Mart story courtesy of Amarylis By Morning (up from san antone) by clicking here.

72... Columbus Kills a Zombie
Once again, I remind you that this isn't a Coolest List of Things That Came Out Last Year, because our 72nd ranked Coolest, the movie "Zombieland", was actually released in 2009... but I didn't see it until some time last year, so hence, it makes the 2010 list.

Before "The Social Network" blew up his career into the stratosphere, Jesse Eisenberg starred in a number of films, including "Zombieland", where he plays Columbus, who is a survivor in a world where most people have turned to zombies.  He's trying to get to his parents in Columbus, Ohio, in which you learn that his name isn't really Columbus.. its what he is called because that's his hometown.  And then he runs into Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone, who I am just loving right now), and the comedy begins amongst all the destruction of zombies. 

And right smack dab in the middle is an incredible cameo by Bill Murray, which is the most hilarious part in an already extremely hilarious film. 

The scene as the festival got busier in the evening

71... The Middle Eastern Have a Festival
Every year, around October or so, there's a Catholic church which holds its annual Middle Eastern Festival, featuring delicious foods like kibbie, grape leaves, meat pies and spinach pies, an entire table full of desserts and hundreds of people milling around, and this year, our wonderful friends, The Zarzaurs--That being Chris, kids The Zack Attack, Jay Z and Special K, and of course, The Statuesque Melanie, invited The Lovely Steph Leann and I to come and eat and enjoy the festivities.

We pulled up to the church and as we crested the hill, we came up this huge tent canopy, full of tables and people getting full.  When we walked inside, we were met with the kids taking orders and running around like crazy, Chris Z throwing food onto a plate just as fast as he could, and Melanie trying to keep the peace and order--probably not unlike her usual evenings at home.

The Lovely Steph Leann and I enjoyed the food very much, sitting outside and watching a large group of kids dance (re: belly dance), and as we were about to leave, Melanie mentioned how rough the afternoon had been and was going to be, well into the evening.  The reason being?  Alabama was playing South Carolina--and all the free help wanted to watch the game.  The Lovely Steph Leann was pretty exhausted, so she bowed out, but I agreed to come back in a little while and help serve.

Melanie and The Zack Attack taking a break.  Actually,
The Zack Attack was bored to tears by this time.

And that's what I did.  I arrived back, and was immediately placed in the food assembly line.  There were several different kinds of plates, which I learned quickly, so I spent the next five hours filling the plates with rice and kibbie and meat and grape leaves and on and on, as the kids milled about, sometimes helping, sometimes not, and Melanie milled about, sometimes helping, sometimes getting onto the kids because they weren't.

It was a great time, spending a little bit of time in a bit of a culture I don't know much about.  I don't mean that everyone there was Middle Eastern and no one spoke English, but that it took place in a Catholic Church, which I was able to ask questions about, and the food alone was great conversation. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to help this year, if invited back!

Coming up... Norah Jones features... find out who dropped you on Facebook... and later, the best hat in the whole world...

An Eighties Movies Redux

Sometimes on weekends when there are a couple of movies we both want to see--especially if we know that there are even more movies upcoming to see--The Lovely Steph Leann and I will go check out a "double feature"... not movies that show back to back, necessarily, but we'll pick out two movies, get tickets for both and go all afternoon.  Of course, it might cost a little bit for the date, but that's why we've Dave Ramseyed ourselves debt free... so we can watch lots and lots of movies.

"THE KARATE KID"

Most people my age can vividly remember the glory of the first one... in 1984, a young unknown Ralph Macchio portrayed Daniel LaRusso, who moves with his mom to Southern California.  There he meets a cute girl named Ali (the unbelievably hot-for-1986 Elisabeth Shue), but runs into trouble when he starts getting bullied by Ali's ex-boyfriend, Johnny, who is also the star student at a local karate dojo, led by Kreese, who teaches his students brutal tactics of no mercy.  Daniel is helped, and then taught by Mr. Miyagi, the apartment maintenance man, who's unusual lessons gave us "wax on, wax off" and "Daniel-sahn" into our movie vernacular.  The movie is legendary in pop culture, from "Sweep the leg!" to the famous crane kick... it was and is a movie that will be watched and enjoyed in 2086 as a classic.

Twenty-four years later, Will Smith decided it was time for a re-boot, and that re-boot was to be tailored around his own son, Jaden, currently 11 years old, now portraying a 12 year old named Dre.  The move is still made by he and his mom, but this time they go to Beijing, China, and the cute girl is an Asian classmate and the bully is now named Cheng.  The Miyagi role is taken on by Jackie Chan, in what might be his best movie in a decade or more. 

Many of the plotpoints are the same--the tournament (its actually kung-fu being done in this movie, not karate, but they called it "The Karate Kid" here in the states because people recognize that name) is a chance for Dre to prove himself, the prank on the bullies that leads to a brutal beating (and the first appearance the karate skillz), there is a "Bobby" type character who tells the bad guy that "He's had enough!" during a brutal beating after that prank, and shows reluctance to injure our hero in the tourney, and there is the crazy training sessions--this time not "wax on, wax off" or "paint the fence", its "take off your jacket... hang it up... drop it... put on your jacket... take off your jacket..."  Like "wax on, wax off", I would guess that "take off your jacket" will perplex anyone until they see it in the movie. 

I was extremely happy with this film, even with its 2 hour and 20 minute running time... I'm usually a stickler for unnecessary film, and I figured about 10 minutes of this could have been cut, but overall, it flowed really well.  Fans of the original will enjoy the homage to the first one, complete with the catch-a-fly-with-a-chopstick trick.  Jackie Chan is perfectly understated as Mr. Han, the mentor, with his own sad story to tell (part of which I thought went on a little long).  Dre and Han become friends, with Han not only teaching him kung-fu, but also teaching him to respect himself, others and everything around him.  Han even learns a little on his own.

I think this movie really succeeds because its set in China, not in Southern Cal like the original, and that alone sets it apart from the first one... such a difference in cultures gives it enough separation from the first one that its not a shot-for-shot remake... the love interest, if you can call it that being that its a 12 year old girl, has her own story this time, unlike Ali who was just there to be a romantic character for Daniel.   The kung-fu is awesome, and when Jackie Chan lets loose, you can tell its a Chan scene.  And though Billy Zabka made for an incomparable bad guy in 1986, I gotta say that Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) is fantastic as the lead mean kid.  And when Dre wins the tournament (oh, whatever... you either know he wins the tourney from the original film, or you haven't seen it, and if you haven't seen it, that's not my fault--its been 24 years.  Get with it), Cheng pulls a Johnny with the trophy.  And in this one, it takes it a few minutes more past the end of the tourney, where the first one ends with Miyagi smiling in approval. 

One thing that has always bothered me though... in the first one, Daniel meets a few guys, and when he gets smacked around on the beach, the guys that were his friends say to each other, "Good choice in friends.  New guy is a joke."  And when Daniel is raising the trophy high above his head, who's there to help him celebrate?  His friends.  Or, "friends" (doing the air quotes with my fingers).  In this remake, Dre meets Harry, a blond kid who befriends him... but when Dre is smacked around on the playground, Harry does nothing to help.  And who's there at the end, cheering with Dre?  Harry, of course,  Good job, fairweather kids. 

The movie did leave me wondering one thing though... how do you say "Get 'em a bodybag, yeah!" in Chinese?

"THE A-TEAM"
In the months leading up to this movie's release, I had been on the fence about it... but The Lovely Steph Leann was fired up about it.  She had been a Face-girl growing up, so she was kinda excited about seeing Bradley Cooper step into the role.  Me personally, I was a "Howling Mad" Murdock kid, and knowing that the guy who turned into the alien in "District 9" was going to be taking on this sacred role... well, big, crazy shoes to fill.

BA Baracus, another sacred character in the minds of those who's childhoods took place amongst the 80s, is filled by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, a former MMA fighter (or is it UFC?  I dunno...) and the leader of the group, John Hannibal Smith, was to be done by none other than Liam Neeson... which, to me, was the oddest casting choice of all of them.  Jessica Biel plays the love interest, her being another in my Angelina Jolie Club... you know, those chicks who the entire world tells me I should be all hot and bothered for, and really just can't find much there to be attracted to (see "Roberts, Julia" and "Fox, Megan").

Anyway, The Lovely Steph Leann and I met up with our friends LaShawn and LaCorey to watch it, while MZ and her reality show sat several rows back.  The movie starts, and right away, there are differences... first of all, people have better aim--in the TV show, no one ever died.  In this, bad guys get blowed up, shot up, smacked up and thrown up every which'a way.  The legendary red striped black van makes a somewhat brief appearance, and Hannibal smokes lots of cigars and discusses his happiness with the coming together of plans several times.  The plot is a typical "They framed us, so we have to prove our innocence!" fare, with one heck of a

All in all,you can tell that this movie was made by people who loved the original TV show... it didn't set out to mock the show, or move the show from its original direction, it modernizes the tale, brings it to nowadays and sets up what might be a mildly successful movie franchise. 

Bottom line, if you liked the TV show, you can consider this a PG-13, one hour and forty two minute version of that very show... most people I know liked this movie alot, and those people loved the original show... however, if you didn't like the TV show, you won't like this film at all.  If you have no concept of the TV show, you'll view this movie as a popcorn ride with some interesting characters who's names you might be familiar with.

Personally?  I had a blast during this film.  It was a great popcorn movie, one of those movies you don't try to think about, you just eat your popcorn, drinking your Coke and munch on your Twizzlers, and just have a great, great time.  We did.   Go see it.

By the way, The Lovely Steph Leann and I turned on an episode of The A-Team the other night, and it was borderline unwatchable.  She fell asleep.  I ended up turning it.  Perhaps it was the episode, or the fact it was late, or the fact it was on a network called "Centric" (!?) but either way, I went to bed and she turned it off.

Oh, one more thing... big props to Brian Bloom, the bad guy in this flick... seems like his biggest role to date was a 1988 TV movie called "Crash Course" with Alyssa Milano and Tina Yothers, and though he's done a ton of work up until now, with much of it being video game voice-overs, I feel like he's got a good chance with this film.  Someone hire this guy!  (ps... if you are googling this guy, and see any pics labeled 'Oz', run.)