Its hard to know how I should feel about Pixar's latest, "Cars 2"... is it weird that an animated film can leave me so conflicted?
Here's the plot... "Cars 2" picks up where "Cars" left off... Lightning McQueen is off racing, winning multiple Piston Cups, and returns to Radiator Springs to his girlfriend Sally and his best buddy Mater, along with the rest of the gang from the first film, like Ramone, Flo, Red, Sarge, Fillmore and the others... wisely, Pixar chose not to replace Paul Newman as the voice of Doc Hudson, instead just giving the Hudson Hornet a glance and homage.
Finn and Mater... I've read the thoughts that Mater might be Pixar's version of Jar Jar Binks... a much maligned characters that has somewhat sullied a great movie series--or in Pixar's case, their movies in general
Through a wacky set of circumstances, McQueen ends up entered into the inaugural World Grand Prix, and brings along his "team", which includes Mater, and through an even wackier set of circumstances, Mater gets confused for an American spy by the good guys like Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) and the bad guys, like Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann).
So over the next 90 minutes, we are treated to a visually colorful and dazzling adventure full of explosions and big ships and crazy cars and fast racing and cool gadgets and funny sight gags and foreign lands and all that kind of stuff.
What we aren't treated to is a great movie. Its a fun movie, its a pleasant, amusing movie, but not a great movie. This will, in my mind, go down as Pixar's worst film, and though the general consensus is that Pixar can do no wrong, this one is hard to defend. If anything, Pixar's record is 11-1, or at best, 11-0-1... which, in of itself is still a stellar mark.
Don't get me wrong... I liked this movie. Its got that Pixar flair with the jokes flying fast and free, and sight gags everywhere--watch the drive-in movie sign in Radiator Springs not long after McQueen makes his return... and its fun watching the change of cultures from a car's perspective when they tour Japan (the Japanese game show is a hoot) and other countries.
And cars "die" in this movie! I mean, I hope I'm not spoiling anything for you, but seriously, there are at least four or five car deaths in this film, which is a bit... well, I say violent, but we're talking about cars being blown up, so judge that how you will.
Its the story, the kind that Pixar usually excels at telling, that is the weakest part of the film. I found myself wondering if a six year old kid could follow all that was happening, and even if those kids would understand why the bad guys--Gremlins, Pacers and other "lemons"--were the bad guys... I mean, what kid under 15 knows what a "lemon" is? I also found myself ready for the movie to be over towards the end, something I'm not sure I've ever felt in a Pixar film.
Here's my conflict... what am I supposed to expect out of Pixar? I have been taught to expect masterful story telling like "Wall*E"... I have been taught to expect movies for children that are still made for adults, like "Monsters Inc"... I now expect to have toys make me tear up, like in "Toy Story 3"... but do I expect that because Pixar told me "We are going to make the best animated films you have ever seen in your whole life!"
John Turturro voices Francesco Bernoulli, McQueen's main rival. Having worked at The Happiest Place in the Mall for a time, all I could think was "Wow, are they going to release a billion new Cars toys for this"
No, I expect such things from Pixar because that's just what they do. But this time around, it seems like they are just having a good time... they aren't trying to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film (at least I hope not, because it won't happen this time), it seems like they are just having a good time. And out of any studio out there, Pixar deserves to have a good time, at least once, and do a movie that is just full of goofiness and silliness and fun.
A few years back, when the rumor that "Cars 2" was being made, The Disney Channel released a number of "shorts" starring Mater, called "Mater's Tall Tales". They all centered around Mater telling his friends stories, or tales, about his misadventures, the "tall" part coming in because he's exaggerating... Mater told of his adventures as a stunt daredevil, and as a fire truck, and as a matador (Materdor!)... after "Cars 2" ended, I looked over at The Lovely Steph Leann and said, "This was like a very long episode of Mater's Tall Tales".
I know, I know, I seem so up and down about it... I guess I'll say this about "Cars 2". Don't expect "Toy Story 3", or "The Incredibles" or even "Finding Nemo"... expect a fun movie, one that is kind of forgettable. Expect your sons to love the crap out of it, expect your daughters to... well, did she like this first one? She will probably like this one. Did you like the first one? Yeah, you'll probably enjoy this one as well.
Oh, finally, if you don't like Larry the Cable Guy, you will have a hard time with this one, because Larry is all up in this film, pretty much from start to finish.
2D or 3D? Go 2D. The only reason to see this in 3D is to see the Pixar trailer for the 2012 movie "Brave", which you can find online, and the 3D trailer for the upcoming "The Lion King in 3D" release. I still say go see it in 2D, save your money.
Formerly known as "The Bear & the Bow", Pixar introduces its first fairy tale, "Brave". And it looks amazing.
Worth the price of admission, in 2D or 3D, is the Toy Story short, "Hawaiian Vacation", coming on before "Cars 2"... when Barbie & Ken miss their trip to the Hawaiian islands, Buzz, Woody and the gang step in to give them the de facto vacation of a lifetime... and if you liked this one, then you'll be happy to know that there will be another Toy Story short in front of "The Muppets", coming this Thanksgiving.
And, you heard it here first... Tom Hanks says "Toy Story 4" is in the works. Not sure how I feel about that, but until "Cars 2", Pixar has never given me a reason to worry. Truthfully, I'm not worried.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I have always been told, "You guys will be great parents!" in some form or fashion... either she was told she'd be a great mom, or I have been told how great of a dad I'd be, or collectively, as a parental unit, we've been discussed under the mantra of ideal parents.
When talking about this particular line of conversation that we keep having with people, and mind you this was some months ago, maybe even last year, The Lovely Steph Leann remarked, "Do these people even know us?"
Well, whether they do or not, she and I... we're going to be parents. It's almost a big unnerving, and certainly is enough to weird both of us out. I mean... a parent? Like, there is a kid coming that will look to The Lovely Steph Leann as he/she's mommy? Well, that is actually not a bad thing, and upon reflecting on it, its a great thing. She's awesome. However, that little mush of cells will call me daddy at some point, and that is kinda scary.
So anyway, rather than waxing poetic about finding out, and who knew and all that, I wanted to look ahead to our kid getting here... its been noted on this here website that we'll go with Campbell Isaiah for a boy, calling him "Camp", though I'm wondering if his friends like Will Fisher and Willy Roose and Colin Robinson, or his lady friends like Mattie Sherman or Clara Tuck or Sunshine Ray will call him Cam... for a girl, we'll go with Lorelei Addison, calling her simply Lorelei, and yes, that was the name of Lauren Graham's character on "Gilmore Girls", and yes, that is part of the inspiration, but no, our daughter will not be named after Lorelei Gilmore.
Looking ahead to Camp or Lorelei being here, I came up with a few things that we really want to instill in our child. Obviously, like any parents, we want to make sure our kids understand things like responsibility, accountability, respect and the like... but also like any parents, we might place a higher value on some things than other parents would, and vice versa on other things...
So, I came up with a short list of things that, thanks to Daddy over here, Campbell or Lorelei (I say "or"... its really an "and" because we'll teach this to all our children) will be familiar with at the least, and deeply ensconced in at the most--Mommy will help with some, others I'm sure she'll leave to me...
1) THE LOVE OF JESUS That's any Christ Following family's prayer and hope, that their children will grow up recognizing the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. While we will never force God on our kids, we will make sure they are fully aware of Christ, His death and Resurrection and we pray that one day, Camp and Lorelei will decide for themselves that a life with Christ is immensely more satisfying than a life without.
We'll also hopefully engrain in them how wonderful and meaningful a church family and church fellowship will be, so when Camp is 14, he has somewhere to go for help after he comes out, and when she's 16, Lorelei will be able to minister to her prison boyfriend. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
2) DISNEY
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has any knowledge of us and who we are... we will give our kid plenty of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Lightnin' McQueen, Mater, Belle, Hercules, Cinderella, Mulan, Rapunzel, Simba, Genie, Princess Gisele and so on and so forth. I've already had people tell me that they are holding open debates on how soon Lorelei and/or Campbell will head to The Most Magical Place on Earth, and even though I always said we would wait until our kids are at least potty trained and able to walk on their own, who am I kidding? We'd probably deliver the child on Main Street USA if there was a way to do so.
Gotta get Mike and Sulley into the kid's life early, and often
I have often said that The Lovely Steph Leann will be heartbroken if our daughter isn't into the princesses, or at the least, into Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse. I fear the day when our child declares that she loves Shrek and has forsaken The Mouse. It is then that we will question our parenting, and perhaps will give the child up for adoption for fear that we can no longer raise them right. Its the least we can do.
Actually, I think I'd like our kid to be exposed to "Monster's Inc" relatively early... monsters can be scary until you realize they are terrified by human kids... I plan on putting my stuffed Mike Wazowski with my child soon to let them know Mike & Sully are awesome.
The moment I hear my own kid singing the words to "Hannah Jane", my favorite Hootie song, that's the moment I know I did it right
3) HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH I say "Hootie", but you can also add on Sheryl Crow, Blues Traveler, Boyz II Men, Pre-Skank Mariah, Pre-Crack Whitney, Journey and their ilk. I will be feeding little Lorelei or young Camp a steady diet of 80s and 90s music all throughout their childhood.
Yes, I know, I know, there will be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in there, and I'm sure they'll pick up other kiddy songs along the way, be it The Imagination Movers or some crap on Nick Jr, but you are darn tootin' my offspring will know something about "Hold My Hand" or "Only Wanna Be With You", or how awesome "Motownphilly" can be at high volume in a Kia Soul.
4) THE WWE This is the one I get the most pushback on... but so? I can't wait for that day when I curl up with mine own youngling in my arms, and we take in an episode of WWE Raw, and I let them know to cheer for John Cena and The Rock and to boo for the likes of The Miz, CM Punk and Sheamus.
"I am not having my daughter watch the WWE," declares The Lovely Steph Leann. I would guess that she'll want a night off at some point, and I'll do my best to make it Monday night. But if its Friday night, then WWE Smackdown will suffice.
5) STAR WARS Another one that The Lovely Steph Leann is pushing back on, though perhaps not as hard as #4 above. But as a young boy myself, Star Wars became an integral part of my life--I saw The Empire Strikes Back as a five year old, and from there on out, my childhood was partially defined by a love of not just Luke, Han, Leia and Vader, but also a love of the imagination, creativity and passion that came behind it.
Kids love Jar Jar. My son will probably dig Darth Maul too. A dad can only hope, anyway.
Ten years ago, I was afraid Star Wars might become irrelevant. It would be the loved and influential movies of the 70s that only people who are around my age would value and cherish... but with the three prequels and now the award winning The Clone Wars: The Animated Series out, there's no reason for Star Wars to fade as a memory. It is prime to influence mine own children with the likes of George Lucas' fine creations.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to bust out some dark "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" fresh out of the womb (that one might be a decade down the road), but "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" or "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" isn't out of the question in the first six months of life. Kids love Jar Jar. For that matter, kids love Ewoks, so "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" might also be an option.
6) DAVE RAMSEY Never too young, I always say. Okay, I don't always say that. In fact, I just started saying that. In more fact, I just said that really for the first time, "never too young", at least in reference to the starting age of Dave Ramsey's financial peace.
I want Lorelei and Camp to both grow up never knowing debt. I want them growing up not only know the value of a dollar, but the value of earning it. I want them growing up thinking that if they want something, they have to do what they can to get it, and never expect things to be handed to them.
Now, I'm not saying that we won't give them gifts, or buy them things all along, I mean, there are things I'll see all the time I'll want my kids to have... but I don't want them ever expecting things to just be handed to them all time. I like th FPU way of teaching your kids chores--some they do because they live there are are expected to do, and some as a way to earn money... and out of every dollar, 10 percent of that goes into a jar that say "Giving", another 15 percent goes into a jar that says "Saving" and the rest can be used for whatever.
Wish someone, anyone, had taught me the discipline of Three Jars.
7) COMMON SENSE Going along with the above "Dave Ramsey", I just want my kids to be responsible. Responsible for their own actions. Teach them how to give, but to take care of their own house first. Teach them that the government is not the answer, they themselves are. Teach them that this is the great country in the history of the entire free world, teach them that this country is the good guy. Teach them that not everyone in the world, or even this country, will be nice to them, teach them that some people will be downright mean and hurtful, teach Lorelei that not all guys will be good and teach Camp that chicks can be overwhelming and over-dramatic, teach them that a life as a Christ Follower, things won't necessarily be easy, and sometimes might downright suck (though I'll try to use another word) and teach them that you know what, life just isn't fair...
...but also teach them that God is a wonderful God, and He has a created a beautiful world around us, teach them that there are great people in the world, and teach them that those people are created in God's image and that everyone deserves respect (until they don't) and everyone deserves for someone to be nice to them (until they don't).
And yes, when they get older, if Lorelei and Campbell want to be Democrats, that's fine... but they had better be able to tell me why they believe that way. They need to know that Rush Limbaugh can be believed (mostly because if they pay attention, it makes sense) Keith Olbermann is full of crap (mostly because if they pay attention, he makes no sense) and finally, yes they will get spanked on the backside when they are bad, regardless of what is politically correct.
I think I'd also like Lorelei to be familiar with Audrey Hepburn movies, and Campbell to know about DieHard, but that's later.
I'd like to say we're going to be great parents, but The Lovely Steph Leann would say, "Have you met us?"
This film is really getting mixed reviews from people I know who have seen it--some people love it, some people didn't like it at all, and still more people are just sort of "eh" about it...
I didn't love it. But I liked it a whole lot. See, I'm not sure what people want out of the Pirate movies anymore... the first one was brilliant, currently residing as my 103rd favorite film of all time... it was funny, it was original, it was irreverent and unusual, and Johnny Depp had never been cooler.
And like most people, I thought "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End" were convoluted, too long, complicated and tried to do way too much--in other words, not very good. And maybe that's where people's expectations are coming from, they don't want a repeat of #2 and #3, but somehow are disappointed in "On Stranger Tides", even though it is nothing like the 2nd and 3rd films.
"On Stranger Tides" follows a basic storyline with a few subplots that are kept close to the main story. Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth is the prize this time around, and everyone wants it, from Spain to England to Blackbeard the Pirate, played in earnest by Ian McShane. So they all set out on a quest, with Blackbeard basically holding our beloved Capt. Jack Sparrow hostage, though threats aren't the only thing keeping him there... there is his long, lost love, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who is Blackbeard's first mate--and daughter. Wait... what?
Among Blackbeard's crew is a few new random characters, including a "cleric", or a "man of God", that Angelica is keeping close to help her father's soul, and along the way, they even pick up a mermaid! Yes, there is a bit of supernatural in this film, much like the rest, along with some voodoo and some other magic.
Geoffrey Rush's Capt. Barbossa comes back, leading the English army to find the Fountain of Youth, though he has his own motives for wanting to find it... the big ship battles we are used to in the other films are missing in this one, and the swordplay is actually not as prevalent either, though the action and escape sequences are pretty awesome.
Is it as good as the first film? No. Don't expect it to be, don't expect it to be anything like that. In fact, there isn't a whole lot of this film that even connects to previous films, save for the fact its about pirates, there is Barbossa, Jack Sparrow and his first mate Gibbs shows back up... oh, and that little annoying monkey makes an appearance.
Sit back, enjoy the film, stop trying to compare it to the other three (not as good as the first, better than the second, much better than the third), and just have fun. Please.
This film was shot in 3D, but not entirely... the special effects were done in 2D, then rendered in 3D afterwards to keep costs down, but my recommendation really is to just see it in 2D. Mostly because I am not a huge fan of the 3D movement, and out of the dozens of movies released in 3D in the last few years, I've only seen a handful in that format, and only two--Avatar and Toy Story 3--were worth the extra dough.
Oh, real quick--to the credit of "At World's End" and "Dead Man's Chest", I have only seen them once each. It might be unfair to categorize them as bad films when I've only seen them once, so while I don't remember leaving the theaters thinking "awesome!", I also did what you did, and compared them both to "Curse of the Black Pearl". Perhaps they all three warrant a re-watch.
Throw that word out. Open the door and chunk it into the road. I say that because if you get caught up on that, you'll find yourself thinking "That's not how Xavier ended up in a wheelchair! He ended up in a chair because that alien Lucifer dropped a rock on his legs!" or "Wait... how is Emma Frost an adult here, when in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a movie that was set in the last few years, Emma is just a kid?" or "Hold on, hold on, you mean to tell me that in X3: The Last Stand, both Xavier and Erik go and see who is a young Jean Grey at her house, supposedly 20 years before the events of the movie which came out in 2006, which means its 1986, but in this scene, Xavier is still walking and BFFs with Magneto, but in X-Men: First Class takes place mostly in 1962 and tells the story of Xavier and Magneto's friendship and how they end up on opposing sides, and Xavier ends up in a wheelchair... what the heck?"
So, dispense with that.
Now that you aren't worried about that nonsense (okay, its not nonsense, because I'm a stickler for details when it comes that stuff), then sit back and love this movie like I did.
"X-Men: First Class" tells the story of Charles Xavier, who would later become Professor X, leader of the X-Men, and Erik Lensherr, who would later become metal controlling Magneto. As you know, Professor X loves the human race, and believes that peace through diplomacy and understanding is possible. And you also know that Magneto thinks that mutants are the dominant life form, and that they hold the power to take over the planet and enslaving a human race that hates mutants.
Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost plot your torturous demise
The film shows their beginnings and finally their introductions, and shows off a villain that had been mostly unseen through all the previews, so much so that I didn't even know Kevin Bacon was in this film until about a week ago. He plays Sebastian Shaw, a mutant bad guy (not the actor who portrayed the unmasked Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi) who in the comics is the leader of The Hellfire Club (which also includes Emma Frost), though "Hellfire Club" is only mentioned once in this movie. Kevin Bacon is outstanding, which is typical for him, and the mutants he surrounds himself with, like Azazel (in the comics, the father of Night Crawler) and Riptide (who I'd never heard of until today) are pretty cool.
So, Sebastian Shaw is up to no good, giving a revisionists history to the events leading up to, and causing, the Cuban Missile Crisis, so Erik and Charles go out and find young mutants to help them defeat Shaw--like Alex Summers/Havoc (who in the comics is the brother of Scott Summers, aka, Cyclops, who is unseen in this movie)... and Angel Salvadore (who calls herself Angel in this film, though we know that the real Angel is seen in X3: The Last Stand, and in the comics, she's actually called "Tempest", and is known for her romantic relationship with Beak, an X-Man that I despised for just being plain stupid...)
Where was I?
After having only one major starring role, its good to see Beast getting some work again.
Oh yeah, the good guys... there's also Banshee and Beast (who is shown to go from human to blue, hairy form here, even though in X2: X-Men United he's shown briefly as a news commentator and then in X3: The Last Stand, Hank McCoy is shown in the human form of Dr. Frasier Crane, but there's that continuity thing again) and of course, the lovely, blue Mystique, played seductively by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in the first three films (and has a cameo here) and played wonderfully by Jennifer Lawrence in "First Class".
My problem with reviewing comic book films is that I want to just give you, the reader, way too much info about the comics and the characters when really, you want to know "Was the movie good or not?"
Yes. It was good. It was, in fact, great. The story was easy to follow, the good guys were easy to like, the bad guys were easy to hate, and both James McAvoy(Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender(Magneto... if you told me that Fassbender and Ewen McGregor were brothers, or actually the same person, at least in this movie, it wouldn't take much to convince me) are fantastic in their roles. I found myself wanting the movie to continue a little longer, if only to find out what happens to the characters, and for someone who's constant complaint about movies is "it was about 10/20 minutes too long", that is a high compliment.
Oh, and lest we forget January Jones as Emma Frost. Isn't she just a cutie-patootie...
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...
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.
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...
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:
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...
What better way to kick off the year than to discuss Disney films? Yeah!
Oh, don't worry, I'm finishing up my list of The 100 Coolest Things of 2010 and hopefully will be posted starting next week. Every time I think I'm done, something else comes to mind... earlier, while doing laundry, I remembered The Courtyard Hounds album, and thought "well, now I have to figure out how that fits in there...". And of course, American Idol starts next week, with new hosts J-Lo and Steven Tyler, and so what was once a train wreck with just Paula Abdul, which turned into a lesbianista trainwreck with Ellen DeG has now turned into a trainwreck of heavy duty proportions, all the way around. Sweet emotions indeed.
So, anyhow...
Sidebar... "anyhow" is a strange word. "Anyway" sounds right, and "anyhoo" is one of those strange slang words that I have, in recent years, tried to avoid using, much like "peeps", "da bomb", "besties" which I only use in mocking statements. "Anyhow" is in fact a word, though, because I just looked it up.
...I'm listening to the 33 hour and 20 some odd minute biography of Walt Disney. Its a chore. Don't get me wrong, its an amazing book, but its also really, really detailed, full of names, dates and specifics that only a true, true fan (like me) would appreciate. I won't get into the book now, I'll wait until I finish it, so I can review it properly (right now, it looks like a winner and an early shoo-in for a Top 25 ranking in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011, due January 2012), but I will tell you why I'm mentioning it.
I'm almost 20 hours into the biography, and along the way, I've read/heard the stories of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Fantasia", "Dumbo", "Pinocchio" and so on, the troubles of each prior to release and the successes and failures of each after their releases, and just yesterday, I had an urgency to watch "Snow White". Its been probably two decades since I've seen it in its entirety, at least at one sitting, but I never remembered it being a favorite. Though it hasn't necessarily been 20 years since I've seen the other films I mentioned, it has been a while for each one, at least four or five years.
In addition, I've never seen some of the "packaged" films like "Fun and Fancy Free" and "Make Mine Music", and only bits and pieces of "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad". So, this afternoon, I came downstairs to find The Lovely Steph Leann laying comfy on the couch--she's been sick for three days, with a sore throat, allergies, stopped up ears and sinuses and a general pulsing of her head, bless her heart--and simply said, "I think we should take on a challenge this year, in 2011."
I said, "We should watch the entire canon of Disney animated films. Regular animation and live action combination. You and me, this year."
She looked at me, stared off into space thoughtfully and looked back at me and said, "Sure". She shrugged, and turned back to the show on HGTV she was watching.
Sidebar... so, I think every show on HGTV could be called "Here's a Renovation You Cannot Afford on a House That You Could Never Afford, But Check Out This New Deck... Loser".
Here's the challenge... As far as Disney animation goes, there are 50 animation and 9 animation/live action combination films that have been theatrically released, and one coming up this July. The task is to, from now until the end of December, watch all 59 films in question. Truthfully, as big of a Disney fan as I am, I am kind of ashamed as to how many I've not seen, or cannot remember, but its time to catch up. Also, the ones I've already seen, like the film that ranks 20th on The Dave100, "Beauty & the Beast", and #86, "Hercules", will have to be re-watched this year as well.
Do the math, and you see 50 + 9 + 1 = 60... but "Song of the South" is the one that will be remiss. Its not available for purchase, for rental or really easily accessible. And from reports, they aren't going to release it anytime soon, though its not a completely out of the question topic.
On November 15th, 2010, Disney creative director Dave Bossert stated in an interview, “I can say there’s been a lot of internal discussion about 'Song of the South'. And at some point we’re going to do something about it. I don’t know when, but we will. We know we want people to see 'Song of the South' because we realize it’s a big piece of company history, and we want to do it the right way."
So here is a list of films that we have to watch this year, broken up into a few categories (note: some films were released at the end of one year in limited markets, one to have a wide release in next... the wide release year is what is listed)
Its also worth nothing that the first six films listed under the first category I've given were called "package films". The Disney Animated Studios had a string of box office disappointments like "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia", and was heavily in debt. They signed a horrible contract with the US Government to make educational and propaganda films during WWII, and each one continued to add to their debt. The package films were quick-drawn animation, small cartoons and featurettes shoved together to make full length features to get released to theaters quickly.
Films That I Have Never Seen (and look forward to watching):
Saludos Amigos (1943)... this and the sequel, "Three Caballeros" were made after Walt Disney spent time in Latin America. Because Brazil and Nazi Germany had close ties, Disney was sent as a goodwill ambassador because of the popularity of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Three Caballeros (1945)
Make Mine Music (1946)... There are six segments in this movie, some of which were unfinished or unused pieces that was to be added on to "Fantasia", but was inevitably not used for that because of budget problems during the war. Features "Casey at the Bat" and "Peter & the Wolf"
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)... contains "Bongo" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk"
Melody Time (1948)... contains seven animated segments, including "The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" and "Pecos Bill"
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)... contains "The Wind in the Willows" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
The Rescuers (1977)
The Black Cauldron (1985)
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
The Rescuers Down Under (1989)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Films I Have Never Seen (and don't really want to, but will for the purpose of this task)
Dinosaur (2000)... Did you know that the Animal Kingdom ride Dinosaur was originally called "Countdown to Extinction", and it was a direct result of this movie? The movie didn't fare well at the box office, but its the first animated film to be done entirely in CGI--so its a milestone.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Treasure Planet (2002)
Brother Bear (2003)... I hate to say it, but there is nothing appealing about this movie to me. I might change my mind after I see it, but out of all 59 movies, its the one I'm least looking forward to.
Films I Have Seen (and look forward to watching again, because its been a long, long time)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938)
Pinocchio (1940)
Fantasia (1940)
Dumbo (1941)
Bambi (1942)
Cinderella (1950)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
The Jungle Book (1967)
The Aristocats (1970)
Robin Hood (1973)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Mulan (1998)
Tarzan (1999)
Fantasia 2000 (2000)
Films I Have Seen (but don't look forward to seeing again... but will)
The Fox and the Hound (1981)... I think I sorta liked it when I saw it 10 years ago, but I dunno if I want to see it again.
Oliver and Company (1988)... Saw this movie during the final days of The Happiest Place in the Mall. Wow, is it dated. And terrible.
Pocahontas (1995)... Also a terrible movie.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)... Also a terrible movie.
Home on the Range (2004)... Also a terrible movie.
Chicken Little (2005)... A movie that isn't bad, but history has not looked fondly upon this film.
Films I Have Seen Recently (and look forward to watching again)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)... this movie is really, really weird.
Peter Pan (1953)... I dozed halfway through it.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Aladdin (1992)
The Lion King (1994)
Hercules (1997)
Lilo & Stitch (2002)... Can you believe Stitch is less than 10 years old?
Bolt (2008)... The hamster Rhino will go down as one of my all time favorite Disney characters.
Upcoming this July? The new film "Winnie the Pooh".
Says Wikipedia:Based upon the characters of the children's books Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne and Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, Winnie the Pooh will feature five previously unadapted stories from the original books. It will be produced in the same style as previous Disney-produced Winnie the Pooh featurettes such as Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. Although this will be the second Winnie-the-Pooh feature made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, it will be the first one to not be a collection of previously-released shorts like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Disney exec (and Pixar pioneer) John Lasseter has said (paraphrasing) that Pooh, Tigger and the gang are characters that have been pigeonholed to toddlers characters, and we want to do a movie that gives Pooh back to all of us.
And I'm excited.
Also, looking at the live action/animated combination films, I mentioned not being able to see "Song of the South", but I've also never seen "The Reluctant Dragon" (1941), "So Dear To My Heart" (1949) and remarkably, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971). I have not only never seen "Victory Through the Air" (1943), I'd never even heard of it until about four hours ago, when the biography was discussing The Disney Animation Studio's struggles with the US Government, and how they released propaganda films one after the other, much to Walt's dismay. It was deemed too offensive to Germans and Japanese (this was WWII, remember), but was finally released on home video in 2004, so hopefully I can find it, at least on Netflix.
I've seen "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Mary Poppins", and can't wait to see them again, and I love love love "Enchanted", the 63rd ranked film on The Dave100, starring Amy Adams (whom I'm in love with), so I can watch it anytime. As far as "Pete's Dragon" goes? Man, I hated that movie when I saw it. But, I'm sure we'll see it again... though I might stab a candle in my own ear during "Candle On the Water".
Now, there are a number of Disney films that aren't included on this list, like "DuckTales the Movie: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp" (1990), "A Goofy Movie" (1995) and "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" (2005), but those aren't listed in the official "Disney Animated Film Canon", mostly because they are actually from "DisneyToon Studios", movies that are a spin-off from afternoon cartoons and so on.
So... this weekend, I plan to start with "Saludos Amigos", "Three Caballeros" and "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad"... Fifty nine Disney films in one year? Absolutely.
A few weeks ago, The LA Times reported Disney's announcement that they were going to pull back from princess movies for a while. Last year, the excellent "The Princess and the Frog" didn't do nearly as well as expected, and with the onslaught of "tween" popularity (see: Disney Channel's shows featuring Demi, Selena, Jonas and so on), princesses just aren't that big a deal anymore.
Similiarly, when "Sleeping Beauty" came out in 1959, the next thirty years were movies about cats, foxes, dalmations, and Mowgli, when they finally got back on the princess trail with Ariel, and soon after, Belle, Jasmine and so on. And now, Tiana was last year, and Rapunzel will start the princessy hiatus.
And Rapunzel is a great way to go out.
When The Lovely Steph Leann and I finish a movie, I always look at her as the credits roll and say, "Whaddya think?" and she tells me "I loved it!" or "It was cute" or "Eh". Then she asks me what I thought, and my answers are a bit more varied... and this time I said, "It was pretty good." Typically, this means to The Lovely Steph Leann that I didn't like it at all. Not true... I said the same thing about "The Proposal", and ended up really liking that movie quite a bit.
And like "The Proposal", the more I thought about "Tangled", the more I liked it. As pressure to not be princessy built over the year, Disney changed the marketing strategy of this film, even cutting a new trailer that concentrated on the hero, Flynn Rider, more so than the actual subject of the film, that being Rapunzel... but when you see the movie, in the first thirty seconds of the film, Flynn Rider tells you straight up, "This story is not about me...", smashcut to a tall tower where our heroine has been kept locked away. The story is, and has always been, about Rapunzel.
Mandy Moore does the voice, and is vibrant and enthusiastic with it, seemingly realizing that she is one of the select few that can now say she's a Disney Voice. The Steph Leann would kill to have such a line on her own resume. Zachary Levi, from NBC's "Chuck" (and also a Christ Follower, by the way), is energetic and fun as Flynn.
The villian of the movie, Rapunzel's guardian Mother Gothel, is done perfectly by Broadway and television actress Donna Murphy. Gothel kidnaps Rapunzel right at the beginning of the film, as the exposition is told, and locks her away... Gothel is not straight out evil, she's secretly bad, portraying that of a loving and caring mother while preserving her own self interests at Rapunzel's expense... for 18 years.
The music is fun, nothing that stands out like "Circle of Life" or "Strange Things" from Toy Story would be, but still, it kept my toe tapping and The Lovely Steph Leann's head bobbing, and upon another viewing, there's nothing to say that I won't learn the songs soon enough.
What I'm really raving about, however, is the animation. Its absolutely beautiful... its a combination of computer animation and hand drawn animation, and blended together, the colors are stark and subdued, bright and pastel and glorious. All during the movie, I found my self looking at the detailed backgrounds of the woods, the village, the awesome scene where the candles float through the air, and so on.
Anyway, if you like Disney fairy tales, especially ones that are smart, funny, have characters that aren't annoying, and music along the lines of recent films like "Enchanted" and "Princess & the Frog", then dig this film. I don't know that I would go the 3D route, unless you just really want the 3D effects, and in fact, 3D tends to slightly diminish color, so go 2D with it.
You take a story about an ocean, and a fish named Nemo with a gimpy fin. Let him have an extremely overprotective father, let Nemo go missing, and let that father meet up with a short-term memory blue fish named Dory while in the hunt for Nemo.
Then let your main voices be veteran actor Albert Brooks and talk show host, former American Idol failure and America's Favorite Lesbian Ellen DeGeneres.
Toss it all in the hands of Pixar, and you've got a magnificent movie. There is so much to love about "Finding Nemo", but perhaps the thing you have to appreciate, even if you find the story unappealing, is the visual aspects. On HD, its absolutely glorious. The colors are vibrant, the animation is superior, and taking away any Toy Story movies, this might be Pixar's crowning achievement.
As with all Pixar films, I saw this in the theater, then watched it off and on through the years, but I really began to dig and appreciate "Finding Nemo", beyond the normal "Yeah man, I like that film!" earlier this year.
At The Happiest Place in the Mall (RIP), we had this big screen at the back of the store that showed stuff like Hannah Montana previews, Jonas Brother videos, random film clips from "Beauty & the Beast" and "Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" and movie trailers for "G-Force" and the upcoming release of "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" and so on... and we had to play these 30 to 45 minute videos all day.
But...
...every now and again, we'd break the rules. We'd break the rules by popping in a DVD, and sometimes, many times, it was "Finding Nemo", and we'd watch it while we doled out the magic. And we'd quote the lines... and let me tell ya, all of us there, we all knew those lines. We knew those lines..
"You know, for a clown fish, he really isn't that funny" "He touched the butt" "That's a big butt" "Fish are friends, not food" and of course... "Just keep swimming."
On a related note, "Finding Nemo: the Musical" is a must-see show/attraction when I go to Disney World, no question. Sandy Plankton agrees.
Coming to you live from the Courtyard Marriott right by the water here in Pensacola...
Once a month, The Lovely Steph Leann has to come down here for work, and sometimes I come with her too--and tomorrow, we get up early and drive for mid-Florida.
The road trip here was uneventful... she slept for much of it while I drove and caught up on Rush Limbaugh episodes, made good time on the trip. The problem was, we were in a one-way rental from The Ham to here... and they gave us a great little Honda Civic. Except whoever used it before was either one heckuva chain smoker or it had been a "smoker's car" for quite a while. I have emphysema and The Lovely Steph Leann is already showing signs of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but I think we'll be okay. Almost feel like they said "this car stinks... get it off the lot... give to the two people who are dropping it off in Pensacola, they can have it..."
Went to Hemingway's tonight for dinner. We are vacationing starting tomorrow--or tonight, even--with The Lovely Steph Leann's parents, Big Daddy Ron and Mama Ruthless, so we had some seafood. The food was great, as usual, as I ate something called "trigger fish", whatever that is. The calamari is amazing, as they cook it in this honey glaze sauce, and it would have been perfect except for the fact that I had to share it with not only The Lovely Steph Leann but Big Daddy Ron as well. Then she got a slight bit snippy when I got a forkful of her lobster bisque.
Ended up at Wal-Mart. Everyone does.
On the way back to the hotel, there was a slightly larger chick and a dude... well, I only saw them for a few seconds, but it was enough to know that his name was probably Ray or Bubba and her roots were showing through her dye job. Anyway, as we drove up to them, I noticed they were hugging. And then as we were passing by, I saw... a boob. I don't know if she was mad at him and slapped him and he did it on purpose, or he just did it to be funny and she was hitting him in retaliation, but either way, her little blue top slipped down and her left babythirster dropped right out. Saw it only for one single second, but it was enough for me to grimace, throw up in my mouth and shiver. Eew. Like, seriously, eew.
The Cabana is getting an inside paint job. We'll have some people over to the house to do our living room and our kitchen, and let me tell ya, paint is expensive. I'm excited though, because since The Cabana was a spec house, the paint is a flat, dull latex. That means if you just give the wall the stink eye, its going to smear and smudge. We got something called "Duration", which I tested in the store. I drew on it with a magic marker, though not a Sharpie (that would be the ultimate test), and wiped it off with water. But its all still expensive.
We haven't hung anything on our walls yet, in the 29 months we've lived here. I've said over and over, "The Lovely Steph Leann, lets go ahead and hang stuff on the walls now, so if you don't like it, we can take it down, spackle the hole, and hang it elsewhere. When it gets painted for real, it will cover up the mistake." I get the "yeah yeah", which means, "Yes, I know, we should do that, what a great idea my wonderful, good lookin' man!" but we haven't done it. And that means that once stuff goes on the walls this time, its on the wall. Done. I'm not taking it down, I'm not repainting.
One of the worst things a guy can be asked is, "Which color looks better?" Two colors, almost perfectly matched, one a little lighter than the other... my thoughts are simply, "Either way is fine." When a guy says this, he usually means, "Either way is fine." Which means, pick the lighter one, and its okay. Pick the darker one, and its okay. I'll be okay with this or that. You didn't do some outlandish, freakish, gay rainbow color, you did this simple color and whatever you think looks good, go with it.
She forced my hand. Finally, I went with the darker one. And this weekend, the lighter one is being painted on our walls. Ah marriage.
So it's now 10:01pm here at the Pensacola Marriott. The Dave100's 53rd ranked movie is on, and its a good time to crawl into the bed and get some sleep... we'll be up at blue:thirty to head out, down I-10, taking a right at I-75 and a left on the Florida turnpike.
Yes, yes, its hot, I know this. Try to get a report next week...
First of all, thank you to everyone who has been visiting here either daily or at least every few days... I know for those of you who could care less about Idol--and let's face it, there hasn't been a lot to care about this season--its rather boring when all you see is idle Idol chatter when you come here looking for Happy Times stories, maybe a movie review, or even a mention or two of He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected's last week or so... so, thank you.
Secondly... why aren't you a fan on Facebook, eh? If you are reading this on Facebook, you need to go to Clouds to see any video that might be on the site, then search "Clouds in My Coffee" on Facebook and become a fan. Its the right thing, nay, the cool thing to do.
Third, we still aren't done with 2009 yet! In case you missed it (and since I haven't done one of these in a month, you might have!), here's where we've been thusfar:
The 50th Coolest Thing of 2009... "Right Round" by Flo Rida Yes, yes, I know the song is a few years old, and yes, I'd heard it before... but I'd never really taken to it until this year. This year? It's kinda catchy. Silly, a little corny, somewhat stupid, partly annoying and all from a guy who's name is taken from a state with a space in between (I'm guessing "Ken Tucky" and "Oak LaHoma" were on the list. What about Gior Juh? Ha! I got at least 46 more of these), but its use of the term "Benja-min Frank-ah-lins" alone makes me laugh. Its a good work out song. Not that I work out, but if I did...
The 49th Coolest Thing of 2009... "Mother Lover" Well, this is a family show. I keep it Rated PG, every now and again delving into a PG-13 territory, but for the most part, I keep it clean. So, for this spot, I won't bother linking to it, I won't put up pictures, I won't do anything but give a nod to K-Dub and then say four words:
When I found out this video was coming out, I almost peed myself. I was so friggin' excited, as I remember vividly the fabled "Monday Night Wars"--that being the battle between WWE on USA Network and World Championship Wrestling on Turner owned TBS. I was a huge, huge WCW an, having watched it since 1986 or 87 as a kid, when it was called NWA (National Wrestling Alliance", a few years before WCW).
Anyway, I've always been fascinated by the downfall of the WCW in the late 90s, not just as a wrestling fan, but just from a business prospective. You know how when someone gets straight zeroes in college (knew a guy) and you say, "Man, he had to work to fail that badly..."? Well the guys running the WCW seriously had to work to fail this miserably. This was chronicled in my pick for the 18th Coolest Thing of 2006, the book called "The Death of the WCW", and the DVD here is along the same lines.
Its a 3 Disc collection, with two discs devoted to classic WCW matches including stuff like Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. from 1985, the classic Flair vs Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble match from 1989, one of Sting's first matches, that being against Big Van Vader from 1992's Great American Bash, the unintentionally funny Bash at the Beach from 1998 with Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone against Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman, a huge War Games match in 1996 with Sting, Lex Luger, Flair, Arn Anderson, Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and nWo fake Sting. Yeah, exactly.
Oh, and its got a match from 1998's Halloween Havoc between Diamond Dallas Page and one of my favorite wrestlers ever, Goldberg. Goldberg absolutely ruled. Page lost the match after getting hit with a spear AND a jackhammer.
How 'bout that's Michael Buffer ("leeet's get reeeeeeady to ruuuuuuumbuuuuulllll") in the ring, and Tony Schivione on announcing duties. Awesome. By the way, I wanted to do that entrance at my wedding, the one where Goldberg comes out to pyro, and the smoke, and I yell, breath out the smoke, throw the punches and slap myself in the head. The Lovely Steph Leann said no. Party pooper.
But the real gem on this disc is the documentary that follows the origins of the WCW, from the beginning with Jim Crockett Promotions to the infamous "Black Saturday". It took off when Hulk Hogan joined, turning heel (bad guy) for the first time in his career, and the fact that one of the chapters on the DVD menu is titled 'Mistakes Begin', followed by "Vince Russo" says it all. If there is to be any criticism, it would be on the matches themselves... there should have been a little more surrounding each match, perhaps teh lead up to, and the aftermath, not just from bell-ring to pinfall. And really, did we need to see a match between Lance Storm and Booker T? To emphasize how badly things were going for the WCW, they took Booker T, a great wrestler and renamed him "GI Bro". No kidding.
Great DVD.
The 47th Coolest Thing of 2009... Lunch With... It was a good year for reunions. Lunch with Stan McDuffie in the spring of 2009 was great. We graduated together, and hadn't seen the guy since the Samson High reunion of 2002. We met at a BBQ joint in Homewood, and just shared life stories, our pain of what had then-recently happened in Samson and more. It was awesome.
Not to long after that, I met up with Drew Roe, a fraternity brother of mine who also lives here in town. That's the crazy thing about Birmingham... I share a city with so many people that I would love to see more of, but never do. Anyway, we had some lunch, caught up, laughed, did some reminiscing, and had a good time. Promised each other we'd do it again, and hopefully we will.
Met The Official Clouds In My Coffee High School Crush Julie Wise for dinner last April, and that was an absolute hoot. Met up with Barrow, one of the coolest guys I've ever met, and the perfect name for one of my characters in the book I might eventually write. Saw The Official Clouds In My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott at a Chick-fila. Met with both Dayla Ellison and Rebecca Jourdan Samuelson (we'll get to her later) over lunch, two dear, dear friends that I was so excited to see again.
This Spring's goal? To have lunch or dinner with Chris McCall. I'm planning on heading home for a day or two at the end of April, when The Happiest Place in the Mall is finally The Emptiest Place in the Mall, and I'm going to make it a point to find this guy.
The 46th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Princess & the Frog" There's not much more I could add to what I felt about this movie when I wrote about it in December 2009, so here's some thoughts from that post...
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 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.
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".
The 45th Coolest Thing of 2009... JT Wins Survivor
Someone sent me a message last year and said, "Hey, so there's a guy from Samson on Survivor. Do you know him?" Up until then, the only notoriety Samson had recieved was the terrible massacre from... well, I'm not going to say his name, he doesn't deserve a mention. So I did some checking up on Survivor, and what do you know, James Thomas was going to be on the show... James, the little brother of Tammy Thomas, who was a friend of mine in high school and who graduated with me, the same Tammy who scolded me for not snatching up this pretty girl named Stephanie, my friend, who I had brought with me to the 10 year reunion.
And with the country accent, the sly look and the aww-shucks personality, what the heck--JT won the whole shebang. Seriously. Like, holy crap, the kid in whatever elementary school grade when I was a senior won a million bucks on Survivor. I have his picture in my yearbooks!
Anyway, it was a fantastic season of Survivor, and I'm excited that JT is on the equally as stellar current season, the Heroes vs Villians Survivor. And if he wins, or comes close to winning, I'm already planning on going to Samson for the Survivor party this year.
The 44th Coolest Thing of 2009... "Party in the USA" Oh shut up.
The 43th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Blind Side" Just like "The Proposal", this is a movie that the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I thought "The Blind Side" was great when I walked out of the theater, and somewhere down deep, I knew iI was going to like it more and more as time when on.
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.
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 42st Coolest Thing of 2009... Walt Disney World with Ty & The McLeods
Talk about a whirlwind trip... I had a few days on my own, as The Lovely Steph Leann was out of town. I thought, hey, why not go to Disney World? The Lovely Steph Leann wasn't too keen on my going all alone, so I recruited The Honorable Rev'rn Ty Sharpton and Tommy Mc and Amy McL to come with (that's us, there, after being soaked in the Backlot Tour)
We left midday, got there at something like 1am, checked in, slept for just a little while, spent the full day at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, then the next day, walked around Downtown Disney before coming back. Wow it was fast. And tons of fun, because Disney is always better with friends.
The 41nd Coolest Thing of 2009... New Shoes Shoes are those things that you use, but don't realize how good they can be until you find a pair that fits you exactly right. Thus, this:
During our trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth in June, my feet were getting blistered. The Lovely Steph Leann chalked it up to my Lugz that, while comfortable, were just not made for the walking, standing, running and walking more that we were doing for 14 hours per day, four days in a row--the Skecher tennis shoes weren't doing any better. After watching her to go New Balance and spend over a $110 on a pair of shoes (which, all these years in marriage later is almost still unfathomable), I decided it was finally time to get myself a good pair of sneakers. We discussed it, and, still coming to grips about the fact that I might have to spend that much to fit my wide feet into some comfy shoes, I went to a local shop called The Trak Shak.
The guy there wasn't old... but he knew how to size a foot. I told him what I was looking for--a pair of tennis shoes that could be used for three things--running, walking and if needed, playing tennis, if I ever decided to get my chunky tail up and do something. I told him that my problem was my feet were wide, and it was hard to find a good pair of shoes that I liked. He listened, he asked me to walk around and he told me that he could tell from my walk that I tended to walk inward, probably due to lack of good footwear. Long story short (too late?) I came out with a pair of Nikes that fit... perfectly. What size? 9 1/2. I call them my Trailer Shoes. Why? Cause they are "Double wide".
Up next... A "Sweet Thing"... Going where no man, save for over a dozen movies and at least three TV shows, have gone before... and later, more Disney... and even more Disney...
