Movie review: Hotel Rwanda

Totally depressing movie about a horrible place, but completely engrossing. Africa is one place I have no desire to visit and the movie gave me one more reason to leave it off my vacation's list. Don Cheadle gives an Oscar worthy performance and we even get to see one of the great screamers, Nick Nolte too. I felt for the folks in Rwanda and hope the unfortunate souls in Darfur can escape a similar situation that is happening right now. I can understand why world superpowers don't want to jump into every conflict that happens since it could mean a never ending occupation of some sort, but it's a tough pill to swallow for those caught behind enemy lines. I just hope that the people of the totalitarian states rise up against the oppressors and create a democracy for their country.

Too cool

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, gave every fan in attendance on "Fan Appreciation Night" a free American Airlines ticket! Now that's the way you do it!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/04/20/mavericks.plane.tickets.ap/

Great post - a MUST READ

For those that don't already know, I'm a big supporter of the war in Iraq and recommend reading the Mudville Gazette site (http://www.mudvillegazette.com/) daily to get the real scoop from the folks with boots on the ground.

There are great stories and posts all the time, but this one was especially moving: http://abountifullife.blogspot.com/2006/04/coin-its-smaller-aircraft-with-only.html.

All I can say is "thank you" to all those who serve. I have a good deal of regret in my life and one right at the top is not enlisting. I have a family now and one of our children has Down Syndrome, so I thought joining up now would put a great undue strain on our family. I only hope I can relate my gratitude to my country to my daughter Gabrielle and inspire her to join and give something back to our country that has given all of us so much.

Global Warming panic...

I've always been skeptical about the whole global warming theory as any right thinking American would be when told that we are hurting the fragile environment. I believe that the theory is vastly overstated and extremely egotistical to think that we are changing the climate. The Earth has been around a long time and I seriously doubt that we can do any real damage by driving an SUV. I'm currently reading Michael Crichton's State of Fear, great book, and it's full of researched material that he uses to back up his plotline. I understand that the book is a work of fiction, but it's pretty clear that the author did a good deal of research to disprove a number of the popular theories.

Funny that I should come across an article linked to the Drudge Report this morning that backs up Crichton's book and my belief: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/04/09/do0907.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/09/ixworld.html

It shall be interesting to see who's right at least in my lifetime...

More on the immigration issue...

Two more follow up items about the immigration issue - on the Drudge Report this morning was this ludicrous story about banning red, white, and blue in school: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/8439483/detail.html. The school claimed that they didn't just ban the good old US of A's colors, but all nationalities colors since students were using them to taunt each other. How about correcting the behavior instead? Too much to ask?

Another thought is about Mexico re-taking California: http://latino.sscnet.ucla.edu/research/docs/struggle/aztlan.htm. Yes, there are some folks who think that the US should give back what it "stole" from Mexico. If these idiots really think they have a chance, I say bring it on. I believe we would unleash hell as my man Russell Crowe so aptly said on Mexico and then erect a wall that would make the old East Berlin wall look as if it was made out of Lincoln Logs. Heck, if it comes to that, we should push all the way down and turn Mexico into new resort states. I'm sure Florida would appreciate it, ha-ha.

Movie reviews: History of Violence and Street Smart

Both really good movies. History is a great dark drama with superb acting throughout. Really great story. Street Smart is a great throwback to the movies of the 80's starring two great actors: Morgan Freeman and the late Christopher Reeve. Reeve plays a magazine writer who wants to write a piece about a real pimp, Freeman. I won't spoil the plot, but it's well worth picking up.

On a side note, it's cool that everyone remembers Reeve from Superman, but that diminishes his acting chops in other great movies like Deathtrap. I highly recommend picking up Deathtrap because it's one of my favorite dramas and highly entertaining.

What happened to Han Solo?

FORD: 'I HATE THE INTERNET'

One more reason I hate Harrison Ford. This guy can't just be happy with his freaking great life and being an icon to all those Star Wars fans. Here's a carpenter who was pissed that all these other young actors were going into read for Star Wars and he was given the chance of a lifetime. Anytime you see an interview and someone dares to bring up Star Wars, the guy gets mad that he's famous for that movie and not the other films he's done. Wa, wa freaking wa. Shut up Ford and try being happy that you've made your living off of a film that you constantly put down.

Oh, and lose the earring old man. No one's buying it and it makes you look even more creepy especially since you're dating a girl young enough to be your daughter.

Immigration

How funny were the protest marches over the weekend in regards to illegal immigration? How can anyone protest that illegal immigration is a good thing and should continue to be swept under the carpet? Is this the bizzaro world? There is a reason it's called illegal folks. I have no problem with legal immigration, but doing anything less than deporting the illegal immigrants is rewarding bad behavior. As for those who say we simply can't do it since there are too many illegal immigrants here already, I offer the same suggestion that was successfully used by those minutemen on the border. I'd gladly volunteer a weekend or two or three to the INS and help catch and return those who are here illegally. I would also like to see the employers of the illegal immigrants punished harshly as well since they are the true enablers of the current process. Lastly, can we please please please end all government sponsored printing of US documents in any language other than English? I must say that my man Michael Savage said it best when it comes to what should be priorities in our country: borders, language, & culture.

Liberal media...

I love how the left always claims there is no liberal media...um, yeah.

The picture on the left is from an ABC honcho who now claims to be mortified about his blackberry message got out.

Was he mortified that the message got out or that he said it and showed his obvious bias?

Give them back!

Absolutely unbelievable! These peace idiots that were SAVED by the military and blames them for being kidnapped. I say give them back.

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20060323-005/page.asp

Great speech

Tony Blair's first of three speeches is absolutely brilliant: http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page9224.asp

It's a long speech, but extremely well reasoned.

More fallout from the Danish cartoons

I've already written about the whole uproar over the Danish cartoons and Islam, but now they've gone and attacked one of my favorite childhood toys in an attempt to garner hatred of Denmark, the Lego. Yes, Lego, according to that do nothing bunch of idiots at the UN, represents racism since it's Denmark's most famous company and that's where the cartoons came from. What the hell? Lego had NOTHING to do with the cartoons in the first place and now the UN has targeted them as a symbol of intolerance. I just don't get it. Once again the UN has shown it's ignorance to the world. I only wish that US would withdraw from the UN and kick them out of the country for good or at least give the speech Chappelle gave in my favorite bit from his show called "Black Bush". Classic stuff.

Movie reviews...lots to catch up on

The Cave - same as the legendary review of Shark Sandwich - sh!t sandwich

16 Blocks - cool movie - both Willis and Def give great performances that are a refreshing break from the usual cop/bad guy picture and David Morse is becoming quite the go to bad guy these days.

Fun with Dick and Jane - should have been called, let's make a half a$$ed movie that's not funny with big name actors and then throw in over-the-top jabs at corporate America - subtlety is not a word found in the writers' vocabulary.

Million Dollar Baby - great acting, directing, and writing - horrible situation and a discussion movie for the ages. hard to talk about since i don't believe in euthanasia under any circumstance, but it gives an improbable situation to force the question.

Girl Next Door - Great documentary about the adult business. Really a sad story and probably not an exception to the rule for most folks in the business.

About Schmidt - Wonderful acting from the cast and sharp writing. Jack is great in this one. Great focus on what life amounts to in the end.

Coolest sidewalk art ever...

http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7567

Movie review: Doogal

What a piece of crap! It's definitely no Toy Story or Finding Nemo here, just another in a long line of uninspired tripe from Hollywood. The only redeeming quality was the animation, which was decent. More than half of the jokes were directed at the adults in the audience which seems pointless if your target audience is the young skulls full of mush sitting in the theatre seats. I'd be fine if NONE of the jokes were aimed at things only an adult would find funny. That means you Jimmy Fallon - you talentless tripe. Fallon voices the rabbit who plays guitar and is a hippie. Little Fallon had such classic one-liners that referred back to Pulp Fiction and Lord of the Rings. One nice surprise was John Stewart as the bad guy - very well done.

Oscar roundup

Watched the Oscars last night and thought I'd let the world know what I thought:

-I generally like John Stewart, but thought he was less than exemplary at the Oscars. Some of the political jokes worked and I especially liked the slander ad spoofs, but all too often the whole telecast appeared disjointed and odd.

-Clooney, what an ass. I like the guy as an actor and obviously differ with him on politics, but his speech was horrible for two reasons: #1 he completely dissed the other nominees when he claimed that art should not be judged...okay then asshat, why show up at all or why not just give it away on stage or call everyone up to experience it. Stupid. #2 he took his swipe at the rest of America by claiming that he's happy he's out of touch or the mainstream because it's Hollywood that really changes things in this country for the better...Um...I don't think so you pompous ass - but way to go by continuing the separation from the rest of the sane folks who share the planet with you.

-Reese, great classy speech. Loved her performance in Walk the Line and appreciated her thoughtful words during her acceptance speech.

-Crash wins best picture. Like the movie, but felt as if the racist theme was a bludgeon to the head instead of masterfully woven into the story. The acting was first class, but the writing was too heavyhanded.

-Overall, I'd give the Oscars a C+ for the night.

Movie review: Walk the Line

Great film! I'd give it 4 out of 5 starts. I only recently began listening to the late great Johnny Cash after Rick Rubin stripped down his sound and just had him record with just a guitar. Too cool. Joaquin Phoenix did a masterful job in filling the shoes of the Man in Black and Reese was a dream as June. Great story and well acted, not to mention filled with great music.

The Port issue

A good deal has already been said about the UAE port deal and I have read some of the theories on both sides of the issue. A good assessment comes from one of my favorite blogs, Powerline, http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013265.php and offers some interesting thoughts on the issue.

One funny fact was that UAE is already coming and going at JFK in NY and has been for sometime now. For all those worried about the ports should also be questioning the airport security as well if that is truly their concern. My thought is that the left and those on the right who are worried about re-election this year are attempting to get on the "right" side of the issue to couch themselves as concerned about US security.

I don't pretend to understand the whole issue, but there appears to be more than meets the eye.

Movie review: Flightplan & The Island

Flightplan - 2 stars and that's being generous! I love Jodie Foster and like most of her work (Nell being the exception - although to be fair, I've never seen the whole movie), but this one was a stinker. The whole first hour is like pulling teeth before it even sniffs becoming interesting, which lasts for about 15 minutes before moving onto to utterly ridiculous and silly.

The Island - I liked this one. Decent story with great acting from both the principles and role players. I'd give it 4 stars. It doesn't hurt that Scarlett Johannasen is the female lead either gentlemen.

Contract

Is it just me, or do both Ryan Seacrest and Jeff Probst have a deal with Satan? These are two of the luckiest people in the world. Two no talent hacks who were lucky enough to be a hosts on reality shows that have sent their careers to the stratosphere. Ryan Seacrest is clearly the more evil of the two and has guest hosted for both Dick Clark and Larry King. Larry King? Are you kidding me? I know that King is just a frog with suspenders, but he is an icon in our time and for Seacrest to guest host is a tragedy. I can only hope their fall is just around the corner.

Update 03-14-2006 Now Seacrest is dating Teri Hatcher...see?