Cool Shit 6/20

Sure, it seems like there's been a bunch of Superman movies made, but there have been many more almost made. If you're a Superman fan you will both enjoy and cringe at what almost happened, and if you're not you'll still shake your head in bewilderment at the ideas that drive Hollywood.

It saddens me that the United States can't get its act together enough to hold its own National Pyrotechnic Festival. Thankfully, our neighbor Mexico doesn't hold the same opinion. Check out these photos to see just how much fun we're missing. Here's but a taste...

I'm not one of those people that preach you should stop eating fast food and other gross stuff because you're doing damage to your body, but I do think you should at least know what you're putting into your body. And in the US, sometimes that can he harder than it seems. Take a look at these awesome ingredients that have been banned elsewhere, but are in food in the United States.

The roller coaster ride of the production of World War Z is about to come to an end; unfortunately it seems like it won't be the fun loop de loop we want it to be, if we are to believe this review.

I think I'd like to do what Rick Rubin does. Is there a website, or someone I have to talk to, for that?

And finally, RIP James Gandolfini, a great actor who died yesterday apparently of a heart attack. A lot of people (rightfully so) point to his work in The Sopranos as a career defining performance, but I will always remember him for this one part in True Romance, this look he has after hitting Patricia Arquette, that summed up his character and actions all at once. It's a look of disgust, rage and atonement (looking up, as if to ask God for forgiveness for his actions) and says all you need to know. I wish more actors had this kind of talent.

Links of Interest 3/24

Movies that went wrong. I don’t necessarily agree with the assessment of Waterworld. Sure, it had problems, but a lot of them were caused by a storm that ruined a lot of the sets. You want a bad Costner movie, look to The Postman.

The creator of The Simpsons gets his chance to answer questions.

And here’s another interview – this time with comic book writer Grant Morrison.

Woody Allen wrote a piece for the New Yorker.

I guess today is turning into interview day. Here’s Kevin Smith talking about all sorts of stuff (as he usually does in interviews).

An interesting article debating just how tortuous solitary confinement (in prison) can be. It certainly didn’t help many of the already frazzled minds of the inmates on Oz. And since I learned everything I know about prison on that show (I’m learning how to grow my fingernails really long, just in case) I’ll have to go with torture.

It’s very hip to create a bracket during March Madness, regardless of what the tournament is about. This bracket is for the tournament of meat. I bet you can’t guess the winner before looking!

Good to hear fruit isn’t part of a healthy diet. I don’t know what to do anymore when it comes to eating. Anyway, here are some food experts sharing their opinion about food.

Apparently, there’s a correlation between the stock market and the Billboard music chart. I think the more interesting story is how the guy behind this theory first came up with the idea.

A short article and then slideshow about...nerds? Geeks? I'm not sure we should be labeling them as such like this article tries to.

Links of Interest 3/4

Kevin Smith’s next movie will apparently be about detectives, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.

More on that Greek guy that broke out of prison via helicopter.

Here’s what really happened between Frost and Nixon. It makes me hate the phone call even more.

An interview with food guru Michael Pollan.

And an interview with Sully – that guy that landed the plane in the water:

Want to see a UFO? Travel to some of these places:

Stuff you didn’t know about the sun.

Suppress the First Amendment? Why not?

A look at America’s worst traffic intersections:

Britney’s back! Here’s a review of her current performance:

Authors get rejected all the time. Even the famous ones:

More Movie Trailer Reviews

When I first clicked on this I thought it was a remake of the awesome 1984 movie House with William Katt, and my blood boiled. Luckily, that's not the case. However...

I saw this movie before - when it was called Nothing But Trouble.

Now that was a horror movie.

Getting back to the 2008 House. There's a lot going on in this trailer. First, it is very fortunate for we the viewers that two very attractive couples happened to break down at the same rundown, spooky, may-or-may-not-be-a-figment-of-everyone's-imagination hotel. Second, there is A LOT of things going on at this place, from a creepy innkeeper, demonic graffiti, a guy with a mask and a gun, dead ends and a set of really weird rules written on a tin can (they have to explain that, right? Why the rules aren't scrawled in blood on the wall? Or written in old script in a large tome? Or simply spoken by Fred the butler?)

To top it all off, we find out at the end the house belongs to Michael Madsen. That can be a good or bad thing.

Two more reviews on the flip side...




Before I go further with Zack and Miri make a porno, I think it's important you all know where I stand on Kevin Smith's body of work...

Clerks - Highly overrated. C-
Mallrats - rated pretty much perfectly. C-
Chasing Amy - liked it a lot, except for the ending. A little forced. B+
Dogma - Liked it a lot. A-
Untitled Prince Project - From the stories, probably a masterpeice had it ever seen the light.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Again - Enjoyed it. B
Jersey Girl - Please. Did anyone see this? Incomplete
Clerks II - Not a big Rosario Dawson fan, and not a big fan of the original. Didn't see it.

Now that that's out of the way...I want to like this movie. I think the premise is great too. I just hope the jokes and dialog is real. Chasing Amy, the dialog felt real. Dogma's too, in spite of its fantastic nature. I know this is a trailer, and I'm guessing it's difficult to cut a Kevin Smith movie into a trailer with the amount of dialog he writes (not to mention the subject matter of this one) so I'm holding out hope that it's good. But I do have some reservations.



Holy multiple accents Batman! This is not a good Tom Cruise vehicle. His presence and acting style (not bad, just distinct) betray this movie even in the trailer. Choosing not to go with a German accent is a big err in judgment in my opinion too. They're Nazis - that's about as German as you get. Every Nazi that is portrayed in moviedom has a German accent. Why eliminate that from what is essentially a 100% Nazi movie?

I liked the look of some of the shots, particularly the one of the red flags they use roughly 657 times. And it seems like it's a decent story. I just really think Cruise is miscast.