A Couple Of Movie Reviews

Superman countdown...5 days...8 hours...20 minutes...

I have been in a movie mood the last couple of days. I watched "The Squid and the Whale" on Monday night. It was an excellent movie, but it left you wanting so much more that the end. Laura Linney is absolutely amazing (as she is in everything) and Jeff Daniels was as cold in this movie as he was sill in "Dumb and Dumber." While Jesse Eisenberg proved he is a much better actor than we saw in the dud "Cursed" I found his younger sibling played by Owen Kline is a much more likely break-out kid star. He doesn't have the cuteness of a Dakota Fanning or the charisma of a Corey (You know THE Coreys).
On Tuesday I caught the movie "Everything Is Illuminated." I have been wanting to see it for a while and I am so sorry that it took this long. Humor mixed with real emotion made for a magical movie chemistry. Sometimes the pieces all fit and in Liev Schreiber's directorial debut he makes it happen. Elijah Wood is sometimes over looked as a great actor because of some of his roles as a child, but what he lacked in "Flipper" he more than makes up for in this one.
Wood's co-stars held their own with the seasoned veteran. Boris Leskin played a crabby old man reminiscent of Barnard Hughes as Grandpa in The Lost Boys. And Eugene Hutz who plays the other main character Alex brought charm and grace to a somewhat slapstick role.
On Wednesday night I caught "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," the new Shane Black flick. Black slipped off the map after writing the 4 Lethal Weapon movies. He makes a triumphant return with this well written and perfectly acted flick. Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer play the dynamic duo Harry and Gay Perry. Together they bungle ever twist, turn, and lead in this mystery before stumbling upon the shocking solution. Welcome back Shane Black, I missed you.
And finally "Underworld: Evolution." I honestly was looking forward to this sequel, but following the standard movie sequel rules the acting was worse, the effects were more unrealistic, the plot was too wide open, and the door was left open for a third film. I am not saying that I hated the movie, because I didn't, but Scott Speedman didn't help matters. The role would have been more believable if Dolph Lundgren had been playing the role.

The Squid and the Whale B+
Everything Is Illuminated A
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang B
Underworld: Evolution C-


OUT

A Couple More Pics!

If you'd like to see a few more go to www.flickr.com/photos/lilcree13



enjoy!

C

ATL

I just got from Atlanta and I wanted to share a couple of pictures from the trip. I am going to post a couple and then give you a link to see more on my flickr site.

Here are Kim and Steph on the elevator and Manny at the plate!

Cree

My World Cup Runneth Over

WOW, where to begin. I must first confess my ignorance when it comes to soccer, football, or whatever it is called. I do not apologize for said ignorance, but admitting it is the first step.

With the biggest sporting event in the world just a few hours away I figured I should take a bit of time to discover what it is that makes the world crazy for the game. (That and I figure I will be stuck watching some of it since it will be spilling over into my ESPN and ESPN2 coverage of real sports).

So I did some research. Did you know that rather than stopping the clock for injuries they actually just add time on to the end of the match? Weird huh? And did you know that offsides is the exact opposite for American football than for world football? Yeah in world football a player must be deeper into the attacking area than the player who recieves the ball. That would be like telling Torry Holt that he can't catch the football unless Isaac Bruce has run further down the field than him!

Stupid rules aside there are some things I like about soccer. These guys are the most well trained and durable athletes in the entire world. They run, and run, and then run some more. Seriously, it is like track and field with a ball instead of a baton. I admire that.

Baseball fans can relate to the sport too. If you like a pitcher's duel then a 1-0 soccer match must be a wet dream.

So, who do we root for? Well your home country of course. I mean unless you want to be a total dill-hole. It's the only sport that you can't really bandwagon on. If I were going for Brazil then I should be kicked in the arse. We all know that Brazil won the last World Cup, right? (I actually I just learned this about an hour ago) So me rooting for Brazil would be like all of these nuts out there rooting for the Steelers all of the sudden. It just isn't right.

So, go America. But going is something that they will likely not be doing. Apparently the good ol' USA is stuck in the toughest group. (No that wasn't rigged, really) We have Italy and The Czechs, and Ghana. At least Amercians can make Ghana-ria jokes to pass the time. Either way, America is expected to have a better team this time around, but not make it out of the 1st round. (We made the Quarters last time)

Germany, the host country, is also supposed to be really good. Seeing as they were the runners up last time and have a home pitch (another soccer term) advantage this time, I think they can be deemed favorites. I will not be rooting for Italy who has the most racist fans. Nor Iran who are the villians of the tournament.

And that brings me to the riots. And there will be riots. Detroit take notes. You riot well, but nothing like these fans.

And while 10 million people catch a game or two of the NBA finals this month over 2 billion people will watch The World Cup. (But can they charge 2 million dollars a second for a commercial spot like the Superbowl)

So, my bet is being placed. I am going all Germany all the way. First for Dirk who will win the NBA Championship and then his home country which will take home the World Cup and bragging rights for 4 years.

The Olympics used to be the world's best event to showcase national pride. It has long been replaced by guys who aren't allowed to used their hands. I don't know that I will ever like the sport. But rest assured if America pulls an upset and sneaks into the knock-out round I will be sporting the red, white, and blue.

Favorite Bands of all Time

I always get asked "what's your favorite band?" And often I would say Stone Temple Pilots or Bright Eyes because they seem to be my favorites. But I have never really examined why I felt that way towards these two bands. So, I made myself a little chart and wrote out a long list of my favorite bands. And I came up with 5 categories to grade each band/performer on. Those categories are: Lyrics, Voice, Overall Sound, Live Show, and Listenability at any Time(can I put this cd in at any time of the day and love it)

So, on a 50 point scale, 10 per category, I came up with the list of my favorite bands right now. This is obviosuly likely to change as weird things happen to me; like getting older! But I hope you enjoy checking it out.


1. Bright Eyes (48 Points)
2. Stone Temple Pilots 47 Points)
3. Weezer (45 Points)
4. Nirvana (43 Points)
5. U2 (43 Points)
5. Brand New (42 Points on a curve)
6. Green Day (41 Points)
7. Death Cab For Cutie (41 Points)
8. Lifehouse (40 Points)
9. Saves The Day (38 Points)
10. Eve 6 (37 Points)


I know on an all-time greatest list bands like brand new, saves the day, and eve 6 would not be anywhere near the top...but they mean a lot to me and well, this is my list, right?

If I were ranking the greatest bands of all time my list would look something like this:

1. U2
2. Elvis Presley
3. The Beatles
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Nirvana
6. The Rolling Stones
7. REM
8. Oasis (Yes, that Oasis. Have you seen the GBR numbers?)
9. Black Sabbath
10. Johnny Cash


Let the bickering and arguments begin!


OUT

Things I Hate

Today is a good day, but I figured that it is never a bad time for some negativity so I am doing a list of top 5 things I hate today!

5. The French Open. It is such an annoying tournament. The Americans suck on clay and they are all always booted by the quarters. And the fact that players can over rule the judge on a close call because of a ball mark is annoying. And I hate that it rains every five minutes during the tournament.

4. Buns and Milk. I am mad at both of them right now. Why is it that MY milk always spoils two days early and my bread always goes bad the night before I plan on eating it?

3. Deal Or No Deal. I hate this show...yet if it is on tv I can't take my eyes off of it. My real issue is how they hold things over from one day to the next. It is a very "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" move and it pisses me off. I would be more inclined to watch it if I knew we were going to get to see the conclusion of Bob's run for the money and his family's lucky dance.

2. Days when it half rains and half shines. Either rain or be sunny. When it does both it puts my life in limbo. Will there be a game or won't there? Should I wear a hat or not? Do I need my sunglasses today?

1. Myspace Top 8. I finally broke down and switched to a top 16 since so many people were getting their feelings hurt about not being in my top 8. I even did the unthinkable and bumped one of my friends out b/c I wasn't invited to her wedding. I am still upset about getting dissed, but passive aggressively knocking her from a myspace spot was low down. So now she is perched nicely on my Top 16 and I won't ever use it to "punish" someone again.