Halloween II (2009)

I just finished watching Halloween II (2009) crapped out by Rob Zombie.

I must say that I fully agree with the comments on Blockbuster.com where people mention that this movie sucked and how Rob Zombie should stop making movies or someone should stop him if he won't stop. Granted I watched his previous movies because I had to see what they were like, but I could have lived my life without seeing (although would I have known that if I didn't see them) and I won't be bragging to my friends and family about how they have to see these Rob Zombie movies like the Devil's Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses and whatever else he was allowed to film. (I'm not wasting my time to link these movies as you can waste your time to Google them if you want it so badly.)

But back to this movie...truthfully, I would have much rather watched a Barney movie--yes, that purple dinosaur. Most of this movie's story line was weak and not well thought out. I have no idea what the fuck the white horse truly symbolizes because the lame text that was put at the beginning of the movie did nothing to bolster my knowledge. Maybe I missed the "deeper" meaning or maybe I just didn't really care knowing this was just another slasher movie remake. I can't tell you what happened in Halloween (2007) which Zombie made as well. That's how forgettable it was and now this one will follow. To add to how bad the first Zombie Halloween was...after seeing her in Zombie Halloween II and Googling Danielle Harris (who is kind of hot) because she looked like the little girl in some other Halloween movies (which she actually was the little girl), it turns out that Ms. Harris was topless in Zombie's H1. So, if I of all people did not recall her showing her boobs in a movie, the movie has to be overwhelmingly bad and forgettable!

Most of the problem with these movies based on psychopathic human killers, is they make them out to be so indestructible and extremely powerful. Michael Myers is a human male. He is a psychotic killer with mommy issues. He is not immune to bullets, knives, fire, or car crashes and yet he is portrayed as this murderous deity. In Zombie's H2, a supposedly dead Michael survives a pretty destructive vehicle crash at the start of the movie. He tosses 150lb men like they are 5-lb potato sacks. He is weirdly aggressive and noisy in his killings (he never huffed and puffed in the earlier, non-Zombie movies). He lifts and turns over a car, albeit was a Yugo or Rabbit, all by himself. And yet, Michael Myers was just a screwed up 10-yr-old boy when he was committed. I don't know about you but I'd like to be committed if it turns me into a hulking 7-ft tall man but I'd have to keep the Myers-like killing under control.

The Michael Myers of old was eerie and scarier to me. Maybe that's because I was younger when I saw the first few originals. He never walked fast but seemed to always be where the victim was going. This new Michael has a fastidious gait which seemed to me to make him less imposing and threatening. I just wasn't feeling it.

Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis just wasn't the right fit either or maybe it's the direction the character was taken. Donald Pleasence's Dr. Loomis was a truly compassionate and caring man in the original. He wasn't seemingly self-centered as McDowell's portrayal made him out to be. McDowell's Loomis was more like Dr. Phil of today...worried more about how much T.V. time and incoming cash flow can he get.

Anyway, take my advice and pass on this remake. I don't even think I would recommend borrowing it from a friend who already made the mistake of renting/buying it. It's really not worth wasting two hours of your precious time. Trust me!

The Walking Dead

I don't know why but I seem to have a fetish for the "living dead." I've seen many movies and had many dreams of fighting off these predatory brain suckers!

So, there's this show I've been reading about that hasn't even started yet but is getting a whole lot of press is AMC's The Walking Dead. It doesn't premiere until October 2010. I hope it is good and it lasts.

I'm tired of watching and getting invested in shows. Then after an episode or two, the show gets canceled...hell, even after 1, 2 or even 3 seasons. It pisses me off. The problem is if the show is a "hit" then the stupid producers and studio execs want the writers to go off on tangents that probably weren't originally in the "idea bubble" but seemingly allows the show more growth and continuity.

You'd think these stupid asses would figure it out after all the previous mistakes like The Black Donnellys, The Dead Zone, The 4400, Heroes, Kyle XY, Pushing Daisies, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and others.

I watched most of these shows for a season or more and now I am left in limbo because they were suddenly canceled, albeit some deserving, because of the wild story lines they would spin.

Anyway...

In the news 07/28/2010

Saw in the news today (article here while it lasts) about the decisions the judge made on Arizona's illegal immigration law.

A quick thought for me is, SOMETHING needs to be done and until the federal government gets off their kickbacks in the back pockets, why not let the states drum up some enforcement laws?

A second thought comes from reading the article and seeing the following quote:

Critics said it would lead to racial profiling.

If you still believe there ISN'T racial profiling in America, then you should be kicked out of the country along with the illegals. Look, I have brown skin (sometimes dark sometimes light depending on my sun exposure), black hair and non-slanted eyes. That means I'm profiled as Mexican. I've said it before and I'll probably say it a million times more, "Americans only see so many ethnicity categories [especially in Southern states]: White, Black, Asian, and Mexican/Hispanic." If you are German, Jewish, Irish you'd fall under White; Nigerian, African, Ethiopian you'd fall under Black. China, Korea, Japan you'd fall under Asian. Spanish, Columbian, Argentinian you'd fall under Mexican (or "politically correct" Hispanic).

If you doubt me, ride around with me for a day (or less). You can see first-hand how many times I'm "profiled" whether it be driving, walking into a department store, or going to a restaurant. The funny thing is I'm profiled by all other races. I can't tell you how many times I'm spoken Spanish to. Should I feel pissed off that I'm profiled...not by just Whites but also Blacks, Asians and Hispanics.

Hell yeah, I'm pissed off. Everyday! But because of my upbringing in the South by a White dad, I'm just as racial profiling as anyone else...maybe worse! The difference with me is that I make fun of ALL races. I've lived with and am relatives with all backgrounds so I believe I've earned a bit of a right to poke fun or slur the races I'm extremely familiar with because it comes from fact not assumption or fiction! LOL!

Since the federal government doesn't want the states to overstep their "authority," then they should stop worrying about what's going on in other countries and start paying attention to the homeland. It too take time but making the world a better place starts at home. If the U.S. can't solve its own problems, why the hell would we think we could fix the world's.

Ah well, the quick post turned into more of a rant. I just can't stand to read people having sympathies for illegal immigrants. "They just want a better way of life" you say but I say, "Go about it the legal way. If it happens, then good. If not, then it just wasn't meant to be! Things worth having are not easy to come by. If they were, I would have illegally purchased my college degree a long time ago!"

Oh well, it's almost 5 o'clock so it's quitting time! At least there's something to "Woohoo" about.

Email humor 07/27/2010

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'
'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay cheque on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model.

The women won.

Waboba Water Bouncing Ball

While we were in Hawaii, this product could be found at every ABC Store and just about any other beachfront store for $19.99. It can be found here for $9.99 plus s/h. If you know in advance of your beach trip, it might be worth picking it up for cheaper because I'm sure any touristy beach will overcharge for this thing.

I don't know the big deal with this is. It doesn't "bounce" on the water. It's more like a "skip" like when you skip a flat rock across the water's surface but this isn't going to poke an eye or knock teeth out.

Needless to say, we passed on this little gem.

Sony Portable CD player

Saw this little gem in the Friday Fry's ad. There is NO WAY his CD player is still trying to be sold for $29, especially since you can get a 4GB MP3 player for that...or less. This is Sony still thinking highly, very highly, of their products!

I mean it brings back memories but SERIOUSLY?!

Chloe (2009)

Just quickly, in the movie Chloe (2009), Liam Neeson is pissed that his wife, Julianne Moore, had an affair. Once she tells him she slept with another woman (Amanda Seyfried) and explains that she felt unsexy and not knowing how to seduce him, he starts to seductively and deeply kiss her.

So, what do we learn from this?

One - That men can forgive a woman for cheating on them as long as it was with another (preferably hot) woman.

Two - That men also get very aroused at the concept of their woman having sex with another (preferably hot) woman that he doesn't care that she "technically" cheated on him. He's instead thinking that this could work in his favor like in a menage a trois.

So, the movie was okay. It was interesting and slow at times but the partial and full boob shots made it worth my while. About halfway through, you can probably guess part of the plot because it's been done before in some form or fashion.

Amanda's just got some beautiful...eyes...that you could get lost in. At 49, Julianne is still pretty hot and sexy.

Alice Eve

Alice Eve is hot!

I first saw her in She's Out of My League a few weeks ago. She looked familiar in the sense that I'd seen her in another movie before but I couldn't remember which one or if I had even seen it. Maybe it was just a preview or something. After a quick Google, I found that she was in Crossing Over which starred actors like Harrison Ford, Cliff Curtis, Ashley Judd, and Ray Liotta (I'd hyperlink all of them but I think all but Cliff are recognizable names in the movie business although Ford is way old looking and could pass for playing a grandfather these days, Judd still looks pretty damn good, Liotta I did not need to see partially nude and I wish I was forewarned beforehand because he's a nasty looking chubby bastard but he did get to "play" with a NSFW-naked Alice). It's a pity there's not more of this voluptuous beauty...and by that I mean more boob-flashing roles. LOL! In all honesty, I've not been blown away by her acting in the roles she's portrayed so far but throwing in a little boob shot now and then doesn't hurt. Trust me. There are tons of guys that would drop $10 at the theaters just to see boobs. Hell, they drop more than that "at the nudie bar" -- you have to say that in the Al Bundy voice.

So, in honor of Al, his poem..."At the Nudie Bar"

Where the music stinks, and they water the drinks, the nudie bar.
Where the girlies dance in their underpants, the nudie bar.
Where you see their butt, and their trap stays shut, at the nudie bar.

Where you can't touch a breast, but you can cave in a chest, at the nudie bar.
Where you look at a thigh, and blacken an eye, at the nudie bar.
Where the beer gives you gas, but the Bundys kick ass, at the nudie bar.

Where a buck's enough to see their stuff, at the nudie bar.
Where the breasts may be fake but man do they shake, at the nudie bar.
Where you swear like a sailor, and wish you could nail her, at the nudie bar.
Where the cops are at the door, and there's a Kennedy on the floor, at the nudie bar.

Where Christmas is nice, and lap dances are half price, at the nudie bar.
Where you drink down the shooters, and unwrap the hooters, at the nudie bar.
Where eggnogs are plenty, and the girls all twenty, at the nudie bar.

Atlas Shrugged

I posted a bit ago about Atlas Shrugged here. I only say something about it again because on our flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles I noticed the guy in the seat in front of me was reading a paperback of it. He seemed like he was in his mid-to-late 40s.

I ask again, "Why would anyone WANT to read Atlas Shrugged?"

Maybe I didn't enjoy it because I was in high-school but I'm not sure I want to even attempt to test that theory by trying to start reading it again.

The Dole Plantation needs serious help implementing new technologies

 

This is a netbook and TV at the Dole Plantation on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. The funny thing about this is that there were four big, flat-screen TVs like this one with four separate netbooks attached in a similar manner. I didn't understand why they didn't just run four VGA cables from one netbook from a separate room or just one netbook attached to one TV but running a VGA cable to each of the four. I also wonder if they have a way to remotely access each of the netbooks to change the slide show that is displayed or if somone has to get a step ladder and type away on each netbook for changes. By the looks of the way the netbook is facing downwards, I'm thinking the latter.

There will be more photos and a post(s) on our recent trip to O'ahu but I had to get this posted before I forgot about it.

Dallas Summer Musicals at Fair Park presents "Wicked"

The family went to see the musical Wicked this past Sunday, yes it was my asked-for-Father's-Day gift...NOT, but it was the only day we all could go.

Before commenting on the actual performance, I must comment on a few other things to begin with.

First, the parking situation was somewhat atrocious. It's actually despicable that the DSM hasn't become a little more organized after so many years. We usually leave a little earlier than we did this day but we were still 30-45 minutes before the posted start time of 8 p.m. I don't know the exact street but we entered the gate that is down a ways to the right of Music Hall if you are looking at Music Hall from...

interruption...Shit!...hang on...let me look this shit up!

...Okay, our path to Music Hall followed this route Parry Avenue merge to Robert B Cullum Blvd turn left on Grand Avenue then left on S. 2nd Ave. This map will help to visualize.

In the past, we would park in the DSM Guild Parking because the wife was a member but she no longer is. We could have still parked there if she would have remembered her mirror tag but she didn't so we had to park in General Parking. Once we were directed into general parking it was pretty much a free-for-all. Luckily we found a space just before they were all taken up but the rest of the poor suckers were driving around looking for spaces that were not there. The problem is that the parking "guide" just kept funneling the people in without even knowing the place was full. It didn't affect me directly (almost did) but I still felt like they needed a better system of knowing when their parking lot is full so as to not cause a giant cluster fuck of cars driving around for no solution other than to just exit and try the exterior parking areas around Fair Park.

Second, the lack of information and guidance once inside Music Hall and waiting to be able to get seated was unacceptable. I'm not sure if there was some technical issues or what but relaying information to your PAID customers would be a very good thing. It was about 15 minutes until the stated showtime of 8 p.m. when the doors to seating area were still locked. At 10 minutes, then five minutes 'til, the doors were still closed and locked. Right about 8 p.m. there was a somewhat inaudible announcement in regards to the starting of the show. I couldn't hear it on the stairs to the highest seating area, which are for exit only I found, but someone answered my inquiry. They said something about the doors will be opening shortly and to make haste to your seats so the show can [FINALLY] get started. After the mad rush to the seats, the show began without warning (no dimming and brightening of the house lights) at around 8:20 p.m.

Third, intermission. You can't fail at intermission unless you have something like four women's restrooms for something like 500-1000 women needing to use the can at the same time. The downstairs women's restroom had a line down a hall, up the stairs and one more level of stairs up. I'm not sure exactly how many restrooms they have in Musical Hall but I feel like it could do a better job, especially since I bet the Winspear doesn't have this problem (I'm just assuming so if I'm wrong, my apologies). The men's room isn't such an issue. Luckily, I didn't have to use it but it seems that the men that did were in and out in record time compared to their lady counterparts. Anyway, we headed back to our seats earlier than most during intermission because the lines (again not well thought out) for the snack bars were way too long. I was sitting in my seat for at least five minutes when the lights began to dim to dark and the music began to play with Oz characters dancing and singing on stage to start act two. The issue: there were no warnings that the act was about to start. No announcement over the PA and no dimming and brightening of the house lights. I found that kind of rude even though I was already seated. There were people who were still trying to find their seats as the place faded to black. Unacceptable!

Overall the show was pretty awesome. I didn't know the story of the musical. I knew it was loosely based on the Wizard of Oz but that it wasn't the Wizard of Oz the musical...not at all! The stage design, scene changes, costumes...well everything...was eye-catching and cool. I really dug the wizards prop. It was pretty cool to see. Also, the transformation of the monkey to a winged monkey was pretty interesting the way it was done and somewhat freaky.

The story line was very creative, in my virginal opinion. It was an interesting way to spin the stories of the lion, the tin man, the scarecrow, the tornado, the death of the "wicked which," and I guess just all of it. Very creative.

It seems the night we attended that the understudy was performing for the Elphaba lead. She was phenomenal. I don't know if it was just the music fell well within her vocal range or what but she hit the highs, the mids, and the lows without a hitch. Sometimes, her singing resonated in my ears and made me think, "Damn!" After the show, the wife said she heard from a friend that the understudy has apparently been outperforming AND getting better reviews than the lead. I don't know how the lead performs but that's got to not be good news.

Gah-lenda was very good too once I realized that her performance was supposed to be the way she was singing...like the ditzy blonde. I didn't get it at first but then it hit me and I understood. :-) I kept wanting to see that Chenoweth girl.

Fiyero was a pretty good performer. He had a voice, to me, more fitting to the liking of John Travolta's Danny Zuko in Grease. He just had that kind of sound to his singing. The thing that was missing was his chemistry with Elphaba. I didn't feel like he really was all into her as the story stated but that could just be me and not knowing if there is a difference between "movie connection" chemistry and "musical connection" chemistry. I just know that you could see/feel an attraction from the Phantom with Christine in the movie of Phantom of the Opera.

I would definitely recommend seeing this musical (in Dallas until June 27^th if tickets are still available). I'm not a big musical person but the last really good one I saw was Miss Saigon at the Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Texas some 5-10 years ago. I still talk about it on occasion and I will do the same with Wicked.

I didn't know he was in "Licence to Kill"

I was channel surfing today because nothing new was on TV really worth watching. I came across G4 and they were playing the old Bond movie Licence to Kill (which by the way is misspelled unless that's the Brit spelling). Funny thing is I saw two actors that I didn't know were in this movie...but it has been a long while since I've seen it and I can't say this was a "must see" movie for me!

First, can you tell who this is? He's much younger and more thin than he looks these days but he still has the same face, gestures and mannerisms.

That's right. That's Benicio Del Toro. I didn't realize he'd been "around" so long which means he's pretty old now.

The other one is Carey Lowell. Yep, my babe, A.D.A. Jamie Ross from Law & Order. I didn't realize she was old now too.

Don't get me wrong. She's still smoking hot now as she was then. I just lust after my harem girls. I don't really investigate their life history.

Funny thing in the movie though is that she wasn't as attractive when she had her hair down and not slicked back like in the picture (inset). When she slicked her hair, she went from "nice" to "DAMN!"

End transmission of randomness...

Fried Ice Cream at Cafe Brazil

First time I've had it...fried ice cream of any kind, anywhere. It was pretty good!

Two thumbs up!!


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