Beyond the Watchtower

I've Got Issues Episode 2 (Special Double Sized Episode!)

2009-07-06T09:55:00.002-05:00

So, two weeks ago I sat down to do this, and Orientation was happening, and I just got preoccupied, and it didn't happen. Then we got into a third week, and I was still busy with stuff, so now, I bring you the second installment of my top 3 comics of the week. This time with the top 3 of the past 2 weeks. So, let's start it up!

Week of 6/24/09

1. UNCANNY X-MEN/DARK AVENGERS: UTOPIA ONE SHOT - So, up until now the X-Men have been relatively absent from the DARK REIGN event going on over at Marvel. The only real exception to this would be Emma Frost's membership in Norman Osbourne's Cabal. If this is sounding confusing to you, then I would recommend heading over to Wikipedia and search for "Dark Reign". Go to the comics page, and read away. I am very excited to see where this story goes. Also, the art work in there is pretty good. I like it at least. Also, since this is part 1 of the crossover, it does not require the daunting task of going through loads of backstory to start it up, cause that's just how Marvel rolls. Now, if you WANT to go back and find out more, I would recommend it, if only for the sheer enjoyment of seeing where many of these characters come from. If nothing else, look it up on Wikipedia.

2. X-FORCE #16 (MESSIAH WAR FINALE) - The end of the 7 part Messiah War (which is apparently the second part of a trilogy which will shape the X-Men universe) brings closure to the fight to save Hope. Or at least closure to this fight. The Messiah War has been an interesting crossover between Cable and X-Force (the black ops team of the X-Men that Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, put together to do the dirty work the other X-Men can't be seen doing). This one would be hard to get into specifics because it is the end of the story, and won't make sense unless you've been following. But I would highly recommend picking up the trade when it does come out to see how this all went down. On another note, this crossover started on the first day I went to Great Escape to make my very first comic pull, and start my weekly tradition.

3. SECRET WARRIORS #5 - This series is easily in my top 3 ongoing titles right now. This series was started at the beginning of the Dark Reign, and was really just a sweet way to bring in 5 brand new characters. I love everything about this series, from the art, to the writing, to what it brings to the Marvel Universe as a whole. This issue only really showed Nick Fury, and was really (like #4 last month) more set up for a kick ass finale to the first story arc. But the last page, as this series so often does for me, made me get way excited. Simply put, I am having a hard time waiting for next month to see what happens next. In terms of sheer anticipation, this series is like the LOST of comics for me. So, that should put it into perspective.

Week of 7/1/09

1. CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #1 - So, they are bringing back Steve Rogers, eh? I wouldn't really trust anyone to do this, apart from the man who "killed" him. And, in all honesty, the way they are setting this up has me excited. I won't say much because I really think it is worth your 4 bucks to go out and read this one, but this story is introducing an element that is very dear to my heart, thanks largely to LOST. I am excited to see where Brubaker takes this in the future, and he is one of the best writers out there now, so what's in store will totally be awesome.

2. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 8 #26 - This issue starts a new story arc for the Scoobies post Sunnydale. Season 8 has been fantastic, and I was lucky enough to start watching this series after season 8 began, so I had something to look forward to. This issue features a mind teasing last page, which makes me totally excited for next month. This issue deals with the fallout of the previous arc, where Slayers were branded as evil, and Vampires made into the good guys, thanks to a fucking reality show. And I could totally see that happening in our world. Also, this issue brings back a universally loved character from the Buffyverse, not seen for some time, though I won't say who, in case you actually want to read this, so you can find out for yourself.

3. WITCHFINDER #1 - Looks like this is a Dark Horse heavy week. This last issue is the first from a new miniseries by Mike Mignola. He made a little series called HELLBOY and then several spinoffs (BPRD, ABE SAPIEN, LOBSTER JOHNSON). This series is one such spinoff. It centers around Sir Edward Grey, the Witchfinder. He is called in to investigate a series of paranormal murders, and that is reallly all this issue shows. I am really, more than anything, just excited to be jumping on a weekly Mignola title, since the onther series he's had going, were in the middle of story arcs when I first started reading. So, this will hopefully be the first of many readings made possible by this lover of B Movie monsters and fairy tale tropes.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 9

2009-07-05T23:39:00.002-05:00

So, it's been way longer than I've wanted since I did one of these, and I hope it has been longer than you wanted. Also, on Monday, I plan to put out a double "I've Got Issues" for the last 2 weeks. So, here's to hoping that I get on a regular schedule with this stuff. The plan is to drop a "BKteN" on Mondays, and "I've Got Issues" on Thursdays, so we'll see how long I can keep that up. So, let's get into it!

1. TAKING BACK SUNDAY - So, last summer I was able to find a common love for COHEED AND CAMBRIA with some friends, and this summer, I have been able to discover a common love for TAKING BACK SUNDAY. It has been a while since I have listened to them, but hearing them again was totally awesome. Also awesome: having access to a sound system with a microphone so that I can scream along to "Cute Without the 'E' (Cut from the Team)" to an audience of 20 of my favorite people. It was a fun experience. (Bonus points or honerable mention to screaming out "A Decade Under the Influence" at almost 4 in the morning on a drunken return to the apartment.) Also, TBS was the first nonChristian mainstream concert I went to, and it was totes awesome!

2. UP - I had been hearing about this one since it came out, and I had some high expectations for it. And like Batman did for Joker when tested in THE DARK KNIGHT, it didn't disappoint. I can admit to having teared up a few times. The story was very heavy, but at the same time, it gave me so much joy. I really cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Thinking back on it, I think this may be my favorite movie so far this year. This movie was also one of the most original movies I have seen in quite some time, and was a nice breath of fresh air. On another note, this was probably the only time that I felt like seeing the movie in 3D was actually worth it. Probably because it was not a constant case of removing and putting on the glasses, and was instead a fully 3D experience. I even forgot several times that I was seeing it in 3D because I was really immersed in the film.

3. HACK/SLASH - Almost every horror movie ends with one girl having survived the night's terror. Ever wonder what happens next? What she does? Well, look no further. HACK/SLASH is a comic series that adopts such a premise. They put new twists on horror storytelling, and also bring in classic stories (both horror and non). I've been reading through and it is very interesting. Also, it does not hurt that Cassandra Hack (half of the comic's namesake) it totally fricking hott. For a drawing. Anyway, it is a fun read, and has some great Buffyesque humor throughout.

4. THIS AMERICAN LIFE ON SHOWTIME - I've seen 3 episodes of this program now, and I am really enjoying it. The stories are definitely compelling, and it makes me want to follow the series in its audio format. All I can say is that I love Netflix for its streaming shows, which has allowed me to feel like I'm watching it for free.

5. CYANIDE AND HAPPINESS - This is just a hilarious webcomic. They are completely irreverant, and without mercy. It makes me laugh very much. Check it out. explosm.net

6. THE HANGOVER - This may have been the funniest movie I have seen this summer. I was constantly laughing, and left the theater feeling so satisfied. All three of the leads in this one were just perfectly cast, and each did their part to make this movie work perfectly. I had so much fun in this movie. I don't know what else I can really say, except, go see this movie if you have not yet. It is absolutely worth your time. See it with friends. It will make it better. You're welcome.

7. PARTY DOWN - How did STARZ luck out on getting this show? I'm not sure, but I'm glad they did. This show had its first season recently, and it was pretty excellent. The show got better as each episode progressed. The cast is fantastic, and has such a great chemistry with one another throughout. Also, the guest stars in each episode are a riot. Having seen all of VERONICA MARS, it was nice to see most of that cast turn up in roles throughout the season. The show is really funny, and I am sure if you look, you can find someplace to watch it.

8. Y: THE LAST MAN - Yorrick Brown entered into a scenario that could be cliche or overdone, or handled very poorly. In an instant, he became the last man alive on Earth. I have read the first 2 story arcs of this series, and it is pretty awesome. It actually deals with the situation in a way that could be 100% believable. Also, this is a comic series, if you didn't know. It was written and co-created by Brian K. Vaughan, who also has done some work on LOST, co-writing some of my favorite episodes of the series. This series is only 60 issues long. It is also a quick read, even by comic book standards. So, that could be appealing. Oh, also, in addition to Yorrick, there is also Ampersand, Yorrick's pet monkey, who is also a male. The two of them get brought into a search to find out why there are no men left alive, and have much to deal with.

9. THE DOG OF NASHVILLE - What food is perfect for the summer? Hot dogs! Yes, hot dogs. This is a hot dog joint in Nashville off 21st, and it is freaking awesome. I've only eaten there once, but it was delicious. Also, they do 2 for 1s on beer after 5 every day, so that is totally appealing. I want to go back there soon, and have more hot dogs. Yes. Hot dog.

10. 80s BOWLING NIGHT - This would be when a group of people plan to get together an go bowling, and dress like a stereotypical 80s decade person. Bowling is fun, and looking goofy is fun, so this should be a no brainer. I got to do this in celebration of Orientation ending for the summer, and I just had a blast. Some highlights include screaming Creed at the top of our lungs, when we put it on the juke box, and moving back to Alex's home for dancing after. This was an all around fun night. I recommend you get your friends together to do one of these sometime soon.

Here endeth the lesson.

I've Got Issues Episode 1

2009-06-18T00:01:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been some time since my last post. Summer Staff has really been consuming all my time. So, this is a new feature I am going to be doing on the blog, which I hope you will all come to know and love. BKteN is still going to be around, so don't worry aobut that one, but I have been wanting to do for a little while now. Before I launch into it, here is a basic rundown:

Every week I go to the comic book store and drop some money in exchange for entertainment. This happens on Wednesdays, since that's the new comic release day. I will usually have the week's pull read by the end of Wednesday. Every week, on here, I am going to post my 3 favorite issues (in no particular order), and then a little bit about why I liked them and what they are. So, let's get into it!

1. CAPTAIN AMERICA #600 - So, this issue was a big special deal for Marvel. They are in their 70th anniversary, and several of their long running major series are releasing their 600th overall issue. For almost all of these the series will be reverting to its original numbering. Basically, the current run of CAPTAIN AMERICA has gone 51 issues now, but since the series began there has been 600 issues. Anyway, the issue was 100 pagesish long and has some cool ancillary stories, as well as a reprint of an old CAP issue. The overall theme to the series is remembering Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) on the one year anniversary of his assassination. The main story, written by Ed Brubaker sets up where the series is heading (including the return of Steve Rogers). It was just a solid issue, and I very much enjoyed it.

2. BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 - A few months ago DC had a BATMAN storyline that ended with Bruce Wayne dead (well, actually sent into the prehistoric past) and Gotham City was without someone to don the mantle of Batman. Between then and now there was a massive fight over who would be the next Batman, which ended with Dick Grayson (the first Robin) taking it up. This series introduces the new dynamic duo of Dick Grayson as Batman, and Bruce Wayne's son Damien as Robin. This issue was a number 1, so it is all about setting up the story and introducing the new team. Also it ends with an incredibly creepy introduction of a new villain that looks like he could give the Joker a run for his money in creepiness. I will definitely be picking up the next issue.

3. INCOGNITO #4 - Ed Brubaker once again makes the list with his very interesting crime drama/superhero-esque tale. The series is about a supervillain who is placed in witness protection, and gets so bored with his life that he becomes a superhero. He doesn't care about people. He just wants something exciting to do. The series is only limited, and is written solidly. This is definitely a series that I get excited waiting for the upcoming issue, and this one definitely set the stage for some interesting things in the future. One thing that is cool about this series is that the superheroes that already exist in this world are assholes just like the villains, so it is hard to root for either. The story is just compelling and really well paced, so it makes for a tight read.

So, there's my first episode of I'VE GOT ISSUES. I hope you enjoyed it. I will see you soon with another BKteN, as well as some other weekly postings I will be rolling out in the coming weeks.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 8

2009-06-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am again, and I believe it is time for a new list, how about you? No wasting time, let's get into it!

1. Fable 2 - So, I already featured the first game in a previous list, and I finally got around to playing this one. This is the kind of game that I get completely sucked in to because it is so in depth. The extent to which choices affect your actions is totally awesome. First of all, you can choose between being a male or female. You also get a dog that runs around with you in the game and you can teach it tricks and such as the game progresses. It is incredibly fun, and the story ain't bad either. If you decide to run through the main game on its own you could knock it out in a day, no problem. But I ran around and did side missions and such as I went, so it took considerably took longer.

2. Terminator: Salvation - Okay, last summer there was SPEED RACER, which was critically panned but I totally loved it. This summer there is TERMINATOR: SALVATION. I would say I am on a severe Scifi kick right now, but I always love some cool Scifi, and have just been immersed in it lately. This movie is not the best thing I have ever seen. But it is a fun and action-packed. I think that the problem people are having with this is that they expect it to be another JUDGMENT DAY, but it isn't. Who cares? The action is tight. Sam Worthington totally works as the emotional center for the movie, and I am excited to see what else he does in the future. So, I recommend the movie.

3. Rapture - So, there has only been one issue of this limited series, but I really dug it. The story is basically that all the superheroes in the world (avter a massive turf war between themselves over the cities the protect) vanished. One year later, this woman, who was separated from the love of her life exactly one year earier, on the day the heroes vanished, has powers awakened within her. Her choice now is whether to try to find her love or protect the world. But she will clearly try to do both. I am definitely picking up the next issue of this when it drops.

4. Guitar Hero World Tour - So, I am a brand loyalist, meaning that I bought this full band game over ROCK BAND and its sequel. Nothing against those games. I just like GUITAR HERO. The game is fun. I can't get the hang of the drums, but whatever. I still have fun playing with other people, and I can still play the guitar fairly well. It's fun. So, yeah.

5. The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite - Okay, like the name BATTLESTAR GALACTICA will be a major detractor for people watching the incredible series, this comic series unfortunately has the stigma that it was written by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. Now, you all know that I totally enjoy MCR, but this is on another level. The world that Way has created here is full of wonder and he has set up a solid series with this solid arc. The story focuses on a group of adopted children, born under unusual circumstances, and were adopted by a wealthy scientist to "Save the World." I really think that you should check this out. I can lend this out if you want to read it. Just give me the word. Or you can go read it at a bookstore. It is worth buying though.

6. High School Musical 3 - Okay, this is borderline embarassing, but I just saw this movie, and completely loved it. I have watched it three times in the last three days. I totally loved it more than anticipated. And it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me or follows this blog that I enjoy musicals. They did a solid job on this movie. Sure it has cheesey bits, but what musical movie doesn't? Yeah. The cast is stellar, and I have enjoyed it more each time I've watched.

7. The Lonely Island - These guys crack me the hell up. The INCREDIBAD CD is totally solid. The music is both funny and good to listen to. You have probably hear a song or 2 at least of theirs from their viral web status. They were behind the classics "Jizz in My Pants," "Dick in a Box," and "Mother Lovers." It all really boils down to your particular brand of humor, and they totally fit mine.

8. Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk - This was written by Damon Lindeloff. Nuff said for me. If you are unfamiliar with him, he co-created and is one of the show runners for a little show called LOST. So, that is enough for me.

9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Right now I am referring to the movies. I just watched all of these last week, and fell back in love with them. They are quite excellent films, and Peter Jackson totallly deserved the Oscars the movies won. These movies are solid. And at this point, it is one of those movies that if you don't plan to see it, you won't see it. So, yeah.

10. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien - Finally Conan is back on TV, and it is glorious. I would write more about this, but it is coming on right now, and I am just going to go downstairs and watch it. You should be watching too.

That's all I have for this week. Take my recommendations for serious guys. I am serious about them.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 7

2009-05-26T18:25:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Sorry this is somewhat late coming, but we went out of town last week, so I didn't get a chance to write it. So, I'll stop wasting time and get into it.

A QUICK NOTE: I definitely started working on this last week, and just kind of put it off. So, here we go. Enjoy!

1. BATMAN BEGINS - To make up for the complete atrocity that was me forgetting to put this movie in my Summer Blockbuster Special, I am throwing it in this week first. This movie was completely awesome, and it is responsible for my starting to read comics. Now, I will say that I enjoyed comic movies before this came out, but this made me actually want to read comics. Plus I remember that I was excited for this while everyone else was groaning that they were making "another Batman movie." After BATMAN AND ROBIN, who wouldn't have felt that way? Oh yeah: Me! I found an early draft of the script over a year before the movie came out, read it, and knew that if it was in fact the movie they were making (which it was) that it would be an exceptional film. Without this movie, we wouldn't have had THE DARK KNIGHT, and we all know how much less complete my life would be without that movie. In regards to this particular Batman franchise, I throw out the quote to the defining song of our entire generation (if not millennium): "My life would suck without you."

2. STAR TREK - I haven't seen but one episode of the original series, and only one of the films ("Space Seed" and its story sequel THE WRATH OF KHAN). I am talking about JJ Abrams' tour de force summer opening movie. Seriously this movie kicks so much ass. I can easily say that it is my favorite movie to come out so far this year. I had a perfect blend of action and comedy, that didn't really fall into the dramcom category. The casting was perfect. The writing was stellar. Also, I could tell when they were throwing out references to the series past, yet it was still entertaining to me. This is just an all around good flick. If you haven't seen it by now, WTF is wrong with you?

3. LOST - I had planned to write this list up shortly after the season finale, but procrastination got the better of me, so I am writing it now. I really don't know that there is anything I can say to sway anyone for or against this show. If you are going to watch it, you know you will, and if you are going to avoid watching it, I won't change anything. I just love it. The show is phenomenal and has only 17 hours worth of shows left. Let's hope that they truly can give it a send off worthy of kings, or something like that.

4. THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA - Running from issues 25 through 42, this story line took a classic character (Steve Rogers) and the dream he representd (Captain America), and completely revitalized it. Ed Brubaker had been preparing for this since he started writing for the series at issue 1 of the current volume. This development has been touted by some as a means to increase sales, but the stgory moved along such a logical progression of story, and really brought the MARVEL Universe into the state that it is in now. Also, the moment when the new Captain America takes up the mantle means so much more, and resonnates more than the mantle-taking of the new Batman at the end of BATTLE FOR THE COWL (I read the last few pages, and it was alright, but not as good as this.)

5. INCOGNITO - Continuing my Ed Brubaker love fest is this miniseries Brubaker is making through MARVEL's creater owned imprint ICON. The story centers on a supervillain who is placed in witness protection, and has his powers dampened, after his brother was murdered by the men he once worked with. In the story, the "protagonist" decides to become a superhero just cause he's bored, and it gives him something to do. He feels alive, after finding a way to bypass the power dampening drugs. It's good, violent, sexy stuff. Brubaker knows his crime drama.

6. DAREDEVIL: THE KING OF HELL'S KITCHEN - Writer Brian Michael Bendis turns Daredevil into the new Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen, with Matt Murdock hoping that he can eliminate the crime in his home by lording over it. After some nearly successful assassination attempts by the Yakuza, Murdock sees his mistake and brings in some of his superhero friends to help correct the mistake. But the very nature of Murdock's intentions come into question, creating a new creative direction for this unconventional superhero story.

7. THE BIG BANG THEORY - This is a comdy for nerds, and obviously by nerds. And I love it. It isn't condescending to the culture, either, in the way that HEROES has been for its last 2 seasons. I have seen a good bit of season 1, and I really dig it. Plus Kaley Cuoko is a freaking babe. It is good to see a show that has a dorky guy like me having the chance to get with a super hottie like her. And they know their Nerdology. So, yeah. Give it a chance. I had low expectations for it, but TK brought one of the previous episodes to my attention, and like HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, this is a traditional sitcom that showcases the style's strengths, and lets us see that maybe this style of storytelling doesn't need to be taken out behind the chemical shed after we shotgun a few PBR's and work up the balls to get rid of it.

8. DR. PEPPER CHERRY - This is just a smooth, tasty new spin on an old favorite. I enjoy it much. Just go buy a 12 pack. You're welcome.

9. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR - Fighting as both Russians against the Germans and Americans against the Japanese, 2 different stories from World War II are told. The game is intense and fun. It is also awesome to see blood fly in the air when you shoot people. The game is good fun, though fristrating at times, and could be used as a great stress killer. It's fun, and I enjoy WWII stories. Bad ass.

10. WILL FERRELL HOSTING THE SNL SEASON FINALE - This episode of SNL was totally awesome. I was laughing the whole time. The new Celebrity Jeopardy was as good as the classics, if not better. The Lawrence Welk Show sketch was a riot. And then there was the outrageous scene that was Ferrell essentially skipping out on a bill by recounting when he was in Nam. And he used a massive band to help show it. It's something that is just kind of weird when you see it at first, but thinking back it is pretty stellar.

So, there you go. I will certainly have another one of these up within the next week. Hope summer is going well for you all.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 6: Special Summer Movie Blockbuster Edition

2009-05-07T14:59:00.003-05:00

So, this weekend starts the summer movie season. You may say, "What about WOLVERINE?" Seriously? I hated that so much I am starting my observance a week later. I don't even care. Tonight I am going to see STAR TREK at 7, and so, before I see my first summer movie of the year, I am going to throw together a list of some of my favorite summer movies since I was a freshman in High School. Here's the rundown of it: I will basically put only one movie per year since 2002, with a few years getting a double dip. Also, I am skipping 2005 because there was nothing too mind blowing in the way of blockbusters that year. Sound good to you? Don't care either way. Now, let's go.

1. Spider-man - (2002) This is the year that I fell in love with superhero movies. I saw this one 5 or 6 times in the theater. That record is only matched by RETURN OF THE KING, and trailing behind those was OCEAN'S 11. This movie, though it certainly did get some things wrong, really got the superhero movie formula right. They did make the regrettable mistake of killing one of the most central villains to the mythos in the first movie. They took many liberties with the story. I will say, that it was nowhere near as awful as SPIDER-MAN 3. Looking back on it, it is harder to watch now, but everything about this movie clicked when I first saw it. If nothing else, it started me onto my comics loving path I am on now.

2. The Matrix Reloaded - (2003) Sure this movie was pretty much nonstop explosions, and didn't come close to the original. But, in all honesty, THE MATRIX was such an incredible movie, and the 4 year gap between movies, made expectations way too high. This was seriously a perfect summer movie. It had sex. Kung fu. Gunfights. A bad ass car chase. This was just a killer movie. It is definitely an enjoyable movie, and I really don't see why people feel like the Wachowskis wiped their asses with this movie. It was fun. Get over it.

3. Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - (2003) This is the one that got people into the whole pirate craze. If you claim that you thought pirates were cool before this movie came out, you are probably a liar. I also am not saying that you thought they were lame either. This movie brought pirates into the public awareness. People just didn't think about pirates in general befoe this one. But then Johnny Depp swaggered on screen and changed things forever. Well, maybe not forever. But it definitely made pirates en vogue. And it also got lots of jachasshole guys to start wearing guyliner. So, there's that. But the movie is cool and fun. I mean it combines pirates and zombies. It would have been cool enough to maybe see pirates fight zombies. But no, this took it one step further and had a colonial navy fighting zombie pirates. Yeah.

4. Spider-man 2 - (2004) Now this is the single SPIDER-MAN movie that got everything right. They changed the Doctor Octopus story around some, but I would wager that it was made better. Everything about this movie greatly exceded the original. From the effects and story, right down to the theme song. I mean the first movie had the butt rock team up of Nickelback and Saliva singing "Hero" which I ate up when it came out, but now Chad Kroeger annoys me and thinks he is Jesus and records the same song over and over, so I am over it. This one had Dashboard Confessional's "Vindicated" as its theme. This song wasn't even originally supposed to be the theme, but when the movie execs heard the song Dashboard put together on their comission, they were all, "Shit" and they made it the theme. The movie is just plain awesome. It made the previous movie nearly unwatchable because it improved on it so much, and made its follower completely unwatchable because it just could never live up to its awesomeness.

5. Mission: Impossible III - (2006) This movie came out at exactly the right time for me. I had just gotten into JJ Abrams, and was in the middle of ALIAS when I saw it. It definitely had the same secret agent flair that ALIAS showed me, and it took it up to the next level. I don't care how you feel about Tom Cruise as a person, he rocked the shit out of this movie (and he does so consistently in all his movies in my opinion). Also, it took on the franchise from a different perspective than the previous installments, which made it even better. Each of these M:I movies bring their own style to the table, and this one is definitely my favorite. Seems appropriate that Abrams' directorial debut is on the list that is being composed mere hours before I see his follow up.

6. Clerks II - (2006) I saw this movie right after a huge Kevin Smith bender, so I could get ready for the movie. Make sense? So, anyway, it really makes the list for a couple reasons: 1) I felt I needed a comedy, and this one is both hilarious and poignant. 2) I also did not want to put more than 2 movies to a given year, so I decided to throw this one in. It is definitely hilarious. If you ain't into the vulgarity of Kevin Smith, then this movie ain't for you. But if you can handle mention of and reactions to a donkey show, then this movie may make you laugh and believe in the hope of a seemingly bleak future in customer service.

7. Ocean's 13 - (2007) I'll be honest. I enjoyed OCEAN'S 12. And OCEAN'S 11 is a modern classic in my eyes (though not a summer movie). So, when I say that OCEAN'S 13 is just as good, if not better, than the original, then you can probably see how I mean. If not, whatever. But anyway, this movie works because it got back to where made the first movie cool (Vegas) and had perfected what made the series cool (not quite thug criminals being cocky, and stealing stuff). This movie is a laugh riot for me. I saw it by myself on Father's Day the year it came out, and I was seriously the only person in the theater laughing at times, and the theater looked sold out. I wasn't even embarassed like I can be in such a situation nowadays. This movie is genuinely good, and worth watching.

8. Transformers - (2007) This movie honestly came out of nowhere for me. For me to say I had no interest in seeing it two months before it was released may seem surprising to some of you, the way I love on it now. I mean Michael Bay directed it. MICHAEL BAY. I mean, don't get me wrong, his movies are good for that they are. But for a while I thought that it wasn't for me. Well, I saw more and more previews, and the reviews it was getting weren't that bad, so I took a risk, and absolutely loved it. After it came out on DVD, it became one of my go-to movies for when I was having a rough day, or got a bad grade or just took a test. It made me reallly happy. So, yeah, it kicks ass. And I am so pumped for the sequel.

9. The Incredible Hulk - (2008) I was going to have IRON MAN accompany this movie on the list, but I changed my mind as I was writing it. I just wrote about that one recently, so I want to try to bring something new to the table. (I also thought about THE DARK KNIGHT going on the list because it is fucking awesome and raised the bar impossibly high on superhero movies, but I decided to throw in a couple new flicks for last year.) So, this movie took the previous movie, and wiped the slate clean. Ed Norton is now the not-so-jolly green giant, in his human form, and he does a stand up job. The action sequences are great. The music is great. The movie is great. Also, when he is chatting over instant message with MR BLUE (who I totally thought would end up being Captain America, but was wrong), he does not read anything out loud. I like that they did it that way. I don't read my typing aloud as I do it, and neither do you. Props to the director for getting us to do a little work to make the movie more plausible.

10. Hellboy II: The Golden Army - (2008) So, the last one on the list is another comic book movie. And it is great. I mean, it has a scene where two of its heroes are sitting around talking about love and getting drunk. They drunkenly sing, and share their feelings, which at the time seem profound, but really means nothing. Sort of like an evening I had back in December with Ben and Brett. The movie is directed by Guillermo del Torro, who also did PAN'S LABYRINTH, and he totally brings in his visual flair to making the world of Hellboy a reality. Also, Ron Perlman was made to play Hellboy. He does a tremendous job. I have no complaints. Except that more people have not seen it yet!

So, there we are. I will probably try to throw down some thoughts on STAR TREK when I get home from the movie tonight. Also, next week resumes the usual BKteN. I'm also looking at doing some other lists of sorts, to be rolled out in the coming weeks, so get ready for that.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 5

2009-05-01T15:42:00.002-05:00

Good weekend to you all! So, this is a bit later than I intended on getting this out, but here is the next installment of the BKteN. Also, just to let you know, next week will be a special post, all about summer blockbuster movies. So, without further wasting time, let's get into it!

1. Entourage - This show is totally awesome. It is a show where you are rooting for people with the most inconsequential existence. It is a show where you are cheering for guys to live lives where they just have sex, smoke weed, and from time to time try to make a movie. Its great. I just started watching it again, and I must say that if it did not take me having to act, I would love to be a movie star. It's a show where they let guys be guys, and that's why we love it.

2. Serenity - And you thought my raving over the works of Joss Whedon ended last week. Well, you thought wrong. This movie is the continuation of the short lived series FIREFLY. While the series is great, this movie is wholly exceptional. The story centers on River Tam, a mind reader who was experimented on by the Alliance (which is the central worlds in a system). She was sprung by her brother Simon, and several years later, the Alliance has begun to search for them again. The mystery is about what she found out that would cause the Alliance to come after them so hard. And though these 2 are central characters, they aren't the protagonist. That would be the captain of Serenity, a Firefly-class ship, Malcolm Reynolds. Mal's journey is one from indifference to heroism, and it is the pivot the movie centers on.

3. Spore - From the people who brought you SIM CITY and THE SIMS, comes a game where you create life and a universe. This game friggin rocks. It is a ton of fun to create your creatures and unleach them upon an unsuspecting world. Go play it, and see for yourself. Also, it is addicting as hell. So be prepared for that.

4. Adventureland - This is the recent theatrical outing from SUPERBAD director, Greg Mottola. The film is about a somewhat pretentious college graduate, who is forced to work in a theme park for the summmer. The film is equal parts funny and serious. Both funny and serious have their time to shine in the movie, and both sides are exceptional. It is very much like an 80s movie in this respect. The acting is great. The characters are endearing. Also, Ryan Reynolds plays a serious part. He's not just some goofy one-liner guy. So, that's cool.

5. Role Models - Just saw this movie last week and it was freaking hilarious. For one, it's good to see Seann William Scott play something that isn't Stiffler and do well. Also, Paul Rudd is the leading man, and he does a stand up job as a man who is so bored with his life that he just freaks out on everyone, which eventually leads to him and Seann William Scott being forced into a big brother program for community service. Probably the best part of the movie, however is the medieval role play which serves as a major sub plot. It's awesome.

6. CollegeHumor.com - This site has so much that is entertaining. Funny videos done by the brilliant staff. There have been some really clever ones of late, such as "We Didn't Start the Flame War" (a parody of "We Didn't Start the Fire" about Internet commenting) and "Real Life Twitter" (where one of the staffers walks around NYC yelling out things commonly posted on twitter). They also have the excellent Cute College Girl of the Day (as well as the March Madness equivalent Hottest College Girl). Also, there are articles posted daily, which just adds to the funny.

7. The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance - This excellent concept album by My Chemical Romance which has a very Queen sound, begins with the death of its protagonist and then goes forward from there. I think, at least. It has some sweet music, and I have been listening to it again lately. The CD is about death and hope, and some combination of the two. give it a listen.

8. Secret Invasion - This was the most recent big crossover from MARVEL COMICS. The story was about a race of aliens who can shape shift into humans trying to take over Earth to be the home of their dying race. It is very INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. The story is fun, and it really makes it difficult to trust anyone. It also kick started the DARK REIGN storyline where the bad guys take control, in the guise of the good guys, though it may not be the way you would think as you go into the story.

9. Vanilla Coke - Do they make this anymore? I don't know. At least you can get it at Sonic.

10. Grand Theft Auto IV - This game has been consuming my time this week. I rented it for the weekend, and have been having tons of ufn going on rampages, and just acting a fool in Liberty City. It is totally fun and can bring about much chaos. Also, the story is not too bad either.

Tune in next week for the Summer Blockbuster Edition.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 4

2009-04-22T09:52:00.005-05:00

Greetings to you all! Hope you're having lovely weeks. It is time for another instalment of my immensely popular web phenomenon known as the BKteN! So, let's get into it!

1. Observe and Report - So, I saw this last night, and it is probably the funniest movie I have seen this year. It is the second film from Jody Hill, director and co-writer of THE FOOT FIST WAY and co-creator of EASTBOUND AND DOWN. Unlike his other work, this movie actually leaves you feeling pretty good about everything as you leave the theater. Whereas the delusions of Danny R. McBride's characters in FOOT FIST and EASTBOUND are because he thinks the world owes him something and he is how shit, in this, Seth Rogen's mall cop just sees himself as having a higher purpose in the world, as a mall cop. It is totally hilarious too. This one is totally worth the 6.50 to 10 dollars you will probably have to pay for a viewing. Hell, I'd even see it again if anyone wants some company at the theater.

2. Guitar Hero II - This is the game that got me into the GUITAR HERO series. The songs are probably some of the best they have ever had, and the learning curve is actually pretty rational, for the most part. There are definitely songs that give me trouble, but it is not like going from giving someone stitches, to preforming brain surgery when you up the difficulty from medium to hard. Some of my favorite tracks include: CARRY ON WAYWARD SON (Kansas), DEAD! (My Chemical Romance), and TONIGHT I'M GONNA ROCK YOU TONIGHT (Spinal Tap).

3. Mello Yellow Melon - This drink defined my freshman year of high school. Okay, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and OCEAN'S 11 defined that year, but this drink was my Constant. It was probably one of the best limited time drinks I have ever had. But they only had it for one year, and then it was gone again. And I will forever have a melon shaped hole in my heard. Thank's alot fuckers. Unless of course, you are planning to release it again, in which case, you are definitely not fuckers.

4. Iron Man - I am talking about the movie, obviously. It started off the summer movie season perfectly last year, causing Robert Downey, Jr. to be bankable. The story was great. The effects were a beautiful mesh of real life and CG, that is hard to differentiate between, and the cast is top notch. In addition to Mr. Downey, Jr. there was Gwynneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard (replaced by Don Cheadle in the sequel), and Jeff Bridges. Yeah. That's right. The Dude definitely made his presence known. If you have not seen this movie, and claim to like movies, you are lying to yourself. Go rent it, or buy it even, and do yourself a favor.

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Working backwards from most recent show to his first, I have now covered all of the television programs created by Joss Whedon. It is hard to call it my favorite because all of his shows definitely bring something different and exciting to the table, and this one is no exception. It is full of brilliant moments. And I will totally admit to coming to tears multiple times, especially in the 7th season, because I was so excited that I couldn't react any other way. The characters show real growth through the series, and the end is 100% satisfying. Sure it is 7 seasons long, but it is totally worth the ride. Season 1 is sort of rough because it is so low budget, but I found myself genuinely surprised by the first 12 episodes. Season 4 takes a few episodes to find its footing, and is still a little awkward after it finds it. But overall, it is totally worth your time. Plus, seasons 1 through 3 are all on Hulu for free, so why not give it a shot on your spare time. I've already seen the whole series twice, and wouldn't mind another run through if anyone wants company while watching. Watch it. That's an order.

6. Pizza Rolls - This is sort of a place filler, but it is also my favorite snack food. So, I guess it is more like a stomach filler. Sorry, that was tasteless. or overloaded with taste? Yes? No? Anyway, moving on.

7. Alex Maleev - This guy is absolutely one of Marvel's best artists. There is no questioning that. He was a painter before Marvel hired him, and his work in comics should be (and probably is) considered true art. He really knows how to make people look real. Women aren't the typical extreme hourglass shapes like most comic artists render them. Instead they are sexy because they look so real. Also, he is making the switch over to digital production of his art, but the kicker is that it still looks like he is doing it by hand. This guy is a master of his craft. Here's a sample from the upcoming Spider Woman series:
8. Ultimate Spider-Man - Appropriately, I move on to a series written by the man who teams up with Maleev for phenomenal results. They redefined DAREDEVIL with their run. Brian Michael Bendis did this new telling of the wall crawler's life. Marvel created the Ultimate universe for guys like me who came late to the comics game, and had neither the time or money to drop on 50 years of backstory. They took old story lines and reinterpreted them. This series has truly been a joy to read. The only hiccup for me came when they switched artists after over 100 issues drawn by the former. But I finally gave in, and kept going with the series, and I still dig it. This is Bendis at almost the top of his game (with the top being DAREDEVIL).

9. How I Met Your Mother - This is one of those TV series that will alienate its potentially massive audience by the sheer fact that it is a multi-camera sitcom, and people are just too arrogant to get past a format and see the brilliant story telling. The characters are consistently hilarious, and their relationships with one another is what drives the show. It was described in its first season as "A Love Story in Reverse" because we know that it ultimately takes us to when Ted meets the aforementioned mother. I would call this show the FAMILY GUY of sitcoms because of all the cut away scenes and flashbacks. These, however, differ in that they actually pose relevance to the story of the episodes (and series) and are not just massive non sequiters. The show is worth watching solely based on Neil Patrick Harris' explosively funny turn as uber-womanizer Barney Stinson.

10 Coheed & Cambria - I have been listening to alot of them lately. They are absolutely a band that has shown growth from when they started. The best part of their music (other than the music) is that it all tells one epic story about a universe on the brink of war and destruction. And when you know that it is a story, it makes it even sweeter to listen to. For some, Claudio's Geddy-Lee-type voice is too much to handle. But not for this guy. Their music rockes the shit out.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 3

2009-04-14T01:07:00.004-05:00

So, I'm still going strong with this. Here's 10 more things that I definitely feel kick ass. Unfortunately KICK ASS by Mark Millar ("fucking Mark Millar") won't be on the list because I haven't read it. But anyway, here's this week's 10:

1. The Goon - This is a series that I picked up last week, and am already hooked. First of all, the creator, Eric Powell, is from Lebanon, TN. So, there is hope that a Tennessee kid like myself can make something awesome in comics and get it recognized, which is great. But the writing is top notch. The guy does all of the writing and art for the book. It is about this mob enforcer called The Goon, who is the face of the Labrazio crime family in his city. And oh yeah, there's also zombies and other types of monsters. The book is hilarious, and the stories vastly entertaining. It is totally worth checking out. I have the first 3 trades of it. Props to TK Vincent for turning me on to this series.

2. Angel - So, I have put a Joss Whedon show down for every week I have done this thing, and this week is no exception. Of course, with my use of ANGEL this week, that can mean only one thing for next week's featured Whedon show. Anyway, this show is about a vampire with a soul that is trying to save the world. His major opposition is a shady law firm called Wolfram & Hart, and they are evil, like all lawyers. Anyway, I just finished this series Monday evening, and I was satisfied. Granted I had seen the last scene of the series before I ever even started watching it, so I knew what was coming and was braced for it. Good stuff.

3. Mario Kart Wii - This game is a blast to play with your friends. Especially when you bring in the rule that you have to drink an entire beer during the course of the race, and can only drink if your car is stopped. We totally played this way this weekend, and it was great fun. I recommend it to all of you. If you are of age. And don't intend to drive for real after. And do not live on campus.

4. X-Force - The current iteration of this X-MEN spin off came about as a result of the MESSIAH COMPLEX story. This version of it is essentially a black ops team, whose first mission was to take the fight to the Purifiers. They are a religious sect (formerly led by Rev. William Stryker) who are trying to eradicate the mutant population on Earth. The stories are brutal, and I've only read the first arc, but the artwork there is crazy intense. Very gory. Very sexy. It is upsetting to know that the artist changes with each arc between the awesome Clayton Crain (who did the first 6 issues) and the overly-hyped, not so great Mike Choi. I have to give TK props for turning me onto this series, as well.

5. Fable - Check it out! Another video game! This is one of my favorites and I am super eager to play the sequel. Your character really changes throughout, both physically, and in the way that RPG characters grow. It's just fun.

6. Pibb Xtra - Formerly known as MR. PIBB, this drink is delicious. I mean, I enjoy DR. PEPPER and all, but sometimes it doesn't take another 4 years of schooling to get the desired effect. The drinks are almost identical, but there is some ineffable quality about PIBB that places it near to my heart. Maybe it's that it isn't sold in TN anymore (except in some drink fountains).

7. "Ten Million Slaves" by Otis Taylor - I heard this song because of the trailer for the eagerly anticipated (for me at least) film PUBLIC ENEMIES, and I had to buy it. It's some solid stuff. It's $.99 on iTunes, so why not buy it?

8. The Prestige - This movie is just incredible, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you have not seen it yet. Directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, and David Bowie. If you aren't convinced you should see it by now, then you probably have no soul. Or are an idiot.

9. The Onion News Network - They are the hardest hitting news program out there. They talk about all the important stuff in the world. They were the first to cover whether or not the Beijing Olympics were a trap. They also covered the release of POINT BLANK, a game where you shoot thousands of people in the face at point blank range. Their most important coverage to date, though, has to be about the recall of hollow point bullets that were not hollow points at all, which let to minimal carnage upon kills. Keep up the good work guys!

10. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Don't ask me how, cause I won't tell you. I don't even know how I got to see it, but I did. Oh, wait, this list is supposed to be aobut what's awesome, and not a steaming pile of shit. This movie was a steaming pile of shit. Don't waste your time and money next month. I wanted to like it so bad, but I couldn't. It was worse than GHOST RIDER.

The actual #10. X2: X-Men United - This movie was actually good. I totally enjoyed it. Why the hell couldn't they have done something of the same caliber? Here's the deal: WOLVERINE was so overloaded with characters, that they fucked up their own continuity within the series. X2, on the other hand, was enjoyable, though drags at the end, I'll admit. They gave balance and focus to the characters that needed it, and that's why I liked it.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN Number 2

2009-04-07T15:42:00.003-05:00

So, it's that time again. I'm throwing down some knowledge of what you should all be enjoying. Also, there are many more things, that I am just saving for the right time to put on here. So if you wonder why I neglected something you know I love, it will be forthcoming. Just wait.

1. Self - This is a really tight band who live in Brentwood. They aren't technically together and playing shows anymore, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out their music. It is some really fun stuff. I just randomly decided to listen to one of their CDs yesterday, and I'm loving it. The 2 that I have are SUBLIMINAL PLASTIC MOTIVES and BREAKFAST WITH GIRLS. Oh yeah, and also, they have an entire album that was recorded using only toys. It's totally hip, and most of your friends haven't heard of them, so you can look like you're ahead of the curve.

2. Messiah CompleX - This was a big crossover with the X-Men that happened a couple of years ago, and I just got around to reading recently. It is some solid stuff, and brought a new incarnation of X-FORCE into the fold. Here's the basic lowdown on the story: A couple years before this happened, Marvel laid a massive shakeup on the X-MEN, and mutants in general in the Marvel Universe in the HOUSE OF M story. Basically it ended with the X gene being removed from 99% of all mutants in the world, making the mutants an endangered species. No mutants have been discovered since then, so the population has dwindled. Now, as MESSIAH COMPLEX is starting, a new mutant was born, which is unusual in and of itself, not to mention that when she was born Cerebro exploded. So, now, many different factions are looking for the baby, which has been taken. It's an awesome story, and has set the stage for some really cool developments into the X-MEN world.

3. Battlestar Galactica - I refer here to the 2004 re-imagining of the classic sci-fi show. The show just ended a few weeks ago, and overall I was satisfied in how they wrapped everything up. It is a really intense and compelling character drama, that happens to be set in space. It has been praised by critics as one of the smartest shows on television. It's premise mirrors the original, in that there is a rag-tag fleet of humans looking for a mythical place called "Earth" after their homeworld was destroyed by the very technology they created. It differs in that everything seems very modern, and the search for Earth is really a macguffin to the more important telling of how the characters deal with these situations.

4. Secret Warriors: Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing - I would have to say, for sake of a comparison that would easily translate to those of you who don't read comics regularly, that Jack Bauer is the more real world version of Nick Fury. Nick Fury is the most purely good secret agent in the Marvel Universe. Anyone who has worked on Fury's side, and has been in his trust knows that Nick Fury is always right, and would do anything to safeguard the world. This comic series follows a new, secret team that Fury has assembled that is made up of adolescent superbeings. It is only 3 issues old, so it is not too late to get into it. The series begins with Fury learning that the agency he has worked for for most of his life (S.H.I.E.L.D.) is actually a branch of HYDRA, a terrorist organization Fury knows to be his enemy. The writing is solid here, and the last panel of the most recent issue is keeping me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next one.

5. Pie in the Sky Pizza - I've eaten here several times lately, and I must say, their pizza is reasonably priced, and they have 2 for ones on draft every day until midnight. Let me repeat that EVERY. DAY. UNTIL. MIDNIGHT. Plus the atmosphere is pretty awesome. You're welcome.

6. Firefly - This is a television show that aired on Fox for less than a season, and got cancelled. It is unfortunate that it was hot down so soon because as the show had its plug pulled, it was really getting into a compelling story. The whole concept brings together s sci-fi story in space with the wild west. It is some interesting stuff, and the characters are just awesome. This was my first exposure to Joss Whedon's work, and I have not looked back since.

7. Lucky Number S7evin - This is a totally bad ass movie. It's about gangsters and mistaken identity and so much more. The cast is: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Sir Ben Kingsly, and Morgan Freeman. It is totally legit. It is in my top 5 all-time favorite movies. It is worth the hour and forty minutes it takes to watch.

8. Halo Trilogy - I fucking love these games. And not just for the multiplayer like most people. I really do enjoy the overall story of the campaign mode. Something about it just gets me going. I mean, I can attribute HALO 3 with giving me the inspiration to turn my story into a trilogy, so, yeah. It rocks. Seriously though, I love playing campaign mode with friends, so let's do that sometime.

9. Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! - This show, on Adult Swim, can be taxing, I will full heartedly admit. But irregardless, it is hilarious. The show is equal parts really weird and extremely funny. Some of the stuff they do is just awesome. You should go check it out on www.adultswim.com/video. Just go into comedy and then the title of the show. Make sure to watch Brule's Rules. It's John C. Reilly at his funniest.

10. Cherry Watermelon Coke at Sonic - Sonic has this awesome thing where you can add flavors to your drink, for free. That's right folks, free. And you can add more than one. It is pretty spectacular. And I will say that not everyone is manly enough for the onslaught of flavor inherent in this drink. But I am. And it is delicious.

So, there you are.

Here endeth the lesson.

The BKteN

2009-03-30T14:23:00.003-05:00

So, in an effort to keep myself posting consistently, I've decided that I want to do a weekly list of 10 things that are currently rocking my world. This is in an effort to get all you awesome people following me a chance to become just as awesome as I am by following my advice blindly. And so that your following is not blind, I'll be giving a brief reasoning on why it's on the list. The only rule I am giving myself is that I can't have used it in a previous BKteN list. That means the first few weeks will have literally anything I have loved in my life up for use, and as time progresses, the amount of usable material will diminish. You get the idea? Good.

So, blindly follow me into awesomeness...

1. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: I'm not going to write much on this here. I did a post back in June about why this kicks ass, and also I am getting it on DVD soon, so a movie night will be coming up in April. and what the hell do you have to lose by watching it? It is seriously only 40 minutes.

2. The Immortal Iron Fist: The Last Iron Fist Story: I just read this yesterday afternoon, and let me just tell you, it was 100% worth the time. Its a 6 issue comic story that started the current Iron Fist series. It has the same writer/artist duo as DAREDEVIL (Ed Brubaker and David Aja) plus Matt Fraction. This is totally a series I want to get caught up on quick. This is not the first story about the character, but it is definitely accessable to just pick up and start. It's some good stuff.

3. Dollhouse: Honestly, you need to do yourself a favor and jump on this right now, so that when everyone is trying to get caught up on this show in like 2 years because they hear such good things about it, you can totally be like, "Shit, DOLLHOUSE? I've been watching that (relatively) since it started." If nothing else, go watch the most recent 2 episodes on hulu. They kick started the overall story in a big way, and you really don't need the previous 5 to get the concept. But thost other 5 are great, in my opinion. Plus it is Joss Whedon, and everyhting he does is gold.

4. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: This would be the first comic book story I ever read. Well, the first one I read when I decided I wanted to be a fan. I picked this up after BATMAN BEGINS came out and rocked my world. Frank Miller was at the top of his game in this, and the pacing here is some of the best I've seen. It seriously makes me want to start writing a draft of the script to see if I can't get it made because I think I could pull it off. Seriously, it got me started liking comics, so it's sort of like a gateway drug...but to a relatively healthy (though potentially expensive) addiction.

5. Half-Life 2: This is seriously one of my favorite video games ever. I find myself constantly coming back to play it every few months. I love the setting and the art design. It just all kicks ass. Plus, Gordon Freeman is just some scientist, nerd guy who kicks ass and takes names.

6. The AV Club: This is a totally sweet blog that I have Chase Misenheimer to thank for turning me to. It is run by the same guys who do THE ONION, except it isn't for jokes, and it is all about the entertainment industry. Sure I will disagree with their takes on things from time to time, but I am always looking at the TV CLUB blog on there after all my shows end to see what they have to say. Check it out: avclub.com

7. Jim Gaffigan: He is one of my favorite comedians right now. You should check him out. He talks about food alot, and his signature thing is his Hot Pocket routine. If you do look him up, check out his routine about holiday traditions. Pure brilliance.

8. This Onion Article: I was seriously in tears by the end of the first couple sentenences. It is one of the most clever things I have read over there. Be prepared to be in pain from laughter, and having a little free time because of all the laughing.

9. Amp Energy Drink: This stuff is llike writing fuel for me. When I have an afternoon where all I want to do is write, I will turn on some tunes, down an Amp, and go to town. I don't know much about the energy side cause those drinks never really have that effect on me, but they do get me crazy creative.

10. The Dark Knight: I'm gonna go ahead and throw this one into my first list. It is my all time favorite movie right now. I seriously can't find anything about it I don't like. If you want more of my thoughts aobut it, go back to my posts from last June to see more.

So, there you have it. This will hopefully become a regular thing for me, so I can have something to post every week. Hope y'all are having a good time out there. And comment on whether you think my choices are brilliant, or more closely resemble those of a drunken squirrel.

Here endeth the lesson.

10 Most Anticipated Films of 2009

2009-02-26T12:44:00.005-06:00

I feel like it is safe for me to do this post now, even though we are almost into the 3rd month of 2009. That's basically because there has been nothing I have eagerly anticipated that has come out so far this year. Also, it is a safe time to do this because the first film on this list is coming out next week. The list is going in order of scheduled release (as of now), as opposed to how much I anticipate them by rank. I don't have the time or patience for that right now. Also, the movie has to have an announced release date to make the list. So, without further ado, here are my Most Anticipated Films of 2009:

1. WATCHMEN (3/6/09)
Directed by Zach Snyder, Starring Malin Ackerman, Billy Cudrup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley
First of all, this is one of my favorite books I've ever read. I am rereading it now to get ready for the movie, and I am really picking up on so much more subtext, and just really grasping the world more. I don't know if the movie will be for everyone because the story is so dark, and it is somewhat hard to tell from the previews. It is considerably darker than THE DARK KNIGHT, earning its R rating from what I've heard, but I love the story, and am so pumped to see it on the big screen. Though, after writing that, I feel like I am just shouting the exact same thing everyone else who wants to see this movie is shouting.

2. ADVENTURELAND (3/27/09)
Directed by Greg Mottola, Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Kristen Stewart
The first comedy I really want to see this year. It's about a kid who has to get a job for the summer, and winds up working at an amusement park. His bosses are Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. I love Bill Hader and think he is one of the funniest people around, so any movie where he is strongly featured in the previews immediately draws me to it. Kristen Wiig is also hysterical, and I feel like the two of them play off each other magically. Also, Kristen Stewart is quite attractive, so added bonus.

3. STAR TREK (5/8/09)
Directed by J.J. Abrams, Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, John Cho
Anything J.J. Abrams does is awesome these days, so that is definitely what drew me to this movie. I've never really been a fan of STAR TREK, which is mainly because I have never really committed the time to it. However, everything I have seen and heard about this movie makes me want to see it. I mean, the cast looks phenomenal, and the sci-fi action looks superb, so I am totally going to be there for this.

4. TERMINATOR SALVATION (5/21/09)
Directed by McG, Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anton Yelchin
I like the first two TERMINATOR movies a lot, and the third one was alright, but this looks like something even better. It really only took Christian Bale's involvement for me to get interested in this, and I know I am not alone there. I don't even care about his recently leaked outburst on set, it just means he was that committed to the movie that he flipped out so much. I also love me some sweet sci-fi action, and this looks like it will definitely deliver.

5. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (6/24/09)
Directed by Michael Bay, Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro
I expect nothing of substance in any way here. Like with the first movie, I really am in it to see giant transforming robots blow shit up. And word on the street has it that it will be even more abundant with this movie, so I am ready for some adrenaline charged action. Plus more kick ass robots.

6. PUBLIC ENEMIES (7/1/09)
Directed by Michael Mann, Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum
The only thing I need to know about this (and actually the only thing I do know) is that its a 30s gangster movie directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, so it will kick ass.

7. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (7/17/09)
Directed by David Yates, Starring Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon
This is my second favorite HARRY POTTER book for starters. I am, however, a bit worried about Michael Gambon's increased presence as Dumbledore because I have not warmed up to his portrayal of the part. He is alright, but I just haven't believed him in the part so far, so we will see. Also I am eager to see all the Voldemort flashbacks, and the horcrux storyline.

8. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (8/21/09)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Starring Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novack
Quentin Tarantino was my first favorite director, and this movie looks incredible. From what I have heard it will do for World War II movies what PULP FICTION did for crime drama. I don't know a lot, but the trailer looks sweet.

9. FANTASTIC MR. FOX (11/6/09)
Directed by Wes Anderson, Starring (voices of) George Clooney, Cate Blanchette, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzmann
This is the first animated feature done by Wes Anderson, who is one of my favorite directors. I am very interested to see if his very unique visual feel for live action will translate well into animation. The book is by Roald Dahl, who also did CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, so I am very eager to see this. I do wonder if Anderson will include his typical choice in music for this or do a straight score.

10. SHERLOCK HOLMES (12/25/09)
Directed by Guy Ritchie, Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Guy Ritchie is doing Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey, Jr. as the title sleuth. I am very interested to see if Ritchie's visual flair in his modern crime movies will translate into this period movie. Also, the cast looks to be pretty amazing, in my opinion. Or at least the 3 I am familiar with excite me. So, we will see how it turns out on Christmas.

So, there you are. Some honorable mentions for me are I LOVE YOU, MAN, the Paul Rudd comedy where he is trying to find a best guy friend to be his best man in the wedding because all of his friends are his wife's lady friends; and AVATAR, the new James Cameron sci-fi epic that will be done in 3D, and is having its details kept very secret. So, we'll see how I feel as these come out through the year, starting next week with WATCHMEN.

Here endeth the lesson.

The Year's End

2008-12-26T22:44:00.003-06:00

So, I figured since the year is coming to a close, I would take this opportunity to do a few countdowns. I won't really leave any descriptions with why I selected each item on the list. Just figured it would be something fun for me to do, and for you to read. The only stipulations here being that it had to come out in 2008. Also, similar to my Top 25, these lists are just things I really enjoyed. I am not getting into the technical merits here. So, here. We. Go.

Film:
The Best
Top 10 Movies of 2008
10. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
9. Horton Hears a Who!
8. Burn after Reading
7. WALL-E
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. Tropic Thunder
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Iron Man
2. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Yeah, I'm counting it as a movie)
1. The Dark Knight

The Worst
Worst Movies I Saw in 2008 or Complete Shitstorm:
3. The X-Files: I Want to Believe
1. The Happening
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Music
5 Favorite Albums of 2008
5. Lights - Lights EP
4. Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
3. Katy Perry - One of the Boys
2. Fall Out Boy - Follie a Deux
1. Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.

Television
The 20 Best Episodes of 2008
20. Meet Kevin Johnson - LOST
19. The Economist - LOST
18. Little Minnesota - How I Met Your Mother
17. Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
16. Guess What's Coming to Dinner - Battlestar Galactica
15. The Bracket - How I Met Your Mother
14. Who Pooped the Bed - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
13. Woooo! - How I Met Your Mother
12. Rebound Bro - How I Met Your Mother
11. The Nightman Cometh - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
10. He That Believeth in Me - Battlestar Galactica
9. Mac & Charlie Die - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
8. Intervention - How I Met Your Mother
7. The Shape of Things to Come - LOST
6. The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
5. Cabin Fever - LOST
4. Confirmed Dead - LOST
3. There's No Place Like Home (Parts 1, 2, 3) - LOST
2. Revelations - Battlestar Galactica
1. The Constant - LOST

So, there you have it. I didn't read any books released this year, really. None worth mentioning here, at least. If you disagree with something I said here, let me know. Get angry, and we can argue. So, have a safe and happy New Year's, and I will post more on the flip side.

Also, if you noticed, I changed the name of the blog here so that it will not be too confusing with my book, that I will also be posting on a blog (deliriumcity.blogspot.com) Hope you will check that out.

Here endeth the lesson.

The Architect is Coming

2008-12-02T14:40:00.002-06:00

Greetings everyone!

I return from a long bout of not posting on here to make a big announcement. First, let me apologize for my absence. The semester is getting really busy, but things should be (blood) letting up soon. So, I will try to be more regular. And I will try to post here more often.

So, the announcement.

On January 26, 2009 at 6:00 PM Central Standard Time the first volume of the three part Delirium City Trilogy will be posted on the Internets for the whole world to see. It will be presented in an episodic manner. In a few weeks I will be posting the prelude to the story. Then, for the next year, I will be releasing chapters on a week-by-week basis. There will be 50 chapters, typically spanning about 10-12 pages long, but there will be some "super-sized" chapters along the way.

Delirium City: The Architect is the story of 6 citizens of Delirium City, and the force that is drawing them together. Jack Heart's mother was killed when he was a teenager, and now, at 21 years old, he has started a new job, insomnia, and is in therapy to help him deal with his problem. Frank Fallow runs The Necro District and is searching for something hidden within Delirium City. Audrey King is a student at Delirium City University studying computer programming who comes across a strange file on her friend's computer, shortly before he mysteriously disappears. Dr. Damon Goodwin has begun meeting with a prisoner in Serenity Valley Maximum Security Penitentiary to gain important information, but he is not what he seems. Clarence Henry makes a discovery at a murder investigation that slowly becomes an obsession with a mysterious man and his invention. Solomon Myers is locked away in the Delirium City Sanitarium, by his own choice, and is visited by a mysterious doctor with a hidden agenda.

So, there you are. You can find the story at http://deliriumcity.blogspot.com. The address will move when I have the time and capability to construct a more legit website for it, but for now, I need to get the pressure on myself to tell the story, and finish it.

Here endeth the lesson.

An Explosion of Comedy All Over Your Face (or Fall Follies 2008)

2008-11-03T17:29:00.002-06:00

First I will throw in my obligatory apology that I have been scarcely updating this thing, sort of. That sentence is all you get really. I am not sure who has been keeping up with this much because when I have done my more recent posts, I have gotten little to no feedback whatsoever. So, I will make my promise to do my best to keep up with this thing. I have been busy of late (which many of you know, and the rest of you are about to hear about) with a very large project. I wanted to take some time and fill everyone in on it and all. So, this will be where I do that. My closing thoughts on Fall Follies 2008, and my involvement with it.

Everything started back in April (I think it was then) when I got an email informing me that this year Fall Follies - the SNL type variety show Belmont puts on every Fall - would be introducing an all new role for the show. The writer. In years past the show was written by the actors. This created a very mixed bag of a show, in my opinion. The problem with that formula is that when it came down to it, the actors basically started writing the show in August when school started, and had until mid-October to get everything ready to show. This year, however, with a separate writing staff, it would allow a team of 3 people (plus the director) to get together on a fairly regular basis (in theory) over the summer to begin putting together a cohesive body of work for the actors. So, I became excited over this. I really wanted an experience writing comedy and with a group of people, and this excited me very much. Also, I don't hold my acting skills in very high regard.

So, I applied. Going into the interview I was quite nervous, which is typical of me with interviews. I had met Stephanie, the director, in my interview to do TT. I didn't know her too well when I went into the interview for Follies, so I was nervous as she was the strongest tie I had to the organization. The interview went well enough I thought, and finished my weekend. The next day, the cast and writing staff went up, and lo and behold, I made it. I was so excited! I didn't really know many people in the cast or writing crew (though I had met Ben Smith who was the other person in my TT interview, and would be a fellow writer) so I was excited to learn that we would be having a gathering at Stephanie's apartment to meet everyone involved.

That meeting got me pumped up in a very good way. There were definitely some really awkward bits of not knowing anyone there, but the interactions between everyone were so great, I could tell from that night that it was going to be an awesome show. I feel like I underestimated it.

We started meeting as a writing crew (Stephanie, Ben, Matthew Ross and myself) in May, and we started throwing around ideas for sketches. Just really little things. I was so excited after our gathering at Steph's that I started work on a song parody for "Bohemian Rhapsody" about Belmont. Our little group, though I felt the least a part of, really clicked. We started coming up with some crazy awesome ideas. All of us have different comedic styles, yet we were able to feed off each other and really build up a good number of sketch ideas.

Then came summer staff.

I think I had written maybe 1 or 2 sketches in full before then, but nothing I was incredibly proud of. Summer staff was an incredible experience and through it I really learned how to be a part of a larger group. At the same time, my being around Belmont culture really got my brain going. I started thinking about sketches, and trying to remember my ideas. We couldn't really meet then because Ben, Steph, and myself (Ben and Steph more so) were incredibly busy with orientation stuff. So, when we met again in July, we felt like we were in a crunch.

We started throwing more ideas around, and getting a "theme" for the show. We didn't exactly stick to the theme over all, but it was something to work from. We had about 16 sketches ready to go when school started in late August, and we started meeting twice a week with the cast. The first two weeks or so were spent mainly getting the cast working together and being funny with improv games. Then came out sketches. I had all but 2 or 3 sketches completed to some extent by then, as was the case for almost everyone else who wrote, but that's not important. When we did table reads of the sketches, they got alot of laughs, and I was glad that our humor from the summer extended beyond our little group of writers.

In the end we had about 36 sketches overall to show to our school this past Saturday, 7 of which I wrote. There were 2 that really took a whole mess of work, and there were doubts that my humor would really translate. The others I wrote I was more comfortable with, but these two in particular I was really concerned with. I felt like from the time I wrote them that they were my best work. If you went to the show, they were "Real World: Wright Hall" and "That's What She Said." We all knew "Bohemian Rhapsody" would be a great closing number, and my others had worked well from practice, but RW and TWSS were both full of rapid fire dialogue that had to be worked into a good rhythm, which would be challenging for everyone.

Then, suddenly it was Saturday November 1, and our first show was approaching. It went well enough, though it was a crowd of mainly parents, and our show was made to appeal to students more than anyone. So, when 8 rolled around, and there were still a kink or two in the two sketches, I was somewhat nervous. It wasn't so much for the actors at this point. They had been getting better and better with each run. I was terrified that "That's What She Said" would be lost in translation to everyone, and kill the momentum leading to the end of the show. "Real World" went really well, and I was happy. Then, about 20 minutes later, came the moment of truth, as Chase and Allison took the stage. I stood in anticipation backstage as the first joke came out. And sure enough, people lost it. It was the dirtiest sketch in the show, and it was played up so well by Chase, Allison, Joseph, and Brendon, that it got what I felt were some of the biggest laughs of the night. Maybe I was just proud of it, and that gives me a bias. But I was so happy.

We finished the show, and ran outside to talk to everyone after it was over, and I had one of the top 5 moments of my life right then. All of my friends, and some acquaintances too, all were shaking my hand or hugging me telling me how much they loved it. I felt like my mouth was going to fall off my face, I was smiling so hard. It was incredible. And so many people were raving over "That's What She Said" which could only have made it with the incredible actors who played the parts so well.

But now it is over.

Here's what I have taken form the experience: Sophomore year of High School, I knew I wanted to make movies. Senior year of High School, I knew I wanted to write them. Freshman year of college, I knew I wanted to just write anything and everything I could. On the night of November 1, 2008 I learned that I am SUPPOSED to write. Everything just fell into place. Everyone gave me so much encouragement and support after such a long and demanding experience. I truly and deeply appreciate it. From the bottom of my heart. So, I am out for now. I will try to get back on here next week with another post. Life isn't going to be quite as busy for the moment. Have a great week until then eveyone.

Here endeth the lesson.

I'm Still Here! Promise!

2008-10-12T10:34:00.003-05:00

So, it has been a little while, but here I am. I have been wanting to post for a little bit now, but I have just been kind of busy, and by the time I think about it, I am just very tired. But here I am.

So, here is a general update on everything. First, you know that top 25 I posted a couple months ago? Well, I have been thinking about it, and some of those movies don't belong on that list, and there are others I need to add to it. I may post a revised version sometime soon, but I am not sure.

Currently I am rewatching BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and am nearly finished. I have just a little over one season left. In my second viewing of the entire series, I have gotten the idea that I want to do a few posts telling, from different perspectives, why I like that show so much, and why it is definitely worth checking out. I will probably try to post some video clips as well to help illustrate. That will be increasingly easy because of hulu, but somewhat difficult because they only have seasons 1 and 2 posted. So, we will see. I am going to embark on that once I finish the series though. So, it will be about a week.

In other news, Follies is getting closer and closer, and I am very excited for it. There are some very awesome sketches in there, if I do say so myself. Though I am somewhat biased.

I just made my DVD collection even larger. Maybe I will make a running tally of everything I have in that collection on here. Not sure.

Also, that reading list I was so excited about is just kind of sitting dormant. I mean I finished TWILIGHT but that's about it. School makes me feel busy, and I cannot focus on reading the things that I want. It sucks. Ass.

Also, I am very excited that people are finally coming around to watching DR. HORRIBLE, and that really makes me happy. Trust me, if you have not seen it yet, you are doing yourself a disservice. It's all for free on hulu, so why not check it out? You will laugh, cry, and not feel like you wasted 40ish minutes of your life. I promise.

So, yeah. There is that. I am gonna check out for now, but I will be back soon. Maybe tomorrow, but no promises. I don't want to break it if things do not run as smoothly as I would like. So, we will see.

Until next time.

So say we all. (Trying out some new sign offs. Let's see what sticks.)

Status Update on The Gravemaker

2008-09-07T23:39:00.002-05:00

Hello all! So, right now I am putting off doing homework, because that's just how I roll.

I thought I would give you an update on my project that I talked about a few weeks ago. The one I am referring to is the screenplay I am working on, tentatively titled: THE GRAVEMAKER.

Last Friday in my Shakespeare class, my head kicked into gear, and I completely visualize the opening to this movie, and wrote it down as rapidly as I possibly could. If my vision is able to translate into the film version of it, then it will be a pretty awesome hook for the movie. I can tell you that the opening shots lead into a heist that sets the whole movie into motion.

I can't take credit for this because it was largely inspired by the opening of THE DARK KNIGHT, but I am in no way stealing the opening to that phenomenal movie. It will be my own thing. So yeah, I have the beginning, which is always the hardest part for me, and the rest should hopefully flow into fruition.

If you faithful readers want to help me, and even you not so faithful ones, this week, ask me - frequently - if I have started working the story into screenplay format. I would greatly appreciate that, though it may annoy me if you do it often. In the long run it will pay off. And who knows? You may even get a special thanks in the credits when I make the movie.

So, there you are for now. I am gonna go finish my beer, and work on homework.

You can't stop the signal...

Just a General Update

2008-09-03T21:24:00.003-05:00

Well, I don't think I am going to be continuing City on the Edge. At least not for a while now. I have no idea where I was going with it, but maybe I will sometime in the future and actually put some work into it.

So, yeah, sorry again that I haven't really been keeping up. Since school has started, I've been pretty busy. Yeah, I know, I'm that important. Not impotent. Don't confuse the two. I don't. So, yeah.

If you all would like to hear a bit of irony from my life, here you are:
The week before classes started I had my schedule canceled, and I completely freaked out. My mom and I essentially got into a fight over it. It wasn't good. All that to say, I rushed to get all of my financial aid shit taken care of, and now, a week into the semester, I am just burned out on class. I think it is because this past summer was so incredible, and I had the freedom to do whatever I want, and the things I chose to do with my time were so beyond awesome, that now I wish I still could do those things instead of going to class every day and focusing on things that I really do not know how they will help me in my preferred career field. So that's awesome.

I feel like this is just going to be an amalgam of different thoughts and ideas I have tonight, and have had recently that I want to share. So, here are some of the ideas, phrases, or whatever else I may want to say. Because, hey, its a blog here.

1. I have come up with two new expressions that I am way proud of. One of them is "It's getting thrown around like virginities on prom night." It seems self explanatory to me, but I came up with it. Basically it is to be used when people are overusing something (or at least using it alot). You know, like "That's what she said jokes got thrown around during Summer Staff like virginities on prom night." So there's one.

2. The second is best used in an example. "That tornado ripped through that town like it was an asshole in prison." Or better suited to the recent Olympic climate in the world, "Michael Phelps ripped through swimming records like they were assholes in prison." So there is that.

3. I am reading THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY right now, and I really dig it.

4. I had one of the best weekends over the Labor Day weekend, and it was spent primarily with 2/3 of the other members (excluding myself) of The Killer B's. And there was some time with the other as well.

5. I am fine with where I am in life. I can't change it. I'll have to deal.

6. I need to see THE DARK KNIGHT again. I am serious here. If anyone wants to go with me, call me. I may still go anyway though. I love that movie more than my children. Don't worry, I don't have children. That I know of.

Okay, that's all my rambling for tonight. I will once again make the promise to try to keep up with this thing as best as I can. The best way for me to do that would be to have some comments on my writing or thoughts, so yeah. If you are interested, keep me interested. Goodnight.

You can't stop the signal...

Apology

2008-08-21T22:33:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, or whoever actually reads this regularly.

I wanted to apologize for my lack of updates recently. I just got pretty busy with orientation and such, and have not had tons of time/energy to use on this. I will definitely be keeping things updated more in the future.

I will try to have something new by next Thursday. That's all I can guarantee. But I will for sure get the next episode of City on the Edge of Forever in by then. Until next time.

You can't stop the signal...

City on the Edge of Forever Episode II

2008-08-14T15:00:00.006-05:00

CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER EPISODE II: THE LONG ROAD HOME

I look out over the city I live in, unable to comprehend what was going on. This shouldn't be happening. Not here. Not now. Though I hadn't discounted the possibility of this a long time ago, I still didn't think it would be so soon. A car pulls in front of me, and stops. There she is behind the wheel. Jane.

I raise my hand in acknowledgment of her arrival, and then duck into my car. I grab my messenger bag and throw it over my shoulder. My movement is not as swift as I would like it to be, and I halfway stumble over to her car. What do you expect? Even James Bond would be hard pressed to walk a straight line after nearly an entire liter of vodka.

I duck into the car. She has the heat going. I had hardly even noticed the cold outside until right now. "Good morning miss."

"Wow, you don't mess around. How much did you drink?"

"Enough."

"More than that from your breath. How are you even alive right now?"

"I was just asking myself the same thing."

She put the car into drive, and headed back towards the deserted 12th Street Bridge. We sit in silence for several minutes. My head is still swimming. The city outside rushes past. I can see fires flaring up all around, and some that seem to have been burning for some time. Then without any warning.

"Woah, stop the car."

She eyes me suspiciously for less than a second, and then pulls to the side of the road. I stumble out of the car, and then drop to my knees.

The next several minutes pass in something of a blur. I know what is happening but it never really registers in my head. My mind drifts to other places. Namely last night. The whole reason for this bender.

It ends just as suddenly as it had begun. I cough a couple times, and then spit out the awful taste in my mouth. Like onions and ricotta cheese.

I shake my head and walk back to the car. I am moving slightly more steadily, but not much. I am still in a daze.

"Let's get you back home where you can lay down."

I just mumble back to her. I feel like a zombie right now. My head isn't so much swimming as it is dull. Like everything around me is just dull. Sight. Sounds. Scents. Feeling in general.

As we move further into the city, more rumbles seem to shake the world around me. I think I can hear screams around me, but there is no way I can really know.

My eyes suddenly pop open. I frantically look around. My apartment. My bedroom. I feel like shit. I can hear something from the living room. The TV? "The hell did I get here?"

City on the Edge of Forever Episoide I

2008-08-13T21:06:00.009-05:00

I thought I would write a story through this over the next couple of days. I am not exactly sure how long it will go on, but I do hope you enjoy it! So, here we go. CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER EPISODE I: ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT

A curtain hung over the city, giving it both a silence and an eerily still sensation in those early morning hours. The river glided silently before me. No boats passed along those typically crowded waters. The roads on the bridges unoccupied. It was as if someone had taken a black and white photograph of the city at the exact moment when it looked to be at its most peaceful. If you were paying attention, you may think that something was off. But who was really paying attention? I know I wasn't. Shit, I could have cared less. The night before played over and over again in my mind.

Slowly, I took another drag from the cigarette, and I held my breath.

Wait.

Wait.

When I finally exhaled, the smoke was barely visible. I closed my eyes, and pulled the glass bottle in my other hand up to my lips. Apparently drinking vodka straight out of the bottle at 6 in the morning gives off the impression that you're an alcoholic. Well, by all means, assume everything you like about me from that simple act.

A buzz rose from my pocket.

I retrieved the culprit, and looked into its small screen.

JANE SHEPARD.

Didn't expect that one. For about a second I deliberate whether or not to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hello yourself. Are you alright?"

Shit, I must have been pretty far gone.

"I've been worse."

"Your voice would express otherwise."

"What's up Jane?"

"Well, you seemed like you were determined to go on one hell of a bender last night. And from the sound of it, you damn well succeeded."

"And?"

"I figured I could pick you up if you needed it." She added as an afterthought, "Something weird's going on here. I figured you'd be out of the loop."

Tempting. I raised the bottle to examine its contents. There was barely anything left. You're lucky you don't need to get your stomach pumped, I told myself. I took another quick drag from the cigarette, and then dropped the butt into the bottle. Then I threw them both into the river.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm here. That would probably be for the best."

"Alright, where are you?"

I told her, and took a seat on the hood of my car. She would be about 20 minutes getting here. Leaning back, I looked into the sky. The light of the sun had barely begun to break through the veil of fog and cloud. As I allowed myself to relax muted sounds began to drift towards me.

Screams.

Sounds of metal and concrete ripping themselves violently apart.

Gunshots.

Slowly these noises began to register in my head. Slowly I raised myself back up to look at the city. Paying attention now, I noticed that the fog was not the only source of the veil surrounding the city. Smoke was pouring out of the buildings, wafting silently into the sky. I reached for the phone in my pocket and made a call.

"Jane. What the hell is happening in the city?"

"I'll explain when I get there. I'm just a few minutes away."

As she spoke those words, I saw a flash of light flare up in the center of the city. A guttural roar ripped through me as a followup, and on of the buildings on the waterfront began to cave in on itself. It was like watching a landslide as the building cascaded down into the water. Smoke and debris billowed all around it. From where I was standing, nearly a mile away, I watched as three blocks vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Try to hurry."

She had already hung up.

Or at least that's what I wanted to hope had happened.

Delirium City

2008-08-10T22:21:00.002-05:00

Four years ago, I set out on a journey. I had no idea it would take me this long to follow the path that it created for me. The August before my senior year of high school started, I sat down in a Starbucks in Cool Springs, and wrote the words, "I was born on an air force base in Midwest America." With that, I had something to tell. I shared what I had with people, and I was proud of the work I had been doing. Things were progressing well. I knew that what I was creating would obviously need some work. It definitely had some kinks to work out, but I persisted, just trying to get down this story.

Then, in December, over Christmas break, I hit wall. And I hit it hard.

What I had at the time was amateur. I didn't really feel that way as I was writing it, but looking back, I can see that I was way too caught up in trying to be edgy. I wanted to create a facade of being this darkly contemplative writer. I wanted people to like me. I was not really writing for myself. I had been writing around a specific scene. A scene that only exists in my memories now, but was extremely vivid when I crafted it.

Work stopped for about a year. I moved on to another project for a class. And then I wanted to focus on that story. I worked at expanding the beginnings of something cool I had crafted for my Film as Lit class, but that was beginning to give me problems. I really liked the characters I had created for this movie, but I didn't really know how to make them live.

So, work slowed down on that. Before I had started college, I started reading comics. Mainly in trade paperback form (aka graphic novels though there is a distinction). I got a couple of SIN CITY books that had not been translated into the movie, and I read them. And something clicked. I had wanted to resume work on my original story, but nothing had really brought it back for me. Nothing helped me break through the writer's block. This, however, did it. Like it was something magical.

A series of things I experienced during my freshman year contributed to the story that now started flowing so freely from my fingertips. LOST. ALIAS. The trailer for HALO 3. SIN CITY. All of these things began to shape something in my head that got me genuinely excited. I began talking about it again. My friends would hear me talking about this story, and for all I knew, they probably didn't think about it much.

But I did.

The first thing I did was start reinventing the original characters who would be crucial to the story. THE HERO. SOPHIE KING. I began reshaping ideas I had about the plot. Most things changed completely. One only slightly. THE NECRO DISTRICT. I realized at one point that I had 2 perfectly good lead characters, and 1 supporting character in the project I had done a year before. CLARENCE HENRY. FRANK. ALICE PIERSON. I began to shift things around. Sophie slipped to a supporting role, and her cousin AUDREY KING was brought into the picture. I needed another character to serve as the first gatekeeper for my hero. From that, SOLOMON MYERS was given life. I had one more character I was going to pull from the original drafts, and redefine him, and his purpose. JAMES PRIME.

I was well on my way to something I could be proud of. I began meeting with David Blumberg to potentially add art to my story, like a comic book in my mind. He got me to start thinking outside the norm though. From his meetings emerged four important pieces of the puzzle that is I, HERO. I had a name for my setting. DELIRIUM CITY. I had a surname for a crucial villain. FRANK FALLOW. I had an object to set the story into motion. THE ARCHITECT. And, most importantly, I was able to finally name my hero. JACK HEART.

The puzzle was coming together quite well, and I was getting even more excited.

Two-and-a-half years later, after several rewrites and spells of writer's block, I am making a vow to finish this story. It is difficult knowing everything that heppens later, to write the essential pieces to progress the story, but it has to be done. I have to do this because I feel like it is a story worth telling. If for no reason other than it will provide entertainment to one person. I would be willing to live with that. My deepest hope, however, is that it does that for more. That people become invested in my story, and truly care for the characters.

So, there you are. That is the story, to some degree, of I, HERO. I want to be able to share it with all of you, but it will be hard for me to sit down and work on it sometimes. I would reall appreciate it if you would ask me how it is going, or to talk about it with you, or something. Anything to get my mind on it, and keep me working. If you made it this far, I appreciate your patience. Also, I would appreciate your keeping me accountable in the future with this. That's it for tonight.

You can't stop the signal...

Things Coming out in 2008 I am Pumped For (Part II)

2008-08-06T23:25:00.005-05:00

I feel like I am going to be apologizing a lot for not constantly updatind this thing. That being said, I am sorry for getting a bit behind. This past weekend was Tax Free weekend, and I definitely work in a moderately affordable restaurant attatched to a mall, so it was a somewhat hecktic weekend.

So, that's out of the way, and on to business.

Back when I started this in January, my inaugural post featured a list of 10 things I was pumped for in 2008. I looked back, and saw that there has only been one thing on that list that has yet to come out. So, I figured I would do a new list, for what I have learned about since then, and am super psyched for. So, here we go:

10. Twilight (12/12)

Some of you know that I have recently started to read the TWILIGHT book series. I am three books in, and I am really digging it. It is really good because it has given me a desire to start reading all sorts of stuff. It even inspired me to make a personal reading list (which will probably be a post soon to come). Anyway, though it has gotten me to want to read, I still am passionate about movies. And this one looks promising, if it is anything like the book. The trailer makes it look like that is so. We'll see about that. But it is a really good story. Though, it does occasionally leave me feeling depressed because I am just so damn single. Not the best feeling in the world. Anyway, if you don't know about this, the story is basically about a girl who falls in love with a vampire (who also falls hard for her) and the two begin their relationship. It is cool because Stephanie Meyer created her own vampire mythology, and I am intrigued to see how some of it translated to film. Look out for it!

9. Choke (9/26)

This is the new movie based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuck. The first film, if you don't know, was FIGHT CLUB. The movie did a great job with the source material, and I am intrigued to see how this one turns out. Unfortunately I have not read this book (but it is on my reading list). It sounds promising enough, and the trailer looks pretty good. So, we will see how this one turns out.

8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (12/19)

Wow it looks like everything I am excited for is based on some piece of writing. This is a film based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man, the eponymas Benjamin Button, who ages in reverse. When he was born he was physically like an old man, but the size of a baby, and as he grows older in years, he becomes more youthful. It looks interesting. Another teaming of Brad Pitt and David Fincher. The two have fared very well in their past two outings (FIGHT CLUB and SE7EN), so I want to see this. The trailer looks very eerie, and full of promise.

7. Burn After Reading (9/12)

The newest film from the Coen Brothers looks absolutely hilarious. I am not sure exactly what it is going to be about, but the Coens have only made one movie that I really did not care for (THE LADYKILLERS). I recently went through and watched every one of their movie that I had not seen at that point, and they were all really good. So, this one looks very good. The cast is pretty great as well. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand. Get ready for it!

6. Anberlin: New Surrender (9/30)

Anberlin is one of my favorite bands, easily, and I got pretty excited when I heard they are dropping a new album in September. It has only been about a year and a half since the phenomenal Cities, and so it was sort of surprising to hear that a new one is already coming out. The first track is available for listening to on the band's myspace (myspace.com/anberlin). They know how to rock the shit. Hopefully they will come through Nashville again on their tour for the CD.

5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (11/21)

The 6th HARRY POTTER book was my second favorite of the series, so needless to say I am psyched for the movie. The only thing I am wary about is the fact that it has the same director as the previous installment, and he said that he felt that his cut of OOTP released for theaters was still too long (running at 2 hours it was the shortest of the movies, whereas OOTP was the longest of the books). I was admittedly disappointed with the OOTP film, but I still enjoyed it. Hopefully he keeps this story as close to the book as possible. It will be pretty great to see the story of He Who Must Not Be Named played out on the screen, so get ready!

4. Quantum of Solace (11/07)

Daniel Craig was pretty damn awesome as James Bond in CASINO ROYALE, so it will be exciting to see him continue the role in its direct sequel. The story picks up mere hours after the previous installment ended. The grittier take on the character has really re-invigorated this series. I can honestly say that I never really enjoyed a James Bond movie until CASINO ROYALE. It did for this series what BATMAN BEGINS did for the Batman films. Hopefully this movie will keep up the trend.

3. Fringe (9/09)

JJ Abrams has a new show coming out that starts off on a plane...And it is not a spin-off of LOST. It is supposed to be similar to THE X-FILES in nature. I reall don't know much about it except that the trailer looks freaking awesome and it will be during Fox's new Remote Free TV programming scheme which will cut the commercial time in half, allowing for more richly developed stories. I just hopw it is not a let down. But I trust JJ with a story like this. He is a force ot be reckoned with in Hollywood right now, in my opinion.

2. Heroes Volume 3: Villains (9/22)

I don't know too much about the next installment of Heroes, except that it is supposed to make up for Season 2's lackluster qualities. I was somewhat let down by Volume 2, and it will be nice to see things begin to turn around. I won't say anything about the plot, for those of you who have not seen Season 2 (you're welcome Brett) and also for the sake of you spoiler-phobes. All I can say is that the season premier will be 2 hours long, and I will probably have a few nerd-gasms during it, from what I have heard.

1. Lovedrug: The Sucker Punch Show (10/28)

I just heard about this tonight. My favorite band is coming out with a new CD, 6 days after my birthday. Their last album kicked some major ass, so I am definitely stoked to see how this one is. The first track they have released is pretty frakking awesome. It is on their myspace. The only track on there. (myspace.com/lovedrug) I can't really get enough of those guys. Some people got boners over the new Coldplay album when it came out. Some did the same for Weezer. I will undoubtedly be doing the same with Lovedrug's new disc. Get ready for it. I will probably obsess over this one for a while.

So, there you have it. I am really excited for all of this stuff this year. I will try to post tomorrow, or Friday at the latest. I also got a tumblr page and will be keeping up with that as well. I have put up a couple videos so far. It will hopefully deliver a smattering of things that you will enjoy. So, check that out. http://brandonorman.tumblr.com Until next time.

You can't stop the signal...

My Top 25 Favorite Movies

2008-08-01T18:53:00.000-05:00

Something compelled me to put together a definitive list of my favorite movies I have seen (obviously up until this point in my life). The top 5 were not so hard to come up with (which are actually comprised of my favorite, and then 4 movies tied in second place), but beyond that, it was a little tough ranking these movies. The way I am going to run this down is by putting the movies in ascending order, from 25 to 1, and then put a trailer/clip of the film after it, so you can see it and think it is cool too. Also, I am trying to limit spoilers with clips for those of you who may not have seen the movies. So, enjoy!

25. Iron Man

24. Sin City

23. LA Confidential

22. Hot Rod (One of the funniest scenes in the movie)

21. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (No video, but the audio is good)

20. The Bourne Ultimatum

19. Unbreakable

18. Memento

17. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

16. Hot Fuzz

15. V for Vendetta

14. Kill Bill - There's two volumes, but it is really just one movie. Don't kid yourself.

13. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

12. Serenity

11. Ocean's 13

10. The Matrix

9. Big Fish

8. The Royal Tenenbaums

7. Rushmore

6. Ocean's 11

2. Pulp Fiction

2. Lucky Number Slevin

2. Batman Begins

2. The Prestige

1. The Dark Knight

So there you have it. If you want to talk about movies on the list, or watch some of these with me that you have not seen, let me know because I would love to hang out and share the magic. Only two of them are not out on DVD yet, so I don't have them (because I don't pirate movies!)

7 Minutes to Midnight (Part II)

2008-07-31T20:17:00.002-05:00

As you must very well know, I love superheroes. The very idea of the superhero gets me excited, and gets my creative juices flowing. This has become an increasingly easy passion for me to feed as the years have passed by because more and more people are accepting the superhero as a legitimate form of entertainment. For me, however, it holds something more. Sure, it gives me a bit of a chubby to see someone flying through the air, or stopping incoming projectiles with telekenesis, or even exhibiting above normal amounts of strength (super strength, if you will). But there is more to it than that, in my mind.

About two years ago I wrote a short piece on facebook (which is still there if anyone is interested in reading titled "7 Minutes to Midnight") about superheroes and why they mean something to me. I really want to continue to expand on that idea because of the recent crop of above average superhero/comic book films to be released this summer. There has been something notably unusual about this recent crop of films. They have all been good. Some moreso than the rest, but there has not been a real stinker in the lot, in my opinion, which I can't think of having happened before. Usually for every Spider-man 2 there has been at least two or three Fantastic Fours to come out. This summer, though, the movies have all been good, and have really hit home with ideas that we all deal with every day, though it may not be as blatant to most of you, not meaning to be condescending here.

When I look at a superhero, I see more than some person who puts on a crazy costume and jumps around on rooftops to stop criminals. I see what we are supposed to be. Think about it like this: Superheroes are beings who have certain abilities. Those abilities make each of them unique, to some degree. They choose how to use those abilities. In a similar manner, we as people are given certain abilities. We have things we are just good at. And we have choices to make in regard to how we use those abilities. We can use them for either good or evil. And it isn't always as clear cut as that. There are most certainly gray areas. It is hard to avoid uncertainties in an adult world. Superhero stories really deal with that in the way that the public will respond to the actions of a hero. Some are for it, and some are against. It frightens people to see a person put on a mask and take the law into their own hands because that is very similar to the behavior of criminals. What gave them the right to do that? What gives this person a higher level of morality to decide that there is a flaw, and that they should do something about it.

This idea is tackled in THE DARK KNIGHT. A conversation early in the movie between Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne, Rachel Dawes, and a Russian woman of no real consequence, delves into the reasons behind whether or not Batman is a justified presence in Gotham City. True, from the perspective of the audience, we are inclined to root for Batman, and know that he is in the right because he is giving up his own life to be the guardian of Gotham. He is making the sacrifice, and we can clearly see that, but in the film, the general public does not see this at all.

Batman is my favorite superhero, plain and simple. The reason for this is that he is a very realistic hero. He has no mystical powers or anything like that. He is just an ordinary man who has trained himself, and taken the things that he is best at, and used them to help his society. They may not like it, but he is able to endure. He is not in it for public approval. He is going this because it is his calling in life, and he believes that he can leave the world a better place than he found it by doing these things.

Superheroes show us how we should use our gifts and abilities to help the world at large. They may not always appreciate what it is that we do, but if you can influence and change for the better the life of one person, then you have done something right. The reason I want to write is not to get money or fame or anything like that. I want to inspire people. To give them hope. To let people know that it is okay to escape for a little while into an intangible world, and just forget the problems you have to endure day in and day out.

That's all I have for today. I'll be back tomorrow with something new, hopefully. I won't promise because that is always what gets me into trouble. A new poll at least will go up tomorrow. Also, I want to start sharing some of my writing pieces with you all, so I will be putting up some excerpts as time goes on.

You can't stop the signal...

Something is in the Works Here...

2008-07-30T11:37:00.002-05:00

So, no real rants about problems in the world, or what I think is awesome today. I do have a countdown in the works. It is of my Top 25 Favorite Movies. It will be a good one. And probably different from the ones that most people would give because I am not trying to look like some sort of cinematic genius or a movie snob or something like that. It is just a countdown of 25 movies I really love, along with a quick blurb why. And it is also kind of odd because the top 5 are really the top two, with a 4 way tie in the second place category.

I wanted to use this today to give you all an update on my writing, and what I am working on. As most of you know, I love stories, and because of that I want to be a professional writer. I figure writing professionally can only come about from writing alot not professionally. So, I am really trying to work on my craft. I have three big projects in the works right now, two of them are somewhat well known to my friends because I have talked about them, the third is something of a recent development, but is an idea I have been toying with for quite some time. So, here we go:

1. Fall Follies 2008
I am one of the writers selected to work on writing for Fall Follies this year, and it is a serious blast for me. I am having a great time working with Matt and Ben and Stephanie on this program. I really cannot divulge much as far as details go because if I tell you that here, then there is absolutely no reason for you to come and see it in November. What I can say is this: It is an SNL-type variety show put on by Belmont every year in the--you guessed it--fall. This year it is on November 1st. Typically they do it over a two day period, but this year there were, I guess, some complications, and they had to put both shows on the same day. No big deal. It will still be a whole lot of fun. Especially if our actors can convince you guys that the things we laugh over at least once a week in our meetings are actually funny through their delivery. So, yeah, that is Follies. It is great because it is giving me a chance to really work on both comedic and collavorative writing, which are skills I am sure I will need to use at some point.

2. THE GRAVEMAKER (Tentatively Titled)
This is the new project I am working on. Right now it is in the brainstorming phase, but I have some cool ideas. First of all, it is going to be a screenplay, that I would love to try and film next summer. Keep that in mind, if any of you are actors, composers, or something that would be of use. Also, if you want to date a writer-director-producer-editor for film, ladies, I will take up all those, and maybe more, mantles for this project. The idea is that it will be a Western Crime Epic. There will be a crazy gang, a bad ass hero, and much more. I am very excited for this. The whole "gimick" for lack of a better word is that it is a Western set entirely an a modern-day city. I look forward to working with this very much in the future.

3. I, HERO TRILOGY
This is my baby. I have been working on this story for around 4 years now, and I have restarted and changed this thing around so much that there are only a few things still intact. The whole concept of this story started around one scene, that isn't even in the story anymore, though the twist associated with it is still very much a part of it. I have written about 6 or 7 chapters of this in full, mapped out the entire first book THE ARCHITECT and have a deep relationship of sorts with all of the characters. Book 1 has 6 main characters who all get drawn into the search for a mysterious object, that has a great power associated with it (thik Milo Rambaldi ALIAS fans) hidden deep within the city I have created for the story--Delirium City (where the name of this blog and my Production Company comes from). The 6 people are Jack Heart, Frank Fallow, Audrey King, James Prime, Clarence Henry, and Solomon Myers. Some are good, some are bad. There is tons of mythology I have set up for the world these people inhabit. I have big plans for this story. If you really want to talk to me about it, I am totally game. We can get coffee, and chat. I can seriously talk for hours about this, all cryptic and everything, and it gets me excited to work on it.

So, there you are. These are the projects I am working on. If you want to be a big help to me, keeping me accountable with working on this, then ask me repeatedly about my writing. Be all like, "Hey Brandon, how's the book/screenplay coming?" And then it will make me think about it, and most likely do some sort of work on it. Or have me get together with you and chat about it. Whatever. So, there you are. I am going to try and post on here more. I know I got lax over thge last like 5 days or so, but I also wanted you guys to know about the dangers of elderly drivers. I will be back on tomorrow, hopefully. Until then.

You can't stop the signal...

The Single Greatest Threat to America Today

2008-07-24T20:51:00.001-05:00

So, as promised, here I am, about to fill you in on what is the single greatest threat to America, and quite possibly the world, today. Now, to help build suspense, I will tell you some things that you may think are the greatest threat, but are not. It is not Al-Qaeda, gay marriage, Republicans, Democrats, John McCain, Barack Obama, terrorism, Michael Jackson, Christianity, or religious fanaticism. None of these things even come close to what terrifies, as well as strongly angers me. And for you in the Colbert Nation, it is not bears either. Hell, it isn't even the avian flu. The single greatest threat to America (and the world) today endangers lives almost constantly. So enough build up. I believe that the biggest threat to America today is old people driving.

The elderly are the worst drivers on the road. Teenagers, when they first learn how to drive, can be dangerous, but at least they do not have confidence in their abilities behind the wheel. Old people are more than confident behind the steering wheel, and they suck ass at it. The elderly are not designed for such complex tasks as operating heavy machinery, and last time I checked cars are not light. "Why do you feel the elderly are not designed for operating heavy machinery?" you may ask. Well, my dear friends, let me tell you why.

Firstly, the old people have diminished sensory perception. Their vision is getting worse, they lose their hearing. Now, according to everything I know, it is very important for you to be able to see and hear well when you drive. I mean, when you get your license, they check your vision. If you have poor vision, then you need to wear glasses. I know because I have to. Or contacts work too. Either way, you have corrective lenses of some sort. I have no problem with this. I love my glasses. They are like a part of my face. But old people can be pretty damn stubborn. So much so that they will resist getting such corrective lenses. Also, hearing is important because it is illegal to listen to music through headphones while you drive. I don't do that, I swear. But, if it is illegal for me to drive while listening to music through my headphones, then it sure as hell better be illegal for old people to not wear hearing aides when they drive. It is also important to know that every time you get your license renewed, you do not have to take the vision test again to see if your vision is still safe. This alone would make the streets somewhat safer because it would be illegal for the old people to operate a car without corrective lenses, which I am pretty sure it is anyway, but because they are not tested, we really do not find out about their diminished vision until it is too late.

In addition to their limited sensory perceptional abilities, old people have mental problems that can make driving a car extremely dangerous. The two main afflictions that come to mind are dementia and Alzheimer's. Dementia can be a big problem on the road because if it sets in suddenly, then an old person behind the wheel of a car can suddenly see giant dragons flying around, or mole people rising from the ground and believe they are presenting a credible threat to him or herself and the occupants of the car, and even the car itself, and turn it into a weapon to combat these mythical creatures. Now, I am all for using your imagination, but when it puts me in danger behind the wheel of my car, then I gotta say no. Especially when that use of imagination is unchecked. Alzheimer's can create problems as well because if a sudden rapid onset of the disease occurs, then an old person behind the wheel of a car can forget not only where they may be going, but also how to drive an effing car. Now, I can't accept that there are people driving around on the rod when they don't remember where the hell they are going!

Realstats.com says that 90% of all automobile accidents are the fault of old people, whether directly or indirectly. Don't question it. That site is real. Trust me. I looked it up. On the Internet.

Think about it like this, you would not let your child eat a 50 year old fruit or a 50 year old hamburger. Common sense then tells us that you owuld not let your child into a car with a 50 year old person. If not yourself, then think about the safety of the children when you consider this. The children are our future dammit. I heard that once. In a Presidential address or something. Maybe a literary journal. Definitely not in a song.

Now, though I would prefer to just strip any person over the age of 50 of any and all driving privileges, this is horribly impractical. So, my solution is that once you reach the age of 50, a person should be made to take a driving exam, at least every 5 years to see if they are not operating a car unsafely. I don't think that is too much to ask.

Now, after this rant, you may be asking, "Brandon, why do you hate old people?" I say to that, I have no problem with old people. They give me money. I mean I do have grandparents. Also, I ask, why do old people hate me so much that they just wanna be a bunch of stubborn old bastards and endanger my life every time I get on the road. I know I am not the best driver on the road, but I do know they are the worst. You don't like what I have to say, tough. I said it. Get over it. Argue with me. I'll win. And if not, I'll leave the argument so neither of us can win, and I win by definition because you don't win.

So, there you go. That is the single greatest threat to America, in my opinion. So, hope you made it here. I don't know what I'll post about tomorrow, but it will be something at the least. Have a good night.

You can't stop the signal...

With My Freeze Ray I Will Stop the Pain...

2008-07-23T15:35:00.002-05:00

So, as promised, I return for another posting. Yesterday I teased that I would be taking about DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG, and I will be doing just that. Basically it is a three act internet miniseries about a super-villain named Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) who is trying to gain entrance into the Evil League of Evil, while also working up the courage to talk to Penny (Felicia Day) a pretty girl from his laundromat. The show, for lack of a better term, is great. I really enjoy it. The downside is that it isn't online for free anymore. You can download it off iTunes for $3.99 for all 3 episodes, which clock in at around 13 minutes each. Also, you could call me and be all like, "Brandon, that show you were talking about sounds really cool. I want to check it out, and I simultaneously feel like I need more of you in my life, Let's hang out, and we can watch Dr. Horrible!" and then I'll be all like, "Sure I'd love to!" because I totally have it on my computer. There are also plans to release it on DVD at some point.

The show is written by Joss Whedon, who created BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, and FIREFLY/SERENITY. It is pretty funny, and the music is just great. It isn't all showboat-ish like stuff on Broadway (no offense to Broadway because I do enjoy musicals with showboatery) but more low maintenance. If you are familiar with the musical BUFFY episode "Once More With Feeling" then you would probably have a good idea of what kind of music is featured on the show. If not, then you can take my word that it is good. But if you don't trust me, or think I'm a piece of shit or something, then I will just post one of the songs on here. So, check this out...

That is the first song. It starts with Dr. Horrible giving his video blog, and then leads into the song. It's good fun. Also entertaining is Nathan Fillion as the superhero who is constantly beating the crap out of Dr. Horrible, and foiling his plans. Unfortunately I don't have as much to say about this as I did yesterday with THE DARK KNIGHT, but it is really worth checking out. Also, I would welcome the opportunity to hang out to watch it. So, yeah. There ya go.

Tomorrow I will be back to talk about the greatest threat to America today. It is important, and I will have "factual" information to back it up. Get ready because it's gonna blow your minds!

You can't stop the signal...

Not a Hero, But Something More

2008-07-22T13:47:00.000-05:00

The level of anticipation I had going in to see THE DARK KNIGHT for the first time is really unparalleled to any movie-going experience I have had before. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING comes close, but there have really only been two experiences to match that level of anticipation: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS and every season finale I have seen live on LOST. With those kind of expectations about the movie, it would really be easy for me to be let down, but let me tell you, somehow, just as it happens with LOST every year, and as was the case with the final HARRY POTTER, my expectations were far exceeded. They were so far exceeded that I did not know how to react during and immediately after my first run through. I had to go back and experience it again, almost immediately, so that I could really digest it, and the experience of seeing this movie for the second time secured it as my all time favorite movie.

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE, SPOILERS FOLLOW. BEWARE.

The opening scene of the movie really gets things moving with a heist of one of the banks of Gotham City. It is being carried out by men hired by the Joker to steal from the mob, essentially. As the heist progresses each of the men kills the others, narrowing down the ranks to two men. As one makes note of it to the other, supposing that the guy who hired them said to kill him next, the clown masked robber, silent until this point says, "No, no, no, no. I kill the bus driver," in a voice that will come to be highly recognized. The bus backs in over the other clown masked robber, and then the bus driver is killed. When the bank manager claims that criminals like this Joker who set up the heist don't believe in anything like the mob bosses who clearly fronted this bank, the remaining clown said he believes that what doesn't kill you simply makes you...stranger. And we meet the Joker.

From here there is some very quick exposition where we learn that Jim Gordon has been put in charge of the Major Crimes Unit, and that Batman's crusade to save Gotham is not going unnoticed. There are copycat vigilantes (a la Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS) who use guns, which Batman does not like, and dispatches them in the same manner as the criminals. Mob bosses are coming together because on their own they can stand little to no chance against the duo of Batman and MCU. Along with this we meet the new District Attorney Harvey Dent, who has been dubbed Gotham's White Knight.

The movie plays out like a good crime drama. There are double crosses over the place. The mob decides to hire the Joker to take out Batman, and in order to do this, Joker begins preying on public officials. The sequence where he begins this with hits on Commissioner Loeb, a Gotham City Judge, and Harvey Dent is brilliantly executed (no pun intended) with the music and quick cuts between locations. This sequence leads directly into the first meeting between Batman and the Joker, and it does not disappoint.

The film really keeps you on the edge of your seat as Joker announces all of his hits in attempt to bring Batman out from behind his secret identity, and then shifting to making Harvey Dent fall from his heroic status to the poeple of the city. The Joker's plans are always nearly three or four steps ahead of Batman and the police, even when you believe that he has lost the upper hand, he is still in control. As Alfred put it best, he is a man that cannot be understood because he is such a unique brand of criminal to what Gotham City is used to. "Some men just want to watch the world burn."

By the time Two Face enters the picture, Joker has really torn Gotham City asunder. The people of the city fear for their lives, and when Joker leads them into his social experiment of a trap, the rush like sheep to the slaughter. His plan is not entirely foiled though, because he kept Harvey Dent as his ace in the hole to make sure that he would not lose "the battle for Gotham's soul" in a fight with Batman. Harvey, having lost everything he ever cared about (Rachel Dawes), and becoming heavily scarred from half of his face burning nearly all the way off, holds Gordon's family at gunpoint. The intense scene where Harvey tries to make Gordon experience his same suffering by losing the person he cares for most in the world. The music is haunting as we see what kind of monster Harvey, the former White Knight has really become.

Batman is able to save Gordon's son, but not before Harvey could go on a killing spree of those he held responsible for Rachel's death. If Harvey's actions got out, then all the good work he had done would have been for nothing, and all of the criminals he put away would be released. The Joker would win. But in a moment that practically brought me to tears, Batman says he will take the blame. As Jim Gordon tells his son, he is the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs.

There are some other moments through the film that deserve attention. The entrance of the Batpod from the wreckage of the Tumbler (which jumped into a rocket to protect the truck transporting Dent) into Batman flipping a semi longways, and then turning a nerd-gasm inducing flip on a wall pretty much made me giddy with joy. Also Joker's destruction of a Gotham City hospital to cover up Dent's departure, and get some hostages was beautifully done. And Joker's magic trick in his first real scene really set the stage for his calculated insanity.

There is more, and I could probably go on for hours about why I loved the movie, but I don't want to bore you. So, let me know what you thought of the movie. Was it as good as I said it is? What parts did I not mention that would be worth a shout out? Did I write this well enough for you? Let me know. You can comment on this after all.

Next time I'll talk about Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Until then.

You can't stop the signal...

I Return...Again

2008-07-21T22:04:00.003-05:00

So, I am going to try to keep up with this thing more frequently. I want to keep people updated on my life and all, so this is where that will happen. I hope that you all will bear with me for that as well. Even if nobody is reading, I will still use this as my place to rant and rave and whatever else.

So, here we go.

Over the last couple of months, I have made some really awesome friends, that I am so grateful for. I met them while I was working orientation at school, and I really connected with them, and it has just been an incredible experience. It is really disappointing to me that I can't hang out with them all for the whole summer, but because not everyone is from the Nashville area, that is not possible.

Along with that, my mom finished chemo a couple weeks ago, and that has just been great to have that trying time over and done with. She still has some radiation to go through, but she is pretty much done with this whole cancer mess as far as we can tell.

As far as entertainment goes, I have a new favorite movie: The Dark Knight. This movie is so good, and I really think that it would do you all very well to go and see it if you have not yet. I won't give anything away, right now, but tomorrow I am going to go in depth on why I love it so much.

Also, I am reading a couple books right now. One is The Stand by Stephen King, and the other is Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Both are somewhat in the horror genre, and I will post my full thoughts on them when I finish reading them.

So, yeah, that is all for now. I will be posting more later, but this was mainly just to get the ball rolling. I will check back in soon.

You can't stop the signal...

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. There is this really awesome program you can see online, I think, and if not you can get ahold of me and I will help you find a way of seeing it. It is called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It is awesome. Neil Patrick Harris is the protagonist who is actually an antagonist. Its like 40 minutes in all. It has 3 acts, and is very entertaining. I'll talk about it more later, but just wanted ot let you know. Check it out at www.drhorrible.com

The Shape of Things to Come

2008-04-28T16:02:00.002-05:00

First off, no this is not a blog about last week's LOST. It is about my summer, and how awesome it is going to be. I am really ready for it to be here. This time next week, I will be completely done with exams, and just have to go to a class on Tuesday night, which totally blows.

When the summer starts, I have so much to look forward to. First of all, there is like maybe 2 or 3 weeks all summer long that there is not a movie coming out that I want to see. There are 3 or 4 movies I am completely committed to seeing, but the rest are ones I am somewhat into seeing. The must see movies for me are: The Dark Knight, Speed Racer, Wanted, and Iron Man. I could list the rest, but there are so many, I really wouldn't have time.

Also, I am doing Summer Staff for all of June, and that is going to be pretty sweet all in all. I will be living on campus for the month. I will get to hang with some awesome people and work with new students at school.

There is a screen writing convention coming to Nashville at the end of May, and that will be sweet. That is also like 2 days after the LOST finale, which is going to be incredible, I have decided. That along with all the other season finales, and Battlestar Galactica running its final season will make for some most excellent viewing for me this summer.

While all of this is going on, I am also going to be writing for Fall Follies at school, which is a once a year SNL type variety show happening in November. I am super excited about this. It is going to be really fun. So, that is really about it for now. I will check back in later. I am watching through all of the Coen Brothers' movies, and will report in on what I thought of them all. There will possibly be a ranking. I'm not sure, but we'll see.
Until next time.

You can't stop the signal...

Benjamin Linus: Stone Cold Bad Ass

2008-04-25T08:46:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the gap in posts. It has been a pretty busy week to say the least.

I have decided that I am going to do something of a LOST recap the day after the new episode airs every week because I know that many people watch LOST, and I am most certainly one of them.

So, last night was pretty unreal. A basic recap of events would go something like this: On the island, Alex is forced to unlock the crazy sonar fence machine to let the freighter mercs into the DHARMA barracks. The code she enters is a signal to Ben that there are intruders, and as a result Camp Locke prepares for battle. In the ensuing calamity three redshirts (two of whom were wearing actual red shirts) were killed, and Claire was nearly blown up by a rocket launcher. Also Ben's adopted/kidnapped daughter Alex was shot in the head when his bluff that he cared not for her was called. At which point Ben uttered, "He changed the rules." And then he disappeared behind some door with hieroglyphs on it, and when he returned the Smoke Monster was unleashed on the freighter army as Camp Locke escaped. The camp split again, with Sawyer, Claire, and baby Aaron going back to Jack's Camp, and Ben, Locke, and Hurley going to find that oh so mysterious Jacob. It is important to note that Hurley agreed to go so that Locke and Sawyer wouldn't kill each other over who he would go with. I feel like this is what made Hurley sorry about joining Camp Locke over Camp Jack.

In Camp Jack, a body washed ashore that we know is the doctor from the freighter and Faraday confirms as such. In order to see what the hell is going on, Jack makes Faraday convert the broken satellite phone into a workable satellite telegraph. (Important sidebar: Jack is taking pills for some reason). In the communication between Faraday and the freighter, Faraday says that he is told everything is fine and that the helicopter will be returning to the island soon. Bernard was standing nearby listening as well, and because he is an older guy he knows Morse code, and said that the message actually said something along the lines of, "the doctor is fine, WTF are you talking about dude?" Jack gets very upset when he confronts Faraday point blank and is told that they (the survivors) were never meant to be taken off the island.

In the future Ben winds up in the desert in Tunisia, where he wakes up on the ground with no trail around him anywhere. He is confronted by two Bedouins who he subsequently kills and steals one of their horses. He comes to a city where he learns that it is October 24, 2005, and sees a report of Sayid begin hounded by those bastardly reporters who surround celebrities (Oceanic 6 say what!) and says that he just wants to bury his wife (aka Nadia). This leads to a confrontation or two by Ben, and Sayid joining Ben's side in the war against Widmore. speaking of Charles Widmore, at the end of the episode, we see Ben confront Charles Widmore about changing the rules, and Ben promises that in retaliation for killing Alex.

So, there we have it. This was one of the more dense episodes of LOST, which is really nice to have after a several week break. Some interesting things I thought I would mention about the episode:

1. The parka that Ben was wearing when he wound up in the desert had a name on it. That name was Halliwax, which is one of the aliases of DHARMA instructional video man typically known as Dr. Marvin Candle.
2. Ben pretty much just appeared in the desert somehow. We do not know from where (or when) he came. He just showed up, unsure of the year, and went about doing his own secret agentery.
3. Jack has begun self medicating himself. I feel like this plays a role somewhere we have already seen but I am not sure...
4. Widmore made the claim that Ben took the island (and everything Ben has) from Widmore somehow. Widmore was also having nightmares that could only be cured by his most excellent scotch, which is, according to Widmore, worth more than Desmond. Could it be that Widmore was once an inhabitant of the island and Ben either kicked him off, or tricked him into leaving so that he could have the island and all of its people to himself?
5. Ben can summon the Smoke Monster. Something tells me that will be important later.
6. Sawyer is becoming the new Charlie. He is protecting Claire and Aaron, and concerned with their safety. Also he is becoming Hurley's new best friend on the island, and sticking up for him. This is a really great development for the character, as we have seen him grow so much from the beginning of the series.

So, that is it for now. I will be back around soon with more ramblings of whatever I feel like and such. The next week will be somewhat busy because I have exams, but we will see what happens.

Until next time.

You can't stop the signal...

Like Old Times...

2008-04-15T23:38:00.002-05:00

So, tonight, I started getting myself caught up on Entourage because I found a way to see the episodes of the last season after where I left off over the summer. It was refreshing, to say the least. It felt like hanging out with old friends for the first time in a while. It felt right.

Sure the show can be...crude. But I still love it. It cracks me up. Especially Ari. Jeremy Piven is incredible as Vincent Chase's super agent. The people behind this show have truly crafted some greatly entertaining characters that are just a joy to watch.

Also today, I watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou for the second time. That is definitely something I have been meaning to do for a while, but I just never got around to it until now. After seeing Wes Anderson's other films (this one was my first) it made the whole thing so much better. I love his cinematography and music. I don't really think that I would listen to most of the music in my day to day life, but his movies blend it perfectly with the story.

The movie really captured me this time around. And I had an interesting thought while watching it. Steve Zissou (played by Anderson regular Bill Murray) is like an older version of his friend-turned-rival-turned-partner Max in Rushmore. The way Steve talks to people in this film just reminded me so much of the young boy who was trying to impress everyone.

My friend Aaron and I talked about Wes Anderson's movies a while back, and he really hit the nail on the head with his explanation of them. "He puts extraordinary people into ordinary situations." Life Aquatic seems to really be his only film where this is not true. Instead of having some person who should have renown do normal things, he has this (once) world renowned oceanographer going on one of his missions. The only normal thing that he seems to go through is trying to bond with someone who could be his son. The movie really mixes Anderson's brand of quirky humor with an adventure to find a Jaguar Shark which may or may not exist.

What really sold it for me was the ending, though. There is a scene where Steve, and almost every other important character from the movie, is down in his mini sub to see what they have been searching for, and Sigur Ros begins playing, and it really creates a beautiful moment. It ties the whole movie together. You truly see where these characters have gone. Then as the film winds down, Anderson does a poignant curtain call of his characters, all going back to Zissou's boat for what can only be more ocean adventures.

The movie is really great and worth checking out. I would recomend seeing his movies
in order, though if you have not seen them. (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited) Wes Anderson paints a story in a way truly his own. Until next time.

You can't stop the signal...

An Epic Undertaking

2008-04-15T01:29:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to embark on a journey that has become increasingly difficult to continue. I knew that I wanted to rank my favorite movies of all time. Now this is not necessarily the most well made movies ever, put onto a list as judged by me. The quality of film making definitely does help me make these choices, but the list is really just about the movies I enjoy most, and have really stuck with me as something worth watching.

I thought about it, and deduced that the best way to do this would be to make up some sort of bracket to help me determine what goes where on my list. This was inspired by both March Madness and the How I Met Your Mother episodes "The Bracket."

This list will probably not be permanent, and I already know which movies are my Final Four, but determining the rest will take some diligence and work on my part. I am really excited about all of this, and I plan on releasing my list on here as soon as I have it finalized.

Just thought I would throw that out there. Until next time.

You can't stop the signal...

My Return

2008-04-13T21:49:00.003-05:00

So, it has been quite some time since I last posted on here. I have been somewhat busy, and basically uninterested in maintaining this blog for that time, but I have been thinking about it, and I decided that I will keep it up, even if nobody is really reading it to begin with.

That being said, I am, like 3 of my top 4 TV shows, back to entertain you. (Those three, by the way, are How I Met Your Mother, Battlestar Galactica, and The Office.)

And speaking of those shows, I want to take this time to tell you why you need to be watching Battlestar Galactica. This is one of the most incredibly written shows on TV right now, and that is really surprising if you consider the fact that this show is on the SciFi channel. Now, don't get me wrong, I really enjoy science fiction, but the SciFi channel really does put out some really campy shows. Galactica, on the other hand really features some incredible writing, acting, effects. It is an all around great show. If you don't watch it, then my suggestion to you is to either: 1) get ahold of me and ask to borrow the mini-series that served as its back door pilot, and; 2) go rent it from Blockbuster, or if you use Netflix, try it there; 3) take a gamble and buy the mini-series (or possibly the first season because it is included in the season 1 DVD). Whatever you do, if you really enjoy well written entertainment, then you will really enjoy this show.

If you are unfamiliar with this series, let me give you a quick rundown. Humanity lives on the 12 colonies, somewhere in a galaxy far removed from our own in space, in some indeterminate time compared to our present. A good while before the story begins, humans created the Cylons. The Cylons were machines created to do the bidding of humanity. Something happened along the way, and the Cylons became self aware. Their artificial intelligence became actual intelligence, and they began to reason. They decided that they no longer wanted to serve humans, and they rebelled. The first Cylon War raged on for some time, until, an cease fire was declared, and the war stopped. The Cylons found their own home world, and disappeared to it, seemingly forever.

About fifty years later, on the day of the decommissioning of the Battlestar class ship Galactica, something happened. The Cylons attacked humanity with a massive nuclear assault on the 12 colony worlds. Humanity was reduced to a rag-tag group of less than 50,000 people. They were now a gang on the run from their own creation. The most curious piece of the Cylon attack was the fact that the Cylons were now able to mimic the appearance of humans so well that medical experts could telll absolutely no difference between a Cylon and a human. There are twelve Cylon models, with limitless copies. When a Cylon "skinjob" is killed, their consciousness is downloaded to either a Resurrection Ship or the Cylon homeworld, depending on which is in closer proximity to the dying Cylon.

The show has just begun its fourth, and final season, which will last 20 episodes.

I know I can tell you this show is great until I am blue in the face, but I thought I would really take this time to tell you WHY it is so great. Yesterday I was watching the most recent episode of the show, and something that I had briefly thought about before really dawned on me. In this show there is no real clear cut villain of the series. There are characters with more undesirable traits than others, and we obviously will always pull for humanity to survive and be the "victor," but at the same time I find myself rooting for the Cylons, and hoping I can see more of their story played out. There are characters both Cylon and Human alike that I root for every week. The show really digs deeply into the nature of good and evil, and how we can tell one from the other. There are good guys and bad guys on both sides. The show does what good SciFi should do, and makes you think. They have run the gamut on issues prevalent in out society today, and I believe that it will be a show that is used years from now to look at what our culture was like today.

* * *

I will try to keep this updated more frequently. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts. Until next time.

You can't stop the signal.

Cloverfield (and more!)

2008-01-22T11:04:00.000-06:00

Greetings to everyone out there!

So, last night I saw Cloverfield, and basically it was totally awesome.
I really enjoyed it. The story was cliche, but the way the movie was shot, and the dialog really made for an enjoyable experience. That being said, this movie is not for everyone. You have to be okay with not finding much out about the history of the monster attacking New York, and the hand held cameras can make some people queasy or give a headache. I would suggest sitting to the side in the theater, as opposed to directly in the middle.

The way the movie was presented, though, was really cool. From a film making perspective, the movie was great. They really captured the characters, in my opinion, and though some people were turned off by the seemingly lengthy opening at the party, before the monster ever attacks, I thought it was a brilliant way to get you somewhat invested in these characters at the start. Also, the dialog was perfect, and really made you feel like these were real people caught in this massive situation. The movie is not perfect, and definitely has its major flaws (these people have an inhuman ability to survive catastrophe and injury). Suspension of disbelief is necessary going in.

All that being said, I loved this movie, and am intrigued to see if a sequel does happen. I know I will be there for it.

Now, in the vein of movies to see, there are a couple of movies that I feel like all of you should go see if you haven't yet before they are taken out of theaters. I want to say they will last a little while longer now that they have both been nominated for best picture Oscars, but that could have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on how much longer they stay in theaters.

First, there is No Country for Old Men. This movie is awesome. If you are familiar with the Cohen Brothers' previous films(O' Brother Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Fargo), you will know that these two are gifted film makers. This movie, however, is on a whole new level. I feel like it was the best movie to be released in 2007, and I have heard agreement from many places. One of the craziest things, in my opinion, about this movie is that there is absolutely no background music. The only time you would even hear music is if a character were listening to it, or could hear it. Because of this, the film is brilliantly suspenseful. You can hear every creak of a floorboard as someone walks slowly by a door, and the character on the side we experience sits there, patiently waiting, listening for any sound of threat. Also of note, is Javier Bardem's brilliant turn as Anton Chigurh, a sociopath set on the trail of the "hero" of the story. Bardem conveys an insanity beneath the surface, and the cold, expressionless face he puts forward is haunting. I would put him down as having one of the best performances of 2007, if not THE best. Also, if you are curious as to what the movie is about, here is a rundown without giving away too much: Llewelyn Moss is out hunting one day when he stumbles across the remnants of a shootout that left 2.4 million dollars up for grabs. He takes the money, and from then on he is running from Anton Chigurh, a ruthless sociopath trying to retrieve the money, most likely for his own gain.

Second, is Juno. Juno is somewhat dark, but the characters are very real, and endearing. The movie left me feeling very good as it ended, and I was pleased with the way things happened. The movie was really funny, attributed mainly to the dialog. There were definitely bad things that happened to Juno, that put her into situations that no 16/17 year old should have to face, but Ellen Page really shined in this role. I have been hearing her name thrown around over the last couple of years as someone to watch out for because she is going to do some pretty great stuff in film. Apart from Page, the supporting players were really helped me to invest in the story. If you don't know already, Juno is about Juno McGuff, a 16 year old girl who becomes pregnant after her first time having sex. The film revolves around her response to this situation, and what she will do with the baby.

So, that is all I have for you now. Until next time,
-Brandon

You can't stop the signal...

The Inagural Post

2008-01-21T13:34:00.001-06:00

Greetings to everyone out there in cyber-land!

So this is the first of, what I hope will be many, posts. This blog is really going to be my way of expressing what I think is totally awesome, and that you, my soon to be loyal, readers should check out. Also, I may rant about things that really bug me.

So, to start things rolling, I want to run down exactly what I predict will be worth your time/money in the coming year. My list of ten things I anticipate, and you should too. Here goes nothing:

Top 10 Things to Come in 2008 as Predicted by Me:

10. Iron Man - This movie just looks pretty awesome. I am really interested to see how they get this story going, and I feel like the cast is going to do a bang-up job with it. I mean, Robert Downey Jr. is totally awesome in anything I have seen him in recently, and I feel like this will be no exception. The trailer looks awesome, so, you should look out for it come May 2.

9. Grand Theft Auto 4 - I love video games that let you explore a massive world where you can really do whatever you want. There are consequences, but who cares? GTA 3 was totally awesome, and the next installment in the series looks to be even better. The city is modeled after New York City, and that in an of itself gets me pumped for it. I don't own either of the systems it will be coming out for, but I know people who do, and I have a Blockbuster Card, so... I have no idea when this is coming out because the date keeps changing, but when it does, I will definitely want to be playing it.

8. Wanted - Wow, another movie based on a comic that looks awesome? Whoda thunk it? I woulda. The trailer alone makes this look pretty spectacular. I mean, it is a comic story about a league of superVILLAINS who can manipulate laws of physics because they are so bad ass. If nothing else it promises some awesome action, and Morgan Freeman is in it. Hopefully if there is any voice over in the movie he will be doing it, because a voiceover is not at all worth paying attention to if he isn't doing it.

7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - I have been waiting for this game for quite a while. The character roster keeps growing, and the fact that it is one of 7 games in history to get a 40 out of 40 from Famitsu in Japan. The game looks totally sweet, and the only thing that upsets me about it is that it has been pushed back twice now. It drops on March 9 in the States.

6. The Solomon Key - The next Dan Brown novel about Robert Langdon is set in the US, and has to do with the CIA and Freemasons. I don't really know much else about it, except that Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code both proved to be good reads, so I am optimistic that this will follow suit. Sure Dan Brown may write factually inaccurate stories, but they are entertaining. It is supposed to come out December 30.

5. Serenity: Better Days - One of the most enjoyable experiences of my last summer was watching through Joss Whedon's Firefly series, followed by the film Serenity, so when it was announced that there was going to be a comic series released that takes place between the end of the short lived show and the awesome movie, I got pretty excited. The story is about a heist the crew of Serenity pulls that goes right for a change. It is slated to start in March, and I am pretty excited to see where the adventures take the crew. If you haven't seen Serenity and Firefly, and enjoy well written stories, then you should check them out.

4. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - This started last week, and it was pretty freaking awesome in my opinion. Since the WGA strike is on, there is not a lot of new programming right now, but this show is a welcome addition for now. It is nowhere near as great as LOST but it is action packed and holds my attention. A good watch if you are a fan or action or the Terminator films. It is set after the second movie, and regarding the third as if it never happened. The series runs Monday nights after Prison Break on Fox at 8:00 Central time.

3. Cloverfield - I wanted to see this movie before I even saw a trailer for it. I heard that JJ Abrams (Alias, LOST, Mission: Impossible 3) was producing a movie, and that it was shrouded in secrecy, and I was like, "I am down for that," and then I saw the trailer. It is a pretty brilliant concept in my opinion, and the mere fact that they have kept what the monster looks like a secret until it released last Friday is awesome for me. It is now playing, and I will be seeing it tonight, and giving my thoughts sometime within the next 24 hours. Go see it now, before someone spoils it for you.

1. The Dark Knight - This is a really tough call for me. So tough, I had to give it a tie for the two things I am most excited for this year. The Dark Knight is the next film in Christopher Nolan's (Memento, The Prestige) Batman series. It is amazing to me how many people still do not realize that Batman Begins was a restart of the Batman franchise, and makes it so that the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher series NEVER HAPPENED. This film introduces the Joker, Batman's archnemesis. Heath Ledger will be playing the part, and I am extremely excited for this. All the major players from the original are back, save Katie Holmes, who will be replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The story apparently centers around Harvey Dent, as portrayed by Aaron Eckhart, and deals with the journey that leads him from being District Attorney, and close friend of Batman, to becoming Two Face. I am pumped for this to say the least. It comes out July 18, and will be phenomenal.

1. LOST Season 4 - The way things ended in May on LOST, the story promised to get pretty great. The survivors of Oceanic 815 had made contact with a freighter who would hopefully provide rescue, yet as Charlie gave his life to make sure this would happen, he passed along the message that those on the boat were not who they said they were ("Not Penny's Boat"). The series has been amazing from the get go, and now that they are using flash forwards to show what happens in the future, pieces of the puzzle will really start to fall into place. The season has been promised to be darker and more action packed than before, and there are new characters to be introduced, and a couple old one returning. I am beyond excited to see what happens next. The season begins on January 31.

So, there you are. I will try to update this often. Leave feedback about anything you think is worth my coverage.

Signing out for now,
Brandon

You can't stop the signal...