dvd on tap: Resurrection [Russell Mulcahy]

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
Serial killer with religious slant being tracked by a troubled cop in a gloomy, moody environment. Sounds familiar? Because Resurrection is a poor man's Seven, by any measure. Chicago detective John Prudhomme (Christopher Lambert), haunted by the death of his only son and distanced emotionally from his wife, needs all his wits about him to catch a ritualistic serial killer who has a penchant for taking a piece of his victims with him. When his partner Andy (Leland Orser - a Seven alumnus!) gets hurt in an up-close encounter with the killer, Prudhomme has to work fast, and is stunned to learn the murderer is closer than he thinks. This one at least has an upbeat ending, unlike its better predecessor where every member of the audience left the theater looking like they lost their organs.

"Doesn't Hannibal Lecter just take kidneys?"

Week 8 Bets

1st and 10 ... Week 8 prognostications - bets in color
Sunday Games
Arizona Cardinals at Buffalo Bills ... Arizona defense is the league's best despite being 2-4
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys ... I like Mariucci's boys better
Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans ... Which Chad is going to show up?
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs ... this could even eclipse Wk 3's Colts-Pack shootout
NY Giants at Minnesota Vikings ... i'll be rooting for the New York team but Culpepper is still on fire
Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles ... Ray, will you shut T.O. up?
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers ... damn i'm torn here, i'll be happy either way *lol*
Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins ... Joe Gibbs needs the Pepto
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans ... another split-choice. aaaargh.
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks ... if the 'Hawks lose even this one, start fireholmgren.com
Atlanta Falcons at Denver Broncos ... Two pretenders. Suddenly unmasked. Yikes.
Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers ... Memo to Mr. Brees: Just Win, Baby
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears ... i'd bet the Bears would like to switch QBs with 49ers
Monday Night Football
Miami Dolphins at NY Jets ... 9 PM EST This is where you'll find me.

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Last Wk:   8/14   57.14%
Overall: 61/102   59.8%   still good.
Road:   29-22
Home:  32-19

dvd on tap: Rat Race [Jerry Zucker]

BUST-A-GUT WEEK
Now that we're done with felines, let's deal with rodents. On a typical lazy day in Vegas, let's see - what have we got? Two loser brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf) angling for a quick buck. A disgraced football referee (Cuba Gooding Jr) trying to escape the crowd. A mother (Whoopi Goldberg) meeting a long-lost daughter (Lanei Chapman). A slob dad (Jon Lovitz) taking his family for a Sin City vacation. An Italian who's a little cuckoo, not to mention slow (Rowan Atkinson). And a young goody-two shoe Chicago attorney (Breckin Meyer) who's just about to head back after attending his friend's wedding. They all win an opportunity to grab 2 million dollars stored in a train station locker room. Coincidence? No. They've all been set up by eccentric hotel owner Don Sinclair (John Cleese), who spends most of his time conjuring up outrageous things to bet on with his equally bored-and-rich circle of friends (like what? oh, things like who's going to puke first in a wiggling Learjet, or how much would a hooker charge given some kinky demands). Scripted beautifully Andy Breckman (just suspend your sense of reality and enjoy how each of the contestants manage to get to the destination through the most outrageous situations imaginable - an unimaginable) and directed by Jerry Zucker (who has comedy pedigree with Airplane! and Top Secret), Rat Race piles on the laughs and makes you think that everyone in this planet is really just going to do anything for money. Who else would ignore $2 million? But that's until the final scene, where it still puts faith in a man's basic goodness and decency. A keeper in my collection.

"Free internet connection? Where?? Where???"

dvd on tap: The Cat in The Hat [Bo Welch]

BUST-A-GUT WEEK
The second big screen adaptation of Dr. Theodore Geisel's (Seuss to the laymen like me) beloved books comes to life in a dazzling array of colors and effects. Mike Myers plays The Cat with lots of energy and a liiiiiiiiiiittle bit of Austin Powers in there somewhere. A simple tale of children having fun while the parents are away, the movie appeals most to the children who get a lot out of their imagination (and the Cat does bring a lot in the chaos department. Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin are the kids, Kelly Preston is their mom, while Alec Baldwin and Sean Hayes provide support as the scheming Quinn and the hyper-hygienic Mr Humberfloob. Savaged by critics, i still think its less annoying than How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

"Oh dear ... this is gonna ruin my shagadelic reputation."

dvd on tap: Office Space [Mike Judge]

BUST-A-GUT WEEK
Already considered a cult classic (at least for the geek crowd hehe), Office Space hits all the right notes and strikes a chord for the IT everyman screwed by the idiots upstairs. Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston, a poor man's Brendan Fraser) hates his job at a tech firm specializing in Y2k conversion, and hates his 8 bosses railing on him about cover pages on TPS reports (that actually became a popular in-joke - Totally Pointless Stuff), especially Bill Lumbergh (a hilarious Gary Cole). Fed up with the BS, he conspires with his pals Michael (David Herman, whose character is another of hysteria) and Samir (Ajay Naidu) to steal money from the company using a virus that debits fractions of cents from accounts, as to be inconspicuous. Along the way, he woos waitress Joanna (Jennifer Aniston) and provides a romantic slant to what would have been just "a geek movie." Speaking of geeks (and losers), Stephen Root provides giggles as unknowingly disenfranchised employee named Milton, who apparently was fired a long time ago, but HR lost the paperwork and payroll still kept sending the checks. Judge's (Mr Beavis and Butthead himself) satirical work is based on an animated short of the same name focused mainly on the Milton character, but expanded beautifully to a scale that should appeal even to the non-Dilbert crowd.

Things you won't see in "Friends"

dvd on tap: Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back [Kevin Smith]

BUST-A-GUT WEEK
Continuing the comic misadventures of his pot-smoking slacker creations Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and himself), comic writer Kevin Smith now pits them against Hollywood for making a movie about them - well, no, it really doesn't start out that way. See, they wanted to kick bulletin board posters' asses who flamed them on the internet, and at the same time stop the movie from being filmed (so they won't get flamed) - but they also want to collect paychecks for being the characters' basis. Along the way, they pick up some hot jewel thieves (riiiiight, Shannon Elizabeth hooks up with foul-mouthed dopehead Mewes), steal a monkey, escape and evade a wildlife sheriff (Will Ferrell), and recreate Star Wars lighsaber fights with Mark Hammill. With nods to pop culture, dirty and off-color jokes (wink, wink), numerous cameo appearances (you'll need your toes), and references to his own movies, the script practically wrote itself (as opposed to his comicbooks, where he has "a diarrhea of the keyboard" - thanks, jeg!). Call Smith a self-indulgent prick, but he's the fanboys' self-indulgent prick.

"Ben is dating J-Lo!?!? M&$@#!F#%&^$%R!!"

[CJ Forward Playlist 10272004]

Album: Frazier Chorus Ray
Snaptrax: Walking On Air, Prefer You Dead, Cloud 8, We Love You, All The Air
A relatively unknown band with a short career, but one that will never be ignored in my collection.

dvd on tap: Comic Book Villains [James Robinson]

BUST-A-GUT WEEK
One of the very few movies about comics and the whole collecting culture, Comic Book Villains explores the life of small town slacker Archie (DJ Qualls), a fanboy who realizes there is a world beyond comicbook collecting, but is caught between two other rivals vying for an extensive collection in the possession of an old lady who doesn't want to sell. Archie's friend Raymond (Donal Logue), a true-blue fan and broke comicstore owner, who dreams of occupying the same rarefied air as his idol creators, and who despises his crosstown rivals Norman (Michael Rapaport) and Judy (Natasha Lyonne), who to him represent the corporate and commercialized evil aspect of the industry. The movie slips into edgy black comedy halfway as Raymond even contracts a former schoolmate Carter (a miscast Cary Elwes) to steal the collection. Within its indie confines (first time director Robinson is a writer first and foremost) lies the yearning to move the culture beyond its core audience, but still, the title itself ensures only the fanboys will be filling the seats. I still can relate *s*.

"What?!? Jean Grey's dead?? Again???"

[CJ Forward/Reverse Playlist 10262004]

Album: Aerosmith O Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
Snaptrax: Walk This Way, Mama Kin, Sweet Emotion, Big Ten Inch Record, Dude (Looks Like A Lady), Janie's Got A Gun, Angel, Love In An Elevator, Pink, Jaded, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Living On The Edge, Just Push Play
NNice retrospective. Cool SUT music.

: : STATIC : :
| VOL. 0001 |

i decided to make an end-of-the-week blog/column, just for the heck of it. just a recap of the past 7 days, and random thoughts. I'm not sure if i can stick to it in the long run or even consistently, but it would be a fun exercise, and it would be maximizing blogging as a pasttime. well, who knows i might die tomorrow, so this is the closest i'll get to having a Recorder (yup, those Kree papparazzi) document my complicated-yet-not-really life. although its not as if anyone reads this (cue torero laughter here). I should mass-email this location at some point *lol*.

iBox (or what i saw on TV this week)
Desperate Housewives - We finally see the Teri-Hatcher-nekkid episode hoooohaaa!
Boston Legal - Freddie Prinze Jr is Denny Crane's son. Not!
Lost ("White Rabbit")- Sawyer is suspected of stealing supplies and bartering them away (but its actually Boone). Jack, haunted by hallucinations of his late father, comes to terms with his being thrust as the leader of the survivors. Nice character development, but this week its missing a cliffhanger for next week.
The Apprentice 2 - Missed parts of it, but Stacy (the mini-lawyer) got offed. I mean fired. And its mix-and-match now - no more gender-based teams.
E.R. ("Fear") - i can't seem to get away from the operating room. Dr Korday gets kicked out for doing that HIV+/organ-donation operation, a mother's 2 daughters fall out of the window under suspicious circumstances (and when one of them dies on the table, you know it hurts Carter again), Pratt and Chen are talking again after the season-opening accident, Abby inadvertently drives out that annoying doctor with OCD, Sam's still thinking of moving in with Kovac, Neela finally comes to her senses and jumps at Lewis' offer to return to the ER - yay! Also, Abby and Carter could be together again, down the line.

Hey! Where was CSI NY this week???

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1st and 10 ... Week 7 prognostications (bets in color).
Sunday Games
Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns ... TO vs Jeff Garcia Round 1!
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts ... Manning vs Leftwich Round 2!
Atlanta Falcons at Kansas City Chiefs ... Chiefs can win this if they put Vick on a leash
St. Louis Rams at Miami Dolphins ... if the 'Fins cant beat the Bills, how much more the Rams?
Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings ... Fisher-Men can't avoid Daunte's (TD) Inferno
Detroit Lions at NY Giants ... Lions will have first road loss
Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers ... Bucs showing signs of life
San Diego Chargers at Carolina Panthers ... Two teams going on opposite directions
Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens ... Bledsoe should have taken out insurance premiums per sack (but that would be too expensive)
NY Jets at New England Patriots ... One chance to get back at Boston after Yankee meltdown. J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!!
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals ... Hawks are mad for losing 2 straight. Cardinals look out!
New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders ... Two crap teams slugging it out ... ho-humm
Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers ... Two better teams playing for pride
Monday Night Football
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals ... Chad Johnson now needs the Pepto.

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No Biz Like ...

Hey, props to Lav Diaz for his new film Evolution (10 hours? really?). I never saw Batang West Side but i heard it got good reviews. Is it on DVD somewhere?

Meet the new Big Blue. Little-known Brandon Routh reportedly snagged the coveted title role in upcoming Superman movie.

Let's see ... Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. James Marsden as Cyclops. Shiiiitake. Let's hope he knows what he's doing.

Britney Spears, as quoted in British magazine New! about her displeasure on the cover shot of her greatest hits CD, saying, "I look like a porn star. And why the blonde hair? I am so over being blonde."
and you are so over, girl. you just got better Vegas odds in appearing nude in Playboy down the line. Did she mention porn? Hwa-ha-ha-ha.

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CoolStuff (via Gizmodo/Endgadget and other RSS feeds)
Scrabble Pocket Dictionary *lol* (http://www.bookofjoe.com/2004/10/official_scrabb.html)
For those who love typing in the dark *s*
Honey, you ARE friggin' fat.
You're a dick. And your car is a vibrator. *nyuknyuknyuk*
Samsung SCH-S250 (5 Mpx Camera QVGA 16.7M colors, MP3 Player, 92 Mb RAM $800)
Mindball ... only for the rich and cultured hoity-toity chumps?
Break down the Gates! (http://www.spreadfirefox.com/)

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Current Pulp on Hand: Trojan Odyssey - I've been a sucker for Clive Cussler's adventure novels woven intricately with history and his love for the sea, ever since he had Dirk Pitt raise the Titanic. Now, with age almost-but-not-yet catching up with him, Pitt is still the daredevil but now has new company: his long-lost twin children, Dirk and Summer. They're chip off the old block that's for sure, but here's hoping Cussler still has it in him to write the next generation of adventurers when Dirk Sr hangs up his diving suit (and make the twins' a bit more distinctive). Well, this time, Celtic artifacts are discovered under the sea near the Dominican Republic but there has been no recorded sea travel there, at least for the Celts. Uh-huh. Lost sunk civilization. And how does this all go back to the Trojans? I'll tell you when I'm done. *s*

Spin, Spin, Whiskey and Gin: Tori Amos - Tales of A Librarian. An artist I haven't paid much interest to, and whose greatest hits collection has found its way into my stereo.

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uThoughts:
Team America: World Police is the #1 movie in America ... involving puppets (hahahahaha - so proclaimed the TV ad after the first week). Yeah, audiences are just being cautious. But if you want to laugh and aren't easily offended, c'mon, hands down, this is The Movie to see.

Notable commercials: Blue Man Group for Intel Centrino ... Toyota with that single wheel rolling through the phases of life (and that upcoming Fisher song) ... NexTel with office guys grooving to "Push it" ... U2 doing "Vertigo" for new cool iPod commercial (although Bono sings "uno...dos...tres...katorse!" what th-?)

Despite recent studies that more and more people are surfing the net than watching TV, I have to say I still do watch a fair chunk of TV (and thus a lot more commercials, an industry which currently reeling because of such habit changes). Probably because of the new TV season. But often you'll find me both on the net and glancing at the tube.

New Sales director (Colm Meaney!!!) in town ... is this a change for the better? fingers crossed!

Boston Red Sox vs St Louis Cardinals ... Boston would have loved to face Clemens/Astros instead.

Its been a year since my dad and sis were here ... great times.