Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Stardate 59566.28 - Reviews

Dawn of the Dead (remake) - Two thumbs up!! The ending was not "Hollywood", the characters were well acted, and it was just tongue-in-cheek enough to be fairly humorous. It was pretty gory, however, and is not for the weak-stomached.

Bridget Jones - Edge of Reason
- Two thumbs down. Not good. Couple of funny moment, but it was such a huge deviation from the book that we really didn't like it.

Also went to see The Waifs at Joe's Pub Monday night. Terrific show!! They have one final concert tonight, and then they are off for about 12 months. The lead act, Ben Weaver, who is married to one of the Waifs (Donna), was not very good, in my opinion. I bought his CD hoping that the studio version of him would be better...it is not. In fact, it is worse than him live. Sorry Donna and Ben! At least Ben got my $15. The two people we went to see the show with both loved The Waifs so much they both purchased the double live album at the door on the way out.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Stardate 59544.37 - Baby Girl on the Way

While we have not made a general announcement via e-mail or anything, my wife is around 21 weeks pregnant right now and we are expecting a baby girl in November 2005 (approximately stardate 59866). Perhaps I will write about that experience here.

While everything seems good so far we are still a little apprehensive after previous pregancies did not work out. So far, however, all seems well with this one.

Friday, July 15, 2005

Stardate 59536.01 - Another Movie Review

Forgot to add:

The Chronicles of Riddick

Thumb sideways - Cheryl did not watch this one either. The first movie, Pitch Black, which was not set up for a sequel, was really good. Making a sequel was a bit of a stretch, and the ending is a little over the top.

Stardate 59535.53: Naples Italy

It has been some time since I have written here, so I will put in several separate entries so that people can ignore the ones they don’t care about. You hear that, my 1-2 readers? Don’t just read the first article below. There are several new ones.

Recently spent 15 days in Europe on business: Germany, Belgium, and Italy. Now, I love Italy. Cheryl and I spent 2 weeks in the north on vacation with another couple and we all absolutely loved the country. The other couple even went back this year for another 2 weeks. But I have to say that Naples is not the north. Not even close. Naples is a pit. Awful. Hot, crowded, dirty, polluted, and miserable to try and get anywhere. We found a small area of pretty good restaurants, but it required a shuttle ride from the hotel and a taxi ride back.

I was do disappointed as I loved the north so much and I was so excited to be back in Italy with someone else footing the bill but Naples just plain sucked. I guess you can use Naples to launch off to other islands nearby that are nice, but I recommend no one spend any time in the city of Naples.

Stardate 59535.53: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

It has been some time since I have written here, so I will put in several separate entries so that people can ignore the ones they don’t care about. You hear that, my 1-2 readers? Don’t just read the first article below. There are at least two new ones.

This is the most stupid situation I can imagine. Wait…no, GW did win a second term.

Here is the deal, the software for GTA had code in it, that only when coupled with a third-party software modification, adds sex scenes. Every idiot senator and lawmaker seems to be going after the game's maker, Rockstar Games Inc. Bear in mind that the game is rated “M”, so that only people 17 and older are supposed to purchase it. The “M” rating covers “intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language”.

First, the idiots think it should be rated “A”. I think the modification should be rated “A”, but the game by itself DOES NOT CONTAIN the sex acts. So “M” is appropriate.

Second, the idiots say that people under 17 get the game. Blame the parents. Blame the retailers. Do not blame the game maker. Blaming the game maker for people underage getting the game is like blaming the MPAA or Paramount when a theater in Wisconsin permits 14-year olds into a “R” movie. The fault is with the theater, not the MPAA or Paramount. Likewise, don’t blame the game maker if the stores are selling it to underage buyers or if parents are purchasing it for their kids.

Third, where are the damn parents? To all you parents out there…YOU have the responsibility to monitor your kids games, TV, movies, Internet use, book reading, etc. Don’t blame HBO for a series like Deadwood, and don’t blame Rockstar Games for GTA…blame YOURSELVES for not monitoring your kids more closely.

This whole situation really pisses me off. Lets focus on people breaking the law by…oh I don’t know…maybe leaking the names of CIA operatives, and focus less on video games.

Stardate 59535.53: Movie/Play Reviews

Have seen a bunch of stuff recently:

  • Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Two Thumps up. Hysterical movie that both Cheryl and I really enjoyed.
  • The Replacement Killers. Thumb up. Cheryl was away when I rented this, but I enjoyed it. Mira Sorvino is hot, hot, hot.
  • War of the Worlds. Two thumbs down. Stupid ending that came about way too quickly, horrible lack of motivation for the characters (particularly the idiot son), and a really stupid Hollywood move at the end that removed all credibility the movie may have tried to squeak by with. Awful, awful, awful. Yes, the special effects were good, but they are good in everything now.
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales [1976]. Thumb up. Cheryl missed seeing this one. A retired USMC Colonel recommended this one to me, so I added it to our Netflix list. Couldn’t believe I had never seen it. One critic said “best movie of 1976”. It was quite good.
  • Kidnapping Caucasian Style (Shurik's New Adventures) [1971]. Russian movie with English subtitles. That way Cheryl and I can both enjoy it. Two thumbs up. Very silly, but funny.
  • Avenue Q. Saw this on Broadway. Thumbs up all around…me and my Mom and 2 relatives. I now have to go back and take Cheryl. I also MUST find the soundtrack now.
  • Catch Me If You Can. Two thumbs up. Liked it more than I thought I would.
  • The Beach. Liked the book somewhat, did not like the movie. If you did not read the book, you will not get the movie. Two thumbs down, or maybe sideways since we had read the book.
  • The Day After Tomorrow. Two thumbs up. Another one I did not expect to like as much as I did. Living in NYC makes this one even more interesting.