Wow, that was really sappy.

Yeah, I know I' m a big softie for Wookiees. Just another sign that I need to get more sleep.

Tomorrow, Monday, is actually my Friday, as I'm just finishing up opening 5 days in a row. That really screwed me up, as I'm not used to getting up early on a regular basis. Who am I going to complain to, though? I make the schedule. Everyone seems to getting along ok, knock on wood, but inventory is coming up, and that always makes me cranky, regardless of the outcome. I'll be back to my normal self on Sunday, February 13th, when its over, at least for a couple months.

I'm bringing my laptop to work, so I can type some more ramblings while Brenda moves the wall. I would really like to help, but helping her won't help her. That was the coolest sentence ever. I figure if I keep myself occupied tomorrow, I won't feel the need to intervene when I see her doing something I wouldn't. Like I told JET, I have to allow her to fail.

Our vacuum broke, and I couldn't fix it. I felt useless.

I put up window vinyl, and Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling look like aliens since I had to slice their heads in half in order to fit them in the window. They're just two aliens making out.

Today's random movie recommendation would be The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. It is the best self-deprecating sci-fi movie ever, and it features a talking skeleton. I SLEEP NOW!

The Force is strong with me...

I know it's only January, or almost February, but I am getting so psyched about Episode III. I don't want to, because May is several months away, and the movie could suck, but nonetheless I find myself searching theforce.net for news every day.

Star Wars will always be the defining movie experience of my youth. I was born in 1979, 2 years after Episode IV came out, but some of my oldest memories involves Empire and Jedi toys. Return of the Jedi came out when I was 4, and I don't remember seeing it in the theater, but as I grew up, I began to love the trilogy more and more. Now, I am straight-up addicted to playing Star Wars Battlefront on Xbox Live, I Tivo every single 3 minute episode of Clone Wars, and I'm seriously considering going to a national Star Wars convention.

A note on that: I'm struggling with the fact that to go would mean to admit a higher level of geekiness than I have previously come to grips with. But it would be fun, and its in Indianapolis, which is easily within driving distance. I have vacation to use from work, so I might go... but I also don't want to go by myself. That'd be no fun. So I've gotta send out an APB to any of my friends who might join me in embracing their inner fanboy.

Anyway, I am granting Lucas a pass, for now, on the overall mediocrity of Episodes I & II. If he is somehow able to screw up three movies in a row, perhaps I will become somewhat disillusioned with the Star Wars saga. But there will always be a special place in my heart for Luke, Han and Chewie, the heroes of my childhood.

Again, up way too late.

I'll keep this quick, as I have to work in the morning. I had the day off today, but I didn't too anything too productive, other than clean up the apartment a little and finish my self-review for work. Normally, I think the concept of a self-review is kinda pointless, but since Jim is new as the DM, I have to make sure I get in my two cents this time. When he first came on, and Chris left, I was skeptical that the year-end reviews would be entirely accurate, since Jim has only been around a short time. I'm still skeptical.

Kelsey and I watched Wet Hot American Summer tonight, along with Tues and Wed editions of American Idol. Idol's like a live train wreck with millions of people tuning in every night to see people sing badly. I am one of those people. WHAS was awesome as usual, with talking vegetable cans and 80s cliches out the wazoo. I had either forgotten that Amy Poehler was in it, or I didn't quite know who she was the last time I watched it. Either way, she's spectacular, as always, and I hate Will Arnett so much. Grr..

Starting tomorrow I open 5 days in a row, so hopefully I can get back to some sort of normal sleep schedule. If not, I'll just be a zombie, and roam from town to town, occasionally pausing to feast on someone's brains. Then I'd turn to the camera (?), and in my best zombie-slash-Flintstones voice remark "Eh, it's a living." Shrug my shoulders and fade to black. Fin.

Bulletin: Oscar picks delayed

For complete comprehension of the following rant, click this sentence.

I decided that since I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby, which was nominated for a gazillion Oscars, or Hotel Rwanda, which was nominated for a few, that I'll hold off on my predictions for now. However, I can get some of my feelings off my chest about the noms.

First of all, I really, really wanted The Incredibles to get a Best Picture nom. We all know that Finding Neverland has no chance, so they could have given the slot to a fun action flick, and advanced the public's perception of animated films, like they did in '92 with Beauty and the Beast (which was way more "kiddie" than The Incredibles). I guess it was kind of a long shot, since Oscar likes to be taken seriously, i.e. no nominations ever for Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon, Truman Show or Eternal Sunshine were all nom-worthy). Oh, well. Incredibles will walk away with the Best Animated Feature for certain, but I wish it could have broken out of that category.

I was disappointed that there was no nomination for Peter Sarsgaard for Kinsey, Paul Giamatti for Sideways, Director Michel Gondry for Eternal Sunshine, House of Flying Daggers for Foreign Language Film, or, as I said before, Jim Carrey for Eternal Sunshine. It was the performance of his career, and I really don't know what it's going to take for the Academy to take him seriously. However, I was very happy about Catalina Sandino Moreno for Maria Full of Grace, Kate Winslet and the writing team from Eternal Sunshine, and Clive Owen and Natalie Portman for Closer. Tim is crazy in love with Natalie Portman, but seemed kinda torn over her Golden Globe win, since he hated the movie so much. I don't think I hated it, but I would agree that Owen and Portman carried the film, and were basically the reasons for watching.

Overall, the main races, save maybe Best Actor, are still anybody's to win. It'll be very fun to watch the awards and not know what's going to happen. I still have a list of nominated films I need to see, the main two I already mentioned, but also A Very Long Engagement, Lemony Snicket, and The Motorcycle Diaries, among others. I doubt that I will not be able to see Vera Drake or Being Julia before the awards, unless some totally awesome theater decides to pick them up again. That theater would be the coolest theater ever, and I would be forever in their debt. (The preceding sentences were a desperat plea to all local cinema operators, in case they should happen to read this.)

Like I said, once I've seen a few more flicks, I'll put together my comprehensive list. I have the day off tomorrow, so I may try to catch Hotel Rwanda, but I've got other stuff to do too. I closed the past two nights, and Brenda opened, without any major incident, so I'm kinda in a good mood towards work right now. We'll see how long that lasts. Hmm..

As an afterthought, CNN Headline News is right now running a story about how Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11 were "shunned" by Oscar. Upon further reflection, neither movie was really that good. Passion was a two hour long snuff film, punctuated by brief glimpses of the true message of the New Testament, and Fahrenheit, while both illuminating and infuriating, was far too slanted to be called a true documentary, and far too political and depressing to be a popcorn movie. I don't think either one deserved a Best Picture nom, like CNN would suggest. I think Passion deserved it's Cinematography and Makeup noms, but not the Original Score. Fahrenheit would have been a sure bet for a Documentary nom, but Moore chose to submit it for Best Picture instead. His loss. Super Size Me was better anyway.

That's way too much ranting for one night. I better sleep before my head explodes, Scanners style.

Busy Weekend

I haven't posted since Thursday, since I was in Joliet all weekend. I was able to piggyback onto Clay's wireless, but I didn't feel motivated to post. I drove home early on Friday, since the almighty snow from hell falleth down upon us, and I figured it would be better to drive in the daylight. I suppose that wasn't a "business decision", as Jim would put it, but it was a sanity and safety decision. No regrets. Anyway, got home and saw the folks, which was great.

The main reason for the trip was to see Monty Python's Spamalot, the new musical based upon Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This is it's premiere engagement, after which it will open on Broadway on St. Patrick's Day. I have always regretted not seeing The Producers when it came to Chicago, under the same pre-New York conditions, so I was ecstatic to be able to see this show. I can't do justice to the show with a standard movie-type review, since it was such a unique experience, but I'll do my best to sum up.

First, Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria were all in this show, starring as King Arthur, Sir Robin and Sir Lancelot, respectively. Just to be in the same room with Tim Curry was worth the price of admission alone. (Incidentally, the price for me was zero. Thanks, mom.)
The show basically adapts the movie to the stage, but adds songs (obviously) and a few characters and plot threads, and omits some of the same. Most of my favorite parts were included, including the totally awesome Tim the Enchanter, the most badass enchanter since Gandalf. The songs are great, for the most part, and take some hilarious swipes at some of their competitors, like Phantom or The Producers. Most importantly, the show was very, very funny. I've seen the movie dozens of times, but this production kept finding inventive new ways to make me laugh.

The trip to and from Chicago was an adventure in itself. The aforementioned snow was out in full force, falling and blowing and generally making a nuisance of itself. I drove, since the Explorer's got 4 wheel drive, but it was still kinda sketchy, and I strongly dislike driving in Chicago, even in perfect weather. But we survived, and I got to go to Roy's, which is one of the folks' favorite places to go when in Maui. We didn't go when we were there in November, since they went before I got there, which is cool. I can see why they love it so much, though. The food was great, a Hawaiian-Asian-European fusion, and the staff was very helpful and friendly (courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent). It was definitely worth the crazy trip to Chi-town for the show and dinner.

Sunday, we watched football, and had Chicken-N-Spice, aka THE FOOD OF THE GODS! Its nice to be able to hit up the local joints when I'm home, places a regular passerby would probably not venture to try. C-N-S has the best chicken ever, but they do kinda look like a dive. Football, though, was kinda hit and miss. Both teams I was hoping to win lost, those being the Falcons and Steelers, but I wasn't really emotionally involved at all. Once the Packers and Chargers lost, I didn't really have a team to root for. However, I think the Eagles and Patriots will give us the best game out of the possible matchups. I guess I like the Patriots, or maybe I just dislike the Eagles more. 4th and 26!!!!! Stupid Eagles!!!!!

Anyway, Oscar noms are announced this morning, and I'll post my picks and predictions once I get a good look at the list. Like I've said before, there's no clear frontrunner this year, so it'll be veeerrry interesting to see what happens. For now, though, I gotta go to sleep.

Check out this link. It's awesome.

Flying Dagger NINJA POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm going home this weekend, to visit the folks and see Spamalot in Chi-town. It'll be nice to get away from work for a couple days, since its been all stressful and whatnot. (He's like, a man of destiny and whatnot. He'd be swinging those clubs to and fro all the livelong day.) Tim's last day was today. That's sad. :(

Kelsey and I saw House of Flying Daggers at the Rosebud on Tuesday, and it was frickin awesome. Tim asked me how it compared to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a film I absolutely loved, and upon reflection, I think Flying Daggers was better. I have to say I was fairly disappointed by Hero when I saw it last summer, but director Zhang Yimou has redeemed himself with this film. I'm tired, and I have stuff to do, so I'll post more on it later.

I still need to see Hotel Rwanda, Million Dollar Baby, and whatever Oscar movies I've missed, but I won't know what they are until Tuesday. That's OK, since I won't have time to go see them until then anyway. Tomorrow, I'm driving to Joliet, Saturday, I'll be in Chicago, Sunday is FOOTBALL, and I close Monday and Tuesday. Yeah, I guess I'm busy.

All work and no play

After sleeping through the Golden Globes, I finally watched them about 1am last night. I guess I was pretty happy with most of the winners, notably Natalie Portman and Clive Owen for Closer. The movie as a whole was kinda unsatisfying, but their performances upstaged their better-known counterparts in Julia Roberts and Jude Law. I was disappointed that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind didn't win anything, but it did come out earlier in the year, and competition from Sideways was fierce. Jamie Foxx's win was probably the least surprising award ever, but his speech was the most entertaining of the night. The Globes are just the red-headed stepchild of the Oscars, though, and there's no way I'll be sleeping through those. I must plan a grandiose event, worthy of the awards themselves. Either that, or I'll have a couple people over and we'll bet on the winners. Fun times.

I'm at work right now, taking advantage of the whole "portability" aspect of a notebook computer and the fact that Monday nights are DEAD at the Hollywood Video. We do have to sticker new MVP titles, and put out the new movies for tomorrow, but customer traffic is basically nil. Or at least slow enough that I'm able to sit in the office and type this for later upload at home. I found out that Starbucks' Wi-fi is T-Mobile, which is anything but free. So I can pick up the signal, but I can't use it. Stupid Starbucks. They also built a new Starbucks about 1 mile down the road on Highway 100. In addition to the one about 1 mile up the road. You do the math. I'm not a business genius, but I just don't see how they can sustain three locations so close together. They must be doing something right, though.

I'll be done here in about an hour, then go home and watch some TV. This is the first Monday night I've worked since April, so my schedule is a little screwed up. And I have to be to work by 8 am tomorrow, even though its my day off!! Argghh!! We have a conference call, and I don't have a home phone, so I have to come in. I could use my cell, but I'm 99% percent sure they charge minutes for toll-free numbers. Grr. I hope Jim moves the conference calls back to Monday, so this doesn't become a bi-weekly occurence. Then I can go see House of Flying Daggers at the Rosebud, so all will be well.

And Dave's gonna get laid. He told me to say that.

So yeah, I'm kinda dumb sometimes...

In my infinite wisdom of planning, I scheduled myself to work nights all this week, but then to open Sunday, today. Well now I can't get to sleep, and I'm supposed to be to work in 3 hours. I guess I'll just stay awake, because if I go lay down now, I'm going to be even more tired when I have to get up. I don't want to crash right when I get home from work, either, since the Colts-Patriots game will still be on, and after that, the Golden Globes, which Kelsey and I were going to watch. Maybe I'll just run by the store and stock up on Red Bull. That'd work.

Nothing but drama at work recently. Nobody seems to be getting along with each other, which is frustrating, since working at a video store is a really easy job. I don't see why there's so much complaining going on. I'm lucky; I could be out digging ditches in this sub-zero weather. I'm just starting to get really tired of having to solve everyone's problems for them. I know that's a manager's job, but it'd be nice to not be the guy in charge for a change. Just do what I'm told and not have to worry about anyone else. But hey, stress is why I make the big bucks, he said sarcastically.

I'm looking forward to going home this weekend and seeing the folks, although this Ipass situation is straight-up rindonkulous. I have to pay 50 bucks, and authorize you to take 50 more bucks out of my credit card if I use up my credits? Heck with that. I'll see if I can buy one at Jewel without having to use the credit card. I just don't like the idea of a state I don't even live in charging me 50 bucks to drive on their interstate. I might try to Mapquest an alternate route home, but I bet it would take about twice as long, and I'd end up spending the money I save on tolls on gas instead. The fact that Illinois will now charge 1.50 at the border of Wisconsin is infuriating to me. ARGGGG!

I know I'm sort of rambling tonight, but hey, its 5:15 in the morning, and I can ramble all I please. That's all I have right now, but check out this cool link, right here. Night.

Maria Full of Grace

I watched the DVD of Maria Full of Grace tonight, and was actually quite impressed. I find that the general film press sources I read, like Entertainment Weekly or Roger Ebert, tend to heap praise on foreign flicks, just because. But like last year's City of God (which was one of my favorites of the year), Maria is a realistic, incisive look into a culture we don't hear about very often; In City of God, it was Brazilian slum street gangs, and in Maria, its Columbian drug mules. Not the actual mules, mind you, but young women that are paid to deliver drugs to the U.S. By swallowing them. Fun job, eh?

Maria, as portrayed by newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno, is seventeen, pregnant, newly unemployed, and lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house outside of Bogota. Looking for money, she becomes involved with local drug lords, and becomes a "mule", transporting heroin to New York City by ingesting 60 small packets of the drug. This is a role that required precision handling, for it could easily become weepy and sentimental, or conversely, like The Opposite of Sex, Maria could have become a film where you had zero sympathy for, or empathy with, the main character. Moreno, however, in her first film, turns in a performance worthy of an actress many years her senior. Her graceful journey through her character's many conflicting emotions centers the film in her journey, not the tricky subject matter. It is a rare occasion when an established Hollywood actress can carry a film in such a manner, yet Moreno's performance seems effortless. Since Oscar season is rolling around again, perhaps another comparison is in order. Last year, Keisha Castle-Hughes brought me to tears in Whale Rider, her first film, and earned herself an Oscar nomination in the process. While Moreno's role does not carry the same emotional weight as Hughes', I'm still adding her to my list of deserving candidates. (The list also includes Peter Sarsgaard of Kinsey, for those keeping score at home.)

I haven't watched the film with the commentary on yet, but I am really eager to: There must be great stories about the process. Maria was shot on location in Columbia, Ecuador and New York, with mostly Columbian actors, only two of which had previous film experience, at least as listed at The Internet Movie Database. Furthermore, this is only the second film for writer-director Joshua Marston, a California-born former journalist. That such a challenging set of circumstance can be overcome, for Maria to become one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year, is an encouraging sign that at least part of the moviegoing public is interested in story, not just flashy effects and loud noises. I know I sound like an art house snob right here, but at a time when Fat Albert, National Treasure and White Noise are all outperforming The Life Aquatic at the theaters, its refreshing to see a little indie film like Maria make a ripple in the big boy's pond. Sometimes, all you need is a great story, and you can get an A. Come to think of it, City of God gets an A, too. So there.

Kinsey

Tonight, Kelsey and I went to go see Kinsey at West Point in Brookfield. This is yet another Oscar-season biopic, this time about Dr. Alfred Kinsey, a biologist and behavioral researcher who dropped a sexbomb on the country with his frank discussions of human sexuality.

Liam Neeson stars in the title role, along with Laura Linney, Peter Sarsgaard and Chris O'Donnell. Neeson has received a lot of Oscar buzz for his performance, and I can definitely understand why. It's a tough role, where he must at times appear clinical and removed from the subject of sex, but at other times appear quite emotionally fragile. It's a fine line to walk, and Neeson pull it off admirably. As Kelsey noted, he can occasionally overemote when drama dictates passion, but his performance remained subdued yet emotional throughout the film. I think an Oscar nomination would be in order, but probably not a win. I'll get into that, however, once the nominations are announced. A potential winner, though, for Best Supporting Actor, would be Sarsgaard, as Kinsey's bisexual assistant Clyde Martin. His flippant attitude towards sex fits right in with Kinsey's clinical approach, and when he ends up sleeping with both Dr. and Mrs. Kinsey, it's easy to understand, as is his emotional breakdown later in the film. Sarsgaard's was the caliber of performance that makes me want to go rent his other films, just to see if he's as good in the others.

The film was written and directed by Bill Condon, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who also wrote and directed 1998's Gods and Monsters. He portrait of Kinsey may be somewhat whitewashed, but so was A Beautiful Mind, Beyond the Sea, Ray, Man on the Moon and any number of other flicks. The film does tend to speed through things, again a common problem in biopics. Neeson and Linney don't seem to age, though the film progresses through about 30 years. Certain subplots are aldo rushed through, or left incomplete, such as Kinsey's tempestous relationships with his father and son, and his encounter with a sex-addicted child abuser. Condon introduces these plot threads, all of which seemed very interesting, but then each one was slowly left adrift, never to be heard from again.

The most interesting thing about Kinsey was the fact that so much has changed since that time, namely the 1940s, and yet so much is the same. During a scene when Neeson and Sarsgaard kiss, two men behind us were giggling like schoolgirls. And while a lot of what Dr. Kinsey discussed, like premarital sex, has become much more socially acceptable, homosexuality is just as marginalized and frowned-upon as it was back then. Society may allow Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera to sex up our radios and TVs, but heaven forbid two men should love each other. It's not right, but it's the way the country is. Who's the president again?

All told, Kinsey was a fairly good look at a man who was willing to discuss what no one else would: SEX. I never felt quite emotionally involved with the story, but the cast's performances made this a film worth seeing. I give it a B.

Warner now owes me two hours..

Meaning the two hours of my life I'll never get back after watching Catwoman. Sure, I knew it wouldn't be good, and at least I didn't pay to see it. But, wow. That was terrible.

Catwoman was probably the first superhero movie I didn't go see in the theater since Batman and Robin (a trend that will probably continue with Elektra). I am a big fan of the BIG movie, just for the escape it can provide for a couple hours, and the comic-book adaptation has been Hollywood's newest source. Not every one is going to work (ahem, Daredevil, ahem, Punisher), but most are fun enough to escape my wrath regarding mere stupidity or deviation from the source material. I'll deal with Spidey's organic web-shooters, as long as Raimi delivers a spectacular flick. And he has, twice. But Catwoman is just completely insane. Perhaps not as misguided as Batman and Robin, but still really, really, really, really, ridiculously bad.

First of all, I don't know how a lot of design and plot decisions got made on this movie. The director, known only as Pitof, has directed such hits as.. umm... NOTHING. His biggest claim to fame is his cinematography work on Alien: Resurrection, yet another disappointing franchise flick. I think that he must have a brother-in-law that runs a crane company, since seemingly every since establishing shot in this movie is a friggin crane shot. Yes, we get it, you have a crane. Now come up with some other ideas, please. And much like most action movies these days, he used obvious CGI for the main character's leaps and bounds stuntwork. This will bother me, I'm sure, until some movie comes along and I can't tell they used CGI. Then I'll shut up. So yeah, Pitof is gonna pay for his crimes.

But he didn't act alone. There are no less than 6 writers credited (between story and screenplay), and they're all evil, evil people. I am a lowly video monkey, and even I know that the target demographic for the superhero movie has gotta be the 14-30 male group. Knowing that, whoever among these folks decided to set the movie in the oh-so-manly cosmetics industry needs a stern talking-to, or perhaps 50 lashes with a wet noodle. Also, the trashing of all of Catwoman's comic history comes off as sheer arrogance. The writers said "Ok, we've got this character, we've got Halle Berry, and we've got 50 years of backstory. Let's throw it all out and start over. We can do better." They have a collective set, I'll tell you that. I'm surprised Akiva Goldsman wasn't involved.

The costume speaks for itself. I can only assume that it was sexed up to appeal to that important male demo, and thus cancel out the Loreal/Revlon subplot, which I guess I understand. I would compare it, however, to having Mary Jane go throughout the entire Spider-Man movie with her wet T-shirt, or Jean Grey having a lingerie pillow fight with Rogue. I don't like being talked down to by Hollywood, and I think that's what's happening here. I get that it's trying to be stylish and cool, but she wears diamond-studded claws and HIGH HEELS!! I'm not the expert, but I would think they would hinder her prowling, even with her kitty powers. Plus, no one questions her costume at any point. It's just kind of accepted. This happens in tons of other superhero movies, but in almost every other case, there's a hero and a villain. If a hero has a bat-suit, then the villain feels she must follow suit and dress up like a cat. Or a crazy robot freezing guy. "I'll put you on ICE!" Anyway, here she walks around the city in a crazy S&M getup with a wacky mask, and no one bats an eye.

Sigh. I guess the only bright spot was Alex Borstein, cuz she's funny. Unfortunately, this wasn't a comedy. There should be a law, enforced by me and my band of Stormtroopers and Red Shirts, that superhero movies can only be made if they're A) good and B) true to the source. The only reason to make a comic book movie is to take a good story and bring it to the masses in a visual medium; to disregard this is to make a potential movie irrelevant and pointless. That's what Pitof and his evil harpies have done to Catwoman, and they get a D.

Fire.. BAD!! Bread... good.

The Pack lost. I was kinda expecting it. I didn't think they could beat the Vikings 3 times in a row, unless Moss or Culpepper were out for the game. At least Corey Chavous didn't play. I friggin hate Corey Chavous. Almost as much as Chris Hovan. Stupid Vikings.

I'm going to try and see Kinsey tomorrow. It's on my Oscar buzz list, meaning I need to see it, since I think it'll get at least one Oscar nomination. There's a couple I don't think I'll get to see: Being Julia and Vera Drake. I think they both played at the Oriental or Downer back in October, but maybe for a week each only. I hope they get rereleased in time for the Oscars, so I can make an educated pick. I'll post my pre-Oscar picks here probably a week or so before the ceremony. It'll be interesting this year, where there's no clear frontrunner. Finding Neverland and The Aviator are getting a lot of talk as contenders, but neither one struck me as a Best Picture winner. Sideways is my favorite, I guess, but it still isn't the kind of film I absolutely love, like American Beauty or Return of the King. Oh well. Maybe Vampires vs. Zombies will win, and then the world would implode. That's be interesting.

I do hope that The Incredibles gets some serious Oscar nods, not just Best Animated Feature. A Best Picture nom would be awesome, but I'm not holding my breath. It's way better than Beauty and the Beast, and that got nominated back in 1992, but I don't know if Academy voters will take a cartoon superhero action flick seriously, even if it is one of the best movies of the year.

Enough rambling for now. I'm sure I'll continue as we get closer to the awards.

Tired.. Must sleep..

Long day at work today. I thought if I worked on reviews and did some paperwork time would go faster. Wrong. And much drama surrounding the propsed Jessie-to-Shorewood move. New DM Jim went ahead and told Shorewood's Store Director John that Jessie would be coming there, all without asking Jess. I don't want her to leave, because she's my most valuable partner, and she makes my job so much easier. Besides, Tim is leaving in two weeks, so if Jess left, it would be just Brenda, Will and I. Then I'd have to train a new shift leader, plus worrying about Brenda working by herself, so I would slowly lose my mind. No fun at all.

Also, I open tomorrow, so I have to be there about 7 hours from now. At least I'll have the night free so I can watch one of the NFL Wild Card games. Mmmmm, football. If it's the playoffs, I'd watch the 49ers play the Cardinals. I am worried about the Packers-Vikings game on Sunday, because if the Pack lose, I'm sure to fall into a deep depression.

I'm going to eat my Wendy's and go to sleep, or at least try to. My sleep schedule has been screwy this week, with two days off and a weird nap last night. I'll survive, though.

Beyond the Sea gets a C

Kelsey and I went to go see Beyond the Sea, the Kevin Spacey biopic of Bobby Darin. It was ok. Not spectacular, not terrible. Spacey starred, co-wrote and directed the film, which may be why it seemed sorta self-indulgent at times; his singing was surprisingly good, and it seems as if there are no less than twenty scenes in it designed to prove just that.

Let me first say that Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors. American Beauty is one of my top 3 favorite movies of all time. So I would probably go see a mime remake of Freddy Got Fingered if it starred Spacey. So I guess I was disappointed by Beyond the Sea. I think Spacey tried to do too much, by doing all three jobs, but also just in concept. There's this really annoying plot device wherein Darin discusses different aspects of his life with a young version of himself. Young Bobby pops up throughout, either to dole out sage advice or to provide emotional impact in a scene; Spacey apparently doesn't have enough confidence in himself to provide it. The plot goes in too many directions that really don't add to the overall drama. Do we need to know about Darin's unwavering support of Bobby Kennedy? Do we need to know that his sister was really his mom? What do these things mean to the overall arc of Darin's life story? I don't know. :)

The rest of the cast seems very bland. Kate Bosworth is boring as Sandra Dee, who seems to go through massive psychological issues and alcoholism in the blink of an eye. Bob Hoskins and John Goodman can't seem to make me forget that they're Bob Hoskins and John Goodman. Especially John Goodman, who has now proven to me that no matter what movie he's in, he will be playing John Goodman.

In the end, I guess Beyond the Sea was a decent flick. I believe it would have been better with a different director, and with a more dynamic supporting cast. Spacey's singing performance is great, if a little overused, but the emotional impact Spacey must have been looking to inflict never hits home. I give it a C.

Soo.. now I'm hip

Yeah, you know you're jealous that I have a blog and you don't.

Oh wait, everybody has one now. But I just got a new computer, so this is new to me. So screw off.

NO WAIT! I guess I want people to read this. So I was just kidding about the whole screw off thing. I'm sorry, Kevin Nealon. Lemme make it up to you baby.

Anyway, this will be mostly movie crap: reviews, ramblings, fanboy tangents, etc. I guess I'll write about my life and all that, when I feel like it. Or work. There's always crazy stuff going on there. Perhaps I will make a special section for stupid comments by customers. In the meantime, check out this badass link. http://www.mcchris.com