My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Review

Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010): 9/10

Kanye is just heads and shoulders above any mainstream pop/rap/hip-hop artist out there. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was in my opinion really similar in the layout of the tracks to the College Dropout in the sense that there were a number of skits, spoken word poetry, ballads, and was at times really crude.  That’s not meant as a complaint though; College Dropout is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

I sort of wish Kanye West didn't release like half the songs before the album came out because it takes away from the enjoyment of hearing them. I've been listening to Power (which might be the best song on the album) for the last like six months. I'm kind of used to how great the song is so when I hear it on the album its more meh. 

I think Kanye could have cut out a couple songs - 13 is one or two too many in my opinion. My favorite songs in no particular order were: "Gorgeous", "Power",  "So Appalled", "Blame Game", "Runaway", "Who Will Survive in America", and "Lost in the World".  There weren’t any bad songs on the album - I didn't love "Monster" but even that was ok.  "Blame Game" would have been my favorite song if not for the unnecessary Chris Rock skit that was crude and not that funny. The first two/thirds of "Blame Game" is as good as anything Kanye has done and brought back memories of "Family Business" but the last third ruined that. My complaints are really minor though; My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is easily in the top 5 rap albums I have ever heard. The level of creativity that has to go towards making something of this caliber is mind-blowing.  I would argue Kanye surpassed Jay-Z on this album; Jay-Z was pedestrian at best in the two or three songs he was in. There was no creativity or excitement and compared to the energy and creativity of Kanye its not even close. Seriously a line about a dark knight feeling? I probably could have written that with any/all due respect. The greatness of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is even more apparent when you compare it to other albums out by "Radio" artists.

Favorite lines from the album:

• "Sex is on fire, I'm the king of fire. I'm the king of Leona Louis"
• "Too many Urkel's on your team that's why you're winslow"
• "Penitentiary chances, the devil dances and eventually answers to the call of autumn, all of them fallin' for the love of ballin', get caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin, inter century anthems based off inner city tantrums"
• "What's a black beetle anyway, a fucking roach"
• "Is hip-hop, just a euphemism for a new religion"
• "Screams from the haters, got a nice ring it. I guess every superhero needs his theme music"
• "They say I was the obamanation of Obama's nation. Well that’s  a pretty bad way to start the conversation"
• "Address me as your highness. High as United, 30,000 feet up and you are not invited"

Winter 2010 Film Reviews II

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010): A-

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 was in my opinion up there in terms of being the best film of the franchise.  As a fan of the books I couldn't really imagine the film being better - it was exciting and faithful to the novels. 

The Half Blood Prince was just terrible in my opinion; that film cut out most of the storylines with young Tom Riddle and glossed over so many of the things that went down in the book. It was a shame too because The Half Blood Prince was the best book in the series.  Unlike The Half Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows seemed to follow the book closely (or as close as one could expect).  

The only things I didn't enjoy with the film was the abbreviated first fight scene when the Death Eaters chase Harry out of his house.  They only showed what happened with Harry and in the book that scene is so much longer and more exciting. They also didn't really provide the closure for the Dudley's that the book provided.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1 on the whole maintained a level of excitement through the entire film (which is not that easy considering that the first half of the Deathly Hallows is mostly just Harry and company roaming around the forest). The movie was also surprisingly funny and even a little moving with the parts with long time characters getting hurt.  I am really looking forward to the final chapter and if its anything like Part 1 I think I'm going to enjoy it. The second half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is so much better than the first half in terms of action and excitement so if this movie was this good without anything big going on, how great is the final one going to be? 

Cyrus (2010): B

Cyrus is just one weird movie. Its so unbelievably awkward to watch and is as painful to watch as parts of Borat/Bruno and the worst moments of The Office (like Scott's Tots).  The movie is about a miserable divorced middle aged man (John C. Reilly) who meets a woman at a party and starts a relationship.

The relationship is fraught with problems because of the woman's grown (like 22 year old) son who is manipulative and dependent on his mother. The son, played by Jonah Hill, is just an evil character who really is completely unlikable. Cyrus (the son) just wreaks havoc on the relationship and screws with the character John C. Reilly plays. The movie is kind of funny because of the reactions of Reilly to the crazy shit that Cyrus pulls.

This wasn't a huge issue for me but the movie is somewhat unrealistic in terms of how they present the relationship between the man and Cyrus's mother. How that relationship is set up would never happen and never work but it’s a movie and I get that they have to come up with some device for them to meet and date.  The acting is solid throughout and I thought Jonah Hill (from all of Judd Apatow's movies) was really impressive - he killed as this weird, messed up man/child.

The League Season 1 Review

The League Season 01 (2009): B-

The League is kind of like a poor man's It's Always in Philadelphia but with fantasy football instead of a bar. The weakest parts of the show are those involving fantasy football - the show is best when it deals with the friendship between the characters. Even in Always Sunny where the characters are undeniably evil they are still developed and somewhat likable. The characters in The League are just totally one dimensional and kind of douchey. I feel absolutely no warmth or compassion to any of the characters on the show. In Always Sunny where the characters do some really heinous things (like ruin and torture the lives of the waitress and Rickety Cricket) the characters are compelling. In The League the characters are just privileged immature middle-aged men with way too much time on their hands.

Some of the characters are a little better than others like Andre who is in my opinion the funniest guy on the show (played by Paul Scheer who has been on Party Down and Parks & Recreation). Part of it may be sympathy for the continued ragging he suffers from the other members of the league. There is just an awful character called Taco on the show who doesn't like football, is really stupid, and is perpetually stoned. And this guy is portrayed as some combination of Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, and Charlie Sheen who can bed women in minutes despite the previously mentioned traits. Add in the fact that the guy is not that good looking and it becomes even more confusing and frustrating why he is portrayed as such a ladies man. The other characters on the show are not as poorly developed as Taco but aren't that compelling or funny.  The actor who plays Kevin, the commissioner of the league is prone to overacting and in my opinion really over does basic emotions.

The show's fantasy football elements are weak at best. There are some inaccuracies in regards to the characters playing fantasy football - there are a couple players too few (at least). Most fantasy leagues have ten teams at minimum where as The League has five players that we see on screen and apparently some off-screen players. The guys are cocky and arrogant about their expertise in football and it seems a little unbelievable that they are such pros. The show gets away with only having 5 cast members and just mentions "out of towners" who play in the league but are rarely mentioned.

The show is semi-scripted (like Curb Your Enthusiasm) and the conversations between the characters generally flows well and comes across as realistic. The humor that works is really standard stuff that doesn't rely on the fantasy football element. One of the better jokes in the season involves one character dressing up as a cartoon character because another character's daughter is obsessed with the cartoon and the guy dressed up is supposed to scare the girl but instead robs the house. The rest of the successful humor comes from the character of Andre awkwardly say things that he thinks are cool like "child please" after comments by others and his attempts at picking up women through methods like negging women.

The best episodes of the short (6 episode) season was "Mr McGibblets" (E04) The second season is somewhat improved from the first but the show's characters are still universally unlikable and completely one-dimensional. I probably wouldn't have watched the show if not for the fact that it airs right after It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Thursdays. The show isn't great but its usually fairly funny - it has rarely ever been hilarious though (by my count there was only one amazing joke/gag in the first six episodes).  Watching the show is a fine way to pass 22 minutes but its nothing to go out of one's way to watch. 

Music Reviews November 2010

Neon Trees, Habits (2010)

7 out of 10

Best individual songs are "Sins Of My Youth", "Love And Affection" and "Girls And Boys In School". Its a really short album (only eight songs and a run time of about a half hour) with no awful songs but no great songs either. I guess its preferable to do 8 good songs than 12 or 15 mediocre songs. Neon Trees sound a lot like The Killers - I could have been convinced that the album was  a Killers album. The album is above average - it doesn't or hasn't really been anything more than just somewhat enjoyable.

The Gaslight Anthem, Sink or Swim (2007)

8 out of 10

Its hard to single out one or two songs as being significantly better than any others on the album. Some albums play out as just a bunch of unrelated songs put together but "Sink or Swim" really only works if all the songs are listened to together in my opinion. The final track, "Red At Night" is a nice change of pace and is terrific. The Gaslight Anthem sound sort of like a really angry Bruce Springsteen - there is not as much of the inspirational or upbeat elements as in Springsteen's music and there is more of a punk type anger. Still the album does sound at parts similar to Springsteen (especially in "Red At Night").

James Blunt, Some Kind of Trouble (2010)

6 out of 10

James Blunt is not a great or transcendent artist. His music is simply pleasant - its nice to hear about but is kind of empty. That said I think Blunt does this empty, smooth sounding, and pleasurable type of music better than anyone. Best individual songs on the album are "Stay the Night", "Best Laid Plans", "Dangerous", and "Superstar". It should be said that this album sounds a lot like Blunt's last album (1973) - its almost like a Part II.

Patti Smith, Easter (1978)

6.5 out of 10

Best individual songs are "Because The Night", "Space Monkey", and "Ghost Dance".  "Because The Night" which was written by Bruce Springsteen is just an amazing song and is heads and shoulders above anything else on the album. It might be that the genre of music (Punk Rock) is not really my preferred genre. The album was kind of crude and explicit at times - its not offensive or even troubling at all, just a little surprising. Here is Patti Smith performing "Because The Night" in 1978: 

Winter 2010 Film Reviews I

The Kids Are All Right (2010): B

The Kids Are All Right is about the domestic struggles of an unorthodox family. The film's title suggest that it is about the trials and tribulations of the children in the family but that is not really the case. In the film the teenage children who are raised by lesbians search out for their sperm donor father. The family's struggles when the sperm donor father becomes involved in the family is what the film is about.

Despite the uncommon or rare family structure in the film its fairly relatable and certain scenes were emotional and kind of touching. The film is billed as a comedy and its really not hilarious or even funny - there are humorous situations but the film's goal is clearly not to make you laugh. My biggest issue with the film is the lack of any real character depth or development. This is most pronounced in the supporting characters but also exists to some extent within the five lead characters. For example there are the stock characters of a geeky, socially awkward friend, outspoken, slutty friend, and another friend who is dumb, violent and crude. These characteristics define the characters; there is nothing to do characters than the fact that they are dumb or awkward. 

The character of Paul (the sperm donor father) who I guess is supposed to be the villain of the film was in my opinion the best part of the film. The character is fully developed and the character doesn't just do one thing. Watching the movie you can tell how twisted and confused he is and how he is not unsure of what he should do. Paul changes through the film; for the most part none of the other characters grow or change.

At the end of the film the struggles of the family are more or less pinned solely on Paul. Looking at it from the perspective of the character (who is an outsider and not part of the family) he is repeatedly used by the family and once they no longer need him they just throw him away. I felt like that his treatment was more than a little cruel. Mark Ruffalo (who plays Paul) is just extraordinary in the film and the actors who play the two kids do a nice job as well. There are a lot of things to like in the film like the dialogue for example flows really nice and is realistic. I never once though I was watching a movie and there weren't any ridiculous lines that people don't say.  Overall it is an enjoyable film and is a moving family drama that succeeds despite some of its flaws.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Review

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005): B-

Stieg Larsson's novel "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is the first book of a mystery trilogy released after his death. The three novels have sold over forty million copies worldwide and have been adapted to film in Larsson's home country of Sweden. The two main characters of the novel are Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist may be a stand in for Larsson himself as both are/were unmarried investigative journalists in Sweden. Salander is a young (early 20s), weird, and misunderstood prodigy. I personally did not find the Lisbeth Salander character likable at all - she was cold, silent, and had a vicious temper. The novel is about Blomkvist redeeming himself after an embarrassing affair in which he is convicted of libel and solving the mystery of a child that has been missing for decades. 

The novel starts off fairly fast and is undeniably interesting. In the beginning of the novel the story shifts from Blomkvist's point of view and Salander's. Salander's story is really dark and at times gruesome. Blomkvist's character comes across as a bit pompous and has a holier than thou attitude. The other issue I had with Blomkvist is that the character is portrayed as some type of modern day Casanova. Blomkvist is a middle aged, moderately successful journalist not Tiger Woods, so the sheer amount of women he was bedding was a little ridiculous. For much of the novel Blomkvist is investigating the mystery of the missing child and it for the most part engrossing and exciting but the novel insisted on switching back to Salander who is living her boring, tragic, and uneventful life. The two storylines are merged towards the midpoint of the novel and for a short time the novel is truly excellent. However the ridiculous ending ruins the novel - it is way too convoluted and wraps up way too neatly. The ending of the novel is exciting and fast paced but once you're done reading it you realize some of the ridiculous things that have just gone on.

Some of the issues I had with the novel are not the fault of the novel itself. For example, I came into the novel with sky high expectations. Everything I had heard about the novel was outstanding and on Amazon the three books were among the top 5 novels sold. The novel is an above average thriller; it is certainly a notch above mediocre popular fiction novels but it by no means a literary classic. The novel is set in Sweden, virtually all of the characters are Swedish and as a result it is a little hard to decipher what exactly is going on at times. I would say "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is absolutely worth reading but expectations should be modest. The book is  definitely worth the $5.48 its priced at on Amazon and is a fun read for the most part. It is not a fast read in my opinion - usually if a novel is good I can finish it in one or two sittings but it took me a couple weeks to finish the novel (its relatively large size, 600 pages, didn't help). I have started reading the sequel "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and at least so far (I am about 75 pages in) it is not better than the first novel.

Fall 2010 Film Reviews IV

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005): B
Its really hard to classify Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in one genre. Its part screwball comedy, private detective mystery, and partly a conspiracy thriller.  The film which stars Robert Downey Jr. pre Iron Man as a low level thief and Val Kilmer as this sophisticated Hollywood fixer/consultant starts off great. There's a scene with Downey Jr.'s character doing a audition without knowing he's auditioning which is terrific. After that though its mostly downhill - the interaction between the two leads is mostly entertaining and is fairly funny. The flashbacks in my opinion don't really work and the conspiracy element is pretty stupid.  There is a ridiculous amount of violence and its refreshing to see a movie that utilizes guns that actually results in someone getting killed (because believe it or not sometimes when a gun is fired people are hit and killed).  Robert Downey Jr is really solid in the film, he really sold me on him being some neophyte criminal.  As a comedy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is exceptional, when it veers into drama its vey mediocre. Overall it’s a fun movie though and worth watching.

Tropic Thunder (2008): B+

Tropic Thunder might have the most loaded cast of movie that’s not part of the Oceans franchise. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, Jay Baruchel, Jack Black, and Danny McBride all have decent sized roles in the film. Obviously the movie is probably best known for Robert Downey Jr.'s role as an Australian actor that has surgery to look black to play the role of an African-American within the film (amazingly this role got him an Oscar nomination). He is terrific in the film and every scene he is in is hilarious. I really didn't find any of the stuff with Jack Black funny it was more just gross. The trailers in the beginning of the film is probably the best part of the entire film and there are scattered moments throughout the film that are funny. A good amount of the jokes are kind of stale and the film aside from Robert Downey Jr's parts is not really that rewatchable of a movie in my opinion. 

TV Reviews for Oct 20-28

Community-Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples : B+

Maybe its because I'm in Theology right now but a lot of the jokes about Abed acting like Jesus really worked for me. I enjoyed the line about Shirley being a Pharisee because she was calling out/criticizing Abed. The line from Exodus about I am who I am or I am who you say who I am was also terrific. Almost all of the jokes regarding Abed worked, but really that was the only thing that was great in the episode. The other storylines were really weak; I didn't really care to much for Pierce and the hipsters and it sort of seemed like Joel McHale was unavailable because he had like 30 seconds of screen time total. Oh yeah, the line making fun of the critic that said I am Legend was the greatest movie ever made was also hilarious.

Community-Epidemiology: A-

I don't think this was as good as last years Modern Warfare episode (which this episode was sort of like in the sense that it’s a crazy riff on a movie genre). Aside from the sheer impracticability of the episode - most everything else on Community has been believable until this season, the episode was a lot of fun.  Chang is quickly becoming my favorite character with his weird two identities as this pathetic and desperate guy who wants in (the group) and his mean and manipulative side (from last year mostly).

30 Rock-Reaganing: B

I think its safe to say 30 Rock is back. The back end of last season was terrific and they have continued with great stuff this season as well. This was more of a quiet or uneventful episode than the last few but it still had its moments. And it had the first enjoyable Kenneth storyline in years. The stuff with Kelsey Grammar coming in and just being this sleazy, greedy guy was entertaining. And anytime Alec Baldwin can break out an impression is good - the part with him dubbing Tracy's line was similar to maybe the funniest gag 30 Rock has ever done (that being the scene where Jack and Tracy are with a therapist and Jack starts acting like he's Tracy's parents).

Outsourced-S01E02-6: C+

I watched the pilot episode of Outsourced and it really was quite terrible. Add in the fact that this worthless show is taking the spot of the funniest show on television (Parks & Recreation) and it becomes easy to hate it. The fact is that Outsourced is not a great show but its not as bad as I first thought. There are certain things that work like the characters of Gupta and Manmeat. The main character is sort of a pompous ass and his unwillingness to adapt to the place where he's at is kind of frustrating and hard to understand. My feeling is the guy is unlikable and sort of ungrateful that he has a job. The low talker woman does nothing for the show (for whatever reason they see her as comedy gold). The backstabbing overacting boss is just terrible. The racist idiot American co-worker is not that funny and the Australian woman' s weird obsessive attraction to Todd is completely unexplained. Overall the show has its moments and at times can be funny but its nowhere near as good as Community, Parks & Recreation, or 30 Rock and feels out of place on NBC. This type of stupid, crass comedy belongs on CBS in my opinion. When the show avoids the quasi-racist and low humor (like "look at that cow") and tries to address the cultural differences its kind of enjoyable.

How I Met Your Mother-Baby Talk: B+

After a bunch of mediocre to awful episodes this was a nice rebound episode. I really enjoyed the awkwardness of Barney trying to pick women up acting like a five year old. Ted being a douche of sorts was typical and at times enjoyable. The stuff with Marshall and Lily was as expected kind of boring. I've come to the conclusion that HIMYM is probably done being great (sort of like The Office last year). There still may be occasionally funny episodes but the charm of the show has worn off and its humor is excessively broad and generic.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia-Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down: C

Meh. This was Always Sunny just going through the motions and doing a filler episode. The storyline with Frank suddenly being concerned about his kids caring for them made no sense - Frank doesn't care about people so seeing him try to please people didn't work for me. The stuff with Mac's mom (who is just really, really nasty and gross looking) and Charlie's mom was equally boring. The only good lines came when the two mothers were trading racist lines but that was fleeting.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia-Who Got Dee Pregnant: B+

Kind of gross but no other show on television would even try a storyline like this. I have to admire/respect Always Sunny's willingness to do anything for humor. Dennis is enough of a sociopath and creep that the idea was believable. Seeing each of the guy's view of their memory and how inaccurate it was (like Charlie in his memory saving the waitress and Mac in his saving the day like a hero or Dennis getting the girl who he originally creeped out) was pretty good.  The cop out ending was frustrating though and not answering the question posed in the title was kind of annoying.

Dexter-First Blood: B

Every second Dexter wastes with the stories of LaGuerta, Angel, Quinn, or Deb is just ruining the show. I'm kind of curious to see what happens with the Lumen (seriously that sounds like a werewolf's name) and its interesting to see what happens when Dexter reveals himself a little bit. The emotion that Dexter showed regarding his son was also a nice touch. They really need to ramp up the action soon though - this is getting way too slow paced for a show in which I have very little vested in the characters.

Modern Family-Unplugged: B-

This is what Modern Family does better than any show on television - they are great at making above average and enjoyable half hours of comedy. Rarely is Modern Family transcendent or great but they are rarely unwatchable or awful. The Cam and Mitchell part of the episode with the super competitive pre-school admissions was flat out dumb and stupid. The episode was nothing great but it wasn't terrible either.

Modern Family-Halloween: A-

I though this was one of the better episodes of the season so far. I loved the Spiderman costume gag and for the first time in a long time the story line with Cam and Mitchell was the best of the three. The Gloria losing her accent was funny at first but got kind of boring and annoying as it got repeated again and again. The second daughter of Phil and Claire's is in my opinion the worst character on the show. She's pretentious and overly smarmy and is rarely ever funny.  I think this was the first time ever on Modern Family that something that happened on a prior episode has any effect on a future one with the story of Mitch moving to a new law firm. The unwillingness of the show to do anything that extends beyond a single episode is my biggest issue with the show. 

2010 NBA Preview/Predictions

Western Conference Champion: Los Angeles Lakers over Houston Rockets

• The West is loaded as usual with Utah, Portland, Dallas, San Antonio, LA, Houston, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, and New Orleans all probably being 40+ win teams. Even the "bad" teams in the West are fairly decent; Golden State, Sacramento, LA Clippers, and Memphis all could conceivably be playoff teams. Houston won forty games last year without Yao (who looked pretty solid yesterday with 9 and 11 in 23 minutes) and they are a young team that should continue to improve. The Lakers also improved their major weaknesses from last year (Steve Blake is an upgrade over Jordan Farmer and Matt Barnes is a poor man's Ron Artest). And they still have Kobe who is the best closer in the game.  

Eastern Conference Champion: Boston Celtics over Miami Heat

• Boston was a quarter away from winning a championship last year and added Jermaine and Shaquille O'Neal (granted both of these guys are super old) but they both should help defend against LA's bigs. Delonte West is a quality combo guard and can only help Boston. I think there are only three teams in the East that have a chance of making the finals (Boston, Miami, and Orlando). Then there are three more above average teams - Chicago, Atlanta, and Milwaukee) and then a couple mediocre teams in New York and Charlotte. The rest of the east is more or less garbage. Indiana, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Detroit are horrible. 

NBA Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

• The Lakers are too good inside and have the best player in the game. Kobe had six game winners last year (while injured) and averaged 27 a game. What does a healthy Kobe drop? 

Chicago Bulls Prediction: 47-35 and Central Division winner

• Chicago should easily be over .500 considering that nearly everyone is back from last year (sans Hinrich and Miller) and the additions they made address flaws of the team. Kyle Korver should help with the outside shooting, Boozer if he stays healthy should be the inside force Chicago has needed for years, and the other guys they added (Brewer, Bogans, Watson, etc.) should add some needed depth. Also considering how bad Cleveland, Indiana, and Detroit are probably going to be this year our only real competition in the division is Milwaukee. 

Most Overrated Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

• I've seen people say OKC can win sixty games this year and have a one seed in the West. Please. Durant can only improve so much. He averaged over thirty a game last year - how much more can he score. The only other great player they have is Russel Westbrook - the rest of that team is uninspiring. Jeff Green is mediocre in every fashion of the game, Nick Collison and Nenad Kristic are not the go to big guys on a sixty win team. Don't get me wrong though OKC is not awful, they will probably win around 50 games and absolutely be a playoff team. But they do not have a chance at winning an NBA Championship. 

Most Underrated Team: Houston Rockets

• Houston was able to win forty games last year after they lost their best player, had their highest paid player continue his three year vacation, and made a big trade in the middle of the season. Kevin Martin is a dead on shooter, Aaron Brooks is a quality point guard, Shane Battier is a smart and savvy defender, Louis Scola is so underrated - the guy is a beast in the low post, and if they can get Yao to give them even ten and ten they are going to be very, very good. Houston also has a ton of depth and seems to over-perform every year. 

Predicted MVP: Kevin Durant

• Durant will win because people love the idea of a clean, humble sports star and the fact that Kobe's not going to have to go at a 100% daily for the Lakers to win and LeBron is the target of a lot of hatred (most of it unwarranted). Durant simply has to be great for OKC to do anything - thats not the case with Kobe, D-Wade, Lebron, or even Dwight Howard (who shouldn't even be in the discussion until he learns how to score without dunking). On LeBron, I can understand people might be angry/dissapointed that he didn't come to their team (or left their team) but thats his right. No one was furious when Ray Allen left Seattle, when Kevin Garnett left Minnesota, or when Steve Nash left Dallas. Cleveland doesn't own LeBron, he should be free to do what he wants with his life. I'm not a huge fan of LeBron, the player, but he does not deserve the level of hatred that he is receiving. 

TV Reviews for Oct 10-14

Community-Basic Rocket Science: B+

The whole hour on NBC with 30 Rock and Community was excellent this week. S.A.N.D.E.R.S. and the space simulator was a bit unbelievable but once you got past that, the episode was hilarious. I also didn't really get why Annie was suddenly this really disloyal character that is trying to transfer (again) - it didn't mesh with what the character has done in the past. I loved Pierce's delusional behavior on the KFC simulator and the Dean's creepiness was also great. Some of the better lines in the episode:

- "Pierce. You're talking to an Atari cartridge. Sit down."

- "Reroute to what?"

- "They thought I was doing product integration for KFC"

- "Here. Right next to the truck stop with three thumbs."

30 Rock-Live Show: A

That was a lot of fun. I loved the enthusiastic crowd and the callbacks to many of show’s earlier episodes. Jon Hamm was great in his SNL style mock commercial and the “Dr” Spaceman character was as always just terrific. The cutaway/flashback to a “young” Jack was also good stuff with the male model type guy dancing. Liz with her semi-racist jokes to Jonathan was also hilarious (as was Elaine from Seinfeld as Liz in some of the scenes). I thought the intro song by the Canadian guy on the west coast show was delivered really well and much, much better than Jenna “singing”. The Fox News segment was awesome; the caption under Tracy’s Obama – “Kenyan liar”. Kenneth like he normally is was kind of awful and I guess a complaint would be that nothing really happened but those are really minor quibbles. This was literally the most enjoyable 30 Rock in years. Some of the better lines in the episode:

- "My memory has Seinfeld money."

- “Hello, I’m “Dr” Leo Spaceman.”

- “Wow, you were very fit back then.”

- “My shirt is accidentally falling off”

- “Please take off your rings”

- “Surprise, I was totally in on it. It was expensive!”

Running Wilde - The Junior Affair: B+

"Don't you do a f*^#ing thing". The best episode of Running Wilde's run so far; it was heads and shoulders above any of the three prior episodes. There were several things that worked really well like the New York gangster gag, the Alan Alda impression, and the mix-up with the Andy Richter character. I though the Chevy Volt product integration was a bit ham handed and seemed overly contrived - I understand that they may have to use product placement but they should really try to be subtle about it. The first half of the episode was rather boring and the episode only picked up in about the last 10 minutes.

Dexter-Practically Perfect: C+

I'm fairly sure Dexter will never be as great as it was in Seasons 1 & 2 and I have come to the realization that last season was not really that great. Aside from John Lithgow's Trinity the show was tremendously boring and they waste time focusing on what their terrible supporting characters are doing. Dexter is a great show when we watch Michael C Hall - it’s a boring third-rate crime procedural when the show decides to focus on Angel or Quinn or anyone else in the office. The great issue of Season 5 is introduced at the end of the episode when a woman watches Dexter kill a guy. My guess is that Dexter is going to have to grapple with whether to kill her and try to find a way to make sure she doesn't tell anyone about what she saw. The entire scene with the nanny interview was cringe-worthy and totally unnecessary.

Modern Family-Strangers on a Treadmill: A

I though last week's Modern Family was as good as the show could get, but I was wrong. This week's episode was hilarious, enjoyable, and somewhat dramatic (which is a nice change of pace for Modern Family). It still bothers me that they never have a story go on for more than a single episode and that there are no real minor recurring characters (like a Newman in Seinfeld or a Todd Packer in the Office). I thought the story lines for each individual family were exceptional this week (with the minor exception of the whole sister's argument. I really cannot stand the older daughter.) The reaction on Jay's face when the couple are dancing and he thinks that its supposed to be a father-daughter dance was hilarious. Some of the better lines in the episode:

- "You just throw them an Obama steak and run to the golf course."

- “Slow down there, muchacho.”

How I Met Your Mother - Subway Wars: C-

Not really a whole lot to say other than this was yet another disappointing outing for How I Met Your Mother. The only thing that really stuck with me was the Bing.com advertisements all through the episode. I think HIMYM is now approaching Office levels of mediocrity.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia-Mac and Charlie: White Trash: A-

Mac and Charlie’s story line was A+ material – there wasn’t a weak moment in their half of the episode. Frank’s disgusting behavior was totally on par for his character and was also pretty solid. Dennis and Dee are really unlikable characters (more so than the rest of the cast in my opinion) and their douchey quest to prove that they are better than the rest of the gang wasn’t that funny. The elitist pool guard/worker was one of the better minor characters the show has had. Some of the better lines in the episode:

- “Membership is currently at capacity”

- “Dude, they will always be at capacity for us”

- "Send a little something sweet his way. We’ll sweeten this”

- “I bartered it fringe style with that guy over there”

- “This is a very specific sect of lower class. This is like felon class”

- “You gotta be kidding me, he’s Chinese. His English is pretty good though.”

- “I’m sorry man, he’s white trash”

TV Reviews for Oct 4-8

Modern Family-Earthquake: B+
This is probably as good as Modern Family can get - and even at its best there are several things that are kind of annoying with the show. I though the best part of the episode was Manny's interaction with Jay ("You're playing pretty fast and loose with my soul.") and Phil running around the house was also fairly entertaining. What didn't work was nearly everything with Cam and Mitchell; the show makes them do the stupidest things (like running around like crazy last year when a bird was in their house) and in this episode with the unnecessary destruction of things.

Glee-Grilled Cheesus: B-
I don't even know if I like Glee; there are certain elements of the show that are just awful and others that are fun and creative. What doesn't work: Having a pudgy grown man playing the "jock" Finn, writing Finn so in some episodes he seems mentally challenged, making Kurt overly aggressive and creepy, anything with dumb as a brick blonde cheerleader, and the over-the-top sentimentality. What does work and what makes Glee worth watching is the music, anything with Sue Sylvester, for the most part anything that the Will Schuester character does (this might be more of a result as the actor, Matthew Morrison coming across as likeable and talented). In this episode I though Puck's cover of Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" was really quite good, the rest of the songs were decent enough, and Sue was as usual excellent. What brought the episode down was the refusal of the show to really do anything moderately controversial. They literally brought every imaginable faith into the episode to pray for the recovery of Kurt's dad (who conveniently for no apparent reason collapses and goes into a coma - but miraculously regains consciousness after Kurt learns a valuable life lesson). This religious nut's review of Glee is worth looking at, if only for humor -> http://christwire.org/2010/01/what-every-parent-should-know-about-the-tv-show-glee/

Terriers-Pilot & Fustercluck: C-
I saw the latter episode (Fustercluck) at a screening with the stars of the show and while the actors themselves were engaging and nice the show itself is so boring. Every review I have read of this show has been positive and I honestly don't know if I'm watching the same show as them. The leads are somewhat interesting, there is some humor, and a little bit of action. However the show suffers from the fact that there is no rationale for why these two poor private detectives turn down cash and risk their lives to expose a conspiracy that has nothing to do with them. Its really Scooby Doo esque - seriously just take the cash and mind your own business. The pilot episode was equally as boring as the one I saw at the screening and suffers from the same issue of there being little to no explanation of why these impoverished, unsuccessful PI's are so hell-bent on exposing a conspiracy that has nothing to do with them.

Community-The Psychology of Letting Go : B
Community is now the best comedy on Television now in my opinion (especially considering the postponement of Parks & Recreation). This was probably the weakest of Community's first three episodes, primarily because of the focus on Pierce and his wacky religion for most of the episode. Pierce is funny in small doses and as a supporting player - not so much as the focal point of an entire episode. They really didn't use Abed much (who I guess was delivering a baby during the episode -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tP0ubODOUQ) which hurt the episode but hopefully they rebound next week. Ian Duncan (John Oliver from the Daily Show) using his restraining order to control Chang's behavior was classic stuff though.

30 Rock-Let's Stay Together: B+
30 Rock ended last year on a roll with Matt Damon guest starring, Michael Sheen's hilarious Wesley character, Jack getting married, and Kenneth getting kicked out of NBC. This season hasn't been quite as great as the end of last year (or as funny as the first couple seasons) but has still been an improvement over much of last year (especially the middle of the season) which was near unwatchable. I though some of the stuff really worked like the hyping of fellow NBC comedy "Outsourced" and the grandstanding Congresswomen and Jack's diverse hires. The annoying writer characters brought down the episode and the scenes with Liz on the black talk show were more awkward than funny.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia-Mac's Big Break: B+
"I don't wanna look like some kind of jabroni." The repeated use of the name/nickname of Jabroni got funnier and funnier as Mac kept on saying it. The podcast stuff was more hit and miss - its almost a perfect fit that Dennis and Dee being idiots would try to do talk radio. Also watching the gang re-abuse their regular victims was kind of unsettling. Dennis's weird ignorant patriotic country woman voice was fairly funny. Overall, it was a solid episode but not as good as last week with the whole "implication" of going on a boat.

Music Reviews October 2010

Bruno Mars, Doo Wops and Hooligans (2010)
7.75 out of 10; Best individual songs are "Grenade", "Just The Way You Are", "Runaway Baby", "Talking To The Moon", and "Liquor Store Blues". Bruno Mars who blew up this summer with his featured appearances on "Nothin On You" and "Billionaire" has a fairly solid debut album. The single largest weakness is the length of the album (its barely over 40 minutes). Bruno Mars is tremendously gifted and makes music that is smooth and enjoyable to listen to (but not very deep).

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (2010)
9 out of 10; Best individual songs are "The Suburbs", "Modern Man", and "Rococo". Almost all of the songs on the album are enjoyable (with the exception of the awful "Month of May")

Maroon 5, Hands All Over (2010)
5 out of 10; Best individual songs are "Misery" and "Give a Little More". A complete disappointment - it seems that Maroon 5 just gets worse with each new album. The album is not offensively bad - its just kind of boring and has no flavor or appeal.

Brandon Flowers, Flamingo (2010)
8.50 out of 10; Best individual songs are "Only The Young", "Hard Enough", "Was It Something I Said?", and "Crossfire". Really similar to The Killer's Day & Age and the good songs are pretty good and unlike Day & Age there are obvious filler songs. There is probably 7 or 8 great songs on the album and then another six more songs that are kind of bland.

Fall 2010 Film Reviews III

The Town (2010): A

The Town might be the most satisfying film I have seen in a long, long time. The purpose of watching a film is to be entertained and challenged - some movies are too much entertainment and others try too hard to be revolutionary (and end up just being mediocre). The Town is exactly what a I want from a movie; it is gripping and exciting, believable, and never boring.

The Town is set in a specific part of Boston that is known for turning out robbers in the same way that Texas turns out football players. Ben Affleck plays the leader of a group of poor, blue-collar thieves who hit up banks and armored trucks. Affleck is solid as the main protagonist but who really shines is Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) who plays a dangerous and loose-hinged member of the group. Jon Hamm (Mad Men) is also really enjoyable as a semi-dirty FBI Officer. Even Blake Lively from Gossip Girl is decent (which is a little bit unexpected) as a trashy, drug-addicted, young single mother.

There are numerous chase scenes, gun fights, escapes, and robbery scenes in the film that are a lot of fun to watch. For the most part the film is fairly believable and there are only a couple real weaknesses or faults. The romance between Affleck's character and one of their victims is somewhat unbelievable and the concept of a thief going in for "one final heist" is way overplayed now. It seems that every movie that depicts a robber shows a guy who just wants to get out of the game.

The Town combines the excitement of an action film, has some dark humor, and is at times moving. The Town probably isn't going to win any Academy Awards or anything, maybe because it is not a particularly ambitious film (The film is not that unique and tells a story that has been told many times before). However, there is never a second of the film that is boring or uneventful. The Town is not a stupid movie that has a lot of action and explosions (like say Transformers), is not a movie that is overly simplistic and has a clear good guy and bad guy (like Avatar), and The Town is not a movie so complicated that it can't be understood and enjoyed. The Town is absolutely enjoyable, at times funny, and always gripping - what more can you ask for in a film?

Fall 2010 Film Reviews II

The Social Network (2010): A-
The acting and writing are just terrific in The Social Network. The dialogue in the film is really sharp and the film moves quickly. Obviously there is not a whole lot of action (but no one goes in expecting that). Each of the three main leads were outstanding; Andrew Garfield is mesmerizing as Eduardo (a co-founder of Facebook) who gets forced out of the company. Garfield's character really was the only sympathetic character in the film . Justin Timberlake was also surprisingly decent as a cocky young technology entrepreneur and Jesse Eisenberg was excellent and as Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg came across as completely unlikable and aloof - he seemed to have little loyalty and barely any social skills. Rashida Jones (The Office & Parks and Recreation) was also in the film for about two minutes and was as expected awful. The wealthy twins were also really solid. The rest of the cast wasn't impressive or terrible, they were just there. The Social Network is not particularly "fun" to watch, but is an excellent dramatic film. Compared to some of David Fincher's other films, The Social Network moves much faster and has less (basically none) violence. The film is very dark and grey (in color onscreen not in tone) and almost all of the scenes take place indoors and at night.

Fall 2010 Film Reviews I

Gone Baby Gone (2007): B+
About a murder of a child in Boston. Exciting but maybe a little to dark and there are quite a few surprise plot twists and eventually gets a little bit unbelievable. Casey Affleck is convincing as the protagonist and the film is solid.

Religulous (2008): B
Bill Maher's take down (or attempted take down) of organized religion. The documentary is humorous and makes many reasonable points. Maher is harsh in his descriptions of Judaism and Christianity but seems to back down a little bit when it comes to Islam (maybe out of fear of retribution). Also the experts he interviews are really for the most parts just stupid and crazy people - it would have been more convincing and honest if he had talked to experts in the field.

Boy A (2007): A-
Excellent film that looks into the life of a released child murderer (a child that killed someone - not a murderer of a child). The main character of the film has been in prison since he was ten and is released back into society when he is in his early twenties. Andrew Garfield (who is going to be the new Spiderman) is absolutely phenomenal and the movie is really depressing. Would have been an "A" if not for some unneeded (and distracting) side stories not related to the main plot.

Summer 2010 Film Reviews III

Frost/Nixon (2008): B-
Not as good as the hype for the film would suggest but still watchable and somewhat interesting. Maybe it was because I'm not from the 70s and couldn't relate but the film was a bit overdramatic. Michael Sheen (Sheen was amazing this year on 30 Rock playing a weird goofy guy so watching this was a bit hard as the characters are near opposites) was solid and was the guy who played Nixon did a convincing job.

Children of Men (2006): A-
There are gritty and dark films and then there is Children of Men. The film is so dark, depressing, and gloomy but is also terrifying because the future that the film documents is completely believable. The fight scenes in the film were actually terrifying and I enjoyed the ambiguous nature of the ending

Summer 2010 Film Reviews II

Inception (2010): A
Took me two viewing to fully understand and enjoy but was an awesome experience to sit through. The writing is terrific and the acting is excellent as well. Leonardo DiCaprio as usual was excellent, and Joseph Gordon Levitt was great too. I want to believe that the entire movie wasn't a dream but the Dom characters kids wearing the exact same clothes and being the exact same age makes it kind of apparent that the ending was a dream.

Iron Man 2 (2010): B
The tone was light and the film balanced the action with humor. Certain things in the movie were a bit unbelievable like a secretary becoming the head of a company, but Robert Downey Jr plays the role of the selfish man-child hero so well that the film is still enjoyable even through its Transformers levels of meaningless things blowing up. The actor who plays the competing inventor/businessman was also terrific and really saved the film.

Summer 2010 Film Reviews I

Extract (2009): B
Really quite funny but not over the top or crass. Jason Bateman is terrific in his typical straight-man role. Ben Affleck is also solid in a supporting role. The film was never hilarious but the characters were fleshed out fairly well and moved along without being excessively dull

Date Night (2010): C+
This should have been funnier considering the quality of actors in the film (Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, and a lot more people in minor roles). There were times when the film was funny but overall it was pretty disappointing and had an unnecessarily convoluted plot. Mark Wahlberg was funny in his supporting role and the guy who plays Leon on Curb Your Enthusiasm was amazing in his like three minutes of screen time.

Music Reviews March 2010

The Killers, Day & Age (2008)
9.25 out of 10; Best individual songs are "Human", "Spaceman", "Neon Tiger", and "The World We Live In". Really no weak songs in the album - only complaint is the size of the album, a couple more tracks would have been nice
One Republic, Waking Up (2009)
8.5 out of 10; Best individual songs "Secrets", "All the Right Moves" and "Fear". The album is really easy to listen to and soft and comforting. Some of the songs, especially towards the middle of the album feel like filler
Troubadour, Knaan (2008)
9 out of 10; Best individual songs are "Bang Bang", "Wavin Flag", and "People Like Me". This is the first rap album I have listened to in a long time and is definitely interesting. Knaan is Canadian-Somalian rapper and the album uses a lot of what seems like African melodies as a chorus in some of the songs. Its also notable that the artist combines rapping and singing and is fairly good at both. Some of the songs I can't really relate to so I guess that would be a compliant. There are also some big name features on the album like Adam Levine (Maroon 5) and Mos Def.

March Madness Picks

My picks for the final four of the NCAA Tournament are:

Ohio State
Kentucky
Louisville
Syracuse

With Kentucky ending up winning the National Championship

March 2010 Film Reviews

The Blind Side (2009): B-
Very typical and cliche but still kind of nice to watch. I was honestly surprised that I enjoyed the film
Shutter Island (2010) : A-
Entertaining, suspenseful, and wonderfully acted ; only criticism is that it was a bit long and kind of dragged on at times
The Silence of the Lambs (1990) : B+
Really a terrific movie, it was exciting and terrifying. I don't know that its worthy of 5 Oscars and its reputation but its not bad by any means
Goodfellas (1991) : A
Excellent window into life in the Mob as well as exciting and well acted. Earned an A solely off the you think i'm funny scene

TV Reviews for Feb 1-5

Chuck - Chuck Versus the Nacho Sampler (B+)
overall really good and probably the best episode of the season so far; however the ending was kind of cheesy

LOST - LA X (A-)
if LOST stays at this pace its going to be the best season since 1 or 2; superb acting by Terry O'Quinn (Locke) and the plotline is actually moving forward, only complaint is that LOST is getting more confusing (if thats even possible)

Modern Family - Moon Landing (A-)
probably the best new show on TV this year; Ty Burrell (Phil) has been phenomenal all year, some great lines this week like "I look at this as a locker room, he thinks its a showroom"; the guest star sort of distracted from the story and was the only weak link

Community - Romantic Expressionism (B)
surprisingly funny show; Chevy Chase is not funny and he really hurts the show but there is great chemistry between the cast and the last about 10 episodes have been very very good

Parks & Recreation - Sweetums (A)
definitely the best show on nbc's thursday lineup; Ron Swanson is a great character, as is Aziz Ansari's character, and even Amy Poelher isn't that annoying

The Office - Sabre (C+)
maybe the Office has run its time as the most recent episodes have been boring and seem to have been done before; they are in dire need of new characters

30 Rock - Verna (C)
30 Rock seemed to have gotten a little bit better after the break but is back to its dissapointing routine, Tracy Morgan is rarely funny and the writers are just dumb characters (and Kenneth is nice as a background character - as a main cast member he is annoying and unbelievable), really the only thing 30 Rock has going is Alec Baldwin and the occasional excellent guest star

Avatar Review

3 out of 4 stars
Avatar is stunning visually if you haven't already heard. The effects and whole idea of creating something new instead of making spiderman 19 or some sequel or reboot is admirable; however the creativity of the planet, animals, and surroundings on Pandora are cut by the hackneyed story and especially one dimensional characters