One-Liners (Sorta)

Iron Man ROCKED. Caught it on Monday with my sister, who was worried that I wouldn’t like it because I usually complain about things gone wrong in movies. I’ll say that the only things I didn’t like was that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) waffled between the liberated woman and the damsel in distress and that the last battle was too short and unsatisfying. BUT, the movie still kicked ass (including Captain America’s shield in the background!). More later.

Haven’t said much about the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, slated to come out July 18, but I am looking forward to it. A little miffed by Heath Ledger’s Joker voice, but I’ve only seen clips so it might be okay. There’s a clip on YouTube that I’ll have to find that shows the parallels between the trailer for the 1989 Tim Burton Batman and The Dark Knight. So similar, it’s eerie. But the reason I’m writing about it now is that it seems Reese’s has jumped on the bandwagon with their latest bat-shaped and Batman-themed candy. Here’s a link to the site.

It’s a bizarre baseball season, and Sports Illustrated’s covering it with comic artist Mark Bagley. The May 21, 2008 Sports Illustrated will feature a cover by Bagley with Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford, the Yankee’s Derek Jeter, and Superman villan Bizarro looking on. For those of you looking to get me a gift in the near future (or any future), the original art to the piece would be nice. =) Read more here.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about that SI cover jinx thing? Just after the cover was revealed, Derek Jeter had to leave the Yankee’s game against the Orioles after he was hit by a pitch by the Orioles’ Daniel Cabrera. The Yanks also lost, 12-2. Jinx intact!

Very quickly, the real winners in the NBA Draft Lottery held on Tuesday, May 20 were the Miami Heat. They had the highest chance of winning it, but the Chicago Bulls, with a 1.7% chance of getting the first pick overall, saw the ping-pong balls go their way. Problem is, the Bulls now have to pick between Michael Beasley, a 6-9 forward who can go inside and out, and Derrick Rose, a 6-4 point guard who can do it all. The Heat win, because they just have to choose whoever the Bulls don’t, and there’s no second-guessing by anybody. Just to throw it out there, I think the Bulls should take Beasley and the Heat Rose, but I think that Beasley is the more talented of the two (slightly), but Rose is tougher and will reach more of his potential than Beasley.

Lastly, happy birthday to Mr. T! The man turns 56(!) today.

Same Zip Code...

***UPDATED Tuesday, May 20 at 2:00 p.m. PDT***

Because Don asked… Jenny Garth, who starred on the original Beverly Hills, 90210 as Kelly Taylor, will reportedly guest-star as a school counselor at West Beverly High occasionally.

* * *

90210… Need I say more?



Alas, no Brenda, Dylan, or Brandon… but the Midwestern kids are from Kansas City, and Lori Laughlin plays a mom! Oh, and if any of you watch Reaper (which would probably be about zero of you), that's what you've seen Jessica Stroup in before (she's the Devil's daughter). Oh, she was also on Grey's Anatomy for an episode, so you may have seen her there, too.

Hmm… I thought the CW already had an updated 90210 in Gossip Girl.

What the...? of the Day

Sarah Jessica Parker at the Sex and the City movie premiere.

Dopey rating:

7 out of 10. Saved by the dress.

What the hell is with the headdress/hat thing on her head? Did she get dressed saying, “Hey, I want to avert eyes from my gorgeous dress and put myself squarely in the middle of a fashion faux pas?” Weird for a woman who’s usually right on the money, fashion-wise.

Here’s the rest of the cast:

Sex and the City opens nationwide Friday, May 30, 2008.

Goku!

For Don, who has enjoyed Dragonball… Here’s the first production still of Goku, from the forthcoming Dragonball live-action movie directed by James Wong (Final Destination) and produced by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung-Fu Hustle).

The movie stars Justin Chatwin (Tom Cruise’s son in War of the Worlds) as Goku, Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshii, James Marsters (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) as Piccolo, and Emmy Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera) as Bulma. It’s due out April 8, 2009.

Picture from Weekly Shonen Jump, Issue 24 (available this week). Read more at the Dragonball movie blog site.

I haven't ever watched the Dragonball anime or read the manga, but it's one of the biggest series in the world. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of high hopes for this movie.

Clone Wars!

There’s a new, weekly animated Star Wars series coming to TV this fall, but the pilot will be shown in theaters beginning August 15. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is based upon the shorts created by Gendy Tartovsky that aired on Cartoon Network a few years ago, which, incidentally, is probably the best Star Wars stuff EVER (and is available on two separate DVD’s). It’s set during the time between Episodes II and III of the movie series, so you get to see a lot of lightsaber and Force action. Needless to say, I’m excited about it.

The trailer for the new series will debut across multiple networks on Thursday, May 8 at 7:58 PM (local time). Cartoon Newtork, TNT, TBS, Boomerang (huh?), and even CNN will air the trailer simultaneously. Woo-hoo!

The series will air on Cartoon Network, with subsequent airings on TNT.

Today's Dwarf Rating

On a scale of 0-5 dwarves.

Sleepy

Grumpy

Dopey

BTW, I just realized that it's Snow White and the Seven DWARFS, and not Dwarves. Does that bother anybody else?

Happy Iron Man Day!

'Nuff said!

POW! Right to the Moon!

By now, most of you have seen this:



This just aired a couple of days ago (make sure you watch it through):

Get Your Joint On

In theaters now!

Yes, Please... Except I'm Going to have to Fork Out for Another System, Right?

Crazy Dog Story!

Yo... Joe?

You all know I’m a huge pop-culture geek, who’s into comics and Star Wars and Transformers and such, but I’m going to add one more to the mix. I’m a HUGE G.I. Joe nut. At least, the version of G.I. Joe that I grew up with in the 80’s. As my family can attest, I had every toy short of the aircraft carrier when I was younger and go so far back with it that I can remember days before the “kung-fu grip” (actually, it was swiveling-arm joints on the 3 ¾” figures).

Anyway, I got excited when they first announced that a G.I. Joe live-action feature was in the works, but have been disappointed in the supposed story lines and casting decisions. I’ll get more into that on another post, but I’ve also been disappointed in the costume designs. They released this a while ago in USA Today:

It’s a shot of actor Ray Park (Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) as everybody’s favorite character from the 80’s Joe era, Snake Eyes. The fanboy reaction was mostly positive; I was less than thrilled. It’s an okay shot, until you see the full costume in better light:

All I can say is, “What’s with the cargo pants and the Batman-molded body suit?” It’s actually kinda faithful to the original design, but I would’ve preferred seeing him in costume similar to what the rest of the cast is wearing.

Things looked a little better (no sexual reference intended) with the reveal of the next character a couple of days ago, Scarlett. She’s played by Rachel Nichols, who’s appeared in the TV show Alias and most recently in the movies P2 and Charlie Wilson’s War (quick note: she’s listed as a cast member for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek as an Orion slave girl, yowza!):

Before you jump all over me for the pic of the hot redhead in the skin-tight outfit, this is what Scarlett looked like in the “classic” version:

Still, it looked like things might be okay, depending on how they filmed it. But then I got word that they released pics of the rest of the cast, which can be found at the website What Would Tyler Durden Do? (http://www.wwtdd.com/). I thought maybe Scarlett’s outfit would be just her costume, not the basis for costumes for the rest of the cast. Ugh. I’m sure that all of the characters will show up in their “normal” attire in the movie, but, still… I’m not getting a good vibe.

Even though knowing is half the battle, the other half is getting movie executives to make appropriate changes. Oy.

This is Gonna Rock

Who’s comin’ with me!?!?

Of course, we’ll have to resist the urge to race afterwards. But I'll still win. =)

Cold Turkey

As of this moment, I am going cold turkey on soda, caffeinated drinks, cigarettes, pot, heroin, coke, speed, and the other assorted drugs (illicit and otherwise) that I’m on, until the baby is born. It’ll give me a good cleanse before I really need to hit the stuff hard in a couple of weeks (holding out for April 28 *cross fingers*).

I actually gave up caffine in January, but then February hit, and all the winter and spring sports started to cross over. Basketball, swim championships, baseball, basketball tournaments, etc. all came to a head at the same time, and needless to say, I was back aboard the caffeine train.

This should be a good test of will power and give me a chance to come down to normal before Kindra and I lose what little sleep we get to the newborn and Danica climbing out of bed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go wait for the shakes to come as I come down from my sugar-induced, caffeinated, nicotine and THC supplanted acid trip.

Oh, Yeah... It's Gonna Fly

Totally taking Danica to the movie on May 2. Or maybe I’ll go at midnight, May 1… Hmmmmmmmm…

This is Funny… and Racist, Maybe?

Personally, I thought it was hilarious the first time I saw it… but I’m still not sure if the Japanese should be offended.

Congrats to the Hall of Fame Class of 2008!

Come Get the Spirit

Bear Grylls' Brother?

I feel really out of shape now… This dude rowed ACROSS THE FRICKIN’ OCEAN. Geez.

Call MJ, Larry, and McDonald's

I don’t care how long it took them to get these shots. They’re still pretty good.

'Nuff Said

This is a block?

From the NCAA 2nd-Round game between UCLA and Texas A&M, played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

Officially the #1 Movie on My Must-See List

Steph

Steph, originally uploaded by djstarr.

'Nuff said...

Yet Another... But Sooooooo Worth the 1:44

Totally Worth the Fifteen (Not 60) Minutes

Check out this piece from 60 Minutes, a feature on 24-year-old Venezuelan conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. It’s not so much his conducting, but his background in the Venezuelan music system that’s fascinating. How about a country-wide program that takes kids from the poorest neighborhoods and gives them an opportunity to learn music? Something to learn from here, I suppose.

Watch it NOW! (Seriously, watch it).

My Softer Side

I thought he didn't have a real name...

Da… da… DA DA DA… DADA-DADA-DADA-DADA-da, da, da…

Biggest debut of the spring! (Um… except for my second child, of course).

Geez… More DVD Watching to Come

I’ve always been interested in Battlestar Galactica, but have never had the time to watch it after the first TV movie aired five years ago. I’m definitely going to have to catch up and watch all of this series after seeing this:

Sweet Valentine's Reveal!

Hearing the music gives me goosebumps.

Juwanna Man

THAT... is frickin' scary.

Totally Worth the Five Minutes

Geez... It Doesn't Get Any Worse

Talk about the worst recruiting story in history. The kid from Nevada who was supposedly duped by a “recruiter,” who, it turns out, made up his whole recruitment by the likes of Cal, Oregon, and Washington must just be hating himself now. The police are finishing up their investigation and will turn in their findings to the D.A. who can decide whether or not to charge him with filing a false police report. You know they won’t press charges, because what could be worse than people finding out the truth after you hauled out the media, your family, and your entire school to a press conference in your gym where you committed to a school that never even considered recruiting you?

Read more about it here.

How Did I Not See This?

Cool Story

A nice little story on North Carolina’s JV men’s basketball team at ESPN.com.

Keep It Quiet

***Updated Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - 9:37 p.m.***

Is it just me, or should the NCAA’s spring signing day (the day that high school athletes are permitted to sign a National Letter of Intent binding them to attend a university) should NOT be a nationally televised event? People forget that these are seventeen, eighteen, nineteen-year-olds making huge decisions, but decisions that should not be scrutinized by the media or fans of the colleges to which the student-athletes are committing. It’s too much hype, not to mention that it probably leads to a number of athletes with over-inflated egos.

It also leads to things like this report that a young man from Nevada verbally committed to Cal in front of his school, family, and television and news media – but never actually had an offer from any institution on his table. The student-athlete had been contacted by a man claiming to be a recruiter, who also apparently set up false phone calls with people claiming to be the head coaches of a number of top-tier universities. Turns out, there were no offers on the table, as neither Cal, nor Oregon (the school he supposedly picked Cal over) recruited him.

I’m wondering how this kid was duped for so long, and why he never took a visit to any of these schools – official or otherwise – to see them for himself. I know it’s a complicated process for athletes and parents, but you don’t get recruited for just a month and suddenly end up with a scholarship. You really don’t get a scholarship without meeting somebody from the staff in person on campus. It’s sad that people would take advantage of kids this way.

I know people want to know where the next great kid is going to school, but ESPN doesn’t have to devote an entire day, taking up all of one of its networks (ESPNU) to this. It’s stupid.

***UPDATE***

How about the dumb kid made the story about his recruitment-gone-bad up? Read more about it here. Sad.

Is This Bad? I Can't Tell

Heh-Heh Heineken

Giddy Excitement

A new photo from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Read more about it on MTV’s Movie Blog. Recognize those crates? Maybe this picture will jog your memory:

If that still doesn't work, it's the last shot from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Makes me all giggly inside.

Quote of the Day

“The greatest trade in NBA history: Caron Butler for Kwame Brown.”

-- MSNBC’s Tim Russert, during the Lakers-Wizards telecast.

Horrible

So I’m at a stop light on my way to work, when I see a woman run across the street in front of me to try and catch the bus that’s behind me. She waves at the bus driver as she’s head to the bus, and then I see her in my rear-view mirror knocking on the door of the bus, asking for the driver to let her on. She’s standing by the door of the bus sandwiched between the bus and the right-hand turn lane, pleading to get on the bus, and just so you know, the bus stop is literally twenty-five feet behind where the bus is stopped. It’s not like we’re far from where the bus would normally let her on, anyway. Unfortunately, the light turned green, I had to go (which now I realize, I coulda stayed right there and made the driver put her on the bus by refusing to move… darnit), and the poor woman got stuck waiting for the next bus.

Whee!!!

This is a Christmas-related post, so it’s been a long time in coming. By far the best gift I received was a Nintendo Wii from Kindra’s family. It’s been six or seven years since I last picked up a video game controller (from a Sega Dreamcast, natch), so it was a little weird. Especially weird since I’d gone through the Playstation, XBox, GameCube, PS2, XBox 360, and PS3 launches without much interest.

Don’t mistake my lack of interest for a dislike of video games. It’s just that they come with increasing costs – each game these days run $45-60. Not to mention they suck up time. (Wow… how old am I?). Of course, the darn thing’s already cost me time and money, so...

Anyway, I’ve got just four games, but I’m also the kind of guy who likes games that are replayable, so it works out okay:

Wii Sports

This is a cool set of games that came with the Wii. There’s boxing, golf, baseball, tennis, and bowling along with a bunch of mini-games designed to help you practice the skills necessary for playing the games. It’s the ultimate party game and time-waster, since it’s pretty replayable.

I’m partial to tennis, bowling, and golf. I rarely play baseball and boxing is a bit chaotic for me. It’s kind of funny, since I didn’t like playing tennis when I was a kid, I rarely bowl because even when I was at my best, I averaged about 135 (125?), and I’ve only ever swung a golf club something like five times in my life. On the other hand, my cousins and I used to play baseball pretty regularly when we were kids, and I’m a guy, so why wouldn’t I want to beat the crap out of a computer-generated boxer?

I’m still trying to figure out all the ways to hit the ball in tennis, since I can’t seem to do an overhead smash or direct my volleys the way that I want to (maybe I should read the instructions). My high in bowling is 264, I just wish the physics could be set to be more “real” so that it’s more difficult to bowl well. It’s kinda cool how easily you can generate different types of bowling spins. Golfing-wise, I’m okay, and I just realized that the golf courses are based on the old “Golf” game for the original Nintendo that I used to play. There’s only 9 different holes, so it does get a little repetitive, but it’s good enough for quick plays (which, really, are the only things I should have time for).

I’ll also mention that Kindra’s dad could beat the crap out of anybody in the boxing game, so stay on his good side.

Madden 08

I’ll say this first: I love Madden and sports games in general. There’s a lot of fun in pretending to be that athlete you dream about performing like and admire on TV. I’ve also played Madden since it was first created, way back in the day, and love all the EA Sports games – Tiger Woods, NBA Live, NHL Live, etc. I like this game and the intricacies that are built into it, and it’s definitely cool that I have a sports game to play other than Wii Sports.

That being said, this is an example of why not every game for the Wii should have its control schemes redesigned for the motion-senstive Wii-mote. I understand that the appeal of the Wii is partially the fun of jiggling the controller around to make things happen on the screen. However, mapping controls for Madden to the Wii-mote just plain annoys me. There are times that I want to sit and play a game and not have to flail about to make a tackle.

There are two control schemes on the Wii: “Family Play,” where you just use the Wii-mote and the computer does the rest, and “advanced,” which uses the nunchuk attachment with a joystick and two extra buttons. It’s not that it’s not fun sometimes, but I wish there was a way to simply plug in a regular controller and just play the game like you would on any other system. Flicking my wrist back to hike the ball and then flinging it forward to make a pass can be kind of interesting, and thrusting the controller forward to make a hard tackle is cool in the practice mode, but when it’s 11:00 p.m. and I want to play a quick game before heading to bed, it can be bothersome.

Super Mario Galaxy

How do you own a Nintendo product and not have a Mario Bros. game for it? It’s a fun game with controls that map well to the Wii-mote and the nunchuk. It’s pretty, too. =) I haven’t played it a ton, since it’s so level-based and requires some dedicated play, but I’m going to have to play it more, or else I’ll never have time to play it when the new baby arrives.

Guitar Hero III

Currently the biggest vice in my life. I had it for two days before Kindra first mentioned that she hated the game because 1) I play it a ton and 2) I like playing the same six or seven songs over and over and over again (hey, you gotta practice). Whoever created this game is a genius. I want to practice, which I never did when I was taking music lessons (of course, it’s a bit easier to play the Guitar Hero guitar than an actual guitar). I just wish there was a way to get downloadable content on the Wii like you can on the XBOX 360 and PS3.

Still, the game rocks (no pun intended), and I like it because 1) it reminds you of all the cool songs out there that you don’t normally listen to and 2) it makes songs that you do listen to that much more interesting. My sister Steph was right – if you hear a song you play on Guitar Hero, all you want to do is figure out how you strum and key the song. Of course, being the dork that I am, I made a CD of a bunch of the songs before I left for a recent road trip to the Bay Area. My current favorite is “Cliffs of Dover” by Eric Johnson, which I first heard fifteen years ago because a buddy of mine in high school was a pretty good guitarist and of course, listened to all the really great guitarists. If it wasn’t for Guitar Hero III, I wouldn’t have been able to even name it. I’m also partial to “My Name is Jonas” by Weezer because it’s fun to play. And just so you know, Metallica’s “One” is ridiculously complex.

FYI, I can only play songs on the “medium” setting, since the “difficult” setting is pretty crazy and “expert” is something that I can only dream of. Besides, I’m pretty sure that Kindra will break the guitar and the Wii before I can practice enough to get to that level.

Later... Gotta go kick some butt at tennis.

“One night, as I’m standing on LaSalle Street in Chicago, trying to line up a shot for The Dark Knight, a production assistant skateboards into my line of sight. Silently, I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I’d fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you’d asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn’t know. That’s real charisma - as invisible and natural as gravity. That’s what Heath had.”

— Director Christopher Nolan, writing in Newsweek about Ledger’s untimely death.

Quotes of the Day

“She looks like her ass is in her front!”

-- Fashion designer Michael Kors, speaking about a pair of pants on a model on Project Runway.

“I wanted to add something back here… like an explosion out of her rear.”

-- Contestant Sweet P from Project Runway, on a dress that she’d collaborated on.

No, I do not watch Project Runway regularly. Kindra TiVo's it sometimes... but I do enjoy it some.

Incredible Surprise Breakfast Sugar Cookies!

What could be better than cookies for breakfast? Thanks to my lovely wife, who brought home the melty morsels for me, left them in the car overnight, and then handed them to me before she left for work this morning.

Mmmmmmmmm… Sugar cookies. They’re like my kryptonite.

UPDATED Saturday, January 26, 2008

Just a revision on where the cookies came from… Kindra had run out in the morning to pick up a treat for a couple of students she was having lunch with. She’s normally a brownie kinda girl, but saw the frosted sugar cookies (which she doesn’t particularly care for) and decided to get them so she could share with me.

She’s a sweetheart, huh? =)

The Mystery Box

J.J. Abrams (if you don’t know who he is by now, read my damn blog!) at TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), which is an annual conference that brings the greatest innovators together and challenges them to give the talk of their lives in eighteen minutes. I wish I had the patience to sit and write a reaction to this video, but I don’t, so I just thought I’d share it.



Oh, and either J.J. Abrams owns my soul, or I have a big payoff check coming to me. More TED videos are available at http://www.ted.com/. I should also mention that I first saw this on Ain't It Cool News.

Since It Seems to Have Taken Over My Blog...

Might as well run with it. I like the idea of the trailer, but am not overwhelmed by it. Rumors around the film seem to make me wonder if it will be a hit or not. Still, it’s pretty cool to start getting glimpses of it. Here’s a cool still:

Nevermind the continued jabber on the ‘Net that the Enterprise was actually built in an orbiting space shipyard. (Actually, it does bother me a bit).

I Don’t Know Why It Matters…

But I hate the fact that the NY Giants are in the Super Bowl. I don’t know why it matters, but my stomach did a somersault after watching the Green Bay Packers lose in OT to the Giants. I think it’s because I think that Eli Manning, though playing well in the past few weeks, 1) seems like a baby to me and 2) isn’t as good a QB as he thinks he is. Not to mention the fact that Tom Caughlin (the Giants’ coach) seems like an ass and the team is woefully inconsistent in everything they do from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

Maybe it’s also because I, just like a lot of people, wanted to see a New England Patriots-Green Bay Packers match-up in the Super Bowl. One team going for the unprecedented 19-0 season, while the other has one of the greatest sports stories in history in QB Brett Favre… That woulda been awesome, because the game would’ve been good and no matter who won, you could be happy.

Thinking about it, a lot of my displeasure probably stems from the fact that I hate seeing people who I feel don’t deserve it get a chance to win it all, while the guy who probably deserves it the most (Favre) gets left at home.

At this point, I’m sure I’ll tune in to the Super Bowl, but I won’t have as much interest in it as I would have, and I’ll be looking for the Giants to get their butts handed to them by the Patriots (even though the Giants almost upset New England in the last game of the regular season).

That's Fun...

I promise I’ll put up something more substantial soon, but I just saw this and wanted to post it, because it’s pretty good.



FYI, it’s a fake.

Santa Mac

Already got my Christmas Mac. Ooo… What’s happening to me? I used to be such a die-hard PC guy.*



* -- Actually, I still like PC’s because I know my way around them and how to access things that are tucked away in the system fairly easily. I’m still a little frustrated with the Mac in that respect.

Why So Serious?

This movie is going to kick ass.

Hopefully.

Available larger and better at http://atasteforthetheatrical.com/deathtrap/default.htm.

Oooooooooo.

That’s Freakin’ Awesome!

I just read this story on Yahoo! news:

A father went out looking for the coolest game he could find for his 15-year-old son for Christmas and happened upon a copy of “Guitar Hero III” for the Wii. Apparently, the game is pretty hard to find for the Wii, so it was a big coup. The sad part is, the father came home a couple of weeks ago to find his son smoking pot in the backyard, got pissed off, and put the game up for sale on eBay.

Here’s the kicker: It sold for $9,000. That would be NINE-freakin’-THOUSAND DOLLARS (U.S.). Holy cow. Some cat in Australia bought it. Now, I know that “Guitar Hero” is one of the most popular games in the world at the moment, but are you serious? That’s a lot of money for a game that retails for about $90.

You have to read the Dad’s last quote in the original story, which can be found here.

This is What Happens When I Stay Home Alone

Kindra went out to her school’s holiday party… I stayed home, watched TV, and was reminded of this:



Waazzzzzabi!

Movies for 2008

I know, 2007 isn’t even over and I haven’t seen half the films of this year that I wanted to, but there’s already a HUGE list of films coming out in 2008 that I have to make room for. It’s especially exciting with the number of fanboy projects coming out (i.e., Fanboys, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, etc.). Mark your calendars:

Jan. 18 – J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield project

As super-secret as Abrams’ Star Trek movie is, this end-of-the-world/war-of-the-worlds/monster film that’s being shot as if taken from footage of handheld camcorders is the biggest hush-hush project in the movie industry. The Cloverfield title is simply a working project title to the movie, which made its trailer debut with only the date "01-18-08" displayed at the end.

Jan. 18 – Fanboys

Five words: Kristen. Bell. Slave. Leia. Gold. Bikini. Add in a story line about five friends who are on a mission to watch Star Wars: Episode I before it's released at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch before their friend passes away of cancer, and you’ve got me hooked.

Feb. 17 – Knight Rider (NBC television movie)

Kinda worried about this one, given the debut of the new K.I.T.T. But it was still one of the coolest shows of the 80’s, despite Hoff’s leather Members-Only jacket.

Mar. 21 – 21

Based on the book Bringing Down the House, the true story of six M.I.T. students who took Vegas casions for millions.

Mar. 28 – Wanted

Two words this time: Angelina. Jolie. Based on the comic by Mark S. Millar, it also stars James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. McAvoy is the son who just found out his father was part of an elite cadre of hitmen, Jolie is his tutor, aptly named The Fox, and Freeman is the leader of the pack. C’mon… guns, action, and the aforementioned Angelina Jolie?

Apr. 4 – Harold & Kumar 2

I don’t think you can properly watch an H&K movie in a public theater.

May 2 – Iron Man

Robert Downey, Jr., Gywenth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges, a special appearance by Samuel L. Jackson and directed by fanboy Jon Favreau based on the Marvel comic of the same name. Kick ass, and, oddly enough, just what Danica wants to do on her birthday.

May 9 – Speed Racer

Not totally sold on it based on the trailer, but it could be fun. Go, go…?

May 16 – The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The first movie started off well, then fell precipitously. The trailer for this one looks better, so there’s hope.

May 22 – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Duh.

June 13 – The Incredible Hulk

Edward Norton and Liv Tyler star in the “reimagining” of the Hulk saga, directed by Louis Lettierer (The Transporter). It doesn’t discount Ang Lee’s incredibly slow Hulk of a few years ago, but with Lettierer, it will definitely be about Hulk smash!

June 13 – The Happening

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan with Mark Walhberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo. He’s been a bit off since Unbreakable, but this is supposedly Shyamalan’s best script since The Sixth Sense.

June 20 – Get Smart

Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a send-up of the 1960’s comedic spy show is going to be awesome. Also starring Alan Arkin, Terrance Stamp, and Masi “Hiro Nakamura” Oka. A made-for-DVD “sequel” will focus on minor characters and be released ten days after the premiere.

June 27 – Wall-E

Pixar’s latest film, the concept for Wall-E was created even before Toy Story. In fact, it’s the last of the original story concepts that included Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Monsters, Inc. The movie is about the last robot on Earth who holds the key to Earth’s future, after all its human inhabitants have fled. Director Andrew Stanton has referred to it as “R2-D2: The Movie.”

June 27 – Valkyrie

Tom Cruise stars in a Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) film about a plot to kill Adolf Hitler by some of the highest-ranking men in the German military. Also starring Terrance Stamp, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Kenneth Branagh.

July 11 – Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

The continuing story about the son of the devil who rejects his birthright and teams with a group of paranormal heroes to save the world. It’s a follow-up to the fun and visually stunning Hellboy and is directed by acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labrynith).

July 18 – The Dark Knight

The sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, and the second-most secret movie of 2008 behind Cloverfield. Recent revealing pictures, plot points, and the highly-anticipated debut of footage in front of IMAX screenings of Will Smith’s I Am Legend make it a super-hot movie. Heath Ledger as the Joker will be awesome, and nobody’s even talking about Aaron Eckhart’s turn as Harvey Dent/Two-Face yet.

Other summer films (dates TBD):

Righteous Kill

Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro all on film together. I’m not usually drawn to any of their movies, but this one could be hot.

The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) adapts Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel with Ryan Gosling, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz, and Stanley Tucci. King Kong was a bust, but the plot of a 14-year-old killed by her neighbor, telling the story from heaven, examining the lives of those around her while trying to get somebody to find her body should be very interesting.

Oct. 3 – Where the Wild Things Are

Director Spike Jonze and a children’s classic!

Nov. 7 – James Bond 22 (possibly titled 007)

Casino Royale was pretty good, even if it did get a little convoluted at the end. Daniel Criag is the best Bond since Sean Connery.

Nov. 7 – The Changeling

Produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich about a woman whose son is abducted, but returned. However, she suspects the child is not hers and then must face the corruption of the LAPD. Based upon actual events of 1920’s Los Angeles.

Nov. 21 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Only two more Potter movies!

Nov. 26 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about a man who was born old and feeble and ages in reverse to become a baby at the end of his life. Brad Pitt stars as the man and Cate Blanchett takes a turn as the 30-year-old he falls in love with. Plus, it’s directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, Zodiac).

Dec. 12 – The Day the Earth Stood Still

Remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic about an alien that comes to Earth and warns world leaders that their continuing aggression will lead to annihilation by an alien race watching them. The remake will star Keanu Reeves.

Dec. 25 – J.J. Abrams' Star Trek

Double duh.

Possible 2008 movies (based on when the current writer’s strike ends):

Australia

Director Baz Lurhman (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!) and stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in a World War II epic.

The Box

Director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) helms a film about a couple who find a small wooden box on their doorstep which brings good fortune at an unforeseen price. Based on the Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) short story, “Button, Button.”

Frost/Nixon

Based on the stage play about the post-Watergate television interviews between talk-show host David Frost and President Richard Nixon. I read a bit about it, and it seems like it’s got a lot of depth to it.

I would say that’s a full calendar. And I didn’t even include some movies that might end up being good, but are too questionable to call right now.

It's the End of the World as We Know It...

What is going on in this world?!?! First, Jennifer Love Hewitt gets engaged and some bulges/cellulite, now Jessica Alba’s pregnant!

For those of you who don’t keep up with the mindless celebrity drivel that I hate, Jessica Alba recently confirmed that she and boyfriend Cash Warren (are you kidding me? Cash?) are expecting (what I hope is) a baby.

And here’s a few pics of J-Lo Hew’s vacation in Hawai’i:

My world as I know it is spinning out of control…

*sigh*

First Contact!

These are the first pics from J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movie, filming somewhere in Orange County (!). Supposedly, they’re filming by an undisclosed hangar location, which could only mean three possibilities: John Wayne airport (which would seem improbable given the amount of noise around), the old Tustin Marine Base down the street from my office, or El Toro Marine Base. I’m tempted to go find them.

Regardless, the first picture is most likely of Chris Pine, the new Captain James Tiberius Kirk. The second photo is ~duh~ Zachary Quinto as a young Spock.

The pictures were found at JFX Online, which is a street photojournalism site (a.k.a. a spot for paparazzi). Here’s a link to more Kirk pics and some more Spock pics.

* * *

In other Star Trek XI news, William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk, is miffed about not being included in the film. However, it’s been noted that his second in command, Leonard Nimoy, plays a large role in the film, reprising his role as the first Spock, along side Zachary Quinto’s young Spock. Shatner’s been quoted as saying, “How could you not put one of the founding figures into a movie that was being resurrected? That doesn’t make sense to me!” Expanding upon that, he also said, “I’ve become even more popular than I was playing Captain Kirk – I’m good box and I get publicity,” though he did concede that it will probably be a good film: “They are going in a different direction and it’ll be a wonderful film.”

Okay, first of all, yes, it would’ve been nice to include the original Captain Kirk in the film. However, there are two reasons not to: 1) the plot supposedly revolves around a rogue Romulan who goes back in time to try to assassinate James T. Kirk, and it’s up to an older Spock to partner with his younger self to prevent any changes to the timeline; and 2) in the current Star Trek universe, Shatner’s Kirk is…
*
*
*
(wait for it…)
*
*
*
(waaaaaait for it…)
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*
*
Dead. He died in the ridiculous Star Trek: Generations, saving Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the universe.

So that’s that.

* * *

It also seems that I failed to report on a few of new cast members. Kirk’s father, George Kirk, will be played by actor Chris Hemsworth, who actually has already wrapped his portion of the film. His filmography is limited to parts in his native Australia. He’s 24 by the way, in case any of the ladies who read this are interested.

Clifton Collins, Jr. will play Ayel, a Romulan who helps Eric Bana’s Romulan, Nero, in the film. He’s appeared in Babel, Traffic, some episodes of Abrams’ TV series Alias, the John Woo movie The Replacement Killers, and an episode of ER. I only list so many things because he looks really familiar to me. I think it’s from Babel or The Replacement Killers.

Jennifer Morrison, of TV’s House fame, has been tabbed to play an undisclosed character. Initial rumors were that she was cast to play Yeoman Janice Rand, a sort of “hottie in the background” character from ST:TOS, but those have been debunked by Abrams himself. Other prospective characters Morrison could play would be “Number One,” the Captain Christopher Pike’s first in command from the original Star Trek pilot (as reported by SyFyPortal.com), or IESB.net’s conjecture that she will play a pregnant Winona Kirk, wife of George Kirk and mother of James T. Kirk.

Also cast has been the role of Sarek, Spock’s father. Chariots of Fire actor Ben Cross will portray a role made famous by Mark Leonard.

Bah Dah Ba-BAH…!

Bah da-BUMMMMM!

I love Drew Struzan, the artist who did this. He’s also done posters for Star Wars, Blade Runner, Police Academy, Coming to America, and the rest of the Indiana Jones movies. More recent work includes the Harry Potter movie posters. He also does a lot of album covers, including Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare, which Rolling Stone dubbed one of the "Top 100 Album Covers of All Time," and just recently did the new Angels & Airwaves cover for I-Empire.

Despite the fact that I like the poster, I’m still not sold on the title or the movie, based on these stills:

I know I’m picky, but doesn’t Harrison Ford look a little too clean as Indy? And Shia LaBeouf looks a little too slick. He reminds me of MacGyver’s son (look it up). Shoulda gone without the moustache, too.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

From the folks over at bguides.com:

This year "The Twelve Days of Christmas" will cost your True Love $19,507, an increase of 3.1% over last year, according to the 23rd Annual PNC Christmas Price Index. That rise is consistent with the 3.5% increase in the U.S. government's Consumer Price Index so far this year.

Here's the breakdown of the 12 days...

1 Partridge in a Pear Tree - $164.99

2 Turtle Doves - $40

3 French Hens - $45

4 Calling Birds - $599.96

5 Gold Rings - $395

6 Geese-a-Laying - $360

7 Swans-a-Swimming - $4,200

8 Maids-a-Milking - $46.80

9 Ladies Dancing - $4,759.19

10 Lords-a-Leaping - $4,285.06

11 Pipers Piping - $2,213.40

12 Drummers Drumming - $2,397.85

I'm Not Sure

You need to see it bigger here.

They Should Put Him On Monday Night

My vote for the newest Monday Night Football commentator:

Truly the National Pastime

It seems as though “America’s pastime” has really become America’s pastime. With the federal indictment of Barry Bonds and the Alex Rodriguez free-agency soap opera, baseball has devolved into probably the most tabloid-like sport in America. It’s pretty sad, because even though I’m not a huge baseball fan, I hate to see something with such a long and detailed history that is already struggling with modern popularity fall farther behind the glory sports of football and basketball. I’ve always enjoyed going to the ballpark and watching afternoon games, and I’ve come to appreciate the slower pacing of the game and the minute details to the game that make it interesting. Bonds and Rodriguez have turned baseball into tabloid-fodder where the biggest interest lies, not in the game, but in the foolish acts perpetrated by those who are supposed to represent the game.

The Barry Bonds’ indictment on four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice on Thursday, November 15 could cost him up to 30 years in jail. Bonds’ history of claims that he “never knowingly” took steroids and the fact that there is no positive proof that he took steroids is well-documented, but it’s both satisfying and dismaying to see that somebody finally got him on something. It’s the idea that you won’t get caught all the time, but somebody will catch you at least once, eventually. Honestly, I’m glad to see that Bonds’ might get what’s coming to him, given that he seems like an ass with no appreciation of anybody or anything beyond himself. It’s sad, also, that one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player, of his generation is caught up in a federal case like this. I would imagine this is what it was like when the “Shoeless” Joe Jackson / Black Sox scandal of 1919 was discovered.

As for Bonds’ Major League home run record, I don’t really know what to think. On one hand, it should have an asterisk with it, but so should almost every record from the last fifteen years. Bonds most likely got help staying healthy and strong with steroids, but so did a lot of other Major Leaguers (we won’t mention Sen. George Mitchell’s steroid investigation that may have 10-15 current free agents mentioned in it), and Bonds still had to actually hit the ball. Some people are calling for his record to be stricken from the books if he is convicted, but as far as I know, Pete Rose still owns the all-time hits record and he’s still banned from baseball for betting on games. I suppose it should stand and history will judge it the way people will want it to. And if the record is broken again by Alex Rodriguez, won’t that still be tainted?

Speaking of A-Rod and his ridiculousness, I agree with what I heard on the radio the other day: Alex Rodriguez makes people not like him. He already had the biggest contract in baseball history (10 years, $250 million), then opted out of his contract with the Yankees to pursue free agency, supposedly because 1) there was too much pressure and scrutiny on him in New York and 2) the Yankees dumped manager Joe Torre earlier this year. Then, he says that he won’t even talk to the Yankees unless they offer a contract of 10 years and $300+ million. Eighteen days later, A-Rod goes to back to the Yankees, asking to return to the club, and now we have an “outline” of a contract for 10 years, $275 million. This guy is an idiot.

Yes, A-Rod is the best player of his generation, but he hasn’t produced in the post-season, already said it was only about the money when he signed his original $250 million contract with the Texas Rangers, announced that he was opting out of his contract during Game 4 of the World Series, taking a lot of well-deserved press from the Series, the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, and whines too much for a guy who gets more money to swing a bat than anybody else in history. He better believe there’s pressure to win a World Series and produce if he wants the fat contract. Stop whining and start playing. By the way, I love that the Bonds’ indictment has left A-Rod’s contract talks in the dust as the biggest baseball story in America. Heck, even in the New York Daily News, the contract headline is in a tiny corner of the sports page.

* * *

In other wacky news, how about Arizona taking down No. 2 Oregon in the latest BCS upset? In case you missed it, the Wildcats defeated the Ducks, 34-24 on Thursday night to pretty much end Oregon’s hopes of a BCS title and the Pac-10 title. I think it’s the fifth time in eight weeks the No. 2 team in the nation has been taken out by an unranked opponent. Hopefully current No. 3 Kansas (10-0) survives the weekend against Iowa State to move to No. 2, and can win out against No. 5 Missouri and No. 4 Oklahoma in its last two games to give them a shot a the BCS title. The only disappointing thing about that is that they are still a Big 12 team, and not a mid-major like Boise State or former No. 2 University of South Florida.