Top Ten Favorite Movies 2008

1 - Dark Knight

2 - In Bruges

3 - Wall-E

4 - Iron Man

5 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

6 - Cloverfield

7 - Role Models

8 - The Strangers

9 - Pineapple Express

10 - Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Top Christmas Movies

1. A Christmas Story - I cannot say it is truly Christmas until I have seen this movie. I probably end up watching parts of the movie every year and never get the whole way through. Once I decided to just sit down and watch it from start to finish. I found out I really liked the movie even better after watching it all without commericals. This movie is now as traditional to me as anything else.

It has humor, heart, and captures what Christmas means to children especially well. The director, Bob Clark also directed another famous Christmas movie, Black Christmas. That was a horror movie which is said to have spawned such slasher movies as Halloween. Good work Mr Clark.

2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - Another personal favorite of mine. This is called Christmas Vacation but the Griswold gang never leaves Chicago. Instead all of the family visits and the hijinks ensue. I love the humor and dark comedy of the movie. The film still makes me laugh everytime I see it and has many memorable lines and performances. This is an annual holiday must watch for me.

3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Not sure this one needs much explanation. The movie is short but is bure bliss. I love the voice of Boris Karloff and the animation is classic. If you haven't seen this yet, where the hell have you been? Ps, this is the 1966 version, not that Jim Carrey stuff.

4. Elf - A new movie that has really started to make its way as a must see every year type film. Will Ferell plays Buddy the Elf, who goes to NY after being born and raised as Santas Elf in the North Pole.
The direction and look of the movie are very well done. Credit John Favreau for a job well done. The movie is for all ages and is a good family movie with many memorable scenes that leave you laughing. Also look for a cameo from Peter Billingsley, who plays Ralphie in A Christmas Story.


5. Scrooged - Bill Murray is hilarious in this re-telling of A Christmas Carol. I never really liked the story of A Christmas Carol, as you can probably tell by my list. But this more modern version is done with a lot of dark humor and Murray is just great as a mean boss who learns the errors of his ways.

6. The Nightmare Before Christmas - Before it sold out this was a really neat little movie. Ok it still is a neat movie. I remember making my dad see this movie because I thought it looked cool way back in 1993. The movie shows an outsiders look on Chirstmas, and has many memorable songs and images. The movie is just fun.


7. Die Hard - Ok, so the movie is more about terroists than Christmas...BUT it is offically a Christmas movie! Bruce Willis' character John McClane even writes HO HO HO NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN on a guy in his own blood, tell me thats not Christmas spirit!

8. Home Alone - A movie I really was into as a kid. Now I just have fond memories of the movie and wondered what happened to Malkuly Culkin. The movie is more about a kid alone and Christmas but does revolove around the holiday and he even goes out and buys his own tree. I wonder if kids today are still impressed with this movie as I was back in 1990, wow 1990! Where has the time gone?


9. Gremlins - Gremlins rules, it is both funny and scary, if your 12 or younger. The movie takes place during the Holidays. Billy gets Gizmo as a Christmas present from his dad. Did I mention that Gizmo is so frickin cute? Here is photographic evidence:
If you haven't seen this movie you are sure missing out. It uses puppets, no CGI in this movie. Gremilns will always have a spot in my heart and the fact that it takes place at christmas is all the better.


10. Frosty the Snowman - I am going with the animated version for this one. I just think the look of Frosty from the animated version is very iconic to me. I really enjoyed this as a kid and think it still hold up well to this day.



...Well thats my list for this year. It could change depending on what new movies come out but if you haven't seen this great holiday movies I suggest you go rent them and enjoy the holidays!

80's Nostalgia

I was a pretty big fan of the Ghostbusters when I was a kid. For instance I have a picture of me from my class picture day in second grade and I am wearing a Ghosbusters shirt. I really was a fan of the first movie and of the tv show and comic book The Real Ghostbusters. I guess the show had the "Real" before it because they wanted to make it seem different then the adult movie, which it was since it was a saturday morning cartoon for kids, but i was just a huge fan of it.

I also had tons of the real ghostbusters toys. I still have in my garage the firestation playhouse, which is the main HQ of the ghostbusters, and I have the ecto 1 car and a few other toys still.

With all thing 80's being popular again I think Ghostbusters is prime for a comeback. There have been a lot of talks about a new movie or a remake or a movie with the original cast handing off the reigns to a new younger cast, whatever! Anyway the movies are starting to make there way back into the masses and I think people are happy to see them again. For instance there is a new Ghostbusters game coming out very soon, and it is voiced by all the orginal actors from the movie. Yes, even Bill Murray does a voice in the game. It takes place after Ghostbusters 2, and has me pretty much wanting to get a video game really bad for the first time in a long time. Check out the first trailer from the video games, it looks pretty fun.


I think the game looks really cool and I can't wait to play it.

Adventureland

Looks pretty cool, same director of Superbad, but is it me or did they try to get someone who looks kinda like Michael Cera for the lead role?

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch

Just watched some Halloween 3: Season of the Witch and the movie is damn entertaining. I thought it was complete garbage at first because it had nothing to do with Michael Myers (well they do show two clips of the orginal Halloween on TV during the movie) but after seeing it a few times the movie is cool and still stands up to this day. I could see this working well in one of those Tales From the Crypt episodes but its cool to see it be a longer movie instead. The plan by John Carpenter was to make a new "Halloween" movie each year, each telling a different Halloween-related story. After this movie failed at the box office, the film-makers decided to bring Michael back to life for future sequels. I even just noticed the tag line on the poster which reads "The night no one comes home." Which is very similar to the orginal Halloween tagline "The night he came home", so I guess they maybe tried to fool some people into thinking it had some similarities to the first two films?

Check out a great re-creation of the Silver Shamrock Theme, if you see the movie once this song will stay with for a long time!

The womanizing lead Dr. Daniel 'Dan' Challis played by the awesome Tom Atkins steals the show as a doctor who has nothing better to do then to track down the murder of a patient he knew for an hour or so. The plot makes you say, what the fuck? But when it is all said and done the movie is very fun and something I will try to watch when Halloween comes around, it is B movie greatness and better then most of the shit that is out there today. I guess people call it one of the worst movies ever because of the let down after the first 2 Halloween films, I can understand why people were let down or thought this movie sucks. I would have to ask them if they ever sat down and watched it all the way through. I am not saying it is a great piece of art but it is what it is, and thats pure enjoyment and entertainment! Here is the orginal (and somewhat rare) trailer:

He came home 30 years ago now

I never really thought about it but I am only a year younger than the film Halloween. Anyway this blog is just about Halloween the holiday and the movie. I sort of started out watching Halloween the later, and much worse off films. Like I said I was not even born when the first movie was released in 1978 so by the time I could watch the movies I started out with the bad one's. I am pretty sure Halloween 4 or 5 was the first one I saw at the theatre, I do recall my brother having a sleepover and watching Halloween 3 and everyone hated it, i think my mom kept me in the other room or i was just too chicken to watch it. I know my dad would always take me and my brother, or whoever would go, and watch the movies even though they probably knew they would suck. After a while I started getting into more  horror, due to my interest in Bruce Campbell and The Evil Dead stuff.

I guess the point of this was to bring up Halloween. Since it is almost upon us I will soon watch Halloween the movie directed by John Carpenter and I emplore you to watch it as well. To be honest I hadn't really just sat down and watched it all the way through until a few years ago on VHS. Since then I have bought Halloween 1 and 2 on dvd and watched part 3. I got a little freaked after watching the first one, the way it plays out, just how Michael Myers stands there or they show him walking towards his victims, it just seems real and I dug it. Plus you have a  crazy doctor played by the aweosme Donald Pleasence, who sometime seems even crazier then the guy he is chasing.  Anyway check out his 1978 preview, its amazing how much of the movie they show, it seems like basically the whole opening scene:

Now go rent, buy, or borrow the movie and it will add to your enjoyment of Halloween!

EPIC BATTLE

Now that ruled! 

Couple of Things I'm Watching

I don't really have too much to say here of late, so I will keep you in tune with some good things to check out on the web. A couple of things I'm watching are Godzillathon and Street Fighter The Later Years.

Godzillathon is a review of every Godzilla movie ever done. It's done by James Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd formerly know as The Angry Nintendo Nerd. This series is being done through his own website called Cinemassacre.com. I have been a big fan of AVGN stuff for a while now and I like hearing his insights into the world of Godzilla. Check it out here is part 1 of 17, and more to come.

Another pretty funny YouTube channel is Collegehumor.com. They have their own website and also post many funny things that will keep you occupied when you're bored at work at home. They are nothing groundbreaking but a lot of the stuff they do would make for good skits on SNL or MadTv. I think some of the stuff they do is well done and makes me laugh. One such series is called Street Fighter The Later Years and chronicles all the Street Fighter characters if they were still alive in modern day times. The series also throws in a lot of good inside jokes for fans who used to play the game all the time, like I did on the SNES. It's broken into 9 parts and is worth checking out, again I will put up the first episode of the series:

Well thats all I have for now. Check out those series and check back for updates.

Follow Up

kind of a follow up to my blog from yesterday...

State Of The Nation

I am not that much of a political guy. I don't try to say things because I feel I cannot really back up my talk about what I say most of the time when I talk about politics or whats going on. But I can no longer just hold back and turn a blind eye. This nation is on the down and I am just not sure if the damage George W. Bush has done can be overcome. I just feel this nation is going be on the down for a long time.  I really hope this is not the case but I just feel inside that will be. I try to tell myself that if Barak Obama is voted in he will be able to make a big change, but I think it would take him two terms to at least make some differences. 

I mean look at us. Seems that most everything is being owned by 10 or so compaines. The stock market thing is scary as hell, I bank at WAMU and I heard things like if they go down all my money would be cut in half. I have been saving up money for a car and school for years, seeing all that go away would change almost everything in my life. I really do not understand why the stock market is so down but I know it's really bad and scary.  I see my friends struggling to get stable jobs or careers, prices just keep going up for things, gas is still a joke, inflation continues to raise the prices of just about everything, health care seems to be a joke and I think it should be free to everyone, getting into college and then paying for it causes most students to go into many years of debt and never fully means you  can get a job/career afterwords, I think people have less time in their lives nowadays because they work too much and that means they have no time to enjoy the small things in life, children almost must feel things. I know a few people who just had kids and they had to go back to work a few months or so afterwords they cant be around because they have to work to make ends meet. Those are just a few things. I am still upset we are in a war we should not be in of course. Many people are dying and I am not sure we even know why. I think if John McCain was elected it would be less likely that he would try to end the war then Obama. 

Not to say it has all been bad but just mostly. We do have those awesome $5 footlongs from subway!! But if we dont get change in this country soon I am just scared to see how worse it can get. I want to be more political but I feel alone on that sometimes. I guess I just see all this going around me and it makes me want to say something. Remember to vote, maybe read up on the canidates and actually know who you like and have some reasons. Obama, to me, looks like a smart educated man who will try to use his brains and knowledge to make this country better. I could just be buying into the hype but I think we all want a change and McCain represents more of the same in my eyes. But then again what do I know?

Dvd's worth checking out

I know the blog has been football heavy, but hey who doesn't love some football, plus the niners are winning and we all know that might not last....er ok so I wanted to touch on some upcoming dvds because I think everyone should check these out, all 2 or 3 of  who you might read this blog. with the holidays coming up soon and coming off that huge summer which featured many blockbusters, the dvds will start coming out fast and furious before december 25th. so dig and if you have yet to see these yet, i suggest you go out to your local blockbuster or hollywood video and rent these bad boys. or if your using netflix add them to your queue. 

Sepetmeber 30 -

Iron Man  - this movie blew me away, good flick. Downey Jr was the perfect fit and Favreau did a great job and making this a fun and interesting comic book movie. Looks like it could be worth owning the 2 disc set for a good price, it will have a lot of features.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - A sort of personal favorite of 2008 for me. I was going through a break-up after almost 4 years of being with the same girl, so I could just totally relate to the movie. But I think it stands well on its own and is hilarious. It also features a great cast and is Apatow-influenced. There is a 1,2, or 3 disc edition! wow! i already pre-ordered the 3 disc one since it was pretty cheap. I am looking forward to all the usual great extras that comedy films usually throw in. I would recommened you get at least the 2 disc.

October 7th-

How I Met Your Mother: Season 3 - This is one of the best shows on tv as far as comedies. It rivals the Friends run. If you haven't seen it I think its time to start, laughing will ensue. I missed a lot of this season so catching up will be the name of the game for me, plus no commericals....awe...wait for it....some!

You Don't Mess With The Zohan - It was an okay movie, pretty funny. I dont think I would watch it again but its worth a rental for sure.

October 14th-

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of the Crystal Skull - Indys back and in dvd form! I think I will just ask for this movie and try to aviod actually paying for it. The movie was fun but it just didn't fully feel like the other movies, I guess that could be asking a lot? Anyway I am hoping the 2 disc edition will show spielberg and lucas pickering so we know who really is to blame, I blame Lucas anyway.

Chaplin-  I thought this was already out on dvd, I have been wanting to see it again for a long time. I guess with Downeys return to the hollywood elite made this movie get a new dvd release. He also was nominated for best actor but lost for his role as Charile Chaplin. 

October 21st

The Incredible Hulk- Ever since it was released Edward Norton and director Louis Leterrier have been upset with the scaled down version of the movie they filmed. I am waiting to see the extended cut that they thought was better. The movie is pretty good, nothing ground breaking and coming out between Iron Man and Dark Knight made it some what forgettable, but I am sort of waiting to see the movie  version that could be better. The 2 disc is a must.

The Strangers - I really dug this movie about two people who are being stalked and terroized by some random serial killers. The movie is creepy as hell and a sort of return to the older ways of horror movies. I think the movie will gain an even more cult following on dvd. The dvd doesn't have that many extras but its ok. The movie stands on its own.

October 28th - Nothing of Note at this time.

November 4th-

Reaper Season 1 - A show that reminds me of the good days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has that wit to it (Kevin Smith helps out on the show) and is interesting. It is about a kid whos parents sold his sould to the devil, and the devil now uses him as his pawn to pick up souls who need to get sent back to hell. And the guy is just some college kid who works a home depot like store. Worth checking out, I liked it but lost it amid the writers strike and its time shifting. 

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - Wow it took Lucas a long time to make this one. You could before only buy the movies seperate but now you can get all three prequels packed together. So when you buy it make sure to throw away the first one. It never amazes me how Lucas will get all the money he can out his audience, which my count is diminshing of late.

Novemeber 9th-

Kung-Fu Panda - I guess its so special it gets its own release date? I never saw Kung-Fu Panda but have heard great things and I am dying to see it. Why? Well because Jack Black plays a panda who kicks some ass! Thats gotta make it worth a rental right there. 

November 18th-

Wall E - I am pretty stoked to see Wall E again, I think disney and pixar hit gold with this movie. Wall E is cute as hell and the movie is just plain awesome. Good story and amazing visuals. I hope I have a BluRay player when this comes out because I am not sure if regular dvd can do it justice. This is a must see movie from kids to 8 to 80 yrs old. Another personal favorite of the year, and the dvd will be jammed pack with great extras. 

November 25th -

Hancock - I mostly put this up here because I want to see it bad and missed its run in the theatres. I have heard varying thoughts on the movie, some say its good and some say its bad, I guess I will finally be able to judge for myself on nov 25th.

Fred Clause - Ok, didnt this movie come out like a year and a half ago? It seems like they just took forever to release it, i guess I can see why they wanted to wait until the holidays but come on, will people even remember this movie by November 25th?

December 2nd-

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - I dug the first one as a kids LOTR, I never saw this one but I think dvd will be worth peeping. Not much to say about it just something that I think will be fun.

Step Brothers - Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly must have a commentary on this? If so it will be worth the price of the dvd right there! But this was a funny movie, I bet the outtakes will be worth renting it alone. 

December 9th -

From here on out things get sort of fuzzy on release dates. It does say that Lost Season 4 is due out this day, that will be worth checking out, the show had an awesome late season run last year and it will be nice to watch all the shows in a row and not waiting like they have been making the viewer due. I cant confirm it yet but I have heard that The Dark Knight will be coming out on the 9th as well. If so that will be a must own dvd for myself. 

Well thats all for now, keep checking back for more!

49ers Recap Week 3

This time niners took on the lowly Detroit Lions and beat then 31-13,the Lions are a team that has a worse front office then the 49ers. And to change this up I actually attended this game so I was part of the crowd, it gave me a better insight to a few things. One thing is that the fans are falling for JTO. The crowd was always screaming his name and giving him praise, which he truly deserved for his effort in the game. I think once you see how bad a QB is (Alex Smith) you just totally go for anyone who shows any signs of being an NFL qb. The crowd was really into the game, not sure if it was because it was a win over a mediocre team or what, but hey a win is a win, we have been the bad teams plenty of times and got stomped over. Anyway the nfl is open, in a league where Miami can beat New England anything can happen. Bad teams always have a chance and even though the Lions look bad they have many good players and they all want to win. Good win, good overall play and okay coaching lead to the nice win.

Offense - The unit looked good. They could run and pass very easily against the bad Lions defense. O'Sullivan was passing with much ease and was mostly able to do so with good protection or his ability to make things happen by using his feet or arm. O'Sullivan finsihed  16-23, 189 yards, 2tds, and 32 rushing yards. So far he reminds me of Jeff Garcia and the number he used to put up when he was here. He wasn't flashy but he got the job done (he had better WRs) and won games. Frank Gore had a big game finshing with 130 yards and a TD as well as 4 receptions for 32 yards. We really spread the ball around well and 8 players finished with a catch. The O-line was mostly good, better at running, O'Sullivan did get some pressure but was able to step up in the pocket and make good three step throws and hit his recievers in stride. Overall the team has scored more then 30 points two games in a row and that shows something. 

Defense- We had good pressure on Kitna for most of the time and we held the awesome duo of Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson in check. The Lions did do us some favors, they Lions WRs did drop a lot of balls but I like to think they were bad passes from the pressure the 9ers were putting on Kitna. We finsihed with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions, not too shabby. The Lions were not able to move the ball through the air but for another week in a row an average Rb ran for more yards then they should have. Rudi Johnson had some nice runs and finished with 83 yards,he could have been even more effictive if they Lions had a lead or were in the game. Niners need to address the problem with not being able to stop the run. But we held them to some long field goals and the one TD they did have has a great effort from Johnson. 

Special Teams-  The unit was mostly solid. Nothing huge as far as bad or good. Nedney did miss what was a easy field goal, which makes 2 weeks in a row, I hope its not a trend here. Andy Lee had 4 punts 3 of which landed within the 20 yard line. We were able to get the onside kick and Arnaz Battle looked like he was going to take it for a TD but was stopped short by the last guy in his way. I guess its is good when you don't have to talk about the special teams too much, it means they did enough. 

Coaching- Martz was on his A game, I think he had a grudge and wanted to tear apart the Lions, which he did. Good game by the coaching staff. Getting an early lead means you don't have to do much besides not blow it and they did not blow it. Nolan still called time outs when he shouldn't have and I liked that he went for it on the fourth and one, and so did the crowd. They really wanted his to do it and he had the balls to try. An end around on fourth and goal took some balls, so I give him credit for that. When you win 31-13 you get a good coaching grade. 

Overall Grade: A

49ers Recap Week 2

Well a win is a win, it was a fun game to watch for the most part. I tuned after the score was 14-3 Seahawks and thought we had little chance. Mostly because I wasn't sure the offense could come back from that much down. It sure was a wild game, 49ers end up winning 33-30 in OT. Nedney missed a potential game winner in regulation with :03 seconds. Here is my grades for Offense, Defense, Special Teams, and coaching.

Offense - The team did score 33 points, one TD was on Defense and a Interception set up a small field for a TD run by Gore. I sure was impressed with O'Sullivan. He can throw the ball with nice touch and also has an above average long throw. He finished 20-32 for 321 yards and a TD. He looked like he knew what to do when passing. I thought he could have taken the ball and run a few times, but overall he was pretty much perfect. He is also the 49ers first guy to throw for 300 yards since Tim Rattay in 2004, now that is sad. Gore had some troubles with a fumble (two weeks in a row!) that lead to points for the Seahawks. Bruce and Johnson looked really good at WR. Bruce kind of came out of nowhere and had some very long catches, one of which should have been a TD if he was 5 years younger. But I cannot complain, Vernon Davis did not even show up with a catch. Johnson looked liked a solid #2 WR. He was making good catches and scored a TD on a short pass. Gore also had 5 catches to go along with his 61 yards rushing and a TD. It was nice to see the niners be able to pass and pass well. If O'Sullivan can keep this up only good things will happen. 

Defense -  It was bad news/good news with this group. They made up for the points lost on offense (gore fumble) and special teams (blocked punt, led to a td) by getting key turnovers. Patrick Willis, shall I say anything else? The guy is amazing. He took a tipped pass and returned it 86 yards for a TD. Probably will be the most amazing play of the year for the 49ers (yes I DO realize they still have 14 games to go). They also picked off Hasselbeck once more and showed they could stop the pass. Of course the Seahawks had virtually no good WR's on the team. But their loss is our gain. The D-line was pretty sad. They couldn't get a push and stop the run. The Seahawks ran all over us! They had around 170 yards rushing and they Seahawks were getting 5 yards a carry in after the half. While they did only get one sack, they had enough pressure to make Hasslebeck throw those errant passes which were intercepted. I am shocked we gave up so many points, but Seahawks scored some by defense and special teams. 

Special Teams - Nedney did win the game, but he needed two tries. We had a punt blocked which lead to a short field TD, and the Seahawks had a lot of good kick off returns which gave them good field position. Add to the fact that Nedney kicked a kick off out of bounds and it was not a great day. But Nedney did make 4/5 field goals, and was able to hit on the game winner when it mattered, that alone almost makes up for the all the bad stuff that happened. Rossum had good kick off return average of 27.2 yards a return with a long of 44 yards. It was another good news/bad news situation here. 

Coaching - Nolan was terrible this week. I guess I am just a fan and don't know football but watching his decisions make me upset sometimes. He is the worst clock management coach I have ever scene.  Niners called uncessary time outs when they shouldn't have needed too. And choosing to let the clock run out with 20 seconds left and 2 time outs makes no sense, lets say they get some yards and turn that potential  game winning field goal into a 30-35 yarder instead of the 41 yarder, which was missed. I can see why he wouldn't go for it but it could have made all the difference if we didn't march down the field and get that OT game winner. Overall the coaching seemed pretty bad and I think they got lucky that Martz was able to get some points.

Overall Grade: B-

I found the Next 49ers Head Coach

Jim Mora rules! 

or

Its time to make some decisions!

49ers Game Recap

I think I will try to do a short game recap of the 49ers games. Lets hope they dont make the game almost unwatchable like some of the games last year. Well we lost! It was close for a while and most of the first half, after half time the Cardinals just were able to convert all of their 3rd downs, and had a few lucky calls go their way. 

The 49ers hurt themselves. Frank Gore fumbled the ball near his own end zone, he usually fumbles while near the opponents endzone! Then the next play Zack Keasey the new fullback fumbles after he catched the ball. Not good! O'Sullivan had flashes of good play. He was able to take the pressure and actually complete some passes under pressure, much different then the usual Alex Smith fall down, or run to the side line and throw a ball that is uncatchable.  And word is that Smith will be out for the year. Ok here is my thought, let it be done with. We made a mistake. We wasted a #1 pick on him. Sure it could be the 49ers fault for having no one to surrond him with but what done is done. I wish him well eslewhere but I see a David Carr career for Smith.

Anyway back to the game. The D was good for the most part, but they couldnt get a turnover. The Cardinals had the ball for almost all of the 3rd quarter! Overall they had the ball for 15 minutes longer then us, that is a full quarter.  It was so annoying watching them just keep driving. We had a three sacks which was nice to see finally!  We also had more total yards then the Cardinals had, so why did we lose? Easy..turnovers. We had 5 damn fumbles! We lost 4 of them and O'Sullivan threw one interception that was terrible. The D cannot be out there so long and still expect them to stay fresh.  The Cardinals trick kick offs were pretty lame. One time they kicked to Spikes the LB and he fumbles, so they do it again on the next kick off. Wow I thought that that was pretty weak, sure it worked but trying it twice? Reeked of desperation.  And last I heard Anquan Boldin said he wouldn't play for the Cardinals? When did this all get smoothed over? I wish he would have stuck to his word like a man and not decide everything is now ok, so he could come and tear us up like usual. 

Highlight of the game was Gore and his td run. It was an awesome sight to see him break that 41 yard run. Old man Edge was grinding it out and was effective, more so then he was last year. I think if we had cut down the turnovers and maybe stopped that grueling drive we could have taken this game. But its over ,we lost. Next week only gets harder and not getting a win at home against a beatable team hurts. I guess the only good news is that its early and we were not the worst team in the league. We scored as many points as the Colts and scored more points then 5 other NFL teams. 

Week 1 Grade:  D+

Why Dwight?

Just a few words on Kindergarten Ninja (1993).  I like watching cheesy movies and getting some laughs but this one was just terrible. Yes I did laugh and so did my friend but mostly at how utterly terrible the acting, directing, and the constant montage fighting scenes.  Best of all the movie stars Dwight Clark, yes that Dwight Clark, the legendary San Franscisco 49ers Wide Reciever. I think he did the movie because it was for D.A.R.E. and he wanted to get the word out about getting kids off drugs, in fact the start of the movie you get an actual San Leandro Polic Officer inform you about D.A.R.E. Anyway back to the movie Clark is Blade Steel and he likes to date more then one woman at a time and drive around town drinking. When a cop pulls him over he is so cool he offer the cop a beer! That takes balls! Somehow he winds up teaching kindergarten ? Anyway he gets help from an angel named Bruce (who is suppose to look like Bruce Lee) but you cannot tell since they never show his face, its fucking weird! But there is a badass Bruce Lee vs Elvis and George Washington in heaven scene. So the bad guy is called Hector Machette, awesome name! But he is making kids deal Buzz, the newest way to get high. Anyway i do not wish to ruin the greatness that is Kindergarten Ninja. 

If you are ever in the mood for some ultimate cheesy movie and want to waste 82 min of your life then see this movie. It holds more meaning to bay area fans. You even get a part in the movie were Blade Steel aka Clark, mentions his resturant and they actually have some text scroll saying where his own resturant Clarks by the Bay is located and give out an actual fucking phone number to call to make reservations! I guess this was one more reason he did the movie besides helping with the DARE program. I was able to find one clip on YouTube of the bad guy Machette kick ass and and taking names, he sure can beat up little kids good. The scene like most of the movie makes no damn sense. Enjoy, btw you can rent the movie on netflix if you ever want to, Why is this on dvd and not good movies like Night of the Creeps? Enjoy! 

Trailer Park

First off is the new movie from Kevin Smith. Zach and Miri make a porno. I like the cast for sure. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks both star and the movie has a sort of Apatow meets Smith look and feel to it from the preview. BTW, the poster here to the left is actually banned. Not really sure why, I guess because the two heads at the bottom? But anyway you will not be seeing this poster in the U.S. So here is the trailer. I am so ready for some Star Whores!

The next movie I have been waiting around for for many years. It is the new Bruce Campbell movie, well not so new anymore. It is My Name Is Bruce and it is all about a small town that needs a hero and they think Bruce Campbell is an actual hero not just a movie star. The trailer looks pretty campy but I think the movie will be fun, and if anything else it has Bruce Campbell in it.  Here it is:

My NFL Predictions

I do this every year, here is my predictions for how the outcome of the NFL season will go.  The best thing about football is that any team can win the superbowl (ok not the Falcons). 

NFL 2008 

AFC 

East

---------

New England Patriots  14-2

New York Jets  10-6*

Buffalo Bills  6-10

Miami Dolphins  5-11

North

------------

Pittsburgh Steelers  10-6

Cleveland Browns   9-7

Cincinnati Bengals  8-8

Baltimore Ravens  6-10

South

-----------

Jacksonville Jaguars   11-5

Indianapolis Colts  10-6*

Tennessee Titans  9-7

Houston Texans  6-10

West

------------

San Diego Chargers  12-4

Denver Broncos  8-8

Oakland Raiders  6-10

Kansas City Chiefs  5-11

NFC

East 

---------

Dallas Cowboys   12-4

Philadelphia Eagles  10-6*

New York Giants  9-7*

Washington Redskins  8-8

North

-----------

Minnesota Vikings  10-6

Green Bay Packers   8-8

Chicago Bears  6-10

Detroit Lions  6-10

South 

---------

New Orleans Saints  9-7

Tampa Bay Buccanners  8-8

Carolina Panthers  7-9

Atlanta Falcons  5-11

West

-----------

Seattle Seahawks  9-7

Arizona Cardinals  7-9

San Francisco 49ers  7-9

St. Louis Rams  5-11

*- Wild Card Team

I Will Watch the Watchmen

Am I the only fanboy who had a pretty good hard on when they saw they new Watchmen trailer? I am bit worried to how it will come out on film, I have recently re-read the grahic novel and it just has so much in it as far as character development, which is basically what the comic is about. I hope Zach Snyder is up for the challenge, and didn't change it too much to just incorporate more action, which is sort his strong suit up this point (see Dawn of the Dead remake and 300 for examples). Maybe I am just excited because of the awesome trailer? The song they use is he Beginning is the End is the Beginning by the Smashing Pumpkins, and it just works perfect for the trailer. I think with the dark nature of the Dark Knight it might be a good set up for all the rape, torture, and other goodies that this movie will have in store. Here is a gander at the film, is it 2009 yet?

Madden 09

Yes, I play video games too. I have recently been playing Madden 09! I wanted to write a little bit about, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ok so lets touch on the cover. You have future hall of fame QB Brett Favre of the Gree..um NY Jets! They say madden cover athletes have a curse which has been proven correct more then a few times. I guess Favre cursed himself in a way with his own decisions. If you ask me, when you retire and the team moves on thats what they have to do, if you come  back and get mad at them for not making you the starter then it is all your own fault. Seeing you in a Jets unfi will be about as weird as seeing Joe Montana in a Chiefs Uniform, but at least he won more Superbowls before he bolted.

THE GOOD

The game has some amazing graphics, i mean this is the best football game I have ever seen in terms of graphics. They detail almost everything on the players and they all have their own faces and looks. No player looks the same and you can tell a big difference between the build of an O-line man or a Running Back. They even improved on things like stadium detail, weather was much improved, and the crowd and people on the sidelines were made to look and feel more realistic. A small thing they added that I really enjoy is that as the game goes on the jerseys get dirty and green. If the weather is rain, you can see the jerseys get increasingly caked with mud, and it depends on how much you player is on the field. It was nice to see all my guys on special teams come out covered in mud and the kicker walks out with a jersey that is mostly clean and untouched. 

You get a more realistic gameplay this year. It is much harder to just make a catch or run and take it to the house. Money plays are almost all but gone. The CPU has some better AI it some aspects. You have to earn your points this time around. I like that the games can get close, its not just blow out after blow out. I usually play on a pretty easy level (Pro Mode, for now). Runnng the ball is harder and while its not my favorite it is much more real. You cannot easily break a run for 20 yards. Having a better offensive line will help you run and pass the ball with greater ease. They also added some replays, which will break down the play and show you how you messed up, they are fun to watch a few times but if you accidently hit one button after your play they are automatically skipped through. I'm sorry but after the play I am always pressing buttons.  They do allow you to replay the previus play in a screen while you are picking your next play, which is a nice touch. 

While running is harder passing seems to be almost just right. If you have a good QB and WR's you pass the ball deeper and easier, if you have someone like Alex Smith at QB it becomes harder to make the deep passes and you are less accurate. You cannot just use Kyle Orton and sling the ball in there this year. When you run you have to wait for your block, not just sprint outside and for a huge run. 

Madden 09 has many good improvements that I touched on here. I am happy with the the graphics and presentation of the game. It looks so good that sometimes I just play to see how fun it will be to play in the snow or rain. This is the pinnacle of grahics for sports games to date. 

THE BAD

The gameplay does suffer in many ways. Running is much harder and the casual gamer may be very upset with this. I play on Pro mode and usually average 3 yards per carry. I am not claiming to be some great player but that seems a tad low to me. If you have a better RB it does help, so does a better O-line. I used the Detorit Lions and couldn't run the ball to save my life. You also need to run to set up the pass or play action fake, and if you cannot run you sort of give up on it and just pass, which leads to the CPU AI picking you off or going with more dime coverage.  The worst thing in running is that when you see a big hole to run it gets clogged in a second and you get tackled. I hate this part. I see a big hole i am in the clear and all of a sudden some huge D-line man comes off his block and gets me. They made the D-line men way to good this year. I have even gone and replayed to see why I always got tackled so easy when I had a huge hole, and it was because the D-line would break their blocks and instantly get me. I am sorry but this is a huge flaw in the game and needs to be addressed. I do not wish to break every play for 50 yards, but when there is a hole I should get at least 4 yards not 1 or 2. 

The sprint button has been tuned down, my guess would be that it was too easy to break a long one with guys with a lot of speed. I will admit its more realistic to not be able to just sprint past everyone. The passing game suffers a lot from this. I will pass to someone like Santanna Moss who is a speedster but he will usuall be tackled right after he catches the ball. I think this should be something that happens more to possesion recievers. Throwing the deep ball is much harder this time around, the CB's seem to stay with you more, not to say its impossible but its very diffcult for avg QB's and WR's to do.

I mentioned the CPU AI, which usually can pass with ease this year around. The thing is the CPU will run about 70% of the time, usually.  Since its pretty fair it term of running the ball, it means they cannot run the ball very good either. They should pass much more then they do. When I played a team who passed more they ended up scoring more against me. The cpu still decided to run for 2 yards gains when they clearly should be passing. Its like Mike Nolan is doing the cpu AI. Another bad thing is that the cpu AI for both my guys and the cpu guys do not know what out of bounds means. I have guys who run routes and will go out of bounds and not come back in play. I would think this is something they would have fixed. It is pretty comical to see the cpu pass to guys who are out of bounds, which they do quite often. I like the free loss of down and all, but I would sometimes rather earn it. 

Instant replay continues to be something they need to work on. You can replay stuff but they have no idea what you want to replay. Sometimes they make a catch and go out of bounds. How do they know if I want to replay if he got his feet in or if made the catch. They really need to make it so you have some sort of option of choosing what you want to review.  They also dont have any pregame show, I know its not that important but I liked in the past when they would highligh one or two player who would impact the game and explain why they would do so. This year they also added a feature that make the game very much a video game, there is a replay a play mode were you can rewind one play of your choosing a game. So if you get beat by a game winning td the game allows you to rewind the play and try to stop them one more time. I am not sure why the added this feature. I have used it sparingly, once or twice but lately I never even use it or impliment it in the games I play. If I play a friend we never use it. I am not sure why the even made this feature. 

Ok so some of the bad stuff could be called nit picking but some is just plain bad. The running game is good for the die-hard realistic fan but most people i know think its just too hard. Guy running out of bounds for no reason gets lame after a while and still no good replay system make it pretty much a non-factor this year. 

THE UGLY

The ugly is best summed up in two words: Chris Collinsworth. He is the new announcer for what seems like most of the plays and replays in Madden 09. The guy comes off as smug and some of his insights are just there to be there, they offer nothing which helps or entertains you. Ok well maybe its fun to laugh at sometimes but usually its pretty lame stuff. I understand that its hard to get good play by play in a video game, but with improved technology I would have thought they could somehow make it at least better. I guess it would have been to hard to get the Sunday night team of Madden and Al Michaels, who at least have actual knowledge due to many years of covering sporting events. Madden does lend himself to a few things in the game, like when you take that awful Madden Test.

Speaking of that, that Madden test is bad. I was really excited to see that they made it so the game would adapt to you. I took the tests, they make you do a lot of small test in running, passing, pass and rush defense, and then they give you a grade based on what you did. I remember when I was taking the test it seemed way too easy, they would tell you what button to hit while running the ball. No doubt I did all-madden level (best you can get) in running. So when I played the game with my madden ratings it was nearly impossible to run the ball. It made sense for them to make it so hard when it was so simple in the madden drills! Why did they do this! Anyway I just ignore that madden test thing now and play on Pro mode which is a pretty good setting. I hope they improve this over the years because I was looking forward to having a game that would adpat to me.

Final Thoughts

Madden is fun to play and is more realistic and less arcade style. If you like to earn your yards and use some brains this game will suit you fine. Its a good game for people who really like the NFL and want a game that plays like a real NFL game. Graphics will blow you away and the play by play is pretty bad, overall Madden 2009 is a good effort and should be had by all real NFL fans. 

49ers

My Prediction of the 49ers record 

It is never too early for football! I know I there is still many questions left for many teams before the regular season kicks off, like who the hell is J.T. O'Sullivan? 

But alas I am just chomping to get started of some NFL predictions so here is a game by game guess of what I think the 49ers record will be in the 2008 season. 

Week 1

vs Arizona - Since niners have gotten off to good starts almost every year with Nolan at head coach I am pretty confident that the niners will pull through opening the season up at home. With questions about All Pro WR Anquan Boldin still looming, will he even be playing for the Cardinals when the season starts?, and Edge getting older I think the 49ers will be more prepared and will have a slight edge as long as everyone is healthy. I look for Frank Gore to have a big game. 

Final Score: 49ers Win 17-14 (1-o)

Week 2

@Seattle - Niners had a very diffcult time with Seahawks last year. I believed they got shut out playing in Seattle last year and I know they didn't score a TD agaisnt them at home (I had the pleasure of going to that game). I think 49ers do score in this game but riding the win from Arizona the week before isn't enough. 

Final Score: Seattle Wins 24-6 (1-1)

Week 3 

vs Detroit - This will be a big game for Mike Martz. He will be the talk of the town this week because he is going up against his former team and FOX is not smart enough not to care and will hype it up, especially since the game is between teams who haven't been in serious playoff contention in a while. I think the 9ers pull this one out, and I think it gets a little high scoring. Lions should have a tought time running and maybe the niners get some turnovers to seal it up.

Final Score: 49ers Win 27-20  (2-1)

Week 4

@ New Orleans - A very tough match up. The niners are  not that great on the road and playing in New Orleans will just prove to be too tough on them. I think this one will be close for a while but New Orleans will pull away with a big lead in the end. Nuff said.

Final Score: New Orleans Wins 28-14  (2-2)

Week 5

vs New England - After playing against the Saints the niners get to come home to this? Wow, this will be a bad loss. New England went 16-0 last year and has a great team again. If Tom Brady and Randy Moss are both injured the 9ers might have a small chance, but they won't be, the 9ers will see in the Pats what they used to be to other teams in the 80's, Dominant.  This one could get ugly folks. What is even worse is that after this they face Philadelphia Eagles and then the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, wow what fair scheduling NFL, I call Bullshit on this!

Final Score: New England Wins 37-7 (2-3)

Week 6

vs Philadelphia - Another good team comes to the bay area. Mcnabb and Westbrook and a good Philly D seems to daunting to a team like the 9ers. I think this game could be close but I don't think it will be. After a few more big losses the 9ers most likely lose another one at home.

Final Score: Philadelphia Wins 28-17  (2-4)

Week 7 

vs Seattle - After facing 3 most likely playoff teams the Seahawks come into Candelstick and do not seem as daunting at home. Niners get some good running and just enough D to pull out a win on a Joe Nedney field goal with a min or two left in the game. Niners get back to winning, this will be a close game.

Final Score: 49ers Win 17-16 (3-4)

Week 8

@New York Giants - Ah, this is fun. We get to back to NY for the second season in a row, another reason I hate the NFL schedule makers, is it just me or do the 49ers never get any breaks? I guess once you win you get some of those breaks? NY Giants Defense was too much for Brady and Co. so how do you think we will hold up?

Final Score: NY Giants Win 25-9 (3-5)

Week 9 - BYE

Week 10

@Arizona - The game the niners played @Arizona last year was the most exciting win of the season. While I think it is unlikely they take both games against the Cardinals, I think it is possible and they can do it, just a lot of things have to go right. I will say they do and 9ers pull out a much needed road win. Plus we are coming off a bye week and will have some guys getting much needed rest, that should put us over the hump and take this win. 

Final Score: 49ers Win  24-21 (4-5) 

Week 11

vs St Louis - We played the Rams very close in both games last year and being at home gives us a slight advantage. I say the niners win this one, it will be close but the D steps up and gives us some  turnovers for a home win, it also means the niners are at .500!

Final Score: 49ers  Win 16-10 (5-5)

Week 12 

@Dallas - After 3 straight wins following the BYE the 9ers are on their high horses, so of course they come into Dallas and win! Um..no. Dallas has a good overall team and proves just too much for the 9ers to handle. This game can be close if the 9ers D steps up and gets some pressure on Romo, but thats a lot to hope for. Another good team that proves too much for the 9ers.

Final Score: Dallas Win 27-13 (5-6)

Week 13

@Buffalo - This game will be played November 30th in New York, I think Frank Gore and Marshawn Lynch both have big games running the ball and the cold makes the game very low scoring, field goals as well as field position will be important and the 9ers get some luck from Andy Lee and Allan Rossum on special teams, just enough to win.

Final Score: 49ers Win 13-12 (6-6)

Week 14

vs New York Jets - This should be a good game. I think the 9ers could take the Jets, well it sort of depends on how Farve is doing with his new team. I think it will be a closer game then most people would think but I have to say to be realistic that the Jets would win this one in a heartbreaker for the 9ers.

Final Score: Jets Win 31-21 (6-7)

Week 15

@Miami - A very winnable game for the 9ers, Miami only won one game all of last year but they have improved in many ways. I think this will be low scoring defensive game and the 9ers D will win out in the end. Nate Clements comes through with a pick returned for a TD to put the Dolphins away for good.

Final Score: 49ers Win 13-10 (7-7)

Week 16

@ St Louis - I want to say the niners will win, i know St Louis is always a hard place to win in. I will just say that this is a game I think 9ers will lose but since I really want them to win I will say that somehow the 9ers pull it out. Maybe by now Josh Morgan has proved he really is the WR of the future and goes off in this game. It is so hard to predicit how teams will be doing in week 16, for all I know Bulger and Holt could be banged up! 

Final Score: 49ers Win 23-19 (8-7)

Week 17

vs Washington - As much I would like to beieve the 9ers could win against the Redskins at home in the last week, I cannot see it happening. Redskins have a lot of talent and play in a tough divison wich makes them a stronger team. The final game of the season is a loss which means the niners finish at .500 which would show some tremondus improvement. If 8-8 is enough to make the playoffs remains to be seen, but I would love to see my 9ers as a wild card and to play some meaning football again.

Final Score: Washington Win 23-13 (8-8)

Lost Classic

Intruder (1989)

I often find myself watching older movies that I think are worth seeing but maybe never got a big word of mouth. One movie I just watched that I thought worth writing about was Intruder. I basically rented the movie because netflix said it had Bruce Campbell in it, and being a big Bruce fan I wanted to see him. I also asked my horror lover friend Dennis and he said the movie was good, so I figured it would be worth a rental. The movie did start out sort of slow, my friend Brian commented that it had been 30 min in and we still didn't have a kill. Then the movie really got going. I think they killed off around 5 people in 20 minutes, not a bad average of around 4 kills a minute. The movie takes place in a supermarket, adding to the nostalgia factor was seeing all the old name brand cereal boxes and pepsi cans of old. The movie has some nice brutal kills, some of which I didn't think would be so nasty but the movie doesn't shy away from gore and I liked that. The acting is pretty bad, I mean the main actress is wretched but the main bad guy is a great villan and the movie has some good shocking moments, overall a good rental and should be watched by horror fans. BTW Campbell was in for a disapointing 2 or 3 minutes, so do not see it just to see him. You do get some good Raimi brother action, because both Sam and Ted Raimi show up and get killed off in fun ways. 

Bad Acting

I am no acting major or Tom Cruise but I can tell when someone does some bad acting and these clips take the cake! I think my favorite is Troll 2, it rules. Not sure why the voices are off but it sort of makes it even funnier. 

Dark Knight

The title of this film is dead on, this is a dark film that is more of a crime
film and drama then it is a summer popcorn blockbuster. Not to say there isn't some nice action and explosions but the crux of the story is about villians and what really needs to
be done to become a hero.

That said all the characters are back from the orginal, even a few you didn't
think would show up are back. Bale is a great Bruce Wayne and a good Batman, his voice
sometimes seems way too forced when he dons the mantle. Lt Gordon is played exactly how I
think he should be by Gary Oldman, he is good everytime he is on screen. Michael Caine is
back as Alfred and is funny, Morgan Freeman is back as Lucious Fox who is sort of Waynes
go to guy for weapons and such. The character of Rachael Dawes is back but instead of
Katie Holmes we get Maggie Gyllenhall who gives a slightly beter performance, she
seems to have a lot to work with because she has a new love interest Harvey Dent, who is
played by Aaron Eckhart. Oh and of course the person who steals the show (would have even
if he wasnt prematurly taken from us) as the Joker.

So The Joker, wow what an amazing and scary villian. Ledger took the character
and made it his own twisted man. I thought he just made everything about the movie
better. I always say that the hero is nothing without a villian, if we never feel the villian can
harm the hero or others then why even be scared? the Joker is a scary motherfucker, at one
point I wanted Batman to harm him because he was a psycho and scary fucker. The Joker
has plans, his plans included hurting Batman and also Harvey Dent. He does end up
making Harvey into something terrible as well. When Dent does make his change into the
villian Two Face it is also frighting. He was once a noble man who lost everything and
has every reason to lose it.

The Dark Knight is just an overall great movie, not a great comic book movie but
great movie which stands on its own. The director Christopher Nolan continues to shine
and give a fresh take on the Batman and his villans. Everything in the movie happens
for a reason, everything leads to something else. The action feels real, not much CGI
used and you can tell. The main stars are the villian, and the movie plays out very dark
and somber.
Even the ending is one of the most downer endings to a comic book movie in a
while, but i am sure it has a purpose to set up for another film, which is about 100% going
to be made after the box office numbers the Dark Knight has put up.

So some negatives? well I didn't see it in IMAX, I bet it looked even better in
that venue of film. I do have some gripes with the ending and who is killed, because I thought
the guy they killed (pretty sure he is dead ) was going to be the villian of the next
movie. At the end of Batman Begins we got the perfect set up for the Joker, this time we are
left with Batman being on the run and taking the responsibility so he can be a hero for
the people. I also sure wouldn't have minded seeing more of the Joker, he plays a major part
of the movie but there is just so much going on witth him, batman/bruce wayne, dent and
dawes, two face, the mob, wayne tech, no wonder the movie was 2 and a half hours
long, in fact I could see it going longer.

One more slight thing was the ending, I expected a tad bigger ending but its
nothing worth talking to much about. The Dark Knight is a movie I need to see again, it
has so much to take in. Maybe I missed somethings but the movie is worth the hype, it blew me
away and go see it.

Grade: A

NOTE- Since this has been written I have seen the movie two more times and one of those times was on IMAX. I still give the movie a solid A!