The Return Of Mechasmack

4 weeks left. My friend is trying to get out of going to see the final chapter, but she's not getting off so easy. I can certainly understand her reluctance as we both winced during the cow-riding scene in Ep.II. But we've come too far to just give up. I still have hope. This one has so much to offer. It looks really dark too. I'm just hoping it doesn't have too much dialogue written by Lucas. And there's still a chance that Jar Jar will die a horrible, painful, CGI death.

Hackers

I should really be ashamed for liking this one since I'm a programmer.
The story is kinda lame. The acting is lame. And there is not one ounce of reality in anything they do on computers in this movie. But for some dumb reason I like it. At least the soundtrack is good. And Anjelina Jolie looks good with the short hair. Um, did I mention the soundtrack is good?

Head Of State

Chris Rock cannot act.
Chris Rock should not try to act.
Chris Rock should be fined for producing Pootie Tang.

Having said that, Head Of State is not that bad. I even willingly paid $9 for it because it was an election year and I liked some of the things he had to say in this movie. Apparently I could have saved my $9 because it's been on cable every day for the past 8 months.

The premise is ridiculous. The acting is sub-par. And some of the laughs are cheap. But where this movie shines is Rock's political rants. He becomes a common man candidate that you can really relate to and you feel he really gets what's wrong with this country. He rallies the people behind him when he keeps it real. But can he effectively run this country? Of course not. So you can never really believe that he would be elected president. But you can enjoy a few laughs during the ride.

So it's not that bad of a movie, but definitely one for my list.

I love it when pop culture collides:

www.atomfilms.com/af/content/sith_apprentice

Brown Sugar

Sanaa Lathan is hot. Taye Diggs is hot. And they do have an onscreen chemistry that works. At first I wrote off this movie as another half-assed attempt by producers to make a movie with a mostly black cast that has the same appeal as something with Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock. But that's not going to happen anytime soon because movies like this are immediately label "black movies" and white people are not interested.

At first I was going to put this on my bad movie list but as I began writing I realized that this really is a good movie. I'm not ashamed at all to say that I like this movie, so it doesn't belong on that other list.

The cool thing about this movie is how the relationship between the two main characters mirrors the evolution of hip hop over the years. They both have a love for the music and it is clear that their friendship has roots in that mutual affection. But can that friendship blossom into something more? Can it grow and lead them in different directions? Can they take a chance on something that can become great? If hip hop can, why can't they?

The performances here are good, as I've come to expect from Lathan and Diggs. And I really enjoyed Mos Def's character, the cab-driving rapper who would rather do his own thing than sell out to a label that's only interested in gimmicks to make a buck.

This movie used to be on cable twice every day but I haven't seen it in a while so I guess I'll have to buy it now.

Thank you Matthew Frederick Davis Hemming.

http://darthside.blogspot.com/

I just finished reading Revenge of the Sith. And of course the book is better than the movie. The entire time I was reading it, I was saying to myself "Why the hell wasn't this in the movie?" and "Well that paints a much better picture than in the movie." I liked Episode III. It's the story we've been waiting for and had to endure Episodes I & II to get to. But I still felt it could have been better after seeing it. And now that I've read the book, I know it could have been better. Granted, there are things you can achieve in a book that is much harder to do on film. But having the insight into some of the characters' minds makes the story so much more intriguing. Maybe someday the technology will exist to take the dialogue from the book and insert it into the movie.

Don't ask me how I happened upon this but I discovered that someone produced A MUSICAL OF THE LAST STARFIGHTER!! That is one of my favorite 80's movies! I can't believe someone did a musical of this. And now I'm mad at Jessica for not telling me about this.

When is it coming to Chicago!?

Check out this review by Jason Scott.

So I watched Spartan last night with Val Kilmer and that dude from that movie that Denzel directed and the girl in the cowboy hat from Bait that I recognized because it was just on tv Sunday. It was my latest Netflix delivery and I needed to relax so I figured it might be a good movie to watch. Sometimes I get in the Netflix doldrums where I just don't want to watch the movies I have, but I feel like I'm wasting money if I don't watch them. Some movies just sit there for a while until I'm in the mood to watch them. I had The Triplets of Belleville for 4 months before watching it because I was never in the mood to read French, only to find out there aren't even any subtitles because there's barely any dialogue. I've digressed.

So I started watching Spartan and it was interesting enough to keep me watching, but I started to get annoyed as it moved along because the acting was so wooden. It was almost like they were doing a read-through instead of the actual performances. Luckily, the plot kept it going. Then all of sudden it hits me...

Did David Mamet write/produce/direct this?

So I of course had to pause and go to the pooter to check. I really need to write Tivo and tell them after they merge with Netflix they need to work a deal with IMDb so all I have to do is pause the tv and it'll take me to the imdb page for whatever I'm watching. I digress again.

So David Mamet did write and direct this and I'm reminded of other movies of his that I've seen that have that same feel to them. The acting is so stiff (don't get me started about his wife) and sometimes the dialogue seems like a first draft. But the plot usually keeps me interested. I find that a bit odd. I'm annoyed and intrigued at the same time. Plus I still keep hoping that Val Kilmer will slip back into his role from Real Genius one of these days.

Cuz I don't have enough to do already...

aquasmack.com/stuff/frat-pack-movie-map.html

I just saw the trailer for Rocky VI aka Rocky Balboa. You can check it out here:

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/rockybalboa.html

Has Rambo IV started filming yet? And what's going on with Terminator 4? And don't think I forgot about Indiana Jones: The Escape From The Retirement Home.

Since the advent of digg.com, I've discovered that Wil Wheaton has a lot to say. His reviews of old Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes are pretty funny, especially considering he was in them. And now he's taken on the Star Wars prequels. I have to say, he has pretty much wrapped up my thoughts on why my generation has little love for them.

suicidegirls.com/news/geek/19141/

If Rocky can get his old ass back into the ring, then John McClane can certainly save the day... again. At least they aren't calling it Die Hard 4.

So HBO continues their barrage of the Star Wars movies in HD. I haven't seen Return Of The Jedi in a few weeks and there's no cartoons on Saturday morning anymore so what's a brother to do? I am always amused by the scene in Jabba's palace where Lando reveals himself to the camera. Like we couldn't tell who he was with his face partially covered. He's the only brother in the OT! And that always reminds me of my favorite Kevin Smith clip:

"What's a nubian?" Ahh, cracks me up every time.

I kinda feel bad for Halle Berry. Why can't she find a good movie? I'd even be happy to see her in Boomerang 2 right about now.

This morning as I read the Red Eye on the train, I actually laughed out loud at the review for her latest movie Perfect Stranger.

"So Godawful that it ruptured the very fabric of space and time with the sheer overpowering force of it's mediocrity."

Whew! That's rough.

I'm just going to assume that this year is unprecedented for the number of "3" movies coming out.

Spider Man 3
Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End
Shrek The Third
Ocean's 13
The Bourne Ultimatum
Rush Hour 3
Resident Evil: Extinction

Interesting.

Thank you Digg.com.

Yay! I'm full of useless knowledge.

100%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

I realize that anyone with a little bit of html knowledge can fake this but I did actually take the quiz.

Star Wars meets Coming To America

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