A Little Something Lighter

My blog posts have been more on the serious side lately, what with all the bad news we've faced lately. The Virginia Tech shooting. Casualties in Iraq. Sanjaya getting voted off "American Idol." In the midst of all of this negativity, it's often a good idea to take a step back and escape, if only for a little while.

So, instead of focusing on being serious, let's lighten the mood, shall we?

- "Blades of Glory." If you haven't seen it, see it. If you have seen it, see it again. It's THAT funny.

- "Grindhouse." Great movie up until Tarantino's "Death Proof." Is it just me or has Quenton Tarantino sucked as a director most of the time? Here's my impression of "Death Proof" so you won't have to waste money on it.

blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah car sequence blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah
car sequence another car sequence Kurt Russell gets the snot kicked out of him The End.

If only Tarantino were "suck proof."

If you feel you must see it, wait until it comes out on DVD or see it at a matinee and leave after the "Previews of Coming Attractions" in the middle of the movie.

- Rock star Rob Zombie is remaking "Halloween." WHY? Why do people today think they have to remake classics to make them "more modern"? In some cases, it works (see "Seabiscuit"). In most cases, it sucks (see "Poseidon"). It's too late to stop Rob Zombie, but it's not too late to tell Hollywood to start creating new stuff and not trying to "improve" on the old stuff.

- Alec Baldwin/Kim Bassinger. Knowing what I know about Baldwin's temper, I have no doubt he very well could have left that angry voice mail message on his daughter's cell phone. Knowing what I know about Bassinger, I have no doubt she could be using her daughter as a pawn to get back at Baldwin. It gives me no joy to consider that that young woman is going through right now and wonder if her parents actually love her or if they just say they do.

- Sanjaya off "American Idol." I'm shocked he got this far. He's a decent enough singer and he has the boyish good looks to be a pop singer, but what really seemed to shine was his personality. He loved performing and he loved giving back to his fans. That's something more than a few big performers today could learn from the guy.

- Dennis Miller's new radio show. Great stuff. Miller shows he is a natural for radio and his interview segments are top-notch. He doesn't try to talk over people, but rather gives them a wide berth to get out what they want to say so the audience can decide. If you haven't had a chance to listen to him yet, his website dennismillerradio.com has an audio archive. The stuff with Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz will leave you hurting from all the laughing you'll do.

- Larry King celebrates 50 years in broadcasting. A great milestone to be sure. Anybody who does what King does night after night deserves all the recognition he can get.

- "Hot Fuzz." It's the latest film by the guys who did "Shawn of the Dead." If you haven't seen "Shawn of the Dead," BUY IT. It will turn your head around on the zombie film genre, and "Hot Fuzz" looks to do the same for police movies and "buddy films" like "Lethal Weapon."

- "Spider-Man 3." Can't we move the opening date up a week or two so we can stop seeing all the hype for the movie? I was in WalMart today and I swear I saw Spider-Man 3 Bug Spray on sale. Throw in a Spider-Man 3 George Foreman Grill and a package of Spider-Man 3 Kosher Hot Dogs and we will have officially hyped everything possible with this movie.

And finally...

- Monkeys. They look like us and they fling their poo. What's not to like?