tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113328842011-12-13T22:53:59.718-05:00Arr! Me thoughts on movies, books, music and life. Er, matey.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.comBlogger561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1162869624711059532006-11-06T21:33:00.000-05:002006-11-06T23:17:06.133-05:00

On Firday, my wife Jodi and I went (across town) to see Borat. There we were, as usual, 20 minutes early waiting for the show to start, while watching mindless ads defile the silver screen, and we notice that the house is beginning to fill. Curious, we thought, for a relatively early showing. We also happened to notice that sharing the row with us were several couples over 60. And I don't

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1161663057036120122006-10-23T22:25:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:15:25.436-04:00

I gotta hand it to the networks, with this season's slate of newbies, they're showing that the past couple of years- which gave us Lost, Desperate Housewives, My Name is Earl, The Office and Veronica Mars- were not a fluke. And this time, NBC takes some risks and makes strides to surpass ABC in the quality game.Okay, so not all of the offerings are top notch- 10 minutes of 20 Good Years will

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1161146557656508832006-10-17T22:55:00.000-04:002006-10-18T00:42:37.713-04:00

As we enter, in earnest, into the fall movie season- a season that is all but guaranteed to yield all of the major Oscar contenders- let us reflect on a few of the movies this year that will not get recognized, as deserving as they may be.Robert Downey, Jr. in A Scanner Darkly. Here is a movie that is psychedelic sci-fi and (heaven forbid) animated, so in other words here is a movie that has

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1160540474220883012006-10-10T23:36:00.000-04:002006-10-11T00:21:14.286-04:00

Where have you been for the last five months? Oh, wait- that would be me. Partly, I've been protesting the complete lack of quality entertainment over the summer months. Let's face it- So You Think You Can Dance is a good diversion, but it's not exactly art. Partly, I've been without a time to write, what with Desparate Houswives off the air. Mostly, I've been lazy. Anyhow, I'm back to give

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1147367708175847202006-05-11T11:15:00.000-04:002006-05-11T22:18:28.070-04:00

They say there's nothing new under the sun. I think, perhaps, that the writing team behind Mission: Impossible III took this proverb to heart. "Since there's no origniality anyway," I imagine them saying "we may as well not think of any new ideas for this movie!"Granted, it's a movie based on a 60's TV show, so pehaps it is unfair of me to expect so much. But seriously, when you're movie is

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1147229205786499072006-05-09T22:06:00.000-04:002006-05-09T22:46:45.800-04:00

In a remarkable instance of pan-media marketing, the folks in charge of marketing for the hit TV show Lost have begun to string together a game, nay an online puzzle- one might even call it... The Lost Experience!This venture was launched in an appropriate way: during last week's show, there was a TV commercial during a break for The Hanso Foundation, including a toll-free number. When called,

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1147142753047615252006-05-08T21:36:00.000-04:002006-05-08T22:46:16.173-04:00

Well, better late than never.A few months ago, my brother Jeremy told me about this dude who was making albums for each of the fifty states. My first impression of what that would be like was somewhere between John Linnell's State Songs (celebrating the geography geek in all of us) and Atom and His Package (obviously some guy with a mic and a computer making records in his bedroom). The best I

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1147056279196350102006-05-07T21:45:00.000-04:002006-05-07T22:44:39.233-04:00

It is often assumed that movies are for entertainment purposes only. I think that's why so many were confounded when it was announced that Universal Studios was making a movie about the events of September 11th on board the doomed United flight that was hijacked and crashed. It doesn't seem like a subject that it likely to cause entertainment. Even horror movies and disaster movies only

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1146857980144320652006-05-05T14:59:00.000-04:002006-05-08T21:36:07.020-04:00

It's a phrase you've heard bandied about. And it seems especially prevalent when talking about music. In Garden State, Sam (Natalie Portman) tells Andrew (Zach Braff) that The Shins will change his life, and at the time I thought she was just being precocious.A few months ago, we bought an iPod. I had resisted due to it's price and my tendency to have all of my music stolen, but I was drunk on

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1144113777165693202006-04-09T20:36:00.000-04:002006-04-09T20:23:44.513-04:00

Here's a question that's been on my mind, and it seems central to the relationship of culture with pop culture: is it worth it to dilute the message of a work in order to make it palatable to a larger audience in return for greater distribution of that message?There are a couple of examples of this dilemma in recent movies. First, there is V For Vendetta. Alan Moore's original vision of the

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1142391116083442782006-03-14T20:36:00.000-05:002006-03-15T09:39:43.756-05:00

So I'm just going to let the Oscar results go and move on to less frustrating topics: TMBG! There are some interesting happenings in the Giantverse, and I thought I'd share in case you're keeping track.For the uninitiated, we're talking about They Might Be Giants, seminal dork-rock band, subject of the rockumentary Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), and best-selling children's music artists. But

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1141252522149377752006-03-01T17:23:00.000-05:002006-03-01T17:35:22.166-05:00

Okay, last one. Here are my picks for the other categories, just so I can say I told you so (or more likely so I can be publicly embarrassed):Best Supporting Actor- Matt Dillon (Crash)Best Supporting Actress- Rachel Waisz (The Constant Gardener)Best Original Screenplay- CrashBest Adapted Screenplay- Brokeback MountainBest Cinematography- Brokeback MountainBest Animated Feature- Wallace & Gromit

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1140824985842970582006-02-24T18:14:00.000-05:002006-02-24T19:19:40.283-05:00

As the Awards Season continues to build toward the big night, let's continue on with my humble thoughts on Oscar contenders in some of the major categories.Best Actor is a tough category for me to gauge, since the probable winner (if the preliminary awards are any indication), Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is from a movie I haven't yet seen, Capote. I also have not seen this year's biggest surprise

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1140047500172405122006-02-15T18:08:00.000-05:002006-02-15T19:20:11.703-05:00

So it's February, which sucks for new movies, but at least we have the movie geek's equivalent of the playoffs: the Oscar Races. Here's some of my thoughts on the key races:Best Director: This year the Best Director race exactly mirrors the Best Picture race. This makes sense to me: if the director is ultimately responsible for the creative aspects of the film, the best film is an indication of

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1136773637496027062006-02-01T21:26:00.000-05:002006-02-01T20:16:14.890-05:00

Who would be crazy enough to compare Surrealism with Country and Western music? Well, me, for one. Okay, it's not exactly those two art forms that I'd like to consider, but arguably the foremost figures in those respective fields.This is a story about a man who's genius comes naturally to him. Sure, he has to put forth effort to get started, but once he does, his unique style becomes the

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1133232627338584442005-11-28T21:06:00.000-05:002005-11-28T22:22:15.756-05:00

Cinema is its own art form. It has the power to combine audio and visual elements, epic scope and intimacy, emotion and storytelling. No piece of music can tell as complete a story, no painting can be as epic, no play can be as versatile, no book can be as sensual as a good film. And yet...Two recent films, each adapted from another medium, end up as pale shadows- sad imitations of their source

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1131991588273343142005-11-14T12:57:00.000-05:002005-11-14T13:06:28.306-05:00

See above link for an excellent article about the future of TV by Adam Sternbergh in New York Magazine. The difference between this piece and my last post?It's longerHe's a better writerIt has actual "facts"He probably wasn't under the influence of cold medicine while writingConjectures about the rebirth of FireflyEnjoy!

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1131937264202739302005-11-13T21:25:00.000-05:002005-11-13T22:01:04.220-05:00

We may as well just call it pulling a Fox... Cancelling critically lauded, fan beloved and award winning programming is what the Fox Newtwork does best. This time? Arrested Development.While it's fun to blame it on the network, I know they don't really have a vendetta against quality shows. They may not have patience to let quality shows grow, but Fox- and all networks- cancel shows for one

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1130708919803195082005-10-30T15:06:00.000-05:002005-11-14T13:21:26.333-05:00

Here's a little about the movies that I'm most looking forward to through the 2005 Holiday Season:Jarhead (11/4): Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty and Road to Perdition takes on Operation Desert Storm with Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role. Hopefully, Mendes can bring the same insight into the American mind that he showed in Beauty. With Jamie Foxx supporting, and the haunting "

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1129859358204350802005-10-20T21:14:00.000-04:002005-10-20T21:57:05.066-04:00

So now I need to confess. I've always scoffed at the fanboys/girls who lost thier shows. Poor souls who held on to the past, who fought in vain to save the stories and characters that they held dear. I've always tended towards the geeky, but I always thought it was a bit sad for them to hold on to the past so desperately, to dress up and re-enact and create fanfic to try to fashion pale

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1128983430819789652005-10-10T18:30:00.000-04:002005-10-10T20:02:59.126-04:00

I'm back after taking a break last week to savor the magic of Serenity's opening weekend. Unfortunately, the magic didn't carry over to the ticket receipts. The big screen Firefly continuation made only $10 million dollars opening weekend, placing it behind Disney's Flightplan. No matter how you slice it, this was a disappointing opening.As I mentioned before, Universal experimented with this

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1127520949864533512005-09-23T20:15:00.000-04:002005-09-23T21:06:43.366-04:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't like TV. The last time I made this claim, I was about to explain what I liked about an exceptional TV show called Firefly. This time, it's to illustrate my discovery of another exceptional (but not quite so exceptional as Firefly) program: Lost.I know I'm not the first blogger to post about this show- in fact I'm more likely the last- but I can

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1126318020106234362005-09-09T22:07:00.000-04:002005-09-09T22:56:54.570-04:00

So this review is late.I saw Serenity tuesday night, but I've been very hesitant to review it. Not because the movie was bad- far from it- but because I realize that I have absolutely no objectivity about it. In the end, I said screw it- I'll write the only review I can, the review of an unabashed Firefly fanboy, a browncoat. So consider this a warning: if you are not a fan, this review may or

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1125448482236568622005-08-30T20:34:00.000-04:002005-08-30T21:12:22.866-04:00

I love Terry Gilliam Movies. Brazil is an all-time favorite; combining bureaucracy, fantasy, plastic surgery, and terrorism into one beautiful film is no easy task. Twelve Monkeys was as entertaining as a time-travel film has any right to be, and Baron Munchausen is fairy tale storytelling of the highest caliber.So it's understandable that when, in the summer of 2003, I heard that Terry Gilliam

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1124748561848699862005-08-22T17:57:00.000-04:002005-08-22T18:23:59.613-04:00

Previously, I told the story of Joss Whedon's tenacity in getting Serenity made. Now, here's my story of how I got into Firefly, and why I love it so, done as a challenge from Serenity: The Official Movie Website:I don’t like TV.Even “good” TV shows don’t generally excite me. Sure, some of them are good for a half-hour of entertainment- a laugh, a thrill or a scare. I can dig the intensity of

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1124385606434292062005-08-18T11:40:00.000-04:002005-08-18T13:20:06.460-04:00

Post contains descriptions of dead bodies and other unsupported. Not for the weak-stomached. This week, the Museum Of Science and Industry (MOSI) here in Tampa is showing (for the first time in America) BODIES the Exhibition. If you've never heard of this, here's a summary: the exhibit features "people" doing normal everyday things, eating, running, playing games. Just without skin.This group

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1123720667478226432005-08-10T20:37:00.000-04:002005-08-11T15:55:57.733-04:00

I've discussed before on this site how the internet is the future of movie marketing. One way studios are generating interest in a project is by setting up fan communities like The Browncoats, the fan group for Serenity or Kongisking.net, a similar site for King Kong fans which is marketing Peter Jackson's remake coming late this year.But there is a movie that is being marketed a completely

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1122757523119889992005-07-30T16:44:00.000-04:002005-08-05T22:47:53.150-04:00

Some exciting developments have arisen this week leading up to the release of Serenity September 30th! Firstly, beginning last Friday, Sci-Fi channel is showing Firefly. All of the episodes. In order. (Every Friday @ 7/6c.) And if that isn't sweet enough for you, Universal released the official one-sheet poster Thursday (which is mighty nice, if I do say so)! Now you might be thinking to yourself

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1121967556109243472005-07-29T11:30:00.000-04:002005-07-30T17:07:15.280-04:00

Chrysler won't be putting out any new body styles for a very long time.Clones who have spent their entire existance secluded from society will still care about name-brand bottled water.White track suits- never out of style! Big corporations will still be completely untrustworthy.Everything that happens will be right out of some (other) science fiction movie.Clones have a (completely

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1122072004556555012005-07-22T17:58:00.000-04:002005-07-22T19:48:26.660-04:00

What is it about Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Danny Elfman that combines so well to make nothing short of magic? I don't know what this mysterious chemistry is, but the effect is confirmed by this summer's Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. A film that inspires such wonder, awe, happiness and good feeling has not been seen on the big screen since... well, since Edward Scissorhands, the first Burton

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1120874353305987632005-07-08T21:20:00.000-04:002005-07-08T21:59:13.310-04:00

Like the publicity circus that surrounds it- the fast production, the comparisons with the book and original movie, and of course the wacky wacky Tom Cruise- War of the Worlds is a spectacle to behold. It grabs ahold of you, and doesn't let go for a hundred-odd minutes. From the mass destruction to the relentlessness of the attackers to the darkest part of human nature, there is always

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1120100333980415882005-06-29T22:06:00.000-04:002005-06-29T23:00:11.773-04:00

So Universal has done the unthinkable. They greenlit a $40 million movie based on a TV series that was cancelled halfway through the first season. Now to market it. I'm not sure how it happened, but they've created a two-fold viral campaign, and it might just be the future of movie marketing.This situation is somewhat unique (it would also work for comic book movies, etc.), because the

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1119209238364370462005-06-19T15:26:00.000-04:002005-06-24T19:26:10.066-04:00

It all started in 1992 with a fairly bland teen/horror/action/comedy movie. It did a paltry $16 million dollars and was bound for obscurity. But the man behind the movie wasn't happy with the film, and thought his idea deserved another chance. It was an interesting genre experiment: the cheerleader becomes the action hero. In addition, the movie did not represent his vision- his vision was

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1118959720812453622005-06-16T18:08:00.000-04:002005-06-16T18:53:58.003-04:00

Batman has had many beginnings. He first appeared in print in 1939, on screen in 1943, and in modern feature cinema in 1989 (Ref). But this week, the Batman story finally began for me.First, I should say that I never really got into comics as a kid. I loved to read books, and I think the pictures in the comics never really lived up to the ones in my head. So I didn't really grow up with the '

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1118283741912406852005-06-08T19:19:00.000-04:002005-06-09T21:44:16.570-04:00

So I've read a number of articles recently (thanks, Ben) about some changes that have come about that have shook the foundations and assumptions that are the basis for the entertainment industry. I'll apologize now for the amount of research involved here, but I think we're seeing here are the first signs of a major revolution to come.First of all, this article from Slate describes how new

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1117668401705735742005-06-01T19:26:00.000-04:002005-06-01T22:36:27.370-04:00

Yay! The best comedy on TV is finally out on DVD! Okay, so it's been out for a couple of weeks now, but I'm just getting around to writing about it. Sue me.Anyhow, it is really interesting to see (for the first time, in my case) the genesis of all of the relationships on the show, and the prototypes of the characters that I know and love. Yes, some of them are not even yet developed fully in

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1116991995632924282005-05-24T23:33:00.000-04:002005-05-24T23:46:52.306-04:00

It seems that recently, I've had a hankerin' for new music. The same old tracks are just not cutting it any more. So, finally I picked up Beck's new disc, Guero. In my mind, this is the true follow-up to Odelay. The songs are not as electrified as the 1997 grammy winner, and the tone is less playful, but the added weight lends maturity to the album. I know, maturity from the "Loser" guy.

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1116548216055374342005-05-19T20:16:00.000-04:002005-05-19T21:05:13.130-04:00

Okay, call me a dork... I went to the midnight premiere of Episode III last night. I went to the Regency 20: you will never find a more wretched hive of nerds and geekiness.But anyway, the movie- awesome. It does live up to the hype. My fears were proven baseless, and Lucas pulls off a masterstroke of film and popular culture. As it turns out, even though Episodes I & II were less than, er,

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1115949008669931482005-05-12T21:50:00.000-04:002005-05-12T22:05:55.363-04:00

So I've mentioned that anticipation is a key part of the cinema experience for me. Well, this is a good week for it. Next week at this time the Star Wars saga will be complete for all the world to see. And I can't wait.It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was severely disappointed in Episode I after participating in the ultimate geek ritual, the midnight opening screening. Episode II was better

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1115492945027848332005-05-07T15:09:00.000-04:002005-05-07T16:05:32.903-04:00

Went to see Crash last night. One word: amazing. This film successfully weaves at least 7 different story lines together into one with grace, the acting is terrific, but the most remarkable thing about it is it's balance.Paul Haggis (who wrote Million Dollar Baby, and makes his directorial debut here) skillfully balances the different stories in terms of screen time, but also in terms of

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1115075487660964622005-05-02T19:11:00.000-04:002005-05-05T18:59:26.223-04:00

I'm not one who normally watches 60 Minutes, but this past Wednesday, they had a segment entitled "A Good Time For Silly." As it turns out, the segment was about Spamalot, the new Monty Python and the Holy Grail-inspired, Eric Idle-penned, all-singing, all-dancing, Broadway silly-fest. The title makes reference to the serious times we live in, and the importance of silly, absurdist humor.This

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1114554949692724192005-04-26T18:35:00.000-04:002005-04-26T19:51:38.643-04:00

If you've never read anything by Chris Moore, stop what you're doing, go to your local purveyor of literature, and pick up one of his hilarious books. I suggest starting with Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.The thing about Moore's work is that he's not just funny- by the way he is hilarious- his work has a unique mix of absurd situations with incredibly real people

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1113950029455750152005-04-19T18:02:00.000-04:002005-04-19T18:36:19.423-04:00

Could this month be more devoid of interesting cinema fare? We started out with a bang- Sin City whet my appetite for buzzworthy summer flicks. And then the excitement stalled like a Suzuki in January.Granted, I am an admitted snob, and I rarely give stuff like Amityville Horror a chance. But what are the odds, really that it's not a complete waste of time? Besides, a large part of the cinema

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1113433158804262352005-04-13T18:59:00.000-04:002005-04-13T19:47:36.966-04:00

*Warning: book spoilers ahead*I just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. It certainly lives up to it's success, and I might say exceeds my expectations.I was first taken aback at Lewis's charming and non-consecending tone. It is very expressive, yet very easy and fast to read. The conversational turns of phrase make the prose accessable while grounding the reader by

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1112754041830127292005-04-05T21:58:00.000-04:002005-04-05T22:20:41.833-04:00

Rodriguez has done it. He has reached the pinnacle of a genre. Sin City is the ultimate comic book movie. It is a stunning, shocking, sublime work of genius. It recalls Pulp Fiction's non-linear structure and unflinching brutality, but is much more ambitious in it's look and style. And it's not just the black and white/color thing. Rodriguez has realized the promise of digital technology by

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1112579641204947972005-04-03T21:52:00.000-04:002005-04-03T21:54:01.206-04:00

The Pop Pirate Here's me in full pirate mode. Arrr!!

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1112058153371723862005-03-28T20:02:00.000-05:002005-03-28T20:46:23.923-05:00

British version= good. American version= different but good also. Apparently people can't get this concept. They think that if a show its not as good as, or not exactly the same as, it's predecessor then it is contemptable.Is Steve Carell as good as Ricky Gervais? Of course not. To expect so would be unreasonable. Is he funny anyway? Yes he is. His blatent and callous insensitivity is different,

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1111811329705779072005-03-25T22:29:00.000-05:002005-03-28T20:39:01.380-05:00

Call me crazy, but while watching the first two-thirds of it I thought that Robots could have been a great messianic allegory. Of course the ending did not bear that out, but seriously- hear me out.So our would-be Christ figure here, Rodney Copperbottom, comes from humble beginnings, as the son of a dishwasher in quaint Rivet Town. But he has big ambitions. He wants to be a great inventor, so he

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1111632119797880452005-03-23T21:13:00.000-05:002005-03-28T20:25:06.326-05:00

Have you seen the third season of Project Greenlight? I have no idea if they are going to make a good movie, but it's going to be one hell of a TV show.So, they picked this horror movie script, Feast, which is a 20 million dollar movie, that they are going to have to make for 2 million. Then, they pick a talented but very introverted and almost autisicly uncommunicative director, Jon Gulager. He

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1111456875856999232005-03-21T20:42:00.000-05:002005-04-09T12:19:12.086-04:00

This week, due to some unpleasant circumstances, I had the chance to drive my father-in-law's car. ...and I discovered the wonders of a wall to wall, non-stop, kick ass, rockin new medium- satellite radio.150 Digital Channels, with over 2 million titles... Okay I'll stop sounding like a commercial now.Here's the bottom line: you don't settle for just the broadcast stations on TV, so why swim in

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1111030058600474452005-03-16T21:57:00.000-05:002005-03-28T20:44:18.086-05:00

So, I watched Sky Captain this week. OK flick. Its very much in the vain of Indiana Jones- old time serial brought to the big screen. Many of the archetypes are represented: The handsome and fearless hero; his sometime romantic intrest, intrepid reporter; his buddy, the brainy sidekick and of course, the mad scientist evil overlord.While these characters were faithfully rendered in regard to

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1110853007089372062005-03-14T20:45:00.000-05:002005-03-14T21:16:47.093-05:00

I love trivia. It seems like a broad area of interest, but hey- so is film. For whatever reason, filling my head with useless facts, only to file them and spout them out at opportune moments, to the great annoyance of friends and family. The thing about trivia, though, is that you usually can't pick up a whole lot of it in one place short of reading Trivial Pursuit cards (not that anyone would

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1110677456546732002005-03-12T20:19:00.000-05:002005-03-12T21:26:45.710-05:00

So I was perusing the selection at a local record store, and I came upon a new-to-me curiosity: Vitamin Records. The first thing I ran across is "The Piano Tribute to Nine Inch Nails." It's 9 tracks from NIN albulms, rendered in pounding, throbing piano. I'm a big fan of piano rock, and it's great to hear new versions of old favs.You can find many more of these types of CDs on thier website. The

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1110508881333657152005-03-10T21:28:00.000-05:002005-03-10T21:42:10.993-05:00

Whats up n sh*t! I found this sweet website. Death row 187 4 life: Gizoogle. It is a search engine tizzle returns yo results in Snoop Dizzle Speak. Holla! It W-to-tha-izzill also translate any T-to-tha-izzext into language tizzle wizzle guarantee street cred from tha streets of tha L-B-C!! Chizzeck it out, you wizzont be disappointed!(Not safe for young'uns)

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1110423973305557022005-03-09T22:06:00.000-05:002005-03-09T22:06:13.306-05:00

Me @ Hoggetowne 

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11332884.post-1110373842790387062005-03-09T10:58:00.000-05:002005-03-09T08:10:42.790-05:00

Hi! I'm Jeff, the pop culture pirate.I'm here to share with the world my thoughts on movies I like and don't like, books I've read, and anything else the interests me. If you've found me, I'm shocked, but delighted that you care.If you like what I have to say, leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from you. If not, I beg you to leave a well thought out response to it. We all learn from

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123122027652749473noreply@blogger.com0