Well, I lost my job… and well, I’ve been looking for a new job, without a lot of luck.  Just not a good time.

I felt like I should post something, so this will do.  I’ll get back to more regular writing as I emerge from this funk.  Until then…  Shibba when you Shabba!

The day after turkey day – man oh man, am I still full from yesterday!  I’ll write about that a little bit later, this post is about a movie I just finished watching.

I’ve had 20 Years After laying around for a while now, and since I’ve been enjoying Fallout 3 so much, I thought why not a little post-apocalyptic movie watching.  So, it was either this or Vanguard, so into the DVD player 20 Years After went… now I’m wishing I hadn’t bothered.

It would be unfair to call 20 Years After an awful movie, it’s just that it really didn’t have much to say.  The basic gist of it went a little something like this – people at point “a” want to travel to point “b”, along the way, they encounter other people who have their own goals, some of which involve the travelers.  The viewer learns more about the characters via “back-stories” that reveals how intertwined their lives are and ultimately there is a climax of sorts.

So, pretty basic in terms of story framework for this movie.  The “back-stories”, sadly, were just not very interesting.  There wasn’t a single character I could get behind or root for.

Production value was pretty poor, acting not much better.  Although I would say that the score, of all things, is the highlight of the movie.  It felt bleak, ominous, and alone managed to embody the tone that the movie failed to achieve.

If you haven’t seen Children of Men, do so.  If you have, there’s not much need to see this.  Yeah, that pretty much sums it up;)

2 shibbas out of 5 shabbas

Yeah, I like to watch movies, did I mention that?  The problem is, I’ve seen a lot, so I continually seek out movies I have not seen, or heard of.  Because of THAT, I usually end up watching quite a few horrible movies.  Look, I try to watch a movie for what it is, you know?  I’m not some snooty critic and I don’t discriminate when it comes to genres – I’m game for whatever.  I do know a bad movie when I see one though, so let me just tick off a few bullet points on why this movie should be avoided (or if you must, at least you know what you’re getting yourself into):

• Limited number of sets.  Most of the action takes place in a single room.  This usually isn’t a deal breaker if the acting is solid…
• The acting is sub-par.  The conversations feel very scripted evoking memories of Clerks or Reservoir Dogs, except in this case the dialogue isn’t witty, it’s just trying to be.  Toss in a few awkward moments of silence and weird, seemingly meaningful looks at one another and, well… It’s just not working.
• Production value, specifically the special effects, is pretty low as well.

So, taken all together, this movie doesn’t have a lot going for it.  Are there moments?  To be sure, but nothing you haven’t seen already (and done better at that).

If you have time to waste or happen to catch it on cable, you could do a lot worse.  Ultimately though, you aren’t doing yourself any favors either.

2 shibbas out of 5 shabbas

No, these are not new lottery numbers for the upcoming season of Lost (glory be!!!).

These are NFL scores from this past weekend.  Notice anything odd?  Unusual maybe?

I have one question, just a simple question, nay, perhaps a statement rather:

Since when did the motherfucking professional football league become college?

**and now my follow up**

WTF is happening?

I like a high-scoring game in the NFL just as much as anyone else, but really?  4, 45+ games this weekend?  Did the college games even have that many?  I mean, everyone loves a blowout once in a while, but I’ve noticed a very disturbing trend in the NFL, particularly this year, and I find myself asking – have owners like Jerry Jones ruined league parity by providing outrageous bonuses to players?

Now, discuss amongst yourselves – all 0 of you!  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I was sitting around thinking to myself, “I’m bored… I don’t feel like gaming…  Not really tired yet… I know, a movie!”

So, I grab the one of top of the pile and put it in the DVD player.  I take a deep breath and settle in for an “action-packed thrill-ride”  **note the double hyphens, this should have tipped me off**

What followed wasn’t pretty.  Is it just me?  Am I going crazy?  And how does Brendan Fraser STILL get work?

Needless to say I lasted a whopping 11:16 into the movie before calling it quits.  I’m not reviewing it so much as pleading with you – Keep your sanity, stay away from this horror!!!

Don’t worry, I’ll suffer through it and I might even mutter about it again, IF my opinion changes after a full viewing.  As for tonight… nope, just not going to do it.  Onward… maybe I’ll watch a little Chuck.  Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, that’s the ticket (yeah, I went there, sorry).

Plot?  Who cares???  Not since the early 80’s have I witnessed such a fine example of the Giallo genre of Italian movies.  I’m not sure this was intentional, but it feels like it was.  Bravo!  This is like Giallo on crack!!!

The level of exploitation and sex is through the roof.  We’re talking porn here people!  No, seriously, porn.  I’m not talking soft-core either.  Had my wife watched this with me, I would have felt a little uncomfortable, especially with the 20 minute (ok, I might be exaggerating a little) gang rape at the beginning of the movie…

The violence?  FTW!!!  I mean, damn!  Has to be seen to be believed, I cannot do it justice by simply describing it.  Let’s just say that the bowling pin is a versatile “tool”.  You’ll see **grin**

Exquisitely repulsive, not for the squeamish or easily offended!  So, if movies like Hostel or Saw (lolz) bother you, you’ll want to run shrieking from this film!

Make absolutely certain you see the uncensored version as the other “cut” is pretty much a mess and really doesn’t do the movie justice.

4 shibbas out of 5 shabbas

I love video games.  In fact, I love video games so much that I made them my career – more about that at another time.

Thought I would mention the games I’m playing right now, along with a sentence or two about them.  I’ll be sure to let ya’ll know what I’m playing every once in a while!

PC

• Warhammer Online – Lovin’ it.  Not a big departure from World of Warcraft, but the combat, pvp and in general overall gameplay, feels faster-paced and more visceral.  Really enjoy it!  If your tired of World of Warcraft, you could  do a lot worse than give WAR a chance – I think you’ll find it comfortable, yet refreshing at the same time.
• Fallout 3 – Wonderful.  One of the most immersive experiences I’ve had to date with a video game.  While there are a few complaints (the biggest being character animations), it’s hard to find much to fault.  Check it out if you get the chance!
• Civilization 4 – The end all, be all of strategy games.  This is an oldie, but still a favorite.  One more turn, just one more turn!

PS3

• Little Big Planet – Polished.  The visual and aural quality is breathtaking.  The editor is a joy.  Alas, I just need more time to really dig into this…
• Rock Band – Love it.  Thought I would hate it, mocked my friends “strumming” on toy guitars, but here I am…  Can’t wait to get Rock Band 2!!!  Need to do that.

Xbox360

• Nothing at the moment…  Yeah yeah yeah, no Gears of War 2 (there’s only so much duck and covering I can take)

Wii

• Boom Blox – Love it, and my wife enjoys playing with me.  Heh.  Playing with me.

DS (dear lord man, how many platforms do you play on!!!)

• Touchmaster – My wife’s game, but gotta say some of the simple puzzle games are addictive as hell.  Reminds me of the slots in Vegas!

Well, there ya go.  I’m not really playing anything on my Macbook Pro yet, and I’m still waiting on an iPhone **grumble**

Okay, now back to this wonderfully awful movie, Gutterballs, maybe I’ll write about it later.  Giallo apparently still exists.  It makes me happy.

Indistinguishable from an Uwe Boll movie.

Sure, there’s a story, but, you know, it doesn’t really matter – it doesn’t add anything to the movie, in fact, at times, it becomes annoying (like my comma use).  I heard, “It’s beautiful, the special effects alone are worth it!”  Afraid not.

So, you know, if you like Boll’s movies, then you’d prolly enjoy this.

As for me… It’s cliche, but I want my hour, forty minutes back!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

1 shibba out of 5 shabbas, watch at your own risk, you have been warned.

This is a rather extensive, but let me assure you COMPLETE, listing of all the various TV shows I watch or will be watching – basically everything that is either on air or scheduled to be on air.  It may seem extreme, okay it is, but having a DVR allows me to skip a ton of commercials… uh yeah… so there is that… kinda.  Anyway, look upon my television shows and weep:

• 30 Rock
• American Dad
• American Idol
• Battlestar Galactica
• Boondocks
• Burn Notice
• Californication
• Chuck
• CSI: NY
• Dancing with the Stars
• Destination Truth
• Dexter
• Easy Money
• Family Guy
• Heroes
• How I Met Your Mother
• Eureka
• Fox NFL Sunday
• Fringe
• Ghost Hunters
• Ghost Hunters International
• Greek
• In Plain Sight
• Kitchen Nightmares
• Law & Order
• Law & Order: SVU
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Life
• Life on Mars
• Lost
• Medium
• Monk
• My Name is Earl
• Numb3rs
• Pittsburgh Steelers (every single game courtesy of the NFL Ticket on Direct TV)
• Pushing Daisies
• Prison Break
• Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew
• Reaper
• Reno 911
• Robot Chicken
• Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam
• Samantha Who?
• Sanctuary
• Saturday Night Live (every once in a while, depends on the guest)
• Scare Tactics
• Scrubs
• Smallville
• So You Think You Can Dance
• South Park
• Stargate: Atlantis
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
• Testees
• The Closer
• The Life & Times of Tim
• The Moment of Truth
• The Office
• The Unit
• Ugly Betty
• Weeds

I’m not even going to attempt to review them, although from time to time I may comment on a particular show/episode.  I’ll also try to periodically post updated listings as the seasons change and shows are cancelled.  If I remove anything, I’ll try to denote why.  Anyway… I watch a lot of freaking TV!!!

What happened last week?  What happened???

Well, let me tell you, or rather let ESPN.com tell you… This happened: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3661283

So, Coach Tomlin made the decision to deactivate Holmes for the game and the Steeler’s offense was never able to really get started.  Then to make matters worse, whenever they did get something started it was usually stifled by an offensive penalty.

Of course people could point to the bad snap that resulted in a safety, but by that point most Steeler fans already had a good idea where the game was headed.

Do I agree with the decision Tomlin made to sit Holmes?  Hell yes.  From all accounts, Holmes also seems to agree it was his absence that did in fact contribute heavily to their loss.  I like the decision because the team took personal responsibility and did what was right.  They didn’t wait for the NFL to hand down any kind of decision (which still may be forthcoming and could result in a maximum 4 game suspension).  So, as usual, the Steelers lead the league when it comes to team ethics.  They’ll look at all the information and make the decision on how they want to deal with it – anything the NFL does after that is just added to what they already have decided.

So, now we sit at 5-2, still a damn good record, and tomorrow night we have another tough game.

I love tough games.

Go Steelers!!!