CNN Quick Poll

I just saw this poll on CNN’s website. After looking at this, and taking into consideration the current status of the economy, how can anyone think McCain will win?

Which presidential ticket do you trust more on economic issues?

McCain-Palin	36%	78997 votes
Obama-Biden	64%	137779 votes

Total Votes: 216776

Y: The First Movie

Check out this interview with D.J. Caruso about the upcoming Y: The Last Man movie. Unlike other interviews, this one is only discussing the Y movie. Some good stuff in there. It sounds like we could have a Y movie by the end of 2010 (note: that is just my speculation).

Movie Releases for the Rest of 2008

Wow, I’m really geared up for the slate of movies that are coming out each week until the end of the year. Here’s a week-by-week run-down of movies that have me excited:

Movie Weekend

This past weekend I might have broken a record for movies/DVDs watched. Here’s a list of everything I saw and my thoughts:

1) Twin Peaks: Pilot episode – I vaguely remember reading how people thought this tv show was one of the greatest of all time. Couple that with netflix saying that I would rate the show 4 stars and I decided to give it a rent. Things didn’t turn out as hoped. I was able to make it through the pilot episode, but it was rough. It was like trying to watch a daytime soap opera (both in terms of acting quality and plotlines). The only thing I did enjoy was the lead FBI detective. Seeing as though he doesn’t show up until we are an hour into the pilot (the pilot was 2 hours long), it is slow going. Overall, I gave it two stars out of five on Netflix.

2) 21 – Going into this movie, I had already watched a tv show about the true life story the movie is based on. This severly limited the movie for me. Since I already knew the main story, they would have to win me over with the characterizations. They did well enough for me to watch the whole movie, but did nothing to astound me. It was like taking Ocean’s Eleven and removing all the cheeky fun they have. Overall I gave it 3 stars out of 5 on Netflix.

3) The Incredible Hulk (Ed Norton version) – Played a little better than I expected. The Hulk tends to be a boring character and is overrated. Thus, I had pretty low expectations going into the film. The film did a great job. It looks like these new Marvel Studios pictures are gaining steam (Iron Man and now the Hulk have rocked). I gave the Incredible Hulk 4 out of 5 stars.

4) The Bravados – Another Netflix recommendation. I tend to enjoy Westerns and The Bravados had an interesting plot line and solid cast (headlined by Gregory Peck). If you enjoy Westerns, this movie is worth checking out. The only knock I had was the weird ending. It offers a mixed message ending that just doesn’t play right. They probably had a better ending, but were told to make things more positive. Overall, I gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars.

5) Mongol – This is a Foreign film about the early life of Genghis Khan (It either won or was nominated for best foreign flick of 2007). It plays out along the same lines as Braveheart (except Mongol is shorter and there are fewer fight scenes). If you are into historical epics, definitely check the movie out. It is quite a bit of fun and interesting to see a different view of Genghis Khan (you know, besides the Bill and Ted version). There are a couple odd moments in the movie. First, young Genghis falling through ice into a lake, but later shows no signs of being cold or frostbitten (or even how he got out of the lake). The other odd moment is when Genghis is praying to his god while in shackles. All of the sudden a wolf shows up, then we cut to Genghis out of the shackles. Did the wolf get him out? What happened? But looking past those few weird scenes, Mongol is definitely worth a rental. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

6) The Spiderwick Chronicles – I had no intention of seeing this movie due to the crazy advertising/release schedule. It seemed to me that I had seen trailers for this movie 2 years before the film actually hit theaters. Throw in the fact that there are about 100 other movies trying to be the next Harry Potter, and it is easy to see how I could be burnt out on the movie before it even reached theaters. That said, someone had told me that Spiderwick was surprisingly good (I don’t remember who or when). So, when I saw the film at the local library, I figured it was worth the cost of checking it out (i.e. $0). Just as suspected, the movie takes a bunch of previous kids movies and blends them into a “new” movie. I felt like I was watching a retread of movies such as; Labyrinth, Neverending Story, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Goonies, Jumanji, etc. On the plus side, they stole from a bunch of films I liked, so it is better than it could have been. I gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars.

7) The Office: Season 4 – Picked up the latest season of The Office on DVD. It was funnier than I remember. Worth the purchase.

2008-2009 NBA Season Preview

2008-2009 Basketball Preview

 

Due to the great success of my predictions last year (including people saying stuff like, “yo, this is wacky.”), I am back with predictions for the upcoming season. I want to note that various trades may occur between now and the beginning of the season. So, the line-ups I project may be completely different from what the real starting line-ups turn out to be (Note: Anywhere you see (?), I wasn’t sure who would play the position for the team. Usually this means the team is weak at that position).

 

Also, note that the teams are done in alphabetical order first. At the end of the article I will post my predictions for records, playoffs, and personal awards.