Archive for August, 2008

Saturday Comedy

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

This is one of the best things the Daily Show has ever done. Uniting an astonishing 31 flavors!

New Video! Babylon AD, College, and Nerd Trivia

Friday, August 29th, 2008

I’m so uninterested in this week’s movies, I don’t even bother getting the titles right in the recap. But that doesn’t stop me from exhibiting some Class A Nerdiness.

Duchovny

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

The Nerd’s Summer Movie Rankings

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Yes, I was equally excited before each one, but who came out on top?

Okay, as I sadly stated in last week’s Sticky Floor, the Glory Of Summer (not to be confused with the Glory of Love, or the Summer of ‘69) has come to an end. Looking ahead Vin Diesel or another shitty parody from “The Guys Who Brought You Meet The Spartans” this weekend, I thought It might be better just to look back. So I now present my summer movie rankings. There are a few qualifiers to this list: it only include movies I’ve seen, so a few that slipped through the cracks (Wall-E, Meet Dave) won’t find a spot here. Also, it’s based on pure enjoyment, so you may be surprised to find some things higher/lower on the list than you might expect.

Hit the jump to see the list!

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Weekend Revelations

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Here’s a fun little weekend revelations video test, thanks to the super cool website Kyte.tv. Technology is awesome!

Transporter 3 Trailer!

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Sure, let’s continue the Statham love with a look at The Transporter 3! Watch as Statham shows you new ways to ride a bike!

Saturday Comedy Returns!

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

Oh Saturday comedy, how I’ve missed you. How appropriate that its triumphant return is an Olympic-themed video. Enjoy a face full of celebration!

New Video! Death Race, House Bunny, and Statham Love

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

Tropic Thunder: A Victim Of Its Own Trailers

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

I went in to Tropic Thunder with high expectations. This was to be THE comedy of the summer. An outrageous, no-holds barred comedy tackling controversial subjects and blasting celebrities with reckless abandon. As I walked out, my head hung low, saddled with the World’s Straightest Face. Disappointment coarsed through my body, followed by depression from being so disappointed, followed by a gigantic order of nachos to stuff my sorrows deep into my belly. I couldn’t understand why something so promising left me so empty. Good thing I had nachos.

There was so much to like in this movie. Robert Downey Jr. balancing a line between sharp satire and C Thomas Howell’s Soul Man. Jack Black playing a heroin addict. A baby with a knife. So why did it all end so badly for me? I know the 2 minutes of an extraneous, unfunny Tom Cruise dancing at the end of the movie left a bad taste in my mouth, but it wasn’t enough to sink the entire movie. Finally, it hit me. I’d seen this movie before. That must be it! I knew all the jokes, could see the plot twists coming a mile away, and felt like I could quote about 12% of the dialogue on the spot. Well, turns out I hadn’t seen the movie before, but I did watch all of the trailers.

The trailers for Tropic Thunder destroyed the entire film experience for me. Movies usually have about three moments ruined by their trailer, but it’s a necessary evil because the trailer is what got you in the theater. Everyone accepts that. But Tropic Thunder ’s trailers, especially the red band, show you so much, there’s almost no reason to see the movie. You know everything about Robert Downey Jr’s character. You know Ben Stiller gets attacked by a child. You know he licks a decapitated head. These are supposed to be big spots in the movie, moments that get the biggest reactions. Instead, they played to silence. No one in the audience laughed when Robert Downey Jr. said “What do you mean you people?” because they’d heard it 30 times already. The only thing not spoiled by the trailers was Tom Cruise’s role, which is amusing at first, but overplayed to the point of exhaustion. I get the feeling they were having so much fun shooting, they just kept giving him more to do.

I did laugh during Tropic Thunder, but the biggest laugh came from a reaction shot Robert Downey Jr. gave. It’s a small moment that would never get trailer time, and it’s probably the reason I loved it so much. Everything else received only minor chuckles. More than any other genre, comedy needs to be spoiler-free, because the jokes must be fresh in order to work. Any punch from this film was reduced to a finger flick in the arm, and I place all the blame on the trailers.

RIP Leroi Moore

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

Most of my high school, college, and post-college life was filled with the music of Dave Matthews. I first saw them about 15 years ago, and have probably seen them at least 10 times in the years since. Suffice to say, I was a fan long before the backlash started about them being a fratboy favorite. So I was sad to hear saxophonist Leroi Moore passed away yesterday. I know this doesn’t have anything to do with movies, but I thought I’d mention it. Also, I love the awkward greatness of the commercial above, starring Leroi Moore as “Smooth.”