Ultranormal

Category: entertainment

  • Stupid memory, I knew it would ruin me!

    You may be asking, “Mr. Kevin, where are your Monday morning movie reviews?” Let me tell you, having DirecTV sure cuts down on movie rentals. Other than an aversion to leaving the house and renting DVD’s, it gives me the chance to fill up on Iron Chef, Sessions at West 54th, football, Trading Spaces, movies out the wazoo (almost said yazoo, which is a stinky river in Mississippi), Band of Brothers and other strange and wonderful programming. Yessir, I’m hooked! So, the Monday Morning Review may be the “Weekend DirecTV Review” instead.

    TiVo is next, so I can watch all this happy stuff when I want to. Mmmmm, media slut, that’s me.

    Ok, among all this back-patting, I have one complaint about our DirecTV box. It has this cool-sounding Scout feature. You give it the name of a program you want to watch, and it should give you a list of when it shows up in the listing. The problem is, it only works when the box is off. Who turns their box off? Not me, I tell you. Bring on the TiVo!

  • SNL

    I watched SNL, and I must say it was excellent. The opening was sufficiently somber, and Lorne Micheals setup really set the mood.

    Best moments of the show:

    • Celebrity Jeopardy: Not the best Sean Connery lines, but it was solid.
    • Weekend Update: This is becoming my favorite part of the show. The Darrel Hammond/Jesse Jackson bit was awesome. “Come on Taliban, tally me bananas.” ‘Nuff Said.
    • The fact that I taped it: I’m too old for the musical acts now, so I can just zip through the bubble-gum fluff and get to the gooey funny goodness.

  • Zero Effect on TV.

    Zero Effect on TV. No, not the movie… They’re turning it into a TV series! I loved the movie, and think it’s perfect for a Northern Exposure meets Twin Peaks meets Magnum PI sort of show. Can’t wait.

  • I love DirecTV!! Sessions at

    I love DirecTV!! Sessions at West 54th is on every night at 8 on Trio. Very very nice. If you have DirecTV and have never watched the series, check it out. Great music by the great acts you never hear on the radio or MTV.

  • I Have The Bestest Wife Ever

    I do, and I can prove it. The DirecTV guy came yesterday and hooked us up while I was at work. So, my wife called the people to set up programming and what did she do? She got me the NFL Season Ticket!!! Woo-hoo!! My wife is the coolest, and deserves nice things and cool trips to fantastic places and not to have to worry about anything.

    Love you, sweetie.

  • Escapism

    Yessir, it’s that time again. It’s the weekend movie review! This weekend was a mixed bag of attempted escapism. And, heaven forbid, Jen and I got to go OUT to the movies. Our adventure at the empty theater will be recounted below. My theory this weekend was to rent three flicks – classic, serious, and stupid as hell. I exceeded my expectations in all three areas. But, we’ll start with what we see in the theater:

    1. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: This is the perfect movie to see if you want to sit in a dark, empty theater and escape your thoughts. This movie doesn’t go deep, and that’s what I liked about it. Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith are getting a little old to play losers, but their dialogue is still filthy and funny. Will Farrell was great as the Wildlife Marshall, and keeping up with the in-jokes and cameos was fun. Not a great movie, but worth a rental when it comes out (I don’t expect it to be in the theaters much longer).
    2. Blow (the serious one): This was a decent flick. It was missing something, but it was still interesting to see how George Jung got started in the business and slipped deeper and deeper into that world. If you don’t know, Blow is based on the life of George Jung who’s currently serving 60 years in federal prison for drug trafficing. At one point, he was the biggest importer of cocaine in the country, and dealt directly with Pablo Escobar. I think they spent too much on the exposition, and not enough on the second and third act. The first act took almost an hour to set up relationships, which are then discarded. We never see most of those people again in the film. I almost wish this was a mini-series so they could cover the ground more thoroughly. It’s a great story that wasn’t executed as well as it could have been.
    3. The Ladies Man (the stupid): I wasn’t expecting anything from this movie. I like the sketch on SNL, so I figured why not? This one definitely filled the stupid slot in my plan. But, I dug it! Yeah, it shocked me too… This movie has some funny lines, Will Farrell (as the closeted wrestling bad guy… worth the rental), and Billy Dee! If you’re in the mood for stupid funny, check it out.
    4. Jerry Seinfeld: I’m Telling You for the Last Time (the classic): Jen calls this the perfect sick dvd. She was right. It’s comfortable, funny and well, it’s Jerry! This is all his classic material in a nice 80 minute package. If you didn’t see it on HBO, rent it. You won’t be sorry.

  • This is the funniest Lego

    This is the funniest Lego movie I’ve ever seen. Monty Python? You bet! (via Davezilla)

  • And So It Begins

    I have a lot of stuff to talk about today, and I’m not sure where I want to start. Let’s start with the weekend movie reviews and see what I have energy for.

    Enemy at the Gates: I think there should be more movies about the horrible time the Russians had during WW2. The US lost 500,000 soldiers in Europe and Pacific combined. The British, about the same (I could be wrong about that one). The Russians lost 20 million soldiers and civilians during the war, some killed by their own commanders. There are some amazing stories from the war, and in all the hoopla from the past couple years for WW2, it’s time to show stories that aren’t American. Enemy at the Gates is a great example of what I’d like to see more of. While showing the horror of the war for the Russian people, it’s really an intimate story of four people and how they cope with their situation. The suspense is great, the acting superb, and the duel between Jude Law and Ed Harris’ characters was superb. I enjoyed this movie, and I think anyone who liked Private Ryan, but thought it was missing something, this movie has what was missing, I think. Definitely a great rental.

    Momento: Woo-hoo, we’re two for two this weekend! This was a fun mystery. It reminded me a lot of The Usual Suspects. It’s a well-made movie with a great gimmick executed perfectly. The first viewing is eye-opening, and a great ride, and it might hold up to a second viewing to try to catch all the clues. It’s not a movie I’ll watch again, but it’s one I’d definitely recommend if you like film noir or good mysteries. The performances were all solid, and the story was nicely paced and the payoff was perfect. I would have loved to have seen the story told in the chronological order and see if it affected the impact of the ending. I’m sure it would, but it would still be fun to see.

    Now that I’m on a roll… Football!! Football, football, football!! It’s here, it’s started, the first quarter of the Colts-Jets game has ended, and I couldn’t be happier!! It’s time for popcorn and fantasy football and yeah yeah yeah. Can you tell I like football?

  • Cartoon Network grows up I

    Cartoon Network grows up

    I couldn’t sleep last night so I went downstairs and started flipping through the channels. Cartoon Network had this four hour block of programming called Adult Swim. Curious, I watched, and holy cow! I saw the most stylish, campy, funny Anime I’ve ever seen! Cowboy Bebop is your salvation from Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z and all the other cartoon-lite shows out there. It’s cool. Mix acid jazz with killer design, bounty hunters, cool vehicles and weapons, and camp dialogue and you have one kickass show. Keep an eye out for it.

  • Mmmmm, Big Brother 2, TV

    Mmmmm, Big Brother 2, TV that sucks in a good way. It’s trash, but it’s amusing trash. The people are all shallow and goofy, and make me laugh at their attempts to cover up their evil. Yum yum yum.