In the spirit of the UNC-dook rivalry, I submit this completely non-biased* nugget of hilarity.
*By non-biased, I mean this college student attends Dartmouth and still has this opinion of Coach K.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
My Favorite Films of the Decade
in alphabetical order...
ALMOST FAMOUS - a highly enjoyable, smile-inducing semi-autobiographical story about Cameron Crowe's teenage exploration of the world of rock 'n roll; Kate Hudson's career, unfortunately, peaked here
BEFORE SUNSET - the most unlikely triumph of the decade; a real-time rekindling of an unfulfilled romantic encounter
CITY OF GOD - a bleak look at the lives of gangsters (and citizens) in Rio's slums; ultra-violent and ultra-stylish
COLLATERAL - Mann's first true foray into filmmaking using HD cameras; moody and atmospheric night spent with a hapless LA cabbie (Foxx) and an ultra-cool, ultra-smooth contract killer (Cruise); great chemistry
THE DARK KNIGHT - the ultimate superhero movie that strips all boundaries of that genre of film; it's HEAT for Gotham City
ESPIONAGE/SPY THRILLERS (The Bourne Trilogy & CASINO ROYALE) - three cheers for the rebirth of the thinking-person's action film; Damon and Craig are great in their respective roles
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND - Gondry takes a wonderfully bizarre script by Charlie Kaufmann and turns it into a trippy adventure into our memories of love
KILL BILL (Volumes 1 & 2) - Tarantino returns with his first outing of the decade with a fun and hilarious concoction of spaghetti westerns, martial art flicks, and revenge stories
THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy - no one thought it could be done; grand and glorious fantasy filmmaking; the genious move of filming all three films at the same time for rapid release
RATATOUILLE - Pixar could've had a number of entries on this list, but I had a constant smile on my face during this charming animated film
ALMOST FAMOUS - a highly enjoyable, smile-inducing semi-autobiographical story about Cameron Crowe's teenage exploration of the world of rock 'n roll; Kate Hudson's career, unfortunately, peaked here
BEFORE SUNSET - the most unlikely triumph of the decade; a real-time rekindling of an unfulfilled romantic encounter
CITY OF GOD - a bleak look at the lives of gangsters (and citizens) in Rio's slums; ultra-violent and ultra-stylish
COLLATERAL - Mann's first true foray into filmmaking using HD cameras; moody and atmospheric night spent with a hapless LA cabbie (Foxx) and an ultra-cool, ultra-smooth contract killer (Cruise); great chemistry
THE DARK KNIGHT - the ultimate superhero movie that strips all boundaries of that genre of film; it's HEAT for Gotham City
ESPIONAGE/SPY THRILLERS (The Bourne Trilogy & CASINO ROYALE) - three cheers for the rebirth of the thinking-person's action film; Damon and Craig are great in their respective roles
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND - Gondry takes a wonderfully bizarre script by Charlie Kaufmann and turns it into a trippy adventure into our memories of love
KILL BILL (Volumes 1 & 2) - Tarantino returns with his first outing of the decade with a fun and hilarious concoction of spaghetti westerns, martial art flicks, and revenge stories
THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy - no one thought it could be done; grand and glorious fantasy filmmaking; the genious move of filming all three films at the same time for rapid release
RATATOUILLE - Pixar could've had a number of entries on this list, but I had a constant smile on my face during this charming animated film
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Best in Film - 2009
1. UP - The only film on my list to bring a tear (or two) to my eyes. From the moving opening montage to the hilarious adventures of a disgruntled old man, a wilderness scout, a talking - SQUIRREL! - dog, and Kevin the bird, I had a smile on my face. Pixar does it again!
2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - If there were any tears shed during this movie, they would have been a direct result of laughing too hard. Tarantino is, once again, razor sharp with his dialogue. Sure, he rewrites history a little. But, out of all the possibilities for revenge fantasies, who wouldn't choose the Third Reich?
3. PUBLIC ENEMIES - Mann was a little more faithful to his source than Tarantino. From his beautiful use of HD (the clouds in the opening prison break sequence POP off the screen) to the excellent performance by Johnny Depp as Dillinger, I wasn't disappointed with another successful Michael Mann crime saga.
4. DISTRICT 9 - I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but this is the first of THREE sci-fi films on my list! However, this film defies you to label it simply as a sci-fi. The documentary style of the film brings a realness to the action.
5. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER - An extraordinarily atypical romantic comedy. A story about love rather than a love story. It doesn't hurt that I love Zooey!
6. THE HURT LOCKER - Wow, what an unbelievably intense movie-going experience! Unbelievably, this film about soldiers in Iraq was executed without any political pretense at all. Jeremy Renner was absolutely awesome.
7. AVATAR - This is the second sci-fi film on my list. While it is a little light on story, it is more than made up for in imagery. I forgot at times that what I was watching was not real, but CGI. The painstaking detail that went into the creation of Pandora was worth the 12-year break that James Cameron took between TITANIC and now.
8. STAR TREK - That's it! If this is the future of the Star Trek brand, then sign me up! I'm a Trekkie for life! From the directing (JJ Abrams) to the acting, there is nothing to complain about from this summer blockbuster.
9. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE - Make no mistake, this was not a kid's movie. This was a movie about childhood for all audiences.
10. CHE - By no means am I a Che supporter, but I love Soderbergh. If he makes a film, I'm going to see it. This was a beautiful film about an important historical figure. Grand filmmaking!
Still to see...
UP IN THE AIR, THE INFORMANT!, INVICTUS
Monday, November 30, 2009
Happy Holidays!
A cappella music is huge on college campuses across the United States. Straight No Chaser (from Indiana University) provides this entertaining version of The 12 Days of Christmas.
For more entertainment (without instruments) check out the Tufts Beezelbubs, UVa Hullabahoos, and the UNC Clef Hangers.
For more entertainment (without instruments) check out the Tufts Beezelbubs, UVa Hullabahoos, and the UNC Clef Hangers.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Dunk
Well, here it is.
But before you click on that link, consider this.
The coverage this dunk has received has elevated it to the level of myth. This is no longer a dunk. It's a dunk over King James. It's a facial worthy of being confiscated; worthy of confiscation in avoidance of embarrassment courtesy of YouTube, Twitter, et cetera. This could be the greatest dunk never told.
Or it could end up being one of many dunks executed during a game of this thing invented by James Naismith a long, long time ago called basketball. In other words, not a big deal!
So, make a choice. Click the link and potentially laugh at the PR nightmare Lebron and Nike created for themselves by covering up something entirely silly. Or run away from the link as fast as you can and let The Dunk's myth grow to legendary proportions.
But before you click on that link, consider this.
The coverage this dunk has received has elevated it to the level of myth. This is no longer a dunk. It's a dunk over King James. It's a facial worthy of being confiscated; worthy of confiscation in avoidance of embarrassment courtesy of YouTube, Twitter, et cetera. This could be the greatest dunk never told.
Or it could end up being one of many dunks executed during a game of this thing invented by James Naismith a long, long time ago called basketball. In other words, not a big deal!
So, make a choice. Click the link and potentially laugh at the PR nightmare Lebron and Nike created for themselves by covering up something entirely silly. Or run away from the link as fast as you can and let The Dunk's myth grow to legendary proportions.
Watchmen
I saw the trailer for WATCHMEN last summer and initially thought two things: 1) Oh, great. Someone taking another (likely unsuccessful) stab at a comic book movie.; 2) WATCHMEN? Who are the Watchmen? I've never heard of them before.
My curiosity was piqued.
I could have waited for the movie to hit theaters. But when the source material is at your fingertips courtesy of a local library, why wait?
Because the movie is hardly ever better than, or even equal to, its source (THE GODFATHER possibly being the one exception). That's why.
There's a reason Alan Moore's WATCHMEN was named one of TIME magazine's top 100 novels of all time. There's a reason WATCHMEN has developed a legendary cult following. There's a reason so many Hollywood-types have wisely stepped away from this project.
I'm not the comic book - excuse me, graphic novel - type. At least I wasn't before I read WATCHMEN. It's the anti-superhero story. It's like a great detective novel with the protagonists running around in costumes. It's also dark and uber-cynical. But it's engaging in its vivid illustrations and narrative structure.
WATCHMEN's narrative structure was my main concern in regards to the movie. The action - both past and present - would not be difficult. It's the other narrative devices - such as chapters from an ex-superhero's tell-all autobiography or the comic-book-within-a-comic-book, Tales of the Black Freighter, that adds rich, layered dimensions to an already fantastic story - that are virtually unfilmable.
So here we are. Zac Snyder, director of 300 among other visual orgy-fests, has taken on the daunting task that no one else dared to.
And you know what?
It wasn't that bad. Snyder was extremely faithful to the graphic novel (minus a slight altering of the climax), using the source material itself as the film's storyboard. I watched the theatrical version on DVD and I would assume the Director's Cut, with 24 minutes of extra footage, would add even more detail to the story. There's also news of an ultimate edition (due out this Christmas) that will include Tales of the Black Freighter within the movie. That's the version I want to see!
My complaints are few, but important to a great movie. The movie was loooooooong-long, mainly due to Snyder's faithfulness to his source. Using flashbacks throughout, the movie had a hard time gaining narrative momentum (which can unfold much more slowly within the pages of a novel). And maybe it was because of Alan Moore's brilliant - and unfilmable - narrative devices, but some of the characters (NOT Rorsharch; he was awesome!) were entirely too one-dimensional. Or maybe it's because Zac Snyder is a visual director, not an actor's director.
I'll definitely watch the ultimate edition of WATCHMEN when it's available. Who knows if it will change the movie from good to great? For now, WATCHMEN (the movie) can serve as a launching point for those uninitiated readers into Alan Moore's world of the Watchmen.
Go find it and read it!
My curiosity was piqued.
I could have waited for the movie to hit theaters. But when the source material is at your fingertips courtesy of a local library, why wait?Because the movie is hardly ever better than, or even equal to, its source (THE GODFATHER possibly being the one exception). That's why.
There's a reason Alan Moore's WATCHMEN was named one of TIME magazine's top 100 novels of all time. There's a reason WATCHMEN has developed a legendary cult following. There's a reason so many Hollywood-types have wisely stepped away from this project.
I'm not the comic book - excuse me, graphic novel - type. At least I wasn't before I read WATCHMEN. It's the anti-superhero story. It's like a great detective novel with the protagonists running around in costumes. It's also dark and uber-cynical. But it's engaging in its vivid illustrations and narrative structure.
WATCHMEN's narrative structure was my main concern in regards to the movie. The action - both past and present - would not be difficult. It's the other narrative devices - such as chapters from an ex-superhero's tell-all autobiography or the comic-book-within-a-comic-book, Tales of the Black Freighter, that adds rich, layered dimensions to an already fantastic story - that are virtually unfilmable.
So here we are. Zac Snyder, director of 300 among other visual orgy-fests, has taken on the daunting task that no one else dared to.
And you know what?
It wasn't that bad. Snyder was extremely faithful to the graphic novel (minus a slight altering of the climax), using the source material itself as the film's storyboard. I watched the theatrical version on DVD and I would assume the Director's Cut, with 24 minutes of extra footage, would add even more detail to the story. There's also news of an ultimate edition (due out this Christmas) that will include Tales of the Black Freighter within the movie. That's the version I want to see!
My complaints are few, but important to a great movie. The movie was loooooooong-long, mainly due to Snyder's faithfulness to his source. Using flashbacks throughout, the movie had a hard time gaining narrative momentum (which can unfold much more slowly within the pages of a novel). And maybe it was because of Alan Moore's brilliant - and unfilmable - narrative devices, but some of the characters (NOT Rorsharch; he was awesome!) were entirely too one-dimensional. Or maybe it's because Zac Snyder is a visual director, not an actor's director.
I'll definitely watch the ultimate edition of WATCHMEN when it's available. Who knows if it will change the movie from good to great? For now, WATCHMEN (the movie) can serve as a launching point for those uninitiated readers into Alan Moore's world of the Watchmen.
Go find it and read it!
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