Light the Lamp!

Alexander Ovechkin

For anyone out there who likes hockey, this kid looks like "The Deal". Check out the stats, incredible.

P.S. Sid Crosby is pretty delish as well.

Whoops!

(that was the headline of the sports page in the Pioneer Press on Sunday)

I went to the Minnesota vs. Wisconsin football game on saturday and I still haven't fully recovered. It was probably the best game I have ever been to in my life. I yelled for about 3 hours straight and then went ballistic for another hour after they recoved the fumble in the end zone for the game winning touchdown. The best part of the game (aside from the win) is that I got to sit in the Minnesota student section and yell back and forth with them all game. The ending only made it that much sweeter. My voice is more or less about 90% today, but it was no where to be found on saturday night after the game.

For anyone who knows Matt Fleck from the theatre, he is now a student at Minnesota and I had the privelage of sitting 5 rows behind him during the game. This came in handy when I got all of my friends to join me in a rousing chant of, "Fuck You Fleck!" at the end of the game.

Calhoun

The Badgers are off and running on a season that looks like it could be what last season promised to be (until the last two games). This is a decent article about why they are doing so well right now and why they can keep it going.

Calhoun has been ridiculous so far and if he keeps it up (fingers crossed) he could take the Heisman away from Reggie Bush or Matt Leinhart. All I know right now is that game against Michigan was awesome. Fuck the 'Mazing Blue.

Tourettes Guy

Many thanks to Andy Guy cause this is seriously some funny shit. Tourettes Guy

X-Men Legends II

I can't wait for this game. The first one is great and all the stuff for this one looks fantastic. Plus, with Apocalypse as the bad guy, the Brotherhood are allies you can play now. Magneto here I come.

Seu Jorge

I went to Madison last night to see Seu Jorge (the guy in Life Aquatic who sings all the Bowie songs in Portuguese). It was pretty great. He didn't play any Bowie, which I expected, until the end when he played Ziggy. He was at the union terrace for the world music festival, so it was a pretty great setting for a show like that. I have decided that I must get his cd.



P.S. I should have worn my awesome Team Zissou outfit because Zack was with me and we could have had our picture taken with him at the end of the show. Instead I will have to settle for a handshake and a "if only" moment.

Its a Bloc Party!

I went to the Bloc Party concert was as I expected, a rocking good time. There was a good amount of rolling goin' on too. They played a great set, most of Silent Alarm along with the newer song "Two More Years" and an "older" song as well. The whole thing was mixed really well and the sound was great. The Congress Theatre in Chicago is nicer than the Rave, but not enough to where I would totally trash the Rave like everyone else. This place did have a cooler inner ambiance going on compared to the Rave's zilch in that department.

The Kills were the second opening act and they kicked ass. They were almost better than Bloc Party. As Frank has already stated, a good word for their sound is "loud". You wouldn't really get that vibe from listening to their album No Wow (which is pretty k.a.), but everything is pumped up for the live show and they go all out.

Summer List

Now that the "biggest" movie season is officially over, I feel this is as good a time as any to reveal my top 10 list for the summer. Keep in mind that this was a very soft summer and while not all of these movies are great, there were still far worse films released over the course of the year thus far.

1. Batman Begins - I really dug this movie. I am a pretty big fan of most of the cast members (not really Katie Holmes) and I really like Christopher Nolan's other movies, so this was a no brainer that I would enjoy it. Still, I was into most of it pretty hardcore. I thought the movie represented the characters of Bruce Wayne and Batman very well, plus the action was all pretty slick looking.

2. March of the Penguins - I always love National Geographic stuff. Just about anything they touch turns to gold in my opinion. This movie was really only funded by the National Geographic Society, but it still had that same feel to it. Overall it was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. Hello academy, this is the best documentary calling.

3. Broken Flowers - I have never seen a Jim Jarmusch film before and I really didn't know what to expect, but for some reason after seeing the trailer and the posters I was able to put the tone and the story-line together before ever seeing the movie. Go figure. What saved this movie for me was the humor. It was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. Jeffrey Wright was awesome and Bill Murray was his usual impeccable self.

4. Brothers Grimm - I don't know what to say about this movie except that it was "fun". Spider would be proud of me for that, but that really is all this movie is about. On the whole it wasn't a terribly great film, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Heath Ledger was suprisingly funny and Peter Stormare cemented his place in my heart as a great comedic prescence.

5. Mr. and Mrs. Smith - See Brothers Grimm (except for Ledger and Stormare). Some good action, some good humor, some hot Brangelina.

6. Red Eye - Once again, not a great film, but it has three people that I'm in love with in it.

(x-Rachel McAdams)/Cillian Murphy + y = z(Brian Cox) solve for x

I have no idea what this means, but it equals a good time in the theatre.

7. Cinderella Man - Ron Howard is flat out annoying and generally his movies are unviewable, but I was able to get behind the little boxer that could. Boxing movies are generally good or enjoyable (See Rocky V, rock on Tommy Morrison), so that might have a lot to do with it. There's really nothing like watching Russell Crowe get his mug knocked in. In the end, I wanted him to beat the pillar of Judaic strength just as much as anyone in the theatre.

8. Wedding Crashers - This was the funniest movie of the summer. 40 Year Old Virgin was decent, but I got much more of a kick out of parts of this movie. Chris Walken is great and coupled with Vince Vaughn's rapid joke spewing form I laughed quite a bit. A definite bonus is Rachel McAdams, mmmmmm delicious.

9. Fantastic Four - I don't think the Fantastic Four are all too interesting but they have some great villains, especially Dr. Doom. While Doom was pretty gay in this movie, the rest of the movie made me laugh and hang with it. Because that was so much of a shock, I actually liked it (Jim reference).

10. Unleashed - Jet Li pummels the crap out of a lot of people, nuff said. Yes, May 13th is technically the summer movie season.

The Editors

I just laid hands to the new Editors CD "Back Room" (thanks to Jae Phlec) and it is substantially good. So, if anyone wants it from me you probably already know how to get it.

The Perfect Gin Ad

(just saw this picture and had to post it, Goggins inspired me)

Randy Moss = Idiot

You know, I'm getting so sick and tired of calling Randy Moss and idiot that I think it will just be easier to label all idiots as Randy Moss'. Seriously, he has no higher brain function. It must be all the "fun" he's had since entering the league, or the West VA schools (I'm sure neither have helped too much).

(I know this is a couple days old, but I'm just so sick of this guy)

Broken Flowers

Broken Flowers is a good movie.

This One's For Bapes

Don't we look like a bunch of shitty frat boys.

Collars Popped!

"jonny on clav without chair"

YEESSSS! (Larry McCarren style)

According to Thom Yorke, Radiohead is entering a "proper studio" again. Granted this is not a direct admission to a seventh album, but fingers crossed.

(Eddy O' confirms it. Danke Ed.)

Recent Movies

I've seen a lot of movies since I posted one of these, but I will sum up a few at least.

Wedding Crashers was much funnier than I thought it was going to be. I laughed pretty hard a few times, especially with Chris Walken. Even when I wasn't laughing really hard I was giggling. Overall I had a good time and don't feel like I wasted my time or monopoly money.

March of the Penguins was really good. I have always enjoyed Nat Geo stuff and this was no exception. Some of the movie did seem a little hurried or sloppy (the scene where the same shot of leopard seal jaws were repeatedly shown was a little annoying). I would have payed to see this movie and I might even try to see it again, which for a documentary is saying something.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory surprised the hell out of me. I really didn't have very high hopes for this one and I am not a fan of the original, but I liked it a good deal. Its very much a fairy tale, more so than the original at least. I may have liked it more than I thought I would because it separated itself nicely from the Gene Wilder version (some of the best stuff in this movie is before Charlie enters the factory, which are the crappiest parts of the original). All this said, I still don't know if I will watch it ever again, but for a one time viewing it was worth it.

Bloc Party Concert!

The Bloc are going to be touring in the area this fall. They will be in Chicago on 09.14.2005 (two days before my birthday). So, if anyone is down, please give me a ring and let me know, cause I am just looking for people to go with. It will probably end up around $30 for the tickets.

Current list of attendees: Myself, Faber and 2 Scoops.

P.S. The Foo are going to be touring in the fall as well, but their dates are not all set.

Hardcore Mustache

Bapes and I rocked out the Stache again. His was pretty aggressive with the huge chops and all.

Rock on Bipedal.

Barry Alvarez

Decent article on Alvarez's reign at UW. 3 Rose Bowls in 15 years, pretty good.

Ice Age

This little guy is possibly the funniest thing around. All the Ice Age shorts are amazing, but I only have the most recent one that was attatched to Robots.

War of the Worlds

Saw War of the Worlds and all I can say is WOW! Not a really good WOW however. Now, I didn't hate it, but there were some things I hated in it.

These are some of the dumbest people alive. I realize that in all these types of movies they are littered with idiots, but the main group of characters generally aren't all morons. And none of them are likeable. There is no emotional attachment to any of them. Its just a bunch of stupid people running around getting themselves into ridiculous situations. Of course there are going to be many situations where the main characters narrowly escape death through some incredibly random or rare occurrence, but the situations in this movie (yes, I know its a movie about space aliens) come off as forced and bizarre. It never seemed that Tom Cruise or his children did what any normal person would do when faced with a giant alien killing machine blowing up everything in its path.
I really am just disappointed in Senior Spielbergo. I expected a little more out of him than what I saw on the screen. I had hoped he would expand the genre in some way and add some nuance to the movie, but none of my hopes came true. Heck, I at least expected it to be pretty. A Januz Kaminsky film is usually a visual treat (at least AI is aesthetically pleasing), but WOTW is just kind of blah.
Overall, I am just disapointed with the movie and I feel let down.

Goggins Blog

Bryan Goggins is now posting a blog, so anyone who wants a heapin' handful of bitterness and belligerent anger can check it out. I know I will. The site is over there ------->

The blog must have Robot Goggins though.

New Interpol

A new Interpol song, Direction, off the Six Feet Under soundtrack. Its pretty good, mostly instrumental. I dig it; its pretty close to a Radiohead style B-side.
Danke Frank

*Unfortunately, the song is no longer available through this link. So, if you haven't heard it yet, I suggest you try to find it elsewhere and if I find it somewhere I will re-post the link.

The Constant Gardener

City of God was excellent, hopefully this will be too.

Batman Begins

Batman Begins is very good. More to follow.

Sorry for the delay, but I would like to see it again before I write a whole bunch of shit down.

Great article on The Crew by PG.

Star Wars

Star Wars Episode III sucks.... just a FYI.

I will explain my problems with it......

1. I really just can't stand Hayden Christensen. There is nothing about that guy that I like. He is just horrible. George Lucas should have just bit the bullet and recast Anakin.

2. George Lucas isn't a writer. No matter hiw hard he tries, he just isn't a writer (I don't think he's a very good director anymore either, but I will stick with writer for now). The dialogue is ridiculous, just like the first two. It actually makes you utter to yourself, "Who writes this?" Then you realize that Lucas thinks its really good writing and it just gets sad from there. Part of what made Empire and Jedi good is that he allowed a co-writer on the screenplay and someone other than Lucas directed it. This allows for other people to tweak things so that they don't look or sound retarded. I know, I know Jonathan Hales co-wrote the screenplay for Episode 2, but who gives a fuck about a guy who also wrote The Scorpion King.

3. This has to do with Lucas' directing, but who does he get to light his movies. The real people look like shit. They all have this saintly glow around them at all times. It is because they are all in front of a green screen all of the time and everything around them on screen is just CGI. There are scenes in the movie where the CGI characters look better than the real people because of the lighting.

I do think it is the best movie of Episodes 1-3 however.

Recent Movies

Some movies that I have seen in the past couple of weeks are:

Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy was a little funny and a little fun. I have never read the books, but I did still enjoy it. Sam Rockwell was outright hysterical at times.

Unleashed was also a good time. It isn't quite as much fun as Kiss of the Dragon, but it has some really good fight scenes, and Morgan Freeman is refreshingly light and upbeat.

Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod - was very good. This film was actually released about five years ago in Germany and the rest of Europe, but finally worked its way to the U.S. through a little film company called Menemsha Films. It has had super long runs at theatres in New York, L.A. and Boston. It didn't fare so well here, but that is more than likely the cause of a complete lack of advertising on the part of Marcus. The Jewish Film Festival was able to sell out their shows of it in November? when we had it at North Shore, but the crowds when we had it for a run were just small and steady. Anyway, the movie centers around a woman (Erika Marozsán, the two men she is in love with (Joachim Król, Stefano Dionisi) and a Nazi officer who will do almost anything to be with her (Ben Becker). This movie, like the song it is named after (known in Europe as the Suicide song because of all the people who killed themselves while listening to it) has many tragic and emotionally involving moments throughout. The movie, while being a German film production, has just about everything Hollywood movies have forgotten they need in order to be a well rounded movie experience. I suggest that anyone who has the chance to see this movie should do so as soon as possible. It isn't life altering in any way, but it is a really good film.

The Dreamers. Now, there's not a whole lot I can say about this movie. I liked it, its very weird, somewhat sickening/disturbing and through all of that, just a little redeeming (in a very, very weird and sick way). The story revolves around a college age American male (Michael Pitt) who moves to Paris to study French during the Vietnam War, but ends up spending all of his time in the local Cinema. There he meets a brother and sister (Eva Green, Louis Garrel) who take him into their lives. However, their lives do not end up being as wholesome as they originally seemed to be and the rest of the movie is a constant test of the viewers sense of morality and their ability to distinguish between real life and a fictitious film. One really great thing about this movie is that throughout it, the three 'Friends' imitate old movies, which is very cool and well done (selling Newspapers on the Champs Elysees ala Breathless).

The Batman

Bravo for the final Batman Begins trailer. We finally get to see a decent glimpse of the Scarecrow (the horse with the flaming nostrils is pretty slick, I am thinking of getting some surgically implanted in my own nose). That said, I need to complain about something. Production companies these days have forgotten that part of promoting a good movie is actually making decent posters. The poster seen above is the original teaser and remains the best poster yet released in America (the International poster is the best of all). The other three posters are all pretty shitty and can be seen here. That link will allow you to view all 5 posters, the original teaser, the international and the three subsequent teasers. The whole black and brown look doesn't really work for any accept the above poster (at least that looks like he may be readying himself for his nights patrol in front of a dusk sky) and the cheesy bust shot looks like hot crap on the one poster. Apparently they are yet to release their last poster, but after seeing what they have come out with, I'm not very optimistic.

The Foo!

Foo Fighters new album, In Your Honor, comes out on the Fourteenth of June. I can't wait. The jury is still out on the only released single thus far, The Best of You, but I'm sure the whole album will be pretty clutch. It is going to be a double discer, first disc rocking out style with the latter being acoustic. I have been told that Nora Jones does some of the vocals on the second disc. Should be interesting. No matter what, I'm sure it'll be awesome.

Millions

Millions is the best movie 2005. I can't say that it'll stay that way, but I can't envision something knocking it out of my top ten for the year when all is said and done (possibly even top 5). Its true the movie is for kids, but there is still a lot in it for adults that the kids probably just won't see or appreciate. For one thing, the kids will have no idea just how good Danny Boyle is as a director and a storyteller in general. This movie is just like the rest of his films, a constant splash of images that light up the minds eye. Another visually stunning film for Boyle in a long line of the same (I suggest seeing these as well, if you haven't already. 28 Days Later, The Beach, Trainspotting, watch out for the male nudity though).

Branyan's Bomb

That red dot is where Russ Branyan hit his first bomb of the season. Crazy far. The estimated 465 is a bit conservative in this person's opinion.

Opening Day

Another successful opening day for the brewers and us. Lots of good food and some people that I knew.

Downfall

I finally saw Downfall after all the talking I've been doing about it. It lived up to my expectations and then some. Truthfully, it is the best movie I have seen this year (I realize it was released before this 01.01.05 in Gearmany, but I'm not counting that). It didn't hurt that I got to sit in nice leather recliners and have Evan there to pretty up the room.

If you want to read some good stuff about this movie, check out Frank's post under the date 4.4.2005.

The True Master Brewer

Ben Sheets just may be the best pitcher in baseball right now and as of his first start of the season, it looks as though he may actually get some run support this year (fingers crossed). All in all it was a good start for Big Ben. I would suggest going to your neighborhood sports apparel shoppe and supporting Ben anyway possible, no matter where you live (I have also been contemplating the purchase of a jersey Frank). Anyway, if he can be anywhere near as dominant as last year, the Brewers have much awesomeness to look forward to. Sign him NOW! More Brewers posts will be forthcomming in the next 5 months or so.

The Master Brewer (1 of 2)

Finally I get to try out my new creation.
(the other master brewer? is not pictured because he is scared of bright lights and badgers)

Northwestern Lager A Success!

My roommate, Andy Kitzke, and I decided it would be a good idea to brew our own beer. Well, on Thursday March 31, 2005 we finally had our first tasting. It was a very simple brew, Northwestern Lager, but we had our struggles (we are both idiots). In the end however, while it may not be perfect, the alcohol content is lower than it should be (a problem we know how to correct now), the beer tastes pretty darn gut. So, we will be continuing to brew our own stuff. Anyone who wants some is welcome to try. There appear to be no lasting side effects.

Pictured is Dan, the official taste tester and spokesman for our brewery (name tbd).

3 Throws, 3 Bulls!

Awesome!
This is the second best moment of my life (the best was when I got one dart stuck in the back of the other, sweet).

Trailers

Here are some good trailers to check out.

funny shit: Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party
-by the way, I did know who he was before this trailer. He's the star of Memento and Groundhog day.

Rob Schneider goodness with some midget action.

Layer Cake - might be funny (British style)

Bout time for some new Wallace and Gromit

Go Crusades, this better be good and not just Gladiator 2

Definitely a different look to a movie for A Scanner Darkly

Go Big Ten

Congratulations to the Badgers for making the elite eight. So much for the Big Ten being a "weak conference", two teams in the Final Four and three in the elite. Not too bad for a conference that has gotten nothing but shit from the national media all year.

Movie Reviews

Hope everyone had a good Easter.

Here are some reviews of movies I have seen lately. Hostage was not a terrible movie. It kept moving along and didn't completley bottom out at any one time. The storyline is a bit thin, but if you are a Bruce Willis fan it is easy to get caught up in. It was good to see Bruce looking cool again. He has been virtually non existant for the last few years (Hopefully his upcoming movie Sin City won't be another Robert Rodriguez crapfest. Tarrentino should help everyone out at least.) Robots was decent. It is absolutely no match for and Pixar movie, but it had its moments. Most shocking was their ability to capture just a bit of Robin Williams zanyness in the animatd character. Kudos to Fox animators on that one. The trailer, or rather short film for Ice Age 2 on the front of Robots was better than the movie. The new Star Wars trailer is also on the front of that movie. The trailer looks good, but let me remind you, the trailers looked good for episodes 1 and 2, and we all know how those ended up. Constantine was a semi-decent movie as well. If you are a religious zealot, I suggest staying home, but for everyone else the movie should at least hold attention. Some of my friends think it is the best movie to come out just about ever, but I think it was the most enjoyable movie of the new year. Granted, this year has been almost complete crap thus far. There still has been nothing to rival last year at all, but that is what the first 4 months of the year are for I guess.

Interpol rocking out
Interpol's website is here

Interpol

Saw Interpol at the Rave on Sunday night, great show. Q and Not U was really good. The end of their set was kind of gay, but they were forced to play extra because Interpol wasn't ready. Interpol took over though and rocked the house. The Rave is still a little shitty, but if the band is good enough, the venue doesn't matter. It really fucking sucks when you have to pay $40 to get a nice buzz going. I just said fuck it. Dowling and Mojew just hung out by the bar and drank themselves broke.

Interpol played Take You On A Cruise, so I was happy. I hear they cut Obstacle 1 for time reasons or some shit like that, but they got a lot of good shit in there (i.e. Evil, Narc, Lief) They ended huge on Roland.