High Fidelity

Great movies can be made even greater with the soundtrack. Imagine Jaws without John Williams score. (You could then start to think that the shark looks really fake). But that's just the music score. If a film has a great song soundtrack, the film can be so much better. The Graduate, Almost Famous, and Garden State were all better films because of the soundtrack. (Without Elton John there is no sing-along on the bus, without Frou Frou there's no sweet romantic kiss with Natalie Portman, and without Simon & Garfunkel there is no Mrs. Robinson) Although these are great soundtracks, I will give my vote to High Fidelity. First, the movie is a favorite of mine. Second, the soundtrack is so eclectic and varied that it captures all of the emotions of John Cusack's character. I just watched this movie and loved every minute of it because of the songs (ranging from Velvet Underground to Stevie Wonder to Bob Dylan). It's so good and reminds of what good soundtracks are and what they're not. (Screw you Cobra Starship!)

Thrifty Ice Cream

Ice cream is bad for you. I think everyone realizes ice cream (and every other dessert) is bad for you. They're filled with fat and cholesterol and all the things that prevent Rubben Studdard from joining the NBA. For a double shot to the crotch, most places now charge $3 for a single scoop. However, the cheapest and still the best ice cream out there is from Rite Aid (formerly Thrifty). I remember days in the summer when I would do nothing for the entire day except for getting on my bike and riding to Thrifty for a 89 cent scoop of Rocky Road or Coconut Pineapple if I was feeling dangerous. So what if they don't offer fancy toppings or candy bar mix-ins, it's only $1. God Bless Thrifty Ice Cream.

The Art of Watching Two Movies at the Grove

When did movies get so expensive? 12 bucks to see Hillary and Haylie Duff prancing around to their cover of a Madonna song...I don't think so (actually someone did see this since "Material Girls" made 7 million over the weekend). But that's besides the point. It would take over $45 for a family of four to watch a movie on the weekend. And this is at an old crappy theater without the attraction of the Village or Arclight. I miss the good old days of four or five dollar admissions. And they wonder why attendance is decling each year. So to combat this trend, I've been going to the Grove in Los Angeles and watching two, sometimes, three movies a trip. The Grove's a great theater and no security. The times match up so perfectly that they're begging you to see another movie. It's a great thing to do when you have absolutely nothing else to do and want to catch up on the latest movies...My blog is not just about entertainment but also a Pennysaver.

Snakes on a Stupid Plane

\Plain and simple: this is a stupid movie. For those of you haven't seen the movie, I won't spoil it (well there really isn't much to spoil). But here's the plot: a young man (played by the worst actor imaginable) sees a murder and becomes the key witness to bring crime mob Edward Kim to justice. Escorted by veteran FBI detective (Samuel Jackson), the young man boards a flight in which Edward Kim's hooligans have placed lethal snakes aboard (hence the title). Now I can think of plenty of other ways to get snakes on a plane...actually I can't. But regardless, this movie is worth absolutely nothing. I laughed here and there but kept telling Aegean, "Why did we see this and not 'Little Miss Sunshine'?" Damn you Samuel Jackson. You took my $12 for these Motherfu$%&*#g snakes on this "muthafu$%*&#ing" plane.

A Letter to Mel

What happened Mel? You ruled the world. You won an Oscar, earned high salaries, was loved by so many women, and were in one of my favorite movies (What Women Want). I know you don't like Jews (Shalom!) and you are one of the most strict Catholics next to the Pope. Good for you for sticking to your beliefs. Also, I give you credit for smiling in this picture and avoiding a "Nick Nolte". But why did you have to make "Apocalypto". Does anyone really want to see ancient Mayans running around? I know you're rich, but don't waste your money making a movie that no one will see. Unlike "Passion," there aren't millions of Mayans out there who'd fork over 8 bucks to see this. Good Luck Mel. From my experience of working for a Kaminsky, you don't want to anger the Jews.

Snickers Has What???

It seems that I only blog about movies, and there's only so much that one can talk about movies before getting bored or dying (rest in peace Siskel and get better Ebert). So I will tell you a tale of when I was an Resident Assistant in De Neve Plaza. One night, I got a distress call from a girl who said her roommate had an allergic reaction to eating a Snickers bar. I immediately rushed over there, called for an ambulance, and did anything I could to help her breathe. When the ambulance arrived, the EMT officers asked her what she had eaten and she replied, "A Snickers bar." The officer then asked what she was allergic to and she replied, "Peanuts." Then, I chimed in and said, "Don't you know that Snickers has peanuts?" She then told me, "Well yeah...but I was just gonna spit them out."

Back to the Good Old Days

My brother and I watched "Back to the Future" a few nights ago, and we started thinking, "Why don't they make movies like this anymore?" I absolutely love this movie for many reasons (it reminds me of my chubby childhood). But I love it because it's so funny. There are great jokes at perfect times in the movie. McFly and Dr. Brown have such a nice chemistry and it hits all the right notes. I just really like watching this movie (the sequels aren't bad either).

The Greatest Athlete Right Now

There are a lot of people out there who don't really appreciate tennis or think of it as a very demanding sport like football or basketball. But I think (actually know) that tennis, aside from golf, is the hardest sport to master. What makes tennis better than golf is that it is always static and moving. Tennis requires athletes without a belly and with enough stamina for almost two hours every night. It's a fun game to play but an even better game to watch. For these reasons, I believe Roger Federer is the greatest athlete today. Of course, you can make a case for Kobe Bryant or Terrell Owens. But tennis is a demanding sport and Roger Federer rules tennis.

Movie Disappointments

Since I haven't seen a new movie in almost two weeks (an event that rarely happens for me), I want to comment on the biggest disappointment of the summer. So far, I've seen some ups (Miami Vice, Nacho Libre, and MI:3), some mediocre films (Superman Returns and Devil Wears Prada), and some really bad ones (Da Vinci Code). In the midst of all these ups and downs, I was really down after watching X-Men: The Last Stand. There is a story, good actors, and decent special effects. I guess the fault lies in the director. Brett Ratner, the Jewish guy who thinks he's a reincarnated black man, is the worst director out there and still happens to get great projects to direct as if he's Steven Spielberg reincarnated (if he were dead...and black). Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker will always be funny, and Ratner's still living off that movie's success. Way to kill the X-Men franchise Brett but thank God that the movie made a lot of money so we can see another X-Men movie, hopefully with a different director.

Jack White and the Band

I went to a Raconteurs concert two weeks ago and the night still resonates with me. Probably because Jack White is the greatest act in all of rock right now. I saw him with the White Stripes...pretty good. But here with a band and a drummer that can actually rival White's guitar work, Jack really shines. He's having a good time playing the band's original songs ("Steady as She Goes") or covers of Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy") and Cher ("Bang Bang"). He's an amazing performer and musician that will no doubt go into both the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame. Let's not forget about the Loretta Lynn album that he produced, which is currently in my playlist. Other than Jack Bauer of "24" and Dr. Jack Shepard of "Lost", Jack White is my favorite Jack.

Miami Vice

These guys are so cool and Michael Mann is my new favorite director. If you liked "Collateral" or "Heat," then you will really enjoy this movie. There is such good acting in all of his films from Tom Cruise in "Collateral" and Russell Crowe in "The Insider." Although Farrell looks great with the mustache and mullet, his acting is sub-par. But all that doesn't matter because this movie is way cool. HD Cameras, nice cars, hot girls (Gong Li...yowsers!), great action, and an awesome soundtrack make this movie so great to watch.

Grey Goose

I don't really like to drink alcohol. I get red and start to breathe heavy. I've been recently drinking some light beer, primarily because I don't get as red and can breathe normally afterwards. But I will drink Grey Goose. It's smooth and hits the spot like no other hard alcohol can. There are other great mixed drinks out there (my personal favorite is the Mojito) but if you want hard alcohol straight then Grey Goose is the way to go. It's a little more expensive, but for a guy who doesn't drink that often I'll pay a little bit more to get red the good way. Smirnoff bad...Grey Goose good!