The Art of 40 Days

Lent is coming down to an end this Sunday when Easter is celebrated. During the past 40 days, it's usually customary for the Catholic to give up something in order to better discipline us and make us more in the likeness of God. Over the past 14 years that I've practiced this custom, I've given up a wide variety of habits, foods, and extracurricular activities. Perhaps my greatest achievement was during my sophomore year in high school. During my sophomore year in high school, I decided to stop watching "Dawson's Creek" amidst the February sweeps. It was a good time on the show also. Ratings were on a high especially because the Dawson-Joey relationship was on the rocks because of the introduction of Jack McPhee. Looking back that was the hardest time I've ever had being a Catholic. If I only knew that Jack would later admit to being gay, I probably wouldn't have cared as much as I did at the time.

Deal or No Deal

When you're looking for life lessons and moral plays, you wouldn't think to look towards Howie Mandel. But "Deal or No Deal" provides a lesson about greed and selfishness more so than any other television or film today. Recently, Howie is on his "Million Dollar Mission" where he puts out 10 cases full of one million dollars. Slowly, the contestant must decide to either continue in pursuit of a million dollars or leave with the offer from the banker. Not to say that the banker's offer is chump change. They are usually in the 200 or 300 grand category. But time after time, the contestant chooses to take the other route and go for a million dollars. It's a wonderful morality play each week and I sadly admit that I love it.

I'm not alone; Celine Dion has publicly stated that "Deal or No Deal" is her favorite show. So take that beyotch!

Heath Ledger

Back in 2000 when "The Patriot" came out, I remember saying that "Heath Ledger was going to be a big star." Although he was never a big star (maybe "The Dark Knight" would have changed that), Heath was undoubtedly a big actor and certainly one of the best of our generation (with Gosling). He was the best thing in "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Monster" (the thought of Billy Bob Thornton doing Halle Berry was just too disturbing). I have yet to see "I'm Not There" or "Dark Knight" but he was certainly on an upswing. It was very disheartening to see him pass away and not be able to see what he could become.

The Art of Coffee Sipping

It's funny how people drink coffee or tea or any other beverage for that matter. People always need to take two sips especially when they are doing other things. For example, I was in class the other day and a woman in front of me was drinking from her coffee mug. She took one sip, paused, and then took another sip. Later on in lecture, she held her coffee mug in her hand, took a sip, paused and took another sip. This "sip, pause, sip" action continued throughout the lecture and then I realized that I too "sip, pause, sip." I became so conscious of this mechanism that I researched further and noticed that everyone does this especially when reading the newspaper, studying, or looking at the computer. One sip is never good enough because we have to pause and collect our thoughts about our beverage and then take another sip. Fascinating.

Bastard Children

bas·tard [bas-terd –noun
1. a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.

What's with Hollywood's obsession with getting pregnant before getting married? Nicole Ritchie, Halle Berry, and now Jessica Alba. I can sympathize with Ritchie (who wants to be married to Joel Madden of Good Charlotte?) and maybe with Alba (who's the father again?) but it just boggles my mind as to why they all have to happen at the same time. I think the Writer's Strike is having a greater effect than they realized. Since these actors aren't working, they all figured, "I want to have a child!" Damn writers!

Poor James Marsden

I saw "Enchanted" over break and I once again saw James Marsden play the lovable guy that loses out to the more handsome and stronger (for lack of a better word) male lead. Marsden (who looks surprisingly like Chris Pine) has always played that guy and it's so sad. I think it all started with "The Notebook" when he lost Rachel McAdams to Ryan Gosling. And then the trend started...Cyclops then Richard White from "Superman Returns." He's being typecast as the good guy that can never get the girl. At least, he's finally going to get some action with Katherine Heigl in "27 Dresses" if the trailer is a good indication of the movie (which it always is in romantic comedies).

Rambo

This is pathetic. I know that Bruce Willis found some success with his Die Hard revival last summer. But everyone likes Die Hard. Not everyone likes Rambo. Also, Sylvester Stallone already used his "bring back an old action hero after 15 years" with Rocky in 2006. If you've seen the posters and commercials, it seems as if they are going after the Gen X kids who are into wrestling and people like John Cena or the rock. No one will see this movie and I hope it dies so that I don't have to see Stallone's botox infused face ever again.

The Writer's Strike

This is starting to make me very angry. The fact that this has been dragging for almost three months is remarkable. What are they fighting for? Is it artistic freedom? or money? It's sad because the writers are looking more like selfish and shortsighted morons. Each day that this strike continues more of the lower paid employees of television shows and film crews are out of work. There are more of those people than pathetic writers. More importantly, the viewers including myself are sick and tired of "American Gladiators," "Deal or No Deal," and other reality shows. I want a full season of 24 and Lost. While I understand that writers deserve more credit for their work (and it always irks me when the credits say "A Film By" and then list the director when the writer is probably more deserving of that credit), but writers must look at the bigger picture and realize their image will never be the same the longer this drags on. Look what happened to baseball...

Recognize This Guy?

It's Jonathan Lipnicki. Yes the cute little kid from "Jerry Maguire" (and for those real film buffs, "Like Mike"). I wanted to watch just the first few minutes, but I ended up watching the whole thing (which turned out to be a little over 2 hours). I really like this movie for many reasons. First, this kid was just so cute. I love his little facts, his lisp, and his over-sized glasses. Second, the film reminded me of the respectable Tom Cruise. I actually believed that Tom Cruise was a sports agent capable of making any girl fall in love with him. It was a glimpse into the past that I only wish he continued.
But back to Lipnicki. It's sad to see this kid go to waste. He had roles in other films including the "Stuart Little" films and "Little Vampire." Other than that, he's been M.I.A. and it's absolutely sad to see child actors take this road. Let's hope he's not getting a DUI (like Haley Joel Osmont). Let's also hope that Abigail Breslin has a better career than this cute kid. Then again, I guess that's all he is (or was): a cute kid that won us over for being exactly that...cute.

What's On Your Desktop?

When you have 8 hours of lecture everyday, your mind tends to wander. I thought about a lot of things other than the difference between apoptosis and necrosis. But mainly I just looked at other people when I came upon this strange image. The person in front of me was surfing the internet when his desktop appeared and it was a picture of himself. There's no Grand Canyon, family, friends, or even the Mona Lisa. It's a picture of him in his room and probably taken by himself. Sure, I occasionally put a picture of Aegean and me on my desktop, sometimes a nice art piece, but I have never put just a picture of myself. Do I need to remind myself of what I look like, if that mirror stopped working? Do I want others to see my picture on a computer, if my real face wasn't good enough? Am I narcissistic beyond belief? I'd like to ask this person what's the goal of putting his face on his desktop because I don't understand.

Oh, Britney!

What was that? After weeks of hype and build-up to this night, Britney did not deliever. Not only did she not deliver, it didn't seem like she cared. 50 cent looked confused, Rhianna was laughing, and Criss Angel wishes he never got involved. I did not understand what that performace was. Although I do like the single, I hope that her reps tell her to remain out of the spotlight and let the album speak for itself. This did not get me excited for the album. Instead, I just felt sorry for her. It was supposed to be a glorious return. Instead, it was a sad sight to see. Right now, Federline is laughing.

Feist Rocks

There are a lot of female singer-songwriters out there right now that are just trying to break in. I had the opportunity to check out Selina's favorite singer (and potential friend forever) Meiko Lee when I was in Los Angeles, and I was very impressed. Her songs were full of earnestness and longing, and her voice matched that. But sad to say, I was even more taken back by Leslie Feist (formerly of Broken Social Scene) who is now headlining her own tour with Broken Social Scene. It was a pretty amazing concert, primarily because of her voice. Although she has an amazing stage presence and her songs are just much better in terms of lyrics and production, it is the voice that truly dumfounded me. She's been working on her craft for years now, especially incorporating more of a country/folk sound into her songs. Those years have paid off and I enjoyed every minute of the concert. Sure, Meiko, Rachael Yamagata, Sara Bareilles, and all those other female singer-songwriters are young and new to the craft. But they should always look to their elders for inspiration

Pixar is #1

I think we can all agree that Pixar is the best movie studio out there right now. I think we can all agree that they haven't made one single bad movie (feature or short). It's pretty disgusting when you think about it. How can 1 movie studio be that good?

Let's take "Cars," for example. Here's a movie about a NASCAR hot-rod that get's lost in the middle of no where and ends up re-thinking his life. A stupid premise...yes! But how well executed is this movie. It's been playing again and again on Starz and watch it every single time. I notice new things, like the expression in the cars especially their eyes. I look for the lighting tones against Lightning McQueen especially during the racing scenes. This is such a good movie.

We'll save "The Incredibles" for another entry (one of my favorite movies of all-time), but I absolutely love Pixar and am desperately looking for their earlier short films to enjoy this company even more.

A Letter from Lindsay

I have made many mistakes in my life from making out to Bruce Willis to "I Know Who Killed Me." But the funny thing is that film companies still hire me. I don't know who is more stupid: me or them. I haven't had a hit since "Mean Girls" nearly four years ago and I'm still considered a legitimate actress, "the finest of my generation." Robert Altman hires me. And Jane Fonda respects me. Wow! I don't know what I did to deserve this acclaim. Was my faux British accent in "The Parent Trap" so good that it rivals Rene's Bridget Jones? Or was it my ability to channel a hermaphrodite (Jamie Lee Curtis) in "Freaky Friday"? Those roles were before I became "fire-crotch" and I'm still reaping the benefits to this day. I love Hollywood!

Eddie Murphy

I hated "Daddy Day Care." I liked "The Nutty Professor." I hated "Dr. Doolittle." I liked "Coming to America." It seems that for every Eddie Murphy, there is one movie of his that you just hate. It's funny that Murphy was in line to get the Oscar for "Dreamgirls" when he got beat out by Alan Arkin from "Little Miss Sunshine" who was the second best Supporting Actor in that movie. It's probably because for every good thing that Eddie Murphy does, there's something much worse.

It seems like Eddie Murphy was back in the spotlight for something other than those terrible family movies that he used to make. "Dreamgirls" was supposed to resurrect his career and make him a legitimate actor again. Then he did two stupid things: 1) Make "Norbit" 2) Deny he had a baby with Scary Spice. I can understand the denial of Scary Spice's child (who really wants to be associated with the Spice Girls?) But "Norbit"? What was he thinking? I've seen some bad career moves by comedic actors ("Number 23" with Jim Carrey comes to mind) but "Norbit" was just a big paycheck. Maybe the Academy was right by not giving him the Oscar (They try to reward serious acting and I don't really get that feeling with "Norbit.")

Simpsons vs. Family Guy

"The Simpsons Movie" was the number one movie this weekend. It seems there are a lot of fans out there for the movie (70 million dollars worth of fans to be exact), but as I was watching this bootlegged version of the film I thought about a possible "Family Guy Movie." I've had this debate with many people before and I still believe in the Simpsons. I've come to see a formula in every "Family Guy" episode and I can predict where the episode is going. The characters are predictable and the jokes are very predictable. I still think it's very funny, but predictable.

I can't say the same for "The Simpsons." And although I haven't been watching many recent episodes, I still think it's pretty original for a show that's been running for 18 years. I have to tell this story to show that professionals also agree with me. When I went for this Q&A with Charlie Kaufmann, he said that the hardest thing he's ever had to do was to write a script for 1 episode of "The Simpsons." Coming from a guy that wrote 2 of the most unusual (and best) screenplays ever in cinema is a pretty good compliment.

The Beckhams Are in Los Angeles

Who Cares? America hates soccer and still get confused when Europeans call it football. It is an exciting sport...sure. But it's only exciting every 4 years when the World Cup is on for three weeks. Yes, they are beautiful and wealthy and extremely arrogant, so I guess it's only fitting that they're here. But is it really necessary for us to give them that much attention. Surely, Paris Hilton is off doing cocaine (when she says she has never done drugs...does anyone believe that?) or Lindsay Lohan is also pretending to be a "good girl" (probably to distract people from how bad her new movie looks). I guess it's just a rough patch for celebrity gossip.

Live Free or Die Hard

It's hard to imagine 50 year old Bruce Willis still playing John McClaine of NYPD. But it was a lot of fun to see him try. It was a good movie and, like the old episodes of "24" and last year's "MI:3," a exciting and entertaining. Despite all this, the movie was disappointing because it's not a "Die Hard" movie. If anyone who loves the original will remember, John McClaine is confined to one building and is only one man with the odds against him at nearly impossible. To see him get out of that mess alone is what "Die Hard" is all about. Unfortunately, in this movie, he moves all over the place from Washington to Baltimore to Jersey to fight a cyber-terrorist bent on destroying the world. This is not a "Die Hard" movie, but more like a James Bond film. Nonetheless, thank you to the bootleggers who provided a decent quality DVD that was aired on the local channel.

Tonight is "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" on Channel 4.

Bootleggers

I've always been a fan of movies, but being on this stupid island has robbed me of the opportunity to watch the summer plethora of films, including "Transformers" and "Live Free or Die Hard." When someone introduced me to the website, movieforumz.com, I was deeply excited at the chance to finally watch these films in DVD quality, thinking someone leaked DVD screeners and posted those on the net. When I checked the website to watch "Ocean's 13," I got a Chinese version with Chinese subtitles taken off a videocamera. Sadly, I was very disappointed.
In the new age of digital technology shouldn't even bootleggers be armed with HDTV cameras and an appropriate microphone system. Can't they go to a screening when there will only be 2-3 people when the chance of someone walking in the front of the camera will be kept to a minimum? Also, if I wanted a laugh track, I'd watch a sitcom. So hearing someone laugh when Seth Rogen calls "Munich" one of his favorite films is not the movie experience I wanted. Should I complain? I guess if you've been to the Arclight, there is no other movie experience like it.

Nobody Reads My Blog

I haven't written on this thing for years. Probably because I'm in medical school and barely have time to talk to my own girlfriend than write on a blog that no one ever reads. I had a golden age of Bloggers just a year ago. I wrote on it everyday, people posted comments, and In-N-Out of Hemet was on it's way to the Pantheon of great blogs. But now, after not writing in it for over 5 months, people have moved on to cooler blogs that talk about everything from great Pho restaurants to why Britney Spears hasn't had a new CD. In reality, no one cares, but it's just nice to have something to read while at work and in front of a computer.