The, no offense, Superbad, no offense, Review, no offense!

When analysing a film with such apparent social and psychological commentaries, it challenges the patron to look within his or herself to find the real motivations in their life. Are you motivated by love? Are you motivated by popularity? Are you motivated by the perceived euphoric bliss brought on through massive consumption of booze? In the case of Seth, Evan, and Fogell, they want to hook up with the cutest girls in school while drinking illegally acquired alcohol, supplied by the delightfully awkward alter ego of Fogell, McLovin!

Judd Apatow, The producer of "The 40 Year Old Virgin," "Knocked Up," and "Anchorman," is responsible for bringing "Superbad" to the big screen and, just as his other projects, delivers just as many laughs as expected. "Superbad" is jam packed with everything from raunchy sex humor to...well it is mainly just sex jokes, but they never failed to put a smile on my face.

Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, as the three sex starved protagonists, give performances akin to Belushi, Hulce, and Matheson in Animal House. Bill Hader and Seth Rogen mix up the shenanigans as two off beat cops who play by their own rules. This movie was satisfying on many levels: It was consistently funny; It was well acted; And everyone got what was coming to them. Outside of the hilarity, "Superbad's" Soundtrack is great. Funk tracks accent this flick, adding the feel of 70's classic sex comedies and blacksploitation action. "Superbad," while super bad ass, is not for everyone. It is rated "R" for good reason; adult language, sexual themes, nudity, and violence...this movie has it all and not just in the traditional sense. Many of Apatow's movies are full of quotable lines and inventive terminology. I for one will be inserting a few of the more colorful phrases coined in this movie into my lexicon of movie quotes.

If you are a fan of the aforementioned previous Apatow films, you will love "Superbad." If you are offended by "Blow J's" and penis drawings...for the love of God, don't see this movie. These guys aren't just bad, they're "Superbad!"

Kapow!

Sammy Dee is Marvelous!

Check it out...I'm an Uncle! Samantha Dee Kelley was born last week to my Brother, DJ, and his wife, Barbara. She is absolutely beautiful and very expressive. You can almost make out her crazy long toes in this pic...she gets that from me. DJ and Barbara did a knock up job with this baby. I know the phrase is "knock out" but my cheesy pun doesn't work that way. Here are a few more pictures of Sam:

Sam with her Aunt Ginny

Abby looking thrilled to be holding her cute competition!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...a close-up! Doesn't she look like DJ? She even has his smart ass squinty eyed look down...as if thinking, "What are you looking at; ain't you ever seen a baby before?" This is but one of the hundreds of faces I saw her make in the few hours I was with her last weekend.

I will periodically post updates of my new niece and for the die hard fans, you can check out www.hiltongrandkids.com for a site updated by Barbara's brother.

Vacation Cont...

Les Claypool Live @ The House of Blues

June 16, 2007

In the middle of my already kick ass Disney vacation, I was informed of the upcoming Les Claypool concert to be held a mere furlong from our hotel room...seriously, with in walking distance. Tickets were going to be had at any cost! After procuring said tickets, the crew and I set off for a night of bass filled bliss. The show opened with The Two Galants, a decent band reminiscent of The White Stripes, then proceeded into an orgy of new and old Claypool goodness. Everything from tracks off of "Of Whales and Woe" to Primus classics, My Name is Mud and Tommy the Cat, was played for a solid two hours. Cameras were prohibited, hence the poor quality of this illegal photo from the show. We managed to get a few almost passable shots without a flash and this is the best one. It at least shows how close we were because the zoom was not used. This show rivals my 311-day 2000 in New Orleans or Ben Folds Five at the Ryman in Nashville only months before their break-up as my favorite concert experience of all time. I have wanted to see Les live ever since DJ, my big brother, first played "Suck on This" for me back in the early '90s. Now if I could only get to a Man...or Astroman, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Paul Simon (yeah right) concerts, I will have seen all of my adolescent dream concerts.

internet photo not from my concert

At the outset of our concert, Les donned a colonel sanders style suit, stripping off his coat and bowler hat after a few songs. As the show progressed, he wore all of the following: a pig mask, a monkey mask, and an Elvis wig/mutton chops w/glasses. He also played a standard bass, a banjo style bass (see picture), and a slim electric stand-up bass. This show was pure magic and was the epitome of Les Claypool's music. If you can't tell from my glowing review, this show was awesome and lived up to my overblown expectations of what his concert would be like. I suggest that anyone who is slightly interested in his music, check out his tour schedual and seek out your own concert by visiting his website or clicking any of the Claypool pictures on this post.

This concert, on top of Star Wars Weekends, meeting two Star Wars actors, and seeing my daughter make a lifetime of Disney memories makes this the best vacation I've ever been on. Yes, my two week trip to Ireland was a once in a lifetime opportunity and will remain my favorite solo trip, I will always remember the joy of taking my 6 year old to the the most magical place on earth.

Vacation to End all Vacations!

I recently had the opportunity to meet two iconic Star Wars actors on at trip to Disney World with my family; specifically, Peter Mayhew and Jeremy Bullock, also know as Chewbacca and Boba Fett! This marks the highlight of my two week vacation to Florida, although good times were had all throughout the vacation by everyone in my family. The following is a breakdown of our vacation, condensed of course.

The trip began with a lengthy two day drive to Cocoa Beach. We spent the first couple of days on the beach and in different hotels. The highlight of these days was the night spent at the newly built Ron Jon Resort. The room was very comfortable and there was a mini-water park on the premises that was very cool. That night we ate fresh seafood, cooked in our room by Ginny's father...I ate so many shrimp!

This a picture I took to test our new Canon digital camera, which was purchased during the drive down.

This portion of the trip was stressful, because of the cramped rooms and multiple luggage moves. In contrast, once we moved into our Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort two bedroom condo, the trip became less stressful and more enjoyable. Abby had been to Disney World once before, when she was 2, but didn't remember anything except the "Gumbo" ride. Here is a picture of her riding Dumbo on this trip. I have a picture of the first time she rode Dumbo but it is on another computer. I'll try to remember to post it later,

One of Abby's favorite things was meeting all of the characters scattered throughout the park. She filled up two autograph books with signatures and photos and this is my favorite one. Aladdin and Jasmine looked, spoke, and acted just like their animated counter-parts; they were impressive and well worth the 30 minute wait. The same can be said for most of the other characters save the few we didn't wait in line for.

Animal Kingdom was cool but we only spent a little time there in comparison to the other parks because there was so much we wanted to do at the other parks. We did ride a new roller coaster, see a few characters, went on a "safari," and ate breakfast there. I wish we had more time to explore Animal Kingdom but am satisfied with what we were able to fit in.

MGM Studios was, and always has been, my favorite park. The Star Wars weekend celebration was awesome but that is not the only reason I loved MGM. MGM is a park that appeals to movie buffs as well as kids so we all had lots of fun. Abby really wanted to ride the Tower of Terror, because she enjoyed Space Mountain so much, though started to have second thoughts the closer we came to the top. After the ride was over, she decided she didn't want to ride it again. This final pic is one that Ginny took of me breaking onto the stage that was roped off a few days before the actual weekend celebration.

I will post more pictures and the rest of our vacation in my next blog.

"God rest the souls of that poor family... and pussy's half price for the next 15 minutes!"

I have just finished watching the entire first season of the HBO series, Deadwood, and I must say I was impressed. I have been reluctant to watch the show for reasons I can't even formulate now that I've seen it and I cannot wait to rent the next season.

"Deadwood" is about a gold mining town in the Black Hills (S.Dakota) following the battle at Little Big Horn (Custer's Last Stand). The land was not technically U.S. territory because it had been annexed to the Native American Sioux Tribe. After the discovery of gold and U.S. anti-Indian attitudes flamed by the slaughter at Little Big Horn, it was inevitable that the gold-rich Black Hills would be reclaimed by the U.S....but not before tens of thousands of miners flooded the region with the intention of raping the land more than just gold!

While Timothy Olyphant is brilliant as real life U.S. Marshall/pioneer Seth Bullock, it is Ian McShane's performance as the owner of the Gem Saloon/Brothel, Al Swearengen, that stands out as the most fulfilling as well as most disturbing. Al is a selfish, emotionless, misogynistic, killer whose only goal in life is to sell booze and "Snatch" at premium prices. As evil as Al can be, he seldom lets his human frailty show and it is during these times that the audience is faced with conflicting emotions of hatred and sympathy. Al is a character you hate to love and love to hate! The characters of Deadwood range from note worthy historic figures such as Bullock and Swearengen, to famous historical icons such as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, to fictional characters that serve to fill in gaps in historical resources. David Milch, the creator, writer, and director of Deadwood, takes minor liberties with the historical facts but for the most part portrays life in a post-civil war mining camp as accurately as possible. Deadwood is not a show for prudish or squeamish viewers. Milch refuses to dilute history by censoring nudity, gore, drug use, or language. I thought people were simply being facetious when discussing the abundance of the word "cock sucker" in the show but after seeing the show for myself, I feel that most frat houses would be hard pressed to keep up with McShane's "colorful" language during a drinking contest. While some people will be turned off by the crass atmosphere of Deadwood, I highly recommend giving the show a chance if for no other reason than to learn more about the history of Indian subjugation and American hardships that followed the Civil War. I also recommend the HBO's series, ROME, for fans of historical docudramas. I might even write a blog on it in the future. Deadwood IMDb Site ROME IMDb Site

Fists of Fury!

I found this painting while searching for interesting artwork on random websites. This piece is entitled, "Bruce," and is obviously a portrait of Bruce Lee in a fighting pose. I've never been one of those "Bruce Lee fans," that puts up posters and watches the movies endlessly but I am a fan. I used to sneak out of bed at night to watch my grandfather's Bruce Lee movie collection, when I would sleep over at his house as a child, but I digress... The artist of this piece is Phil Hansen and what makes this a post worthy work of art is the method in which he painted it. Phil dipped his hands in black paint and punched/chopped on the massive canvas (95'' x 166'') until the image was completed. A video of this process can be found on his website: http://www.philinthecircle.com/bruce.html I highly suggest thoroughly checking out this website. There are many different works such as the portrait of George W. Bush composed of the names of the U.S. soldiers who have died in the current Iraq War; Kim Jong Il's mosaic of bloody bandages; and Mother Theresa's eyes composed of intricately positioned dandelions. This style of art appeals to me because of the deeper meanings brought out in the method in which the art was produced. Paint, brushed on canvas in traditional ways has its own place in my heart and is no less meaningful. However, when unique mediums are used, yet another level of interpretation is added. Looking at a work of art is not the only pleasure one can derive from it, pondering its past can be just as satisfying.

"Prepare for Glory!"

"300"

I loved this movie! I know it is a few months old but I am a huge fan of Frank Miller's and this movie got so much attention for its, so called, "political insinuations, " that I had to make it my first movie review:

Frank Miller's vibrant graphic novel has been brought to the big screen, by Director Zach Snyder, and loses nothing in translation. CGI effects are used for all of the background settings in this gorgeous representation of the heroic battle of Thermopylae, during which the Spartan King Leonidas I, with 300 of his personal guards, fended off thousand of Persian troops led by the self proclaimed God-king Xerxes I. If they can look past the gore and violence that is (for the most part) historically accurate, movie goers will see a vibrant tale that had been passed down for generations, visualized as only Frank Miller can. Many scenes, when stilled, could be considered works of art:

Historically, this is a flawed movie, however, I do believe this to be an accurate representation of the folk lore passed down throughout Spartan history. Sure, Spartan's wore chest plates and the Greeks had a massive armada battling the Persian navy all the while Leonidas fought with his 300 but the fight did happen and it did influence the eventual downfall of Xerxes and united the Athenians and Spartans against their foreign enemy. The story itself is inspirational, thought provoking, and timeless. This might contribute to the notion that the movie contains political jabs; I disagree. The political implications surrounding this movie insinuate that Snyder used Xerxes to emulate president Bush. In my opinion, this is ridiculous. The story is as accurate as is could be and is a great representation of Frank Miller's comic, which was written long before Bush's unjustifiable war on Iraq. The comparison can be made but to imply it was intentional is irresponsible and unfounded. I am not a fan of president Bush, but his comparison to Xerxes or Leonidas implies that he is a calculating tactician who is on the verge of controlling the world. Like all politicians, Bush is influential, ambitious, and has made many mistakes but I don't give him or any other politician that kind of credit. I would, however, offer a historic comparison of the sacrifice of ALL 300 soldiers at this historic battle to what is happening in Iraq right now. The future is uncertain on whether or not the massive sacrifice American soldiers have made during this war will be justified in the future...just as the death of Leonidas's 300 inspired an uprising that could be attributed with the survival of democracy in the world. I can only hope that the outcome is as favorable in our current circumstance. In short: 300 is a visually stunning movie that accomplishes the goal of paying tribute to the sacrifice made by Leonidas and his troops as well as the brilliance of Frank Miller's graphic novel. Buy or rent the DVD as soon as it is available if it is too late to see it at your local theater (the Imax experience if possible).