Movie Review: Casino Royale

Hey there. Back to doing something I used to do regularly here on the blog: movie reviews.

Now if you go by what I've done here in the blogs, the last review I did was for "X-Men: The Last Stand" back in May. But no, that wasn't the last movie I've seen since then. Since then, I've seen: Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pulse, The Covenant, and now Casino Royale. I'll talk about Supes and Pirates later on this week as both films come out on DVD. But back to the matter at hand.

Now, I'm a huge fan of movie franchises such as Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, even some of the Star Treks. With James Bond though, it's been touch and go with me. Sure, I've seen the classics with Sean Connery and Roger Moore on TV, but I've never been one to actually go to a theater and see 007 on the big screen. In fact, as far as I can remember, I've only seen 2 other Bond films at the theater: "Moonraker" when I was a kid and only because my folks wanted to see it in the drive-in and "Die Another Day". And yeah, I liked Pierce Brosnan as Bond (goes back to my days of seeing him as Remington Steele on TV when I was younger) but with that film, it had gotten to a point that the Bond franchise was getting old and tired. This once cool secret agent had become smarmy, corny and cheesy. Definitely too cheesy for my tastes. It was like it was becoming a sad parody of itself. And to be honest, when I first heard they were bringing it back for a new film, I could care less.

Then word came out about who would be playing Bond. Brosnan was out this time and Daniel Craig was going to take over. Now, I never heard of the guy, but I understand he was in such films like "Layer Cake" and "Munich", but according to the fanboys, getting Craig was like the kiss of death. He's blond, they say. He's ugly, they cry out. He would be the death of the 007 franchise, they proclaim. In fact, my friend Rob posted in our blog back when the announcement was made this comment: "What about this new James Bond? Daniel Craig. He is the worst looking Bond ever! He is really ugly looking, I'd be a better Bond! I can think of a dozen others who would have been better. What is this world coming to?"

His words. Not mine.

Me, on the other hand, could care less. I didn't think Craig was so bad as the critics were saying. But I was at the point that it was no big deal. It didn't matter who he was, it was still going to be the same old franchise, where Bond's suit would be perfect, uttering tired corny one-liners while trotting out these incredible gadgets, while getting it on with some beautiful ladies. Not that there's anything wrong with that last part, but I digress.

So as Casino Royale came out, I still had no plans on even seeing it at the theater. I figured, if it was OK enough as compared to the others, then I'd rather wait until it comes out on DVD or cable, if that. But then, something unusual happened. Good reviews started to come in. I mean, really really good reviews about it. Calling it the best Bond flick ever and Craig the best 007. Big words there. So, I decided to give it a chance and went to see it. I came into this with an open mind, seeing if the film lived up to the hype.

Tell you what,"Casino Royale" lived up to it and then some.

This film went the same route with Batman Begins and went with a complete reboot of the series, showing Bond in his first major adventure as a "double-0" agent. And from the moment the film started, it blew me away.

First of all, they changed the traditional Bond opening which we've been so used to seeing in the movies. I won't give it away for those who haven't seen it, but they basically made it into an actual scene, which surprised me and made it actually work, putting a different spin on it.

Then, came the first true sequence after the film's theme (which I liked a lot, by the way). What could I say to that but wow. It was a free wheeling crazy sequence showing Bond chasing a informant. Again, I won't give it away, but that whole scene was absolutely incredible, filled with a lot of mad stunts and crazy fights. By the time that was done, roughly about 15 minutes of the film was underway. In those 15 minutes, it was clear that Craig had put his stamp on 007. He wasn't copying from the other actors before him, he was his own version of the character.

From there, the rest of the film just buzzed with a rhythm that was great. It had a mix of frenetic energy and good acting. The plot was your typical spy caper, but somehow it seemed different. This time, Bond was more gritty, raw, realistic. And it worked great.

The one liners this time weren't your usual cheese that made you groan the moment you heard them. The majority of them actually fit what the scene called for. There was one scene, where Bond was being tortured by the chief villain in the film, in what I could best describe as the most excruciating, painful, cringe inducing way imagineable (you have to see for yourself what I mean) and all the while you wanted to squirm in your seat, here was Bond delivering the most dead on wise cracks I have ever heard. It totally fit that moment and I can tell you those got the loudest and longest laughs out of me and the audience in the whole film.

Overall, I liked this film. Never thought I would, but I did. I was totally surprised by it. If ever there was a franchise that needed a reboot, it's this one. And it was a fresh, unique, more realistic take on 007. Even the gadgets that he used in the film were items that you could see being used in real life, which was a nice touch.

And what can I say about Daniel Craig? He absolutely hit it out of the park with his portrayal. He was funny, serious, tough and tender when the moment required it, and he did something I'd never thought I'd see in a Bond film: he made him human. It was good to see Bond getting physical, getting dirty, getting beat up (which happened to him a lot) and bloodied. It was also good to see him flawed and be imperfect as well. He didn't make him a cardboard stereotype which was what the character had been reduced to. He made him a flesh and blood character that put Bond back to what Ian Fleming (the guy who created the character) had originated. And that made him even more cool to my eyes.

Now, if there was one thing that turned things off for me with this film, was the length. I think it should've been trimmed just a bit shorter, especially towards the end to keep the pace going. But that doesn't take anything away from me enjoying the film. It was good to see it start with a clean slate and made it worth watching right up to the end, where you could see - and hear- the familiar parts that make a James Bond movie.

In my eyes, I still see Connery as the best to play 007, but if Craig continues to build on what he's done with "Casino Royale" (and that will be the big test, how they will build on this movie), then I can definitely see him moving up to the top of the list. He made James Bond cool again, and now, I can't wait to see what he will do next.

We Have Ignition!

Hey there.

The last time I posted in this blog, I was announcing that I have a new job, working as an intern for the new Detroit Ignition indoor soccer team.

Now's my chance to tell you all about it.

Basically, I have two positions. One is working as a go-between the team and the cable TV network that's broadcasting several home games during the season. During those games (at least ten of them, plus possible playoffs) I serve as a time-out coordinator, or what they call a "redhat", where for two breaks in betweeen each quarter (four of them), I let the referees know that the network guys want a "TV timeout", or a 90-second break between action.

Now, the first game I did that, which was the home opener (November 4) was crazy, because at first there were problems with the headset I had communicating with the production truck, causing a slight delay with the game's kickoff. Thankfully, the delay wasn't too long and I was able to get with the guys in the truck. Also, because of the mad rush that happens when the game comes on, the director in the truck sometimes didn't give me a count on when to let the refs know that they can resume the game. Again, thankfully, no damage was done there.

The other times when there's not a TV game, I'm a game operations intern. That's the other postition that I do for the team. With this role, I'm all over the place. I can do things from setting up the merchandise booths, which I did for the last home game (November 19) to working the VIP club tables to working the spotlights for the player introductions, to helping take everything down when the game's over. Now those days can run really long. That last game, which was a matinee, I arrived sometime after 9am and didn't leave till after 8pm.

Now, in spite of the long hours, I am having the time of my life working with the team.

I told you before in this blog how much I like knowing the behind the scenes stuff with sports and TV and I'm getting a hands on experience in both. From setting things up to seeing how it all works and everything in between, I'm learning it all. I've only been at it for three days, the two home games and the intial run-through the day before the first home game, and I've already learned a lot.

And the people I work with are a great crew. There's about 12 of us that work on the game ops staff and each of us gets along great. I think the first day we all got together to literally bring up chairs and tables to set things up for opening night was a good moment to talk and connect and form a pretty good team. Our boss, who happens to be the team president/general manager even gets us together for a team huddle before each game to get us psyched up and ready for the game ahead. It's kind of cheesy and corny, but hey it works.

Overall, I like being a part of this. It's been quite a while since I've been a part of something along these lines. It's hard to describe really what it feels like to work in this role, but I can honestly tell you that when I'm there, doing the multiple tasks as a game op or relaying messages to the cable TV crew, this is why I want this to be my dream job, my dream career. Now, I don't know what's going to happen after the season ends next April. I could wind up with a full time gig with the team, parlay it into something else sports or media related, who knows. But I do know, I'm going to enjoy and relish every minute that I work with this club. It's been a great ride so far and I can't wait to see what happens next.

To find out more about the team and it's upcoming schedule, click on the headline or go here for more information.

That's it for now, I'll blog at you later.

A Dream Come True

It's been a dream of mine for years.

Last week, it came true.

Now before I tell you what that is, let me take you back.

Ever since I was a kid, there have been two things that fascinated me. Two things that, as I got older, were things that I could see myself being a part of. Something that would serve as a career goal for me.

Those two things were sports and broadcasting. I love being a sports fan. Something that was ingrained into me by my family ever since I can remember. And I've always been intrigued by broadcasting. I can vividly recall as a kid being in awe over seeing a TV news truck zooming by and as a kid, I made an appearance on the national news over my elementary school being selected for some honor.

Again as I got older, I saw being involved in broadcasting as an actual career. It's the field that picked once I went to college and where I earned my degree. And I really wanted to be involved in sports broadcasting as well. The way I saw it, it would be the best of both worlds.

And even then, if worst came to worst, I would love to be a part of one of the area sports teams, maybe as an announcer or something like that.

But little did I realize, that dreams are one thing. But, reality was something else altogether.

And the reality was, getting a job in broadcasting was as tough as putting a square peg in a round hole. Sure, I had interviews, went to job fairs and events, and sent out more resumes than you can imagine. But each time, something would happen that would set me back. And I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that it hurt me each time I got turned down. Or when I would see a classmate in college that would make it to the big show and think that it should've been me. Or hearing from those who would say that I should've given up on my dreams and settle for a more realistic goal. But I never gave up on that. Which is why I continued at my low paying job and continued to send out the resumes and went to the fairs and what not. Because I knew that somehow, someway a break would come my way. And that's all I was looking for: a break.

Last month, that break finally came.

I don't know what propelled me to, of all things, the Major Indoor Soccer League website that day. But there I was and I clicked on the website for the Detroit Ignition, an expansion team starting up for the league. It was there that I read about that they were looking for people to fill positions with the club. Somehow, after reading that ad, I felt compelled to send out my resume and hope for a response. Little did I know that a few days later, I would get a reply from that club. They wanted an interview with me, maybe to help with their public relations/communications department.

This was my chance. I saw this as my best opportunity to get my foot in the door. So I went to that interview, I sent out my list of references. I emailed and called them several times to see if there were any news. I wanted this. I really wanted this. Then last week, I was called back for a second interview, where they were telling me about working for the club not only in game operations, but also to help out with the team's cable telecasts. Again, I was especially interested in it.

A day later, after I got back from work. I got a message from the team. I called them back, and they told me that they were giving me the position.

I have finally done it.

Now, I'm still a bit fuzzy about my official title, but I do know that starting this weekend and for about 15 days over the next several months, I'll be a part of the Detroit Ignition indoor soccer team staff. I will work as a game operations intern as well as serve as a buffer for the team's ten or so telecasts on cable.

Now, this position doesn't pay, so I'll still be at my other job. But I don't care. My foot is in the door. I had finally gotten a break. And who knows what could come out of this. Or, where this could lead. All I know is I have my shot. And I'm not going to let the team down.

It's been a dream of mine for years. Last week, it came true. And now, this is one dream where I don't want to ever wake up from.

The Dish is Back!!!

Hey there. I have great news to report. After a month and a half away, I'm proud to announce that my satellite is back up and running.

I already told you the story of how my satellite was taken down due to renovations outside my apartment complex. Well after waiting it out until the very day the satellite guys told me that it would take, they finally came in a couple of days ago and reinstalled it.

I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to have over a hundred channels on my TV again. And to see my favorite channels (ESPN, SciFi, HBO, USA, etc.) back after all this time away is a good feeling indeed.

Now that I've got my dish back up, it's time to catch up. Some of my channels have been showing a few marathon episodes of shows that I've missed and other channels have been replaying episodes at other times as well. I also want to thank my old buddy Sam for helping me out while my satellite was down with taping a few shows for me. I definitely appreciate that.

That's it for now. Blog at you later.

Satellite Down!!!!!

If you know me, there are two things that I cannot live without. My computer and my satellite dish.

Right now, I'm without one of those two things. And since I'm typing this blog out on my PC, you can figure out what's the other thing.

My satellite is down and I am very upset about it.

It all started innocently enough when the apartment complex where I live started doing some renovating outside. You know, new siding, paint job, the whole nine yards. Like I said innocent enough.

Until it got to my place and the workers decided it would be fun to take down my satellite as they made their renovations.

Now, at first I was mad about it. But, there was nothing I can do. I mean, it is their apartments after all and they can do what they want outside. Besides, I figured they be at it for a day or two at the most and I'll have it back.

Those two days turned into two weeks. Straight.

All the while, my dish was offline.With nothing more than a black screen with the words, "searching for satellite signal", posted on the bottom (the worst four words you'd want to see, by the way.)

Now if this sort of thing was happening during the summer, I wouldn't be all upset about it. But to have this happen in the fall, right when the new season of shows are starting up, is the absolute worst time for this to happen.

During the time away, I wasn't missing out on too much, except for Fox's Prison Break, one of my favorite shows. (Thanks to my good friend Sam, he was able to tape last week's episode for me.)

So on Tuesday, everything was finally done and I called the dish people to set up an appointment for them to come over and hook back up the satellite.

And that was when I got the news that I didn't see coming.

They told me, because of so many people around my area asking for appointments for dishes and other service, that the earliest that I would expect a service call to get it back up and running is October 18th.

Let me repeat that again. The earliest I can get my dish back is October 18th.

That's almost a month with out my TV. Technically, a month and a half if you count the time served when it was initially taken down.

Now I am livid. Not only for the fact that I'll be without my dish for so long, but I'll be missing a lot of my favorite shows and channels. Smallville's season premiere, Lost's season premiere, Prison Break on Fox, Supernatural on the new CW, Heroes on NBC, Dr. Who on SciFi, Wrestling, ESPN and on and on. For at least three weeks.

Now, there is a chance that I may get my dish back up sooner, since they placed me on a waiting list in the event someone cancels an appointment. But, either way, whatever day I get it back will already be several days too late because of what I missed and will continue to miss.

I hope that some of my friends who read this will be able to help me out with tapes and/or DVDs of the shows I'll be missing during this time span. But even I know that will be asking way too much of them. If you can help, please contact me.

In the meantime, I've been reduced to something that I haven't done since I was a kid. Watching TV with an small antenna where, instead of having hundreds of channels to choose from, I'm down to about nine where it's a crapshoot at best when it comes to picture quality.

So, this is not going to be a good time for me. At least until I get my dish back up again. Whenever that will be.

NEW Website is Up!!!!

The new website is now up. Check it out.

http://www.freewebs.com/markonenet/

NEW Website Launches on Labor Day!!

It's almost time. Time to finally launch my new website. I'm putting the finishing touches on my new M1N site. I'm adding some new stuff, cleaning up the old stuff and getting rid of the pages that I no longer work on.

So when will it be ready to go? Well I've pencilled in Monday Sept. 4th (Labor Day) for it to be up and running. When? It could be midnight (late night Sunday), 2:00 PM, 7:55PM, 11:59PM, whatever. But trust me it'll be good to go by Monday.

Be on the lookout for it. Thanks.

Birthday Wishes

Hey there, the next two days (today, the 26th and tomorrow, the 27th) are very special to three people that I know: one who knows me intimately, another who's one of my closest and best friends, and a third who's become a very cool online bud.

Why? Because their birthdays fall on those two days.

On the 26th, it's my mother's birthday (Love Ya Mom!!), and as I just found out the other day, it's also my online friend Tony's birthday (Happy Birthday Mate, don't get too old too fast!)

The next day, on the 27th, it's my friend Rob's birthday (Happy Birthday Bud!)

So I dedicate this blog entry to them, hoping that their special day is truly that.

Superman Returns: Now Will It Suck or Not?!

Superman was my first hero.

I'm old enough to remember seeing the big screen version when it first came out some 20-plus years ago. I was a kid and recall seeing it with my brother and a family friend. I was blown away. Totally and completely blown away. In fact, back then, movie theatres weren't too enforcing on showings, so we lucked out and saw it about three more times at the same theatre. Each time was better than the last.

To this day, this version still holds the record as the film I've seen the most. I've seen it on TV, seen it on cable, seen it on videotape and now on DVD. Everything about this film I loved, from the epic scope of it all, the acting, the music (how can you not get chills hearing John Williams' theme) and the effects. I especially loved Christopher Reeve's performance most of all. As a kid, he was my first definition of a hero. I truly believed that he could fly. Of course, now we know better, but he still holds a place in my heart to this day, even after his tragic accident that left him paralyzed and eventually led to his untimely death.

So, almost 30 years later, we've got a new Man of Steel movie out now. "Superman Returns". And ever since word about this has come out and we've seen bits and pieces here and there about this. There's been two sides to this: those who really like it and those who are totally against it. I have two friends, Rob and Brandon, who have been against this from the start. Brandon has been the most vocal about it, especially about the suit and the acting, even though he hasn't seen anything aside from the trailers and certain scenes.

Now, later on today, I'll sit down at the theater and will see it for myself. I will decide if it sucks or not. And hey, this has a lot on the line. Especially with Brandon Routh, who has the most unenviable task of being in Reeve's shoes. Or suit as it were. Now, granted he looks a little like him, but anything he does in this film will be compared to what is arguably the best superhero performance ever captured on screen. I hope he does well. I want him to do well, but we have to just wait and see.

Not only will I be interested in seeing how Routh does, but I want to see how Bryan Singer does directing this film. He has a great respect for the original movie as well, since this version takes place in the period of the first two films. Now I know he has a great track record with the first two X-Men films, but this is Superman here. This is a whole different level. So we'll see how this goes. Especially when it comes to the story, which may tinker around with the mythology we've come to know over the years.

So when I sit down later on to see this, I'm going to be going over this with a fine tuned comb. Everything from the music, which I hear will take some of what Williams did and add on to it, to the acting (not just Routh, but Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor), to the scope and magnitude of the whole feature. Plus, this is going to be a long film too, over two and a half hours. Let's just hope the length means something and not just filler.

About a year ago on this blog, I talked about another DC Comics hero making a return to the big screen, and "Batman Begins" turned out to be a good movie. My pick for movie of the year last year. Will the same hold true for Superman, my first movie hero?

Will this movie suck or not?

I'm about to go and find out.

Movie Review: X-Men: The Last Stand

Here's another of my movie reviews. This one's for "X-Men: The Last Stand", the third movie involving the mutants from Marvel's hit comic book series.

Now I liked the first movie, and I really loved the second movie. In fact, "X2" was my pick for movie of the year when it came out in 2003. So going in, I had all the hopes that this one would hit it out of the park. Then came the changes, like Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-films, leaving to do Superman Returns and Brett Ratner, whose films are hit or miss with me, taking over. Still with all that, I had hopes that this one would be good, especially after seeing the trailers.

Well after seeing it, it was good. But I had hoped it'll do so much more.

With the first two films, they got the ball rolling right off the start. With this, it was slow at first, key fight scenes should've been a lot longer, like they did with the first two. And the fights that they did have were short ones, not unlike the other films which were a lot longer.

With a lot of characters, both good and evil, in the storyline, there's always that fine line between having too many people and not enough screen time for them all. What they did with the third one was get rid of a lot of key people too soon and introduced others that didn't do enough. Now that was a disappointment.

What I did like was Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, who always delivers with each X-film, and I'm sure he'll do the same with his own spinoff film. I was impressed by Kelsey Grammer (TV's Frasier) as Beast. At first, I had my doubts, but his peformance was quite good and he definitely proved me wrong. Ian McKellen as Magneto was another one who always delivers with his role and I liked some of the X-kids portrayals as well.

It wasn't as much about the actors that I didn't like, it was the fact they short-changed some of them, made little use of others and introduced some that was totally unneccessary. In my opinion, I think they crammed too much story and had not enough action.

Still, I liked the film. It was good, but it had the potential to do so much more. I believe that each sequel should improve upon it's previous film. And although this one was OK, The Last Stand didn't improve upon "X2" in my mind. Which was a shame really, cause I had hoped this would be the best film of the summer.

Movie Review: Mission: Impossible 3

I've been lacking with the movie reviews lately, so let me get caught up with the first movie I saw earlier this summer, "Mission: Impossible 3"

Now, ever since the movie version of the long running TV series came out, it's always been hit or miss with me. Either the action's OK and there's a lame plot, as was the case with the first one. Or the action was good and the plot was really lame, as was the case with the second. Now, I like Tom Cruise's takes in both films, but I knew that somehow, sooner or later, there would be a sequel that would deliver the goods.

They finally did it with the third one.

Now going in, I had hope that it would work because J.J. Abrams, the man behind the hit drama "Lost"(one of my favorite TV shows) and "Alias" (another one of my favorites, which just concluded its run in May) was writing and directing this film. Knowing his track record, especially with "Alias", which was another spy drama, I had a feeling that maybe we have a version of this film with a plot and good action.

My feeling was right.

From the opening sequence, which definitely had me on the edge of my seat right until it kicked into the always cool M: I theme music (which thankfully never gets old after all these years), the film was off and running. Something they never did with the first two films. Now, as was the case with other spy dramas, you have the plot that's kind of out there. But unlike the first two films, where you really didn't care what it was about, at least this time they had a plot device that was more personal ( where a fellow agent met an untimely fate at the beginning) and it also raised the stakes, where the girlfriend of Cruise's character had her life put on the line thanks to the dangerous job that Cruise gets to do.

Another thing that made it different from the first two films was the fact that we had a villian that was a villian that matched Cruise every step of the way. I give great credit to Philip Seymour Hoffman (fresh off his Oscar win a few months earlier) for really taking the role head on and made you want to hate him. The scenes where he and Cruise matched wits were electric, especially in the opening sequence.

Overall, the action scenes were great, including a high flying helicopter chase and a great sequence along the highway bridge highlighted by explosives and car chases. And the supporting cast were good as well. There were also some humorous moments that didn't feel forced or anything.

So, by far, the third film of the series was finally the charm as this was the best of the franchise. If Cruise is smart, since he's also one of the producers of these films as well, he would ask Abrams to do the fourth edition of the series if the need calls for one.

Summer Movie Plans

Hey there.
It's May and that means it's time for summer movie viewing. Between now and Labor Day, there'll be over 70 films coming out. Now, I have my eyes on about four that I'll be checking out. Here's my list, in chronological order:

1. Mission: Impossible 3 (May 5) -- The first big film out of the gate and of course, I have to check it out. Not only because this has Tom Cruise and action scenes and all of that, but this film is from J. J. Abrams, the guy behind Alias and Lost, two of my favorite TV shows. So this movie may just have something the first two M:I films haven't: some semblance of a plot.

2. X-Men: The Last Stand (May 26) -- I loved X-Men and I really loved X2: X-Men United. So I really have high hopes that the third and last of this films will hit it out of the part. When Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-films left to do Superman Returns, I had my doubts on this one, especially when Brett Ratner took over. Then I saw the trailer. Holy crap!!! If this is what I expect it to be, this looks like the leading candidate for my film of the year. (X2 was my pick for film of the year a few years back by the way.)

3. Superman Returns (June 30) -- For the second year in a row, a DC Comics icon returns to the big screen after a long absence and the question must be asked: Will it suck? Last year, I posed that same question when Batman Begins came out and it was my film of the year in 2005. I don't know whether this will earn the title or not, but I'll have to see. I just caught the trailer online a couple of days ago and I was impressed. Brandon Routh has some MAJOR shoes to fill playing the Man of Steel, so I have to see if he's up to the task. But I definitely think Kevin Spacey will steal the show with his portrayal of Lex Luthor.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (July 7) -- When the original version came out a few years back, I had no intentions of seeing this film. It took several friends to convince me to check it out, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was my dark horse film of the year as a matter of fact. This time around, I'm definitely checking out the sequel. And again, I think Johnny Depp will knock it out of the park as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Now that's pretty much the films I will check out without question. There will be the chance that other films will catch my attention in those summer months that I'll look into. But we'll see how the rest of the summer goes.

Let the movie madness begin.

Getting Caught Up -- April 2006

Man, has it been over a month and a half since my last post here?

Guess so. Heck, I've done various posts for my other blogs in the time between posts here.

Well, I hope to rectify that in the next few weeks or so.

First of all, I have to give some shout outs. I've met several new online friends in the last month and a half, so I want to take the time to recognize them. So, to David, Paul, Scot, Jason, Eric, Tom, Bobby and Gonzalvo, welcome to the club guys!

Next, I was able to check out a couple of films in the time away. V For Vendetta, which was an interesting surprise and The Sentinel, which was OK, but could've been better. I'll go into more detail with both as well as give out my summer film plans soon.

And lastly, I've been busy with a few other projects, writing wise and film related. Plus, I was able to check out an event that my best friend Rob was involved with as well a couple of weeks ago. I'll fill you in on that as well this week.

There, that should be enough for now. Like I said, I promise to go into more detail in the next week or so.

It Has Begun: Work on the New Site has Started!

A few days ago, I began the long process of building up my new website. A friend of mine gave me some stuff to help with the site and I'm have started going over it.

From there, it won't be long until I start getting rid of the old stuff and putting in the new.

I'm not going to kid you, this is going to be very very long, probably the biggest thing I've ever done with my website. This is so big, in fact, that I'm not going to take any chances and give an exact date on when I have this done. But, my hope is that by the end of the month, it will be ready and the new site will be launched.

Stay tuned. I'll keep you posted.

Movies to Watch For

Hey there. We're into the new year and that means it's the return of the movie reviews.

First up is a film that I checked out about a month or so ago, "Underworld:Evolution" The sequel to the original film seemed to have improved upon the original, with a lot more historical depth into the mythology of the vampires and werewolves. It also had better effects as well, I especially liked the winged-like appearancee of Markus, the main bad guy/vampire and his twin brother William, who was totally bad-ass in his werewolf form.

Of course, some of the story was a bit weak at points, but it was minor compared to the rest of the movie. I liked how they continued and built on the main characters' relationship, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael (Scott Speedman) from the first film. But, I really really liked the action scenes in the movie, especially the climatic encounter at the end of the film.

All in all, a great film and a great continuation to the epic story, not just a rehash of the first movie. There's already talk of a third film, which is great.

Now, "Underworld:Evolution" was the first film I saw this year, but definitely not the last. Here's what I plan to see between now and the end of the year (in no particular order): "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" (Just saw the trailer for it earlier tonight and I was blown away by it, can't wait to check it out), "Superman Returns", "Mission: Impossible 3", "V for Vendetta". Those are just off the top of my head, but I'm sure there will be more that I'll see.

During the year, I'll continue to post my reviews of the films that I'll be seeing at the theater. I'll also be posting my thoughts on some of the fan films and online stuff that'll be around as well.

That's it for now. Blog at you later.

Super Bowl XL Pick

As I type this, there's minutes away from the kickoff of Super Bowl XL. One I'm most proud of since it's taking place in my hometown, Detroit. I'll talk about it at length after the game's over, but here's my pick, strictly for entertainment purposes only:

Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Seattle Seahawks 24

May the game be fun and exciting and the commercials rock!!

Year In Review- Part 2

Back again with the second part of my year in review/year ahead blogs.

Quick snaps here

Best movie I saw in 2005: Close race here, but I give the edge to Batman Begins. This was a film I was hoping that would revive the Caped Crusader franchise and it did with a bang. Great realism, good acting and a steady mix of humor, action and thrills.

The rest of the best: 2. King Kong. Last film I saw in 2005 and it was awesome. Peter Jackson's first epic since the LOTR films was pretty much epic. The CGI was incredible and there were several key scenes and moments that blew me away, in particular when Kong tangled with three tyrannosauruses. Incredible. And the ending did make you feel sad as well. This film came very close to knocking off Batman as the best film I saw last year. What made it fall short was the long, drawn out opening hour. It could've set the pace up a lot quicker. But, take that away and it was an incredible film.
3. Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, 4. Fantastic Four, 5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Surprise film of the year: (Tie) The Brothers Grimm and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Worst film I saw in 2005: Cursed. A joke of a film if there ever was one. A bad, twisted mess of a werewolf movie with a lame tired plot and the potential for so much more, but got wasted. Even the "Unrated Directors Cut DVD" version they released didn't do the film justice.

Cool DVDs I got in 2005: Lost Season 1 set, Batman Begins, Star Wars (Clone Wars Season 2 and Revenge of the Sith) and Sin City.

Best new TV shows I've seen: Fox's Prison Break and The WB's Supernatural.

Finally, I have two major goals I want to set for 2006. First, I plan to make at least one -- maybe two -- short films before the year's out. Second, I want to expand out on my career plans. Sure I still have my main goal of breaking into the broadcasting business, but I also want to get my novel published, get my short films out there and do a lot more.

And if anything, that's what last year showed me. That there is more out there. I got to fly, got to attend a kick-ass event in SWC3 and meet a lot more people. I hope to do all that -- and more -- in the months to come.

Year In Review- Part 1

Hey there.

It's a new year, 2006 and after taking some time off from the blog, I figured it's time to get back here and recap a bit of what went down for me last year and look ahead what I have planned in 2006.

-- The biggest thing that happened to me last year, without a doubt, was going to Indianapolis last April for the Star Wars Celebration 3 convention. I hadn't been to a convention like that in years, so it was good to check that out with my best friend Rob, who asked me to tag along. Not only was it a great event for me to check out, but it also gave me the chance to fly on an airplane for the first time ever. Pretty cool. The only downside was the unseasonably cold weather, the long-as-hell lines and the total botch-up job by the organizers to get any souvenirs from the event. But aside from that, it was a great experience and one I'd never forget.

My plan for 2006 is to go out of town for another convention. I'd love to check out the Comic Con in San Diego, but it's more likely that I'll be heading out to Chicago for the Wizard World convention in August. I tried to go last year, but financially it was a no go. This year, however, I'm going to try my best to go. And hey, if Rob talks me into going into another huge event, then I'll be there as well.

--2005 was also the year I got to meet a lot of people online. And I mean a lot of people. Guys like Ron, Chase, John, Sam (from England-my first online bud from outside North America), Jim (from the Werewolf Cafe) James, Tristan, Cody, Thomas, Jeff, Mike, Joe and Paul. It's been cool and great knowing you all. Hope our friendships will continue to strengthen in the months to come.

--I also got to work on some of my projects, like my werewolf novel, my short film scripts(which I'll have updates on at their respective blogs) and my short stories. One of which, has been posted on the site. I plan to add a whole lot more in 2006.

That's it for now. On my next blog entry, I'll tell you what I remember movie and TV wise from 2005 and state a couple of major goals that I hope to have done this year.

Blog at you later.