hey hey what can you do

I haven't posted in about two months and if you are a faithful reader, which I doubt anyone is, then I apologize. A quick recap of my summer: I was on TV, I work two jobs and I am in Denver. Things are going well, lots of good movies have come out this summer. Another quick recap:

Live Free or Die Hard - Sick. Just as good as the old ones, if not better than at least the second and possibly the third....wait, no way. But sick nonetheless.

Transformers - I really enjoyed it. As much of a lesser known fan that I think I am, I love summer blockbusters. Think Independence Day, but with sassy robots (imagine a fifty foot robot saying "Whoops, my bad). Lots of action and explosions...oh yeah and Megan (sp?) Fox is ridiculous hot.

Knocked Up - Another great movie from Judd Apatow. Seth Rogen is pretty great, a character that I know I can relate to, cause I know a lot of people who remind me of him, not excluding myself sometimes. Solid one liners from Jonah Hill (look him up at IMDB) and the supporting cast. On par if not better than 40 Year Old Virgin.

Simpsons Movie - I guess I don't watch shitty movies. This was pretty funny too. It delivers everything it promises and everything you would expect from a full length Simpsons movie. It does not try to break new ground with anything except some nice animation. Lacks some favorite side characters (two scenes with Mr. Burns) but it's a very solid movie nonetheless.

I think that's about it.

Till next time.


Oh yeah and I have a huge crush on Giada De Laurentiis.

Spring Cleaning

As of recently, I have been cleaning my proverbial closets. I deleted my myspace account; it was pointless and I actually felt shameful for having it. I have stopped wearing those silly wrist bands that I used to keep just cause I never felt like taking them off. I got a new major. I want to be a college professor that can teach literature that are interesting to me and hopefully interesting to my future students. I want to get my PhD. I have never been one to be motivated, but I am turning over a new leaf.

Easter was yesterday.
Christ was reborn.
Chris T. was reborn as well.


At any rate, I watched Office Space last night. For all the hype I had heard, I really wasn't that impressed. There were some funny parts, but I felt that Ron Livingston's nihlism was too unrealistic. (Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it was an ethos) I guess maybe with another viewing my opinion will change, it happened with Fight Club.


Till next time.

March Madness

MARCH MADNESS. One of my favorite times of the year. I don't really follow college basketball that much, but I always do a bracket and follow closely. This year I might win my bracket group and $135 dollars. Which, needless to say, would be stellar.

Also, I am on a flag football team. We are the Valsalva Maneuvers (look it up on wikipedia). We won the first game to the tune of something like 42-12. Hopefully are success is continued.

Till next time.

This is not madness...

This is Sparta! Saw 300 over break and it was pretty awesome. Being a big fan of Sin City (the movie) and having read one of Frank Miller's graphic novels (The Dark Knight Returns, a good read for any fans of Batman or comic books....er...graphic novels), I really enjoyed the whole vibe of the film. Set against a true event, three hundred Spartans fight Xerxe's countless armies with no support from their own country. But don't despair, Spartans are basically born warriors; if they couldn't hack the absolutely brutal world that was ancient Sparta, (mind you Athens was about democracy and being sissies, Spartans were bred to be warriors) then they would die young anyway.

The film is aesthetically beautiful, one word I like to use is saturated. The entire film is covered in sweeping shots of Xerxe's massive armies, of the mountains of Greece and the sweeping plains. The action and choreography is top notch and yes, there is literally tons of gore. Yet, since basically everything except the actors is in CGI, the blood is fake, but it doesn't help much since there is still limbs being cleaved, not to mention a lot of decapitations. The acting is, like the rest of the movie, over the top, but I still enjoyed it. If you read reviews, they say it is too much. And yes, I agree with that. But this movie is not made for critics. It's made for adolescent males who wish that they were born in ancient Sparta, bred from birth to be killing machines. Well, at least I wish.

Back to school from spring break. I did absolutely nothing except for watch a couple movies on television and watch two seasons of Entourage. I watched Stealth, the movie about the jet that has a mind of its own. Nothing great but a popcorn flick; your typical summer blockbuster (that didn't exactly make much in the box office). I'd say if you liked Armageddon or The Island (or other movies in this genre) to check it out, just don't expect too much.

Till next time.

I watched the Illusionist this morning before work. I was feeling really sick last night, so I got a lot of sleep, leaving me wide awake at 9:30 am. Another movie about magic, but this is more of a romance than a thriller/science fiction that The Prestige was. Edward Norton was awesome as usual, as was Paul Giamatti who is becoming one of my favorite actors. I won't give away any plot, but I enjoyed it and the twist isn't as confusing at The Prestige, making it a little easier to follow. I would suggest giving it a rent. Oh. Don't be fooled by the special features, they do not divulge any sort of information as to how they filmed in with the feature of Making the Illusionist. It is just some interviews with the stars, that's it. And the Jessica Biel Talks About the Illusionist is just a collection of clips from the Making of segment. Bummer there.

Till next time.

emotional weather report

As forseen by the title, I watched Little Miss Sunshine tonight. I thought it was rather fantastic. It's that dry type of humor that I find especially satisfying. All the performances were well acted, I liked Alan Arkin's Grandfather and Steve Carell's Frank characters. The plot makes you feel good at the end, but the movie isn't really sunny; it's actually rather dark. I won't divulge into any specific details, but just know that there are a lot of....well, perverted laughs would be wrong to say, but subject matter that shouldn't be funny. Ah! I noticed numerous times during the movie that it almost parallels with As I Lay Dying (by Faulkner, if you haven't read it, do your self a favor and get on it). Like AILD, there are things in the plot that shouldn't be funny, but they are (and are supposed to be). I would suggest renting it, maybe even a buy. I don't know what you like.

Also. If you like punk(ish) music, then I would suggest listening to Bad Religion. Although the name may suggest some nefarious plot to poison the Pope, rest aside. The singer, Greg Graffin, is a PhD in Biology (I think) from Cornell. And the lyrics are about the government and the falsity of religion and that sort of thing. When I was younger, I used to believe whole-heartedly in what the words meant, but now that I am older, I just enjoy the harmonies, which are excellent. It's punk music with a brain; it doesn't call for you to burn down your local ROTC building, but it just challenges you to think for yourself and not succumb to all the influences that pull you in every direction. And the harmonies are fabulous, as I mentioned before. If you are interested, listen to these three albums (in this order): The Empire Strikes First (2004), (1987) and Suffer and Recipe For Hate (1993). I would listen to Empire first, because I feel that it culminates all the elements that make BR so great; it's fast paced, the singing and lyrics are great. I guess what I mean to say is that if you are on the road by yourself or with company who appreciate BR, you will drive faster and sing very loud. One of my favorite bands that only gets better with time.

Till next time.

To follow through with my promise, I am going to give you a review of things that I find interesting. My new thing for today is Clipse. The rap duo, with The Neptunes producing their beat. Their new album "Hell Hath No Fury" was released a little while ago, but I really enjoy it. I listen to enough rap to know what is good and what isn't. The duo (brothers Malice and Pusha T) don't rap about social problems, slavery, racism or anything that makes me, as a middle class white male, feel bad about listening to. They make rap fun to listen to again! They don't rap about anything new, just drugs, money, and being rich. But their flow is enjoyable to listen to, their rhymes are decently orinigal and the beats are dark even for The Neptunes. You may have heard "Mr. Me Too" or perhaps "Wamp Wamp (What It Do)" on the radio or MTV (I wouldn't know, I don't use either). But yeah. I'd suggest listening to it if you enjoy some rap music every now and again. Awesome. Glad I got this out of the way. I have a day off tomorrow, Dr. Wolf is peacing out for the day. Which, also, is awesome. So yeah. Till next time.




Oh....P.S. GO CUSE.