Wanted, 4.5 Bullets out of 5!

Jesse, Jackie and I saw Wanted on Friday night in Savoy. We got there about 15 minutes before the 9:25 show and when we got there it was sold out already. So we opted for the 9:55 showing. WOW, the Savoy theater was jumping. I don't think I have ever seen that many people there, but what else is there to do in this town anyways? Anyhow, thankfully the 9:55 was not sold-out so we had an appropriate buffer zone between us nerds and the other dorks there to see Angelina Jolie get wicked with it.

First, let me say that Wanted is based on a graphic novel of the same name. That is important because it help viewers understand some of the 'far-out' scenes in the film. I read one review where the reviewer did not like the movie because "it could never happen", so I wasn't sure if that guy had done his homework and realized that the film is based on a comic. Another thing the critics didn't seem to like is the violence in the movie. To that I have nothing to say really... I mean if you don't like violent movies then I don't think it is fair of you to judge an action film. I don't run around writing reviews about country music. Anyhow, that is all off topic.
What I really want to say is that Wanted is a fun and exciting action movie. It has elements of the Matrix, Bourne Identity and a little Gone in 60 Seconds. Compared to other films in the same genre this movie totally kicks ass. If you are looking for a life altering, My Left Foot type of film go elsewhere. Now, if you are looking for an exciting adrenaline filled summer flick, then go see Wanted. You won't be disappointed!
Angelina Jolie was great, Morgan Freeman was pretty good and James McAvoy was awesome.

WTF?!!?

Andy Lewis tries his luck fishing in the flood waters of the Mississippi River, while his wife Connie reads a book, Saturday, June 28, 2008, near Winfield, Mo. A makeshift barrier holding back the river failed early Saturday, swamping the low-lying part of the small community of Winfield and ending a valiant but ultimately doomed battle against the surging river.

(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

So, I know that this picture is supposed to be funny because it is making fun of the hillbilly fishing in the road. But what is funny to me is this part; "while his wife Connie reads a book"
WTF?!!?
That is his WIFE?!!?

WTF?!!?

This story is hilarious. Thanks for sending it EB.

School locked down after 'ninja' sighted in woods

BARNEGAT, N.J. (AP) — It's the case of the nonexistent ninja. Public schools in Barnegat were locked down briefly after someone reported seeing a ninja running through the woods behind an elementary school.

Turns out the ninja was actually a camp counselor dressed in black karate garb and carrying a plastic sword.

Police tell the Asbury Park Press the man was late to a costume-themed day at a nearby middle school.

The lockdown began shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday and lasted until 9:30.

Hell's Kitchen Shocker! Go Team Petrozza!

What? You mean Corey got booted and Christina is still in it? That shocked the hell out of me. Especially since Christina burned Chef Ramsay...twice on the last episode; and she messed up a lot while Petrozza was running the kitchen. So, I stand by my previous statement that Petrozza is going to be the winner of Hell's Kitchen. How sweet was Petrozza when he was crying like a little girl when he saw his father and girlfriend??The preview for the finale looks awesome. It looks so awesome that I am not sure they can pack so much awesomeness into one hour. Does anyone know if the finale will be 2 hours? I hope so! Oh man, did y'all see Jen in the preview? They bring her and bald eagle Matty back for the finale and Jen looks like she just drank a giant glass of Haterade before she came on the show. Drama!

The Incredible Hulk, 3 Smashes out of 5

Don't make me Angry!!I saw this with Jesse on Sunday and it was pretty good. A lot better than I had anticipated. I love Edward Norton so I might be biased a bit though... He did a great job in the movie. He added depth and emotion to a character that I knew little about; so Norton's performance really sold me on Bruce Banner's character. For those 2 hours I was hooked right in to the story of Bruce Banner and his quest to find a Gamma radiation cure. Now, the parts I didn't like so much were the actual "Hulk" scenes. I thought the graphics were unrealistic . I am completely capable of suspending reality in order to enjoy a film, I do it all the time (ie, crying at cartoons) but when the CGI is so bad it is all I can focus on... well, I lose interest pretty quick. I thought Liv Tyler did a good job but Tim Roth looked more like a strung out junkie than an overly decorated soldier. Call me a girl, but my favorite parts of the movie were the drama and action scenes involving Norton and Tyler or an un-hulked Norton.

Get Smart, 3 Shoephones out of 5

I saw Get Smart this weekend and it was really funny. I really like Steve Carell, I think he is one of the funniest people on TV and in movies. (although I need to watch The Office on Netflix because I have only seen a couple of episodes) The only thing I didn't really like was Anne Hathaway. I don't think she was cast well as Agent 99. She is too young to be paired up with Steve Carell, it just didn't jive for me. I also would like to have seen more Masi Oka (my favorite Hero, Hiro!). His role in the film could have been smarter and had a bigger presence. Other than those two things I thought the movie was great. The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, was really good in the film. I surprisingly liked his character and thought he was very well cast as Agent 23. If you are in the market for a fresh, family friendly film, then go see Get Smart!

On a kinda unrelated note, Steve Carrell was on the Daily Show and I thought this clip was really funny.

Personalized Plates?

One thing I noticed when I moved to Illinois was that there are sooo many cars that have personalized plates. I found out later that they used to be free. Now they are not free and that sucks, I have always wanted a personalized plate but I am too cheap to pay for one. I have daydreamed about what I would get on one but I am so fickle I don't know if I can commit to one idea (since I have so many brilliant ideas) OK, I'll get to the point now. When you decide on your personalized license plate make sure that you look at it from every angle to make sure that it can't be interpreted any other way than what you want to convey. For example, Mark, my boss has ordered a custom Mini Cooper and he wants vanity plates. He started a list of really cute names to choose from and one of them was a play on the color of the Mini, Chili Red. So, the plate read HOTMALE, (hot tamale) yeah, but if you don't read it as Hot Tamale it actually reads HOT MALE. Which is pretty funny, right? So, with that in mind, there is a car not too far from work that may not have thought their vanity plates out thoroughly. I think they meant to convey something about baseball, but it came out like this...

Unless the vehicle owner is a Urologist??

WTF?!!?

In case you missed this story, it is pretty scary to think that we still live in a society of people who can hate another person just based on their race, sexual orientation or religion. A vendor at the Republican National Convention in Texas sold a racist button that reads, "If Obama is President, will we still call it the White House?" Do the Republicans really feel like they need to remind voters that Obama is black? We get it. We see him too, although maybe they are scared that people will look past the color of his skin and see him for the person he is and the changes he wants to make.
The vendor has been fined $1,500 and banned from future GOP events. Sniffle, sniffle... guess this guy will have to go down the street to a Klan rally and sell his buttons there. Oh, but the best part of the story is this;

Jonathan Alcox, owner of Republicanmarket.com, said he didn't intend to offend anyone. "We're into humor, not racism," said Alcox, who described himself as an independent who still may vote for Obama in November. "Why would I do that purposely? I thought it was funny."

Seriously?? Sure dude, you are an "independent" just like Bill O'Reilly is an "independent"... Sheesh.

So funny!

I laughed for long time when I saw this. I think it is hilarious!! This website, Obey the Kitty!, sells cat and dog shirts, buttons, etc and they are just too cute. I like animals more than most people so my views might be skewed a tad. But what the hay maybe you guys will think this is pretty funny too.

Separated at Birth? Part VI

Adam Carolla of Man Show fame and James Haven (Angelina Jolie's brother).
Separated at Birth?

WTF?!!?

A car collides into cyclists participating in a race in Mexico's northern border city of Matamoros, Sunday June 1, 2008.

(AP Photo/Jose Fidelino Vera Hernandez)

Jen finally booted on Hell's Kitchen

Ugh, she couldn't leave soon enough. I was soooo tired of hearing her talk about how wonderful she is. I don't mind people being conceited when they can back it up. Jen could not back it up. She was just so... ugh... that's the best way to put it.

Chef Ramsay: Jen, stop being so selfish and start working as a team, yes
Jen: I am working as a team Chef because I am so awesome
Chef Ramsay: Jen, your attitude is horrible, yes
Jen: No it's not Chef, you just think my attitude is horrible because I am so awesome

I think Petrozza is going to pull this one out the bag. He may be a self confessed pig but he hasn't screwed up as badly as any of the other contestants, past or current. Plus he is more mature and I think employees would respect him as head chef over Christina and Corey.

WTF?!!? Dana Carvey looks...

Like a 12 year old boy?!!?
Dana Carvey's latest stand-up tour is being shown on HBO right now. I saw the promo for "Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies" in Entertainment Weekly and when I saw it, I said "WTF?!!?"
Either he has had plastic surgery, HBO has a hell of a Photoshop team or he is Peter Pan- one of these must be true because 53 year olds aren't supposed to look 12 years old. Sorry, it just goes against Nature! Now, that being said, I like Dana Carvey. He is a funny guy and in reality he looks damn good for 53. This overly Photoshopped promo ad is a hot mess though. What do y'all think?

Kung Fu Panda- Two Paws Up!

Kung Fu Panda was so rad! If you have not seen this then go see it now- right now, get in your car and drive to the movie theater and wait for the next show time. Jesse and I went to see this last night at the midnight showing. This was strategical on our part. 1. It's been out for a couple weeks so there are less people.
2. We went to the midnight show, so that means no crying, talking, or whining from those little people midgets aka children.
The movie gets you right from the beginning with the humor. It was consistently funny and at times sad; my perfect combo for an animated film- that way when I feel retarded for crying at a cartoon character something funny happens soon after and I can play off the tears for laughing tears instead of sad tears. (I've got to keep up this bad-girl image)
If you have rugrats then I recommend taking them to see Kung Fu Panda. If you don't have kids, then you get to watch Kung Fu Panda tonight at the late show.
SKADOOSH!

By the way, Kudos to Ian McShane who voiced an awesome villain. Finally a real bad guy to be afraid of! Ian McShane played Al Swearengen on one of my favorite (and prematurely canceled) shows on HBO, Deadwood.

Music Player!

So, what I have decided is that the Music Player on my blog will coincide with the posts that I have. The playlist will be a soundtrack to the page and will change if the new post calls for it. I will occasionally add songs to the playlist that I think are cool & just want to share. The voting was mixed on this, so I will try the player out and if y'all don't like it I will remove it. But for now, enjoy the soundtrack to this Mellybutton blog!

Tornaders!

This picture is too awesome not to post. Here is the description of the photo from the AP.

A huge tornado funnel cloud touches down in Orchard, Iowa, Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 9:04 p.m. The Globe Gazette and Mitchell County Press News reported that Lori Mehmen of Orchard, took the photo from outside her front door. Mehmen said the funnel cloud came near the ground and then went back up into the clouds. Besides tree and crop damage, no human injuries were reported.

Separated at Birth? Part V

So, Paul Newman has cancer and that's sad because cancer sucks. But what's even worse is that cancer causes one to look like Willie Nelson.
What do you think, Paul Newman and Willie Nelson, separated at birth?

Don't Mess with the Zohan... Literally

I like stupid movies... within reason. I like Judd Apatow pics (Knocked Up, Superbad) and when I found out he co-wrote this with Adam Sandler I was shocked because this movie blows!! Don't waste your time on this film. If you want a funny comedy this summer then see Kung Fu Panda, Forgetting Sarah Marshall or wait for Tropic Thunder to come out. Speaking of Tropic Thunder, here is a link to a high definition Red Band Trailer of the film. This link contains material not suitable for work.... not that any of you are reading this at work!

WTF?!!?

This so deserves a WTF... Seriously, $7.50 for a bottled water. For $7.50 the water should come to my house and do my laundry, clean the bathrooms and wash the dishes.
On another note, the Drake was an awesome hotel. We had a nice view of Lake Michigan from our window and Louis Vuitton was right across the street, so I could get all of my summer shopping done!
Yes, that was sarcasm in the last sentence....

Glow in the Dark Tour

Jesse and I saw Kanye West in concert in Chicago on May 23, 2008. It was the best concert I have ever been to!! I can only describe it as a theatrical concert; and what I mean by that is that there was a plot and props and a set. This was not just a typical concert where the musicians comes out and plays songs & interacts with the audience by saying, 'How are doing tonight Chicago?'
This was way more than that. Whether you like hip-hop music is beside the point because I promise that once you are in the arena and the show starts, you will be pulled into Kanye's world. Sounds deep, huh? Well it was and it was great. I can't say enough about it. I hope this sets the bar for performers and musicians.
On another note, this was the first concert I have been to in a while that did not allow cameras. Usually the ticket says 'no cameras or video-recording devices' blah, blah- but you can sneak a digicam in and security doesn't care. Not at this concert though, you have to open your purse/bag to be searched thoroughly and go through metal detectors. I still managed to sneak my camera in though... But that wasn't the end of the No Camera rule. When Kanye came out to perform he had his own set of 'security guards' that filtered into the audience to make sure no one was recording or snapping pics. This was a concert first for me & they were serious about it too. Several people around me were told to stop by these guys, so you had to be super sneaky if you wanted to take a picture of Mr. West.

These were the best pictures I could manage, given the strict security and the dark lighting.

Internet Down

Sorry for not posting this week. The internet has been down and I needed to buy a new modem and it's been a pain in the arse.
Anyways, tons to post. Don't change that channel!

Back from Vacation

And the beat goes on... I have plenty of WTF moments to post. Stay Tuned!