Spiderman 3 Spin-Off, VENOM!

This is so freakin' cool and I hope it's true. Looks like Venom, played awesomely by Topher Grace, is getting his own Spidey Spin-off.
Looks like comic book based movies are running the box office now.

WTF?!!? Joker arrested

A 20-year-old man who was dressed as The Joker as he allegedly tried to steal Batman memorabilia has been arrested.Spencer Taylor stunned cinema staff in Three Rivers, Michigan when he reportedly attempted to rip-down posters outside a screening of The Dark Knight.At the time of his arrest , Taylor was wearing a purple suit and had made his face up with white foundation and red lipstick to resemble the character played by the late Heath Ledger, who played the comic book villain in the blockbuster, before his untimely death earlier this year.Police made Taylor pose for his mugshots both in and out off costume. He has been charged with larceny and malicious destruction of property.
Spencer Taylor with make-up on
Spencer Taylor without make-up
The best Joker ever (sorry Jack), Heath Ledger

Retro Movie Review, Conspiracy Theory

Starring Mel Gibson & Julia Roberts

I haven’t been much of a Mel Gibson fan since he was exposed as an anti-Semitic misogynistic racist. So, I had low expectations for the film just because I personally do not like MG. But, since I had never seen this movie it was recommended to me. I have to say I actually liked it. JR and MG are both pretty good in this. There is one scene (the bitten off nose scene) that was probably the weirdest, most trippy scene I have ever seen in a movie. That scene was so disturbing…
I liked that MG was a crazy conspiracy theorist (the combination locks on the food in the fridge were awesome!) but he had a reason to be so paranoid. I say this movie would make a good rental if you are in the mood for a twisty thriller/mystery.

3 Unibombers out of 5!

WTF?!!? The String Cheese Incident

CENTERVILLE, Utah (AP) -- A piece of string cheese made to look like a bomb forced the temporary closure of a Centerville grocery store. Police were called to Dick's Market over the weekend for a report that a someone had left a device covered in duct tape near a dry ice cooler.
The store remained closed for two hours while bomb-sniffing dogs and a bomb technician investigated.
They eventually found the device was a piece of cheese.
Centerville police Lt. Paul Child said juveniles are suspected of planting the item in the store.
He says the closure caused thousands of dollars in losses to the store, including from milk, ice cream and other items that spoiled during the closure and had to be thrown out.

Thanks for sending this to me EB!

WTF?!!? Fish Pedicure

Ready for the latest in spa pampering? Prepare to dunk your tootsies in a tank of water and let tiny carp nibble away.
Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the D.C. area, where a northern Virginia spa has been offering them for the past four months. John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife, Yvonne Le, said 5,000 people have taken the plunge so far.

"This is a good treatment for everyone who likes to have nice feet," Ho said.

He said he wanted to come up with something unique while finding a replacement for pedicures that use razors to scrape off dead skin. The razors have fallen out of favor with state regulators because of concerns about whether they're sanitary.

Ho was skeptical at first about the fish, which are called garra rufa but typically known as doctor fish. They were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries.

But Ho doubted they would thrive in the warm water needed for a comfortable footbath. And he didn't know if customers would like the idea."I know people were a little intimidated at first," Ho said. "But I just said, 'Let's give it a shot.' "
Customers were quickly hooked.
Tracy Roberts, 33, of Rockville, Md., heard about it on a local radio show. She said it was "the best pedicure I ever had" and has spread the word to friends and co-workers.
"I'd been an athlete all my life, so I've always had calluses on my feet. This was the first time somebody got rid of my calluses completely," she said.
First time customer KaNin Reese, 32, of Washington, described the tingling sensation created by the toothless fish: "It kind of feels like your foot's asleep," she said.
The fish don't do the job alone. After 15 to 30 minutes in the tank, customers get a standard pedicure, made easier by the soft skin the doctor fish leave behind.Ho believes his is the only salon in the country to offer the treatment, which costs $35 for 15 minutes and $50 for 30 minutes. The spa has more than 1,000 fish, with about 100 in each individual pedicure tank at any given time.

Ho said the hot water in which the fish thrive doesn't support much plant or aquatic life, so they learned to feed on whatever food sources were available — including dead, flaking skin. They leave live skin alone because, without teeth, they can't bite it off. In addition to offering pedicures, Ho hopes to establish a network of Doctor Fish Massage franchises and is evaluating a full-body fish treatment that, among other things, could treat psoriasis and other skin ailments. Ho spent a year and about $40,000 getting the pedicures up and running, with a few hiccups along the way. State regulations make no provision for regulating fish pedicures. But the county health department — which does regulate pools — required the salon to switch from a shallow, tiled communal pool that served as many as eight people to individual tanks in which the water is changed for each customer. The communal pool also presented its own problem: At times the fish would flock to the feet of an individual with a surplus of dead skin, leaving others with a dearth of fish. "It would sometimes be embarrassing for them but it was also really hilarious," Ho said.
You know, I would actually try this. The fish only eat the dead skin, they can't eat live skin, so it seems safe to me. It's just really creepy to think about swarms of fish nibbling at your feet.

The Dark Knight, 4.75 Jokers out of 5!

This movie completely and utterly kicks ass. It met all of my expectations and I am excited to confirm that it lives up to all of the hype. First all the good stuff.
Heath Ledger stole the show. He is insanely amazing as the Joker. He completely yields himself to the Joker and it shows in his performance. I know this isn't the usual type of movie that fosters Oscar nods but he must get one because he deserves it. I haven't seen a movie this year that matches his performance. That being said, it makes me very sad to think that he is not able to see the audience and critic response to his role. I truly am saddened at the tragic loss. And that's all I will say about that.
Christian Bale was awesome (and so, so hot). He was fabulous in Batman Begins and the transition to Dark Knight was seamless. Luckily I saw Batman Begins the night before I saw Dark Knight so I feel like it made me more cognizant to Bruce Wayne's history and character.

I really loved the story- every twist and turn, they were all one fun trip! I liked the Scarecrow cameo at the beginning (Cillian Murphy is a creepy Mofo, but he is no Joker) especially since I saw Batman Begins so recently. I also really liked the cameos by Nestor Carbonell (that's Richard Alpert to you Losties) and Anthony Michael Hall. They were unexpected and pleasant surprises.

You might be wondering how this movie didn't get a 5 Jokers out of 5, so I will tell you. This is the bad part of the review. OMFG I hate Maggie Gyllenhaal!! She was horrible as Rachel Dawes. Look, Katie Holmes does not deliver Academy award winning performances, that's fine. For her role as Rachel Dawes she doesn't have to be a character that involves too much passion. This is what we need, a pretty girl who looks sophisticated and who acts like they have a good moral character. Someone believable as Bruce Wayne's childhood sweetheart. I think Katie pulled this off just fine. She wasn't awesome but she was believable. Now, Maggie Gyllenhaal.... oh where do I start. OK first, she looks like a middle aged turtle. She looks like a character from Star Wars, the one alien guy with giant flapped cheeks- look, I don't know the characters name, but that is what she looks like to me. An old, giant flap cheeked alien turtle. She was so not believable as Rachel because she is not pretty. Bruce Wayne is an attractive billionaire and that is who is in love with?? I don't think so. So, because I didn't like Rachel Dawes I took off .25 Jokers. The film would have been perfect if she wasn't in it. I would have even preferred a no name actress that was at least pretty. Like I said earlier, the actress doesn't need to have superb acting skills- she just has to be pretty enough and act well enough.

I don't want to end my review on a negative note since I loved this film. So, I highly encourage all 3 of my readers to see this movie. Run don't walk. Please see Heath Ledger as the Joker and be in awe of his performance. This movie is MellyButton approved!

Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D

2.5 T-Rexes out of 5 for grown-ups; 4 T-Rexes out 5 for kids
This movie was fun- mostly because of the 3D effects and silly gags. As far as content or even a plot there isn't really one. But, this movie was fun enough to watch especially if you have kids. I think they would get a kick out of this movie. It's not too scary although there are a handful of times when you jump due to unexpected 3D gags.
This isn't as good as the last 3D movie I saw, which was Beowulf, but that wasn't really for kids. I think Journey was made for kids and I think it would be a big hit for them.

WTF?!!?

NEW YORK (AP)—The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred.
League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.
They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members. Anti-gang information is included in orientation literature and stressed in the annual mandatory league meeting for rookies.

The NFL took further notice after Paul Pierce of the NBA’s Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 in April for what the league said was a “menacing gesture” toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench. “I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it.” Pierce said in a statement. “I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday’s game.”

The Times said that was the precipitating incident for the NFL.
“We were always suspicious that might be happening,” it quoted Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, as saying of gang-related signals. “But the Paul Pierce thing is what brought it to light. When he was fined … that’s when we said we need to take a look at it and see if we need to be aware of it.”

WTF are NFL and NBA players doing throwing gang signs?!!? This is really weird to me- it makes no sense what so ever... most professional athletes lead a rags to riches story, why on earth would they want to be involved in something as immature & violent as gangs. This story only confirms my own opinions that athletes are overpaid for playing a sport. Granted, I am not into professional sports- I like college football and that's about it. But, I think if athletes are found to be gang affiliated then they shouldn't just be fined, they should be kicked out of the league and replaced. There are plenty of people who want to escape the life of poverty and would be willing to leave gangs behind (whether they are in a gang or not). Athletes are so influential to kids as role models, it's hard enough to get kids to think gangs aren't cool without famous athletes encouraging them. I am not sure if gang activity is even a problem here in Urbana-Champaign, but in Austin it sure is.

Seriously man....WTF?

WTF?!!? Andy Dick arrested

Andy Dick is a hot mess!! His mug shot is scary and this story is weird.
The former co-star of the TV sitcom "NewsRadio" was released from a detention center after posting $5,000 bail. Police were called to the Buffalo Wild Wings in Murrieta at about 1:13 a.m. to investigate a report of "an intoxicated male" urinating outside the bar and causing a disturbance. When they arrived, a 17-year-old girl told police that she was outside when Dick left the bar, walked up, "grabbed her tank top and bra and pulled them down and exposed her breasts," the statement said. Friends escorted Dick to a truck, which officers stopped at a nearby Sam's Club, police said. Dick was identified by the teenager and a witness, police said. Marijuana and the drug Xanax were found his pants pockets during a search and he appeared "extremely intoxicated," police said. Dick, 42, was booked at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Dick has a reputation for crude behavior. He has been reported to have exposed himself to audiences at least twice. He was forcibly removed from the set of the show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last year after he repeatedly touched guest Ivanka Trump without her permission. Also last year, Dick was cited in Columbus, Ohio, for urinating on the sidewalk. A comedy club owner in the city said the actor also made inappropriate comments while onstage, groped patrons, took women into the men's room and urinated on the floor and on at least one person. In 1999, Dick was arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana after driving his car into a telephone pole in Hollywood. He pleaded guilty but the charges were dismissed after he went into a diversion program.

Wall-E, 4.5 Robots out of 5

Well people, you can believe the hype about Wall-E! This was a wonderful animated film and I enjoyed every minute of it. There are so many extra layers to the story of Wall-E. The most obvious message is about pollution and humans destroying our planet with needless consumerism. As someone who helped initiate the recycling program where I work, this is a message I endorse whole-heartedly. I am no saint though, I shop as much as anyone else, but I really think that mandatory recycling is something that should be implemented in large cities throughout the US. But, I am not here to preach about recycling- I am here to tell you all to go out and see Wall-E! The characters, even though non-human, showed more emotion and character than the humans in the film. This movie will not make you laugh out loud as many times as Shrek will, but you will leave the theater feeling satisfied that you just saw a really good movie. The animation is beautiful and often it's hard to believe that what you are watching is animated and not real.What I am not so sure about is how a kid will feel about this movie. When I saw Wall-E there were mostly adults in the theater and only 2 kids. One of the kids wasn't paying attention at all and was running around the entire time- now I don't know if this is because the film couldn't hold the attention of the kid or if the kid has ADD. But, as a semi-grown up I really liked this movie and I will assume that kids will like it too, but maybe not as much as Kung-Fu Panda.
Bottom line though, go and see Wall-E, you won't regret it.Beautiful scenes like this make the movie fun to watch.
I think I might start tearing up.... this movie is so sweet!
Above is an example of the realistic animation. Pixar movies are top notch!

Hellboy II: The Golden Army, 3 out of 5 stars

Jesse had high expectations for this movie. Partially because Guillermo del Toro, director of Pan's Labyrinth, also directed Hellboy II (he did Hellboy I as well). The movie has many moments that showcase del Toro's impact on the film and these moments are very cool. The film is fun to watch but it was also kind of a let down just because we both went in with such high expectations. Where the film fell flat were the scenes with 'forced' comedy. I say forced comedy because you can tell that the scene wants to be funny but it just isn't. Actually, some of you might think those scenes are funny, like the row of fan-boys that laughed riotously while the rest of the theater sat in silence. These scenes are what scarred an otherwise great popcorn, summer movie. Also, Jesse didn't think there were enough action scenes. There was one action scene and about 3 other smaller ones; I guess he was hoping for more non-stop action like Wanted produced.
Overall Hellboy II is a fun movie to see, especially to see the creatures and monsters from del Toro's mind. However, if you have not seen Pan's Labyrinth then I highly recommend seeing that instead. That film will give you a peek into del Toro's mind and leave you fulfilled with a wonderfully imaginative and emotional movie. On the Mellybutton scale, Pan's Labyrinth would get 5 out 5 stars.
In this picture you can see how scary some of the creatures & monsters are. This guy, who I think is the Angel of Death, looks very similar to the types of monsters seen in Pan's Labyrinth. And, as a bit of trivia, the guy who plays this monster also plays Abe Sapien in Hellboy and the Faun in Pan's Labyrinth. He played the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four and is rumored to be starring in a Silver Surfer solo film.

WTF?!!?

ALTON, Ill. - An Illinois woman says her beloved miniature dachshund gnawed off her right big toe while she was asleep. Linda Floyd told the Alton Telegraph for a story Wednesday that her beloved Roscoe was euthanized because of safety concerns. The 56-year-old says she has no feeling in her toes because of nerve damage from diabetes. She discovered the toe missing after waking from a nap Monday. She called her daughter, who phoned 911.A veterinarian says the toe had been bandaged because of a healing hangnail. That might have somehow attracted the dog.

WTF?!!?

The Batman roller coaster is seen at Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta. Authorities say a teenager was decapitated by the roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area at the amusement park.

(AP Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Joey Ivansco, File)

OK, here is a lesson kids- Don't trespass or else you will be decapitated.

The Fall, 1 star out of 5

Well, The Fall directed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell), fell short of my expectations. I really wanted to like this movie because I did like The Cell. I thought The Cell was beautiful and imaginative despite the plot being so-so. This film was not as beautiful as The Cell because the horrible execution of the story detracted from the locations, scenery and costumes. The only redeeming quality of the movie was the young star Cantica Untaru (she is adorable in the movie). I know what the director was going for, it's like having a rough draft of a script and filming from that instead of the final draft. I felt like there wasn't any follow through in the story. From the screen shots you can see how similar the feel of The Fall is to The Cell, but unfortunately The Fall just didn't captivate me and at times I felt my mind wandering from the movie and started thinking about other things (even grocery shopping after the movie) I wouldn't even waste my time renting this one, rent The Cell instead if you haven't seen it. You get the wonderful imagery and a better story.

Plot Synopsis (spoiler free)- In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman (Pace) begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm (Untaru), a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances. Click here for the Trailer on IMDB.
Very Jennifer Lopez from The Cell, right?
This looks cooler in the picture than it was in the film due to poor execution of the story.