2008 May 12

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2008 May 11

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2008 May 11

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Happy Campers

Posted by Clint under Carolyn, Clint, Media, Movies, People, Reviews, Video
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I'd rather be watching TV![IMDB link] [Netflix link] Another movie written by Daniel Waters, writer of Heathers and Sex & Death 101. This was your typical “summer camp” movie, and probably the worst move solely written by Daniel Waters. This definitely does not measure up to Heathers and Sex & Death 101. It’s a teenage summer camp story, so it’s on the “lite” side of entertainment. It’s not meant ot be profound. I still liked it.

CONCLUSION: This was a great way to re-experience teenage angst without the acne. I have a love for camping, but got screwed out of camping as a kid. My Boy Scout troop only camped twice in like 2 years… and then we dissolved. Slackers. One was a Jamboree with 100s (1000+?) of people camping at Quantico Military Base. It was one of the most fun experiences of my childhood. Other than that? I was left wanting for years, until 2001 or so when I started camping regularly. So: I had a desire to camp more as a kid, and this movie let me live out the summer camp fantasy … Something that I will never get the chance to live firsthand. And that chick named Pixel in the movie was really cool. Her and that other girl should have made out more… (Oh, NOW you’re interested?)

RECOMMENDATION: If a non-profound teenage summer camp movie doesn’t already scare you away, you might like this. Daniel Waters is a good writer, and while this is not his best work, I have a feeling it is better than some other summer camp movies out there. I’d give it 3 stars on netflix. Maybe 6.75/10 on IMDB (I think Carolyn said 6).

MOVIE QUOTE: Pixel: “Actually, causing pain is about the coolest thing you can do — but cool isn’t what it used to be. “
MOVIE QUOTE: Oberon: “Nobody tells you how to be an adult. You just keep getting older anyway.”
MOVIE QUOTE: Adam: “Hey, have you ever had a pussy wrapped completely around your head?” “No.” “Then what are you… a butthole baby?… haha butthole baby.”

FRIENDS’ RATINGS: Benj gave it 4 stars on Netflix. (more…)

 

2008 May 10

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2008 May 9

JOURNAL: HOUSE: It’s about fucking time!

Posted by Clint under Arcade Games, Carolyn, Clint, Companies That Screwed Me Over, Games, House, Journal, People
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The motherfucking pool table is finally moved to the motherfucking basement! Finally!!!  The endeavor took a whopping 63 days (timeline below), though it only took 4 days from calling the right people  (Higgins Billiard Supply).


The job — finally finished. It’s about time. I called Higgins Billiard Supply, and the job was done in 3 days. They knew what they were doing, and they did it. No cancellations or dicking around. Compare this to calling J L’s Pool Table Services (Justin Lawrence), where the table was still not moved 33 days after my intial contact (full timeline below). Thus, this post has the tag “Companies That Screwed Me Over” — for J.L.’s Pool Table Services untimely manner in dealing with me. If you need a pool table moved — Call Higgins Billiard Supply instead! Tell them Clint’s Blog sent you there :)


Ball return. I retrieved about 6 blue cubes of pool chalk, as well as a 9-volt battery with built-in water meter (WTF).


Refelting (it’s not actually felt, BTW) in progress. They were impressed that I used the correct term of “spray adhesive”, but I use that stuff all the time to decorate (for example, speakers with neat magazine clippings and such). They also had these $200 suction cup handles that seemed like something Catwoman would use. Those, dollies, and blankets were used to move it.

The pool table had to come out of our main room, down the hall, out the front, across the front of the driveway, down the side yard, stepping down from 2-foot retaining wall, across the back of the house, into the kitchen back door, through the narrow hallway that connects the kitchen do our rec room, and across the rec room. Of course, moving it was only about half the time — the other time was spent re-felting. And they gave me a good deal too — so they definitely get a plug on my blog! That’s Higgins Billiard Supply.


Oranjello liked their tools. He had to spend a lot of the time locked in the bathroom. He actually had at least one opportunity to escape, too — but he didn’t take it. Both the pool table guys were from Woodbridge, so we actually ended up discussing which high schools and middle schools we went to — among other topics such as 2 Girls 1 Cup, crazy people at parties, fisting, and kittens (but not fisting kittens). It’s nice when people have real personalities and are wiling to bring the conversation to any topic at any level. It’s nice when people aren’t stuck up.   Full timeline below, after the jump: (more…)

 

2008 May 9

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2008 May 8

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2008 May 8

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Hudson Hawk

Posted by Clint under Carolyn, Clint, Media, Movies, People, Reviews, Video
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let us try hotlinking movie covers from netflix instead of <a target=I'd rather be watching TV![IMDB link] [Netflix link] This was a light-hearted caper about a cat burglar who times his robberies by singing show tunes. For example, he can name the song length (accurate to the second) of any show tune. Eventually, he is blackmailed (by many) to steal a device Leonardo Da Vinci created to turn lead into gold. The climax takes place in the Vatican, I believe.

PEOPLE: Screenplay in part by Daniel Waters, writer of Heathers and Sex & Death 101. That’s why we got this movie. Bruce Willis and Andie MacDowell star, and there are several other well-known actors as well.

BAD STUFF: The undeniable fact that I truly want to fuck Sandra Bernhard, despite thinking she was severely thumped with the ugly stick, and despite hating her both inside and outside (except her body). WHY??!?!?!?! Please make it stop. I feel dirty.

CONCLUSION: Having 1 writer from Heathers does not make it automatically good. This was a decent “goofy caper”, but not a superb film.

QUIRKS: I hate show tunes and coffee — but if you absolutely love both of those, it might improve the movie for you.

RECOMMENDATION: For people who watch high quantities of movies only, or like the aforementioned quirks.

MOVIE QUOTE: Cardinal: “Oh, the Pope warned me never to trust the CIA!”

FRIENDS’ RATINGS: Benj (Beth B’s brother who has rated 3500+ movies) gave it 5 stars on Netflix. I disagree
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2008 May 7

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2008 May 6

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2008 May 5

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2008 May 5

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Homegrown (1998) - ok

Posted by Clint under Carolyn, Clint, Media, Movies, People, Reviews, Video
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I'd rather be watching TV![IMDB link] [Netflix link] Homegrown was an alright movie about a pot farm, and the various complications that happen when the man in charge is assassinated. It was one of those movies where the cast (Hank Azaria! Billy Bob Thorton! And some John Lithgow!) is better than the actual movie (much like Bongwater). This is a bit like one of the “follow the money” type movies, where everyone is essentially trying to survive with the most possible cash while not being killed by multiple parties. To tell you the truth, we were both kind of disappointed. We gave it an IMDB 5.5/10 (Carolyn), and 3/5 stars on Netflix (Clint). I rarely give 2 stars because I was still entertained. There were still some laughs, dark humor, and other bit parts by various celebrities (Jamie Lee Curtis, both Gyllenhaals, Ted Danson, Judge Reinhold). The pot farm reminds me of Without A Paddle, and Hank Azaria playing a stoner was quite cool… But all-in-all, this was kind of a generic flick. I’d say: Skip this movie and watch for Without A Paddle instead. It’s a much more memorable and funny caper.
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2008 May 3

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2008 May 3

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Bongwater

Posted by Clint under Carolyn, Clint, Media, Movies, People, Reviews, Video
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[IMDB link] This was a logical movie to watch on 4/20, right? Unfortunately, the cast was better than the story. This only got a 4.6 on IMDB. I’d probably give it about a 5.5.

PEOPLE: I absolutely adore Alicia Witt, and this was one of her first real movies. I don’t understand why she isn’t more popular! Alicia alone could convince me to watch a movie… She is one of my favorite redheads, and I particularly liked her in Cecil B. DeMented (which I would give at least a 9/10). This film also has Jeremy Sisto, who was amazing as Billy Chenowith from Six Feet Under, Luke Wilson (who is popping up more and more often), an unrecognizable-by-me brunette Brittany Murphy (aka Luanne from King Of The Hill), Jack Black (who unfortunately plays a Tenacious D song about Jesus), and Andy Dick. So there are plenty of good people involved in this film.

BAD STUFF: Unfortunately a good cast does not automatically mean a good film. This is sort of like a romantic comedy, minus the comedy, plus a bunch of pot-smoking, minus the comedy. Throw in a [highlight for spoilers]→ rape scene for good measure. Actually, there is some comedy in there, but it is dry, subtle, and dark. There are some fun moments, but they ultimately lead to nowhere (perhaps symbolism for all the pot-smoking done in the movie?). AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE BOOM MIC. Just how many times can you accidentally let a microphone creep into the film? FIVE??? Did they watch their own movie, or were they too busy drinking the bongwater they named it after?!?

CONCLUSION: Perhaps this movie was too serious. Of course there are reviews by people who love it. It’s based on a book, which I know nothing about, so there are definitely deeper levels of understanding. I usually like a movie more while watching it than after watching it, and this was no exception. I didn’t mind it while watching it, but once it was over, something about the pacing and lack of fulfillment made me not as happy with this movie as with others.

RECOMMENDATION: Don’t watch this because it has pot-smoking in it. Watch it for a deeper meaning. There’s proably one in there somewhere. Personally, I’d avoid it.

COINCIDENCES: THIS IS A BIG ONE: We watched this movie after watching Senior Skip Day, and both movies involved making bongs out of the exact same kind of [Deer Park?] large water jugs. We double-checked this. It’s a 4/20 Miracle! Also: 3 Luke Wilson movies in a week or so - Bongwater, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and Blades Of Glory (small part).

MOVIE QUOTE: The closing credits are hilarious: A bunch of people leaving answering machine messages asking for pot. They use various codes, thiking they are subtle, but it’s painfully obvious exactly what each call is about. These are probably the best quotes from the movie. Even the IMDB quotes section is thin.

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2008 May 2

GOOGLE: GMAIL: Color labels added! W00t!

Posted by Clint under Clint, Computer, Internet, Journal, People, Software, Technology
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As both an organization maniac, and a visually-driven person, gmail color labels are a godsend. I have over 1500 filters that automatically apply 2-6 labels to almost every email I receive. Colors are going to make it much easier to visually grep out the labels that are important to me:

]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] (more…)

 

2008 May 2

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2008 May 1

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2008 May 1

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Blades Of Glory

Posted by Clint under Carolyn, Clint, Media, Movies, People, Reviews, Video
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movie coverI'd rather be watching TV![IMDB link] Carolyn & I are both big Arrested Development fans, and love the character G.O.B., played by Will Arnett. When we saw Janeane Garofalo at the Arlington Drafthouse, she made sure to emphasize that she thought Will Arnett was one of the funniest people right now, and that he was responsible for her back injury — from falling over laughing. Thus, we decided to get some Will Arnett movies. This is movie 3 of 3 for our Will Arnett Theme Week, which consists of The Solomon Brothers, Let’s Go To Prison, and Blades Of Glory. We ended up watching them in order of IMDB rating (lowest-to-highest; this movie received 6.7/10 on IMDB.) However, if I could go back in time, I would have this theme week be in reverse order. This is the only one of the 3 movies where Will Arnett does not play the lead, and definitely the most generic of the 3 movies — it’s just a sports comedy.

PEOPLE: The actual main characters were played by Will Farrel and Jon Heder (aka Napoleon Dynamite), with Will Arnett and Amy Poehler playing the bad couple, and both Jenna Fischer (aka Pam from The Office) and Luke Wilson have parts as well — they’re both popping up all over the place (in our movies) lately. Andy Richter plays a bit part too. There are also famous ice skaters who have short cameos - Brian Boitano, Nancy Kerrigan, Dorothy Hamil, and Peggy Fleming. Check out Jon Heder’s outfit dur