A Movie Mission: To Seek Out New Life for an Old Favorite

Fri, 08 May 2009 11:48:21 GMT

The camera rose up over the body of the USS Enterprise, and then the screen cut to black. It was the first trailer for the new Star Trek movie, and I was hooked -- after all of 15 seconds of an online teaser. As a lifelong Trekkie -- I don't know who came up with the term Trekker, but I greatly prefer the former to the latter -- I was just thrilled that the franchise hadn't totally died with the relative failure of the last TV series. There had been rumors it would be more than a decade before we'd see more Trek on screens of any size.

Oscar Live Blog

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:36:37 GMT

8:36 -- I've started this live blog late because I've been left stunned by the lack of police surrounding Tim Gunn. If he weren't clearly gay, his continual insistence on ogling the women would have been much more uncomfortable and probably worth an arrest on harassment charges. 8:38 -- Hugh Jackman manages to make the focus of the end of his opening number not any of the actors or any of the movies but rather his own movie, "Wolverine." On the plus side, celeb crush Anne Hathaway is looking fine. 8:39 -- My mom called to say, "I think Billy Crystal would be looking pretty good right now" in response to a discussion from last night where I claimed that...

Slumdog Oscar-Winner?

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:37:46 GMT

Best picture films aren't supposed to end with flamboyant line dances. Especially not flamboyant line dances including a prominent step that bears more than a passing resemblance to the sprinkler dance. True, in the pages of the "Snooty Academy Voter's Guide to Film," there's likely no rule explicitly forbidding the nomination of films that feature gleeful outbursts interjected into the closing credits. But there should be. Slumdog Millionaire is a well-shot, well-acted picture. I enjoyed it. But already, the buzz surrounding this picture is overwhelming. In a year...

The Professional Solider

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:45:48 GMT

On a forty-four mile drive through the abandoned buildings of Detroit and the soulless landscape of its western suburban highways, there is no tool for maintaining one's sanity more necessary than a decent car stereo -- a nice six-disc player with mp3 capability, an assortment of pre-programmed channels, and solid speakers. I do that drive, and I have those things. Somewhere around mile 30 this morning, I heard over those speakers the gasping breath of an exhausted NPR reporter discussing an

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself -- and Ronald Reagan

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:57:18 GMT

Franklin Roosevelt was afraid of precisely one thing: Fear. At least, that's what one might gather from the famous quote, now something of a cliche, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Cliche or not, FDR was on to something. Consider the United States' current perdicament: After the attacks against America on September 11th, 2001, did the average American have much reason to actually fear Islamic terrorists than he or she did five years prior? Plots against American soil have been planned and executed for years, some successfully -- like Oklahoma City -- and some not -- like rumored attempts to destroy LAX. One "successful" assault against our homeland...

Favorite TV Shows

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:51:42 GMT

Been watching West Wing repeats lately after having finally caught up in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television show. I have a lot of rants building, but before I post any of them, I thought I'd put forth a quick list of my top 10 favorite programs of all time: Honorable mention: Seinfeld, Home Improvement, Frasier, NewsRadio, SpinCity, Murphy Brown, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Nip/Tuck 10 - ER Oh, seasons 1-4, where have you gone? The show died when Carter and the teenie-bopper chick got stabbed in the bathroom. But it really went over the edge when Dr. Greene died. If you would have just ended the f-ing show then, it would have been the single greatest series...

Jesse James, Chief Executive Officer?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:37:06 GMT

About ninety minutes into Andrew Dominik's film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, I remarked, "If Jesse James were alive today, he'd probably be a fucking power tie-wearing executive." I haven't the slightest clue if the film's portrayal offered by Dominik and Brad Pitt captures the essence of Jesse James or not, though it seems fair to point out that James' descendents are effusive in their praise of the movie. But should this incarnation of James be anything like the mythical criminal anti-hero of American legend, it might be fair...

Bad Blogger. Very Bad Blogger!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:14:50 GMT

Oh, where, oh, where have all the blog posts gone? Over the past two months, I've had countless ideas for what I could write about -- what I should write about -- but endless hours of extra work merged with immeasureably quantities of personal laziness and a newfound love of Battlestar Galactica to keep me from doing my bloggerly duties. I also haven't eaten, showered, or used a restroom in over 17 days and 4 hours now. I kid. Sort of. Some random thoughts to get me back on the right track:

Can Barack Obama continue to be the good person I've believed him to be, or are these early, minor slippages in his commitment to quality -- somewhat renegging on his pledge...

Mel Kiper Should Make Minimum Wage

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:02:55 GMT

NFL Draft Day. As I've written before, I find it hilarious that such a big deal is made out of the NFL draft. Admittedly, I spend a lot of time watching it myself -- but observing the goings on of the Draft is different than drooling all over my television's rendering of Mel Kiper's hair helmet. Another draft, another round of people criticizing the Lions. The truth is that none of us have any idea. But the ESPN guys would have you believe that they know everything. Kiper called the Lions' selection of Gosder Cherrilus a "stretch." Of course, three years ago, he said the Lions were brilliant for drafting WR Mike Williams (bust), and two year ago, he questioned their...

It's All About Me, Me, Me, Meeeeee!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:45:45 GMT

Western civilization has always been driven by what its populace has wanted, steered by an invisible captain born of greed, lust, and ego. But it seems that fat, overgrown societies like the United States have a special gift for feeding on its own self-gratification. Case in point: Americans are increasingly only consuming information that agrees with their worldview. In some respects, this is hardly news. I suspect most of us knew this was happening for the past 5 years. But to have it quantified so clearly -- to see a legitimate social scientist say, "Republicans have...

Orotundity