Some War of the Worlds goodies I found on my hard drive this afternoon

The best thing about season 3 of TRUE BLOOD

Oh my gosh, I love Lafayette but James Frain is absolutely stealing every scene as Franklin. I'm not sure where they are going with this storyline with him and Tara, but please, Alan Ball, keep this guy around!

God bless you Frank Darabont

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

I'm so psyched for this show.

Predators review (SPOILERS)

With Predators, Robert Rodriguez (who serves as producer and wrote the original script which laid out the groundwork for this film) and director Nimród Antal, have not only breathed much needed life into this franchise, but have a movie that can be considered a continuation from the 1987 original.

I think the thing that I enjoy the most about this film is the careful pacing and the building of the characters before they get picked off one by one. In the original Predator and in Aliens, this bonding with the characters happened- which leads to shock when they are unceremoniously dispatched one by one. I personally am big on characterization, and it's nice to have characters that you can throw yourselves behind. I have to applaud Adrien Brody's performance as Royce. Brody is cast perfectly as Royce, the mercenary, who serves as the leader of this group of "monsters". Walton Goggins (who is fantastic as the born again wild card, Boyd Crowder on FX's Justified) plays Stans, who originally may come off as one of the deplorable characters but by the end of film, turns out to be the Hudson of the movie (he even has a cool and memorable Hudson-like final stand). Danny Trejo is also well cast and menacing- and the whole cast in general, do exceptional work. Again, characterization is a major reason why I enjoyed the film so much.

It's nice that this film pays so many homages to the original- from the Alan Silvestri original score that plays throughout the film, to the connection to the 1987 film as Isabelle reveals her knowledge of the events that happened to Dutch's unit. Hanzo's last stand mirrors Billy's death in the original, and also ends in a very rewarding sword-fight to the death with a Predator. In some ways, Nikolai's death reminded me of the way Vasquez died in ALIENS- with the doomed fighter having the last laugh on their enemy in an explosive moment. And Topher Grace's character was in many ways like the treacherous character, Burke, in Aliens.

The feel of the movie reminds me of the original, where the first half of the movie is the build up and once the predator's "dogs" are unleashed, then one by one, characters begin to fall. I've read negative reviews on some websites about Laurence Fishburne's performance as Noland. Some of the reviews I read stated that his performance was too over the top. I personally thought it was solid- I know that Rodriguez was trying to have Noland be the Colonel Kurtz of the film. If you survived on the Predator planet for 10 seasons- I think you would eventually lose your marbles as well. It makes absolute sense and at one point, it seemed that Royce was on his way to become Noland. Fortunately, that does not happen.

Instead of being treated to the crap-tastic Pred-aliens or any other nonsense that you saw in the god-awful Alien vs Predator movies, there are two distinct set of Predators. One is the Predator we've already seen. The second group are apparently the Black Super Predators that we see- which are incredibly deadly. And the two sects of Predator are feuding with each other. I think it's a nice way to further the mythology while in many ways not detouring at all from what has happened beforehand.

The movie opens with action and continues until the end credits- I love the way the movie opens hard with the hunted arriving one by one and completely unaware of what happened beforehand. The premise is simple enough but the movie is able to execute the promise of the premise wonderfully. In many ways, it does what the original did so well- you have a simple premise that you execute with interesting characters and a seemingly unstoppable enemy.

Long story short, this film is the Predator movie that fans have been clamoring about for years. This is the movie that would make fanboys cream their pants because the flick satisfies all desires. Now, whether or not, there will be a sequel, I'm not sure. I guess ultimately it's up to the box office performance, but I think this film stands on its own and is a worthy successor to the original Predator. If you're expecting Shakespeare, look elsewhere. This film is a hardcore and fun action film that gives the balls back to the Predator franchise after AVP nearly ruined things for good. I'm in the minority of fans that actually liked Predator 2, but this movie does what the original did- have memorable characters and moments that will stick with you.

I cannot even begin to mention how cool it is to have "Long Tall Sally" playing at the end credits- and if you don't get the reference, then you don't deserve to spout the line:

"Bunch of slack jawed faggots around here. This stuff will make you a god damned sexual Tyrannosaurus, just like me."

Kudos to Robert Rodriguez for making a proper Predator film for the die-hard fans of the franchise.

Dr. Lohan- Or How I Learned to Ignore Pseudo Celebrity Drama and Not Give a Shit

I happened to read the news item that Lindsay Lohan was going to serve 90 days of jail (in some extravagant palace that is dubbed a prison most likely) and then 90 days of rehab, and the news actually gave me some twisted form of mild elation. I know, she's not serving time in San Quentin or anything, but these pampered celebrity types should experience some type of consequences for their nonsense. And Lindsay has had more than enough chances, so I feel no sympathy whatsoever for this girl. A guy who gets busted for a little weed and is on the wrong side of economic food-chain gets twenty years, so am I supposed to feel sorry for this celebrity who has time and time again thought her money could buy her way out of jail time?

I applaud that judge and I think he should go even further- and throw Kim Kardashian, Paris, Octomom, Heidi and Spencer, all reality tv stars and pseudo-celebrities and throw them in that cell with Lindsay and keep her company.

Give me the key. I'll make sure I'll let them out. You have my word. Scouts Honor. Too bad I was never a Boy Scout.

Cool photos from conventions and events I've gathered over the years.

For your viewing pleasure ladies and gentlemen, photos I've collected over the years.

The people in the photos are as follows:

-Juliette Beavan, lead singer of the terrific band 8mm that I met at the Viper Room
-My favorite actor in the world, Lance Henriksen, at the F/X Show in Orlando.
-The one and only Adam Baldwin at the F/X Show in Orlando.
-"Oh my..." Meeting George Takei at the F/X Show in Orlando and discussing the Stern Show with him (I'm more of a Howard Stern fan than a Star Trek fan).
-Richard Christy and Sal "The Stockbroker" Governale at a comedy show in Altamonte Springs, FL.
-The probably terrified Christina Hendricks from Firefly and Mad Man fame at the F/X Show.
-Danielle Harris at Screamfest. My eyes by the way are not gazed where many of accused them of gazing.
-The awesome Shawnee Smith, who I've been a big fan of since The Blob.
-The one and only Sheba Baby, Coffy and Jackie Brown herself- Pam Grier at Barnes and Noble. I was shaking to meet this icon.
-Heather Lagenkamp at Weekend of Horrors. Really sweet and polite- and what male in the 80s didn't have a crush on Nancy Thompson? C'mon!
-Posing with the one and only Robert Englund.
-Snapping a photo with Andre Royo who portrayed Bubbles on my favorite television show ever, The Wire. I ran into him at my local Barnes and Noble. Wonderful person.
-My favorite pic is with my filmmaking icon and just a man whose films I worship, Quentin Tarantino. I always wanted to meet the man and I can always keep this photo as proof.

My fondness for G.I. Joe: The Movie

This 1987 film is either loved or hated by G.I. Joe fans (Larry Hama for one loathes everything associated with Cobra La as do many fans who despise the revision of Cobra Commander's origins). I personally have a fondness for this film and enjoy it. I do prefer the comic's origin of Cobra Commander better- but when complain about the science fiction aspects of this movie, please remember that there were already mermaids and killer Tribble knock-offs already on the television series. So, the show was already quite fantastic.

I love the opening sequence of the movie and think it's still one of the best openings ever- as Serpentor chastises his Cobra underlings, and Cobra Commander (dressed with a royal robe- and scepter no less) makes his push to reclaim his position as the head of Cobra, by putting the blame on Serpentor. However, when the Commander asks his "loyal subordinates" to praise his worth, it blows up in his face with the Crimson Twins, Destro, Baroness and Dr. Mindbender telling how inept he truly is. Which results in Cobra Commander screaming to Serpentor that the stories are all falsehoods. Probably my favorite scene of the power struggle within Cobra.

And the opening really gets exciting with the mysterious intruder, Pythona, making her way through the Cobra forces in the Terror Drome, using her claws to get inside and also massacring the Crimson Guard forces (and all Cobras for that matter). Very exciting and it's perfect as Cobra Commander leads Destro, Mindbender and Baroness away from the assassin in hopes that she will get rid of Serpentor for him. Gotta love that treacherous snake.

However, things don't go according to plan for Cobra Commander and by the end of the film, he is mutated into a snake for his failures but I (being in the minority) enjoyed this story arc, as it gives nice insight into the mind of the Commander as he devolves into a pure serpent. And I can never forget Chris Latta's delivery of, "I was once a man....a man...". It was a mixture of sadness, insanity and just pure brilliance. Again, another reason why Chris Latta is a truly missed talent.

For all its flaws, there is still much to love about this film, and that is why I encourage everyone to buy this film since now a special edition on Blu-Ray has been released with audio commentary by Buzz Dixon that I'm sure will be informative.

Any movie that makes me feel pity and root for the Commander more than already rooted for him and features Zarana in a swimsuit kicking Thrasher's ass is instant coolness. Not to mention the character of Pythona was terrific and this movie features one of the great bad-asses in Nemesis Enforcer (I still want to name my first-born Nemesis Enforcer).

Tribute to War of the Worlds video

And speaking of War of the Worlds, someone has made a nice tribute here to the first season of WOTW.

Cool little commercial for the premiere of War of the Worlds television series

The commercial starts at the 1:03 mark, and I must say, I still am nostalgic. I really loved (the first season at least) this show.

Predators red band trailer

I'm very excited to see what Robert Rodriguez can do to breathe new life in this franchise and hopefully bring the series back to the roots of the original flick. So far, I am loving what I see.

My all time favorite episode of GI Joe...

I don't know why but this episode has always stood out to me, maybe because I'm a huge fan of the Zarana character. Or perhaps, it could be because this episode appeals to the hopeless romantic in me. Either way, I love it: