Majestic Meanderings of the Mindful Manatee

Titillating Trivia Tuesday

2009-09-15T23:14:00.002-04:00

I've come up with the idea of a new trivia Tuesday for my blog. I'll make the first one pretty easy and if you can guess the answer first, I'll be sure to give you a shoutout. If you guess three answers in a row first, then I'll provide you with the movie/a movie with the actor as a prize.

Each Tuesday, I will provide details for a mini game that sometimes will be 'Name that movie', 'Name that actor' or something else movie related.

NAME THE ACTOR

Character Name: Bohdi

Famous quote: "I want you to be nice...until its time to not be nice"

Early movie in his career: The Outsiders

Like I said, I made this one pretty easy. Next week will be more difficult...

Shhh....It's a secret

2009-09-08T00:36:00.006-04:00

So when exactly did it become the 1920s again. If you talk to anyone in the fashion industry, they will be the first to agree that styles are cyclical. What was once trendy, will quickly become a passing phase, only to be revived years upon years later. Look at bell bottoms to boot cut jeans, or even the neon craze that occurred in the 90s just now becoming rejuvenated. So what trend am I talking about? Stealing a phrase I used in my most recent restaurant week posts:

Cue the Speak Easy.

So what exactly is a speak easy? Wikipedia describes it as:

A speakeasy was an establishment which illegally sold alcoholic beverages during the period of United States history known as Prohibition (1920–1932, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging) of alcohol was illegal.

So the purpose of these speakeasys no longer is pertinent, but the idea behind is just now thriving. It isn't any different than any other themed bar, this theme, however just creates a very different environment than most people are used to. To name a few, The Violet Hour in Chicago, Bourbon & Branch in San Fran, Varnish in LA, PDT in NYC and last but not least, The Gibson in DC. These bars are quite amazing to be honest. The allure of the speak easy is that its hidden, intimate. When first created, it was to sell alcohol when it was not allowed. Now, these speakeasys take provide in providing you with an elite cocktail. You don't go to this type of place for a rum and coke, but your more traditional adult beverages, a Manhattan perhaps, to give you an idea of these timeless drinks. The bars will only use the top shelf liquor and provide you with mixers you either never heard of, or would never think to use.

My first experience was in NYC in the East Village. PDT, Please Don't Tell. Similar to the first rule of fight club, you don't talk about please don't tell. But here I go blabbing about it to all 6 of my readers (up from last week!). You walk downstairs to enter Crif Dogs, and immediately upon entry, you see an old school phone booth on your left. Walking in it looks like your run of the mill hot dog joint. You have plenty of people eating in the restaurant and you see an expansive menu by the front counter where you order. Much to my surprise, the friend I was with went straight to the phone booth and picked up the phone. Wait for it...the phone doesn't work. It's actually a door bell into the private cocktail lounge on the other side. The false back opens up and you see a beautiful dimly lit bar on the inside. Reservations are not required, but are definitely encouraged as the place is quite small. This isn't a place you take a big group of friends, but really just those you would like to enjoy conversation with. We were able to procure a nice booth that fit the 5 of us and squeezed in a 6th. The cocktails were pricey, but well made. I didn't recognize any of the drinks on the menu, but I like alcohol, so let's be honest, I was okay with anything. The drinks come out slowly because the bartenders hand craft each drink with several moving parts. That being said, I now want to educate myself on more of these timeless drinks that I can ask a cultured bartender to make. The experience was amazing. The service was fantastic, and all it takes is a little patience for a table. Probably the best thing about this bar, or any of these bars, is that a seat is required. No patrons standing around the bar. PDT was not crowded in the slightest, but had a long wait. Is this elitist? Perhaps. But I see it as more of the owner wanting a certain feel and experience to his bar, and that's exactly what he got.

Much to my surprise, it turns out there are a few speakeasys in the DC area. It's funny because at the time in NYC, I commented to those who I was with, there needs to be places like this in DC. Let's be honest. There are so many areas and so many things to do in DC, its easy to not know of everything, but considering this would be on the 'cool' side of things, I'm a very 'uncool' person so its no surprise I wasn't aware these places existed. Alexandria has PX which is located above Eamonn's restaurant. DC has The Gibson. It seems that Eric Hilton owns every cool bar in DC. For those of you who are not aware, he is from the musical group Thievery Corporation. I wouldn't be surprised if many of you are saying to yourself, who in the world is Thievery Corporation, but you will recognize this song from the Garden State soundtrack that everyone has. I would recommend a lot of their other music, but getting back to the point, Eric Hilton owns all the cool bars in DC. At least in my opinion, including 18th Street Lounge, Marvin and most recently the Gibson.

Located off of 14th Street on the corner of U St. is the ever popular Marvin. Right around the area you will find other popular bars such as Cafe St. Ex or even my friend's beloved Bar Pilar. U street continues to be the up and coming area and the recent addition of The Gibson is a testament to that. Beside Marvin at 2009 14th St. is an unmarked door with a small doorbell pad to the left. The most advertisement you will find is the top button with a strip of paper with 'The Gibson' printed on it. Inside the door is a random bare hallway that goes upstairs. It looks as if its the entrance to a storage area. The first door on your left however, leads into the bar. Manned by a nice gentlemen, the door is unmarked with a simple sign that says 'Please wait for host'. Inside is a dimly lit bar that is spacious. The dark wood bar is one of the first things you see with about a dozen seats. A few booths line the side into a larger room with a few tables sprawled along the sides. If you continue to the back, a backdoor seating area is available, opening up the bar for several more patrons at a time. Unlike your traditional bar, there is no standing room here and everyone must have a seat.

The music was fantastic, the ambiance unbeatable, and the wait staff very helpful. Often times, customers order traditional drinks like I discussed above and our waiter was curious as to what types of drinks we enjoy so that he can provide some good suggestions. My first drink was a summertime manhattan which was similar to a mint julep in that it was a manhattan with mint leaves. My second drink was a martini entitled a 'Scorched Earth' which was described to me include Laphroaig which is a very smokey scotch. I'm not a big scotch drinker (read: hates scotch) but it was pretty tasty. Would I recommend this place to anyone? Absolutely. Would I say its the cheapest place? No. But you must remember, like at any bar, you pay for not only the alcohol, but the experience and ambiance.

Restaurant Week Aug '09 Part 3

2009-09-06T13:55:00.004-04:00

Considering that this is the third and final post in regards to restaurant week in the summer of 2009, I hope everyone isn't expecting much. Similarly to the film industry, trilogies are rarely good and I will warn everyone that this post will likely follow suit.

That being said, and now that all 5 of my readers have stopped, I'll make sure I put in as much effort in this post as the two others.

Cue (Thanks Robby) Charlie Palmer Steak.

If you have heard of this place but had NO idea where it was, then you'd fill the exact shoes I was in. I've heard of this elusive Charlie Palmer several times when speaking of the best steak houses in the city. It fills the list with others such as Bobby Van's, District Chophouse, Smith & Wollensky.

Located off of Constitution and 1st Avenue, it is just a block away from our nation's Capitol building. Walking into the lobby, you get the distinct feel that this is an upscale establishment. You walk into an expansive opening with a bar directly ahead of you. There are several small tables and booths along the side of the restaurant for those who are just drinking at the bar. The bar itself is long and narrow, filled with people that are way more important than me. Beers are served in glasses although they had no drafts. Clear sign of what kind of place this is. Another clear indication was the extensive scotch selection that they have on display. For some reason, when I think of Capitol Hill and lobbyists, I think of Scotch drinkers. We thought about getting a drink at the bar, but it was overly crowded and my attire was not pressed enough for me to feel comfortable with the other clientele, so we hopped down the block to My Brother's Place.

Fast Forward and its 730 and time for our reservation. Walking past the host's station, you walk down a small hallway that opens up to the rest of the restaurant. It's surprising how large this place really is. The tables were placed far apart so that conversations could remain quiet, a positive for important politicians I'm sure. The hallway is actually created as a corridor between the wine room. It's actually slightly raised and acts as a bridge over an internal pond of sorts which adds to the ambiance. The open room is well lit with nice artwork and designs that add to the experience. The general manager stopped by our table which was a very nice gesture. He provided us with business cards and said to be sure to call if we plan on another visit. Although it was obvious that we were younger folk that probably don't head to these dinners often and was clearly there for restaurant week, I respect it. It's the little things with me, I've said that my entire life.

The meal begins.

Sadly, I won't be able to provide as many details since the restaurant's website doesn't have the menu up any longer. That being said, I started with a Chilled Local Corn Soup. I talked about it before, but I would have to reiterate the quality of a great soup. I don't order them often, but it was quite tasty. The Maryland Blue crab was a delicious addition that was subtle and not overpowering. Any good bisque comes down to consistency and this chef had it spot on. There was a small dab of tarragon added which provided a nice balance of color and balance. The entree was a roasted sirloin with thinly sliced small potatoes. The dish isn't on their everyday menu and sadly, this is for good reason. While the cut of meat was good and the steak was prepared well, it wasn't something that screamed eat me. It was previously discussed amongst my friends of whether or not steak places are really the best establishments for restaurant week. There is no need to really showcase your restaurant because a good steak is a good steak, no nouveau fusions of flavors and foods necessary. You got your beef. You got your potato. You got your dish. That simple. The dessert turned out to be some sort of raspberry soup that looked much better than it actually was.

Would I go back? Probably. I don't think that I really had a dish that was representative of how good of a steak this restaurant can prepare, but at the same time, the restaurant is very well put together. I am left with mixed feelings. The one aspect that did 'wow' me was the fact that they had a portion of their wine menu that was called '25 for under 25' in which they listed 25 bottles of wine for $25 or less. What was really nice about this was that there were bottles that were even cheaper than $25. It was a very nice, unexpected touch to a high-end dinner. If you're going to spend $37 on a steak, it doesn't mean you necessarily want to spend $83 on a bottle of wine.

So that was it. All 3 of my restaurant week experiences. My friends and I discussed the idea of going to a nice dinner once a month that way we can try out more of these nice restaurants more often. I like the sound of it so perhaps I'll be able to do more of these restaurant write-ups. Don't everyone jump for joy at once...

Restaurant Week Aug '09 Part 2....

2009-08-31T19:47:00.004-04:00

Cue Cafe Atlantico

I'm not sure if you all are like me. My guess is that none of you are like me, but may have a few common habits with me. One is watching television that I never thought I'd watch as a child: History channel, Discovery channel, HGTV, the food network and especially the travel channel. Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations is as good as programming comes in my opinion. He travels the world learning of different cultures, focusing on their culinary traditions. Recently, he came to DC during season 4 and visited a few local establishments you may have heard of: Ben's Chili Bowl, Busboys and Poets, Eamonn's to name a few. But, most importantly, at least for the purposes of this post, Mini Bar.

Minibar is a restaurant within a restaurant (kind of cool concept if you like that elitist type of thing) that is upscale in every possible way other than appearance. The restaurant it's in was the destination of my 2nd of three restaurant week reservations, Cafe Atlantico. The restaurant is located off of 8th and Pennsylvania which is hidden by a large fountain/outdoor area. Pennsylvania Avenue has a number of great restaurants that you should check out if you're ever in the city and want to try out a quality dining establishment. To name a few that I've been to, I would probably revisit Central, 701 restaurant and Chef Geoff's in that order.

Centralized by a Latin American theme, the restaurant spans three stories and is much smaller than one would assume when walking in. You are greeted immediately upon entry with what seemed to be 3 hostesses and a general manager (I'm sure this was just the case because it was restaurant week and it was even more high traffic than usual). You walk up a flight of steps and immediately see into an open kitchen with several chefs hard at work. Similar to Central, I like the idea of an open kitchen. It seems to be the recent trend and I approve. It seems silly, but it almost shows a confidence in what you're doing, even if no one really pays attention to what the chefs are doing. The tables are tight and the ambiance is lively. It being not the quietest restaurant, it almost adds to, not detracts from the experience. On the second floor, in the corner is an additional small kitchen, this, is Mini Bar. There are 6 seats located there and reservations are near impossible to get. With 2 separate reservations times a night, an intimate group setting for you and a date or small group of friends. This is a post about Cafe Atlantico, so I'll save more discussion for after I am able to procure a reservation.

Luckily thanks to yours truly, I was able to get a reservation for 10. I was shocked when I could not make the reservation on open table, but it seems the restaurant does not allow reservations of over 6 or 8 to be saved online. A couple phone calls later, we get a table on the third floor right by a back kitchen and we are on the side, almost getting a more private setting. The artwork on the walls were great, simplistic and somehow giving off a South American vibe. So after some good talk, it was time to start with the meal.

Starting off with some drinks, we pick out a couple of bottles of cheap wine, a malbec and a pinot noir, that everyone joins in to taste. Two of the girls order signature cocktails: an infamous passion fruit martini (orange rum and passion fruit juice with a ginger jalapeno infusion). I had a taste and I generally like 'stiff' drinks over sweet ones, but this one was a winner. No shock to anyone, Jon got a sweet martini as well, this one was of the magic variety. The Magic Mojito is poured atop a tuft of cotton candy, adding a sweet replacement to the traditional sugar cane. I must admit, it was pretty cool to see. After enjoying a few spirits, it was time to hit the menu...

The Appetizer

Carrot Soup: organic Tuscarora carrots, passion fruit

Heirloom Tomato Salad: watermelon, Cotija cheese, sherry dressing

Tuna Ceviche: coconut milk, avacado

Dominican Conch Fritters: jicama-avocado raviolis, passion fruit oil

At first glance, I really took a liking to the Tuna Ceviche. I love raw fish and love any sort of tartare dish. That being said, coconut milk scares me a bit. Not really anything scary about it, but it reminds me of thai food and how thickening it can be and wanted something a little less dairy. With my options now limited to three, I went with the Conch Fritters. I've only had conch once before at the airport at BWI (probably not the best location) but figured it sounded intriguing. I cannot emphasize enough how good of a decision this was. The fritters came out, I believe 3 or 4 puffy crunch pieces on a plate. It looked a little lackluster to be honest, but once you cut it open, you instantly began to salivate. The conch was prepared to perfection, a beigish color of sauce flooding out, balanced so well with the fried shell. Perhaps it was the passion fruit oil (I've never used or had this before), but it was a phenomenal start to the meal.

The Entree

Duck Confit: brussels sprouts, apples, raisins, pine nuts

Portobello Mushroom: huitlacoche, Chihauhua cheese, roasted beets, beet oil

Braised Beef Short Ribs: grilled eggplant, squash

Salmon, Veracruz Style: tomoatoes, olives, onions, and capers fresh lime and avacado

Grilled Skirt Steak: mushrooms, green beans, truffled potato espuma

Being able to choose from an option of five different entrees showed me that Cafe Atlantico wasn't a restaurant that participated in restaurant week to merely get bodies into and out of the restaurant, but it was to impress those that came in. Providing a full gamut of types of food, I decided to select the Skirt Steak. It's funny because I chose the Skirt Steak because of an earlier experience at Georgia Brown's. I wasn't completely sold on any one particular dish, and defaulted to the skirt steak. A similar situation happened at Georgia Brown's, but i did NOT select the skirt steak. It turned out to be delicious and exceeded everyone's expectation. Although my steak was quite tasty, I was not wow'd. The food was tasty and the sides were crunchy and provided a little spice. The meat itself was very familiar and used a flavor I could not pinpoint. That being said, it wasn't a new flavor for my taste buds to dance around about. The green beans were in fact solid, however, definitely complimenting the steak well and adding to the overall satisfaction to the meal. The table actually did a great job of trying everything but the mushrooms and if I were to have another go at ordering, I'd order anything BUT the skirt steak. The salmon looked quite appetizing with a lemonish foam on top of the cut of fish. Cafe Atlantico is known for its use of texture with foods and restaurant was no different. The braised short ribs looked flavorful and seemed to fall right off the bone. Robby's duck confit was a large portion, with a colorful array of vegetables acting as a bed underneath. Again, don't get me wrong, I was not disappointed with my meal. It was one of those situations where you don't dislike your food, but all you are interested in is eating everyone else's dishes.

The Dessert

Warm Chocolate Cake: warm chocolate cake, banana

Sorbet of the Day: Mango

The dessert came and the chocolate cake was filled with warm chocolate fudge. The portion was sizeable and the cake was moist. Assuming that they probably served this to everyone that was in the restaurant, having so many well baked desserts is kind of impressive. A few people tried out the sorbet and enjoyed the mango, but I will admit seeing orange ice cream was kind of funny.

So that was it, Cafe Atlantico. It was tasty, good lively date spot, but I probably won't go back until I get a reservation at Mini Bar. Although the restaurant was high on the ambiance, I think the food was above average, but not exceptional. Maybe its the Latin American tinge, maybe it was just that it was restaurant week and the chef's didn't bring their 'A' game. I would never say that I won't go there again for dinner, but I'd probably choose to go to the plethora of new restaurants that I have yet to visit before making a repeat appearance.

Restaurant Week Aug'09...Part 1

2009-08-29T15:24:00.004-04:00

I learned about restaurant week a few years ago and will admit that I am quite hooked. Perhaps its my desire to be a chef some day, or the idea of going to high brow venues, but i tend to make several reservations each season. This year was the first time I planned one for lunch though. Boy do I not regret it. I was slightly tentative because some restaurant's portions at dinner even are small and petite, so I can only imagine what it would be at lunch. I decided in order to really pull off a mid-day lunch that is 2 hours long, I should invite those whom I work with, that way they can't yell at me for taking too long. The trouble was that a trip into DC would take up WAY too much time, especially using the metro. Some of my coworkers don't ride the metro, so then they would have to buy metro cards, blah blah. DC nixed. Where then? Arlington has several restaurants, but I tend to believe the purpose of restaurant week is to try new places you wouldn't normally try or need a reason to patron. So, I'm left with NOT DC and NOT Arlington. Doesn't give me many options. Falls Church it is.

Cue 2941.

Where to begin? The restaurant is located off of Fairview Drive which is between Falls Church and Vienna. It's off the beaten path, close to the beltway, off of what seems to be an office park. The turn is hidden and to be honest, you would have zero chance of stumbling upon this restaurant, although you would be pleasantly pleased if you did. You drive up what seems to be a private drive and are greeted with complimentary valet parking. Always a nice touch. You walk up to a restaurant who's walls are made of enormous panes of glass. It takes up the corner of what seems to be an office building, with a small walkway above an enormous Koi pond. I don't know how much you know about Koi, but they are not cheap. These were the largest Koi I have ever seen. The pond was full of them, dozens. To the left you see how it trickles into a large waterfall into another small pond. Off in the distance is a man-made pond that is quite large, leaving what I would imagine an incredible view at night with the lights.

The interior was just as visibly pleasing. The restaurant was open, not too crowded, but you could see it wasn't enormous either. Tables were spaced far enough apart so that you could have private conversations. Immediately upon entering, you are wow'ed by a large glass/plastic 'jellyfish' looking display behind the hostess. The ceilings must be 20 feet tall, adding to the spacious feel. To the right is a small bar area that is intimate for perhaps a cocktail or two prior to your meal. I was astonished by the sheer size of these expansive mirrors 15 feet off the ground that lined the interior walls. Above one entryway, there was a classic painting of nude women. If you see artwork that includes nudity, you know you're at a high-class establishment.

Enough about the ambiance. Why did I really want to go here? The food. The restaurant is ranked No. 14 in Washingtonian's top 100 and No. 2 for restaurants in VA. Knowing this going in, my expectations were high and I will be the first to admit, I was not disappointed. The menu, although limited, still supplied a great range of dishes.

The Appetizer

The restaurant decided to give a typical 3 options:

Local Beet Tartare: pickled cherries, Sicilian pistachios, petit salad

Hawaiian Red Snapper Carpaccio: citrus gelee, cilantro, heart of palm

Chilled Pea Soup: poached shrimp, summer truffle, orange oil

Out of those, I went with the Red Snapper Carpaccio that I'm sure most people would. 3 out of the 4 of us ordered this, with one ordering the pea soup. I'll discuss more about soups in the upcoming Charlie Palmer's post, but soup is underrated.

The appetizer was probably one of the most amazingly delicious appetizers I have ever had the treat of consuming. The taste was light, the heart of palm was tasty and balanced the flavors of the fish while adding a little texture and crunch. The red snapper was prepared to perfection with subtle flavors that seemed to balance so well with gelee. I can probably write about this appetizer at length, merely reiterating the same ideas of light and balanced, but I won't. I've eaten a lot of things in my day and I stand that this was incredible. If it was possible, I would have just eaten this as my meal.

The Entree

Veal Cheeks Ravioli: tomato confit, butter poached lobster, parmesan

Grilled Pacific Monchong: lightly grilled and stained with turmeric, basmati rice, lychee, curry leaf

Grimaud Farms Guinea Hen Duo: crostini rillette, roasted breast, Jerusalem artichoke, natural jus

Based on the number of links that are included above, some of these dishes are not your spaghetti & meatball type of dish. I am always confused why particular restaurants make their dishes sound so overly complex, but if you read up on each of these topics, it makes sense. I think it just sounds complex to a lot of us because we don't come across it often or prepare food in this way.

First choice with the Ravioli is what I ended up going for, but I had trouble not choosing the monchong. I've been in a seafood kick recently and I had never even seen this type of fish offered before. The ravioli was delicious, as it sounds. The dish came back and the ravioli were not your run of the mill, typical ravioli shape. These were almost rectangular box. Each ravioli was filled with ground veal that was perfectly cooked (not under or over cooked). I was surprised by the number of ravioli (6 to 8) given the amount of food jammed into each pasta casing. It seemed that half of the plate was covered with balsamic vinegar and the other half filled with the tomato confit. It wasn't your thin, runny pasta sauce, but more of a finely chunky tomato sauce you would encounter at Ballston's Tirolo. The butter poached lobster wasn't mixed into the ravioli as I had expected, but rather strewn throughout the dish in little chunks to add into bites at your leisure. The entree was presented cleanly, of a good portion, and satisfied all.

Dessert

I'm not the biggest dessert person. I've definitely gained a sweeter tooth for chocolate cake (although I dislike chocolate in general), which has opened up my ability to order desserts at restaurants since they are often chocolate focused. Again, the table had an option of 3:

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich: Westmoreland County sweet cherries, sable breton

Pennsylvania Raspberry Parfait: fromage blanc panna cotta, lemon balm, warm madeleines

Semolina Pudding Cake: tulip poplar honey mousse, blueberries, sweet corn ice cream

Each one of these sounded delicious. It was not an easy decision, because if the Ice cream sandwich was not mint chocolate chip, and just regular chocolate chip, I think I would have pulled the trigger for that, however, with my sudden obsession with raspberries, I went with the Parfait.

I'm not exactly sure why, but I did not think the desserts would be overly classy, maybe just a little flair on the dish with some powdered sugar or chocolate syrup, but in reality, they were aesthetically beautiful. My parfait, which I assumed I was going to get in a sundae glass with the madeleines on top, was actually a bar, with layers of ingredients with the madeleines and raspberries placed on the plate with class (a touch of raspberry sauce strewn about). It was a good portion (not too large so you still had room for coffee) and was delectable. The lemon was not overpowering and the panna cotta had a great consistency.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but the restaurant also specializes in bread. The head chef bakes his own personal bread blends everyday that includes a multitude of different ingredients. I believe the blend we had was some sort of olive. Even his fresh baked wheat bread was tasty and I am not a fan of wheat bread at all.

The service was impeccable. Continuously ensured our glasses were full of water, any finished plate was immediately removed and even dusted the table for crumbs between courses (a personal pet peeve of mine that I love). There were so many people working it seemed like each table had their own personal server.

Immediately afterwards, I knew that this restaurant would be the winner of this restaurant week season, even though I had reservations at a couple of other great restaurants... In hindsight, my gut instinct was right.

Next up...Cafe Atlantico

One of those moments

2009-08-17T20:35:00.003-04:00

I had one of those moments. You know, the moment you might come across while watching the history channel, or discover channel, or national geographic channel. Maybe its reading a biology text book. Maybe its watching/reading anything Carl Sagan ever did. The moment when everything comes into perspective. On a day to day basis, you never think about the world, or yourself, you go on living your life the way you do. I'm currently reading a book called The Mind of the Market by Michael Shermer I'm not sure why I got it, but every few months I hop onto Amazon and buy 3 or 4 books. This happened to be one of them months ago and I'm just now getting to reading it. I'm only 20 pages in, and I can assure you its not exactly what I thought it was. Well it is and it isn't at the same time. The underlying tone and message I think is on point, but the supporting arguments are a little unexpected.

I came across this excerpt (bear with me, its not short):

Life is a self-organized emergent property of prebiotic chemicals that came together in a manner that allowed them to be self-sustaining and capable of duplication and reproduction.

Complex Life is a self-organized emergent property of simple life, as when simple prokaryote cells coalesced into the more complex eukaryote cells of which we are made, which contain within them organelles that were once prokaryote cells (such as mitochondria, which have their own DNA).

Multicellular Life is a self-organized emergent property of single-celled life forms, which merged together as a cooperative strategy for more successful survival and reproduction.

Immunity is a self-organized emergent property of billions of cells of our immune system working together to combat bacteria and viruses.

Consciousness is a self-organized emergent property of billions of neurons firing in complex patterns in the brain.

Language is a self-organized emergent property of thousands of words spoken in communication among language users.

Law is a self-organized emergent property of thousands of informal mores and restrictions that were codified over time into formal rules and regulations as societies grew in size and complexity.

Economy is a self organized emergent property of millions of people pursuing their own self-interests with little awareness of the larger complex system in which they work.

So I can see how the author tried to explain how economies are organic, a product of evolution over time, but it made me think about life in general. Its like when you watch a Carl Sagan documentary and you realize how small our planet is within the universe. And then you think about how small you are in comparison to the planet. And then you think about what you are actually made of. It's utterly amazing. And you have to think that this impossible coincidence of chemicals and environment a billion years ago has to have occurred elsewhere. I think that those who believe there is no other intelligent life in the universe is an idiot. Plain stupid. Will a District 9 scenario occur? (see what I did there bringing this back to a movie) Probably not in our lifetime, but that doesn't mean it won't ever happen.

I don't often think about things like this, but I doubt I'm the only one that ever does from time to time. It was just one of those moments...

Movies Galore

2009-08-16T14:26:00.007-04:00

I don't tend to write as many posts about upcoming movies as I should, but with all the hype and press that District 9 has been getting, it's gotten me excited for what else is on the horizon. I may have written about a few of these in the past but just deal with it. Nothing beats 30 minutes on Apple trailers every few weeks to see what else is coming up. I don't really buy Entertainment Weekly or any of those types of magazines so I don't necessarily read up on as many movies as I would like. So without further ado, here are some upcoming movies I look forward to and why they strike my fancy, click on the movie name to see the apple trailer:

District 9: August 14
This sci-fi thriller is based on aliens reaching our planet 20 years ago. They have been quarantined in South Africa and you may have seen some if their viral marketing with no alien signs etc... on park benches, buses. The renowned Peter Jackson (King Kong, Lord of the Rings) is the producer working alongside the major feature debut of Neill Blomkamp. It was rumored Neill was going to direct the currently scrapped project of Halo, but worked on this converted short film, Alive in Jo'burg, instead. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it rated as an 87% by Top Critics if that convinces anyone to go, but to me, reviews are useless.

Inglourious Basterds: August 21
Talk about a recipe for success. Quentin Tarantino. Brad Pitt. Enough said. An over the top film that takes place during World War 2. A secret band of soldiers that goes apeshit on Nazi Germany. Gratuitous violence? How can anyone say no. Guys will go for Tarantino and the bashing of Nazi soldiers. The girls will go to watch Brad Pitt.

Extract: September 4
Mike Judge is making movies again. Its been 3 years since his last film Idiocracy. I don't think it was a crowd favorite, and I will admit that I did not like it the first watch through, but after the second viewing, it was pretty damn smart. I have a lot of faith in his new project 'Extract' with the help of talents like Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristin Wiig, and J.K. Simmons. I never really liked Kristin Wiig at first, but she's really grown on me as a comedic actress. Jason Bateman was involved in the greatest sitcom the world has ever seen, Arrested Development. Mila Kunis seems to be transitioning well onto the big screen from her tv career. After watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall, its clear she can handle herself and carry a film with a supporting role. Oh yeah, and Ben Affleck is in it, but that doesn't really add much for me.

Law Abiding Citizen: October 16
Just recently came across this film mostly because I have a small man-crush on Gerard Butler. Most of you know of him as Leonidas from '300', but most recently you might have seen him in a preview for the romcom 'The Ugly Truth'. I normally watch films based on the actors included, and not always because of the story and I will definitely see more of Butler's movies. (Maybe not Gamer, which seems to be like Death Race in a different medium). The most recent film I saw him in was Shattered which was well done. But back to the point. Gerard Butler seems to be back to his bad ass role in 'Law Abiding Citizen' after his child was murdered and the judicial system doesn't work the way he wants it to. Jaime Foxx finally moves away from his most recent trend of 'Ray' and 'Soloist' roles into a lawyer or detective that needs to figure out what's going on and stop Butler. F.Gary Gray directs the film which also makes me think the movie will work out. He's come a long way from his award winning Waterfalls music video. He's directed other well known films such as 'Friday', 'The Negotiator', and 'The Italian Job'. Hopefully everyone reading this has seen each of those movies.

The Box: October 30
Although you might think so, this is not a porno film. It pains me to admit to it, but wanting to see this movie means that I want to see a film that stars Cameron Diaz. Getting over that hurdle, this has cool movie written all over it. The concept is fantastic, but executing it well might be tough. Richard Kelly writes and directs in this suspenseful supernatural thriller about a box that kills a random person in the world, but then betters their life. It seems to be from the trailer more of a movie about good and evil and how it plays out with humanity, but Frank Langella stars as what could be the devil. I think what really excites me about this film (again it has religious undertones) is that Frank Langella stars as the creepy old guy. I thought his role in 'The Ninth Gate' (a favorite Johnny Depp movie of mine) was fantastic which seems to have a similar genre to this upcoming film. We'll see how much press this movie gets in the upcoming month or two, but I wouldn't be surprised if it flops. Although Kelly also wrote and directed Donnie Darko, a cult favorite, he was also behind the movie 'Southland Tales' which was absolutely horrendous. I'll cross my fingers on this one, but wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't find anyone to head to the theater with me.

The Book of Eli: January 15
Since I was just talking about Mila Kunis, it seems fitting she made it onto a second upcoming film watch of mine. Denzel Washington stars as one of the few survivors after the end of the world. The trailer is pretty light in plot, but it seems has has a book that holds the balance of the fate of humanity (seems like a lot of movies use this plot). Gary Oldman stars as the evil villain, and to be honest, he plays this party so well. Other than his role as Sirius Black (if you don't know who that is, you should be ashamed) I can't really think of any 'good guy' roles hes played. He was an awesome bad guy in 'The Professional' and in 'The Fifth Element'. Both movies you should see immediately if you haven't done so already. Denzel has a good track record with movies. Especially with badass roles. 'Man on Fire' comes to mind, another film that's a must watch. I even liked his recent film 'Deja Vu'. So I think its pretty safe to say that even if this isn't an oscar worth film, you won't regret spending a couple hours to watch it.

Legion: January 22

I don't know what it is about me, but any sort of religious movie always gets me. I'm trying to think of examples, and they are few and far between, but movies like 'Stigmata', 'End of Days', and 'Constantine'. I went to catholic school as a little kid and although I'm not very religious, it all fascinates me a great deal. Paul Bettany plays the Archangel Michael who is out to save humanity from all other angels. You may recognize him from classic films such as 'A Knight's Tale', 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'Wimbledon'. Enough movie name dropping. It looks as though there is the typical special child that will save humanity and its a religious war to end all wars. Story seems simple, but I never get tired of it. Scott Stewart directs for the first time from a very successful visual effects career which leads me to believe this is going to be very fun to watch. And if you need another reason to go see it other than my backing (which I'm sure you all do), Kate Walsh is in it and what guy isn't in love with her?

The Ip Man

2009-08-15T12:21:00.002-04:00

More than likely, not a single person reading this blog is going to know a lick about this movie. But often times, that does not mean that its not worth watching. A lot of smaller indie films have a lot to offer, not that this movie fits into that category. Since you know nothing about this film, I'm going to tell you a little secret, I didn't know anything about this movie either. All I knew was that it was a kung fu movie, and really, even bad kung fu movies are good.

So this movie took place in some province in China (probably northwest) in the early 1930s. Master Ip is a renowned martial arts master, who is very humble reserved. It seems that theme of most of these old chinese movies, kung fu isn't as much about the physical power and speed, but about the psychological control. Watching him, you can see how balanced he is at all points in time. Even when he fought. Never a break of sweat, everything is so intentional and methodical. All of the townspeople know of his greatness, but there are several other martial arts masters in town, all with schools.

Throughout the film, he shows his utter calmness and is very humble. He gives his friend money to start a cotton factory, and asks for nothing in return, and to pay him back when he can. Years go by and the Japanese invade. The town turns to shambles and everyone is poor. and he is too proud of a man to ask for any help.

Enough of the plot, I didn't watch this film because I thought it was going to be awe-inspiring or the film of 2009. I watched it because Kung Fu movies are the shizzy. The fight scenes are amazing. It seems that actual Chinese movies always do a better job of the choreography, maybe its because they don't have rules out there and they are actually beating the shit out of each other. I'm not sure exactly. At one point in the film, he's at a facility with Japanese solders who are studying kung fu and the General watches sparring matches. He is pissed off since he watched his friend die at the hands of the Japanese military, so he asks to take on 10 fighters. At the same time. One word, wow. He holds nothing back as he just destroys these poor oppressing souls. I'm not sure if you have seen Ong Bak before (see US title: The Protector) but its similar in nature of badassedness. I know its not a word, but it should be.

The final scene to the film was a little anti-climatic. The fight scene was good, he re-unites the Chinese and is a living legend to this day (he trained Bruce Lee among dozens of others), but I wanted more out of the fight. I guess when you have two very well trained Kung Fu masters, there isn't a lot of beating the crap out of each other because they are too good for that. A lot of defense and lack of hitting/blocking. But well done nevertheless. There was only one portion I didn't believe which seemed really odd.

SPOILER (He gets shot in the shoulder and passes out? He's too strong for that.)

All in all, I'd give it 2.5 out of 5 Manatees. You won't feel like you wasted your life, but its nothing to write home about.

Teeth

2009-08-11T23:40:00.002-04:00

I don't think I've ever been so traumatized by a film like I was with this. It was winner at Sundance back in 2007 for best actress, a young and upcoming girl by the name of Jess Weixler. Most likely haven't heard of her, but she was in 7 movies in 2009, so hopefully she gets some more press in the coming years.

It's True, Vagina Dentata!!

Best line of the movie, but it was very fitting. When I heard this, I didn't think there was a chance in hell that this was real, but I am a man that believes in wikipedia, and by golly, it was on wikipedia. Yes, I just said by golly. So its apparently an old folklore of women that have teeth, in their, well, I think you get the idea. For any man, this is the scariest thing known to man. The idea of it makes me shutter. Without getting to direct and graphic, teeth are already a problem with one type of sex, both types really just scares all parties involved.

Let's talk about the movie in general. The idea of it is actually a good theme. Remove the horror comedy aspect, and you have a film that explores the vulnerability of women. The teeth represent an empowerment that she could have over her interactions with men. She starts off as part of a celibacy group. Promise to god to stay pure. She meets a guy in her 'group' who obviously going to be the biggest sexual aggressor. Isn't it funny how that always works out? Catholic school kids are always the most messed up. There are always exceptions to the rule, but its a rule because it happens a majority of the time. The first appearance of her 'teeth' comes when she's getting raped. Clear sign that this is her need to protect herself. She's out with a guy from her celibacy group, and she's not even safe there.

The movie gets more and more bizarre and obscene. There was the one 'loser' that 'conquers' her and it turns out he wasn't the nice guy at all, but a sexual predator who had a bet to get her into bed. BOOM! Teeth make an appearance again. She was able to protect herself again.

The creepy step brother that always wanted to sleep with her? Protection. The random old guy that gave her a lift? Protection. You watched her transform from the start to end of the movie. From scared, helpless girl who was freaked out, to a girl that was confident, calculating, empowered.

There were a lot of graphic scenes (I know I keep saying this, but I can't say it enough) but all in all I thought it was a pretty solid movie. This movie poster to the right kind of gives you an idea... Will I ever look at a girl the same way? Probably not. But nevertheless, I would in fact recommend it for its weird premise and awesome visualizations.

I give the movie 3.5 Manatees.

When you're at that age...

2009-08-10T23:26:00.002-04:00

So everyone hits that age when they feel like they are at a crossroads. It might be right before you go to college, it might be right afterwards, or it might be where I am now, a few years after you graduate. Some may call it a quarter-life crisis, but maybe its just growing up.

I'm on my second job since graduating, but only held my first job for about 9 months. Four and a half years into Job #2, I've done well for myself, but is it really what I want to do for the next 5 years? Probably not. Do you move jobs? Do you go back to school? Everyone has a lot of friends that have been real good about continuing their education. I have lawyer friends, friends that have gone back to get their MBAs or some other graduate degree. But I don't really want to go back to school just because I don't know what to do, that seems like a horrible idea. Recently I've had a few friends head back to school and some have been rather confident that I'd like it, but with my undergrad GPA, is it worth going to a school that isn't a top 20?

I feel like a lot of people my age find themselves doing something because its a paycheck, and not because its their career. How long does one wade water before its time to move on? I grew up right outside of DC and that's where I find myself today. Does a new job mean a new city? Perhaps, but where do I go? In the past few years, I've found myself traveling to places like Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, New York. Do any of them fit me? I feel like you never know until you try it out. But maybe I'm just scared. Moving to a new city by yourself is never easy. I'd like to think of myself as not a chicken shit, but maybe I am. I look at a few of my good friends and I have Ari who moved out to LA because he wanted to. Raf went down to Argentina for a couple months and is now moving to China. Yousef is moving to Chicago to start his acting career. I envy these people. I respect them for their ability to do it. All these people in all these places. I guess I have options, but where do I even start.

I contemplate this quite often, but continue to stay on my current course, not knowing where I'm going. How do I leave all my friends and all that I know? I get jealous when I see people traveling the world or doing something that they love for a minuscule paycheck just because they are enjoying life. It sounds trite, but I try and live life, not watch it go by. The words I live by are that I work to live, not live to work. But can I ACTUALLY do it? Maybe one day I'll have the courage. When I do, who wants to start anew with me in a new city and where should we go?

Live at Radio City

2009-07-27T00:02:00.002-04:00

So it seems that in this world, you have two types of people. Those that really like Dave Matthews Band, and those that really don't. Maybe its because some people equate DMB to summer drinking and smoking weed and that's why people like it? Nostalgia? And others think that he comes out with a new CD every year for the past 20 years (actually pretty true) and all of his music is so similar. There is so much good music in the world, why not explore it more? Well I love DMB and I love other music. This past weekend I went to Kings Dominion and pulled a Will Peng (lost my phone) so I was a bit cutoff from the outside world as all my roommates were out of town. This morning I popped in the Dave Matthews Band - Live at Radio City bluray. I was never a big 'lets watch a concert on dvd' type of guy, but I figured it was good background music and watching while I cleaned my room etc.

So why did I choose this in particular? one person really, Tim Reynolds. Growing up, Dave & Tim Live at Luther College was my favorite CD. A) I love DMB as I mentioned, but when he performs with Tim Reynolds, you get the mix of all the great songs you like, but with a slightly different feel, especially with all the newer songs (Live at Luther College was recorded in 95). So you pretty much have 2 guys on stage with acoustic guitars playing these songs that would normally have 7 different musicians. Does everyone remember all those 'unplugged' CDs that MTV came out with back in the day? I dunno what it is about Acoustic guitars that are so awesome, but anytime I listen to an acoustic song, it makes me want to learn how to play the guitar. Its a damn shame that I'm so horrible at it. My finger dexterity is the absolute worst.

Tim Reynolds must be one of the most talented guitarists of our generation. I put him up there with John Mayer. I know what most of you are thinking, John Mayer is a douche. Well I really liked his older stuff, but I did in fact see him in concert and it is irrefutable that he is an extremely talented guitarist. But Tim Reynolds is something else, let me tell you. Being able to watch him play is really quite a spectacle. The last rift on their rendition of Lie in our Graves is absolutely amazing. There was one cover they also did that I never heard before titled 'Down by the River' (no not the SNL skit) that was really pretty awesome. I'm actively seeking a copy of this album specifically for that song.

If you liked Live at Luther College, then you will love this CD as well. They put on quite the show and its always amazing to listen to. I know that the two of them don't go on tour very much (this tour in 07 was only 3 locations, and I almost attended this one) but next time they go on tour together, I will travel to see it and spend the $100+ for a ticket. I have yet to see #41 live which is my favorite DMB song of all time, and possibly favorite song in general. Any takers? I can't go on this destination concert alone...

Adventureland

2009-07-14T00:19:00.002-04:00

So I remember seeing previews for this a few months before it came out. A bunch of no name actors and my beloved Kristin Stewart. The fact she was in Twilight pretty much ruins her for me, but if anyone knows a girl that is like her, please introduce her to me. The story is about a well educated guy who graduates from college planning on going on a European backpacking trip before Grad school at Columbia. I had never seen Jesse Eisenberg in a film before, or at least realized it. He was in both The Village and The Education of Charlie Banks.

The movie takes place in the late 1980s at an amusement park. If I were to put the tone of the film into a short sentence, its about a young man's development with his emotions and women. There are some funny scenes, but I wouldn't really classify it as a comedy. Ryan Reynolds has a small role in the film that seems odd to me, but I think the purpose of his character is important. What took me a long time to figure out is James friend, Joel. Turns out that he's the guy from Freaks and Geeks. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

So going back to Ryan Reynold's character. I like him as an actor, I see a lot of his movies, but he's kind of a d-bag in this one. It's tough for me to swallow because this is the same guy that shows his pubes in Blade 3, but it's true. He's a married man sleeping with my future girl (Kristen Stewart) on the side. He even tries to convince James that liking Em (Kristin's character) is a bad idea. But then again, Em's character is pretty screwed up. She hates who she is, she doesn't know what she wants, extremely self-conscious. So pretty much like any girl between the age of 14 and 32. God I love women. They are just a puzzle that you want to solve.

It's clear that James' character is more literature oriented, he's a deep thinker, he's a virgin after college, a romantic at heart. You feel for his character as the movie progresses as he tries to find himself. It seems like his ruined summer at a shitty amusement park actually is helping him get to be who he wants to be.

I was skeptical about the movie from the onset, but as the movie progressed, it turned out to be pretty solid. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. The movie turns out to be pretty true to life. How guys and girls interact and the shit that happens in between. It's not an action film, or a thriller, or really a comedy, so it fits in when you aren't sure what you are in the mood for.

I will say one scene really made it for me. Bill Hader hops out of the office with a bat and starts screaming to a crazed patron, GIVE ME A REASON! GIVE ME A FUCKING REASON! That quote may or may not be engraved on a lighter that my good friend Ari gave me for Christmas.

I give the film 4 out of 5 Manatees. Check it out at your nearest netflix or 1920 N. Vance St.

It's going to be Legen....wait for it...Dary!

2009-06-23T00:24:00.002-04:00

So approximately a year ago, there was a deal on one of my favorite websites, www.slickdeals.net What was it? The first 3 seasons of How I met your mother ran me a grand total of $27. I had never seen the show, but heard positive remarks from two separate people. Because its me, that was good enough to make the purchase. Okay..okay, let's be honest, if I heard a negative remark, I probably still would have made the purchase.

After episode one, I was sold. The cast was great, Jason Segel always was worth a good laugh, Alyson Hannigan looks ridiculously good, NPH is well...NPH and I feel like Ted Moseby is like someone in everyone's group of friends. The hopeless romantic that believes in fairy tale endings, only he's a dude instead of a chick.

The dynamic between the group of friends and the endless sexual tension between Ted and Robin is just fun to watch. You have the married couple that are always happy, the alpha male that just likes to sleep with women, the hopeless romantic and the girl that people want to sleep with but don't because they are friends.

It's been a long time since I've really enjoyed a true 30 min sitcom, probably the days of Seinfeld, Scrubs etc.. Obviously there is the Office now, but I think you get the gist. I beg you, if you like comedies and you are my age, you will love How I met your mother. Go rent it/buy it/borrow it immediately.

5 out of 5 Manatees.

Push

2009-06-04T00:42:00.003-04:00

So I finally have internet again. I finished my move. Things are finally settling down and I can get back into the swing of things. Hopefully I didn't lose all 4 of my readers in my brief hiatus.

So while cleaning up my room a bit, I decided to watch a movie since I have a big queue of them to see. At the top of my list was a movie entitled 'Push'. More than likely, you've only heard of this movie a long time ago, and I'm not going to lie, it's probably that way for a reason. I wouldn't say the film was bad by any means, but I can assure you that it wasn't great. Who would you recognize in the film? A somewhat grown up Dakota Fanning. A svelt Chris Evans, aka the human torch. The black guy from all the good movies, Djimon Hounsou. If the name isn't familiar, he was the black slave in Gladiator, the African peasant from Blood Diamond, the extra from Stargate, the list goes on.

So what is the film about? Its in the near future (from what I could tell) in a world where there are people with special powers. Some are 'pushers' some are 'sniffers' some are 'readers'. I'm sure none of that makes sense, but think of these people all with subtle super powers. Levitation, telokinesis, things of that nature. The backstory was pretty cool saying it started during world war 2 with Nazi Germany. I say that its cool because that part is actual truth. Back in the day from what I remember (from reading obviously) Nazi Germany did all sorts of research to try and get a leg up in the war. People were found and branches of the govt were formed to carry on research after the war was over. The goal? The perfect solder, with heightened powers of course.

Yadda yadda yadda, fast forward. The film ends. It had its cool pieces, but I must admit seeing a semi-grown up Dakota Fanning through me for a loop. Am I sick when I say I bet she's hot when she's 5 years older? Will, I'm looking in your direction since I know you'll say that's only normal. Action sequences seemed vanilla since movies such as these have been done before. There was no real creativity or innovation involved, but the way the ending panned out did actually surprise me. Not often am I confused and surprised by twists, but this did a pretty good job. So there are some pros associated to the film.

Would I say its worth a rental? probably not, but worth a $1 redbox? If there is nothing else, I would comfortably say maybe.

I give the film 2.5 out of 5 Manatees.

No internet?!?

2009-05-28T02:45:00.003-04:00

I find it amazing how dependent society is on the internet. Maybe its just me? Granted, I'm an electronicphile, but still. Yes, I made that word up. Add it to your vocabulary. I moved in approximately 2 weeks ago and I don't get internet until June 2. Not only has this move been very trying on my blogging, but having no internet has been absolutely horrible. I can't surf at work as much, I depend on my iphone in order to check on Fantasy baseball and the latest celebrity blogs. Gchat to stay in touch with people from time to time. It makes me think back to the days of when I used AOL dialup, when I used to download MP3s from FTP websites.

I look at my nephew and wonder what his life is going to be like growing up with all this technology. At less than 3, he was using my brother's iPhone to play games. Sadly, he probably knows how to use more features for the iPhone than I do.

Anyways, for the handful of readers I have, I wanted to add a quick post while I'm sitting in Robby's parents basement, choosing not to sleep before my trip out to the West Coast.

Urban Species

2009-05-11T02:26:00.003-04:00

So I came across this song recently. I don't know what it is about it, but I think its got such a good sound to it. There aren't too many songs out there that are the slow rhythmic sound with a mix of hip hop flow mixed in. I've always been a sucker for female vocalists and I've been a fan of Imogen Heap for years. I haven't heard anything with her in it for quite some time, but I recognized her voice immediately.

Give it a try and maybe it can make an appearance on the infamous 'ur humble narrator' blog.

Without further ado: Urban Species feat. Imogen Heap - Blanket

State of Play

2009-05-06T00:18:00.003-04:00

What is it about British TV shows and series that makes them so damn good. Don't get me wrong, we have our solid shows here in the States. Lost for example. But think about it, what good tv shows are there? The office? Oh yeah, that was British first. American Idol? Copied as well. One show that they haven't redone quite yet is called 'Hustle'. It was aired on AMC and my oh my, what a great f-ing show. If you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend you giving it a whirl. Reminds me of the old school movie 'The Sting' starring Robert Redford. Classic movie about the long con. Long con's are the best. They are just fun to watch and you get so excited when it finally all comes together at the end. It's amazing how smoothly things go and its not to the extent where its unbelieveable. Well...sometimes it is, but mostly its not. If you look it up on wikipedia, it states, "A confidence trick or confidence game (also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, hustle, scam, scheme, or swindle) is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence." A more contemporary film you may have heard of is actually named 'Confidence' starring Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz and Dustin Hoffman. Long con at its best.

I tend to stray from the main focus of each post, but I think its often for a good thing. State of Play was a British mini-series that aired back in 2003. You may or may not have seen previews for the movie that recently came out starring Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Jason Batemen, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels and the list goes on. Here's a link to the trailer. So originally, it was supposed to be Ed Norton and Brad Pitt, but they were busy, so the recent trend of fat movie stars in starring roles came to fruition (see Russell Crowe lately?) I highly doubt the movie will be anywhere as good as the British mini-series. The series is spaced out over 6 episodes. I wanted to give it a go because of the movie and the likelihood that it would be better because its British. Man was I right. It keeps you on your seat, the story never wanes, its not high action, yet its still keeps you on your toes, wondering what will happen next. As the saying goes, how far does that rabbit hole go? Intriguing mystery/thriller that I 100% endorse. You won't regret it.

More than likely, my word isn't enough for you to check it out, so I can throw some names out of who is starring in it: Bill Nighy from the wonderful Underworld series (or Love Actually if you're a girl). The up and coming James McAvoy in an understated role he knocks out of the park. Kelly Macdonald from the previously reviewed 'Choke'. Polly Walker who also stars in my beloved 'Caprica' pilot. and lastly, Marc Warren who also stars in the previously mentioned 'Hustle' as Danny Blue.

I give the mini-series a 4.5 out of 5 Manatees.

Fanboys

2009-05-04T00:12:00.002-04:00

There was a lot of press about this movie for a short period of time. What was the press about? This girl in this costume:
Don't get me wrong, this is the only reason I heard of this movie. But to be honest, my love for Veronica Mars aside, it turned out to have a lot of pretty funny cameos. Seth Rogan showed up as two separate character. Jay and Silent Bob. William Shatner even. The main characters were people you'd recognize from a handful of movies. It was most likely a very fun movie to make, but the movie itself was sort of more serious than I thought. The reason for the road trip was something that was a bit more serious than expected, but not in a bad way.

I wouldn't say that this type of humor would mesh with a lot of people, but there are definitely some solid laughs to be had. Without giving much of the plot away, there is a group of friends, road trip, friendships renewed, love found, happy ending. The movie wasn't too long and it didn't even really drag on too much. Not something I would say is worth making time for, but you most likely would not regret sitting back to it on a lazy day.

But while I'm on the subject mentioned above, Miss Kristin Bell is a gem in my eyes. Very cute, but not to the extent she's unattainable. I first came across her in her old UPN show, Veronica Mars, that was later transitioned over to the CW before being unjustly cancelled after three seasons. If you aren't too familiar with her, she was in fact Sarah Marshall, another great movie that gets better with each viewing. If you need a new show to pick up and like shows that you can just catch up on via DVD, I strongly recommend Veronica Mars. My brother, shocker, got me onto it and I was amazingly surprised by the quality of it. I bet if it was on another network, say...ABC, it would have had a stronger following. No Netflix? Use me. I am the proud owner of all seasons.

Baseball season '09

2009-05-02T15:38:00.004-04:00

America's favorite pastime. What is a pastime? That's a damn good question. For those of you who enjoy baseball, you think of a pastime as an activity, a sport. For those of you who don't, you probably think it means boredom.

Your Washington Nationals will most likely be the worst team in the MLB once again, but luckily they have locked down Mr. Ryan Zimmerman (UVA class '05). He's been in the league for a few years now, always with so much 'potential' but his most recent 22-game hit streak is finally showing that he is in fact ready to be the franchise player that the team so desperately needs. Granted, the team won't start winning until they can really lock in some pitching, especially their bullpen, but glimpses of beauty appear every once and awhile. That's the beauty of baseball though, or any sport really. You can head out to the game one day and have the game of your life, and the worst of your career next. You never know what to expect. No rhyme, no reason, just falling into the 'zone'. The Nationals best pitching prospect is a Jordan Zimmermann. He's got some talent but needs to lose some of the wetness behind his ears before he can really start to make a difference. Looks like the key to the Nationals success is to keep drafting players with the last name Zimmerman(n).

Catching some dogs and beers in the thick of summer while catching up with people outdoors is what makes the game such a pastime. It's a reason to come together and enjoy a game. Luckily, there are over 160 games in a season, so most of the time, people don't even pay attention to what's going on but for maybe an hours worth of a 3 hour game. Having such a bad team is both a blessing and a curse. Obviously a winning team is incredible to watch, i.e. your Washington Capitals. But having a team that is still trying to build its legacy allows you to walk up to the game and grab a $5 ticket. Nothing can beat a nice afternoon for $5. A McDonald's extra value meal costs more than that.

I was never a crackerjacks fan, so throw me some peanuts and a few Bud Lights and take me out to the ballpark.

Battlestar Galactica / Caprica

2009-04-29T21:22:00.003-04:00

I know what everyone is already thinking. Man, Rick is the biggest geek in the world. But let me ask you, why is anything sci-fi geeky? Is it because of what people think of when they think of Star Wars or Star Trek? Is there just a stigma associated with it? I watched Star Trek as a kid, that doesn't mean I had an awkward social life (I did, but not in relation to the TV show...or maybe it was..) The new Star Trek film comes out in a couple weeks. I don't think I've been so excited for a movie in quite some time. The previews look great. It's JJ Abrams and I pretty much love anything this guy does. It has Harold from Harold and Kumar, Simon Pegg, the bad dude/good dude from Heroes. Good cast and what is bound to be a good film. I will be forcing you all to see this with me at midnight. Here's the trailer.

So after that little tangent. back to the focus of this post. Battlestar Galactica was an old '70s show that they started anew about 5 years ago. My brother got me onto the show as he usually does with most shows. I must admit. I was extremely impressed from the get go. There have been a few movies, and 5ish seasons, but the series finale went down not too long ago. I've found myself running through season 4/5 and I forgot how good it really is. It's won countless awards and is even the source of its own spinoff which I believe some network is picking up. (Not sure which). The pilot is called Caprica, which is one of the 12 planets in which humans live before the war went down. Seems quite interesting as well.

I give the show 4.5 Manatees. So that in itself should be reason enough to check it out.

It's been awhile...

2009-04-29T21:07:00.002-04:00

So it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I've been a little busy I guess, but thinking back, I'm not exactly sure what I was doing. The weather is changing so maybe that's the answer. I'd like to get back into the swing of things and get back to a few posts a week. So many things are going on right now. Although Fall is my favorite season, Spring could be the most fun. What happens in the Spring? The weather obviously. 70 and 80 degree days, non-stop? check. Golf season starts up? check. Outdoor drinking and therefore drunk jenga on me? check. check. check. I played golf twice this past week and I must admit, I love it so much. I'm so glad my dad got me into the sport when i was younger. The biggest drawback is how damn expensive the sport is. Luckily there are a few websites that you can find some greens fees deals at, but I wouldn't really call $50 a steal in any other manner. What sport other than skiing is that expensive? It's ridiculous, yet that might be the reason why its a very fitting sport for me. I played at two courses, Old Hickory and Raspberry Falls. These courses were absolutely beautiful. The problem with beautiful courses is that they are out in the country. What does that mean? A) it takes you forever to drive there, and B) allergy central. I had problems breathing and seeing the entire day. But back to the point, not that I have one. I used to be a big TV guy. I'd watch dozens of shows and watch so many movies and I've been off of it. I need to get back to my roots. I will make efforts to continue to review movies and tv shows.

Looking back on it, this was the most random post I'll probably ever have.

Charlie Bartlett

2009-04-15T02:31:00.002-04:00

I need to get back to my roots. Movies. Charlie Bartlett. I haven't watched any of my movies in queue for quite some time. I didn't hear much about this movie other than it was the 'new' Ferris Buehler. Do I agree? Not exactly. It was a good movie, don't get me wrong. I was actually surprised by what a good movie it was. But a big wildcard was Robert Downey Jr. I didn't realize he was in the film and to be honest, he stole the show.

The movie is about a kid that is kicked out from countless private schools and ends up at a public school. Not an unusual story line. He turns out to be a go to for advice and drugs. Not drugs in the sense of acid, weed, cocaine, like one would imagine, but mental drugs from the ever-present problem of over prescribing non-over the counter drugs. He finds his place in school and finally becomes one of the popular kids. The only real problem I had with this was that it was to the extent that was a little unbelievable. High school kids are malleable, but not quite to this extent. It featured the kid brother from Alpha Dog, a great movie by the way, as well as the girl from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, also a good film. Those three actors/actresses alone (including Robert Downey Jr.) makes the film worth watching. It shows how impressionable high schoolers really are, and how much they just need someone they can talk to, without having to hide anything. Later in the film, it even shows how the 'popular' kids don't even have their stuff together. Kids are kids, they still are trying to put together who they really are. Let's be honest, at 26, I'm still doing the same thing, granted I have a much better idea.

Robert Downey, Jr. is on a roll. He's really come out of the cellar with great performances everywhere, starting with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. If you haven't seen that movie, put it at the top of your list. Great movie.

Characterization is strong, story is above average. I guarantee you will be entertained, give it a roll at Red Box if you do the $1 movies.

I give it 3 Manatees. You won't be floored, but you won't regret spending 2 hours of your life in front of the TV.

The Frozen Four

2009-04-10T13:28:00.004-04:00

I would be the last person on this planet to ever believe that I would one day get into hockey. I remember being so disappointed as a kid when that was the only thing on. The whole Fox 'blue puck tail' was the coolest thing that the sport had for the short-lived season. That kind of sums it up. But my how things change as you grow up. You start to not judge things quite as much and are willing to give anything a try.

One week ago, I attended my very first NHL hockey game. Washington Capitals vs. Buffalo Sabres. It's amazing how electric the crowd was. But that wasn't even the most amazing part. I've been to Wizards games before and I must say, nose-bleed seats are not the greatest thing for a basketball game. You are just too far away from the action and some seats are definitely better than the others. Basketball is too focused on one side of the court of the other. Teams run plays, Free throws are there, in-bound passes. The game is just a slower pace.

Hockey on the other hand. Wow. Even in the 400 level, seats were great. I can only imagine what it would be like right up against the glass. The game is fast paced, there are only a few stoppages a period. And the puck is always moving. Its never really focused on a specific side for very long. The game I attended went into OT, Sabres winning 5-4. Great game, bad outcome.

So being so open to the idea of attending another hockey game, my friend Laura was gracious enough to offer up some extra tickets she had to the Frozen Four which happened to take place in DC this year. Biggest drawback? It's an NCAA event, thus no booze flowing. Thank goodness for Rocket Bar (one of my personal favorites) and RFD before and between games. The games were Bemidji State vs Miami (OH) and Vermont vs BU. As a side note, few of you probably knew that Ben Roethlisberger is a Miami (OH) alum. The first game was cool because Bemidji State made it to the semi-finals as the lowest seed in the tournament, cool in any sport. Everyone loves an underdog. Watching the game, however, it quickly became evident why they were the 16 seed. They were sloppy on the ice, but they had a lot of heart. The second game was probably one of the greatest games I'll see. I dunno if that's a good or a bad thing. BU ended up winning 5-4, but it was great. The atmosphere was tense, and it came down to who wanted it more. I will say that I was sort of amazed by how many BU students travel. We were sitting next to the student section, jam-packed with 200+ students with unified chants. Impressive. It probably added to the excitement, but I think I may in fact become a hockey fan. Who'da thunk it? I guess it helps when the Nationals are arguably the worst team in baseball, and Wizards one of the worst in the NBA. Washingtonians don't really have a choice. Is DC going to turn into a Hockey town? Maybe. But the skins, in the few select good times and mostly bad times, will always be the heart and soul of the this area's fan market. But since I refuse to ever become a true Redskins fan, who wants to buy me a Capitals jersey? Can you believe how expensive they are? All just for long sleeves? Crazy even for me.

Rock the Red baby!

Flip Cup Revival

2009-04-06T18:37:00.002-04:00

Since graduating college, one doesn't play nearly as many drinking games. Me especially. It got to the point where any card drinking game sounds horrible to me. I don't need an excuse to drink. I just drink. (Yes I know spoken like a true alcoholic) But in some drinking games, drinking isn't a punishment, but just part of the game. A reward if you will. I have come a long way since the early days of the young Manatee not enjoying the taste of beer. I remember in 5th grade when I had my first beer how horrible I thought it was. "Why would anyone drink this?! It tastes like bad soda!" How naive I was. I like to drink beer. The taste, its quite quenching.

So what games do I find acceptable nowadays to play while drinking? Unless you're at a bar and are playing shuffleboard, pool, or darts, really not a whole lot. Put simply, it was only beer pong. A game of half skill, half luck, half drunkenness. (It's a big game) You get to cheer, you get to feel pressure, you get to feel excitement, you get to feel defeat. Everything you would want in a game. This was the only game I was ever interested in playing after college....until 2 days ago. Apparently it was a big part of UVA Law to play flip cup all the time...and when I say all the time, I mean every party. Maybe flip cup to law schoolers is what beer pong is to most people. I had one instance of playing flip cup in July '06. It was not pretty. No one told me not to fill my cup as high as I was, and about 12 quick games in, I remember nothing. I got so bad that I went to breakfast the next day, drove both Tiffany and Courtney to downtown in C'ville. Came home. Went to go to dinner that night and had no recollection of going to breakfast in the same area.

Rick: "Where do I go? Where is this restaurant?"
Tiffany: "Just go to where we had breakfast. You can park where we did then."
Rick: "Breakfast? What the shit are you talking about?"
Courtney: "This morning...when you drove us to breakfast."
Rick: "Is it bad I have no recollection of this? Did we really go to breakfast??"
Tiffany: "Rick. You drove."
Rick: "That's not good..."

That gives you an idea as to what happened. So, clearly, I couldn't really evaluate how fun flip cup is. I barely remember stuff from the morning AFTER, let alone the night OF drinking.

Mere's birthday brought about a lot of good times, but lets be honest, the invitee that brought a CASE of Hurricane's really got the party started for me. Really? did anyone know you could buy a case of Hurricane's? Flip cup commenced. The same pros that make Beer Pong so awesome are present for flip cup, but the team is larger, and the atmosphere is electric. I got so excited winning one time that I almost punched out the ceiling light when i jumped up and down for joy.

Round 2.

Opening day of baseball. One of the best days of the year. First time to start grilling and not feel strange about it. Pong table in the backyard. Guys vs. Girls. Flip cup all day. I think everyone would agree that it was a great way to spend a Sunday. Ridiculously fun. Best part of the day? Tough call, but when I say tough, I mean there is a clear winner. Jon drank his beer early, everyone screamed at him, he spit it back in the cup, then when everyone yelled at him to go, he drank it again. Amazing. And let's not forget there was one of Jon's infamous rants. I live to be present for those.

From this point going forward, I will force others to play this game at parties. or boring afternoons. Whatever the case. Let's flip.

300!

2009-04-01T02:05:00.002-04:00

No, not the movie as everyone probably thinks...I went bowling tonight for the first time in months, maybe even years. Once upon a time when I lived quite close to the fairfax circle bowling alley, we used to go quite often. Yes I may fit the bill because I'm fat and white, but only partially (White that is). I forgot how much I loved this game. Everyone gets excited. Its not really a sport, but more of a leisurely activity which I'm king of...(aka. Darts, Bocce, Golf) I went with two of my good friends Que and Raf and I'm not going to lie, I took all of their money.

The thing I think I like about Bowling so much is that 300 will pretty much always be elusive to me. In basketball you can hit 3s, even half court shots. Baseball, you can probably hit a homerun (at least in softball I have). But to bowl a 300? I could easily go my entire life without doing that, so you'll always try and perfect your game. Just like golf. Shooting par for the average golfer is probably unattainable. But it doesn't stop us poor schmucks from trying.

You all know me pretty well, I own pretty much any random sports equipment possible. I own skis (I don't go that often). I own a pool cue (I rarely use it out of fear of people making fun of me cause I'm not very good at pool). I own a bocce set. I own EVERYTHING. Does it shock anyone to know that I own my own bowling ball? My own bowling shoes? Probably not. Does it shock everyone that tonight I probably averaged a 160 and even bowled a 223? probably yes. It's probably also not shocking to everyone that my arm and leg will probably be sore from it. Embarrassing? perhaps? Am I ashamed? No. I think I bowled 7 games tonight. Let's see you do that...

I hope we can get more people to go bowling because I think it gets a bad rap. In the words of Bowl America... "It's fun for the whole family!"

St. Lucia - Day Five

2009-03-26T16:19:00.002-04:00

So I've been in the pool for approximately 7 hours. I needed to get out so my skin didn't prune too much. This trip has been one of the best I've ever had. I can't wait to go somewhere tropical again. Hopefully this upcoming winter. Maybe destination Birthday? Is that asking too much? I think not.

I'll post pictures in a little bit, but the drunk jenga pictures coupled with the picture of Robby and myself on an inflatable dolphin....priceless.

Let's make a mastercard commercial.

More to come...

St. Lucia - Day One

2009-03-23T10:13:00.002-04:00

I'm sure most of you are going to ask what the fuck I am doing online while I'm on my tropical vacation and all I can say is. Shut up. Day One was amazing. Not amazing in the exploring, wow, beautiful island type of way. But amazing in the holy shit I can't believe all these things happened kind of way. Obviously these posts aren't going to be long and/or in depth, so I'll just give you the cliff notes version.

9 hours of traveling. Plane from Miami to San Juan included no other than Richard Jenkins (yes the dad from Step Brothers who was recently nominated for Best actor in The Visitor) and Aaron Eckhart. (Yes, Two-Face). I thanked him for smoking.

We get to St. Lucia after 9 hours of traveling. Within 20 min of getting to the hotel, we are starving, but apparently the island is pretty much closed because its 11 pm. We walk to one of the only places open that have karaoke. I am wearing a Guinness shirt. An islander walks up to me within 30 seconds of getting to the bar. "Ey mon. I like ur shirt!". He then proceeds to show me his Guinness he is drinking. He then asks me what I'm into, referring to what drugs I need cause he's the man of the island. Yes I was offered drugs within an hour of arriving in St. Lucia. Best part? He introduced himself as Pablo Escobar. Theh brightside, other than the drugs, was that he showed us where to get food. It was literally the only place left open. We all look at the food and have no clue what anything is. We ask the woman to just give us whatever she wants. We walk home and eat in the hotel. The pork is delicious. Fatty, seems like knuckles. I then start to pay closer attention to what I'm eating. There is no way this is pork. God only knows what we ate. I lose my appetite. Begin drinking immediately. Our 7 bottles purchased at the Duty-Free shop will benefit us all. We drink and go into the hot tub until 3 am.

Rinse. Repeat.

More on Day 2 upcoming.

Pandora Internet Radio

2009-03-21T15:11:00.002-04:00

is probably the most amazing application ever. I know I'm very late to this party, but my god, streaming radio that is catered to your own individual taste? You can listen to music you don't even own? In theory this idea is a gold mine, and in reality, it lives up to it. It's even extremely simple to set up, just click here and you can create an account and a few 'stations'. If you have an iPhone, which it seems is only a matter of time before everyone has one, this application is even more amazing. I never really got into Pandora originally because I never really thought about listening to music while working on the computer, the speakers at my office computer are horrible, so i just kept putting it off, but recently I went on a kick of getting several applications for the iPhone and FINALLY set up an account. I pop my phone on my speaker dock and Voila. Internet radio streamed to my speaker dock.

So yes, I like music like everyone else, but I am always trying to learn of new bands. Obviously everyone that reads this blog knows me well, so me describing myself as an addictive personality shouldn't be surprising to anyone. Just like everything else in my life, when I get into something, I'm 110% (similar to this blog, lets see if this keeps up by June...) So I get into bands, wear them out over a month, then try and find a new band. The problem with getting into Indie music is hearing about new bands, getting exposed. It's mostly through word of mouth, maybe a few trusted websites, but its a crapshoot. Pandora does a great job exposing you to these bands that you are more than likely going to like, and providing you with the all important information of band and album names.

I've created a music station based on my love for Vampire Weekend. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this band, but both A-Punk and my personal favoriteThe Kid's Don't Stand a Chance. But I've come across a lot of bands and songs that I really really like thanks to Pandora. I wanted to share them with you all (they are in no particular order):

Spoon - The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine

Velour - The Way She Said

Bloc Party - This Modern Love

Zox - A Little More Time

Coconut Records - West Coast

The Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)

The Magic Numbers - Take a Chance

Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance

Ra Ra Riot - Each Year

The Kooks - Seaside

Pinback - Fortress

Band of Horses - The Funeral

I tried not to double up on bands, just to give you an idea of the sound of each band. But 2 weeks ago, I knew none of these bands. I recognized a few band names, but wasn't really familiar with their music. Now they are all go-to's. The power of Pandora. Embrace it.

Yechon

2009-03-21T14:49:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure its the most predictable thing possible, but I went to Yechon last night after closing down carpool. It's my go to late night food, possibly because there aren't that many places open that late, but also because its possibly the most delicious food in the world. It wasn't until approximately 3 years ago that I even knew of Korean food. I know Kimchee. Everyone knows kimchee. But there is so much more to Korean food and for those of you who have not had it before, I insist you give it a try. I love this food so much that I even gave a go at cooking dae-ji bul-gogi at home. It's a very simple marinade, with chili paste, chili powder, soy, sake, some garlic, etc.. etc.. The taste was there, but I made it a little bit too spicy, but it got me excited to try preparing other favorite Korean dishes of mine.

Back to the restaurant. I am proud to say that I have attempted (successfully) to introduce this restaurant to pretty much every single friend of mine. I would say about 90-95% of those I bring, enjoy the restaurant. If you've never been to ANY Korean BBQ place, its quite the scene. You sit down at a table, cook food in front of you, but all the sides they bring out are amazing. I have probably been to eat Korean BBQ approximately 60-80 times in my life. Maybe more. And I SWEAR I've always come across a new side I've never seen before. It seems like dozens of little dishes come out with a plethora of food. Anything from mashed potatoes to pickled radish to spicy bean sprouts (all my favorites). I've never seen a type of sit down restaurant like this. Back in college, Little Johns and Qdoba were always packed late night. You stay in line, get your food, everyone is drunk, good food, good times. Here in Annandale (little Korea) is a whole different world. This is a legitimate sit down restaurant. You go in at let's say 7 pm, a basic dinner time, and there are probably a dozen tables available...EASY. You go in at 1 am, 2 am, its busy, but you can still get a table, maybe a short wait. But after the DC bars shut down, everyone drives out to these places and it is HOPPING. Long waits, lots of laughs, lots of conversation. It's great. The atmosphere is incredible, cause everyone is just SO happy to be eating such great food.

I wouldn't say that the restaurant is cheap by any means, but if you get a big group of people, you rarely spend more than $20 bucks. I know that 4th meal should never be that much, but believe you me, its worth every penny.

Public Enemies

2009-03-17T00:19:00.004-04:00

I'm a little shocked that this movie hasn't gotten more press yet. Johnny Depp is always a winner, but more importantly, Michael Mann is a directorial God to me. The cast line up is pretty stacked, too though. Billy Crudup won't be sporting his blue penis, but perhaps he'll be just as good as he was in Almost Famous. Christian Bale is on a hot streak with this upcoming film, coupled with the new Terminator Salvation movie which looks absolutely incredible. Giovanni Ribisi is one of my favorite actors, not exactly sure why other than I guess Boiler Room (which in my opinion is a very underrated film). The list goes on. But the post is just as much about this movie as it is about Michael Mann. He chooses his projects selectively, and I've enjoyed each one to an absurd extent.

His most recent film, Miami Vice, was probably viewed as a bust. Unsurprisingly, I've probably seen it a dozen times. I find that Michael Mann's action sequences are pretty much the bar that everyone tries to attain, bringing a very 'real' feel to the scenes. His most infamous scene is the city gunfight scene in Heat. Definitely one of the best gun scenes of all time, if not THE best. If you have never seen Heat and you are a male, you should probably question your own gender, because this is a must for anyone with testicles. Pacino. De Niro. At their best. Need I say more?

Collateral was surprisingly one of the most badass roles for any guy to have. A gray-haired Tom Cruise? I never would have bought it, but Cruise pulled it off quite well. Only movie I can think of that shows a more badass believable male is Denzel Washington in Man on Fire.

Mann's resume continues with films such as: The Insider, Ali, and ESPECIALLY, The Last of the Mohicans. Arguably still one of Daniel Day-Lewis' best movies to date which is quite the statement. But Public Enemies is going to be quite the film, I have zero doubt. I assure you that I will be there, ready and waiting for when this movie opens up and I dare anyone to say that it isn't a good film.

Watch the preview below if you have yet to see the trailer: Enjoy.

R.I.P. Drive by Argument

2009-03-16T03:04:00.006-04:00

It was a short-lived journey, but it seems one of my new favorite bands, Drive by Argument broke up a couple weeks ago. I can't remember how I came across this band, but i instantly fell in love with them. They had a very unique fresh sound, and its very much in line with the stuff I've liked recently. I, like everyone else I'm sure, go through phases and I'm currently in my Indie music phase. Some of you might be somewhat familiar with the band based on me forcing them on you, or a post that Jon made on his blog. I thought they were on the rise, releasing their first album a year ago. I have it and think that almost every song on it is enjoyable. The notable songs are: Lower your Pieces, Sex Lines are Expensive Comedy, and Dance Like No One's Watching.

They started up a new band, I think with all of the same members, but with a slightly different sound. Less synthesizers and more guitar. I think it was all the synthesizing that made the band so appealing to me, but I'll give their new band Atlas Skye a go. They only have 3 songs up so far, but Seeing Shapes is pretty decent.

Still though, sad day. Maybe it'll be for the best though. From Something Corporate, came Jack's Mannequin. I'm sure everyone remembers Something Corporate who had great songs such as Konstantine and Cavanaugh Park. The lead singer Andrew McMahon started up Jacks Mannequin after the band broke up and I went to a show at 930 to see him. Man does this guy put on a performance. To this day, still one of the best concerts I've ever been to. If you don't think you've heard of them, you probably know this song. Here's another one you should check out though, Dark Blue.

Very talented guy. He came out with a new album this past fall which I just learned about, so I'll definitely give it a whirl. Here's one of their newer songs, Dropout. I recommend you check it out.

Watchmen

2009-03-16T00:13:00.006-04:00

Shocker. I heard about this movie for quite some time living with Robby. If you know Robby, you probably heard about this movie too. So the build up for this film probably started about nine months ago. (This is going to be random, but speaking of 9, there is a new movie that's coming out titled 9. I'm very excited and will force people to see it with me when it comes out in theaters. If you haven't seen a trailer for it, clink on the link.) I had never heard of this story before, but Robby kept talking it up. Fast forward months to this past Christmas and Santa brings me the graphic novel. I still at this point didn't know much about the story other than it was about superheroes in the real world. Sounded interesting, but I wasn't overly excited. If you are intrigued after reading this post, you can find it here at Amazon. Unlike any other superhero story, I found it to be much more interesting as a social commentary. Nixon as a beloved president, the US winning the Vietnam war. That gives you an idea. I completely understand how it was ranked in Time's 100 Greatest novels.

I'm sure everyone has seen the trailers on TV since the movie got a lot of buzz, but just in case you didn't, I'd have to agree with Jon in that its one of the best I've ever seen put together. BOTH of them.

So Robby did a good job of convincing me to be excited for the movie. I flew through the book, couldn't wait for March to get here. We get a group of 13 of us to go to the midnight showing of the film. It's a 3 hour movie. And that's only because they cut it down to that length.

Popcorn? Check.
Huge 110 oz. soda? Check.
Sour Patch Kids? Check.

Let's get this show on the road.

Movie started off well. Kind of jumps right into the story, keeping the true to form with the book. The movie was shot well, definitely pretty to watch. I think that if you know nothing of the story, it will be pretty hit or miss. Most people expect a lot of action in a comic book movie, and I will say, the prison scene is pretty incredible in this one, but there was a lot more story involved. Though it can be fantastic at times (not fantastic in the incredible way, but fantastic in the out of the ordinary as we think of things) its a grounded story. One character, Rorschach, thinks that superheroes are being targeted and killed and it becomes a mystery. Rorschach is definitely the best character, and after you see the film or read the book, you'll understand why. The casting was done quite well, the actors all did a great job with their respective roles. I think that my only critique of the movie was the ending. It was really the only big difference from the book, and I understand why they did it, but it just didn't sit well with me. I hear it will be an alternate ending on the DVD though. Since Robby will probably buy 58 copies to keep as 'collectibles' I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to check it out.

I give the film a strong 4 out of 5 manatees. Maybe the DVD version I'll rank higher since I hear its over 4 hours uncut. If my review doesn't sell you enough to see the film, then I'll just say there is a lot of time that you will see a Mr. Manhattan's blue penis. Put that penis on a 90 foot movie screen, or better yet, an IMAX screen, that's a lot of penis.

Blog Crazy

2009-03-12T19:50:00.002-04:00

So I'm on a roll so I might as well make another post. The other 2 posts were sitting in limbo before i finally posted them. I love starting things and not finishing them. I'm the king of that. Sodas, projects, work, you name it, I half-ass it. But not half-ass it in the way I don't put effort into it, I put a lot of effort into things, just not all the way to completion. But everyone has things they need to work on right?

Anyways, I started to try and stay up to date with all my friends blogs and I must admit. There are some SERIOUS bloggers out there. I mean it never even dawned on me to include links to other sites or youtube clips, pictures etc.. Is this something I should try to pursue or does it make this hobby a little too demanding? Someone please tell me what to do? Do people even read this to make it worth doing that?

Let's ask the audience.... What do you think?

Ouch

2009-03-08T14:05:00.003-04:00

Since moving to Ballston about 9 months ago, I have a go to place for getting my haircut. I got my haircut there before since its down the street from my office, but now its the only place I go to. It started when I heard the place was run by little Vietnamese women. I grew up with little Vietnamese women and find them funny to listen to. I really enjoyed going there because they will talk about customers in Vietnamese, assuming that no one can understand them. I don't really speak the language anymore, but can understand bits and pieces. After the first few times going there, the awkward haircut talks led to them discovering I was part Vietnamese. Now, one woman says hello to me EVERY time and i think its signaling all the others that I understand Vietnamese and to not talk about me.

So getting back to the point of this post. This place is the kind of place where they give you a hot towel massage afterwards. No, not in that sketchy way, although if only... Just kidding. So I get my haircut. I have about an 85% success rate there, which is why I keep going back. Haircut finishes. looks pretty decent. but here's where it gets interesting. She pulls out the hot towel which is always a nice touch. But the head massage begins. Since I've been coming to this place for awhile, I've had several different people cut my hair (I'm not one of those people that go back to the same person). What is the proper etiquette when receiving these massages? What if she's really bad at it? Do I tell her to stop? Has anyone ever told them to stop? They all talk amongst themselves, so if I happen to have a bad person this time, are they going to talk about how i asked them to stop the massage and then the next person I get won't do it? That would be disastrous. Do you think when they get hired at this place, they have to audition or they are told what to do. This woman is literally beating me with her two fists together on my back. I've paid a girl to hit me around before, but that was Vegas and I was naked, this is Ballston and I'm clothed. I sit there, asking myself when this is going to stop. She'd rub my head twice, then beat my back again. I'm not the skinniest of people and my shoulders probably could be a little stronger, but she was somehow able to smack the few exposed parts of my shoulder with just skin and bone, over and over.....and over. How she hit the few spots that I don't have a plethora of 'meat' is beyond me. It's a skill I assure you. I'm sure if i was turned to the mirror, I could see myself cringe each time.

I love the mini massage, but only if its done right. What should I do next time? Maybe I'll just close my eyes and pretend I'm in Vegas...

PF Chang's

2009-03-01T23:21:00.003-05:00

Being partially Asian, saying that this place has good Chinese food is a sin. I'll probably be caned for it, literally, but I cannot tell a lie, I find it quite delicious. Yes that was a lot of commas, I know. I went to lunch with a few high school friends and we re-hashed old stories. It was fantastic. The food was delectable, the place was surprisingly busy for Saturday at 1 pm, and the server was attentive. I must say however, there are still a lot of observations I made about the restaurants that bothers me. I cannot be sure if this is the case at all locations, or just the Tysons 2 location in particular.

We got a Table for 4. If I remember correctly, PF Changs sells itself on the fact that its family style food. Typically speaking, you go to a family style restaurant, you think of getting a dish per person, thereabouts, and sharing each one. We order our food, make sure we aren't doubling up on anything that is too similar and wait for our food. Lettuce wraps come out, tasty as always. But when the food came out, there were some serious issues. How in the world could we fit four dishes, an appetizer plate, and our four plates, along with our water and cokes on the same table. These tables are PERFECTLY sized if everyone was eating their own dish, and it was placed in front of them. I mean I understand that the restaurant is trying to jam pack as many tables in there as possible, but what moron decided it was a good idea to get small tables at a 'family style' restaurant. Don't even get me started on their sauce plate. I mean, I know its pretty good, and Robby pretty much devours the whole thing, but its HUGE. The table is tight as it is. How can someone enjoy themselves when they have trouble fitting everything on their table.

I will admit, this happens every time I go to this location, but it doesn't stop me from coming. So maybe the idiot I referred to above is actually a genius. But I'd just like to complain. Get a better business plan. At least a better floor plan.

The Heartbreak Kid

2009-02-28T22:49:00.002-05:00

Two words: Watch It.

4.5 out of 5 Manatees for a Comedy.

Valkyrie

2009-02-28T12:12:00.002-05:00

Tom Cruise is crazy. You know it. I know it. Society knows it. But, damn can the man make a movie. I can't think of very man Tom Cruise movies over the years that I haven't liked. And you know what, I challenge you to do the same. One of my favorite movies of the past 5 years is the Last Samurai. Tom Cruise at his finest. He dropped off the map for awhile with this whole Katie Holmes and Suri thing, but he made a re-appearance with Tropic Thunder as the comedy relief.

So lets go through his most recent work. Valkyrie. Some of you or may not know, I was a history minor in college and the period I enjoyed studying the most about was World War II. Always found it fascinating. I remember reading about plots to overthrow Hitler, but I never really studied any of the specifics. In reality, I think its a great idea for a movie. It's a period piece that can still hit home with a few people, and it automatically does not have a happy ending. We know what occurred in history and it was clear that the plan wasn't going to be a success. There aren't that many movies that get filmed nowadays with an unhappy ending.

The story was well put together. I'm assuming they glorified some of the story so that it transferred onto the big screen cleanly. The characters were strong, some of them you didn't really get to know quite as well, but you definitely attach yourself to a few. They were willing to sacrifice everything for what they believed to be the greater good. They were true patriots of Germany and not patriots of Hitler. Because of the magnitude of their actions, you could easily understand why some were hesitant, scared in the way they were.

There was only hard to believe part of the film when he is working on recruiting individuals to his 'side' and I think you'll recognize it when/if you see it. Other than that, I could easily see all these things occurring as portrayed in the film.

The movie gets a bad wrap, most likely because of the whole Tom Cruise factor, but it was quite well done. Quoting Robby, "You have to rate it high. Tom Cruise has an eye patch, and we live in the eye patch capital of the world!"

i give it 4 Manatees, possibly 4.5, but only because I love movies about history and Tom Cruise

Eastbound and Down

2009-02-28T09:49:00.002-05:00

Typically speaking, any HBO original series is an automatic winner in my eyes. Over the years, I must admit, I've come to enjoy practically every premium channel series. If you don't have HBO or Showtime, you should. The Sopranos, Entourage, Californication, Weeds. The list goes on. So, without knowing anything else, I was excited about the prospect of this show. When I learned it was with the guy from FootFist Way and Will Ferrell was an executive producer, we have a formula for success.

General plot is a baseball player that enters the MLB as a stud, goes down in flames and the after effects. The story is creative, premise is both believable and unbelievable at the same time. Humor is out there, very Will Ferrell like and to an extent that you feel uncomfortable sometimes. I think that's been a trend in shows lately. I know I've watched episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, turning away during particular scenes because its just difficult to watch. I think that show in particular broke ground for that type of comedy on television today. The Office is another show that has a sometimes unbelievable Michael Scott saying or doing the most awkward things.

I've only watched the first 2 episodes of the show, but think there COULD be some potential. Typically speaking, I'm more of a drama-phile when it comes to premium show original series, but I'm not 100% sold on this yet. The main character is just that, quite a character, definitely able to hold the lead of the show. My only concern is that the show will become redundant with jokes and it will get monotonous, but the plot is still evolving and I won't be to quick to judge.

I don't want to give the show a rating quite yet, but I'll post something a few episodes later so that I can be a better judge.

Gone Baby Gone

2009-02-25T21:04:00.003-05:00

I know that I'm really throwing a lot of posts out there, but with the new title, I got a little excited and will probably finish too quickly, leaving no posts for the next week or two. Story of my life.

The title of this post is probably a little deceiving. While it IS about the movie, its more about a philosophical debate about a situation that happens at the end. The movie is incredible. I viewed it as the best movie of 2007, beating out both Michael Clayton and No Country for Old Men, both which are also extremely good movies. Casey Affleck and Ed Harris are a great combination on screen and the film is quite powerful. Very surprising since it was directed by Ben Affleck. I guess he's talented after all. Last thing he did that I respected was his role in Dazed and Confused. If you have NOT seen this movie, or don't plan on it, stop reading now, as this is kind of a spoiler. If you have, read on and please comment with your opinion.

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At the end of the film, Casey Affleck is conflicted with a decision he must make. Rat on Morgan Freeman, allowing the little girl to return to the mother that does not care about her daughter, or let Freeman keep the child. I have a very strong opinion in the matter, but I understand both sides of the argument. On one hand, the little girl is with an upper class family that will care for her. She'll be better cared for, live in a better household, and be given greater opportunities in her life. On the other hand, with her real mother, she probably will be neglected, be part of a vicious circle. I think it can be agreed upon that the girl will be better cared for and is in better hands with the Freeman family, however, the decision isn't that simple. How can one condone the kidnapping of a child, even if its in the best interest of said child. Birth parents have the god-given right to hold on to their children, and fight for them if necessary should society find it more prudent to take a kid away for negligency. Proper channels must be used, even if the end result is a kid that is removed from the household by social services. Yes, there are chances that the kid can get lost in the system and end up in a worse place than the kidnapping family.

So in conclusion, I would side with Casey Affleck and not with his girlfriend. We discussed this at dinner the other night and I was shocked by the amount of people that sided with the girlfriend. Am I wrong in thinking that even if its better in the end, it can't be an acceptable course of action? You all tell me. Who would you side with?

Role Models

2009-02-25T19:57:00.002-05:00

I remember seeing the preview for this movie and thought, wow, this movie is going to be incredible. Humor should be right up my alley. Paul Rudd can't go wrong lately, Seann William Scott gets funnier and funnier. For those of you who only know him as Stiffler, I would highly recommend 'The Rundown' which was extremely entertaining. Action, laughs, the whole shibang.

Back to the point. The premise is that two guys that work for an energy drink company get slapped with some community service. They join a big brother program and link up with an 8 year old black kid and a 15 year old dungeons and dragons kid played by Fogel from Superbad. The young kid, Bobb'e J. Thompson, has a bright career of himself. Surprisingly, I found his humor to be well put together. Paul Rudd was his dry sarcastic self and Seann William Scott is definitely pigeon-holed to be the young, sexually driven, zany type of character. Everyone lives up to their roles well, and there were a lot of attractive no name women throughout the movie, which was nice bonus for me. To give a glimpse into some of the humor, the movie starts with Seann William Scott getting out of a car, walking up to Paul Rudd, making a gesture and posing the question, "Guess what I did last night?" Another scene is when Seann William Scott explains to Bobb'e how to appropriately spy on women's breasts and not be so obvious. Yes, I did take notes.

I wouldn't say that it was the funniest movie I've ever seen, but definitely top tier of contemporary comedies. Some of you probably think that I have a 'unique' sense of humor that may not translate to all my readers (aka women). I doubt any women actually read my blog, BUT, I think its safe to say you would enjoy it as well. I watched with both Suzanne and Aly, both whom were laughing hysterically throughout the night. If you're looking for a movie with lots of laughs and little thought, you've got a winner with this one.

I give the movie 4 out of 5 Manatees.

Hook

2009-02-23T23:51:00.005-05:00

My last post seemed to be relatively well received and it was the first to move outside my movie review element. I wouldn't really describe my movie reviews as something that is going to really interest people, but more of something that my friends can read and make fun of me about. The Lost review was something that got a few more comments and caused a little more debate. Im hoping by branching out to TV and Restaurants, I can possibly gain a few more readers and have it be something of use. For TV, I'll mainly just stick to shows in general and not just episodes of shows unless I think it really warrants it. Restaurants will be a little tougher since I feel like I've gone to a lot of good restaurants already, but I'll create somewhat of a scale based on food, service, ambience and value. Please add any comments if you find something else a little more beneficial.

Restaurant Week. One of my favorite times of year in DC. I think a lot of people would probably argue that DC is pretty vanilla compared to other cities. Not quite as much character or something that it's known for, but I'm a firm believer we have some really great restaurants. Restaurant week allows us middle classers to check out some great restaurants on a tighter budget, because sadly, going out in the city for a nice dinner for 2 can be quite expensive. Probably one of the few reasons I'm okay with being single. The problem with restaurant week is that you have to choose your restaurants wisely. Some places use it as an opportunity to impress, others do it because they feel obligated to participate. Luckily for us Hook happened to be a restaurant that was trying to impress.

Reservations for 10 at 830. At that late of a time, the place should be bustlin', and it was. Walking in, the restaurant seems quite small. A location directly on M street makes it highly accessible to the Georgetown crowd. The bar area is dimly lit, lengthy, however, which makes it accessible to get a drink while you're waiting for your table. A nice touch is that there is a long table next to the bar that allows for another standing area if there is a longer wait. Walking down the restaurant, you come across a set of stairs which make a lot more sense, the restaurant turns out to be 2 storied and even has a sectioned off private room. Place has plenty of tables, all filled to the brim. The back room, which is slightly segregated from the rest, was a very nice touch for our group. With any large group, you can become overbearing with how loud the table can be and I felt that the walled separation brought about a better ambiance to all others at the restaurant.

The good fortune continued as the waiter brought out a dozen complimentary half shell oysters. I was a little weary, since some seafood scares me, oysters included, but they were quite tasty. The waiter was exceptionally helpful, especially when asked about the fish on the menu. More than a simple, 'its a white fish' he went into depth with the consistency, where its from, etc.. Wine flowed, food came out. Appetizers were a very healthy portion. I had tuna tartare which was quite tasty, but I think the steamed calimari was the biggest winner. Highly recommended to any who dine there in the future.

The fish was well prepared. I think we have nearly a full spread of everything they offered at our table. I can only speak for the Tombou Ahi which is a type of Tuna off the deep Pacific. Prepared rare, it was well prepared and flavorful. Surprisingly I had a bite of Tiffany's ribeye and it was phenomenal. I would give up bacon for a month to get that marinade recipe! Presentation of all the food was fantastic, and this was highlighted with the dessert. I know most people find presentation more of a formality, but I really think it does add to the overall meal.

Out of all the restaurants I've dined at, this ranks in the top tier for the Washington DC area. As with movies, ill be rating restaurants on a 5 manatee scale.

Ambiance - 4.5 Manatees. If the room was a little quieter, I think this would be a solid 5.

Food - I wish there was more on the menu along the idea of other seafood not fish, but I guess that's just in line with the the restaurant's name, 'Hook' since you can't necessarily catch shrimp or scallops on a hook. 4 Manatees.

Service - Impeccable. Very attentive, always filling water, always willing to assist in any way they can. 5 Manatees.

OVERALL - Top notch DC restaurant. One of the best I've had the pleasure of dining at. 4.5 Manatees

LOST

2009-02-18T22:26:00.004-05:00

So I know that I traditionally only write about movies, but I had a hot debate with a Ms. Katie Sheehan about this show. As a side note, she says she reads this blog, but I'm a bit skeptical.

So the question at hand: Is LOST better than sex?

Seems like a silly question, I'm sure. But speaking as a guy that wishes he had more sex (I guess what guy doesn't), even for me, its not so simple of a question. So I guess we need to break it down. What makes LOST so good? It's been on the air for 5 years now. It never answers questions you have, always produces more questions, and rarely actually gives a straight response. Somehow, JJ Abrams and the writers are able to keep viewers interested and not overly frustrated. The show is a masterpiece. What other questions do you need to ask? Does the show leave you satisfied? Yes and no. I feel like so much happens, but we're still at square one. I never think an episode is pointless.

So lets breakdown sex. Considering I've seen the female form in the flesh like twice in my life, maybe I'm not the appropriate person to break this act down, but I'll give it my best. The 'old college try' if you will. Sadly, this is also what I tell a girl beforehand. Sex is fun, creative, innovative. Leaves one satisfied. Is the end climatic? absolutely, otherwise it wouldn't be called the end (at least for men).

Interesting question... Is the end of each episode of LOST climatic? Absolutely. Is the show fun, creative, innovative? yup. check. check. check. Am I satisfied afterwards? You betcha. Where does the big difference between the two lie then? Lost is a guaranteed hour of excitement. I won't make any general judgments, but lets call a spade a spade. After sex are you left wanting more? If you're a guy, more than likely all you want to do is sleep. I don't want to sleep after Lost. God didn't program me to be tired after watching LOST. I want to watch more LOST. It may be different from a girl's perspective, so I guess I'll let Katie chime in on that one.

So pros and cons: Both are creative, innovative, exciting, climatic. Pro of LOST: lasts a guaranteed 60 min. Satisfying, yet leaves you wanting more.

A tough combination to say the least.

On paper, I would have to say that LOST wins. But then again, if there was a naked girl in my bed and an episode of LOST was on, I'd probably DVR the show and have some fun. Hey, like I said earlier, gotta call a spade a spade, I'm still a guy.

Blindness

2009-02-15T14:50:00.003-05:00

I didn't know what to think when I first got my hands on this movie. I remember reading that Julianne Moore did a very good job in this film, so I did a little sleuthing to discover that Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover were also in it. Shockingly, I took it upon myself to watch the film at some point. That point, was today. You might recognize the woman with the dark rimmed glasses as the girl from 'I am Legend'. I had to double check through IMDB and found it hard to believe that the girl is younger than I am. I think I'm starting to get to the age where everyone is younger and its a bit depressing. Just for the Mr. Skin shout out, you see her topless near the end of the film. Let's just say Milk does a body good. Moving on from my creepiness... (I've been single for a long time, lay off)

Starting off, I was a little confused as to where the film was going to lead. A person randomly goes blind while sitting in a car driving through traffic. From there things move surprisingly fast. It reminds me of a zombie movie in the way that its very contagious and the world falls apart. It was an interesting twist because I don't think a person ever thinks about how blindness can cause world order to collapse.

I thought the movie was going to be more of a sci fi, weird virus, 28 days later type of movie. In reality, it was much more than that. I don't remember this movie getting much press, but it definitely should have. It was about people, how people handle extraordinarily bad circumstances. The film is in line with Thomas Hobbes (if I remember by philosophy correctly) stating that all men are inherently evil and society is what makes them good. If you do watch this movie at some point, which I highly recommend, take the time to really think about the amount of weight that fell on Julianne Moore's character. It is absurd. And in reality, if it wasn't for her, the film would have had a completely different ending.

As a forewarning, the movie is extremely disturbing at points. The director is the same guy that did The Constant Gardner which was also a good movie. This I think trumps it.

A highly recommend the movie and give it a strong 4 out of 5 Manatees.

The Reader

2009-02-11T20:27:00.002-05:00

My quest of 2008 best picture nominees continue as I laid down to watch 'The Reader'. I must admit, I'm a fan of Ray Fiennes. Red Dragon is an under rated movie that flew under the radar a majority of people. Kate Winslett was nominated for Best Actress. How could this movie possibly go wrong. Heading into it, I know of 2 great actors/actresses, recognized before for their skill, and a movie that is nominated for Best picture. One word: Unbelieveable. How in the world could this movie be as bad as it was?

The film was slow. I understand the story and all, serious etc... I like a serious movie just as much as the next guy. You see a lot of Kate boob. Is that a bonus? I mean I guess if you get as little action as I do, you gotta take what you can get. Was it a good story? It would be hard for me to say that if I read this book, I wouldn't like it. Was it transferred well on the screen? I don't think so. Do I ask too many questions while I write these reviews only to answer them myself? Probably. Ray Fiennes character was never really explained until the end. You're able to deduce that he's the grown up version of the boy, but still. Its definitely an area that could have been developed more. The scene with him at the end with the woman was just awkward and odd.

I think that Kate Winslett did do a good job, but sadly I don't think it was Best Actress worthy. I fell asleep during the first 30 min of Revolutionary Road so I'll have to give it another go to see if her nomination for that movie was worthy in my eyes.

I give the movie 2 Manatees.

Coraline

2009-02-11T01:10:00.004-05:00

First off, let me just say what a great movie. Thanks to my friend Elisa, I learned of a lot of the 'making of' details to this film that made me appreciate it even more so than I would have without the extra info. So what jumps out at me first? A movie in 3-D?! I mean really, when was the last time you saw a legit movie in 3-D? Not since the days of the blue and red paper glasses and the early 90s. This 3-D was totally legit. No silly, over done throwing something at you so you go 'Ahhh!', but realistic 3-D view of the whole movie. Only a couple times throughout the film do you see any objects hurl in your direction, which just made you appreciate it more.

What was really nice, was the fact that some of the previews were also in 3-D. I remember seeing the preview for Pixar's 'Up' a few times and being very confused by the film. Apparently, however, the film is also going to be shown in this 3-D and man oh man, I must admit it looked damn good. I am extremely happy that the movie industry is finally taking on the idea of implementing 3-D films at a mass level. I remember reading an article once upon a time about how 3-D is the new big technology (sounds funny right?) that the movie industry wants to explore, but the cost of legit 3-D theaters is so high and the cost of real legit 3-D glasses is too large with the flight risk. The glasses I had were cheap, and the film still looked incredible.

So back to the movie itself, the story was extremely well done. For avid movie watchers, it will obviously remind you of the Nightmare before Xmas, but more recently, Pan's Labyrinth. The film's story is brought along at a good pace, not moving too quickly into the main plot and allowing for a little story building and characterization. I think with movies like these, its easy to get swept away with the special effects and unique fashion the movie is done in. I will admit, I remember seeing previews for this film, thinking man, this thing is kind of creepy. I know I'm a little kid when it comes to these things, but boy was I right. The film was able to get me eeried out with no problem at all, especially as the film progressed through its plot.

I was captivated from start to finish, even after an incredibly long day at work and a 1030 showtime. I give the movie 4 Manatees for its uniqueness, innovative story, 3-D effect and hand-sewn tiny clothing.

Point Break

2009-02-09T23:57:00.002-05:00

There isn't much I can say about this movie that hasn't been said by dozens of other people. Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey. Oh and the Commish. From the Good Taste League. Sent to the big screen in 1991, the movie is chalk full of great lines and music. A young svelt 27 year old Keanu Reeves acting to the best of his ability. I grew up on this movie, watching it probably over 30 times. I took it upon myself to try and decide what the best scene of the movie is since I know it by heart, and others with me were watching it for the first time. It's a tough call. It may be trite, but the scene when Keanu shoots into the air because he can't shoot the ex-President Reagan is probably the most memorable. Lines in the movie are a completely different story. Quite plentiful and worth the watch.

So even though this is quite the old movie (pushing on 18 years) but I'll review it the same anyways. It's tough to say you don't connect with the characters, the story is beyond obscene, but its still a very fun movie to watch. The most amazing part of seeing this movie again was the parallel my friend Mere made. The movie is identical to The Fast and the Furious. Even to the final scene of the movie. Lori Petty is no Jordana Brewster by any means, however its tough to deny how entertaining these movies are.

With the cult classic label helping the rating, I give the movie a 3.5 Manatees.

Quarantine

2009-02-02T02:21:00.002-05:00

I'm sure my writing on this blog gives everyone the impression that I pretty much like any movie genre. And to be honest I pretty much do, but ever since I was a little kid, I've been addicted to Scary Movies. The funny thing about that is that I'm pretty much the equivalent of school aged girl when it comes to how scared I get. (I'm currently up writing this post because I can't sleep) I guess that's why I enjoy riding roller coasters, even though I'm terrified of heights. The sad thing about scary movies is that recently, we've become so used to special effects in all films, we can't appreciate old school scary movies any longer. Everything has to outdo itself and the end result is a lot of scary movies that are just cheesy. When was the last time you saw a contemporary scary movie that actually freaked you out? I think the closest thing we've had recently is the 28 days later series, granted, I'm partial to zombie flicks.

Shockingly, since Americans are not nearly as creative, this movie is a remake of a Spanish film named "Ils". I watched a portion of it, however, since it didn't have subtitles, it was a bit difficult, but the general themes are parallel between the two. One of these days I'm going to create a little more consistency and uniformity between these posts, because right now I feel like I talk about WHY i watch movies just as much as I talk about them. Premise of the film is that a reporter/cameraman are doing a piece on fire dept, yadda yadda yadda, I mentioned the bisque. They are quarantined in a building and no one knows why or what exactly is going on. None of the cast really jump out as start actors, though you might recognize a few. The main actress is from the show 'Dexter', the cameraman is the dude from 'The Practice', the vet is the guy from Ally McBeal and the waddle, and lastly, from the feature film 'Crazy/Beautiful' Jay Hernandez.

For a horror flick, this movie did a pretty good job. The story is similar to a lot of other movies, but the way they did it was well done. I was on edge the entire time. Does it take much, no. Were there a few all of a sudden scares? yes. Was that why the movie was scary though? Absolutely not. The director was able to create an ambiance of reality. Of not knowing. I think the recent trend in movies is to take more of a camcorder look during a movie. For example...Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, parts of The Wrestler. As I discussed previously, I find it as a great way to connect the viewer with the characters on screen. At the end of the film, the main actress, Jennifer Carpenter, played the role a little over the top, but in reality I think she sold it quite well and it wasn't overacted at all.

I give the movie 3 Manatees. If there was a horror category, I would give it 4 Manatees within the genre.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

2009-02-02T02:08:00.002-05:00

I know I'm an odd character strictly based on the fact that I enjoy Keanu Reeves films. Maybe it was Speed that won me over, or the more obvious choice, The Matrix trilogy. But nevertheless, pretty much any movie he stars in, I have the desire to watch. I remember seeing previews for this movie and me getting extremely excited. But I think that was a combination of both special effects, which i don't think anyone would argue looked pretty cool and Jennifer Connelly who I've had a crush on since her young acting days of Higher Learning.

I was told from several sources that the movie was horrible. My roommate told me that original was good, but that most remakes are bad. For once, I should have probably listened to him. The story itself was innovative and creative. The screenplay was just very hollow. I know that seems like an odd way to describe a movie, but nothing was ever really developed. Characterization was at a pure minimum, and Kathy Bates character seemed completely unbelievable. Perhaps I'm sexist, but I find it hard to believe a Secretary of Defense being a woman. It seemed like an odd casting and they really just wanted her big actress name.

So were there redeeming factors to seeing this movie? I think that Will Smith's kid definitely has a future in film. Jennifer Connelly's role was nothing to boast about, however I think she did the best she could do given her role. Keanu Reeves was emotionally distant, similar to his other roles. Special effects were cool and since I'm completely addicted to Friday Night Lights currently, Kyle Chandler's appearance was a nice bonus. For those of you who don't know who Coach Eric Taylor is, perhaps you are more familiar with his earlier role in the TV show Early Edition.

I give the movie 1.5 Manatees.

Choke

2009-01-17T04:11:00.002-05:00

So once upon a time, I was at a bookstore and I really wanted to try out a random book. I wasn't sure what to get to be honest, but I was attempting, as I so often do, to read more. But to be honest, unless you have a favorite author who writes a lot of books, or someone has recommended a book to you, you're not always sure on how to start. I loved Fight Club (the movie) and figured that it was an interesting perspective to tell a story. Chuck Palahniuk wrote the book, and since I'd already seen the movie Fight Club, I didn't want to read it. So I got another book of his, 'Choke'. Going on a bit of a tangent, one might ask why I wouldn't want to read the book after seeing the movie. I've always been adamant that you should always read the book before seeing the movie. I feel that you are likely to have the director's perception of what the author wrote, rather than your own. It really limits what your imagination comes up with.

So anyways. I read 'Choke' it seemed like 5 or 6 years ago. It was a quick read, but I remember thinking afterwards, this Chuck Palahniuk guy is a bit of an oddball. How someone comes up with a story like this is beyond me. But I watched the movie finally tonight. I'm aware its 415 am but I planned on falling asleep to the movie, only to finish the whole thing. I'm way behind on reviews, so I wanted to write this one while its still fresh in my head.

Sam Rockwell did a great job in this movie. This is the second film I've seen recently that included him, the other being Frost/Nixon, and I must admit, I'm more of a Sam Rockwell fan. The story is creative, and out there. I could see most movie watchers thinking that the movie is a bit graphic, or vulgar in nature, but at the same time, its kind of humorous how some view sex. Everyone values sex differently, but its interesting to hear a story from the angle of a guy that has sex with strangers, but has difficulty with any actual relationship. This movie takes it to the extreme, since I think many a guy actually has a similar problem, on a much smaller scale.

His best friend in the movie, Denny, played by Brad William Henke, is a big plus in my eyes. I like him as an actor, first seeing him in the ABC show, October Road. He's what I think most people would describe as a 'Gentle Giant'. Coincidentally, this is where I first saw Odette Yustman, so that show is a big winner in my eyes. The movie was well done, there's a good few twists and turns throughout the movie that will keep you on your toes. It's entertaining, but nothing that I would really rave about. For a second opinion, you can ask Dave Newbery, but I think that you won't be upset afterwards thinking you wasted 2 hours of your life, but I don't think you will have missed much if you don't take the time to watch it.

I give the movie 3 out of 5 Manatees.

The Unborn

2009-01-10T18:35:00.003-05:00

Kicking off the 2009 movie season, I started with my previous post, the Wrestler. If that movie is indicative of the type of film to be watched in the new year, it was going to be a very good year. 2nd movie on my list? The Unborn. Starring Odette Yustman. I still need to devise a plan of clubbing her over the head and dragging her to my cave to make her my wife. So back to the point, I saw a preview for this movie approximately 6 weeks ago. I was SOLD. Scary movie? check. Hot girl? check. Gary Oldman? check. I love religious like movies, and I know that this isn't really that religious of a movie, but it had religious undertones. An exorcism and all. So what does this all mean? I'm 110% excited to see this, not matter how bad it turns out.

Coming back down to earth I know, supposed to be an extremely bad movie going in. It received a whopping 8% on rotten tomatoes from the 'Top Critics'. I'm still working on how to become a top critic, so if anyone can hook me up, let me know. Was I expecting much from the movie? No. Did it somehow still disappoint? Yes. The movie had lots of potential and somehow, the director just ruined it. The movie didn't flow well, scenes seemed forcibly included, there were few redeeming aspects in general. The special effects were some of the redeeming aspects. Especially the kids. They were probably the creepiest kids that Ive seen in a movie in quite some time. There were ideas taken from the original 'Exorcist' with an old man walking up the stairs crab walking with his head inverted. A creepy looking dog with an upside down head. Very subtle special effects that were still able to cause a chill down a spine or two. I think what amazed me the most was that the actual SCRIPT was bad. Some of Meagan Good's lines were just plain atrocious (as were Odette's but in my eyes she can do nothing wrong). There were a few scenes that will make you jump, but sadly there were more scenes that will make you laugh.

So when it comes down to it, I spent $8 for a movie I thought was horrible. BUT, do I think it was a waste of money? Absolutely not. Why? Two words. Camel. Toe.

If you have seen American History X, you have probably heard Edward Furlong at the end of the movie when he says, why say something if someone has already said it better.

"Fortunately, the film has one last trick up its sleeve. And by trick, I mean vagina. And by sleeve, I mean vagina. And by vagina, I mean vagina. And by that extensive use of the word vagina, I mean HOLY TITTY-FUCK, DID I JUST SEE A BLATANT 5-SECOND DISPLAY OF ODETTE YUSTMAN'S CAMEL TOE? The answer to that question would be yes. Yes, I did. And by God was it awe-inspiring. There I was, just sitting in the theater randomly pondering if suicide was a reasonable response to excruciating boredom, when BAAM! The camera pans down and shows a frontal shot of Yustman in those gravity-defying panties, this time presenting a distinct and revealing vertical slit. Needless to say, I came instantly."

- Adam Quigley from the site Always Watching

I give the movie 5 Manatees, okay, really I give it 0.5 Manatees.

The Wrestler

2009-01-10T13:56:00.003-05:00

So, I'm pretty far behind and have about a half dozen of my shitty movie reviews to write so that no one reads them, but the goal of this weekend is to catch up. So now that my reader count is up to 3, I apologize for forcing you the three of you to reading several reviews in the near future. That being said, just because I said that I'll be writing these this weekend, it won't actually come true. Ask my boss at work, I'm the king of not meeting deadlines.

I saw this movie on New Years Day in theaters (shocking I know). There was a lot of hype for this film and I figured this was worth going to the theater to get the full experience. As a side note, I also go to theaters to get the full experience for bad movies I just really want to see, aka 'The Unborn' which I am leaving for in approximately 40 min. It was the first time that I went to the Georgetown theater and I kind of liked it. Parking is kind of a pain, but when is parking not a pain anyways. The theater was small, but I had a huge Cherry Coke and candy, so I was all set.

The movie started off weird at first. For about the first 10 minutes, you never saw Mickey Rourke's face. I'm not sure as to why the director filmed it this way, but the camera 'shadowed' him from behind. It turns out that several parts of the movie were filmed this way. not a smooth camera flow either, almost as if someone was walking behind him. So although I thought this quite odd at first, I turned out to really enjoy it. The cinematography style allowed the viewer to see the world through his eyes almost, to feel what he felt and his surroundings, and most of all, to help you relate to the character.

There are rumors that Mickey Rourke is a lock for Best Actor. First of all, what a great story for him. Getting himself back into the ring and possibly living up to the potential he had. I'm hoping this movie will be a springboard for his career in the next couple years. The film itself is set around the story of an over-the-hill wrestler that was once the king of the ring. 20 years later, his popularity is still there, but not only is he not at the same level, but it seemed the sport wasn't either. It was interesting to see these wrestling matches take place in high school gymnasiums and at community centers. There were several insights into what actually is discussed behind the scenes to these wrestling matches and I thought it was all extremely interesting. I never really got into wrestling as a kid, so I can't relate to this film as much as let's say Robby or Jon, but I enjoyed the story just as much.

So where was I, I think was trying to point out that although this movie is focused on a wrestler, that's only the plot. The actual movie is about a guy that is down and out, that has very little in his life, trying to make some sort of semblance of a life. He was a bad father that wanted to re-build a relationship with his daughter. A daughter that hated a father for never being around. A man who's only love interest is a stripper that he throws $20s at just to talk to him. The director does an incredible job making the viewer feel for Mickey Rourke's character, especially with his side job. I won't go into more specifics, but if you only see 5 movies from 2008, even though this was released so late, I think this has to be one of them.

I give the movie 5 Manatees.

Frost Nixon

2009-01-05T16:10:00.003-05:00

Being a history minor in college, yes I know I wasted my time getting a minor, reveals that I have an avid interest in all things historical. I never saw very many previews for the movie Frost Nixon but finally saw one a couple weeks back. I had no choice but to watch it, if for nothign else but sheer intrigue of the plot of the story. Richard M. Nixon. The only US president to ever resign, and probably the only US president that ever will. One of the dark times of our recent US history (which is saying something with how the world currently views the US).

First and foremost, I must admit, Frank Langella's portrayal of Nixon was very good. Mannerisms, voice, etc.. Granted, I wasn't alive during Nixon's time so someone like my father would be a better judge, but I was impressed. Especially at the end of the Watergate interview (this is the last of the 4 interviews if you are unfamiliar with these events). He's been in a ridiculous amount of TV and film, but most probably would recognize him in his role in Eddie as 'Wild Bill'. I, however, know him as Boris from one of my favorite Johnny Depp movies, The Ninth Gate. Back to the point, the movie itself is based on true events, so creativity etc.. is automatically stifled, but the story is a great one, especially if you are unfamiliar with the true events. David Frost, a talk show host, had one of the biggest interviews of our time with a man that was truly hated by a great number of Americans. Within the first 20 min of the movie, Sam Rockwell's monologue when he's talking to Oliver Platt and Michael Sheen really hits home. Why were so many people truly hurt by Nixon's actions? It wasn't because he was just a dirty politician, we have dirty politicians everywhere. More specifically, individuals across the country saw him as belittling and corrupting the highest office in the country. Symbolically, the corruption was much deeper than could ever occur in any other country or position. Speaking one on one with a man with such a gait would be quite intimidating. To see someone as grand as the president of the United States simply crack and speak from the heart can be awe inspiring.

If you like history, I think that this movie is a must-see. I give it 3.5 Manatees for its use of Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon (both crowd favorites, I'm sure), and Langella's performance as Nixon.

Pride and Glory

2009-01-04T17:16:00.003-05:00

I remember when I first saw a preview for this movie on tv a few months back. I was pretty excited since it had Ed Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight. Most people hate Colin Farrell in movies and I completely understand that. I've seen a good number of bad performances by him, but 'The Recruit' has always been a secret favorite of mine. So pretty much, I saw this movie because of the actors and not really about the story.

Basic plot is that Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight are all part of a cop family in New York. One of them (Colin Farrell) is a bad cop and now he has to turn him in. The story is very old and the movie has been done so many times over. Crooked cops in New York City, shocker. Most recently, it was 'We Own the Night' which was close to the same story (small differences here and there).

So the story is trite, the acting is okay at best. Edward Norton's performance was on par with his usual work. Colin Farrell was pretty much horrible as always (he definitely peaked in 'The Recruit'. I'm a sucker for Jon Voight, anyone that can create offspring that looks like Angelina Jolie is A-okay in my book. There was a speech he had at dinner at which point he talks about how proud he is of his family. It was a touching moment in the movie as it creates the necessary characterization for a part later in the movie. Overall, I'd say that most likely no one will see this movie and a majority of my readers have probably not even heard of the movie, you all aren't missing very much.

I give the movie 1.5 Manatees.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2008-12-29T02:52:00.004-05:00

After a long wait, I was finally able to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I want to say I saw a preview/heard of this movie approximately a year earlier, so to me, it was highly anticipated. I spoke to a few people about the movie before I had the opportunity to watch it and would agree with several of their points. First off, just to be clear, I am a HUGE Brad Pitt fan and think he's one of the great actors of our time, so I'm going to obviously be quite biased.

What did I hear about the movie beforehand? It's been done, it's just like Forrest Gump. True? To a certain extent, I can see how individuals would place a parallel between the two movies. What else did I hear... oh right, its a VERY long movie, but it seems to fly by. True? Absolutely. It's now 3 am and I had no idea that it was this late. Granted, telling a life story of a person is going to be quite time intensive.

Well, I was always fascinated by this short story since I heard of it as a little kid. Shame on me, since I never actually read it, but I think its about time I did. The story of the movie is probably one of the most innovative stories when it comes to just plain creativity. From that stand point, I think the movie has a lot of pull and it kept me interested. I was curious to see how they were going to angle the end of his life, since if you grow younger as you age, does that mean you shrink to a baby's size or do you just turn into a very grown-up sized baby?

I think a parallel that must be placed on the movie is to Titanic. If you think about it, both stories are told by old women who are nearing the end and revealing stories of their lives to their daughter/grand daughter for the very first time. I was a little disappointed that the director wanted to go this route for the movie, since its something that in fact has been done, but at the same time, I don't think it detracted from the script. There were several interesting parts to the movie, and I won't get into them in too much detail since I'm sure all 2 of my readers are always excited to go see the movies I review. (This writing is purposeful right?) I really liked the portion of the movie where Ben explains how several separate events can cause of chain reaction. I know that has been done before, but I thought they did it well in the movie. Secondly, I think the crowd favorite character was the old man who discusses how often he's been struck by lightning (7) since they show a mini clip of what he was doing each time it occurred.

I think that the timeline of the movie was kind of was uneven. Between his first love and finding Daisy, he dropped in age a great deal. Also, it would have been interesting to see more of his vagrant days on his own, near the end of his life.

Overall, I must say the movie kept me captivated throughout the full 3 hours. I enjoyed the portion of the story that revolved around his father. I think its mostly because in the book that I started to write (and abandoned) included father issues that are resolved before he passes. The scene of him carrying his father to the dock that he enjoyed as a young man will bring tears to many. The story is full of drama and humor and although it was not critically acclaimed, this manatee will give it his vote of confidence. I had extremely high expectations going in the film, which sadly were not reached, however, I think many will find this to be a 'good' movie.

3.5 Manatees.

Deception

2008-12-27T16:53:00.003-05:00

I really don't care if I only have like 2 readers of this blog, but I will address you two in the same manner as if I had 200. Normally on days that I'm extremely hungover, I lay in bed and watch movies. This is how I'm able to watch as many as I do, I often lay in bed hungover, and not just on weekends. So when I eventually do get fired, I'll be able to post even more! Hurray!

So the second part of my double feature was a movie called Deception that I've been meaning to watch. I think what attracted me to this film was its cast. Definitely star-studded with both Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor, nice part for Dawson Creek's own Michelle Williams. Oh and a short appearance by Natasha Henstridge who is still at her age incredibly attractive. So the premise of the movie is Ewan's character, Jonathan, is a bored, by the book guy. Not too many friends, no one really realizes he exists and he becomes friends with Hugh Jackman, Wyatt, and shows him what living life really is. I think that all of us at times think that we could be doing so much more with our lives and that's going to appeal to everyone. Someone coming in and showing how fun life really can be, breaking yourself out of the molds you built for yourself. I know that personally, I never like to leave my comfort zone but every once and awhile, someone will do it for me and I usually love being out of it. The movie has more of a Talented Mr. Ripley feel to it later (I dont want to give away the movie) but the twist is interesting. The sex club portion of the movie seemed intriguing at first only because the viewer thinks this is the angle the movie is going to head, however, it turns out its just a means to an end. Very cleverly put together and it keeps you guessing at the end of the movie, which for me, is very uncommon. Michelle Williams character was weak, as she didn't really draw the attention that I think the part actually deserved. Maybe it was because both Hugh and Ewan overshadowed her, but I think if you were to have put another person in that role, the movie could have come across more. The premise of the movie is that Ewan is fighting to protect her character 'S' when I never felt any real attachment to her at all.

If I had to choose, I'd say the first feature (Slumdog) was better than the second, but I wouldn't say this movie was bad.

I give it a rating of 3 Manatees

Slumdog Millionaire

2008-12-27T16:38:00.006-05:00

So I finally watched Slumdog Millionaire. Jon tried to get several of us out to see this movie a few weeks back, but since I heard nothing of the movie, coupled with Jon encouraging us to see it, I was completely against it. Much to my own chagrin, I must admit that it was an incredible movie. Some of you may be familiar with the director, Danny Boyle, but most of you probably are not. He is probably best known for 'Trainspotting' but I love him most for his work in 'The Beach' a DiCaprio favorite of mine. If you like Slumdog and are sort of into Sci Fi, I highly recommend 'Sunshine' which is another movie of his that came out last year that flew below most people's radars.

Back to the movie, its based on a 'slumdog' uneducated man that is on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Since the Indian Rupee is worth next to nothing, instead of a 1,000,000 rupees, its actually 20,000,000. But that's not the point. You wouldn't think of it at first, but the director but a different spin of a coming of age story. The whole movie is based on flashbacks that the main character, Jamal, has in order to answer the questions that are asked of him on the show. The story is definitely engaging and you are very interested in what is going to happen next. So what are the downfalls of the movie? The 'best friend' character is a stereotypical bad brother. He's there with him through thick and thin, but is willing to hurt his brother in order to benefit himself. Also, it's somewhat predictable. I won't say that the predictability factor is a complete downfall, however, I personally thought it was one of the attractions, as well. I'm not sure if its just me, but when you have a coming of age story, everyone always wants a happy ending, and there were a few situations throughout the movie that you knew would have to go a certain direction.

I consider this a must watch and give it a rating of 5 Manatees.

Sex and Breakfast

2008-12-23T11:47:00.000-05:00

Last night was our annual Secret Santa dinner with my best friends. We've been doing it for a few years now, and we're all hopeful we'll be able to continue the tradition for years to come. What did we mostly talk about? Sports and the lack of our ability to talk to women. Surprisingly, both Jon and Will jumped in the conversation (in regards to women), although I think that was mostly for Robby and my benefit. At one point at dinner, we started to discuss one of our favorite celebrity blog sites, www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com. I think it stemmed from Jon's email earlier in the day sharing his new blog site (the muse of this very blog). One Miss Eliza Dushku is posted on the site as being topless. Once upon a time, I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and had a thing for "Faith" (fans of the show would know that's her character's name). So anyways, Will then spouted off he saw a movie with her recently titled 'Sex and Breakfast' which she appears nude. Me being a 26 year old single guy couldn't resist and immediately said I'll be netflixing the movie. The movie is an Indie movie and therefore also attracts me for other reasons. I tend to like to watch any movie made, but Indie movies often go underrated. After dinner and MNF, I checked to see if I could add the movie to my queue only to notice that it was available for instant watching. I'd never streamed a video to my laptop from netflix, and it was only 1230, so I figured I'd give it a whirl until I fell asleep.

Low and behold, first person you see in the movie is Alexis Dzenia. I understand that I probably watch more tv and movies than a majority of the world, but she's the girl from Invasion. (A show which I was very disappointed they cancelled after one season on ABC) From the start, how could I possibly go wrong with this movie, Eliza Dushku, Alexis Dzenia and Mr. Home Alone himself, McCauley Culkin, in a movie about sex. (I prefer his brother Rory in another Indie flick, Igby Goes down). Okay let's be honest, this could go very wrong, very quickly. I see a lot of movies, and anyone who knows me well knows that I usually find some redeeming factor in any movie I watch. I often say, "Oh, that movie wasn't bad." There have been a lot of movies lately about 20 somethings and the problems with relationships, but its rare you get the plot of a movie to focus on how their sex life is boring. Anyone who's been in a long term relationship knows that it always starts off quite hot, but then starts to become more routine and you try and add flair anyway you can. So from that aspect, I think a lot of viewers can relate to what the director is trying to portray. I think it is a bit more of a stretch for the couple's first reaction is to rely on group sex, but maybe I'm a bit more old fashioned. The movie wasn't great by any means, but had points which made you reflect on any relationship you might have had and the troubles that people undergo.

My 3 biggest problems with the movie:

- No nude Eliza Dushku.

- McCauley Culkin's sex face is quite frightening. Guys, let's all hope we look nothing like that while we're sleeping with a girl.

- the character Ellis not wanting a threesome.

I'm going to be rating all the movies I watch (or at least some of them) on scale of 1-5 Manatees.

Sex and Breakfast : 1.5 Manatees