One good thing about finishing finals is the chance to relax a bit with some mindless TV. So while channel surfing this afternoon, I was surprised to discover a new addition to the Indiana Jones flicks: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doo!
I’m guessing Dish Network came up one available character short on their channel guide. But as I was afraid to find out what evil, icky villians of Doo might have been chasing after Harrison Ford, I elected instead to turn the TV off and get out of the house for a bit.
Ben on May 11th 2008 in Movies, Random
Update: Semi-Pro didn’t live up to my lofty expectations. There were some good parts involving wrestling a bear at mid-court, but I was hoping for more from a Will Ferrell sports flick. I’m kinda hoping he moves beyond sports movies now. But hey, these commercials are still great.
Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell is perhaps my Most Anticipated Movie of the Year So Far, and these commercials almost make me want to buy Old Spice deodorant just so I won’t smell like a turtle cage.
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Ben on February 26th 2008 in Marketing, Movies, Random
Chelsea and I had a baby this afternoon!
Ok, actually, we went to go see the movie Knocked Up last night (which we thought was very funny), and I visited the movie’s website today while goofing off online. They have a site called KnockedUpBabyMaker.com where you can combine photos of two people to see what their baby would look like. So, without further ado, I present to you an advance look at Baby Alexander!
She has her dad’s eyes and chin and her mom’s nose, mouth and hairline! I am certain that our actual baby will be cuter than this, especially if she looks more like her mom. But I guess we’ll have to wait about six semesters or so to find out.
Ben on June 2nd 2007 in Family & friends, Movies, Random
Chel and I went to see Happy Feet last night, and it was all good until we met the penguin with the soda six-pack plastic thingy caught around his neck. The first part of the movie was a tap-dancing, musical lesson in being proud of your individual talents and differences — you know, the same moral that all those other movies like Cars and Monsters Inc. show so well.
Then we got caught (like Lovelace the penguin getting caught in a soda six-pack plastic thingy, if you will) in an environmentalist tirade. The voice of Lovelace was played by Robin Williams, but you wouldn’t know that in the second half of the movie, since all you could hear was the sound of him choking.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the environment, but the message they tried to send in Happy Feet could have been done much more effectively without being so overdramatically sad. By the time they tried to end the movie on another tap-dancing high note, it ended up sounding just stupid and overly preachy. We left the movie feeling, well, not happy…and feeling no more empowered than we felt before to do anything to help the poor penguins.
Ben on November 22nd 2006 in Movies
If you see one movie in the theater this summer, I hope it’s Cars.
Great music, great visuals, and a great number of poignant moral lessons fuel what has become Chel’s and my Favorite Pixar Movie Ever.
Chel and I liked it so much we went out and bought the soundtrack, which we’ll be listening to as take our road trips to various lake houses this weekend.
Ben on June 30th 2006 in Movies
Ben’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Over the Hedge is a fast-paced, funny flick that, like Shrek and the many other enjoyable computer-animated movies of our day, has plenty of jokes for kids of all ages (like Chel and me) to laugh at.
The movie follows the antics of R.J., a raccoon who latches on to a newfound forest family to keep from being eaten by his archenemy grizzly bear. Along the way, they encounter the encroaching suburban landscape (and the evil leader of the homeowners’ association) through some enjoyable misadventures.
My favorite characters in the movie are Hammy the hyperactive squirrel, played wonderfully by Steve Carrell of The Office; and Stella the skunk, played by Wanda Sykes. Stella looks so much like our cat Luca that I think I’ll forever imagine Luca speaking with Sykes’ distinctive voice.
While Over the Hedge is probably not as good as Monsters, Inc., Shrek or Shrek 2, it made for a good Sunday afternoon at the movies.
Ben on June 4th 2006 in Movies
We saw Mrs. Henderson Presents last night and that Dame Judy Dench can act! She had a wonderful performance as the title character, and a cast of other British actors did admirably in the true story of a woman who opened a theatre and staged tasteful nude reviews during World War II. 4 stars!
Ben on March 9th 2006 in Movies
In honor of the Oscars, here are the lyrics to the winner in the Best Song category!
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp (you ain’t knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain’t knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain’t knowin)
Because a whole lot of ******* talkin **** (you ain’t knowin)
In my eyes I done seen some crazy thangs in the streets
Gotta couple hoes workin on the changes for me
But I gotta keep my game tight like Kobe on game night
Like takin from a ho don’t know no better, I know that ain’t right
Done seen people killed, done seen people deal
Done seen people live in poverty with no meals
It’s ****** up where I live, but that’s just how it is
It might be new to you, but it’s been like this for years
It’s blood sweat and tears when it come down to this ****
I’m tryin to get rich ‘fore I leave up out this *****
I’m tryin to have thangs but it’s hard fo’ a pimp
But I’m prayin and I’m hopin to God I don’t slip, yeah
[Chorus]
Man it seems like I’m duckin dodgin bullets everyday
Niggaz hatin on me cause I got, hoes on the tray
But I gotta stay paid, gotta stay above water
Couldn’t keep up with my hoes, that’s when **** got harder
North Memphis where I’m from, I’m 7th Street bound
Where ****** all the time end up lost and never found
Man these girls think we prove thangs, leave a big head
They come hopin every night, they don’t end up bein dead
Wait I got a snow bunny, and a black girl too
You pay the right price and they’ll both do you
That’s the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin
Gotta have my hustle tight, makin change off these women, yeah
[Chorus]
Ben on March 6th 2006 in Movies
One of the movies Chelsea and I enjoyed over the break was the Chronicles of Narnia. Apparently it made an impact on the folks from Saturday Night Live, too, because they made a rap about it that’s worth watching.
Ben on January 1st 2006 in Movies, Random
So it’s almost 5 o’clock, two days before Christmas, and I’m still at work holding down the fort…which is ok because I’ve had a good bit of time off lately and am going to have a wonderful week off with the fam ahead.    ÂÂ
After I emptied my inbox into neatly-organized folders and threw away the little remaining Christmas junk food that my coworkers and our vendors bestowed upon me, I naturally decided to spend the rest of my holding-down-the-fort time goofing off, surfing the web. I found an interesting story about hurricane evacuees living on cruise ships and don’t know quite what to think of it.
Tonight the fam and I are headed to scope out the Christmas lights in Highland Park, one of the more hoity-toity neighborhoods in Dallas. It should be a good way to get in the Christmas spirit, although the last time Chelsea and I were in Highland Park was rather unsettling. We went to see Syriana at the little movie theater there and were blown away by both the movie and the crowd’s reaction to it.
“I don’t think I’m in Highland Park anymore.”
The movie interweaves several different plots to show how lives big and small are affected by the merger of two oil companies and the political battles for Middle Eastern drilling rights. I think the point in the end is that all the political battles, all the fights for money and power are useless, because in the end we’re all off to another place (i.e. heaven) anyhoo. It was clear leaving the theater that most of the Highland Parkies didn’t interpret it that way. A good number of them thought that the movie was endorsing terrorism and how dare they portray big oil execs as bad people. I don’t think there were really good people or bad people in the movie, just conflicted people, misguided people, all struggling for meaningless power.
So it’s back to Highland Park tonight, as soon as I get done holding down the fort. Merry Christmas Eve Eve.
Ben on December 23rd 2005 in Holidays, Movies, Work
One good thing about finishing finals is the chance to relax a bit with some mindless TV. So while channel surfing this afternoon, I was surprised to discover a new addition to the Indiana Jones flicks: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doo!