Summer 2009 we hardly knew you. Part 1

I thought since a lot schools are back in session or within the next couple of weeks I could sum up for you what happened the past couple of months. This first part takes a look at the entertainment area of the summer. 

We'll start light and talk about music. The a**hole Eminem released a new album and people bought it. We're still in a recession and people are still buying garbage. Green Day released a new album and was number 1 for three weeks, I'm happy not everyone is buying garbage. Taking Back Sunday's new album New Again released on June 2 and debuted at #7, which is pretty good for a group that doesn't get enough recognition. Ashley Tisdale had a new album and movie Aliens in the Attic that nobody saw, I'm sure it will do well on Home Viewing formats. Taylor Swift really climbed the charts with her new single You Belong To Me. Black Eyed Peas new album has two hit songs already and I must say the song Boom Boom Pow has to be the worst song I've ever heard in my entire life. I was pretty angry they played that song after G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.  

That will take us into the movie scene (excuse pun), Memorial weekend saw two Blockbusters went face to face; Terminator: Salvation and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonians. For some unknown reason Terminator 4 came in second place to the Liberal Ben Stiller and his new family comedy. Night at the Museum 2 was easily the most unnecessary sequel made this year but it broke even. T4 is having trouble breaking even and Terminator 5 is now in jeopardy. That wasn't the only problem for Christian Bale this summer. His teaming with Johnny Depp has only made about $95 million and is said to have a budget of $100 million. I know that isn't bad but it should have done better than Ice Age 3 and Night at the Museum 2.

Three of the biggest money makers this summer had unknown actors star in them. Those films were Star Trek, The Hangover and G.I. Joe. District 9 is also doing well but it's not going to make the type of bling that those movies made/are making. Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen both had films under perform than expected. People are realizing these guys play the same character in every movie and it's really getting annoying. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince still has a chance of hitting $300 million in the states. However since the fans of the book are really mad at what they did it might fall just short of that marker because of them giving bad buzz for the flick. Finally the big movie of summer Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen directed by Michael Bay of Pigs. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox have been riding high on the success train since the first film and now are bigger stars than before. Shia and Megan have some big projects coming within the next year so keep your eyes and ears open for more on them.

Then there is television and we have to talk about Jon and Kate Plus Eight. The reason is because the show has been on for five years but now people are actually talking about it because Jon wants a divorce and already has a new girlfriend. I'm sorry but this just smells like a ratings thing to me. The show started it's fifth season, nobody talked about the show and probably didn't know it was on. Then one day they're on the front cover of every tabloid. I know it's a nice break from seeing Barry Obama everywhere but still it's annoying. 

So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent are still on television. They're still the big summer ratings winners. Who Wants To Be a Millionaire returned for a ten year anniversary special. Ratings are stuck on that show, it seems they can't get passed 7 million viewers. The other summer shows are on cable with the big winners from new shows this year are Warehouse 13, Royal Pains, Hawthorne and Dark Blue is doing well also. Expect these shows to be around for a while. Let's not forget about the established shows such as The Closer and Monk doing terrific ratings.

The only big fiction book getting any buzz is the new Dan Brown book The Lost Symbol which involves the character Robert Langdon. (from Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) The book will be released on September 15. I know that it's not a summer release exactly but there aren't any books this year people are waiting for. The Harry Potter books are done, no more of people waiting in line to buy a book. Until something new comes along.

That's it for now. Come back next week for Part 2 which will focus on current events and real news, not gossip. 

Fanboy or not?

Where is the line that one crosses that makes you a fanboy? Do you get mad when a movie messes up a characters portrayal? I mean really nit-pick the character apart like Batman is left handed not right handed. For the record I don't know what Batman's dominate hand is. I'm just using that as an example. If someone can answer that question I think that would make you a fanboy. If you know his basic villains and maybe the few that didn't make it to the big screen I think that would make you a fan.

According to Merriam-Webster Online the definition of fanboy is a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee (as of comics or movies). Now with a definition like that I would personally fall under this title. I have to say it's better than being called a geek. Now the problem is that I'm not that picky when it comes to movies. I might have a few things that annoyed me about the film but all people do that. From getting dizzy watching Transformers 2 cameras spinning around Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf until they finally kiss, if you saw that in IMAX it's worse than on the small screen. Then you have G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra with the suits that make the Joes run faster and do anything they can want. Now those suits were never in the cartoon or the comics. The suits didn't bother me and I thought they were awesome. That is two different types of critiquing; talking about the way it was filmed and talking about the source of the material. 

Now fanboys watch a movie, complain about it and write on their blogs how much they hate it (wink). There is a rear occasion that they like something and praise it every chance they get. Which leads to my next question. What makes a film/franchise/property fanboy material? Does it have to involve Science Fiction or a long running series? Do fanboys ruin entertainment for others? The Star Trek conventions made people feel embarrassed to say they watched the show. Maybe not now after the fantastic movie that came out in May 2009 but there was a time when Trekkies were made fun of for their love and devotion for the series. Then you have Ghostbusters, a franchise that everyone loves and aren't afraid to admit it. People quote the movie today and it was released 25 years ago. It has served the test of time and is still enjoyable to watch. Even television shows like 24, CSI and Lost have devoted viewers that watch every week to see what's going to happen to the characters and watch the plot unfold during the new episode. They talk about the episode with others on a social network or, I shudder to say it, in person. It gives people something to talk about instead of there lives and current events. It's an outlet from the real world.

The truth is fanboys are everywhere. There is really nothing that can prevent Fanboys from forming around something. You can try to prevent being a Fanboy or a fangirl. The problem is that people always have something they like or love. Studios and companies appreciate them because they'll spend money for what is targeted towards them. Fanboys are the unofficial critics giving material an approval. Big blockbuster movies are now targeted towards this group because of the built in fan base. Fanboys have been around for a while and are now becoming better known because of these properties that are everywhere. Would a movie studio spend a pile of money on huge fighting robots if they weren't sure people would see it? The answer is no. The studios care and they want money, like all companies do. They don't want to invest money in a film if it doesn't make a profit.

Finally the reason for this entry is because I just watched the movie Fanboys. It's a good and funny. It follows a group of fans in the fall of 1998 trying to steal an early print of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Some people from the Apatow crew are in it. The film is available to watch on whatever your main entertainment source is, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc. 

I Wanna Rock!

Twisted Sister said it best, "I wanna rock"! That was a great cry for rock music in the 1980s. The decade of hair bands such as Guns 'N' Roses, Poison and Motley Crue. The 1970s gave us psychedelic rock like Led Zeppelin and The Who. The 1960s was the British Invasion and the 1990s were grunge. Now come the question, "what next"? Besides the boy band attack in the late 1990s and ending early in the start of the new millennium.

What will be the next new wave (excuse the pun) of music? The music today isn't as good as it used to be. The top sellers now are Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry and Lil' Wayne (whereabouts unknown about Big Wayne.) Country music has a couple artists who hop over to mainstream airwaves like Toby Keith and Taylor Swift. Rap and dance music are a majority of mainstream music. About 5 lines in the whole song but who cares it sounds cool.

Each year there are only a few new bands I listen to that get into my iTunes rotation. The music of today doesn't interest me like it did ten years ago. It doesn't interest people today because band's albums aren't making money like they once did. Today people can download them from iTunes, burn/rip whatever they call copying music from one source and putting it to another source these days. Here are my three thoughts about why the music industry is down in the dumps.

1. What I stated above about there not being a music movement and there hasn't been in a long time.

2. Thanks to stupid reality shows like American Idol it has lowered the bar for artists. Now before you get mad there are some people that do well and deserve to win, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry. Wait, only Kelly Clarkson won the show the first season. Clay Aiken was a runner up to some guy who is nowhere to be found. Chris Daughtry wasn't even in the final two and his career is better than the guy who won. Who did win that year? American Idol, in my view, has really destroyed music. It might be great quality programing for families and the show all the people talk about on Facebook, MySpace and whatever the next thing is that comes out in the next three months. Despite all of this, the show is still a crock of bull.

3. Since MTV has stopped playing music videos, artists aren't getting the recognition like they should. Remember when you used to get up and get ready for school? You used to have the TV on while you got ready and listened to the music. You also got to see a cool video that got the band even more recognition. I remember when I saw Everlong by Foo Fighters and thought it was one of the best videos ever made. Then again it was one of the first I ever really watched. Video might have killed the radio star but now without videos you don't have a music star at all. 

Think about these points for a moment. Now I'm gonna tell you what we have today with music. We have songs that sound so mellow and boring. Death Cab for Cutie songs sound like a bunch of hippie free love garbage. Then you have the lady singers between the age of 23 to whatever the youngest one is who sings from the Disney Channel. I think it's great that they can have a hit show, perform music and star in movies. It's great they can show their talented in not just one area of the entertainment industry. However I don't understand how kids, who don't even have jobs, can buy everything their favorite musician does and yet people who have jobs don't have a must see now band anymore. We need more talented musicians like Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. All we can do is play the waiting game for someone with creativity like them.

Closing thought. Since we are in a non risk entertainment industry now how will there be another trend like Seattle grunge that shock the 1990s? How will record labels do that again if all the companies want the easy and safe way to making a buck?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that when people look back at the music that was created in the early part of the new millennium it will be known as Indie Rock. The reason I say that is because so many groups this decade have been found via the internet. Either from file sharing amongst friends, the artists official website or even their MySpace, Facebook or Twitter pages. These performers are getting out at any means necessary without a label. I wish these people the best and hope they achieve success that other groups have but don't deserve. 

Top 10 List of Better Presidents Than Barry

I'm cheating a little bit on the #10 spot but both of these guys needed to be put on this list. I couldn't make a Top 11 list. (who makes a Top 11 list?)

10 Part 1: Mr. Stephen King, a great storyteller that gives you chills up your leg, but in a good way. He's created such memorable stories that last the test of time. The audience or reader isn't left scratching their heads trying to figure out what happened, unlike a certain political storyteller. When his story is over there aren't any lingering effects to destroy a country. You might be scared for a little after his story is over but it's okay, it's a good kind of scared.

10 Part 2: Mr. Steven Spielberg, who better than one of Hollywood's. Celebrities are so outspoken on politics they should have one of their own in the White House. He knows his history, Schindler's List, and his science, Jurassic Park. He also has his production companies Dreamworks SKG and Amblin Entertainment. They are two very successful companies because he knows the industry, he knows what would sell to audiences and always looks ahead at what could be the next big film franchise.

9. Jim Belushi, he may not be that great or as well known of an actor but this guy wrote a book called Real Men Don't Apologize, that's something certain somebody should read. Jim Belushi has his own band and does mostly family films. This gives himself a better audience than special interest groups or a cult following. He also loves sports and doesn't throw a ball like a stereotyped girl.

8. Porky Pig. He and Barry sound a like sometimes when they can't get the words out that they want to say. However under President P. Pig there wouldn't be a swine flu epidemic and also all the pork attached to bills/legislation would be gone. Mr. Pig can also out think his competitors, i.e. Daffy Duck and beat them to the punch. I think Porky Pig can save his fellow pig, people and the country all at the same time.

7. Jon Lovitz. This man is easily one of the funniest people who needs to be recognized to a wider audience. Since the next 4 years are going to be a joke why not have a comedian in office. He can make fun of himself, our enemies, our allies and do it in good taste. He can be truthful about politics and the laws that Congress and the Senate want to pass and he can say, "It stinks" just like he did on the very short lived The Critic 

6. Homer Simpson, who better to have a beer summit than the beer belly king himself Homer J. Simpson. They might not have Duff beer in the real world but Homer can quickly adapt, maybe he can be a Coors man. He works at a nuclear power plant so he can take the notes from someone like Frank Grimes, Lenny Lenerson or Wayland Smithers about what goes on at the plant. He can guide this country into being energy independent.

5. Yoda. Mr. Go Green himself. He might speak in puzzles but you can understand him. The wisest and strongest, despite his appearance, of all the Jedi. Yoda isn't afraid to fight when the time calls for it and he can make weak minded people see more clearly by just the wave of his hand, in a good way. Anyone can learn from his teachable moments and actually become wiser from them.

4. Superman. I know he's not a legal citizen, but that didn't stop Barry. The man is a protector who fights for truth, justice and the American way. Criminals, terrorist and dictators would be afraid to cross him. He represents America PROUDLY. His costume even looks Patriotic.

3. Denny Crane from Boston Legal. A big shot lawyer with his own successful firm Crane, Poole and Schmidt. He's pro gun, pro life, he's for the death penalty, he loves fishing, hunting and enjoys a class of scotch after a hard days work. He makes fun of Democrats and Liberals without blinking an eye and he has his own spaceship, the USS Enterprise. Denny Crane can boldly go where no other President has gone before. He might has Mad Cow disease but he's undefeated in court. He never lost a court case, even when he tried to lose he won, and always fights for the rights of people. Denny Crane.

2. Bruce Wayne. (Batman for people not in the know.) Why not have a wealthy billionaire be the leader of the free world. He knows a few things about economics, science, technology, and fights crime. Mr. Wayne would beef up Homeland Security under Rupert Fox's control, and if he was the new CEO of GM we would have some hot looking cars compared to the ones under BM, Barack Motors. I believe in Bruce Wayne to be Commander-in-Chief of this country.

1. Harrison Ford. "I wonder what Ford would do at a time like this". That was asked by the wise Leslie Nielsen in Scary Movie 3. If you've seen Air Force One than you understand why he's number 1. He fights terrorist himself to save his family, the country and get the terrorist off his plane. Don't forget he also helped the Rebel Alliance bring down the Empire (Star Wars), was an archeologist (Indiana Jones) who fought Nazis, saved a Amish boy and his mother (Witness), worked for the CIA (Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger) and a doctor who proved his innocents (The Fugtive). Now he might be the worst family man in the world because he usually has to rescue his family. You may ask what kind of guy loses his family all the time and has to rescue them but he always does. Which makes him #1 in my book.

Book Talk: Next

For my first real blog I want to write about a book I just read. It takes what you know about science and goes the extra step about what could happen with the knowledge we have today. There are only a few people who can do something like that successfully and one of them is the late Michael Crichton. I've read some of his previous work and have always enjoyed them. His novel Next, published in 2006, takes a look at what could be the next step in evolution. Talking animals, a possible cure for a disease that really isn't a disease and how it all revolves around a corporation that promotes scientific "research".

The characters in this book aren't really developed but you get a decent feeling of where the person is coming from. The person you get to know the most is Alex and her immediate family and how the company BioGen is invading their personal lives. It shows how corporations are taking over science. Hiring advertising agencies to push their new miracle drug and they don't give the drug a long enough trial to see if there are any side effects from taking this unknown substance. It's all about profits to them and anyway they can get it.

I'm in full support of people succeeding in life, but at what cost? I don't want people to die because a company wants to be the first ones out with a miracle drug and don't take the time to see if there are side effects that could harm individuals. I remember when a friend of mine had a huge black blob grow on his chest because of a suntan lotion. They called the company, gave them the bottle back for them to do "research". In return the company paid the hospital bill to have it removed and gave them a settlement before they could speak to a lawyer. To this day they never found out what was in that bottle that made that happen.

Michael Crichton wrote in his Author's Notes about what he learned from his research. He states that their shouldn't be restrictions on research. Some restraints might be good but without testing how can we move forward in technology and have our knowledge grow. Scientist need to stop looking at the money and instead focus on the science. I'm not saying all of them are like that, but they do exist. For the next step in evolution I don't want scientist to make that step happen, I want it to happen naturally. Let nature take it's course and things will happen on there own. 

He also comments that the Bayh-Dole Act should be revoked. This bill allowed for discoveries to be sold for profits by the university researchers. This lead the way for scientist and corporations to become one, even though the taxpayers were paying the bill for the research. This bill was put into effect under President Jimmy Carter in 1980. It was also named after the two senators that were at the head of the bill Bob Dole and Birch Bayh, one Republican and one Democrat. In theory this would show a bipartisan effort on the cause. 

Michael Crichton was one of the best writers in our lifetime. His vision was incredible about the good and bad of a future that could be. The attention and love he had for medicine, which was seen weekly on ER, can be seen in all of his work. They always say "write what you know" and it was obvious he knew science. If you're looking for a book read Next next.

Redo my opening.

I'm not going to do my opening remarks again. I don't have to redo everything that's already has been done before. It seems that it might be a safe bet for a movie studio to remake what was once a hit and duplicate that success. Movies like The Karate Kid and Total Recall, both made good money at the time of their release, would be considered box office bombs if they made that same amount in todays market. The movies that worked then don't necessarily mean they will work today. A movie like Total Recall fits great as an early 1990s science-fiction action adventure and doesn't need to be a $100 million+ budget blockbuster made with todays technology and have it end up being almost exactly the same movie from before. Also the year of this writing is 2009 and Total Recall was released in 1990. Not even twenty years and they want to remake it.

Some remakes are good but they now go by the term "reboot". An example would be Batman Begins, the film went back to the true roots of what makes him so awesome. The studio tried again the following year with Superman Returns and that failed to excite people for a couple of reasons. The mains reasons were there wasn't enough action, and Lex Luthor isn't that big a threat to Superman like Brainiac or Darkseid. Superman Returns also had Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was coming out 5 days later and would end up being the highest grossing movie of the year.

I do believe that revamps, reboots or whatever they will call them, could be good if handled correctly. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland looks incredible and has been getting a lot of buzz via Internet and the recent San Diego Comic-Con. Then you have films getting redone that are uncalled for such as The Day The Earth Stood Still. The point behind that movie was to make it bigger and louder. It did that to a point but the movie plot was pretty stupid. It seemed like a it was funded by Al Gore, Captain Planet himself.

Opinions are usually already made up before the movie trailer even gets released. They are based on the people involved with the project and what there approach is for the film. If you have somebody involved like Tim Burton, the movie should be in good hands. Then again Superman Returns had Bryan Singer and that turned out to be a huge disappointment.

The thing that gets me annoyed with all these remakes is that there are ORIGINAL scripts written and handed into major movie studios almost everyday. For all they know they could have another movie like Forrest Gump floating around but it won't get made for twenty years because remakes are more in demand. I always make the joke if a remake gets pulled from a release date or holds on filming. I say, "don't worry it's a remake so it's a priority". 

I leave this blog with this thought. If you're sick of the remakes and what Hollywood is offering to movie going audiences, then don't see the movie. Jay Sherman of the short lived and beloved animated series The Critic said once, "If the movie stinks, just don't go".  If you don't like how a movie looks then don't see it. Rent it or order on-demand but don't waist $10 a person on something you don't want to see. Maybe the studios will get the idea that we aren't happy with all of these remakes to movies that aren't that old.

Welcome!

This site will be a place for things I want to write about or discuss. The majority will be movies, television, politics, music, sports, stories/books, technology and anything else that I think about. It might be leaning toward a certain topic more than others, but it could change instantly. It depends on my mind set at the time. 

If you have any thoughts and want to share them you can write comments or email me. Thanks for reading.