Goodbye 2008

Kiss 2008 goodbye by checking out my favorite 5's of the year that was.

Top 5 TV shows of the year
1. LOST - this got crazy good in Season 4, leaving us all desperate to know what the future holds for the Oceanic 6 who finally got off the island.

2. Top Chef - Last season took us to Chicago for Hot Dogs and Suburban block parties. This Season in New York is bringing a little more culture from the Euros and Team Rainbow! Can't wait to finish it off in 09.

3. Psych - Basically the best comedy on TV. If you haven't watched this show you are missing out.

4. Intervention - If you think your life is messed up, watch Intervention on A&E, trust me... things could be worse.

5. Real Housewives of Atlanta - GUILTY. PLEASURE.


Top 5 Music Videos of the year
1. "Up" The Saturdays

2. "Poker Face" Lady GAGA

3. "I Thought It Was Over" The Feeling

4. "Promises" Boy Kill Boy

5. "One Night Stand" Big City Kids (I can't resist, the whole family's in it)
;P


Top 5 Toys of the year
1. My Sony BDPS550 Bluray

2. Sidekick LX

3. Facebank

4. Lasonic Ghetto Blaster iPod Boom Box

5. Gun Egg Fryers



Top 5 Albums of the Year
1. The Jakes - Shake My Hand

2. Lady Gaga - The Fame

3. 3OH!3 - Want

4. Plain White T's - Big Bad World

5. The Cab - Whisper War


Top 5 Movies of the Year
1. Step Brothers

2. Iron Man

3. Cloverfield

4. Wall-E

5. Bolt



Top 5 repeaters to watch again in 2009
1. Forbidden Planet

2. Planet of the Apes

3. Grizzly Man


4. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

5. Hot Fuzz



Top 5 Books of the year
1. I Can Has Cheezburger by Prof. Happycat

2. More Forbidden Knowledge by Michael Powell

3. Levin Thumps by Obert Skye

4. Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander

5. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini


Top 5 Memorable Moments of the Year
1. Obama gets Elected

2. Spaghetti Cat

3. Comic-Con

4. YouTube Rick Rolled everyone

5. First Time you saw Sham Wow commercial

Scarfish

I don't really feel like blogging at present, but I know my beloved Scarlett keeps complaining she has nothing entertaining to read. So here is a blog to satisfy your
desire for a blog. I miss you by the way.

This is just a bunch of random ish ima throw out there
Movie reviews
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - B - It was unlike any other film Ive ever seen, but didnt really leave me feeling satisfied in any particular way. Brad Pitt is a Rockstar in it though. Crazy good acting by him and Cate Blanchett.
The Duchess - B- - I know this is based on a true story, but I feel like it is just elements of movies I've already seen. Vanity Fair, The Other Boleyn Girl, etc. Plus Keira Knightley isn't that talented.
Ghost Town - A- - Pretty entertaining. Good Cast; Ricky Gervaise, Tea Leoni, Greg Kinnear. Funny plot. Similar storyline to something like The Frightners but with a romantic comedy twist. I dug it.
Eagle Eye - A- - I actually really liked this. Good Action. Good (but predictable) plot. Casting could have been better, the girl didnt really fit with Shia LeBouf. Either cast him as an older dude or cast her younger.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - A- - On par with the original. This was surprisingly good. Didnt think I'd like it at all. Only wish Maria Bello (who replaced Rachel Weisz from the first 2 films) hadn't taken the character of Evy in such a different direction than it was played in earler films. Its pretty distracting (because it isnt good). If Rachel Weisz had been in this one Im pretty sure it would have been better than the original.
Burn After Reading - A - I dig it. Fantastic ensemble. Great unique story. Crazy ending. Watch it.

Christmas
Ok, Im a show off. I gotta put these somewhere. Heres all the ballin stuff i got for XMAS...

Purple/Cranberry Ray-Ban OG Wayfarers


Jeffrey Campbell Oxfords


Juicy Couture Silver Charm Bracelet


Coach Amanda Teal Coin Purse


Ridiculously Oversized Banana Republic Pearls



Vacation
Since I have to be back at school in less than a week I plan on spending the next few days...
a)in bed
b)drinking-in 2009
c)playing Kingdom Hearts on PS2
d)checking Facebook
e)being a baller



SEE YA IN 2009!!

Breathing Books

Things - Edith Kollath Creates Books that Breathe from Bre Pettis on Vimeo.

Four Christmases

Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Christmas Shenanigans... What more could I ask for in a Christmas movie? It's really funny. Best Christmas movie in a long time. If you're going out with family this is definitely a movie a lot of people can enjoy. Check it out...

Bolt

It's absolutely wonderful. Go see it. What are you doing still reading? Just go see it already! haha. Bolt's the newest film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, the crew behind "Chicken Little" and "Meet The Robinsons". For those who still don't get it, this is not from Pixar, this is from Disney (the same studio that did Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, etc.) Disney's stories always seem to have a more mainstream storyline (compared to the sometimes avant garde -ish storylines of Pixar) and "Bolt" follows suit. The animation is fantastic and the comedic timing is spot on. It's got everything; adventure, comedy, and heart. I really enjoyed it. and yes, the Hamster steals the show. Go see it.

Sleeping Beauty Platinum Edition Blu-Ray

I want to do a really quick review on the Blu-ray that recently came out for Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Normally I don't review the special features and specs on a movie but this one is pretty stand out. First of all if you are a lover of Disney films you HAVE to get this. It's 2 blu-ray discs and 1 DVD version of the film. Disney has decided to include the DVD for people who have yet to upgrade, meaning buy this package now and when you do eventually upgrade to bd you will already have it (instead of having to repurchase). Its kind of cool. Now, the movie itself has been completely restored, each frame has been meticulously cleaned. It was originally shot on 70mm which is bigger than theater screens, meaning that this is the very FIRST time audiences have been able to see the entire frame. The original audio tracks were discovered and since those were originally recorded in 6 channel stereo, audio techs were able to clean out all the clicks and hisses and put the audio on this release in 7.1 DTS HD. The colors are amazingly beautiful. This film took almost a decade to create and almost bankrupted the studio, but it was all in an effort to create the most stunning animated film to date. Each cell is hand painted. Blu-ray finally gives audiences the chance to fully appreciate the spectacular art that is this film. The picture in picture commentary with Leonard Maltin and John Lassiter is one of the best movie commentaries I've ever listened to, its nice when people are passionate about what they are talking about. Plus the picture in picture makes it really enjoyable and allows for supplemental images to be shown. There are several other great special features, one is a clip from the Disneyland TV show where 4 of the films artists paint the same tree in 4 distinct manners. Another is the original short that played before Sleeping Beauty in Theaters back in the 50's called the Grand Canyon, it is essentially documentary style footage of the Grand Canyon, but reminds viewers that the theater used to be a spectacle. Those along with several making of and other reference material make this setup really exciting for fans of the film as well as fans of animation in general. This movie is truly a striking piece of art that has been restored to its original brilliance. Disney has set the bar high, we'll have to see if the future's releases like the upcoming Pinocchio can live up to the standard set.

Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Oh lord. This movie totally crushed me. It is absolutely heartbreaking. The ending will blow you away. Good pace, incredible story, the main kid in this movie is Asa Butterfield and he is basically tremendous. If this movie doesn't sweep the Academy Awards this year, I don't know what will. It's based on the novel by John Boyne. Let me wrap it up for ya, its set in Hitler's Germany and tells the tale of the son of a high ranking Nazi soldier. The family moves to a country house near a work camp and the boy loses all his friends, that is until one day he meets a boy over the fence in the work camp and the two become best friends. I left the theater with so much overwhelming emotion that I could barely speak. Then I saw this 40 something hulking man and his wife, and the guy was wiping tears from his eyes, all I could do was laugh... so that kind of pulled me out of it. Point is, the film is overwhelmingly powerful. I'm not a fan of drama, but there are rare occasions that a drama film is meaningful enough to even compel me. So if thats the kind of thing you like then I highly recommend this film. If you like "Schindler's List" or "The Kite Runner" then it is a must see.

Extended Star Trek Trailer

Cool Little Bonus Clip at the end. CANT WAIT!

Live Long + Prosper ;P

Dolph Lundgren Appreciation Day

Here I am watching 1986's "The Punisher", starring Dolph Lundgren. I'm completely oogling this 6'6" Swedish man-god and thinking to myself, ok he's notoriously Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV", but what else has he been in? Everyone knows him as the Russian badass who infamously wanted to "break" Sylvester Stallone and I'm watching some serious acting chops in "The Punisher" (not to mention, perfect genetics), so how come Lundgren hasn't left his mark like other 80's action hunks like Schwarzenegger or Van Damme? IMDB tells me he was He-Man in the "Masters of the Universe" movie, regardless of how boring I find that version to be, how cool would it be to say you played He-Man? There are other shimmers of light in that resume, but lately a lot of direct to video fodder. If you've ever taken a moment to think about him, I'm sure you too have thought "Dolph Lundgren, that guy really didn't do anything"... or, you know, something along those lines. So, I take my curiosity to "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren", Check this shit out, turns out there is a lot more to Ivan Drago then a couple of acting gigs. His accomplishments are actually really impressive. He can speak 5 languages and turned down a scholarship to M.I.T. to play actor. He's involved in the Olympics and has a 3rd degree blackbelt in some wacky form of karate. Just take a look and you're sure to be amazed by the accomplishments of Dolph Lundgren. It just showed me not to ever underestimate people. Seriously, dude is impressive. On top of this, I just read that he is gonna be in the new Stallone movie "The Expendables" with Jason Statham and Jet Li. This could be the step up script he's needed all these years. So, I officially want to propose Dolph Lundgren appreciation day. I don't want to simply promote his accomplishments, but moreover remind others that we should all strive to be well rounded. If motherfucking Dolph Lundgren can be a badass at everything, we should all hope to be at least moderately good at a few things. Let's do this.

Trailer Park

Here's the preview for "Coraline" it's based off a book by Neil Gaiman and is directed by the dude who actually directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (not Tim Burton. gah) and is all stop motion animation. Looks cute.


"Astro Boy" first trailer. Not much shown, but the music is epic and the animation looks good. I really really like the music actually. If you don't know Astro Boy, its the story of a Robot Boy who basically can kick your ass. It started out as a Japanese Manga in 1952 and a Japanese tv series in 1963. It was such a smash that it spread the globe not just once, but was remade as a series in 1980 and again in 2003. Although movie versions have been kicked around for some time now (including attachments to Walt Disney in the 60s and Jim Henson in the 90s) this is the first feature length animated "Astro Boy" film.

Grabbag

• Two Studios announced asian remakes; "Oldboy" and "The Host"... The Host is one of my favorite movies, its this cool monster movie from South Korea. The American version will be directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) so fingers crossed that it will be awesome.

• Some Images from the upcoming "Where The Wild Things Are"

• New Poster for "The Spirit"