Remember the Goo Goo Dolls? Yeah, I do too. But I'm not letting it bring me down.

JAWS

I thought I was going to be disappointed when I sat down to watch Jaws this morning. It had been awhile since I had seen it and many movies from that era have not aged well (as it was later pointed out by Mr. Strahl, most of the movies I was thinking of 'in this era' actually came from the late 60s, so my comparison was unjust). But disappointed I was not.

In 1975, cinema discovered a new phrase - The Blockbuster. While movies like Gone with the Wind were considered blockbusters because of the money they made over time,  Jaws was the first film to transform the definition into a type of movie; an event that would create lines of eager fans wrapping around city blocks. And as more people crammed into the theaters to see this toothy masterpiece, it became evident they would soon be staying out of the water once the credits rolled.

The best part about Jaws is how well it holds up in 2010. Its story is predicated on human reaction while the fear comes mostly from what you can't see. It's a slow rolling movie that builds tension over its entirety. And in the third act, when you need a payoff, you get to see the biggest damn shark known to man. But not too much of it to realize that it's not real. Something Deep Blue Sea should have thought about.

Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw compliment each other masterfully. Each character taking full advantage of the scenes intended to show deep back stories in just a couple of lines. And kudos to Spielberg for not forcing the action, rather, letting the characters build it.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

Pass the Popcorn: Green Zone

Matt Damon is an army officer who decides to buck the system in order to find out why the military is receiving  faulty intelligence during the war in Iraq. Green Zone is one of a many movies that questions our motives for attacking Iraq in 2003. But does it bring anything new to the table like the Hurt Locker did last year? I'd say yes...but mildly.

Green Zone departs from the barrage of Indie-style story lines and character pieces without diving fully into the action-infused likes of Black Hawk Down. What it delivers is stylish scenes that have enough patience to build its climax at an adequate pace - something Michael Bay could take a note from.

While it's not perfect and completely enthralling, it was good the whole way through. It's definitely worth renting.

Second, Please.

While most people say that second place is the first loser, I disagree. Mainly because I perpetually end up getting second place. Unless, of course, there are only two competitors, at which time I get either first or last - take that powers of inductive reasoning.


Seriously though, second place stands on the cusp of awesomeness. I contend that if you get a medal for it, then you are a winner even if that medal is less revered and not used as the standard of which all things are valued. So I commend you, bridesmaids. I tip my hat to you, runner-ups. You are almost good enough to be the best and that's not bad.

So the next time someone tells you that you're a loser for getting second, dismantle them with powerful rhetoric. Inform them that if you are the best at being second, then you are actually first at something, which means you're a winner after all.

Why Chevy is better than Nissan

Because they managed to make an electric car that doesn't look like an electric car. Imagine that. I can buy something that's good for the environment without having to wear it on my sleeve. There are still some of us out there that like to do the right thing without having to admit it. The bottom line is that Chevy still makes cars for men. Even their foo-foo cars are more manly, and I like that.

Chevy Volt

 

Nissan (lame-ass) Leaf

Crazy Cool

The history buff inside me thinks this is awesome. An 18th century ship was just discovered at the World Trade Center construction site. NYC has some great history.

Pass the Popcorn: A Single Man

A Single Man starring Colin Firth is a slow, methodical character pieces that peers into a man's thoughts after he loses his lover of 16 years. The acting is great and the cinematography is interesting (especially the color shifts), but the movie itself bogged down a little too much for my liking. If you're a fan of true character pieces, then this is a movie for you. Otherwise, you might want to skip it.

I'm a fan

The same Dyson that brought us $400 - $600 vacuums is now bringing us equally expensive fans. But these aren’t just any fans. They are air multipliers – no blades, no chopping. Sorry, ninja fans. A lot of industry folks wonder if fans should be so expensive. Then again, should vacuums?

I won’t be shelling out $300 bucks anytime soon for one of these bladeless fans, but I want to. Instead, my $30 5-year-old Black & Decker will keep churning the air through my hallways and my $80 Hoover will clean my carpets. Sorry Dyson. I love your technology. I’m just not willing to pay for it.

And1 Be Lo-Qi

We worked with Kamp Grizzly to produce this And1 spot. Ha, we laughed in the face of a tight budget and timeline.

Hell Week

This week was reminiscent of high school football two-a-days. A body numbing workload that led to at least one person throwing up from exhaustion.

After some series sweat, we finally launched And1's new site. Of course, it took some hardcore cramming, a lot of yelling, and a couple of tears to do it. My mentally recovery is slow. Hopefully, I will be able to blog more soon.

You can check out the site here. Kamp Grizzly helped create the bitchen video on the homepage. The next one is going to be even better. Kudos.

Pass the Popcorn: Movie Roundup

Since prime time TV went on hiatus, I've had more room for the cinema. That's right, I just said cinema. Here's some quick and dirty reviews for you.

Shutter Island: Good flick. Some of the shots seemed forced. The actual "twist" was obvious, but how they played it out was well done. The final line of the movie was a little too cryptic as well. But the result was worth renting.


She's Out of My League: Surprisingly good. I had low expectations, which might have helped. It's a comedy with heart but not so much heart that it becomes a romantic comedy. It doesn't compare to similar movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshal, but it kept me entertained. It's worth renting.

Hot Tub Time Machine: Rude, Crude, and Fun. It had some good references to Cusack's earlier movies, which they really could have pushed further. The gross-out moments weren't too cringe worthy, and the performances were strong. Definitely worth renting.

Legion: A much richer cast than I realized helped this Vengeful God movie out of the gate. The script had some pretty big holes in it, and I'm not talking about plot believability holes. You have to suspend your beliefs quite a bit when watching any movie about an Army of angels sent to kill all mankind. I'm talking about their lack of attack plan, which are more tactic believability holes. Regardless, if you can turn off  your brain, it's a fun ride. Out of all the movies I've seen recently, Legion left the most on the table. The story could have competed much better with the creepy characters. But I wasn't cinematicly offended. Its worth a rent if there's nothing else on the shelf.

The Box: An interesting concept that was taken too far into the realm of the X-Files. The Box left too many questions unanswered for my liking. You can skip this one.

Summer Shoes: And1 Downtime

I got the hook up on some And1 Downtimes, and I have to say that they're pretty comfy sneakers. Similar to the Nike Free, they are lightweight, super breathable, and great for chillin' and training. They retail for 50-60 bucks, which is a great price considering what the Frees cost.

The Downtimes are the first shoe in And1's Lo-Qi category (off court). Here's a camera phone pic. You can see more details on And1's website.

Do you need a band-aid for your boo-boo?

I've been mildly engaged in World Cup Soccer so far. Why not fully engaged? Simple. Soccer on the world stage is full of flops, whining, and crying. It's ridiculous. I couldn't figure it out at first, but when I really started paying attention, all I saw was dudes falling down after being barely brushed by defenders. Then they roll around writhing in "pain" until they get the whistle.

Sure, this happens in other sports. But in soccer, it seems to happen every two minutes. I've never seen so many fragile athletes in my entire life. My one-year-old son can take a bigger hit than that.

Yeah, I know, they're trying to get the whistle and the advantage in the game. But if they would just play and let their talent give them the advantage, it would be a much more fun sport to watch. Really, I blame the refs (or whatever they're called in soccer) for being so damned whistle happy. They need to take a note out of a parenting book; when you're kid is whining, you don't give in. If you do, they simply continue to whine in order to get their way.

So come on, soccer. Man up. Quit being a bunch of pansies in knee-highs and turn your game back into a sport.

Google Chrome is Fast.

I seem to be in the mood to show you all one video after another. So check out how fast Google Chrome is. Was that fast? I'm not sure. I think that was fast.

Pass the Popcorn: Youth in Revolt

On a scale of 1 to shoot myself in the head from boredom, Youth in Revolt sucked ass. Perhaps my expectations were too high. No, check that. I merely expected an entertaining movie. Nothing more. What I got as a lame, tractionaless pile of suck. I am saddened.

In all honesty, the movie was moderately okay. But there have been so many 'moderate' movies lately, I can't take it anymore. Give me something worth watching. I'm sick of mediocrity. I'm tired of laughing three times in an hour and a half. If I wasn't so lazy I would start reading books again. Shame on you, Hollywood.

Good Old 70s Problem Solving! Blow It Up.

I even tricked myself.

I thought I made up a cool quote last night. "Courage is born when fear sticks around to see what happens next." As it turns out, it's a little too close to the General Patton quote, "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."

I must have heard it at some point and time. Oh well. I'm just not quite as cool as I thought. That doesn't mean I'm still not super cool. I'm just not super awesome cool. I can live with that.

Smurfs get the big screen treatment.

Weekend Lessons: There's no P in my ool.

Last weekend brought 80-degree temps to Portland for the first time all year. It's been so miserable here we actually recorded the highest rainfall total for June ever... and we're only 15 days in. That being said, the kids and I were determined to enjoy the summer sun while we had the chance. And really, it could be worse. We could live in Alaska where you get nearly 24 hours of daylight this time of year. Can you imagine if we had 24 hours of daylight. It wouldn't be the end-all be-all until you added the dreary rain. All you would see is cloudy skies and rain. At least when it gets dark, we forget about the rain a little. Sorry. I digress.

So the kids and I spent some time in the sun. On Saturday, it was all about the backyard plastic pool and sprinklers. We've got a good routine down. Sophia, my 3-year-old, runs around all day and when she needs to pee, she goes in the yard. No harm, no foul. I'm mean we're already out there, she's wet so I don't want her running through the house, and it's not like anybody can see her. This was working out for me until she decided that number one wasn't enough.

While I was staining the deck I noticed that she wasn't in her usual pee stance. It was more of a squat. Then it happened. Number two. I ran over, yelling 'No', but it was too late. The deed was done.

Confused, she said, "but the dog does it. You just need to scoop it up like the dog."

Yup, my daughter told me to scoop her poop, which I did because I couldn't just let it sit there. Picking up the dog's poop is one thing, but there's something far more disturbing about baggying up your kid's poop. It's just not right.

Needless to say, there will be no more peeing or pooping in our backyard from now on.

Pass the Popcorn: Valkyrie

This movie had some decent tension and an interesting look at a piece of history that's often left out of WWII talk. But no one uses a German accent, nor do they even try. Super lame. You could've done better, Valkyrie; historically and cinematically.