Am I the Only One Who thought "I Am Legend" Sucked?

I have been in the midst of an almost three week debate about why I thought this movie was probably one of the worst Will Smith/ CGI laden/ pseudo- intellectual/post-apocalyptic action movies ever made and I am tired.

The funny thing is, when I was on line to get into the movie theater (on opening night because some people I live with who shall remain nameless wanted to see it the second it hit theaters), the previous crowd came out highly recommending that I not go in. Being the mild film snob that I am, I thought to myself : "They were expecting a loud, frenetic action movie, they don't know any better." Well, to all the people I dismissed as having no taste in movies....I am sorry. You were right.

Will Smith is becoming a caricature of himself with all the forced, manly screaming, puppy dog eyes when he's vulnerable, macho wisecracking, etc. Monetarily speaking, this is a good thing because he is his own brand. However, as far as the craft of acting goes, if he really wants to be considered for another Oscar nomination, (believe it or not, someone actually tried to do a for your consideration bid for this movie!) he has to stretch it a little more. I realize that having to carry a movie is no small feat but like a lot of other people in the theater, I was expecting more. I couldn't even attempt to give a crap about the story because it was clear that the screenwriters didn't either. Case in point: the plot point about the zombies evolving. It was mentioned once and then never again despite the fact that there was a zombie "leader" who had nasty looking zombie dogs on a leash and everything. And incidentally, the mouth stretching thing that made the zombies look like they were copied from the same code used in The Mummy, was quite unimpressive. How many times did I just type "Zombie" in this sentence? Zombie.

Sadly, I wasn't even all that impressed at the CGI wasteland that New York was turned into and that's probably because there are plenty of vacant lots and neglected parks where I live in New York that look exactly the same. The film opens with a terrific flashback with Emma Thompson of all people, giving an origin story as to what turned NYC into no man's land. This could have been taken in so many directions instead of just copying off of 28 Days later. (still one of the best zombie movies made in the last 5 years) And then Will Smith (kind of unconvincing in a lab coat) goes from being a cynical, mildly insane doctor to a wide eyed mystic in less time than it took for me to swallow my rubbery movie popcorn.

The Oscar should go to the dog, for being able to put up with being in such an underwhelming movie. One plus: Will Smith's body is perfection (go on, try to pretend you weren't swooning during the chin up scene!)

pic via britfilms.tv
link via New York Magazine

This is a tough one for me

Lord knows I loves me some John Mayer. For starters, just look at him. Even when he wasn't the sexy beast that he is now, there was definitely a certain something about him (and of course he knows this)that drives the chickies wild. Oh yes, and his songs are not bad either. My music tastes are much like my taste in film, it's all over the place and I will listen to anything at least once, mostly to back up my elaborate and elegant flair for talking smack. Yes, he is most definitely a little too on the popcorn spectrum of music at times but the boy can play his arse off on guitar. Don't hate, the man is talented. Like I have said in a previous blog about music, he has mastered voicing what slightly nerdy girls and boys who daydream too much, who fall in love too easily, who don't really want to grow up, constantly think. I am glad I discovered him later in my twenties as opposed to my last years of college. I would have been a complete mess. 3x5? That song is my last year of college....anyway, the point of this was to say that while I am officially coming out of the closet to more than just one of my more non- judgemental friends about being a fan, I completely get why there are so many people who absolutely loathe his persona and his music. He wears his heart on his sleeve and while silly girls are eating it up,(and record companies are eating up their silliness in profit) their boyfriends are getting pissed because they have to become something a little more. How hilarious was it to go the concert this summer in L.I. and see hundreds of guys sitting with their girlfriends with the serious, "kill me, kill me now" look on their faces? It was classic. He has mastered the art of being super famous and still being a regular, actually likable guy, and when he's being an "insufferable douche", we love him even more. That being said, while I resent being called "an offense to retarded primates" just because I am a JM fan, this fake blog by Gordon Ramsay was pretty damn funny. Hey, maybe douches of a feather.....





Pics via LaineyGossip, The Daily Mail
Link via Newsgroper, TMZ

heh?

Wasn't this guy a big TV star like a week ago? Stir of Echoes 2? Was this really a movie worth a sequel? Why are straight to DVD movies automatically considered inferior products to their cinematic counterparts? Okay, that was a dumb question. But seriously, Stir of Echoes 2? The homecoming? Are subtitles necessary for crap movies? Are they a prerequisite? Stir of Echoes 2? Why?????





crap DVD photo via The Lions Gate Shop. Support Rob Lowe, buy one now.

Corporate Excess at its Finest.

Like so many of my generation, I will be an eternal child, I eat candy much more than I should, I get extremely excited when I hear the music from "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" in some commercial that's been airing alot lately, I refuse to dress up for work, and I was raised on Disney movies. Disney movies, Disney characters, the whole hypnotic, wide-eyed, fairy dust shtick. For better or worse, it's a part of me. I can either beat it out of my subconscious with mind-numbing cynicism, or I can be aware that even though yes technically Disney is attempting to create a fascist Utopia by actually creating their own towns, the "magic" of the brand (and the thousands of no doubt underpaid employees working to create that magic) is what makes them so damn fascinating. I mean, just look at this Annie Liebovitz portrait of Roger Federer for the latest Disney campaign. The whole series is breathtaking, just like the allure of Disney. For better or worse. Here are the rest of them. I especially love Julie Andrews as the Blue Fairy. Here is also a list of what exactly Disney owns.
That's a whole lot of fairy dust.

images via (Disney of course) & Super Punch
links via Wikipedia & Focused Rant

Radiohead says suck it Record companies!

Yes, it's all over the news and I am loving this....really, who pays full price for music anymore? Not moi...the last CD I bought was continuum and that's only because it was on sale at Target...and by then i had already heard most of the album. Musicians not dependent on your labels to give you a hit: Take notice. Record your own shit in your custom built studios in your fancy crib, distribute your own records, sell it online but do it on your own terms. You don't have to give it away like Radiohead and Prince, but at least make your music affordable, for cripes sake. Blame it on the Ipod if you want but that's it. Time of death for purchasing overpriced music: right now, October, 2007. Get on it, people. I want one and I'm not even a die hard radiohead fan like that. Personally, I just like the Principal of the thing. And a good bargain. Who wouldn't? Oh yeah.... greedy record execs. The real question is, am I going to be a big old cheapskate or actually pay more than a dollar for the cd? hmmmm.....

image via Poster Net

Okay, I'm convinced.

Just got back from Washington Square Park...am thoroughly inspired. Was on the fence for a while when everyone and their mother announced they were running to be the next leader of the free world. The woman or the Black guy? I felt like I was on the verge of being torn in a way that I haven't been in a long time. Probably ever. When a candidate becomes a celebrity, i get a little leery. What do they really stand for? Mind you, anyone coming into office after the guy who's f***ing up our country now would be a welcome change but behind the big smile, the flawless image, what do you stand for? Well, Barack lives up to the hype and then some. Standing in the massive crowd in Washington Square, i didn't even mind that some idiot girl was practically standing on my shoulders to get a fuzzy image on her cell phone. I felt his words, I put myself to the challenge, tonight, to be a part of the change that needs to come, not just a bystander. So, I guess you can say my mind is made up. 2008 better get here fast. On a completely different note, how sad was the end of Ugly Betty? I love that show.

image via Meetup

What is happening to the World? Oh yeah...for a minute I thought things were getting better.

I am not particularly surprised just annoyed, that in less than a week, we have had two "insightful" viewpoints (and by insightful, I mean completely ridiculous, racist and unnecessary) from two of the foremost experts on race, Bill O' Reilly aka "Douche" and Adrienne Curry aka, "The girl who won the first Top Model, who married the least cute one from the Brady Bunch, who talks like she had way too many Jello shots at that party."

Oh, and let's not forget that wack-a doo Amenanjalalabad or whatever his name is....spouting all sorts of dangerous crazy blocks from where I work. Scary.

So O'Reilly is amazed (and you can hear it in his voice) that dining in a Black restaurant like Sylvia's is no different from dining in a white establishment. Well, this must be the most newsworthy story he has come out with since he started attacking rappers a while ago. He also goes on to marvel at all the "respectable, well- dressed" Black people at an Anita Baker concert. Blacks entertaining in tuxedos...just like the good old days. Get a clue, Bill. The more you open your bigoted mouth, the more you add to the problem. Does this guy have children? God, I hope not...imagine growing up in the O'Reilly household:

"Bill Jr., are you listening to that negro music again?"
"But dad, all the affluent, sheltered white kids at my school are listening to Ludacris!"
"Son, don't you know that rap music is the downfall of human civilization? Now let's go, we have reservations at Sylvia's...great place, I'm just puzzled as to why they don't have watermelon and malt liquor on the menu..."

What's even funnier (and not in a good way) is that he is actually mad that websites have him spewing this garbage on tape... he claims that it was taken out of context...of course! Silly me! Um, hello, it is your voice, on tape. You would think that this guy would learn about people recording his voice based on past indiscretions...oh well. Lesson to Bill that he is probably too old and out of touch to care about learning: It is not what you say, but how you say it. And who you say it to, like thousands of people on the radio. (idiot)

Now, in Adrienne Curry's defense, she is probably not that bright....seriously, what is up with the slurred speech? Head trauma as a child? A little too much huffing in high school? Whatever the reason, I actually got her intentions in posting this blog on myspace, but wonder of wonders, amidst all the uninformed, racist remarks her intentions like her modeling career, got lost. Yes model, we all get that in an ideal world, race should not be an issue and Black History is American history and blabbity blabbity blah....now once again, let's step into a little something I like to call reality. People of color way back when were basically robbed of any choice, any true freedoms so to hold on to what little identity we had left, to regain our pride, we had to find ways to show that yes, we are here and yes, it is a truly f***ed up situation but we have to do something to rise above it. Hence, BET (which should really be boycotted because it is garbage now...where is Donnie Simpson when you need him?) and Black History Month, AND Telemundo AND the Country Music Channel....everyone needs to identify with something, honey. Curry clearly does not understand that when you go off on rants like this and then say you are not racist, it makes you look (lean in closer) LIKE AN ASS. And of course days after, she issues the mandatory: "white guilt, half assed apology" (which she can pretty much keep) and continues to play the "I grew up like the family on Roseanne, I dated a Black guy so I understand" card. Give me a Break. Or better yet, read a book. I recommend The Invisible Man, The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the Bluest Eye. Then maybe she can really say that she is beginning to understand instead of claiming to already know.

As for this guy Ahmadinejad (yes, I really do know how to spell his name), what is there to say? He came to New York, he was predictably loony and our reaction to it might have made things even worse as far as American/ Middle East relations go, not that we didn't have the right to react. There's the conundrum of being an American. Can't we all just get along? I keep imagining all the Iranian gays in the audience when he spoke at Columbia after that ridiculous statement he made...how do you say "Oh no he didn't!!!" in Iranian?

This will most likely be the first and last biblical quote i put on here but isn't it so appropriate?

"Out of the Abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh."

-Matthew 12:34

image via Tim's Wine
links via Media Matters, Wikipedia, Myspace, Ifilm, NPR

Don't bother me, I'm directing my dream.

Wow...used to think it was kind of pathetic to fabricate one's own subconscious. There was a point, about halfway through college that I realized i just didn't dream as much so, the ever resourceful person I am, I started making them up. It's fun, especially when cute boys are involved, or watching someone get what's coming to them or my personal favorites, flying over the coast of Dungeness and then switching instantly as I zoom over the Vale of the White Horse, (some images will be forever burned into my brain) and knowing that it's all me baby. I own it, I control it, screw the unconscious mind. Is it comforting to steadily learn that I am not such a freak after all? Hmmmm.....

links via The New York Times, Visit Vale, Urban 75

When It was good....

I complain quite often about the scam that is cable television. There are now 1000+ channels available and on any given day less than 1% of it is actually watchable. My cable bill has been known to hit the three digit mark and for what? Say it with me: SCAM. So, needless to say I was over the moon when Cinemax came up with the genius idea of showing the 2hr long versions of the Alien Nation series, made after they cancelled it. It was instant 9th grade nostalgia for me and I actually appreciated cable television because not only did they run all three (or four) of them but they repeat them and played them early Saturday afternoon around elevenish, when I am almost always home. Bliss. For the woefully uninformed, Alien Nation was one of the best sci-fi TV series ever made. Based on a series of books and a sort of crappy movie, I was shocked to learn that it was only on for one season. The way this show had me sucked in, it felt like it was on for two years at least. Anyway, it was very forward thinking for a show that could have gone in the campy, low budget sci- fi genre route. It touched on issues such as racism, sexism, identity and gender and always with a wink wink because the main characters were aliens that had walnuts/ melons for heads. And I will say this forever, but Gary Graham is one of the most underrated actors ever. (Remember Robot Jox? Yes, I went there....) Look carefully at the episode called "Body and Soul" and you will see a very pre- Sex and the City Kristin Davis as a serene, new age alien. I don't buy TV shows on DVD, (Half of what they sell at Best Buy is still on TV) but this is one series I have to invest in. I'm sorry but it was that good.

image via Toxic Shock
links via Wikipedia

The Jena 6

The more things change, the more they stay the same...damn. Why did it take every major news outlet in the country to shed light on what could have been an overlooked blip in race relations in this country? Why, in 2007 is it still exceedingly difficult to overturn a blatantly racist, irrational verdict in a little nowhere town down south? No offense to the sensible people in Jena, Louisiana but are you kidding? For anyone who accuses Black people of living in the past, blaming everything on the faults of dead bigots, turn on the television. Google Jena 6, or better yet, Google "Brown vs. Board of Education." Remember that great legal event in history? We all grew up thinking, this was another point where America is going in the direction it should. Well, guess what? That milestone has come and gone. Just like the notion that if we ignore the past, then all of our indiscretions as a seriosuly dysfunctional country will go away. I love taking responsibility for myself and my actions, everyone should. But when our own government and smaller state governments that are so antiquated that they might as well not be a part of the union, take it upon themselves to "think" for everyone, well that is when we get ourselves in serious trouble. Part of me is like, why do these people stay in a town where one white resident referred to his Black neighbors as "people who know how to stay in their place"? Why put up with it when there are literally hundreds of thriving, successful small towns where students can eat at the same lunch table, have an integrated prom in the 21st century, not be in fear of nooses hanging from trees? And then the other part of me gets it. For better or worse, Jena is their home, and they can flee or they can stay and fight to live in a just world, which takes alot of damn courage if you ask me. I can complain about the subtle ways I'm made to feel inferior everyday in NYC but I would never trade it for anything resembling Jena. With that, I applaud the Black residents of Jena who won't back or bow down and the white residents who realize that the more things stay the same, the more they need to badly, change.

image via All About Race
links via Wikipedia, Huffington Post, All About Race, Cjonline

If this picture dosen't make you say awww, you have no soul.

Every news story I have read sort of trivializes this, posting the caption for this picture as a monkey that falls in love with a bird. I see a baby, literally leaning on whoever is willing to help him. You can see the relief and calm in his eyes that he is no longer alone in the world. I love this. Yes I can be all mushy at times, but seriously, is this not the cutest f***in' thing you have ever seen???


image via The Daily Mail

Color Palette Generator

Have always been into Color Coordination. It's probably a mild form of OCD but we won't go there today....anyhow, this site generates colors to compliment any photograph you upload and it is very cool for those of us who are constantly searching for the perfect, "I'm not pretentious but I have style but I'm not trying too hard but I am laid back but I care alot about appearances" color combo for your blog, or your apartment or whatever. It is similar to the way Google matches colors for their blog templates but perhaps a tad bit more personal. So needless to say, you will see this blog change pretty much every other week...I'm in a muted, low key color phase right now, was really into primary colors and bright pastels up until about a month ago...we'll see.

link via Big Huge Labs

Kathy Griffin is sort of my hero

It's nice to have a celebrity say exactly what's on your mind instead of what they have been trained to say by their publicists and managers and lawyers. The only people that will listen to me are my bf (sometimes) and my damn dogs so I praise this lady for standing in on alot of people's soapboxes. Please see what KG (why, as typing did I just realize we have the same initials?) has to say about the travesty that was the MTV awards...




image via MSNBC
link via Entertainment Weekly

Music

So of course I am watching the Britney Spear's predictable hot mess train wreck TV awards like everyone else and i am sitting here wondering about the state of music. Justin Timberlake said something about this being an exciting time for music....I'm wondering, is he just saying that because he's huge right now? I mean, I had nothing to do with the momentous surge of music that I grew up with besides sheer devotion and that was enough to make me feel like the music was a complete and perfect part of me. I was in it.
So why does this time in music feel so alien to me? I don't find it exciting, I find it perplexing and increasingly disappointing. I cringe to think it's because I'm older and i just don't get it. I won't believe that. That seems like kind of a cop-out anyway. I've lent my ear to alot of what's been going on in music and I think either I am just not hearing what everyone else is hearing or I am truly mad, locked in a solitary world where only what's relevant is what I like. People were praising Britney's single before the MTV thing like it was the next great dance hit. What did I hear?
Over synthesized, tired beats on top of her nasally voice. I heard desperation, I heard Jennifer Lopez, some recent Madonna, Janet, Fergie (don't get her at all) and as much as I hate to admit it, even some Gwen... I have never been a fan of Spears' but it was truly sad because her performance, no matter how crap it was, summed up the overall state of music for me. "If I throw some shit together, wrap it all nice and pretty, they will buy it, hook line and sinker". And she will, even after the hoopla dies down over her meltdown. The radio stations will play her song ad nauseum and people will be driving or sitting in a food court going: "Well, I never really liked this song before, but..." It's enough to make me scream.
What happened to glossy production value mixed with true entertainment? Even My old (and I mean OLD) friends Janet and Madonna have chosen to take the whore (Not just literally but musically as well) approach to entertaining us. And yes, that's kind of what they were always about but, was it ever this bad??? At least Madonna gave the semblance of a whore with class, a whore with a decent stylist for feck's sake. (Britney, take notes, for the love of god, take notes!) I'm babbling, alot, but I think My point, although somewhat skewered, has been made. What happened to music? Why does Beyonce have to come out with ten thousand singles in three months to be relevant? Why do musicians feel the need to act? Why was Justin Timberlake (Who i am no fan of) the only voice of reason when he said MTV needs to start actually playing music again? What scares me is perhaps it's too late.
Who's saying something today, without losing all the glitz of showbiz? Who's preserving the mystery that fans need to stay interested? Amy Winehouse, bless her. The big hair, the applying eye makeup in the dark thing, even the drugs (Very sad and dangerous however), it's her persona, and she is working it. Alicia Keys, even though I seriously questioned her wardrobe choice that night, (Great boots, fire whoever recommended the headband) she reminds us that you can still be passionate about music and still be very cool. John Mayer's words are so uncanny for so many people my age it's like, dude enough already...get out of my head. He's pretty much all I listen to right now. I find it awesome that all of my black friends love him and all of my white friends think he is lame, too "safe", kind of boring...talk about affirmative action!
Jill Scott can do no wrong with her voice. Her take on "Baby you got me" with the Roots from "Chappelle's Block Party" gives me chills every time I hear it. I love the fact that she isn't super famous yet. (or ever will be) That makes her even more timeless. I 'm saying it here: give or take 20 years, Jill Scott will be legend. So this is an exciting time in music...hmmm...this is a very interesting time in music. One thing MTV tried with the awards (and got horribly wrong), was that people are more willing to experiment, to overlap genres of music, to make the whole thing one big Hip-hop, rock, blues, soul, dance, crunk, metal, emo (still don't know WTF that is) party. And that is cool. But without so much pretense disguised as genius or talent.....please?

god bless america....

(sigh) It's almost not funny...actually it's not funny.

link via(neatorama.com)

HAhahahahahahah....ha

This is so stupid, i had to post it..I apologize in advance for those who don't see the humor in this...

Ipod Touch

Of course you've seen or heard about the new Ipod by now....I am drooling! Am Soooo getting one. Apple needs to pay me off of my sheer devotion alone.IT's an Iphone without the pesky, 300lb phone bill every month part....even has built- in airport...LOVE this.

image via Appleology

Morphin

What else would I put for my first Blog other then a bunch of pics of my face morphed with abunch of famous people? Kia Potter anyone?

My Favorite is me and Eva Mendes...together we look like a Bollywood actress:




Morphthing.com check it out. It's addictive for like two hours.