Entertainment To Me!

Our local Library here in Amarillo, TX (where I currently reside), has a great DVD/VHS collection. But better than that is the inter-Library Loan System , where you can order anything, and they will check tons of other Libraries to see if any of them have what you’re looking for; if so, it’ll get sent to your Library for you to pick up!

I usually use the ILLS quite often, usually ordering tons of DVDs/Books, at one shot. The only problem with this method is I never know how long it’ll take for my things to arrive. And often, I get a huge load of things at one time. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except the policy here in the great public Library system of Amarillo, TX, is that you can only keep your movies for 2 days!!

So Thursday, when I went to the Library to drop off some movies, a book, and pick up whatever was waiting for me, I wasn’t surprised to find 7 DVDs waiting…Thank God for internet renewals!

My collection of weekend movies is as follows:

PECKER, the 1998 John Waters odd-one-out movie. I have seen it before, but it’s been years, and since I’m on a Christina Ricci kick lately, I figured I’d re-watch it and see how it really was. Hopefully it doesn’t end up as one of my “movie misses!” Anyway, it stars that kid who was in T2:Judgement Day , so that’s interesting. Everything in it seems dysfunctional, as he runs around taking odd pictures that make him a near-overnight sensation, on his little camera.

Also on a Johnny Depp kick lately, and THE LIBERTINE one of his I’ve never seen, that’s also in my new “collection” of movies. Depp plays the 2nd Earl of Rochester, who writes a play, scandalizes the king, and dies from syphilis at around 33. Sounds like a dark drama–kind of like Johnny’s character in FROM HELL.

The newer film 21 from Robert Luketic, and starring Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne is a welcome one. I didn’t think it’d be in the Library systems so soon, but am glad it was, since I missed it in theatres. The movie, about a group of MIT students who engage in a spectacular card-counting scheme to break Vegas (based on a true story), seemed (of course, you can never tell with previews) to be right up my adventure-loving alley!

Another Christina Ricci great, also starring Samuel L Jackson, is BLACK SNAKE MOAN, which I saw almost all of not too long ago. I was intrigued by this dark drama about an abused girl, a seemingly crazy Southerner, and their seeking of salvation that seems just out of both of their reach. Plus, I believe Christina Ricci is amazing the way she can flow in and out of so many different types of dark characters. She has such an outstanding ability. Definitely one of my most favorite actresses…

UNLEASHED is a movie starring Jet Li, and Morgan Freeman (another favorite of mine), in a story that seems totally strange, but I am hoping is a worthwhile watch. The premis is that Jet Li is an awesome, pretty un-natural martial artist, trained and raised like a dog, to attack when, well, “unleashed.” Morgan Freeman is the blind man who finds Li’s character when he finally tries to break from his hellish “owner” (Bob Hoskins), and tries to help him on his path to freedom. Which of course is perilous, and his past haunts him.

The last movie on my list is MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, 

  which I have seen countless times. I don’t know why I don’t own it yet…It is undoubtedly one of my all time faves. I love the Muppets, I love the R.L.Stevenson novel, I love Tim Curry–how can I go wrong?! This musical romp in search for treasure has an of-course-Muppet-twist    , headed by Gonzo and Rizzo following Jim Hawkins around the tale. They crack me up! The only downside is the mullet-wielding Kevin Bishop , who plays Jim Hawkins (and who is, I guess, not as unknown as I thought)…But overall, this movie is great, and Tim Curry singing adds to it being as such!

And finally, I received from my local Library the second part of the 3rd Season of one of the greater lost causes of TV Series–The 4400 . I discovered this show on the Sci-Fi shelf, and got instantly hooked. It has a GREAT theme song  

, and some really cool characters. Plus, there’s a guy in it with the name “Mahershalalhashbaz Ali“–how do you go wrong with that??! How do you even pronounce that?!! The show is about a group of (you guessed it) 4400 people who disappeared at various times over about a 60 year span, then are suddenly returned one day all at the same time with no memory of anything, and not having aged a day. Over time, of course there are sneaky government officials and schemes, but there are basically messages from the future that say The 4400 were sent back to save humanity. They’re infused with abilities, ranging from plagues to future visions to messing with electricity (no, they’re NOT X-men!). The show started out weak, in ‘04, but as it went on (at least I thought), it got better..then the USA Network dropped it after the 4th Season. Which would’ve been alright, except it leaves everything unanswered and the show in mid-story. Which sucks. I am NOT looking forward to being left hanging!

So, Big Brother 10 has ended finally (Tuesday, Sept. 16th, ‘08)! I’ve been watching the last couple of shows with more interest than I went through most of this season, merely because the battle was pretty close in the end, and I was really curious to see who would pull of winning the half a million $.

At the pinicle of everything this season–or at least towards the end–was Dan, the Catholic school teacher. A week ago, he won a luxury competition, and picked Michelle to take on the trip. He was an amazingly smooth player, though often over-the-top. The choice he made to take Michelle was sort of a love/hate thing for me; loved that he was so strategic, but hated him for lieing to her about everything, and backdooring her.

His constant manipulation of his “Catholic-ness” annoyed me, but everyone gets their just rewards eventually…

It was funny to see, a week ago, on the Tuesday (Sept.9th) show, when Dan was throwing the Veto competition, how flabbergasted Jerry was at what was all going on between Dan and Memphis!

Then on Thursday (Sept.11th), the HoH competition between the three guys was quite a tough one, though at first it looked easy

. I enjoy watching the competitions on Big Brother–there is such a varied spectrum of things the players must do/know! I really like the ones where they have to know their housemates, or remember things from as far back as the first week (such as the veto towards the end, where they had to remember who was HoH each week, and who was up on the block, in order!). You can bet if I was ever in the B.B. house, I’d be keeping a journal of everything that went on each day!

Dan won the final HoH, thereby getting to evict Jerry in one fell swoop. It was funny to see clips of those in the jury house at that time–Ollie, April, Renny, Michelle, Keesha, Jesse–suddenly start to turn their mindsets from anti-Dan, to thinking his sneakiness was an asset, and that he was a hell-of-a-player! Everyone disliked him, it seemed, but then, as Memphis had gone through the whole game kind of under-radar, and not winning much of anything–the jury saw him as a weaker, less deserving player…

Sunday’s (Sept. 14th) show was all about re-capping, and showing stuff that went on in the house that wasn’t to that point shown on the normal CBS show.

The Renny impersonations were fun to watch–she really is impressive! And Dan trying to teach Renny and Ollie to swim, in his “Swim Club” , was really silly. And you can’t beat Jerry’s rapping!!It was a cute show, and fun to watch.

Finally, tonight (September 16th), the final show! It came down to Memphis and Dan (of course), and listening to the jury talk about the two, you kind of could tell who was going to come out on top, I mean, how could he not?! Dan nailed it, winning not just the 4-needed votes, but all 7 of them!

I think Memphis really thought he played it “straight,” through most of the show, but I don’t think the jurors saw it that way, or that he really did. Perhaps he just deluded himself. Either way, though, walking away with $50,000 isn’t that bad! That’s more money than most people make a year in this Country, I’m sure, and much more than the majority will ever see in one shot! So he shouldn’t feel too bad. Obviously, it’s not half a million $, but still..

Watching the jurors ask the two nominees questions, and debate the answers/outcome of the show, I realized yet again how annoying I thought April was. Goodness gracious! I mean, what kind of girl runs around first day, making sure everyone knows her boobs are real, and then proceeds to let everyone grab them? I was most disgusted that she was offering them to Jerry, and encouraging him to grab them 

. And of course that he did doesn’t say much for his character…

When the jurors finally made their way to the live set area, I was impressed that Julie Chen actually had on a nifty-looking dress, as I think (which I’ve stated before) that she usually has terrible clothes. As added notes: April’s dress was ugly, and Renny’s curtsy before she went to her jury seat was cute.

In the end, there was also a “favorite juror”, prize of $25,000. I was glad that my votes had been the same as the majority of America; Jerry came in second place, but Keesha won it. When I’d voted (via text message), that’s how I did, fancy that

All around, besides some elements–Dan, Renny, some fights, some backdooring, the earthquake, Ollie’s fear of birds, etc.–season 10 of Big Brother wasn’t all that entertaining, though I did really enjoy watching Dan win in the end (at least up against Memphis). I’m not sure he was my favorite, though…

I do look forward to next season, and now just have to find another way to fill in that hour every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday night!

The U.S.A.’s Big Brother 9 was the first season of this crazy reality show I actually ever watched. I discovered it one evening on my laptop, checking out the CBS.com line up for that season, to see which shows were online to watch. Never having been too big on reality TV before–after watching the very different characters come into play that season, and after seeing what the show was all about–I was hooked on Big Brother, instantly becoming a lifelong fan, I am sure, as long as the “house” continues to fill up with interesting characters and insane drama!

After all, isn’t that what reality TV is all about?!

Another aspect of Big Brother that I really enjoy is  the competitions. They’re always so unique and often ridiculous. It brings a fun aspect to the show, which is a big thing to keep this blogger watching.

And finally, my favorite thing about Big Brother–that no matter how many seasons a person has watched, and no matter how much they brag about strategy going into the house, there is NO way for anyone to predict what will happen, because everyone is scheming to win, and as a random person, you have no control over what any other random person may do/choose/say! So the housemates go into the house bragging and planning, and 3 weeks in–are already turned on their heads. I like that, because the random factor makes it more realistic. You can only play for yourself, because you have no idea what others are thinking.

The current season of Big Brother hasn’t been as interesting, as far as characters go, to me. But it has still been fun to watch, and there have been some all around interesting developments–such as Renny, who is from New Orleans, wearing ridiculous wigs

, and many times ridiculous outfits, making people love her or hate her in the end. Or Julie Chen finally having some decent outfits; I usually abhor her clothes, thinking she makes some of the worst fashion choices of any famous person I’ve ever seen–not to mention her hair looks like it weighs more than she does…                                                                                                                                     All in all, this season has been moving along normally. Not too many surprises, though in the beginning, there were a series of backdoor-ing schemes that had some of the players flabbergasted.

Now it’s in the home-stretch of the season, with only a couple more shows left. At this point, as of this evening (9/7/08), Dan was HoH, won the Luxury competition, and is once again choosing to make a move that may alter the game.

Dan’s been quite a player to watch, actually. Being Catholic, I didn’t enjoy his portrayal of the faith, and his lack of regard for his Church as he went into the house, admitting to making moves that he’ll just go to Confession for later (as if that’s how it works). But as I watched more of the season, and some of the risky moves he’s taken, I’ve realized that if nothing else,  Dan is an amazing house player. And still charming and likable to boot, which is unusual. He’s been America’s player, he’s duped all kinds of people, he’s backdoored and lied to others–and yet people in the house still don’t know what to make of him! And yet, there he is, playing with a fighting spirit, and reeling the finish line in.

The only major setback I see for him right now is that because of the lack of trust and his scheming, no one in the jury house (the ones that will ultimately decide who of the last two standing wins the top prize) likes Dan, or wants to vote for him. Though that may change slightly, since the prize he won is a trip out of the house, to an island for a day. He got to choose to bring either one of the 3 remaining house-guests–Keesha, Jerry, or Memphis–with him, or one of the jury house members. He choose Michelle, from the jury, hoping to swing her vote in his favor, should he be one of the remaining two.

Dan, as HoH (Head of Household), nominated Memphis–to keep down rumors that he has an allience with him–and Jerry–just cause, heh. The plan is for Jerry to go, but the upcoming competition will be important to see who wins PoV (Power of Veto), because they could save someone/themselves from the block, and alter the end game again. Then comes the all important last HoH competition, in which the winner will be the sole vote to decide which person is going home of the two on the block.

Next upcoming show is Tues., 9/8pm Central, and I look forward to seeing how the end of this Season all unfolds; Dan is my pick, though I think if Keesha came through and pulled something off, that’d be cool to see as well. Or Jerry, but I doubt it. Dan seems determined to bring Memphis to the end, and vice versa, but I don’t know if that was such a great move on Dan’s part, because Memphis seems like a strong competitor. However, Dan has proven he can win both physical, and mental challenges, and he is fiercely determined, so he may just have a strong shot. But as I said before, he then faces the fact that all the members of the jury like everyone else currently in the house more than him, so I am not sure how he’d win.

But I wonder how much people can actually predict who will win Big Brother 10 , considering the “random” factor!

I understand that everyone has individual tastes, but after some recent rentals/library borrows/discoveries of movies that, in my humble opinion miss the mark for a good let’s-cozy-up-on-the-couch-with-a-blanket,-some-good-friends-and-a-huge-bag-of-extra-butter-popcorn-movie, I felt I had no choice but to share my opinions, and thereby perhaps preventing you from making the same mistake I did and, well, watching them.

They are not all new releases. But they all fell into that category when I watched them–the “How in the world did they actually find funding to make this crap?”/”What kind of people actually sit through this entire waste of time?” category.

Here are just a few…I am sure I shall have more to rant upon in the near future…

>:-)

1. Meet The Spartans–This was another one of those “spoof” movies that abounds today. It was supposed to be hysterical, and to make fun of all sorts of crazy infamous movies as well as stars. But by the time I actually got to see the mock-Brittney Spears shaving her head, and attempting to sing, and finally getting kicked over into the death pit in the movie–it was no longer funny, due to having been overdone a zillion times in every preview and advertisement for the movie. Talk about overkill! Oy vey…
Not to mention that the movie wasn’t very funny at all. It had a couple of chuckle scenes, but most of the acting wasn’t done with enough humor, the plots were completely detached, and the jokes were old, and in bad taste. The whole film has a homosexual undertone, thereby making most of the jokes along those lines, thereby killing the movie, really.

2. Soylent Green–Ok, I admit THIS was my husband’s doing. And this was also a movie I’d never even heard of before. More shocking (apparently), is that I’d missed that SNL skit where Phil H. makes fun of Charlton Heston’s character, screaming “Soylent Green is PEOPLE!”  My husband couldn’t believe I didn’t know the skit, or the movie. And thus spoiling the ending/punchline for me, I finally rented it, hearing it was a “classic.” Wow.  No.
I really think if this movie was re-made today, it could be, well, interesting–even if people did know the punchline. But at the time, it was obviously made with no budget, no plot, no creativity, and oh yeah, no idea what kind of genre picture they were trying to create. Most of the movie, if you can stay awake through it, has nothing to do with anything, and the ending of the “Soylent Green is PEOPLE!”, fame is ruined by climaxing music that leads to nothing. I mean, you expect something ala Sweeney Todd to happen–but no. Either that, or the one I watched skipped an entire scene. Personally, if I’d seen what Heston did in that movie, I wouldn’t have been able to logically come to the same conclusion, I mean–they don’t even show the people being made into the ridiculous pointless Soylent Green!
Not to mention, the movie is boring as sin…which, incidentally–isn’t.

3. Seed of Chucky–This one was my own fault. And I saw it coming, and expected no less. Hence why I didn’t actually spend any money on the film to see it, but borrowed it through our local library loan system.
I watched the Bride of Chucky not too long ago, and loved it mainly because I thought Jennifer Tilly did a great job as Tiffany, and her doll version was beautiful!!  I also find the Child’s Play movies in general to be a hoot. I mean, c’mon–it’s a doll. Albeit, a voodoo, murdering doll, but still…It’s a doll. Like, a stand-on-top-a-table-and-it-can’t-reach-you-doll! But anyway…I realized Bride of Chucky was getting a bit ridiculous–ok, more than “a bit”–but I had no idea how bad it could get. I mean, what kind of genre does the movie Seed of Chucky fall under? Certainly not horror, or even horror comedy. In fact, there isn’t any horror at all. A couple of deaths, sure, but they’re terrible, and look completely fake, and un-frightening. Besides, most of the movie is about family drama, and the dolls screwed up child that oddly enough, even though it’s voiced by a male, can’t seem to tell if it’s female or male or what. It even reverts to this Southern Belle, killer-wanna-be, ugly-as-sin version of its mother (I think), which lasts for about 5 minutes, and is neither scary nor funny. It was really sad. The earlier Chucky would roll over in his grave! The last movie version of himself is a total failure, wuss, and pathetically fatter.
Jennifer Tilly was also a complete disappointment in this movie. They played off of her actual name, and she plays an actual actress, and it all makes no sense. The doll and woman can’t co-exist, can they??! Plus, the doll version in this movie isn’t nearly as pretty/sexy/powerful as the last one. She’s a baby-boomer version, with way too much hair spray and no passion.
I could go on and on, but will save you any more distress. Ugh.