But Wait, There's More

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Let's see. What's happened the past few days? Friday night, I went to dinner at Red Rocks with JL Clyde and J&M then headed over with them to a party for some free booze (it was three blocks from my apartment) and had a grand time there. Saturday, I did some errands like laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. Other than that, it was really a bunch of movies and Duckman. So without further ado, here are some reviews...

First up was the biopic "Notorious" about the life & times of Sir Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Biggie Smalls a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G. with Jamal Woodard playing the title character (and the real Biggie, jr as young Chris Wallace), Derek Luke as Sean "Puffy" Combs and Angela Bassett as Biggie's mom. It follows his life growing up in Brooklyn, dealing drugs as a teenager, rap battling on the street, getting thrown in jail for a piece, then meeting up with Puffy and becoming an international hip-hop sensation...with plenty of drugs, lyrics and trim along the way. The movie itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The best part of it was the soundtrack. I mean...the movie wasn't horrible or anything, it just wasn't really outstanding. It's exactly what you would expect. Being a huge fan of Biggie during my teen years (and even today), I had to see the movie...but yeah, if you've seen a biopic about any musician (Ray, Ring of Fire, Dewey Cox, etc) then you've seen this one...just with a dash of 2Pac in this one.

Next was "The International" starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. It's about a bank called IBBC or the International for short...who is not unlike any other, where they fund revolutionary groups in Africa, sell weapons to other nations and basically act as a governmental debt collector controlling the political & economic marketplace for the entire world...but the illegal thing they do is assassinate people...and that's when Interpol steps in. Though they don't have any real legal power, one Interpol agent (Owen) wants to bring them down...and he teams up with a hot assistant district attorney from New York (Watts) and together they try to bring them down...but how do you bring down a financial institution that funds multinational corporations and nations alike? Well, it's not going to be easy. Clive does a great job of being the mysterious, cold international secret agent type (Bond? James Bond?) and there's actual a really good gun battle set at the Guggenheim Museum (and you know how I feel about exploding modern art) so yeah, if you're into political thrillers...and basically any Clive Owen action movies, then I'd say check it out.

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching "The Proposal" with the company of the lovely Bone Junior. The movie is of course a romantic comedy about a hot shot New York editor-in-chief (Sandra Bullock) who is threatened with losing her job due to deportation (she's Canadian and didn't do her paperwork in a timely manner) so in an act of desperation, she has to marry her assistant (Ryan Reynolds). Well, to convince INS that it's a legitimate marriage...and not a last ditch effort to stay in the US of A, they have to go meet the family in beautiful Sitka, Alaska...and hilarity ensues. She gets to meet the parents (Craig T Nelson & Mary Steenburgen) and the lovely Gammy (Betty White) and yeah, it's a romantic comedy...and heavy in both. You even get to see Sandra Bullock & Betty White "Get Low" in the obligatory dance scene. As far as romantic comedies go, this was one of my favorites...and I would highly recommend it. Ryan Reynolds is always hilarious...and Betty White will say absolutely anything for the right price. Big thanks to Bone Junior for selecting this movie...and I hope that you had as great a time as I did. So yeah, check it out...or at least rent it in a few months.

Also, one of the previews for this movie...was for a movie that I simply have to see. Why? Because it's called "All About Steve" and I really don't even care what it's about. If the name Steve is in the title, it HAS to be good...or at least watchable. Well, I looked into it...and it's actually not all about me (so gentlemen, feel free to take your dates to it and feel unthreatened) but rather it's the next Sandra Bullock chick flick. The premise is "Convinced that a CNN cameraman named Steve (Bradley Cooper, not Dr Love) is her true love, an eccentric crossword puzzler (Bullock) trails him as he travels all over the country, hoping to convince him that they belong together. Sigh...it looked fairly funny...but still, great title.

Billy Mays Passes - Television pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday, FOX News confirms. Mays was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department. Police said there were no signs of forced entry to May's residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon. Mays, 50, was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported. US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station. Authorities have not said whether Mays' death was related to the incident. "Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times," Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday. Will do...but I'm obviously intrigued. As you know, I love infomercials...for the same reason that I like soap operas...on Telemundo. They just interest me. Being a marketing degree holder, I like to analyze infomercials...and see how they sell the benefits and whatnot...and just the pure showmanship associated with them...and this guy was one of the best. Loud, demonstrative, always got to the point, pitched the special offer, good form. I especially like the...well, now short-lived (no pun intended) series "Pitchmen" about infomercials and the products they push. It intrigued me to no end...but alas, it looks like it won't have a second season with the great Billy Mays. My condolences to his family & friends. He will be missed.

Anyway, that'll do it for today. Maybe a future job as Billy Mays' replacement...but we'll see how that works out. In the meantime, work work work as usual...and maybe slide some fun in between. Have a great day everybody!!!