George Lucas? Is That Your Boy?

I believe the picture above perfectly summarizes what went wrong with the Star Wars prequels. Time passed, the minituares went away, green screen took over, and George Lucas got a new shirt. Patton Oswalt will tell you right here as to why George Lucas ain't his boy. He ain't my boy either but I'm asking you. George Lucas? Is that your boy?

Patton Oswalt's site

Hey Have You Seen The New Dead Snow Trailer?

Hey peoples. Trailer Addict gives the best synopsis for this trailer so I will let them handle it:

"A group of teenagers had all they needed for a successful ski vacation; cabin, skis, snowmobile, toboggan, copious amounts of beer and a fertile mix of the sexes. Certainly, none of them anticipated not returning home alive! However, the Nazi-zombie battalion haunting the mountains had other plans."

The 12 year old living in my body tells me I will be hollarin' at this on June 12, 2009. Check it out right here for yourselves.

Hey Have You Seen That New Bad Lieutenant Trailer?

Warning: This trailer is not to be watched at work. We good? Cool? Alright. Wow! That was my reaction after seeing this brand new trailer to Werner Herzog's remake of Bad Lieutenant. Herzog's version is titled Bad Lieutenant:Port Of New Orleans and it stars Nicholas Cage as the Bad Lieutenant. Nicholas Cage must have heard that we didn't need to see him in movies like Ghost Rider, Knowing, or The Wicker Man anymore. This looks like Leaving Las Vegas/Wild At Heart Nicholas Cage and I dig it. The movie also stars Val Kilmer, Eva Mendez, and Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner (and I'd like to say thank you Xzibit for using your real name). Enjoy the trailer and pray that you never get pulled over by this cop. Bad Lieutenant: Port Of New Orleans arrives in theaters in December 2009.

New Pics from The Book Of Eli

USA Today just posted these new pictures from the upcoming film The Book of Eli. The Book of Eli is the new movie directed by the Hughes Brothers and starring my boys Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman. The plot synopsis for the film is as follows: "In the post-apocalyptic world of The Book of Eli, civilization has collapsed and clean water has become the prime currency. Washington plays a survivor who must fend off gangs and a brutal tyrant in this desolate wasteland. Oldman will play the film's villain, a despot of a small and pathetic town, who's determined to get a hold of Eli's book, a book that may save Mankind.".

I love the visual style of a Hughes Brothers movie but I've never been a big fan of their story telling. Menace II Society seems so long ago that I just need to revisit that one again and get a fresh take on it. Dead Presidents is great to watch cause it has 1970's Scorcese visual style all over it but the story just felt off to me. From Hell is also visually exciting but I was bored by the story, annoyed by Heather Graham, and I figured out the mystery of the killer by way of my secret "The Gary Sinise in Ransom Theory". Ironically my favorite Hughes Brothers movie is American Pimp which is a documentary with not a lot of visual appeal but a great story to tell. I look forward to the trailer for this one to hit and you know where I'll be posting that as soon as it drops. The Book Of Eli arrives in theaters in January of 2010. You can find more information about The Book Of Eli including the teaser poster at this blog.

Barack Obama? Is That Your Boy?

Yessir. Barack Obama, he's my boy. He with me. Actually, I'm with him. He represent Smart Tech. This is the kind of presidential/political history I like to see be made. Today President Barack Obama has chosen Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court which could make Sotomayor the first Latina Supreme Court Judge.

Now I am going to be 100% honest and say I do not know much about Sonia Sotomayor and when I say I do not know much I mean I don't know anything about her. But strictly on a personal, cultural level, and being Latino myself I am very proud to see that this country could soon have its very first Latina Supreme Court Judge. Now I have to do some research and see if she will judge with an iron fist or an iron chankleta.

CNN.com video of Obama choosing Sotomayor

CNN.com video of Sotomayor's acceptance

CNN En Espanol's video of Sonia Sotomayor

Hey Have You Seen That Old T2 Trailer?

From Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:
Teaser Pronunciation: \ˈtē-zər\ Function: noun Date: 14th century 1 : one that teases 2 : an advertising or promotional device intended to arouse interest or curiosity especially in something to follow.

This is a big weekend. In about 24 hours or so I'll be watching Terminator: Salvation and all questions will be answered. In honor of this momentous occasion I bring back to you one of the greatest teaser trailers of all time. The teaser trailer for Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It gives you exactly what the definition describes. You see the Terminator, you hear the theme, and you hear Arnold's most famous line and you realize you have just been teased more than the White Sox were by Dream Crusher Jake Peavy. (For those of you keeping track I believe I first saw this trailer on a VHS copy of The Godfather Part III. Remember that? Not Godfather III, forget that. Remember VHS tapes?)




http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/terminator-2/teaser-trailer

Hey Have You Seen That New Surrogates Trailer?

Hey peoples! Happy Friday. Here's the trailer to the new movie starring Bruce Willis titled Surrogates. It looks...strange. Not in a "wow what kind of filmmaking is this" kind of way but more in a "wow everybody's face in this movie looks strange". Eventually the trailer explains why but it definately was throwing me off at first. You ever notice Bruce Willis makes action movies either look amazing or they look like they could be a pilot for a new television series? Decide what category you think this falls in.After this trailer I realized just once I would like to see a movie where people live fake lives inside of computer programs and you know what? They love it! Nobody tries to break free from their so called mental prison, no one has to prove they are the One, no one has to do anything except enjoy the fact that in their world they have wings to fly, they can teleport, the McRib is an everyday sandwich, Quantum Leap had the ending it deserved, the Star Wars prequels never existed, and then you fall in love with Rosario Dawson. Actually she falls in love with you. The end. Plug me in to that machine. No questions asked. I brought my own cord. Where can I jack in? Surrogates arrives in theaters on September 25th.

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/surrogates/trailer

Corey Blount. Is That Your Boy?

I smoke bud all day, all night, whatever time is the right time.

Oh how the high and mighty have fallen. Actually I don't remember Corey Blount being mighty but apparently he like to get high. This was posted today by the Associated Press online at Foxsports.com:


HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) - Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati star Corie Blount was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday in a plea arrangement resulting from drug charges.Blount, 40, had pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court last month to two felony counts of marijuana possession after prosecutors dropped two trafficking charges.Blount was arrested Dec. 4 after sheriff's deputies intercepted 11 pounds of marijuana sent to him at a relative's house. Investigators said they found another 18 pounds in a subsequent search of his home.Although Judge Craig Hedric did not sentence Blount to the maximum 10 years in prison, he rejected Blount's claim that the marijuana was intended for personal use and to share with friends."Cheech and Chong would have had a hard time smoking that much," Hedric told Blount.Hedric fined Blount $10,000 and ordered him to surrender two vehicles and $34,000 in cash seized in the bust.Blount was a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1993. In an 11-year NBA career, he also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

I'm just saying, Corey Blount? Is that your boy.

It's Not Hip-Hop or Hop-Hip it's Hip House!!!

Hey everybody,

This week The Reader has a great article on one of Chicago's underappreciated treasures of the past 20+, years Chicago hip house music. It's a great article written by Miles Raymer. In it Raymer discusses Hip House's inception, it's glory days, it's demise by Hip Hop, and it's current attempt at revival. I highly recommend this reading to all lovers of House Music or any kinds music by following the link below.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/sharpdarts/090507/

In the article Raymer also mentions a documentary titled simply enough "Chicago Hip House Documentary" that has shown up on Youtube which gives us a look back at some of Chicago's biggest stars back in the day such as Fast Eddie and Tyree Cooper along with other producers and DJ's discussing what was then a city wide phenonema. Bust out your overalls and get your high top fades tight and right while you watch this.

Ricky C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zNvBNTnHg

Hey Have You Seen That New District 9 Trailer?

Here is an updated teaser trailer to the new movie District 9. District 9 is a film about refugees who are detained in South Africa. It arrives in theaters August 14th.
















http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/district-9/teaser-trailer-no-blur

My Terminator Struggles.

Terminator: Salvation will soon be upon us and I find myself asking the same question, "Why am I not hating these new Terminator movies?" Up until Terminator 2 I considered myself a James Cameron Terminator film purist. The Terminator was one of the first movies I ever remember renting on VHS. I was seven years old when we rented it from VK Video on Kimball Avenue in Albany Park. If memory serves me right it might have been a choice between The Terminator and Red Dawn. I remember holding the over sized plastic case and seeing a picture of a big ass Arnold with an even bigger ass gun and thinking "This is gonna probably scare the crap out of me and I'm gonna love it." Good choice Ricky.

What can be said about Terminator 2: Judgement Day that hasn't been said already? T2 is another one of those movies that I dragged my Mom to go see with me knowing she wouldn't understand a word of it because it was in English (Mom I love ya' for that!). I've owned a copy of it on every available format except Blu-ray and that will soon change. The special effects in the movie were revolutionary. Every action sequence is a memorable one. It introduced us to Robert Patrick as the T-1000. It re-introduced us to a ripped Linda Hamilton. It even re-introduced us to Danny Cooksey. It's nearly perfect. Why just nearly perfect? 2 words. Edward Furlong. Edward Furlong is to Terminator 2 what Sofia Coppola was to Godfather III. I can still hear his dialogue in my head and it hurts here, here, and here. Alright Eddie I got it. And bro that Public Enemy shirt ain't fooling me. Bad choice James Cameron.

I went to go see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in my Paul Winfield Lt. Ed Traxler costume waiting to be disappointed. I was so sure that a Terminator movie without Cameron's involvement would be awful just like I was so sure that the great summer movie battle of 1993 between Jurassic Park and The Last Action Hero would be won by The Last Action Hero. Hey it was Arnold's first movie after T2 and you know what Spielberg had just directed? Hook. Really bad choice Ricky. Instead I was pleasantly surprised. I actually liked what director Jonathon Mostow brought into the Terminator universe. Sure it has its flaws, having the Terminator arrive in the present at a strip club is not funny, it's goofy. That's one of the things James Cameron is able to do in his movies that other action directors can't. James Cameron movies are funny. True Lies was on cable last week and that's a perfect example. Funny ass movie. Whenever I want to give myself a good chuckle I'll tell myself the Tom Arnold line, "She took the ice trays. What kind of sick crazy bitch takes the ice trays.". You see the Terminator doesn't need to have a funny catchphrase each time he shows up especially one as dated as "talk to the hand" ( side note: John McClane you don't have to say Yippee Kay Yay motherfucker all the time either); and is it me or when Arnold says "I'll be back" in T3 does it seem like they used an outtake? It just doesn't sound right. The new Terminator model, the T-X, worked as a villian but casting Kristanna Loken didn't. It felt like too much of a gimmick to cast a woman in that role. You're going to cast a woman as a Terminator? Perfect. Find one that can be the essence of pure intimidation on screen. What about Angela Bassett as a Terminator? That would've been interesting. The action sequences aren't as good as T2 but they can hold their own. The daytime truck chase is worthy of repeat viewings. The shot of the truck lifting into the air and about to land on the Terminator as he is lying on the roof of a moving car is a stand out. T3 does improve on T2 in one aspect. Edward Furlong. He gone! Replaced by Nick Stahl who is a perfect John Connor. I like the moment when he speaks into the microphone at the hidden bunker and declares that he is John Connor. I bought that moment of him realizing what the responsibility is that he now has to take. Good choice Jonathon Mostow.

So now we await Terminator: Salvation. As the tagline says the end can truly be beginning. Everything we've scene from the trailer looks good though right? New kinds of Terminators that we've never seen before. Nice! Terminators and humans going to war. Word! Christian Bale as John Connor. Solid! It seems like a can't miss. However it could be a case of When A Good Trailer Happens To A Bad Movie. I'm also not forgetting this important piece of information. T4 is directed by McG. McG? Really? Okay. Is that your boy? He ain't my boy. I'm taking my hate out of my heart on this one because I've already been proven wrong once in this series. I've done my research and I've heard the good and the bad. I have heard parts of the storyline from this movie that really make me nervous. I've heard other spoilers that I will not talk about here nor should anyone that made it into the finished movie that I do like. If anyone posts anything please don't post any kind of spoilers. Even if you don't consider it a spoiler someone else might. All will be said and done on May 21, 2009. That's when T4 hits. I'm going. That's my choice.

District 9

Word! That's what I thought when I saw this trailer. I haven't even heard of this movie. I love it when they just sneak in under my radar. The movie is called District 9. It opens in theaters August 14th. Three things about this movie: Peter Jackson is one of the people responsible for it. There's aliens. It takes place in South Africa. Do you really need to know anything else? Take some time to check out the website as well. Now holla at this:

http://d-9.com/