Movie Review: You Don't Mess With the Zohan

I'm not even going to put a picture of the movie up, because it's inappropriate for this PG rated blog. "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" is stupid and crude. It was nearly a complete waste of 2 hours of my life. It gets 2 stars, and barely a 2...I almost turned it off.

I don't know what happened to Adam Sandler. I really enjoyed "Happy Gilmore", "Billy Madison", "The Wedding Singer" and "Mr. Deeds", but lately his movies haven't appealed to me at all. It's like he's trying too hard to be funny.

Watch this one at your own peril. I don't have anything else to say about this movie.

Movie Review: Eagle Eye

"Eagle Eye" was one I really wanted to see this summer, but just never made it to the theater. So, I had fairly high expectations of this movie, and it didn't disappoint. It's another in the long line of 4 star movies that I've been watching. Even my wife liked it, in fact, she may have liked it more than me.

"Eagle Eye" stars Shia Labeouf in the lead role, Jerry Shaw. Jerry's a lifelong slacker, who, after returning home from his Twin Brother's funeral, finds an apartment full of explosives and weapons. Shortly after, he gets a phone call from a mysterious woman who begins giving him odd instructions. At first, Jerry resists the orders, but quickly finds out that non-compliance could lead to his death. The instructions from the mysterious woman lead Jerry on an adventure that takes him deep into a plot involving the highest ranking members of the US Government.

I'm really starting to like Shia Labeouf as an actor. At only 22 years old, he's been in a ton of different movies, and I've enjoyed most of them I've seen. Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Embry and Michelle Monaghan round out the cast. I hadn't seen Monaghan in anything else, but found she was very good as the female lead in "Eagle Eye".

"Eagle Eye" is definitely a must see for all action/thriller movie buffs. I would recommend it to anyone who even remotely likes action movies. It's rated PG-13, but it's probably closer to an R rating. I wouldn't let anyone under 14-15 years old watch this one.

Book Review: "The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep"

"The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep" is the latest book in the Barnes and Noble Children's Section that I read. It seems that I only like books found in the Sci Fi, Teens and Children's sections. I think this may go back to my childhood. I didn't read many books, and I think I'm catching up.

"The Seems" was written by John Hulme and Michael Wexler, and follows the life of Becker Drane, who is the youngest Fixer in The Seems. The Seems is the world behind our World that is responsible for making sure life in this world goes on normally. The workers in The Seems have varied roles in this operation, from Case Workers who focus on individual lives to the Weathermen who are responsible for making the weather. Fixers, like Becker Drane, are called in when a problem in The Seems is leading to a problem in the world, such as a drought in the Iberian Peninsula.

But everything is not always right in The Seems. The workers in The Seems all follow "The Plan" which tells how everything in the world should go. However, there are some in The Seems who believe that "The Plan" is cruel because it allows for suffering in The World. These people in The Seems sabotage the daily workings as a way to take control.

In "The Glitch in Sleep", 12 year old Becker is called in to fix a Glitch in the Department of Sleep. The entire world is suffering from a case of Insomnia and only Becker can save the day. The Glitch has been all over in the Department of Sleep, from the Dreamatorium to the Master Bedroom. If Becker doesn't stop the Glitch before Dawn in The Seems, the entire plan for the following days will unravel.

"The Seems" is fast paced and exciting. I found it quirky, but good. There are a lot of humorous plays on words throughout, as well as good appendices to explain the terms used. I'm really looking forward to reading "The Seems: The Split Second". If you enjoy enjoy fast paced, somewhat simple stories, I think you'll really like this book. I don't think small kids would enjoy it, but probably about 11-12 and older would really like it.

The End of an Era

The Denver Broncos fired Mike Shanahan today. Mike Shanahan was the head coach and VP of Football Operations. Basically, he ran the whole show.

I was shocked that this happened. Yes, the team has been down as of late, but they are a very young team and had showed progress. However, a 3 game losing streak to end the season, blowing the division lead and missing out on the playoffs apparently pushed team owner Pat Bowlen over the edge.

Shanahan has been with the team for 21 years as an assistant coach and then head coach. The Broncos won their only 2 Super Bowls under Shanahan, in 1997 and 1998. But, since John Elway (a.k.a. the Greatest QB Ever) retired, the Broncos have won only 1 playoff game. Furthermore, Shanahan, in his capacity of VP of Football Operations, has made several questionable personnel decisions. I believe the decision to fire Shanahan was more about firing Shanahan the VP of Football Operations, not Shanahan the coach. I think Shanahan is still a great gameday coach, but he has continually hurt the team with bad personnel decisions.

This is a sad day for Broncos fans. As a fan, I'm not happy about this. I don't believe there are many coaches out there who are better than Mike Shanahan. He took a team with the worst defense in the league, and 7 different start running backs and managed to go 8-8 this year. There's maybe only 1 other coach in the league who can do that. With Shanahan, the Broncos were always competitve for the playoffs. They didn't always make it, but they were always competitive. Only a handful of teams can say that.

I wish Mike Shanahan the best in whatever he goes on to do. I think he'll get other opportunities to coach, and I think he'll do great if he takes one of these opportunities. I now anxiously await the decision on who will be the Broncos next coach. Whoever they choose will have big shoes to fill. Hopefully whoever it is will be the coach for 10+ years to come.

The Snuggie

Over the past several days, we have seen a commercial for "The Snuggie" several times. The Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves. They added sleeves because the traditional blanket makes it too difficult to answer the phone, handle the TV remote, and eat a snack while still staying warm. The Snuggie's sleeves allow the wearer to keep the blanket on, while eating, talking on the phone and handling the TV remote.

I'm sure that some people will buy a Snuggie. Heck, at only $19.99 plus shipping and handling for 2 Snuggies and 2 book lights, I was intrigued. Then I got to thinking...if your arms are cold, why can't you just wear a long sleeve shirt? I mean, is it so imperative to wear short sleeves and have a blanket on? It just makes no sense to me.

The worst part is, both my kids want one. I'm finding that my kids are very susceptible to TV advertising. In the last year, we've "had to have" a Snuggie, Oxyclean, Flomax (yes, Flomax) and the Pancake Puff maker. Fortunately, we haven't purchased any of these. Hopefully my wife and I can help them grow out of this as they get older...otherwise, they'll end up with all sorts of TV infomercial stuff.

What's the point of all this? There is no point really. It just popped in my head.