Movie Review: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperer

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is similar to the other mummy movies. Long on action, humor and CGI, light on acting and dialogue. Overall, it was a good "popcorn eating" movie, but it's not great. Dragon Emperor is on par with the other 2 mummy movies, and I rate it 3 stars.

I had 2 main problems with this movie.

1) Brendan Fraser is the same character in every movie he's in. I don't understand how this guy keeps getting roles in movies. I'm sure he's a very nice person, but he's a terrible actor. His next movie is "Inkheart" which I would be really excited about, except I know Fraser is going to drag it down. I think Fraser's poor acting spread across the cast, as the actor playing his son was basically a younger Brendan Fraser. I've decided Fraser automatically removes 1 star from my rating process.

2) Maria Bello is not nearly as good as Rachel Weisz. One of the best things about the first 2 movies was Rachel Weisz. She actually managed to make Brendan Fraser suck less. I didn't think this would bother me when I heard they made the switch, but it really did bother me.

So, how did this manage to stay on par with the other Mummy movies? Jet Li...he's excellent in the role of the Dragon Emperor, although underused. Jet Li is just a quality action star.

If you liked the first 2 mummy movies, give this one a shot. If you were luke warm on the first 2, don't watch this unless you just want to plop down and watch something that doesn't make you think too hard.

Movie Review: Leatherheads

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I sat down to watch "Leatherheads." While I enjoy sports movies, this didn't look like a normal sports movie. And, it's not a normal sports movie. But, I still enjoyed it, and rate it 3 stars.

The movie is set in the 1920's and centers around the birth of professional football. George Clooney stars as Dodge Connelly, a 40 something athlete making his living as a member of the Duluth Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are a professional football team in a league with no rules, and no fans. That all changes when Connelly convinces War Hero and Princeton Star Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to come play for the Bulldogs. Suddenly, professional football is popular, and it quickly becomes a game with rules that Connelly is not familiar with. Complicating things further is the rivalry that develops between Connelly and Rutherford over reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellwegger).

I found "Leatherheads" quirky storyline kept me interested. It's a very funny movie, and Clooney is good. I always like George Clooney in movies where he gets to play a smooth-talking schemer (such as Ocean's 11, 12 and 13). Zellwegger wasn't overwhelming, but she was solid. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for John Krasinski. As I was watching it, I kept thinking, what is Jim from "The Office" doing in the 1920's playing football? Unfortunately, the charm of the TV show didn't carry over to the big screen.

Overall, "Leatherheads" is worth 2 hours of your time. It's rated PG-13 for good reason, but it's not a story kids would be interested in anyway.

Where's the credibility? It doesn't exist!

I have a coworker who loves to tell me that the Republican Party is dead because "they defend the indefensible." His argument centers around Republicans backing President Bush on Iraq, the response to Katrina and blaming the economy on Fannie and Freddie.

Of course, I find this all of this ridiculous, because both parties have a credibility problem, but both parties don't have a huge media monopoly to cover their inconsistencies. The Democrats claim that Republicans are against minorities and women, but then George Bush nominates Condaleeza Rice (a minority woman) for Secretary of State, and, all of the sudden, some Democrats think she's not qualified, even though she's brilliant and was the former National Security Advisor. But, somehow Caroline Kennedy is qualified to be Junior Senator from New York because...um...she's a Kennedy? Truth is, Democrats only want women and minorities to succeed that fit their mold. So, do they have credibility?

Let's take on another issue. This time, we'll go with the media. The drive-by media has all but declared Sarah Palin's political career over, because of the Katie Couric interview and the negative side effects from that. Keep in mind, that all the "fair-minded" Couric showed was 6 minutes of a 2 hour interview. I'll admit, Palin looked horrible in those 6 minutes, but the fact that it's still an issue is because the media won't let it go. They want Palin's career to be over, because she's a threat to them and their chosen one (Obama). She's a self made woman who connects with people. She could be a good candidate in 2012 or 2016, so the PR wing of the Democratic party (a.k.a. the drive-by media) is trying to destroy her.

Meanwhile, the esteemed Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, looked like a blithering idiot when asked a simple question by Tom Brokaw on "Meet the Press" about the Obama's statement that determining when life begin is "above his pay grade". The blithering idiot (Speaker Pelosi) first made the statement that she was an ardent Catholic, then clearly demonstrated that she had no understanding of what the Catholic Church's stance is on when life begins (it's at conception Madam Speaker). She compounded this by making grossly incorrect statements about St. Augustine. First off, how many people even knew about this? Secondly, shouldn't Pelosi's career be over? After all, she looked foolish in an isolated interview. If the media held Pelosi to the same standard that they hold Sarah Palin to, there would be media pundits all over the place telling us Pelosi's career is over. But, this story died about 4 minutes after it started. Where's the credibility in the media?

The point I'm trying to make is that lack of credibility isn't just with the Republicans. It's just as blatant in the Democratic Party and with their willing accomplices in the media. You just have to look harder because the media tries to hide it. In this era of 24 hour news coverage, everybody is spinning their agenda. Democrats, Republicans, Media Pundits and talk show hosts all have an agenda. Unfortunately, most of the media spins for the democrats, which is a huge advantage for them. And, unfortunately, that leads to the one-sided thinking that affects most everyone who diligently watches and reads the drive-by media.

Broncos hire new coach

Today, my favorite sports franchise, the Denver Broncos, hired former New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about this hire, because it's good and bad:

Good: McDaniels was the leader of the greatest offense in NFL history, the 2007 New England Patriots.

Bad: The Broncos problem isn't offense. Their defense is horrible, the offense isn't bad. I was expecting them to hire a defensive minded head coach.

Good: McDaniels made Tom Brady even better, and turned Matt Cassel into a good NFL QB. So, hopefully, he'll be able to do that with Jay Cutler, who has been good, but inconsistent.

Bad: McDaniels may clash with QB Coach Jeremy Bates, who Cutler wants to remain with the team.

Good: At only 32, McDaniels will bring a lot of energy and fresh ideas to the position, and he should work well with the young team.

Bad: At only 32, he may have a hard time leading players who are older than he is.

Overall, this is going to be a wait and see for me. I think McDaniels most critical move is going to be hiring a top notch defensive coordinator, and working with the personnel team to get some better players on the defense.

In my opinion, this team should be a contender in 2 years, however, I'm cautious amongst Broncos fans, many of whom believe the team should win the Super Bowl every year. I'm a realist and know that these things go in cycles. However, even I will be antsy if they aren't a serious contender in 2010. So, for now, I'll wait and see if this turns out well.

Jack is Back!

Tonight, season 7 of "24" premiered with 2 hours. Tomorrow night, another 2 hours. So, by the end of tomorrow, we'll be 4 hours into "day 7." Remember, "24" has events taking place in real time, so 1 season is 1 day. If the first 2 hours are any indication, this "day" is going to be awesome! There are some new characters and some old favorites back again. It was a thrilling 2 hours. I love this show!

I didn't get into 24 until season 5, but went back and watched seasons 1-4 on DVD. Season 6 was a bit of a let down. Then there was the writers strike that lead to the last 18 months with no Jack Bauer kicking butt. It's been tough, but now Jack is back with a vengeance. We got a little preview with the 2 hour special that aired over Thanksgiving, "24: Redemption", which was excellent. But, tonight is the night real fans were waiting for, and this fan was not disappointed.