Movie Review: The Island

I borrowed "The Island" from Nuke to overcome the Netflix 1 disc plan. I've had this one in my Netflix queue forever, but it had never made it to the top. I wish it would have gotten to the top, because this is definitely an interesting, and good, movie.

"The Island" stars Ewan McGreagor and Scarlet Johansson (what a silly way to spell that name), as two survivors of "the contamination" living in a highly regulated indoor colony in the year 2019. All members of this indoor colony hope to win the lottery, which gets them to the island...the last clean area on earth. However, as our main characters soon find out, this indoor colony isn't all it seems, and they aren't what they seem.

I can't really say much more than that without giving away a lot of the plot. I really enjoyed this movie though. I'm a big Ewan McGreagor fan, and he doesn't disappoint in this movie. He plays two roles, and he plays them very well. Scarlet Johansson isn't great, but she's not awful. She has never been one of my favorite actresses, which is part of the reason why this movie has lingered in my queue so long. Sean Bean is the villain, and as always, he excels in the role.

This is a Sci-Fi/Action film. You'll need to like both to enjoy this movie. If you are just an action junkie, I think the complex plot may just drive you nuts. If you are a Sci-Fi junkie, you may get sick of the numerous chase scenes, and find yourself longing for more deep thinking plot twists. Overall, I give "The Island" 4 stars.

Political Funnies

This last week has allowed numerous funnies based on Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize. I've added a new blog to my blog list. This one is from Gary Varvel of the Indianapolis Star. Lots of funnies there, including his cartoon on Obama receiving the NBA MVP, the Cy Young Award, an Emmy and Olympic Gold Medals. Check it out...it's funny stuff!

Here's a couple of other good ones I heard from a friend this week:

"Did you hear that President Obama is getting a Grammy because he listened to a song?"
"Did you hear that President Obama is going to win the Heisman because he went to a College Football Game?"
"Did you hear that President Obama is going to win an Oscar for going to a movie?"

Supporting Rush

I wasn't going to blog about Rush Limbaugh's attempt to be a limited partner in the purchase of the St. Louis Rams. I just didn't have that much to say. I know Rush loves football and he would have been a great owner. Then today, I saw that Limbaugh was dropped from the bid to buy the Rams.

This disgusts me! For one, we live in a country where, if you can afford to buy something you should have the opportunity to buy it. And we live in a country where you can refuse sale to anyone. This would have worked itself out without the involvement of Race promoters like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Jason Whitlock.

Secondly, Rush is not a racist. If you listen to his show you would know that. But so many people don't listen, they just judge him based on quotes taken out of context by the media. Or, as was the case this week, quotes that were completely fabricated. Rush is a conservative and has often said that he wants everyone in this country to succeed. He has also stated on numerous occasions that when he looks at people he doesn't see race, he doesn't see social groupings, he sees a person, who has the same right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as everybody else (I paraphrased that). But, because he's not PC and because he's a conservative, he's labeled a "racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe." The real truth is, it's the left that sees people for their race or social grouping.

Third, when did we come to a point in this country that free speech is only allowed if you agree with the far left. Michael Moore, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Nancy Pelosi, David Letterman and those on the left can say whatever they want about whomever they want...usually conservatives, and it's either ignored, or justified. But someone like Rush makes a comment about the media wanting a black QB to do well, and ESPN has to fire him! Would NBC fire Keith Olberman for such a statement?

Finally, the NFL has other controversial owners. Fergie, the female singer of the Black Eyed Peas was just approved as a minority owner of the Dolphins. Have you heard their lyrics? I would rather my kids hear Rush than those lyrics. Al Davis is the owner of the Raiders, and also a complete jerk. He nearly destroyed Marcus Allen's career, and he has wrecked the Oakland Raiders. Yet he's lauded as a pioneer and a hero.

Rush should have been given a fair shake by the NFL, but the left wing media and the race business couldn't allow that. There is such a double standard in this country, and it's not going to change unless we work to change it. We can start by ignoring Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. We've had enough of their song and dance. We need to quit reading the drivel published by Jason Whitlock. He could find racism in a story about a blind golfer making a hole-in-one.

And finally, we need to demand equal reporting from our media. If they are going to make a big deal when Rush makes a comment they deem racist, they need to make the same big deal when Joe Biden says “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” He was referring to Barack Obama, but most people never heard that because it doesn't fit the media template the the Democrats are holy and pure while the Republicans are evil racists. That's really all this was with Rush...it was a chance to wedge a story into the media template, and take down one of their enemies in the process. I guarantee that there is rejoicing all throughout the left-wing media tonight.

They're Everywhere!!!

Remember the "Demolition Man"? If you don't remember, the movie is set in fictitious 2032. Do you remember which restaurant won the franchise wars, meaning that it was now the only restaurant? It was Taco Bell. Well, I think they might have gotten that one wrong. Based on my weekend's travels, I think the restaurant that will eventually replace all others is Subway!

I know I was on Subway about their marketing last week, so 2 Subway blogs within 7 days? Am I really going to go there? Yes I am. Subway is expected to pass McDonald's for most stores worldwide, sometime soon. After driving about 1100 miles over the past 5 days and passing through and around multiple cities of varying sizes, I can report that Subway Restaurants are everywhere! Every town of 1,000 people seems to have a Subway.

In fact, as I think about it right now, I can think of 5 Subway restaurants within a 15 minute drive of my house, compared with only 3 McDonald's. They're taking over...you've been warned.

By the way, I really like Subway's food...I ate it this weekend. It was DELICIOUS!

My Heart Can't Take This!

Anyone who knows me, knows that the Denver Broncos are my favorite football team...pretty much my favorite sports team. This year, they had a tumultuous off season. They got a new coach, traded their Pro Bowl Quarterback, changed defensive schemes, brought in a ton of new players and suspended their Pro Bowl Wide Receiver during the Preseason.

I had predicted that they would go 4-12 this season. I am now officially wrong, and I've never been so glad to be wrong. The Broncos beat the New England Patriots in Overtime today to improve to 5-0! Led by a strong defense and timely offense, the Broncos continue to surprise me.

I hadn't watched the first 3 games of the season, because they weren't televised. The last 2 games have been televised, and, frankly, my heart can't take much more suspense. Last week, the Broncos came from behind to go ahead of Dallas, then had a goal line stand to preserve the win. This week, they tied the game with about 5 minutes to go, then stopped the Patriots twice, before kicking the winning field goal in OT. My heart was racing so fast when that kick went through. Don't get me wrong though, I'll take these wins over a loss any day. Here's hoping the Broncos can keep it up.

It's Anybody's Game Now

We were travelling today, and I turned on the radio during one of our breaks, and heard that Barack Obama won the Noble Peace Prize. My first thought was, "for what?" Apparently it was “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” I got that from Nuke's blog...didn't actually do any real research...in the interest of full disclosure. Apparently going around the world apologizing for perceived wrong-doings by the U.S. under past Presidents and kissing up to the U.N. qualifies you for the peace prize these days.

An aside...I actually think Obama is probably embarrassed by this. He probably realizes that he hasn't done much to qualify him for the award yet. He didn't lobby for this award, and my guess is, in a private moment he would admit that he doesn't deserve it (likely followed by a "yet"). This isn't at all a commentary on Obama. This is a commentary on the voters awarding the Nobel Peace Prize.

Anyway, I started thinking about this more and discussing it with the smartest person in our car. Here's what we came up with. We should all be happy about this! This means that all of us have a chance to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the $1 million plus that goes with it (Obama is donating the prize money to charity). Basically, you don't really have to do anything related to peace to win the Nobel Peace Prize anymore. You just have to kiss up to the World's Socialists and Dictators, or make a Left-Wing Propaganda movie and it's in the bag. Good luck next year everybody!

Movie Review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

The latest installment from DC Universe is "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies." I've enjoyed the other DC Universe animated features I've watched lately, and I'm a big fan of Batman, so I figured there was no way I wasn't going to love this movie. And, I was right, it is terrific.

Just to warn you, there will be more plot discussion than normal in this blog. Hopefully I'm not giving too much away. If you are concerned, skip the next 2 paragraphs. This will also further confirm my nerd status.

The movie opens with Lex Luthor becoming President of the United States. The U.S. was going through an economic crisis, and Lex swooped in to take advantage of the situation and become President. One of his first acts as President is to bring super heroes in to the government, reporting directly to him...sort of like super powered czars. Conspicuous by their absence are Batman and Superman.

When Earth is threatened, Lex reaches out to Superman, but when Superman rebuffs him, Lex turns public sentiment against Superman by offering a large sum of money to whoever brings in Superman. This brings all kinds of super villains out of the wood work to try to capture Superman, and the only hero to stand by Superman is The Dark Knight himself, Batman. The rest of the movie involves the attempts to evade capture and save the earth from impending doom.

This animated feature was really well done. The animation style is different than previous DC animated films, and a definite break from the Justice League series. I liked the new animation style overall. I've read some other reviews that didn't like it, but it worked for me. Most importantly, the key players were all voiced by the familiar voices from series past. Kevin Conroy voiced Batman. Conroy has been the voice of Batman going all the way back to the early 1990's. Tim Daly voices Superman, and Clancy Brown voices Lex Luthor. Both had previously done voice work in DC cartoons. Allison Mack, who is Chloe in "Smallville," provides the voice for Power Girl, which was a nice touch.

I thought the movie stayed very true to the characters. I liked the little bit of edge that they gave Superman. As always though, the key for me in these movies is Batman. I thought they portrayed him perfectly. Batman is aware of the impending doom for the planet early on, and is already working on a solution. Throughout the movie, there are glimpeses that he is still working on things, and when it comes time to save the planet, Batman has a plan all figured out. He also solves a murder on the way that helps them gain allies, and helps Superman through many battles. Batman holds his own, and defeats his super powered foes with cunning and skill...perfect for a Batman junkie like me.

One really entertaining feature in the movie is the dialogue between Batman and Superman. It's quippy and revealing at times. But, you get the feeling that the 2 heroes really do like each other. This movie is rated PG-13. There is language, and some more grown up themes. If you're a super hero fan like me, you can't pass this one up. This was 5 stars all the way!