I have time to kill, it's dead and buried. You've got guts to spill, but no one trustworthy...

First full day of work in like four months today and boy was it great! Uhhh, I must still be high off of the steak and Newcastle I just had for dinner. Work was average, it was nice to see some people I haven't seen in a while, but it's nice to be able to sit back, crack a brewski, eat some good homecooked food, and blog for a little bit.

Some thoughts:

-I've been thinking of writing a script. Seriously though, bear with me. I've had sparks of inspiration for the past, oh I'd say year and half now about a movie that I would LOVE to make had I the money/resources to do so. It would be a Clerksesque flick about working in a grocery store. I have a collection of random scenes filed away in my brain that I've thought up while at work, mostly just little minute long scenes that I could maybe cobble together into a movie if I could come up with a satisfying plotline to tie them all together. I'm thinking maybe a cold war between the Walmart Supercenter and Pick N Save (where I work) going hot while one Walmart checker and one Pick N Save stockman carry on an illicit affair under the crossfire R&J style, shenanigans ensue. Or an everyman stockboy falling head over heels in love with a pretty customer and trying to win her love despite their differences, shenanigans ensue. Or perhaps an internal rebellion between the employees and the management and a young stock clerk's search for inner peace while the shenanigans ensue. I don't really know yet, I'm leaning more towards the first option with little bits of the others thrown in, but in any case, there's going to be shenanigans. I need to learn how to write a script, then I'll post a few of the scenes I've got outlined here for my blogreaders' criticism/praise/plagiarism. The main problem I'm forseeing is keeping the movie accessible to people who've never worked in a grocery store, but most people have never worked in a convenience store, a la Clerks, and that movie is loved by millions, so maybe I won't even have a problem with that. The key is coming up with witty dialogue, because I sure can't do sfx or nudity. Well, maybe nudity... ;)

- I still haven't done that essay/diatribe/rant on womens' asses yet. I should do that... ( | )

- While I like being back at home, I miss the apartment and my roommates already. Drew? Ryan? If you can hear this, swing away... swing. away.

- I watched Collateral with Megan and her friend Michelle last night. I saw it in the theatre, liked it, saw it again on dvd, loved it. Michael Mann is such a good director, and Tom Cruise really steals the movie with his character Vincent. There isn't a single thing in the entire flick that he does that doesn't scream "badass." If you haven't seen it yet, and can handle a slow-paced movie, go see it. If you like Collateral, I also HIGHLY recommend Heat, which was also written and directed by Mann. Probable the best cast this side of Pulp Fiction, it's got Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Val Kilmer, Danny Trejo (yeah, I said it), Dennis Haysbert, Tone Loc (yeah, actually he's not that great, but say his name like it's spelled, it's fun), and a little known method actor named Albert Pacino.

- Speaking of Val Kilmer, I watched Spartan the other day. Not bad, but not great either. I'd give it a 6/10. Kilmer isn't that great in it, some of his lines make you wince just hearing him say them so woodenly, almost like he had a notecard below the camera that he kept cheating off of. But the action scenes are realistically shot, no bullets spraying everywhere and people actually aim and don't shoot from the hip, which I'm always a fan of.

- Speaking of movies, thought I'd share my top five with everyone. Here goes
1.) Boondock Saints
2.) Heat
3.) Fight Club
4.) Pulp Fiction
5.) High Fidelity
I have a spreadsheet with every movie I can remember seeing with weighted grades for Acting, Directing/Cinematography, Replay value, and Overall Impression on a scale of 1-10. I think that the indicator of a good movie, at least for me, is that I'll watch it more than once. I'm also I believer that bad acting does not ruin a movie, and that it's the direction more than the acting that makes or breaks a movie. Overall is just a catchall category that brings in everything else, like how well the movie fits together, if the ending is good or terrible, if the pacing was good or bad, if it had meaning behind it, if it made me think, etc. My formula goes something like this: (Acting*1)+(Directing*2.5)+(Replay*4)+(Overall*2.5) = final rating. So Boondock goes :
(8*1 [not the greatest acting, but pretty damn good, and Willem Dafoe rocks)]) + (8*2.5 [Troy Duffy does a really good job with camera angles and especially music, and there are several scenes that are among my favorites out of any movie I've seen]) + (10*4 [This is the one movie that if given the choice of any movie EVER, I would prefer to watch. It's also the one movie that I tell people who haven't seen it to see. Granted, it's not for everyone, but I love it]) + (10*2.5 [Overall, the movie is just incredibly solid and is still entertaining after probably a dozen viewings. It has flaws, yes, but I can overlook them. Also, when I first saw it, I had to sit in my chair for like ten minutes after the end credits, because the ending is just that powerful. I was a bit more idealistic back then and agreed with the movie's philosophy much more strongly, but that initial impression was enough to give this movie the best overall rating]) = 93. I only give a score of 10 once in any category, because 10 is the best of the best of the best, and should be the movie to base all other ratings in that category off of. I believe Heat has the best Acting score, and Memento has the best direction, while Boondock has the other two. It's a good system and works if you're a fan of lists, which I am. You can enter the formula into excel and copy-paste and it sorts everything based on the results of the ratings you enter. You do need a small amount of skill with Excel to make it work, but it's not hard by any means. What can I say, I have way too much time on my hands.

I usually TRY to avoid IMDb message board rants at all costs, but this one struck me as intelligently written and very enlightening. You might have to register with IMDb, but it's worth it, and IMDb is a great website for movie buffs. Read it if you dare.


Well, I've pretty much bored all of you into oblivion, so I'm going to quit now. Take it easy.

SOTM: Alkaline Trio - Time To Waste

Y'All don't know what it's like, being male, middle class, and white...

Well, actually, most of you reading this know EXACTLY what it's like to male, middle class, and white. But I like the line from my SOTM, so give it a listen. It's a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself! Actually, that's all crap, the song isn't about any of those things, but props to those of you who catch the reference.

So, long time no blog. I've been busy with first, not having internet for a week because CenturyTel in Platteville are a bunch of BUTT-FACES and don't seem to care about their customers. Then, I came back home for the summer and have been busy getting back in the groove with work and friends. So I'm here in Lake Geneva, chillin at my mom's house (yeah, I live in my mom's basement, so what?). The slow internet can suck at times, but I think I'm going to do some reading rather than the usual WoW grind that I'd be doing in PVille if I were there.

Recently, I've become something of a beer conuissuer (sp.?). I've tried a bunch of different kinds courtesy of a sampler pack I got from Dick's that had 8 (count em!) unique bottles. I'm a big fan of the Old Peculier and Goose Island Hex Nut Ale out of the pack along with the sixer of Newcastle I also bought. Very good stuff. The box also had Bitburger Pilsner, two Tyranena micros (Headless Man and Stone Tepee), Heineken, Sam Adams (which was also fantastic), and Labatt Blue. If you're looking to try a variety of beers, I'd highly recommend the pack, but some of the beers were so-so. I want to try some New Glarus beers soon. But honestly, nothing I've had so far can beat that weird homebrewed "chocolatey" beer I had at Jason K's place. Well done Jason, well done.

So that's what's up with me. I'm going to help my mom with dinner now, so I'll see you on the flipside (cue sweet bass riff)...

SOTM: Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs

What is Jerusalem worth? Nothing, everything.

Saw Kingdom of Heaven last night, and I was rather impressed. Yeah, it's all been done before, and a lot of people are complaining that it's formulaic and blah blah blah, but I really liked it. The acting was superb, with the exception of Marton Csokas (as Guy de Lusignan), the action sequences, especially the siege of Jerusalem, were exciting and well filmed, and the costumes were incredible. It was fairly historically accurate, but the scriptwriter definitely took some liberties with a lot of things. That's ok, I think movies have to be somewhat inaccurate sometimes if they are to be interesting and commerically successful. It's sparked my interest in the history of the crusades, and I'll be reading a book on the subject I checked out to further my knowledge of something I have none about (wow, imagine that, someone wanting to learn on their free time!). So all in all, I give it a 8/10. And for all you Orlando haters out there, give it a rest. While not the best actor in the movie (I'd have to give that award to the Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud who played Saladin, the guy is freaking intense), he holds his own and gives a respectable performance. If you're a fan of epics (I sure am), Kingdom of Heaven is no Gladiator or Braveheart, but is definitely worth your money to go see.

SOTM: The Killers - Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine

Some links v2.0

If you're at all interested in electronic music, check the following out, but budget AT LEAST an hour once you get into it. It's hard to quit...
http://www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html

Probably not for the religious, but I find these pics hilarious. That's just my messed up sense of humor for ya... I think it's because the complete and utter absurdity of Jesus using internet slang that gets to me lol
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=225541&page=1&pp=20
http://photobucket.com/albums/v499/Aerichk/

My friend Jason K.'s blog. He usually has some good links and little big about what's going on with him on his blog, so it's worth a visit...
http://www.grubbyhalo.com

Ya, so that's about it. Take it easy all lol

SOTM: AFI - The Great Disappointment

Life is short and hard like a bodybuilding elf...

This picture is without a doubt, one of the top 5 funniest things I have ever seen on the innerweb EVER. It might, in fact, be THE funniest. Although Dad's Home gives it a serious run for it's money. In fact, here's a semi-definitive list that I might add/subtract from.

1. This picture
2. Dad's Home
3. End of the World
4. Ding Fries Are Done
5. All Your Base

SOTM: Bloodhound Gang - Lift Your Head Up High and Blow Your Brains Out

So long and thanks for all the fish...

I can sum up why I haven't posted in a while with three letters: W. O. W. or otherwise known as World of Warcraft. The game is stupidly addicting and I can easily lose myself in it for hours on end. Hopefully I still remember to do my homework!

I saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on Friday with Ryan and Drew when we went to Sheboygan. It was definitely a good time, but from what I've heard, if you've read the books, you'll be disappointed, but if you haven't, you'll think it's great. Keep this in mind.

Speaking of which, it really bothers me when people judge a movie based on the book it was based on. I somehow have the ability to separate the book from the movie and base my opinions on each separately, whereas most people will attempt to pick apart a movie and find a plethora of reasons to hate it because it wasn't faithful to the book. Granted, some movies that are based on books are simply terrible movies in their own right (Congo comes to mind), but seriously, quit hating; there's no way a movie is going to be 100% faithful to any literary source, just lay back, try to forget what the book was about, and judge the movie on it's own merits/faults.

Ok so that's it for now, I have to get back to WoW :)

SOTM: Chevelle - The Clincher (pseudo acoustic version I heard on the radio and can't find anywhere)