Oscar (the grouch)...that's kind of a pun...right?

Well, well, well, Oscar time is coming closer and I have to admit that it is a guilty pleasure of mine. Betting on the movies, thinking of ones I want to see and the ones I have already enjoyed. Pretending Ricky Gervais is hosting and making fun of celebrities. I was thinking of going Doc's route and doing my Oscar picks. However, I feel like that would end with a Bill Murryesque monologue making fun of the Oscars, celebrities and how I haven't seen half of the films. The bar is set to high here and I feel I can never match his. So I am going to make a few comments on Doc's choices and then present something a little different. More on that soon.

Best Picture: I agree that it will be Social Network. I am probably going to see it tonight and am quite excited.

Actually, I agree with Doc on everything (or do not care enough to disagree) except for Animated picture. I hope the Illusionist wins. I am seeing it this weekend also and am also excited.

Moving on, I would to present....

THE OSCARS AS IF EVERY MOVIE EVER MADE FROM EVERY YEAR WAS NOMINATED

BEST PICTURE: Life of Brian (1979)

While this is not a perfect movie, I have to explain that to be the best picture you have to be more than a perfect movie. You have to be a challenging film. This satire on religion is dead on. Also, it is a necessary film as it can open one's eyes to problems with religion. It is also the funniest damn thing on earth. The plot itself is pure genius; the life of the man who lived next door to Jesus and has a parallel life to his own. The reason why it is not perfect is due to one or two unnecessary scenes, but its audacity, humor and intelligence make up for this and make it the best movie of all time.

BEST DIRECTOR: Terry Gilliam - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

I know I am being heavy from the Monty Python boys, but I promise this will end now. Never has a movie been so impacted by a director. From viewing this film it is clear that Gilliam had complete control of whatever was came on the camera. The movie is heavy on visuals and not your standard beginning, middle end film. What makes it work is the directing. The audience can feel the fast changes between insanity, fear, humor, pathos, tragedy and excitement. It all works too. Following two counterculture has been running through a drugged up weekend in Las Vegas, from their perspective, Gilliam infuses this all with a lot of substance. In scenes, he clearly shows how the average American patrons visiting Vegas are more like freaks than the two self-proclaimed freaks we are vacationing with. He also makes a clear comment about a specific space and time. Mainly, the moment in the 1970s when it was clear all of the promises of the 1960s counterculture will not come true and life would return to normalcy. The book which the film is based on, an obvious classic as well, would have never been able to be turned into a great movie without Gilliam.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: JACK NICHOLSON - THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (1972)

Here is the thing, I never thought Jack was a good actor. Sure, he can be fun and manic and entertaining. I just assumed that was what he was like in real life and just did it on screen. In the King of Marvin Gardens, Jack is not manic. He is very calm. It is this calmness that makes the movie and his performance amazing. He plays the brother of a possible con artist who is summoned to Atlantic City to get his brother out of jail. After he does this him and the audience go on a ride in the underbelly of Atlantic City and no one is ever quite sure what is going on. However, it is Jack's acting that keeps the movie alive. His facial expressions are the same as the audience in this dramatic tragedy. His acting clearly makes the film believable, exciting and intriguing.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: ANNE BANCROFT - THE GRADUATE (1967)

Why do more people not talk about this performance? This is clearly one of the most complex and interesting roles from a great film. The emotion and humor, as the frustrated and confused housewife, she brings to the part are perfect pitch.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: BILL MURRY - RUSHMORE (1998)

Murry is an amazing actor and comedian. His humor is truly unlike anyone else's. However, he took all of this to a new level in Rushmore. He is funny and poignant with just a simple look. His character is fascinating as a wealthy industrialist who is unhappy with his life and starts a competition with a teenager over the love of a teacher. An amazing performance with something new to see every time. (Honorable mention to Kevin Kline who did win this Oscar for A FISH CALLED WANDA(1988))

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: BEATRICE STRAIGHT - NETWORK (1976)

A real academy award winner for this category and for this role. With hardly any scenes in the actual film, Straight leaves an unbelievably memorable performance as the wife of a TV network executive. Played with dignity and force, she left a huge mark on an already amazing film.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)

Fun, poignant, powerful, meaningful, interesting and different. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a film that most people remember as a simple fun Disney film, but it was so much more. Packed with historical references, symbolism for racism and a tribute to animation, the writing was so good and worked on so many levels. Definitely a film worth revisiting. I have never read the original book, but I have to imagine it was not easy to adapt to film.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: THE ROYAL TENNANBAUMS (2001)

Fascinating family study with humor, drama and a quirky sensibility. The characters are so strong and the situation are very interesting. Well written, a true work of art.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966)

In many ways this film is more about today than the time it was made. It is about terrorism, war politics and everything in between during the Algerian Revolution over the French. A war film for those who like to think.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: FANTASIA (1940)

There is, unfortunately, nothing like this breakthrough film. Abstract, challenging and not as boring as you remember. It is rare to find a film that serves as an experiment and a great movie.

AND NOW FOR THE CATEGORIES I ADMIT THAT I AM KIND OF STABBING IN THE DARK FOR AS I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEM

CINEMATOGRAPHY: THE LAST EMPEROR (1987)
FILM EDITING: PULP FICTION (1994)
DOCUMENTARY: DOC HAS BAD TASTE IN MOVIES (1984)
ORIGINAL SCORE: THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (1994)
ORIGINAL SONG: anything from THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979)
VISUAL EFFECTS: WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)
ART DIRECTION: BRAZIL (1985)
COSTUME DESIGN: RADIO DAYS (1987)

Well, that was more exhausting than I thought it would be. I know you may disagree with me on some of these, but I have a blog and you do not, so I am right and you are wrong. So there. Man, that was a nice way of avoiding discussing movies I have not seen yet.

Oscar Predictions

As the award season is upon us I have decided to list my predictions for this years Oscars. Also, does anyone know where the blog oscars are held? I am pretty sure the 3184 blog will sweep them, but I have yet to get an invite. Dos, did they send it to you? Anyway, here are my predictions with a brief explanation for each. If I guess more right than Dos, I get to take one movie of my choice from his DVD collection. For keeps!

BEST PICTURE:
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network (I have to admit, I did not see this yet. But I will. The general consensus is that this will take home the prize. So I will agree with the masses. UPDATE: I have now seen this and it definitely deserves to win)
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

DIRECTING:
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network (Again, good money is on Fincher and that is where my guess will lie)
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech (A lot of times during the movie I wanted to scream out "Just say it you fucking idiot!" So I believed the performance and it was a very strong one)
James Franco, 127 Hours

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan (I have not seen it, but I will have to guess she will win. And if she does, hopefully she doesn't make that weird laugh she made at the Golden Globes)
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Christian Bale, The Fighter (All I gotta say is Bale better win. Such an awesome performance)
John Hawks, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit (She definitely deserves the award. Despite being surrounded by such great actors she held her own. Amazing performance)
Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin (You don't go against the Sorkin)
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg (Just a guess here. If it were up to me Inception would win, but my gut is picking this as the winner)
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Biutiful
Dogtooth (Total guess)
In a Better World
Incendies
Outside the Law

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3 (Toy Story is a shoe-in to win)

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Matthew Libatique
Inception (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Danny Cohen
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit (Paramount) Roger Deakins (Yep)

FILM EDITING:
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter Paramount Pamela Martin (I think I am gonna be wrong on this one, but I just wanna see The Fighter get a win)
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Tariq Anwar
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Jon Harris
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

DOCUMENTARY:
Exit through the Gift Shop (Producers Distribution Agency) Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz A Paranoid Pictures Production
Gasland Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic A Gasland Production
Inside Job (Sony Pictures Classics) Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs A Representational Pictures Production
Restrepo (National Geographic Entertainment) Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger An Outpost Films Production (Prove me wrong Mr. Oscar)
Waste Land Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley (Arthouse Films) An Almega Projects Production

ORIGINAL SCORE:
How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) John Powell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer (Hans Zimmer better win!! Great score. The man never lets me down)
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

ORIGINAL SONG:
Coming Home from Country Strong (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems)) Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
I See the Light from Tangled (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
If I Rise from 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman (I would like to think this is the best bet to win)

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter (Warner Bros.) Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb (Inception definitely deserves this one. Best effects out of the bunch)
Iron Man 2 (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount) Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

ART DIRECTION:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney), Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.), Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
Inception (Warner Bros.), Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)/span>
The King’s Speech (Paramount), Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set Decoration)
True Grit (Paramount), Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration) (Sure, why not)

COSTUME DESIGN:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Colleen Atwood
I Am Love (Magnolia Pictures) Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Jenny Beavan (Costumes looked good to me)
The Tempest (Miramax) Sandy Powell
True Grit (Paramount) Mary Zophres

If I'm not back in five minutes... wait longer!

First off, I apologize for my lack of posts lately. Was it because of laziness? Absolutely. I have no excuse. You can also blame Madden '11 and Netflix for my lack of desire to share my pointless thoughts. And I can't even remember (yes I can, there are dates) when someone made a comment about something we wrote. So as far as I know: Ain't no-god-damn-body reading this anyway. Except Lisa (Dos's girlfriend) cause he tells her to. But anyway, here we go.

I am just gonna throw a bunch of random thoughts out there. Anne Hathaway is overrated. If it weren't for her monster tits no one would even pay attention to her. I think age is her worst enemy. She was recently cast as Selina Kyle (Catwoman) in The Dark Knight Rises (which holy shit I can not wait for!!!!). But this is such uninspired casting. I am sure she will be great in the part, but there are a lot of better actresses out there. Christopher Nolan has a bad track record with casting female leads in the Batman films....Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal and now Anne Hathaway. Regardless, the movie will be great.

Next up, let me just say how sick I am of the weather this winter. It snows pretty much every day! I can't wait for it to start to get nice out. Even though when it does, my allergies will kick my ass. But that is a risk I am willing to take.

Moving on... Do I think Dos made a good purchase with the Twilight Zone box set? Yes! In fact, I influenced him to purchase it (as I have with most of his box sets). Seinfeld, I had to keep telling him what a great purchase it would be and the great repeat value it has. And I know he hasn't looked back since buying it. Fraggle Rock, deal of the day on amazon. Not my cup of tea, but I told him how much he would enjoy it. And enjoy it he did. And Twilight Zones I kept telling him to get. But the reason for that was mostly selfish so I could borrow them and watch them myself. Hurry up and finish them already Dos!

Future box sets I intend to purchase: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Caprica (Blu Ray). The Office (when the show ends). The Harry Potter movies. The lost episodes of the Honeymooners (although, they have become increasingly hard to find so if anyone has any leads let me know). Andddddddd that is all I can think of for now.

I would also just like to reiterate my distate for fat people. I have seen an influx of you at the gym since new year's and granted, most of you have already stopped going, but on top of working out you gotta eat healthy too. You can't go to the gym and slowly jiggle between machines and then go home and eat a cake. You won't see any results that way. Work on eating healthy first. Then get your fat ass to the gym.

Doc out!

About Something; Or Why I Am Excited to Own The Complete Twilight Zone Series; Or Beating a Dead Horse

As our previous posts have been about how to judge films and television, I decided to a post to express my excitement toward watching all of the Twilight Zones and my lack of excitement for anything coming out that is new. These episodes normally fall into three categories. Ones which are specifically devoted to making its audience examine a moral question, ones which are specifically just "mindfucks," which are supposed to make one think differently or be surprised by it, and ones which are just very entertaining. It is this third one that strikes me as odd as I criticized Doc's choice of putting Jackass 3D among his best picture list. I do not think I can prove that this film is not entertaining. It must be; people watch it and people laugh.

So what is my problem? Is it that I am a snob and it is considered a lower form of entertainment to mostly watch people in physical pain and laugh? Possibly. However, I would like to submit another view. The idea of films or television shows being about something. Let's take a look at a Twilight Zone episode that fits into this third category. The episode entitled "The Man in the Bottle" is about a man who finds a genie in a bottle, makes some wishes, they all turn out bad (including one hilarious moment when he wishes to have power and ends up being Hitler). Essentially, I enjoy this episode because it is humorous to watch one man being tortured by having his wishes turn out bad. I am taking pleasure in his pain. Is there much difference between this and watching Jackass?

I am going to submit that there is a difference. Although I do believe that this could be argued further that there isn't. That difference is a division between a film or TV show being about something and being about nothing. Themes, questions and ideas that can be interestingly explored and the non-existence of this elsewhere. Indeed, the Twilight Zone episode described above is about something. Even thought its purpose is sheer entrainment, it has some ideas that are worthy of being explored. This, at least, being people who are trying desperately to change their life, when they should be happy in the moment without they have. Yes, this is a bit trite and, no, I will not walk away from this episode with a new lease on life. But, there is something that this is about.

I am very excited about watching all of the Twilight Zone episodes. For most of the episodes one does not have to make a stretch, as I did above, to show what they are about. They present challenging stories which can directly impact one's thinking about life in a sci-fi format. They also have some pulpy fun, such as the "To Serve Man" episode. Overall, they are fascinating testaments of a specific time and place and timeless lessons about the nature of man told in interesting and truthful ways. I have not seen many of these in a while, and some at all, so perhaps I will continue this post and examine specific episodes. However, and I am sure I am becoming redundant and boring at this point, they have to be better than beehive teetherball even though it came out in the late 1950s.

You know what? If this post was redundant I blame Doc. I think he should respond to my other post or just admit that I am right and suggest a new topic of discussion.

Suggested list of topics for Doc to change the subject quickly without having to admit he is wrong:

Best Twilight Zone Episode

Who has the best phone? Dos or Doc?

Best Care Bear

Best Smurf

Best Snork

Worst Job Possible

Best Sitcom

Best Sandwich

Vegetarianism vs Meat Eating

Dos's Best Feature

Whose entries are better Dos or Doc?

Should our blog be serious debates about art or silly arguments?

Who would win in a fight, Donald or Daffy Duck?

How come I can't get no tang around here?

Best specific simpson joke?

What is a better name, John Melancamp or John Cougar?

Best sketch Comedy show

Should Dos have ended this list by now?

Why do people sneeze differently?

Best muppet

Why do people drink tomato juice?

Best board game

Why is outdated slang so funny?

Best decade of pop culture

That last one is a good one, eh? I mean just because we live in the current decade does not mean that it has the best pop culture. Ugh, there I go again......

The difference between Dos and Doc

Doc has made several accusation towards my taste in films and I will react to this in the order they were given and then sum up, the differences between him and I and our taste in films. As usual, this post will not be funny. The only difference between this and my normal posts is that I will not try to be funny.

Argument Number1:

"First, how can a man who claims to have the best DVD collection in the world see only 9 movies in a year?! 2 of those movies were cartoons, 1 was based on a cartoon and 2 were based on children's novels. Fact: Dos's DVD collection is childish."

Rebuttal Number 1:

The amount of movies someone sees in a year has nothing to do with the quality of their DVD collection. Perhaps a person does not enjoy going to the movies, or perhaps they had a hard year in getting to the movies, or perhaps there was no movie in that year that struck his fancy. At any rate, I really do believe that these two facts are unrelated. Now, some of the movies I saw were cartoons or fall into the genre of children films and both of these genres are well represented in my DVD collection. This is true. Furthermore, I find nothing wrong with this. Just because a film is animated or was intended for younger viewers does not mean it is a bad film or one which is not worthy of being seen. Like other genres, all they are is types of film and there are good and bad ones. Doc does not mention his affinity for the Ninja Turtle Movies or superhero cartoons which would put him in the same boat as me. This is beyond the fact that there are some undeniably amazing cartoons/children films out there. No one would deny the greatness of The Muppet Movie or Fantasia or The Lion King, just to cite a few. His argument is insulting to anybody who enjoys a good film which was also suitable for children.

Argument Number 2:

"Perhaps if it were 1984 he would have a pretty impressive collection. But this is 2011 Dos! They still make movies and as someone who claims to like movies and have an impressive collection of his own you gotta take the time to go see some new stuff. 2010 was pretty weak movie wise, I will give him that. But to only see 9 movies and half being kid fluff is unacceptable."

Rebuttal Number 2:

I do not know what the 1984 comment means as there are plenty of films and TV shows in my collection made after this date. I would submit that the bulk fit into this latter category. Also, Doc agrees that 2010 was a weak year for movies. Why should I waste my time and see a movie that I have no interest in or is poor just because it is new? There are plenty of older films out there to be discovered which may be more meaning full than ones that just happen to come in the year that it happens to be. As far as the "kid fluff" comment, please see my above argument and I will contest that none of the animated films which I thoroughly enjoyed were "just fluff."

Argument Number 3:

"The Fighter. Which he had no interest in when I spoke to him about it and now he does? C'mon man."

Rebuttal Number 3:

As I told Doc, and he chose not to include here, the idea of The Fighter did bore me. This was because it seemed like just another boxing movie. Then I learned that the director was David O. Russell, whose previous films have all been excellent and I have seen every one. Once I learned this, I did develop an interest in seeing the film. If I am guilty of anything it is being bored of boxing films and not actively looking up who directed this one.

Argument Number 4:

"Dos will argue that he sees the classics and rare films. Well, I lent him a classic. Has he watched it yet? No, no he has not. I let him borrow The Honeymooners and he cant take 20 minutes out of his busy day to watch one episode. I watched a lot of his crap (Labyrinth) in the hopes that he would make good on his promise and watch the Honeymooners. So when he comes back saying he watches mostly classics we will all know he is a dirty liar."

Rebuttal Number 4:

Yeah, I do see classic and rare films. I enjoy them and find them interesting. The Honeymooners is not a film. Furthermore, I never asked Doc to watch labyrinth. I told him he would hate it and he said that he wanted to see it anyway. Labyrinth is not a great film, it is a film that I enjoyed when I was younger and like watching it due to its oddness and my own memories. Oh yeah, and Doc's argument about me not enjoying classics because I like the Honeymooners makes no sense.

Argument Number 5:

"Another thing, Jackass 3D was very funny. "

Rebuttal Number 5 and Conclusion on the Differences between Dos and Doc:

I am sure that Jackass would make me laugh if I saw it and I have seen enough of the previous Jackass movies to "know that it is about." However, it is very hard to say that this is a great movie. It is what it is, a bunch of people doing ridiculous pranks to make you laugh. Yes, you will laugh. However, it is not a great movie. I defy Doc to find it on the top of any legitimate critic's list of the best movies of 2010. It won't be because it can't be a great movie based on the nature of what it is. I am all for non-linear films and some of my favorites qualify as this, however, these are filled with ideas and not disgusting pranks. Finally there is a difference between Doc and I which underscores this whole post. Doc just takes whatever he is given in the entertainment world and filters out what he enjoys. There is a lot more out there that must be searched for and read about. The most fascinating and enjoyable films I saw in 2010 were not in the theaters. They were works of art that were challenging and I had to actively seek out. I apologize Doc for not being one of the sheep who will go to the movies and pay their money no matter what is playing. There is much more enjoyable, fascinating and challenging films out there in the world that did not rank among the big money makers of 2010.

Shut the fuck up, Donny.

I notice Dos took a shot at my movie list in his "top" 10. Let me rebuttal. First, how can a man who claims to have the best DVD collection in the world see only 9 movies in a year?! 2 of those movies were cartoons, 1 was based on a cartoon and 2 were based on children's novels. Fact: Dos's DVD collection is childish. The movies he saw this year further proves that fact. Yes, I will admit he does own some classics. But I myself have had trouble finding them while looking through his collection due to the nonstop cartoon nonsense.

Perhaps if it were 1984 he would have a pretty impressive collection. But this is 2011 Dos! They still make movies and as someone who claims to like movies and have an impressive collection of his own you gotta take the time to go see some new stuff. 2010 was pretty weak movie wise, I will give him that. But to only see 9 movies and half being kid fluff is unacceptable.

I am sure you are all wondering what Dos can do to improve his DVD collection. I do not believe it is beyond saving. First, you gotta get out there and try some new stuff. You can't keep living in the past! Hollywood isn't what it used to be but there are some good flicks that sneak out every now and then. One being The Fighter. Which he had no interest in when I spoke to him about it and now he does? C'mon man.

Dos will argue that he sees the classics and rare films. Well, I lent him a classic. Has he watched it yet? No, no he has not. I let him borrow The Honeymooners and he cant take 20 minutes out of his busy day to watch one episode. I watched a lot of his crap (Labyrinth) in the hopes that he would make good on his promise and watch the Honeymooners. So when he comes back saying he watches mostly classics we will all know he is a dirty liar.

Another thing, Jackass 3D was very funny. Probably one of the funniest movies I saw this year. Since Dos did not even see it, his opinion does not matter. I will now end with a list of every movie I saw this year. It is fairly respectable. And proves that when it comes to movies, Dos will always come second to Doc.

Daybreakers, The Book of Eli, The Wolfman, Shutter Island, Brooklyn's Finest, Date Night, Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, The Last Airbender, Inception, The Expendables, The Town, Jackass 3D, Due Date, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Fighter and True Grit.

I Saw 10 movies in 2010

...not entirely true because I technically saw the King's Speech in 2011, but whatever. Here is the list of my 2010 movies and I will note where I did not really like them, which was most of them.

10. The Last Airbender - Unwatchable and really hard on me as I was a fan of the show

9. Hot Tub Time Machine - Did not even capture the fun of crappy comedy movies I used to watch on channel 11 and still have an affinity for

8. Greenberg - Usually I enjoy such independent comedies, but this one was boring. Although OI did enjoy Stiller's performance

7. Alice in Wonderland - Starting out pretty ok, but then dissolved into a bizarre action film. The movie was forgettable at best.

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - I alternated from bored to entertained with this one

5. Inception - I hate that the top was still spinning at the end as we know it is not a dream. However, I was entertained but do not think it is one of the greatest movies ever made.

4. Toy Story 3 - The worst of the 3 but I did get rather scared when I thought all of the toys were going to die. However, the true laughs were gone in this final installment.

3. Tangled - Surprisingly entertaining. While it is still not a movie that I loved, I did laugh and it was much more entertaining than I thought.

2. Waking Sleeping Beauty - Ah and we are finally at a movie that I enjoyed watching. This documentary on Disney's renaissance in the late 80s and 90s was fascinating. I really enjoyed learning about the stories behind the films as well as reminiscing some memories of seeing these animated films when I was younger. Interesting watch for anyone who likes to learn about movies.

1. The King's Speech - Another good film. I would not say this one was amazing but it was constantly witty, interesting and entertaining. Geoffry Rush's performance was superb and I could not picture anyone else but him playing the part.

Man, I guess 2010 was not the best year for movies. Maybe I just didn't see enough as I tend to watch older films. Maybe I just need to do a post reacting to Doc's list and to say how all those movies he selected seem bad to me. We shall see. I will give him that I want to see True Grit and the Fighter. But how can Jackass 3D really be in a list of the best anything?

Merry New Year!

Legalize it!

I would like to state before we begin that I do not smoke. I have only tried it twice and have never even gotten high. I believe this should give more weight to my argument though. Yes, I do believe marijuana should be legal. I believe anyone that wants to do it, can easily obtain it. In fact, marijuana is used by roughly 25 million people annually. Under the current system, all we are doing is putting money in the hands of criminals rather than making it legal and taxing the bejesus out of it.

Legalizing marijuana could be very beneficial. The most obvious reason, taxing it and using that money for worthwhile government projects. Not only would that extra money be gained, but we would also save money that is wasted on prosecuting people for using it. So much money is wasted every year for cases involving marijuana use. These cases usually lead to nothing more than a slap on the wrist. So much of this money could be going to more important issues.

People say that marijuana is a gateway drug, and this may be true, but I believe those that are going to do something harder are most likely going to do it anyway with or without marijuana in the equation. A legal market for the drug, however, might in fact reduce the chance to purchase something harder. If you are purchasing it illegally from a drug dealer, they are most likely going to push a harder, more expensive/addicting drug on you. Thats just good business. A legal establishment just selling marijuana reduces the risk of being offered any other drug.

I do think that one negative factor of doing the drug is it will kill brain cells. But no more than going out and getting drunk every weekend. (I base this fact on no research). I can’t remember ever hearing about a marijuana overdose though. I do not see how smoking can be worse than getting sickly drunk each weekend.

It can be argued that marijuana has some positive attributes. Such as providing relief to pain and stress and can be used as a way to relax. Not that I am saying you should do it every time you want to relax. The good outweighs the bad when it comes to legalizing marijuana. Extra money to benefit our country rather than sending it back to criminals is enough of an argument alone. Also, lets not ignore the jobs it could create! We are talking about a whole new market for hemp. I believe one day we will see it legalized, but that day may not come anytime soon.

END OF YEAR LISTS (continued)

Merry Christmas and happy holidays 3184ers! Today we will continue my year end lists with favorite albums and tv shows. Enjoy!

Top 10 Albums

10. Godsmack - The Oracle - After a bit of a hiatus Godsmack is back and better than ever. Great album.

9. Minus the Bear - Omni - Just a good mellow rock album.

8. Apocalyptica - 7th Symphony - The best symphonic metal band out there. Great mix of cello and hard rock.

7. Depswa - Distorted American Dream - It only took 7 years for their sophomore album to come out, but it was worth the wait.

6. Sevendust - Cold Day Memory - Awesome hard rock album. Doesnt hold back.

5. Two Steps From Hell - Power of Darkness - Great classical epic score.

4. Jimmy Eat World - Invented - Another solid effort from JEW.

3. Hans Zimmer - Inception Soundtrack - Great score. Zimmer is the best composer in the business.

2. Ozzy Osbourne - Scream - Ozzy is still the man. Despite his age this album is one of my favorites of his.

1. Disturbed - Asylum - Best rock album of the year. ‘Nuff said.

Top 5 TV shows

5. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - I am gonna throw this on the list because I believe this season is a huge improvement over last. Hopefully this trend will continue.

4. The Walking Dead - I have yet to watch this show, but from what I have read and heard it is amazing. Throwing it on the list cause I am sure it would have ended up here anyway.

3. The Office - Despite being in its 7th season, The Office is still one of the best comedies on tv. Consistently funny.

2. Community - The only comedy that might be better than The Office. Continually great. The best show you’re not watching!

1. Boardwalk Empire - Best new show of the season. Great stories and so much going on. Can’t wait to see where it goes.