Howard's last "free" Show

Sad day. Today is the last time you can hear Howard Stern on free radio. I've been a loyal listener for about 15 years now. To me Howard's show is not about T & A like most people think its all about. Its the early moments in the show, the real parts, and the people on the show. Most other shows are all clones are too fake to me. This is the show that picked me up during long commutes to college. And no matter how bad my life or day was going, Howard was always there to give me a pick me up of offbeat, obscure, and bad taste humor. (The best kind) I have even contributed to the show by sending him early George Takei tapes to the show that they use daily. I will be ready for the Sirius move on Jan. 9th, but paying for the new TV show is a bit too much for my bank account right now.

A quick funny story about Howard before I go. One time I was driving to class for a test and I was seriously stressed out about it. He was doing a bit about something and at that point traffic had come to a halt on I-30. I think it was when Billy West was a semi-regular on the show and I was laughing so hard that I forgot I was in traffic or even going to take a test. I looked over to my left and there were angry traffic people everywhere all pissed and upset. Then a guy pulled up next to me and was laughing as hard as I was. Looking back on that, I think that's what Howard is all about. When times are tough it's great to laugh, and Howard does that better than anyone on the air. "Shu, Shu Retarded Flu." "Oh my"

REVIEW: Gus Van Sant's Last Days

I watched director Gus Van Sant's latest film Last Days about Kurt Cobain's final hours. And I was warned by Jason not to watch it, but I did anyway cause I like Van Sant's stuff. Recently Van Sant has started making art films again and although I hated "Gerry" I loved "Elephant". "Last Days" is another matter. I had seen it on a few peoples best of the year lists as a misunderstood masterpiece. So I gave in and checked it out. Jason was right. It just sits there. It does nothing. For me at least. Whatever Cobain's genius was, it's not found here that's for sure. The movie sucks. Whoever thinks this is a masterpiece is smoking too much of whatever Van Sant is smoking in downtown Portland, Oregon. Now don't get me wrong I love Van Sant. I even kinda like his shot for shot remake of Pyscho, but its time to reel it in Gus. For real. Your style is cool, but your storytelling is tedious and a "beating" to get through at the moment. I know what he's trying to do, but he can do it better.

Amy at age 3...

Amy was making fun of me last night for vlogging and being self important. Here is some footage of Amy as a little girl in 1978. I put some of her favorite music behind it. Play the Quicktime movie down below.

Farah White in Femme Fatales Magazine

Farah White from my movie, "Seventy-8" is in the latest issue of Femme Fatales on newstands now. She talks about her new TV Pilot with Sly Stallone and "Seventy-8". Go Farah!

REVIEW: King Kong '05

The first movie my folks ever took me to see was King Kong with Jeff "The Dude" Bridges. So in 2005 I took my parents to see King Kong 2005. It was a real special night with my folks and Amy in tow. I was preparred to be wowed like the kid I was in 1976.
Peter Jackson hit a home run with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Can he do it again. Not really. I'm not comparing the two movies by any means. But its hard to live up to that last feat. Hopefully that won't haunt his career. I really wish he had made Lovely Bones first. A more Heavenly Creatures movie first before getting back into Lucasville antics.
The movie is really more of a loving tribute to the original 30's Kong. And I liked that, but I think it was too thick in places for me. I never felt like I was watching a solid movie about a monster. And anyone who knows me, knows I love a good monster movie. I had the same problem with this movie that I had with Godzilla:Final Wars this year. These are tribute films, not straight forward films. They don't take the subject matter seriously. Which shocked me considering how much love Jackson puts into his films. Sure Kong is great and is fully realized, but I always felt Jackson winking to me from behind the green screen. It was a fun ride like Jurassic Park, but nothing more for me. I'm about to re-watch Godzilla Final Wars this week, so maybe my reaction will change on a 2nd viewing. I will say this, the ending on top of the Empire State building is one of the most beautifully shot and put together pieces of film in a long while. Worth the price just for that scene alone.

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A Tale of Two Teams...

Man when i first wrote about the Mavs being out of control and the Rockets improving into a championship team I could not have been more wrong. The Mavs are impressive on any given evening and the Rockets are downright awful this year. Here is what happened: The Mavericks are winning games in the he fourth quarter. They used to build huge leads then lose them in the 4th, that's all different. Dirk is a MVP this year no doubt. Forget those two Lakers games. Those were odd flukes. Devin Harris is coming of age as an NBA star before our eyes. He is averaging double digits every night and dishing some serious assists to Jason Terry, Dirk, and Damp. And then there is that questionable off season pickup of Diop. No more questions. For whatever reason he sat on the bench in Cleveland for the last three seasons is beyond me. He is almost the leading shot blocker in the league this year! And Josh and Marquis are improving daily. This team is scary good folks. I guess I was so upset at the loss of Finley, I neglected to really take a hard look at this team. Stack has only played two games this year, but it didn't even matter. They are tied with the Spurs for first place in the West and 2 overall in the NBA. We beat #1 Detroit by 30 and have beat the Spurs one out of two times as well. Damp is even starting to play well as of late. Did I say this team is on its way? Congrats to Avery Johnson for making me a Mavs fan with out my beloved Fin. This is a team by every definition.



Now on to my Rockets... Oh God what a friggin mess. They got off to a decent start, then McGrady went down with a back injury. (Shades of the Orlando Magic anyone?) The Rockets could not win a game with McGrady. Then he comes back and wins 6 straight. Alston goes down, then Jon berry, then Mutumbo, then the final blow, Yao. This team probably won't make the playoffs this year. I saw Jeff Van Gundy pull a Marky mark from Boogie Nights the other night and just stare at the floor for a good 3 minutes. That Mike James trade was a big mistake. Maybe Skip to ma Lou will prove me wrong, but this team has no chemistry unless McGrady and Yao are out there together. Props to Moochie Norris and my favorite new Rocket, Luther Head for trying to keep hope alive. Stromile Swift had a good night tonight against the Hornets but missed a buzzer beater for the win. Otherwise he has been distant and too relaxed for a Van Gundy team. It';s a mess. I still think once Yao gets back and Jon Barry and a few others that they can do what they did last season and turn that ship around before the playoffs. However watching them tonight and last night, they have no confidence. McGrady looks like he's in Orlando again, and the bench of injuries looks like a Men's Warehouse ad for the NBA. Sad, but I will keep the hope alive for my Rockets.

We Got Bling!

Amy and I are officially engaged!!!!!!!

DVD Review: The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but I've been busy at work with all these commercial spots at the day gig. Did get a chance to see some flicks yesterday though. Checked out this Russian horror film called The Night Watch which Lions Gate will put out in US sometime next year. I thought it was average yet interesting riff on things I have seen in the genre before. But my biggest surprise was how good this Sean Penn indie flick called "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" was. With shades of Taxi Driver being one of the reasons I was really drawn into it was, I really dug this movie. The ending is maybe a bit overdoing it, but this 90 minute portrait of how one can lose their mind by leading the American Dream was very compelling to me. Penn plays Sam a recently divorced man with 3 kids. His wife played by Naomi Watts has moved on as Sam tries to become a 'normal' sap by learning how to become a salesman at a office furniture store. Life starts to takes turn for the worse as Sam tries to patch up his relationship with Watts. He begins to watch all the countries discontent on TV in Vietnam, The Black Panthers, and other civil rights movements. He even tries to join the Black Panthers in a scene that I will remember forever when Penn tries to convince the panthers to add Whites to the membership and that they should consider calling themselves The Zebras! LOL.

This film paints a sad portrait of how people living in America sometimes end up in the waste basket even when they have good intentions. It's a really sad portrait of how someone can fall between the cracks and lose their mind. The title of this film refers to Sam's last ditch effort to be noticed by someone, anyone for that matter. Sam wants to be remembered for something in his life and if the assassination of a president is what it takes, then in his mind he will be remembered for making a difference. Great film rent it on DVD soon as you can.

Superman Returns Site Update

Head over to the official website for Superman Returns and see all the cool updates. Click here

Battlestar Galactica

Is anyone but me watching this show? It continues to improve from season to season. I finally watched the 2nd season finale on the old Tivo today, and wow what a cliffhanger for next year. If you are not watching this show yet, you should. The writing is strong. And don't judge it based on memories of the old show. Its so far removed from that train wreck of cheese now. It's quite an epic, and again is a great example of how to use the medium of TV to tell a huge epic storyline. Pick up the first season on DVD and hopefully the second won't be far behind.

DVD Review: Phantasm Quadrilogy Box Set

This really isn't much of a review since this just arrived yesterday from the UK, but I wanted to just write a few things about how fucking cool it is. Phantasm was one of those movies that I originally missed out on somehow. Luckily in 1988, Writer/Director Don Coscarelli got the chance to come out with Phantasm II, and at that point I was a full fledged horror maniac. I was curious that there was a sequel coming out to a movie I had only heard of, but it was really kind of difficult to find on video at the time. My best friend, Joel told me that Phantasm was one of his favorite horror movies, and that me of all people needed to see it. Now. So we tracked a copy down and sure enough I was a "Phan". Sure it was low budget and the acting was cheesy, but there was something utterly unique about it. The sci-fi elements intrigued me. The mix of Sci-Fi and horror is always tricky, but somehow this odd mix of the two worked. And I think it had more of an effect on Joel because he saw it at the same age as the main character. So we went to see the sequel, and it was very much different in that it had a budget this time out and was really a fun movie, if not perfect. I loved how it ended with a cliffhanger like the original and although it got crushed at the box office, they did make 2 more sequels, all of which are in this set from Anchor Bay UK. And a bonus disc with a feature length documentary and all sorts of goodies.

Phantasm II and III have never been available in this country on DVD. So its very cool to finally see them in widescreen for the first time and all four films are anamorphic widescreen transfers, and all have 5.1 and DTS soundtracks. I watched the feature length documentary Phantasmagoria last night and it's great. The other docs on the Bonus disc are great too. I want to sit down and watch all four films together. When that will ever happen I don't really know. Looking back its a real shame that more horror fimmakers don't take a cue from Phantasm and make something unique again. Use you heads!!! Don Coscarelli created a whole new universe with these four films. It was recently reported that New Line had bought the Phantasm rights to make this huge Lord of t Rings style horror trilogy out of it. But Don Coscarelli says this has since fallen apart, and he may be left to make P5 himself. And you know what that's fine by me if it prevents another remake from being made.

Now, you can only get this in England. And there are only a limited number of the Sphere sets available. No word on a US release, but if you have a multi-region DVD player with PAL you can play these just fine. In fact you can pick one up at CompUSA for 60 bux. I have the Philips 642 and it plays every format out there except for Blu-Ray. Back to Phantasm, the sphere set is fucking cool when you hold it in your hands. The inside package design leaves a bit to be desired as far as how the discs set in there. Click here for a more extensive review at the Phantasm website.

Also as a side note, I love the Tall Man character. I quote him all the time. In fact one time in Arlington at a horror convention Joel and I went to meet Angus Scrimm aka the Tall Man, and he was the nicest guy ever. We talked for over an hour it seemed about everything but horror. He was one of the nicest actors I've ever met. But on screen he freaks me the fuck out. Have I used the f word enough today? Fuck it, its my blog! Watching the Phantasm films again made me remember why I liked horror in the first place. It's Imaginative, its fun, its a ride, its an experience like no other. I picked this set up at Amazon.uk. They have several different versions to choose from, but if your a true Phan pick up that wicked sphere set. It's the best box set since the Alien Quad set came out.

"You think that when you die you go to heaven...You come to us."
-The Tall Man

Grandpa, and the Return to the Fortress...

Well, way back many years ago, I went out to my Grandfathers farm to be with my Grandfather and write stories. In fact the last thing I wrote out there was a story called "Seventy-8". I had hoped to return there a little over a year ago to write something new. The Farm has always been my place of refuge. My Fortress of Solitude if you will. My Zen place. However, the week before my trip to the Farm a year or so ago, my Grandfather fell very ill and was in the hospital for almost a year. It became apparent that he could no longer stay out in the country by himself. He now resides here in Ft. Worth with my aunt and cousin and is doing really great at the young age of 91. My father takes him out to the farm almost weekly, however I'm always working now and I'm never available to go during the work week.



Well this Sunday I returned to the fortress. And I just had to stop and write about how great it was to be back out on the farm. My grandfather, my Dad, and my Aunt Sandy all drove out to Lipan and rebuilt the water well house. My Grandfather built it about 20 years ago. In fact I still remember him building it. But time has worn it down and it needed an over haul and we rebuilt in a day. My grandfather sat back and watched us for 6 hours as we rebuilt the entire thing. He even helped out by telling us where all the different sizes of wood were stored in the barn. Amazing that he can remember all that stuff. He even knew where to fin d all the tools, and whenever we asked him where something was, he took us right to it. I hope I'm that sharp at 91. He even went into the house to call his girlfriends after lunch. Big pimpin' he is still.



But more than anything this trip gave me a chance to go back to the farm and have three generations of Clapp's work on building something that perhaps will outlast all of us. It was a really great feeling to again be with my Dad and Grandpa on the farm. I felt so at ease and peaceful out there. I had no worries about the deadlines I am facing today at work. It's amazing how being out there washes away every worry you have. Wow. However, like clock work my allergies are in full swing today at work. That's my only problem of going out there is the next day I suffer. Oh well. And speaking of that, I took some pictures of the well house we built for it, but I won't be able to post those until later this evening. I also made a point to take some photos of my Grandpa that I think came out really nice. I'll post some of those as well. It was odd to see my grandpa's house rather barren inside. My Aunt has been cleaning it out recently. It feels so emotionally cold in there. But I guess all good things, well you know the rest. I really must go to the Fortress more often... and Grandpas are friggin' cool.

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

Saturday night was a big night. A big night if you're a Mavericks fan that is. As I've said before, I don't know who this new mavs team is yet. They don't have a real identity yet, since Captain Michael Finley and Don Nelson moved on. Finley signs with the Spurs, and Don Nelson is on the beach somewhere in Hawaii counting his millions. Well Saturday night myself and two car loads of Amy's family (many who are Spurs fans) drove the AAC to watch the Mavs take on the Spurs. This was Finley's first game against the Mavs as a Spur, and not only was it a sad night for me as a Finley fan, but it also turned out to be not the end of an era but the beginning of a new one. In case you missed it, The Mavs dominated the world champs and beat em by almost twenty. Finley received a standing ovation from the crowd, then it was down to business. Dirk was on. Josh was on. Stack sat. They were up most of the game. Then Tony Parker got red hot for the Spurs. I was losing faith quickly.

Then when things were looking to turn nasty as a 20 point lead went down to 10, Devin Harris entered the game. He was the rookie heir to Nash last year, but had a troublesome rookie season. Mind you Devin's career high was 17 I think. He scored 20 in the fourth quarter, and finished with 22 total. He dished, He slashed, he drove, and he looked incredible. The whole arena saddened by the presence of Fin in black was floored by Devin. I got to see Devin in several summer games before his rookie year started and I was sold. (See picture of my Amy with Devin and Marquis below) I knew he had something special, but last year he made mistake after mistake on the floor and didn't get much playing time as a result. Saturday night should change that. Finley was bad. He played 30 minutes or more and had a pathetic 2 points. I felt as if I was watching the epilogue to a story I began following 8 years ago. Going to the game I was sure of three things, 1. Finley would go off for 40 or more, 2. The Spurs would destroy all signs of life left in the Dallas team, and 3. I would be devastated leaving the game. Well none of that happened. In fact I'm glad it didn't. True I will always be a Finley supporter, but that team is officially gone. Devin and Dirk proved me wrong and I hope they continue to do so. That was a fun game and one I'll always remember as being the beginning of something new. Go Mavs! Check out Amy and Devin.... We are fans of the Devinist.

Season On.

Time to play ball...

On the Train again...

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Originally uploaded by genzod.

Took the train to Dallas tonight from Funky town to see the final pre-season game for the Mavs. We played the Pistons and had some fun as the Mavs took over in the 4th quarter. Mavs look good, yet kind of sloopy. Really do miss Nash and Finley though. The Mavs store had a Finley section where everything was 50 percent off. Sad. Got home about midnight, the train ride was smooth, except for some punk kids running loose. The picture above is of Amy hiding on the train and if you look close, you can see me taking the picture in the reflection.

The new NBA Dress Code

I'm not going to say much about my feelings on the NBA's new dress code. This picture pretty much sums up my feelings for it.

Review: Shopgirl

Got the chance to see an early screening of the new Steve Martin/Claire Danes movie, Shopgirl last night. Shopgirl is the story of a young lady who works in L.A. at a Saks 5th Ave store at the glove counter who lives an empty existence until she meets two completely different men in her life. The first is Jeremy played perfectly by Jason Schwartzman as the crazy slacker who's into designing fonts and guitar amps. Then there is Ray played by Steve Martin as a rich millionaire who may have the charm and money but has problems with commitment. Who wins her heart is the plot line more or less.

Shopgirl is based on Steve Martin's novella of the same name. Martin also wrote the screenplay for the film which at times sets up certain plot elements only to leave them hanging in favor of some cheap laughs. However I really enjoyed this movie. People will make the easy comparisons to Lost in Translation in its female point of view, but that would be doing it a disservice really. Shopgirl is a very meditative film on being single and lonely. Much like Martin did from the male perspective in the much loved classic, The Lonely Guy, Martin explores this angle from the female side with much more maturity and grace. At points the film is very operatic on a very simple level. And I really liked that a lot. These characters don't have much in life, and what little things they do have are filmed in a very simple style but are supplemented with a great score by Barrington Pheloung. Director Anand Tucker shoots the movie in a very simple but elegant style. Much like Michael Mann's Collateral I thought this film did a great job of capturing the feel of LA. Claire Danes gives a subtle and is probably her very best performance. Schwartzman is great and turns in another wonderful quirky performance and gets the majority of the laughs in this movie. Martin at first looks kind of uncomfortable in his role, but soon turns things around into a nice performance worthy of note. I'd rather see him do things like this than his Pink Panther remake coming out. (that movie makes me nervous) I would recommend Shopgirl. I didn't know what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised coming out of the screening.

Superman Returns: Fan Made Trailer

Just to continue my geekiness for the week, here is a really nice fan made trailer for Superman Returns. It is not sanctioned by Warner Bros at all. But the guy did a nice job with it. Would it be too geeky of me to put a countdown clock at the top of this page till the release of the movie? Yeah I think it would. Click here to check out the fan made trailer.

Re-Review: Land of the Dead: Director's Cut

After a long trip back from my cousin Michael's wedding in Houston over the weekend, I realized that I had bought tix to a special screening of Romero's Land of the Dead uncut in Dallas a day before the official DVD release today. Amy and her mom joined me in my quest for gore last night. And I must say I thought the Director's Cut was a little better than the original cut. Not so much for the gore, but for a few scenes that were new that added a little character motivation to the mix. And I must say I like the film better the second time around. The first time around my expectations for this film were 20 years in the making and there was no way it could live up to what I was wanting. Now that a few months have passed and I could just settle down and watch it as a movie I had a fun time with it. Amy spent most of the movie closing her eyes and hiding under my armpit. All in all its a great horror movie in the Dead Quadrilogy. Before the film was a 30 minute interview with George Romero about the idea behind all the Dead films and his plans to continue the series beyond Land. Count me in!

Oh also today of note on DVD are all remastered versions of the previous Batman movies from the 80s and 90s. And also the best film of the year so far, Batman Begins drops in 2 separate versions. Guess I'll be hitting the stores at lunch! Zombies and Batman. What more could you want from the week? I'll be back tomorrow with a review of Shopgirl, the new Steve Martin flick.

Word.

The Brazos Drive-In

I would like to give a shameless plug to a really cool drive-in movie theater in nearby Granbury, TX. If you ever get the chance or have never experienced the greatness of the drive-in, I would highly recommend going here. Its a lot of fun and the environment is great, its out in the countryside so you can look up and see the stars. Amy and I have really taken to this place, and can't recommend it enough. To check out the website for the Brazos click here

Pre-Season Begins!!!!

Miami beats the Spurs last night by 2 to kick off the pre-season last night. Rockets crack the whip on AI and C-Webb tonight in Philly. Mavs take the Queens, I mean Kings. Check out Fin in the Spurs jersey. I still can't get over it. Damn. BTW, anyone interested in buying me a X-mas gift, a Finley Spurs jersey would be sweet...hint. hint. Alas, no one really reads this blog anyway!

Basketball Jones

Man, what an off-season. I haven't really watched any basketball over the summer. But I am beginning to get the fever. The new season is only about 4 weeks away. Pre-season is next week as a matter of fact. And this year is going to be tough for me as a fan. I love the Rockets. I love the Mavs. And now that my main man Finley is with the Spurs, I may have to become a Spurs fan too. Its always tough when you favorite players disperse to other teams. Its also tough when they go to other teams you also have an affection for. I loved the Don Nelson Mavs. I think he got too careless the last few years and really just kind of gave up on caring a whole lot. He just wanted to out score everyone. And that makes for some fun basketball during the season but as the Spurs have pointed out year after year, defense wins championships. And Mark Cuban finally got the message and hired a former Spur to help the cause. With that went some favorites of mine. Michael Finley was my guy. I've loved this guys game since he was a rookie in PHX. He's one month younger than me, and as I sit here with my back hurting at the ripe old age of 32 I know that your body stops doing you any favors after about 28. So Mike's not what he once was and Dallas deemed him too expensive to keep around so he moved over to the champion Spurs. Hey no problem.

Now don't get me wrong. I still like the Dirk. I like Devin Harris, and LOVE Josh Howard. What I don't like is the centerpiece of this team, Erick Dampier. He scares me. Maybe if I knew him on a personal level I would have a better understanding of the guy. but as an outsider looking in, he confuses me greatly with his sporadic games of greatness followed by games of just plain sadness. And take note, he's no spring chicken folks. Alas I have hope for the young Mavs, and I hope Devin Harris can take Jason Terry's PG spot and let the Jet do what he does best, shoot and thrash. I will follow them as always this year, but I will be following the Rockets as well. Oh here is Fin and Van Exellent practicing in Spurs training camp. Surreal...



The Rockets had a shitty start last year. After teaming McGrady with Yao everyone thought it was a no-brainer for success. However there are 5 players on a team. Houston had 3. Then mid-season they made some moves. They brought in Bob Sura who turned it around for them. Then Mike James came in and so did Mutumbo, and Juwan Howard. Things got really good really fast to the point when the playoffs started they were hot as hell, and almost took it all away from the Mavs. T-Mac made a dunk so nasty and sick on Shawn Bradley that it has seemingly made him retire. (In Shawn's defense, he was a good shot blocker) So now Mike James is gone for Raefer Alston. Mutombo is back. Juwann is back from heart surgery, We added two big players in Stromille Swift and Derick Anderson. And don't forget we still have Mr. Wesely and Jon Berry. On paper this team looks sweet like last years Mavs team did. And with Yao getting a whole summer of rest and gaining some muscle and conditioning this season has the looks of a classic. And the key T-Mac said he has worked out harder than he ever has before. He says his body is stronger than ever. I look for the Rockets to make a huge splash this year if they stay healthy. The only bad news thus far is that Bob Sura may have damaged his knees to the point where he is considering retirement. That would be sad considering how he much he gave to the team last year.

So yes this year will be tough to take. But I will root for all the Texas teams. But I will take the Rockets when the playoffs start, and I might even wear my Steve Francis Rockets jersey in protest.

Chinese Gran and the Weekend Rap

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Originally uploaded by genzod.

Hello Gran! Went out to eat with the Fowler Clan on Saturday night, and I was grilled for not being more personal on my blog by Amy's grandmother. So I immediately took action. The below photos are of Amy's niece and nephew, Jessica and Jonathan. Jessica had her 1st birthday party on Sunday. The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Friday night was fun. Amy, her Mom, and I drove out to the Brazos drive-in out in Granbury and sat thru a double feature of Batman Begins and The 40-Year Old Virgin. Both movies I have reviewed on this blog b4, so I won't do it again, other then to say Batman still cuts some major mustard for me. Great film, and I got geekbumps at the end again. I'm such a geek for superheroes. The drive -in was great. The weather was perfect, although Amy and her Mom got a little cold towards the end there.

Saturday we got up early and met our ex-coworker Colin up at the American Airlines Arena to be first in line for Mavs tix. (We are so poor right now) Had a good time at the birthday party on Sunday and shot a lot of footage in 24P mode on the Pana100A DV Cam. I made a dvd of it when I got home that will make a great X-mas gift... Amy's dad spooled up the Super 8 projector and treated us to some 70's footage of Amy and her bros from back in the day. I'm going to transfer them to dvd when I can get a hole in my sked. I did that last year for family for X-mas, and it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

My co-hort Jason and I have a big presentation tomorrow morning which I can't talk about yet, because I don't want to jinx it. But let's just say if I get this gig I will be the happiest person alive. And it could be the start of something even bigger. Wish us luck! Rest of the evening Amy helped me prepare for the meeting. Still got a bunch of stuff to do tonight, so I'm not out of the woods yet.

Happy 1st B-Day Jessica

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Hip Hop Jonathan

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8 Months, 26 Days, 13 Hours, 19 min, and 3 seconds left....

The official site is up...... Click here

Review: The Sopranos: Season 5

About a year or so ago, I stopped watching the Sopranos about midway through the 4th season. It was kind of starting to slow down. Now don't get me wrong, it was still prime stuff as far as TV was concerned but from prior seasons it was kind of losing its grip on me. So I popped in the final disc of Season 4 and finished it up. It ended with a cliffhanger of course, and I was immediately stricken with withdrawals. So a friend gave me the season 5 discs and off I went. I watched the entire 5th season in one weekend. That's how glued I was to this thing again. "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

So with Season 5 a bunch of new mobsters are released from the joint including Robert Loggia and Steve Buscemi. They all try to reintegrate themselves into the gangster lifestyle, some with varying degrees of success. Since this is essentially like reviewing a 13 hour movie, I'm gonna speed through this. The newbies cause Tony all sorts of new issues, and his cousin, Buscemi's issues ultimately play out till the season finale. Tony and his wife separate in this season and sample the single life only to find that because of the family business they can't really do anything but stay together by seasons end. Its all very sad really and I must say that this season is the by far the darkest. Tony's life is fractured to the point of almost disrepair. The series really does not pull many punches this time out. Tough decisions are made and all though Tony tries to be a nicer person about it, he knows that in the end he must resort to his old ways. Change is tough, and especially when your family's life depends on it. The series has become quite an epic tragedy. Watching it all at once, I felt like I had just finished a very satisfying novel.

Creator David Chase got his second wind this season. And from my perspective it was quite a page turner. I was hooked. I know season 6 and 7 are several years away, but I can't wait. I'm having withdrawals already. But I am ready for something a little lighter after that 13 hour marathon. After all is said and done with The Sopranos, creator David Chase will have created one of the most genius and innovative series to ever grace the screen. Its epic in nature and hopefully can continue for many years to come.

REVIEW: Wong Kar Wai's 2046

I am obliterated today. Not completely, but really close. I will admit to have been in a creative funk as of late. But my Jedi master has brought me back. Amy and I went to the Angelika yesterday and saw Wong Kar Wai’s new movie 2046. I first caught the Wong Kar wai train in college, when I would haunt the local Asian video stores in Arlington looking for some inspiration. I found this movie called Chungking Express and was captivated. Next were Days of Being Wild, As Tears Go By, Ashes of Time, and then the Chungking follow-up Fallen Angels. My good friend and fellow filmmaker Shawn Kelly and I were addicts. We studied him like a textbook, aimlessly trying to imitate him in our own short films with little success. Time passed and a few new Kar wai films would come out. In 2001, In the Mood for Love came out and at first it kind of scared me. It was not anything at all like the previous fast paced stuff he had produced in the past. It was more mature and focused. Instead of fast it dripped slowly over you like looking at a painting in a gallery. And after several viewings I grew to appreciate this new style more and more. Amy even had the poster for it framed for me in this awesome brown frame.

Yesterday at 4:45 I was sucked into the universe yet again with his latest opus, 2046. This is a sequel to In the Mood For Love which follows the Tony Leung character 3 or 4 years after his affair with Maggie Cheung. He is a sci-fi writer now writing a novel called 2046 about a train in the future that you board if you are looking for past memories. The movie shifts through time and space beautifully between the reality of the 60’s and Leung’s characters in a fictional 2046. He has become a womanizer, a man of many lovers but no one love. In his heart he still pines for Maggie from In the Mood For Love and cannot commit to anyone he encounters. Zhang Ziyi, Faye Wong are his main interests, while Gong Li and Carina Lau come into play much later. The movie also serves a sequel of sorts to Days of Being Wild too. The character of LuLu that Carina Lau plays is from Days. In watching it you also get the feeling that by pairing Faye Wong and Tony Leung together again, it is also a kind of Chungking Express reunion too. In fact one shot of Fay Wong looking into the glass says volumes about that relationship. This film really serves as a kind of wrapup of all his previous movies. A kind of 'thank you' to his own characters.

I can’t really put into words what this movie does to me. It inspires for sure as a filmmaker. As a lover of photography it moves me. As a storyteller it challenges me. It’s not a three-act structure. It’s a stew of interplay between desperate characters set against a backdrop of dirty yet glorious desperation. Christopher Doyle’s photography here is as exquisite as anything the Aussie has ever put on celluloid. As much as I love the digital revolution in filmmaking, you cannot make this film on HD. I defy Rodriguez or Lucas to make any statement otherwise. This is a film.

I’ve had the DVD for this film for half a year and yet I held out for a theatrical showing because of my respect for Wong Kar wai. I was not disappointed. Is this the greatest story ever told? No absolutely not. But that’s not what this about. This is about losing yourself in a sea of emotion and imagery. I thought it should have ended about 20 minutes earlier, where it could have ended on a touching somber note, but it kept rolling. Other than that about halfway into this movie I was lost in it. Unable to get out. It took me in. This was something I needed inside creatively. It fed me, it owned me for 2 hours. Time is what Wong Kar wai makes movies about. And for those 2 hours time was insignificant to me. I could have stayed on that train for days not knowing when I was coming back or even caring. I liken kar wai to filmmakers like Peter Greenaway. They have evolved film to an art form. Filmmaking as an art form has not evolved much since its inception other than technically. Wong Kar Wai shows you what can be done with this art form, and let us not forget that that is what it is.

DVD Review: Incident at Loch Ness

Well I am on the mend and getting back on my feet. Amy and I went to Ft. Worth's gallery night last night. I guess we went too early, cause the highlight of the trip was hot dog and a custard at Curleys on Camp Bowie. In the meantime, I got up early and popped this DVD in.... This was a lot of fun. Hollywood screenwriter Zak Penn directed this mocumentary about legendary director Werner Herzog making a documentary about the Loch Ness Monster. Zak plays himself along with other crew members in the mocumentary. This is a hilarious take on Herzog and making a documentary. Herzog really makes fun of himself here, much like Larry David does on Curb Your enthusiasm. The documentary is going along fine until Herzog begins to clash with Penn and his Hollywood crew. Penn wants to make one movie while Herzog pines to make another. Things all come to a head (no pun intended) when Nellie actually shows up and eats some members of the crew. Herzog keeps shooting until the boat goes down much like in his own "Fitzcarraldo". A great send up and I would highly recommend this to fans of mocumentaries and fans of Herzog.

Thoughts on Oliver Stone's Alexander

This was really hard to get through. I started it at about 1230pm, and got through with it at 5:30. Not Stone's most focused work. Adventurous ideas and canvas he is working with, but it didn't go far enough in one direction or the other. I'll have to go back and read my history books again but when did Alexander have an Irish accent? Maybe instead of Zeus his father was in fact the Lucky Charms God. This was a tall hill to climb as a viewer and I did listen to Stone's commentary toward the end of the film, and it sounds like he really respected what Alexander accomplished in his short 33 year life, but while watching the film you don't really ever feel any compassion for him or a dislike for that matter. Maybe Stone sees himself in Alexander and somehow thought it would be cool to make a movie about a tyrant who really cares about the people at the end of the day. Guess we will never know. I didn't think it was as bad as people said, just unfocused. I loved the big pageantry scenes though, and loved the score by Vangelis. Good gory battles too.

My Own Private Film Festival

I can't afford to go to the fancy film fests this year or any other for that matter. The last one nearly killed me! However I am able to throw my own. I was a bit under the weather this week, and I am still on the mend. So I decided to start going through "the Stack" which collects dust on my DVD rack. I had a wide assortment of films Mon-Thursday to plug through. So here come the mini reviews...

REVIEW: The Eye 2
Directed by The Pang Brothers


I liked elements of the original film, "The Eye" by Danny and Oxide Pang. It was creepy and right in the middle of the whole Asian Horror fad that is now fading away. So I took a chance on Part 2 knowing that the original directors were back. This is not a sequel so much, but a spin-off. The only returning elements are the Ghosts from part one. This movie has nothing to do with eyes whatsoever. Its about babies. Its about karma and Chinese spirits coming back to haunt a suicidal pregnant woman played by Qi Shu. The movie moves along nicely but slows in the end and then crashes pretty hard when it doesn't know when to end. The effects are very creepy, or I should I say the ghosts are very creepy. I've noticed something about the Pang Bros that fascinates me. They like to see people fall or get hit really hard by cars. Its CGI, but its starting to look more real than not these days. So I would recommend it if you are looking for the ghosts from The Eye or if you like Qi Shu from The Transporter. Otherwise its another day in the Asian horror neighborhood.

REVIEW: The Brown Bunny
Directed by Vincent Gallo


Man, I love Gallo's first movie, Buffalo 66. Love it to death. Will watch it any day any time. I will span time with it. The Brown Bunny comes with much talk. And sorry to say, I hated this movie as much as I loved Buffalo 66. I thought maybe I was losing my indie touch by missing the boat on this one, but no I didn't. I even went as far to as to read some reviews of it on IMDB. I don't get it. I like art films but this was just utterly boring and then all of a sudden at then end of 90 minutes he decides to tell the story in some expository dialog after getting the infamous real blow job from Chloe Sevigny. I love slow moving stream of conscious movies, but this is Gallo getting a big head after Buffalo 66. Sevigny shows up at the very end of the movie folks, she's not even in the first 80 minutes. Gallo has talent, but anyone could have made this in their sleep. He plays the same character as he did in Buffalo 66 more or less. He just talks less. There are endless scenes of just his face, or just shots of the road going on forever. I got it, that he is a character in pain searching for a connection with someone. And I understand that he gets a blowjob from the one person he loves at the end, and that shows us that this emotionless act of sex is the ultimate analogy of this man's state of being. WHOOPIDEEFUCKING DOO. This film sux it. And so does Chloe Sevigny.

REVIEW: Joint Security Area
Directed by Chan-wook Park


Really interesting film from the genius that gave us Old Boy last year. I liked this movie, as hard as tried to not really care about the North/South Korean issues while the effects of Hurricane Katrina looms daily. In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been shot to death, by a South Korean soldier. But the 11 bullets found in the bodies, together with the 5 remaining bullets in the assassin's magazine clip, amount to 16 bullets for a gun that should normally hold 15 bullets. The investigating Swiss/Swedish team from the neutral countries overseeing the DMZ suspects that another, unknown party was involved - all of which points to some sort of cover up. The truth is much simpler and much more tragic. There is a real magic about the way this story unfolds. It is very slow and tedious, but the more you get sucked into it, you see how crime scenes can never really give you the ultimate truth about any situation. And it was nice to learn about this outpost on the North/South Korean border. The story acts as a nice analogy for the problems between the two sides. I was more interested in that aspect towards the end, but then things turn to pull you back into the human part of the story.

REVIEW: The Final Cut
Directed by Omar Naim

I popped this disc in with high hopes. The movie was kinda about what I do for a living every day. And as it wore on my hopes were dashed. The futuristic story concerns implants that are put inside you when you are born that records every single second of your life. When you die a "cutter" takes all the footage and edits down to about 10 minutes to show at your funeral called a "rememory". Robin Williams plays Alan Hackman (how original) the best cutter in the biz. His editing system called The Guillotine is his life. He is addicted to living out others peoples lives through there eyes rather than living his own. It starts out very interesting, then the plot turns stale and becomes very generic and predictable. It was a great concept that could have gone so many interesting ways, but instead goes formula. So watch the first 3 minutes and be a good cutter and cut the rest out.

REVIEW: Last Life in the Universe
Directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang


Great movie. This is what Brown Bunny was trying to do. Its slow, yet very focused and honest. A mysterious, obsessive-compulsive, suicidal Japanese man living in Bangkok, Thailand, is thrown together with a Thai woman through a tragic chain of events. The woman is everything he is not. He is a neat freak who keeps his dishes washed and his books neatly stacked and categorized. She dresses like a slob, smokes pot and never picks anything up. It's a match that somehow works. It's photographed by uber genius Chris Doyle of Wong Kar-wei world. This movie has a simple beauty to it. Much like say Chungking Express but without the wacky camera angles. Its more Japanese in style I guess. Of all the movies I saw in this batch Last Life is the winner. Oh and watch out for a small part by director Takashi Miike!

New Superman Returns pic!!!

Too busy to rant today, stuck in an all dayer edit session with a client. But check out this sweet new pic from Superman Returns in the Fortress of Solitude. Man can June 30th, 2006 get here any faster. Please!!!!! Director Bryan Singer said the budget is already over 250 million, and they are not even shooting on film, its all shot on HD. That will easily make it the biggest budget HD movie of all time. I'm ready for this one. Here is a new Newsweek article on the production of "Superman Returns". Click here

Finley 4 Spurs

"In the hours after the Mavericks were eliminated by Phoenix, when he was too tired and discouraged to return to his locker, Michael Finley sat in a restricted corner of American Airlines Center and commiserated with owner Mark Cuban. "We're in this together," Cuban assured Finley. "We'll stick it out together." Three months later, Finley shook hands with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and held up his No. 4 jersey for a photo op as the newest member of the Spurs."- Dallas Morning News

NYC: Day Four: The Garden!

Well today we were a bit sluggish getting going. I swear we have walked 40 miles already. We started back at the Park Cafe. No Tony this morning though. Amy got down with some wicked looking French Toast and bacon. We then walked to Bloomingdales to find Amy's dream jeans. No luck. We then decided maybe we had time to go the museum of TV Radio and Film, but after going in, we decided we didn't have that much time left before we had to go to The Letterman Show. So we came back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes. We headed over to the Letterman show and got in line. We got our reserved tickets, and met a couple form Dallas in line in front of us. Small world.. The show was pretty cool. We got balcony seats, so Letterman's head was cut off by a giant stage light from where I was sitting, but Amy could see him pretty good. Richard Lewis who we both love was on the show. He was hilarious! We got out of that and got some Starbux refreshments and jumped on the subway headed for the Mecca of basketball, the one the only Madison Square Garden.

We saw the first WNBA playoff game of the year with the NY Liberty against Indiana. It was a really good game and I got goosebumps being in The Garden. It was really just awesome to be there and feel all the energy of past games. The Liberty has some awesome players on the team. Becky Hammon was a very good point guard. Although Indiana shut her down in the 2nd half and won the game. It was still just great to see basketball played in the Garden.

We then went back down and got on the subway. MAN, is it hot down there. It must be 150 degrees down there in the summer. We came back to the cafe to say goodbye to Tony. He served us some chocolate cake with ice cream. As we were going through that cake like hurricane Katrina, we looked up and legendary comedian, Jackie Mason came in with some other comedians and sat behind us. We didn't disturb him , so Amy sneaked a picture over my shoulder. He was discussing getting old and having operations and what not. I'm a big Jackie Mason fan, so that was quite a topper to our trip to NYC. WE are now going to go up and pack and get ready for our Super Shuttle adventure part 2 to New Jersey Airport. And I am of course looking forward to being searched head to toe for being a retard for not renewing my drivers license. Oui vei. Thanks to everyone who went on the blog, and we will see everyone soon.

Peace out,
erik and amy!!!

Big E at The Garden

e at the garden.jpg
Originally uploaded by genzod.