http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sun, 14 Aug 2005 11:10:09 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/14/111009.php Nicholas RoussosI picked up a new watch yesterday, a Timex Ironman. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters. The instructions say that it should be fine to that depth as long as the face is intact and the buttons aren't pushed. I plan to wear it diving although the instructions explicitly say it is not a dive watch. I take a dive computer for life support, but it would be nice to wear a watch for a general sense of time. If it does flood, at least it didn't cost that much.The watch has been great so far. It has a 30 lap Chrono, Timer, and an Alarm. You can set two different times. The instructions say that is for two time zones, but I just put military time on one of them. The alarm is really great. It can be set for daily, weekends, or weekdays. That's ideal for me because I usually only wake up on weekdays. My one complaint would be that I would like the option to set a second alarm time. Oh, let's not forget the indispensable Indiglo. I'll just have to fight the temptation to push that Indiglo button when I'm 100ft under water.All and all, the watch is really well made. It has a lot of functionality that you will actually use but lacks some of the fancy bells and whistles of a more expensive watch. It's innovative and the rubber wristband is very comfortable. For a cheap watch, I definitely recommend this one.Nicholas Roussos - www.nicholasroussos.com Culture34151@blogcritics.org Sun, 14 Aug 2005 11:10:09 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/18/113930.php Nicholas RoussosWedding Crashers is funny. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson turn out to be a great team together. The movie has plenty of laughs and is very entertaining. It has a good ending, a surprise visit from Will Ferrell, and tons of "rules" (I love movies that make their own rules). The Wedding Crashers is an easy 4 out of 5 and well worth watching. One word of warning, this movie features a lot of breasts and general nudity including quite a bit of Jane Seymour's skin. One of my BUDS had a big crush on Jane Seymour in the sixth grade.Okay, it's a short review, but other than saying it's funny, there's not much to say about the movie.Visit Nicholas at www.nicholasroussos.com SC: Tan The Man Video32779@blogcritics.org Mon, 18 Jul 2005 11:39:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/16/051244.php Nicholas RoussosI knew this movie was a 5 out of 5 (classic) before I ever saw it. I am a big fan of the original Willie Wonka (who isn't), and I couldn't wait to see Johnny Depp's take on the crazed choclateer. This movie did so many things right. It created an unreal, twisted tale of a candymaker gone mad (quite literally). It should not, however, be compared with the original film classic. The two are very different movies and should be both enjoyed for very different reasons.Dark and Twisted This movie was very dark and twisted, almost scary. Sure, the original movie had a dark undertone, but it was hidden beneath. In Tim Burton's film, Willie Wonka becomes quite a different character. The audience is given insight into his often disturbing and sad past. Wonka seems not only unconcerned for the welfare of the kids but also almost eager for them to encounter their fate. At times, there are hints that he set them up. The tale is very different from the happy one I watched as a kid, although it does end with the obligatory happy ending.How Does It Compare? I recall saying that the two movies shouldn't be compared, but it is inevitable that they will. This movie has a much larger scope. Unlike the first movie, this one is not limited to the Chocolate Factory. It has flashbacks from the past both from Wonka and Charlie's grandpa, and it also continues the movie to show some of the events following the factory tour.The most obvious comparison would be the scenes that were missing. There is no floating soda pop (fizzy lifting drinks) scene. My wife missed that one more than I did. The one that struck out the most to me was the removal of the contract signing scene. For every scene that is removed, there are many wonderful scenes that are added such as when Willie discovers the Oompa Loompas.Of course, one obvious comparison would be the Oompa Loompas, which I enjoyed much more so in the newer movie. Their songs have been given a face-lift, and they really have a lot more character (especially when they turn into TV rock stars).Everyone should go see this movie. Unlike so many movies out there, this is one that everyone can enjoy.Visit Nicholas at www.nicholasroussos.com Scanned:NB Video32668@blogcritics.org Sat, 16 Jul 2005 05:12:44 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/12/091540.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comI've always been a big Human Torch fan; I definitely like the Fantastic Four team. Needless to say, I was excited about this movie. Then, came the wash of bad reviews and impressions. So, I didn't lose interest, but I did lose all my expectations (which turned out to be a good thing). Fantastic Four is a fun movie, but don't get me wrong it has no uplifting value or worth. I give a 3 out of 5; if you're a penny pincher, wait until it comes out on cable.Cool Powers Let's face it; the Human Torch has one of the coolest super-powers out there. He turns into fire, and he can fly. That's up there with Superman and Spider-Man in my book. Not to mention, the Thing is cool. He's a gigantic, indestructible rock. Sure nobody really wants to be him, but he sure is fun to watch crushing through walls and stuff. The Invisible Woman, well, let's just say that to really use her powers, she has to ditch her clothes (they don't turn invisible with the exception of her special suit). Then, there's Mr Fantastic. I've never been a fan of the stretchy thing. It's a little creepy, but it does translate well to the big screen (most super powers do).Falling Short This movie does fall short in a lot of areas. The story isn't that great. The characters don't use their super-powers nearly enough, and there's really only one big fight. However, the Fantastic Four is a team, and that's just plain cool. Plus, I liked seeing the Thing crash through things. Did I mention the Human Torch catches on fire?Sure, there's not much to this movie besides some action and special effects, but the characters are cool. Don't see this movie if you're expecting a lot from it, but if instead you just want some F4 action, it can be a pretty fun movie.www.nicholasroussos.com Video32418@blogcritics.org Tue, 12 Jul 2005 09:15:40 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/03/095922.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comLast night, I watched as War of the Worlds exploded onto the movie theater's screen. The movie was fast-paced, action-packed, and it left me tired at the end. I was never a big fan of Independence Day (warring with aliens is so cliche), but War of the Worlds delivered on the promise of a summer blockbuster. If you're looking to spice up your summer, go see this movie. It was an easy 4 out of 5.Special Effects Ultimately, movies like this so often come down to whether or not the special effects were believable. The special effects in War of the Worlds were just right. That is, they weren't noticeable at all. The movie went on with everything seeming perfectly real and fitting in without problem. Rather than show every explosion and boom, it often showed the effects that such an event would have (ground shaking, blaring sounds and bright lights). It did have its share of spectacle as well. In fact, Spielberg created a movie that was visually memorable. Images from it are still in my mind. Just as they would likely haunt the characters of the movie.Fast-Paced, Well Delivered War of the Worlds jumps straight to the punch. Then, it never lets up for a second. Immense event after event unfolds on the screen with hardly a pause, yet the pacing never seems rushed. The characters are extremely normal, but the story is anything but. It has the feel of a modern day Godzilla. The directing was superb, and even the acting was top par.I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was fun, it was action-packed, and it was visually stunning. I keep reading that American Hollywood blockbusters are a dying breed, but with movies like War of the Worlds and others that I have seen this summer, I think this may be the best summer line-up yet.Note: The movie didn't get a 5 out 5 only because humanity got our butts kicked by the aliens. Come on, that takes a point away right there.www.nicholasroussos.com Video31965@blogcritics.org Sun, 3 Jul 2005 09:59:22 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/25/004104.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comWalking into the film, I wasn't wild about the concept; I didn't care about the plot; and I thought Nicole Kidman had a horrible nose wiggle. I left the film with quite another impression. Bewitched conjured up a 5 out of 5 from me. It's possible that I liked this movie so much because I hated the first 5-10 minutes of it.Once it started, I felt a ball drop in my stomach. It wasn't funny, not very entertaining, and I disdained the characters. It started to look like a long hour or how ever much time the movie was going to take. Then, the movie started unfolding. I realized I was supposed to disdain the characters, and it became quite entertaining. What's more, the annoying nose wiggle from the trailers wasn't annoying, quite the opposite really. Actually, I rather enjoyed Nicole Kidman's naivety.The movie wasn't hillarious, but it was funny. In fact, some of the funniest moments were from the TV show inside the movie. I absolutely loved it when Darryl's arm became a giant lobster claw. Easily, it was my favorite moment of the movie. All in all, the movie was another good date movie, but it becomes a classic because it sets a clear precedent for old TV remakes.www.nicholasroussos.com Video31574@blogcritics.org Sat, 25 Jun 2005 00:41:04 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/19/144458.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comWhen this movie hit the shelves, I read all about it. I watched interviews with the creator, and I wanted to know more. I did not, however, see the film until now. Supersize Me is a documentary about the obesity epidemic in the US and in particular McDonalds involvement. It was an interesting movie, but it felt a little flat. I give it a 3 out of 5; if you don't know anything about the obesity epidemic, i'd bump it up to a 4 out of 5; and if you are in fact suffering with obesity, I'd give it 5 out of 5.The information presented in this movie simply wasn't new. I'd already heard it all before. Some of the visual presentation was interesting. Many of the interviews were fascinating, but the focus on McDonalds wasn't that interesting. I would have rather seen a full blown documentary on obesity in general. While this movie did talk about obesity, the clear focus was McDonalds and fast foods impact on obesity.The documentary was very watchable. It had an interesting premise. The information presented was fascinating, but it seemed a little stale. I already knew the outcome having seen interviews of the creator after the movie was made, and many of the statistics have been around in news articles for quite some time. Sure, this film may have been the reason for a lot of that information coming to light, but I just feel that it doesn't have the same freshness as it did when it first came out.www.nicholasroussos.com Video31274@blogcritics.org Sun, 19 Jun 2005 14:44:58 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/18/000026.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comI've never been a Batman fan. I know people like him because he doesn't have super powers. That's supposed to make him more normal, more believable, and more admirable, but to me, it just made Batman less than the other super heros. This movie was a Batman movie all the way through, and I loved it. This is easy; it gets a 5 out of 5.Not A Comic Book Movie Like a comic book, Batman Begins was character driven, but that's about all it had in common with a comic book. The story was intense, the action was dizzy-fying, and the story kept pulling you in. It was dirty and gritty. It wasn't a comic book movie; it was a full blown theatrical release.Training Any good hero movie needs a good training sequence. Batman Begins took the traditional training sequence and weaved it into the plot. One of the best themes of the movie was how training turned Bruce Wayne into Batman. The training was full of great action, and it transitioned into a wonderful gear-up segment. Gear-up segments are almost as necessary as training sequences.Characters This movie was built around characters. Besides Batman, the other characters were terrific. Alfred played a big role as did Rachel. The bad guys were well done too. Scarecrow made perfect sense, and the actor playing him was spot on. Of course, Batman was Batman. He was larger than life, and despite not being a big Batman fan, I was rooting for him the whole way.Forget Star Wars III, Batman Begins is the must see summer movie. The actors do a great job. The story is compelling, and the action is a lot of fun.Note: I avoided comparing this movie to past Batman movies (including the Tim Burton films) because there was no comparison. Batman Begins is in a bat-league of its own.www.nicholasroussos.com Video31213@blogcritics.org Sat, 18 Jun 2005 00:00:26 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/15/120623.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comI've never really been a big fan of tattoos. I can't think of a specific reason why, but mostly I never saw any that I really liked. That all changed after my first theatrical viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean. There was something definitely cool about Jack Sparrow's self-identifying tattoo. I'll admit it; since then, I've wanted a tattoo.In fact, I've seriously discussed it with my wife, Cindy, albeit on a whim, driving down the road. At first she was against the idea, she had always wanted one, and I had always vehemently declared that I did not. She didn't understand the sudden change of heart anymore than I did. She tried disuading me with threats of pain. It didn't work. She tried forseeing certain regret. I still persisted. Of course, more pragmatic concerns won out. I didn't know what I wanted to get, and the moment passed.It came up again this past weekend. This time (6 months later), my wife felt I had proven that my desire stood the test of time. So, she not only consented but supported the idea. Just one problem, I still didn't know what I wanted to get.What To Get? The location had already been agreed upon in the six month duration. I wanted one on the underside of my forearm; Cindy wanted it less visible. So, we agreed on my upper arm. I always knew it would have to be my left arm as a fencer my off-weapon arm only made sense. That one question still haunted me though, what to get. In fact, Cindy had agreed to let me get one on Sunday, but as Saturday wore on with no design in mind, her approval was waning.I bounced ideas off of her, but they all were half-hearted and met with negative responses. In a last desperate attempt, I enlisted the help of my BUDS and we searched the internet looking for ideas. After looking at countless celebrity tattoos we determined two things: (1) it had to be single colored (black), (2) basketball players had some of the better tattoos. Still, I was no where near finding my own design. My BUDS left, and I began to accept defeat. Sunday would be here too soon.Not wanting to hit the sack on a bad note, I surfed around for a while. As my thinking began to become more and more sleep influenced. I came up with a few ideas. So, I hit the sack trying not to wake my sleeping wife, but excitement had already set in. I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking on how I might have found the design. Finally, I drifted off only to wake up early to a wife who was still sleeping. As I tried to lay there silently, I came up with a third idea. It was the best one yet because it was completely original.The next morning, I dragged a groggy wife to look at my ideas. In a foul mood, she hated all three; I was crushed. Still, I never give up easily, and I demanded she give me some ideas. She named some, but they all felt hollow. Then, I found one that she kinda liked, but I had an even better idea. I had Cindy take a picture of my arm, and with a little bit of Photoshop I had a decent representation of it on my arm. This design was a sinking ship as seen here.The effect worked so well, that I wanted to try my third idea from the night before. I quickly dropped it on my arm, and Cindy didn't seem to mind it as much. She liked the ship better, but the other design was growing on her. I liked the second one better. Finally, she agreed that either one would be acceptable. I needed a second opinion, so I bounced the two off one of my BUDS. He liked them both a lot. I was set. I wasn't going with the ship; the design I chose was a dragon on a shield in front of a ship's wheel and three swords.Getting the Tattoo We entered the tattoo parlor equipped with a print-out of the design and a print-out of the mock-up of it on my arm. Within minutes, the tatto artist had gotten me paid for and transfered the design onto a special paper. I found myself sitting in a small back-room as the lady assembled her utensils. The atmosphere was pretty much like you would imagine it from movies and commercials.After the preparations, the woman used the special paper with the design to stamp an image onto my arm. It looked like the ink from a stamp-pad, and I was asked if the location was suitable. I didn't care. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in the chair as the loud tattoo needle repeatedly pricked my arm. Surprisingly, it didn't really hurt. The artist colored an outline of the design. Then, she cleaned off the temporary ink and started filling in. In some places, it stung a little but not much. My muscles would occationally twitch. Mostly though, it felt like she was scratching my arm. At times, it even tickled. The needle didn't go in very deep; you feel it a lot less than you do a shot. After about an hour, it was over with. I didn't even bleed.With some instructions, Cindy and I were off to show it to her family members. Her parents gave it raving reviews, and her dad might even get a tattoo of his own. I am extremely pleased with the result. All in all, I give the tattoo experience a 5 out of 5. I find myself drawn to wanting a second one, but for now, I'll wait.www.nicholasroussos.com Culture31060@blogcritics.org Wed, 15 Jun 2005 12:06:23 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/11/120506.php Nicholas Roussoswww.nicholasroussos.comAs soon as I got my popcorn with it's Mr. & Mrs. Smith bag, I knew this movie was super-hyped. When Hollywood pushes a movie hard like that, it's either Star Wars or a sinker. While Mr. And Mrs. Smith wasn't a perfect movie, it certainly kept me well entertained through-out and managed to break the over hyped mold.Ready. Action! The story was simple. It was supposed to be, but it was the action that moved the movie along. From car chases to shoot-outs, there were explosions, jumps, and plenty of punches. The action played well and was pretty entertaining.Comedy Mixed In The action wouldn't have been enough by itself, but the movie did a good job of including some lighter moments. It opened with the couple visiting a marriage counselor, which is entertaining for the married peeps. Vince Vahn played a good back up role and was genuinely funny in parts. Many of the situations had an ironic humor.All together, Mr. & Mrs. Smith makes for a great date movie (4 out of 5). It plays well even if the ending has a few loose ends. I would caution parents with the PG-13 rating. It seems like big Hollywood productions can buy a lower rating, while movies like Rushmore are stuck undeservedly with an R.www.nicholasroussos.com Video30872@blogcritics.org Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:05:06 EDT