The 411 From 406 » jennifer aniston

On A Break With A Ninja = Vendetta

Chewie — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:46:54 +0000

V For Vendetta (2005)
Another story from comic legend Alan Moore. Watching this movie I couldn’t help see the similarities with Watchmen (a post “bad shit” look at a city) and recognize just how fucked up Moore really must be. Natalie Portman plays a great role here as does Hugo Weaving (though he’s clad the entire movie in a mask so all you’re hearing is his iconic voice). At times this was a very slow flick but that’s to be expected with an adaptation of Moore’s work. What I will say is I was very much “involved” in the story and there was a very large sense of “How is this going to end?” which is what you’d hope for in a flick like this. There’s actually very little action in this movie and with the exception of the final showdown with V nothing really to write home about. That said, if you’re looking for a very cerebral movie and you’re willing to put in the time this was a very enjoyable experience.

Revenge Of The Ninja (1983)
After putting together my list of Top 80′s Action Movies I decided to add this to my Netflix queue to see if it was as good as I remembered it. If I’m looking at it as a stand alone movie, it’s absolutely fucking terrible. The dialogue is bad and the plot line is worse. However… I absolutely LOVED watching this one again and stand by keeping it on my list. It brought back so many memories and reminded me why I loved ninja movies as a kid. The action sequences are great (though a little hokey) and the final fight scene which lasts nearly 15 minutes is epic. If you’re a fan of old school ninja movies with tons of weapons and some lip syncing thrown in for good measure you’ll enjoy this one.

The Break-Up (2006)
It’s not often that the wife and I agree on a flick, but based on the previews and the case (Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston) we thought this might be one that would work. And it did… for the first 90 minutes or so and then completely fell apart. When you’re watching one of these types of flicks, you’re waiting for the feel good ending. I’ve said many times that I’m a “movie ending” guy. If the flick is great but the ending sucks the flick sucks. So… in a movie called The Break-Up you’re expecting to see the break up, and then toward the end you’re waiting for the reconciliation. Unfortunately in this one, we’re not given the payoff. What we’re left with is some terribly executed “try to be smart” ending that leaves you completely unsatisfied. Too bad too cause Vince, Jennifer and John Favreau give some outstanding performances. (And guys… if you’re a Jennifer fan this is the best I remember her looking in a LONG time… wow). If you’re looking for some giggles watch the first hour and then turn this shit off.

10 Things I Learned About St. Patrick’s Day

Chewie — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:40:32 +0000

Beer on St. Patrick’s Day is the same beer that you get any other day of the year. It’s just green. I don’t understand why if you’re not in college you would take a day off work to drink. I guess I’m getting old.
Bagpipes do NOT sound good. Sorry to say but they do indeed sound like dying cats.
Girls will take St. Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to dress slutty. Apparently I need to read up on the history of St. Patrick’s Day because I LOVE this part.
People will look for the Irish pub they can find and set up shop. If said pub isn’t Irish it doesn’t matter.
Bars will open at 5:30 AM and serve beer. People will be there waiting. Apparently this is the only day of the year that you can drink beer in the morning.
Everyone will wear green today. It’s the law. I’m not Irish and I’m not partaking in any St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and lo and behold, I STILL have a green shirt on. I didn’t even think about it when I got dressed this morning – it just happened.
Between March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day essentially nothing gets done this week. I’ve learned to roll with the punches. I’m doing my part by blogging at work.
The following beers are good all year round. Please don’t limit your consumption to one day. If you do you’re doing yourself a great disservice: Murphy’s, Beamish, Smithwicks, Harp, and Guinness.
Jennifer Anniston’s first movie was The Leprechaun. It’s a terrible movie but one that I’ve watched many times because I love horror movies and Jennifer Anniston is hot.
Regardless of the fact that they are the “Fighting Irish”, Notre Dame still sucks.

“Rock Star” – Live The Life

Chewie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:41:38 +0000

So the other day someone updated their status on Facebook and said they were watching Rock Star on TV. This of course got me thinking of this movie again and I just had to re-watch it for the blog. Finally… a piece of work that both metal fans and Marky Mark fans can get behind!

PLOT:

Written by John Stockwell, directed by Stephen Herek, and executive produced by none other than George Clooney, Rock Star tells the story of mythical hard rock band Steel Dragon who is in need of a new lead singer. Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) plays in a Steel Dragon “tribute” band and is about as big a “fan” as you can possibly be. He makes several references to the fact that his band (Blood Pollution) is a “tribute” band rather than a “cover” band. He has such a love for Steel Dragon that he takes his musical “performances” very seriously. Of course, Chris gets the job as the new Steel Dragon front man and takes on the moniker of “Izzy”.

The rest of the movie is quite simply as the tag line says, “The story of a wanna be, who got to be.” We follow Izzy through the ups and downs of the rock industry in the late 80′s completing the holy trilogy of sex, drugs and rock & roll.

COMMENTARY:

Aside from Wahlberg in the main roll there are some pretty interested performances thrown in here. Jennifer Aniston plays the girlfriend Emily in a complete non-Friends roll. She’s a typical metal-head girlfriend from the 80′s: trashy, leather and border line slutty. There’s a scene that is just beautiful where she’s wearing a mesh see through “dress” with a thong beneath it. Also, if you look closely you’ll see the first lesbian kiss for Ms. Jennifer in here.

With the exception of Timothy Olyphant the rest of the cast is relatively unknown… unless of course you’re in the music business. The two bands in the movie (Steel Dragon & their tribute band Blood Pollution) are made up of actual musicians including:

Jason Bonham – son of John Bonham
Jeff Pilson – Dokken & Foreigner
Zakk Wylde – Black Label Society & Ozzy Osbourne
Myles Kennedy – Alter Bridge
Miljenko Matijevic – Steelheart
Nick Cantanese – Black Label Society
Blas Elias – Slaughter
Brian Vander Ark – The Verve Pipe

The point is, this isn’t just a movie about musicians… the music sounds good/real because it is.

Of special interest is how the plot of this movie mimics that of metal legends Judas Priest. Essentially the same thing happened to Tim “Ripper” Owens when the band decided to replace legendary front man Rob Halford with Owens. Owens at the time was playing in a “tribute” band as well.

RECOMMENDATION:

I’m a big metal fan. If you can’t stand metal as a musical genre you’re not going to like this movie. Not because it isn’t a good movie but because the music is so entrenched in the whole plot. There are certainly some bad parts to this, but there’s something about the “normal guy hits it big” story that appeals to the best in us. I have to say that after his hip-hop roots Mark Wahlberg pulls off metal quite nicely. Rock Star isn’t going to win any awards but I’d say as long as you don’t hate metal it’s worth checking out.