Bruce Dickinson puts his pants on one leg at a time

Then he rocks you, the he flies the plane to the next place he's going to rock you.

What a day this is going to be

Let's see...

Wake up and snowblow, again!
Get the split-pea & ham soup going
Eagles - Giants
Chargers - Steelers
Golden Globe Awards

If I can even sit upright by midnight, much less type, it will be a miracle.

Best of 2008

Music
Here is everything I listened to that was released in 2008, ranked.

Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious - Hands down. I listened to this more than all the below combined, probably.
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night - Great songs. Damned compression...
Rise Against - Appeal to Reason
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Guns 'n Roses - Chinese Democracy - I'm still shocked. This had disaster all over it. It's really good!
Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop and Roll!!!
David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads
Weezer - The Red Album
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
REM - Accelerate
Beck - Modern Guilt
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Judas Priest - Nostradamus
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
AC/DC - Black Ice - Blech.
Rachel Yamagata - Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart - Blech.

Other stuff, not released in 2008 but new to me:
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild (soundtrack). Mellow and meditative, good instrumentation and singing. I haven't seen the movie yet, but this sounds like it would be just about right.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights. Wild, funky, soulful, amazing album. The Dap Kings are part of the period-music movement, playing vintage instruments and recording on vintage analog equipment. You may know them as the band on most of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. Sharon Jones was a struggling backup singer, discovered by two members of the band. Awesome.

I completed my Queens of the Stone Age collection. I fucking love that band. Pure unadulterated id.

10 Years - The Autumn Effect. My buddy the IT guy at work was talking these guys up, and let me borrow this CD. They're a real good band, but just didn't grab me with any emotional connection. I listened to the album a few times, and they show up in a shuffle every now and then, but nothing made me say WOW!

Movies
I only saw two movies that were actually released in 2008. So, here are all the movies I saw, ranked:
Life is Beautiful - yes, I know I'm just a decade or so late to the party.
Walk on Water
Children of Men - wow.
Speed Racer
The Girl in the Cafe
Juno
Pi
Simpsons Movie
Harold and Kumar 2 (2008)
The Squid and the Whale
Ready-to-Wear
The Break-Up
The Incredible Hulk (2008, with Ed Norton) (Hey, I was trapped on an airplane. Just awful.)

That's all I can remember, with the help of the Netflix history. I'm sure there are a couple movies I can't remember that we DVRed and watched.

Movie meme

This one has been going around, so what the heck.

Sure enough, my number is lower than most. Only 71. I'm just not that into movies, especially not the stuff on this list.

Like Toast, I'll also indicate what I want to or plan to see (it may even be in my queueue), and what I have LESS THAN ZERO interest in seeing. Green for the former, red for the latter. Everything else probably won't ever be seen, but not because of any aversion, mostly just apathy.


(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG [all versions, including King Kong Vs. Godzilla]
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving -MAS
( ) Flubber (orignal only)
(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(X) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(X) Ocean's Eleven
(X) Ocean's Twelve
( ) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled (original only)
(X) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
(X) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
( ) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X2
( ) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday (original only)
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
( ) Shrek
( ) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street (never all at once)
(X) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Kippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old-virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
(X) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(X) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
(X) Dawn of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(X) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
(X) Evil Dead
(X) Evil Dead 2
(X) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal
( ) Battle Royale
( ) Battle Royale 2
(X) Brazil
(X) Contact
( ) Cube
(X) Dr. Strangelove
( ) Enlightenment Guaranteed
( ) Four Rooms
( ) Memento
(X) Pi
( ) Requiem for a Dream
(X) Pulp Fiction
( ) Reservoir Dogs
( ) Run Lola Run
( ) Russian Ark
( ) Serenity
( ) Sin City
(X) Snatch
( ) Spider
(X) The Sixth Sense
( ) The Village
( ) Waking Life
( ) Zatoichi
( ) Ikiru
(X) The Seven Samurai
( ) Brick
(X) Akira

See Fridge, Toast, Fridge's brother, Mr Furious.

Ooh ooh ooh!

Holy crap!

Robert Downey Jr. set his crotch on fire!

Robert Downey Jr. is playing Sherlock Holmes in a Guy Richie movie? Can I just buy a ticket now?

So bad it's... nope, still bad

Of the many series that the AV Club runs, my favorite is "I Watched This on Purpose."

Here is their treatment of 88 minutes.

(Spoilers throughout, but really, were you planning on watching this piece of shit?)

Objectively bad, I'd say.

Quick-hit movie reviews

A few things we've seen over the last few months warrant mention.

Life is Beautiful
Yes, I had never seen this before. Amazing movie. It deserved every bit of praise it got. 5 stars.

Walk on Water
A beautiful story of Jews and Germans and how the past colors the present. I remember that night we had three DVDs in-house, and we were looking for something light. Unfortunately they were all dark movies, at least by the description on the Netflix label. We picked this, and were pleasantly surprised. The issues were difficult, of course, but the end somehow felt... uplifting. 5 stars.

The Break-up
I didn't expect wonders here, just your typical rom-com. Vince Vaughn is usually funny, Jennifer Aniston is pretty good in her movies. Couple breaks up, fights over the condo they co-own. There were some truly funny moments, but Erica and I both agreed that there was too much mean and not enough funny. A couple of the conversations/arguments they had were painfully accurate though. Every now and then Erica and I would look at each other and say "Yup, I've had that one 5 times..." 3 stars.

The Simpsons Movie
Exactly what one would expect. Very funny stuff. "We're going to need more birds" had us both rolling, and Erica is still singing "Spider-pig" today. 4 stars.


--------------------

Ratings scale recap: I use the same rating here as I do at Netflix. A little nebulous, but this is how I see them.

1 - Ugh, why can't I give this a zero?
2 - Not terrible, I probably enjoyed some parts, but I'm certainly not going to recommend it.
3 - I liked it. Definitely not a waste of time. Judge from the description if the concept is for you.
4 - I really liked it, and you should see it. You may not like it as much as I did, but you won't feel cheated.
5 - Rave! What are you waiting for? Also, you're just wrong if you don't like it, so bite me.

Why art-house films are so bad

Pretty funny, and fairly dead on:

Well, it seems that, when it comes to appalling subsidised cinema, there are certain qualifications that help. Being in black-and-white scores a good few points. A really brilliant director might even manage to switch from b/w for the tragic bits into glorious colour for the redemptive, ecstatic bits. Exposure of the dark horror of life on the social housing estates lurking behind the bright facade of Europrosperity seems a sure-fire ticket to success, especially if accompanied by plenty of under-exposed footage of the grim landscapes of the urban edgelands, preferably featuring lots of pylons.

If you ever have a chance to see Funny Ha-ha, do yourself a favor. Don't. It's the perfect example of the tiny, low- to no-budget film with artsy pretentions that fails on every level. It's terrible. Objectively bad. Nothing compelling, at all, about the plot or protagonists, and it's technically unsound too. Bad light, bad audio (one time all the kids are in a van going to a party, and you can't hear the conversation over the fucking rattle of the muffler), bad everything. Of course I saw favorable mentions and decided to put it in the Netflix queueueue. The worse it is, the more some nitwit critic feels the need to give it a good review. It makes him stand out. And all publicity is good publicity. Or so they say.

(h/t Petulant at Shakesville)

Speed Racer - the critics

Hah.

As I figured it would, the movie is getting killed critically.

I don't know. I enjoy reading criticism, mostly because I can't write it well myself. But in terms of paying attention to critics, whether music or films, I've found very few voices that consistently speak to me. That's fine; it all just boils down to debate, which can be fun.

Thing is, I see lines like "Or maybe it's the predictable story about a guy who goes up against crooked corporate sponsors" and wonder to myself, doesn't this idiot know that every movie can be boiled down to a one- or two-sentence pitch? Sure, that device isn't new, but what is? It's the execution, dummy!

Maybe it's my ADD-addled brain, but I still believe that it was a fun movie, a basic David vs. Goliath plot well-acted within the context (this was a Japanese cartoon after all), wonderful visually.

I tend to agree that the movie didn't need to be as long as it was; some of the whiz-bang could probably have been cut to bring it in under 2 hours. Other than that though, for escapist entertainment, the movie is all win.

I loved this line though:
I'm being serious when I caution epileptics to avoid this film.

See? I wasn't kidding.

Sneak Preview: Speed Racer

A couple weeks ago, I won tickets to tonight's showing of Speed Racer at Crossgates, and boy am I glad I have useless trivia rattling around in my head so I could call into my local ESPN Radio affiliate and answer the question "Name 5 players affected by the Madden Curse."

Brewing partner Bill (link is to his better review, and a cool screen-cap that I didn't find last night) came along, as did Dave, who is always willing to drink the beer at least. Erica backed out at the list minute, as she's just too swamped with grad school work right now, because the prof for her current class decided to add three last-minute assignments to be due this week. Did I mention this is the last week of the class? Hey, dumbass, not all of your students are 22-year-olds just off their first degree. Some are actual teachers (you know, with jobs) who plan their days to the minute; springing 6+ more pages of off-syllabus writing on them at the last minute really fucks with their lives.

Sorry, where was I?

Oh, yes.


One of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. Sumptuous, even.

Solid-to-fantastic performances all around. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon were pitch-perfect as Mom and Pops, and some guy I don't know was just the right amount of over-the-top as the cartoonish bad guy.


Christina Ricci was a great Trixie, and it was nice that the role had more to it than just "the girlfriend." She was sharp. Oh, and pretty damned scrumptious.


Emile Hirch (who was supposedly very good in Into the Wild) was a good choice for Speed. It's been at least 15 years since I've seen an episode of the original cartoon (and I was probably stoned), but he just felt right in the role.


Matthew Fox, inspiration for much Tart lust, was a solid Racer X.


I didn't really have expectations going into this, good or bad, but I was hoping it wasn't another Transformers, pretty but vapid (at least according to everything I heard - I'm not much of a movie person, so I never saw it). Turns out I had nothing to fear.

Now, this ain't Shakespeare, but the plot was more than sufficiently fleshed out, nicely paced, with a perfect balance between comedy and drama. There were plenty of timely theater-wide LOL moments, many involving Chim Chim the monkey and Spritle the little brother.

And did I mention the movie was fucking gorgeous?






Stunning use of color. Remember what a big deal it was a zillion years ago when they did Dick Tracy in primary colors? That idea times 1000. Excellent blend of CGI and meatspace, a nice "illustrated" feel.

If this movie were candy, it would be a Lindt truffle, not a Reese's cup.

My only complaint would be that a couple of the racing scenes were too fast. I honestly can't wait for the DVD, to try to freeze-frame a few of them and figure out what exactly happened.

Rating: 5 stars. Eye candy of the highest order, good story. You will have fun.

My only caveat is that if you are prone to seizures, you might want to stay away. I'm not kidding, I used to date someone who was. We couldn't go to clubs that had strobes or disco balls. This movie might have killed her.

Meme!

Seems to be the trend lately.

DONE!!! Thanks to Incertus and Minstrel Boy for coming over from Shakesville to pick off the last three. We'll need to do this one again soon. That was fun and mindless. And I got to imdb a lot of movies here and everywhere else (after I had guessed what I knew, of course).

Instructions: Look up 15 of your favorite films on IMDb and take a quote from each. List them below. When someone guesses the quote correctly, cross it off the list. Leave a comment with your answers. And NO CHEATING.

1. Her husband works a night shift or something, and he comes home and catches me on the floor with my cock in his wife's ass. (manuel)

2. A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish. (Fridge)

3. Do you know what "nemesis" means? A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent. Personified in this case by an 'orrible cunt... me. (Chemist)

4. I know him. He's too nervous to kill himself. Wears his seat belt in a drive-in movie. (minstrel. The toughest one by far. One of my favorite movies, which I'm sure most people have seen at least once, but I used to be obsessed with it.)

5. You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting. In what world could you possibly beat me? (Toast)

6. Your doorbell. I have fixed it from the ringing. There is no charge. (John T.)

7. Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere! (Incertus)

8. I once farted on the set of Blue Lagoon. (Incertus)

9. Take this quarter, go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face! Good day to you, madam. (Mr. Furious. YAY! This was a college staple. One of the most quotable movies of all time. Criminally underappreciated for its sublime silliness.)

10. Hermaphroditic porn. Starlets with both organs. You should see the box. Beautiful chicks with dicks that put mine to shame. (Dark Matter)

11. I want to buy a car with pussy magnet. (Chemist)

12. This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk. It is not just a couch. (Jonathan)

13. Yes! We're all individuals! (Dark Matter. Alrighty then! I still can't believe that one took so long.)

14. What? That's like slapping God across the face for giving you a beautiful gift. (Jane)

15. That's it... we're breaking up! (Jane. And it's about fucking time too!)

Movie Review

Failing author, once famous but now can't even get published. Talented wife, who has to write and submit articles on the sly, so as to not upset his massive but fragile ego? Two sons, bouncing back and forth emotionally between the two "adults" even when everyone was in the same household, and then throw in the physical back-and-forth after the inevitable separation.

Ahhh, who to hate more?

The father, played by Jeff Daniels (ostensibly playing a future version of his Flap Horton character in Terms of Endearment)?

The older son, who strives to be an arrogant, miserable prick just like his dad?

The younger son, with his... well, I'll leave the joy of that discovery to you?

The mother (Laura Linney), who takes passive-aggressive to new heights? Not that she wasn't 100% justified in a few of her larger actions, but still.

So, are you sold yet?

OK, this is actually a worthwhile watch, though rather short and with a questionably abrupt ending. The actors were all excellent. Linney and Daniels are solid as usual, and the two kids were fantastic. It was the first major role for the younger one, Owen Kline, the son of Kevin Kine and Phobe Cates. Jesse Eisenberg's been working for a while, but I hadn't seen any of his movies. Well played.

Some excellent literary-nerd dialogue, a couple bone-chillingly awkward moments, a few belly laughs, a few cringes, some swearing at the television screen. Almost an aerobic workout.

3 stars.

Movie Review

A chance encounter at a busy cafe leads to unlikely romance between the stiffest man on the planet (an accountant working for the Chancellor of the Exchequer), and a rather reserved, demure younger woman.

On a lark, he asks her to accompany him to the G8 Summit. That's where all hell breaks loose. Well, as loose as hell can break in a very reserved, British manner, of course.

A wonderfully touching movie. At turns hilarious (if for nothing else than the awkward dynamic between the protagonists), depressing, infuriating.

Bill Nighy (Constant Gardner, the Pirates trilogy, Hot Fuzz, Sean of the Dead, many more) plays his role perfectly. You feel for him even as you're aggravated by him. Kelly Macdonald (Gosford Park, Finding Neverland, No Country for Old Men), is fantastic. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are reasons for her alternately reserved yet combative nature. She just nails it. Great role, great performance.

4 stars.

Not quite a ringing endorsement

"It was like the film was raping my face."

I'm all for artists taking chances, challenging norms, even trying to "shock" or "offend." Still, at least try to have a point.

I challenge you to read that four paragraph review and tell me you can find ANY reason to see that flick.

Movie Review

Finding Neverland

Well, so much for a light, escapist movie on a Friday night.

Jeebus Tittyfucking Christ, was the room dusty tonight. That's my only excuse, because I sure as hell wasn't wearing my contacts. If the scene at the end, with JM Barrie and Peter sitting on the bench and that boy's big blue eyes welling with tears doesn't just break your heart and fill you with hope at the same time, then you're just not human. Oh yes, there may be tissues involved. But not in the porn kind of way.

I went into this with no background on Barrie the man, other than he wrote Peter Pan. I've not read nor seen anything else he's done. For all I know, he's a one hit wonder. I'll have to find out more. It's funny, as much as I love to read, and I do so constantly, I never seem to catch up on my list, much less make progress. I swear, if I won the lottery, I'd play golf, work for charity, travel, and read. And I still wouldn't feel like I read enough.

Johnny Depp is his usual great self, Kate Winslet is very good, and Freddie Highmore as the real-life Peter is just friggin' outstanding.

4 stars.

Movie Review

Babel

Wow. I honestly still don't know what to make of this. I think I really like it. The basic structure, I definitely like. Three separate stories, seemingly unrelated, yet all linked in ways soon to be discovered. Layers of an onion, I guess, peeled away.

I don't know that I can even discuss basic plot points without revealing too much to those that still intend to see it (maybe it's on your queueueueue?).

Some good socio-political commentary. And I must echo all the critics who positively fawned over the Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi,who played the deaf/mute girl. A truly amazing portrayal of youth, vulnerability, and sadness. She alone is worth the price of entry.

4 stars.

Movie Review

Empire Falls

Well, more of a mini-mini-series. An HBO original, based on a novel by Richard Russo. He's probably my favorite short story writer, yet I've never read any of his full-length novels. As soon as I fucking get Cryptonomicon off my table, I'm ready to attack the stack, and I will soon rectify the Russo/novel situation. I will probably start with this very story, because it's so fresh in my mind, and because it's not that often I get to do the book-movie thing in reverse. Usually, I've read the book, and dread the movie, or possibly look forward to it with reservation.

In any case, I highly recommend this 2-disc set, which we Netflixed. A stellar cast (Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Robin Wright soon-to-be-ex-Penn, Paul Newman, Aidan Quinn, Joanne Woodward, Dennis Farina, and on and on), a stellar character study.

Miles Roby (Ed Harris), is a simple man (note: not simpleton), living a quiet life in a quiet town in Maine. He wants more for himself and his daughter (he's soon to be divorced), but is afraid to pursue his dreams, crippled by the ever-present fear of change. There are always reasons, always excuses. Even his current responsibilities are just crutches, really.

You must watch this.

5 stars.

Movie Review

Superbad

Best. Movie. Ever.

Movie Review

I watched this a couple weeks ago, but forgot to post. Watched it twice, actually, once with Erica and once with TJ.

Funny enough, touching enough. Still, I felt something lacking. (SPOILERS AHEAD!!)

I think it was the stupid plot devices that kept breaking me out of the suspension of disbelief:

• The girls running around buying what probably amounted to $600 worth of home pregnancy tests. (Tart posted about this long before I saw the movie.) You only need one box, and you're going to the doctor regardless of the result. Right?
• The guys discovering that their business idea had already been done. You know, when they first described what they were doing, I said to myself "oh, Mr. Skin!" and let it go, because who knows, maybe this movie is set in the mid 90s, and these losers/dorks/schlubs will get rich. But no - very soon after, there was some dialogue and some music that killed the benefit of the doubt I was trying to give them. I'm sorry, it's just fucking impossible that not one of them would find this out somehow, much earlier in the process. So that bugged me the whole time.
• The whole "fantasy baseball draft" thing. Really? Pete had to sneak away and lie about it? And how about the fact that there is only one draft, per league, per year? In March. Everything else can be managed via computer/phone. That pissed me off almost as much as when other movies show people "hacking," and there are all sorts of flashy 3D graphics and whatnot.

Anyway, it may not sound like it, but I enjoyed this movie. Some really funny situations and lines, and some decently realistic relationship/drama issues.

4 stars. Could have been 5 if I wasn't annoyed.

Movie Review

Shaun of the Dead.

This was actually done before Hot Fuzz, as far as these collaborators go.

Zombie infestation hits England. Wacky hijinx ensue.

Again, Simon Pegg plays a great lead, and his buddy in this movie (who was also his partner in Hot Fuzz) is a pefect foil, in an Odd Coupleish way.

Again, a great spoof/homage of its predecessors, some wickedly dry British humor, good and bloody zombie-splattering action, everything.

One of those movies where you get exactly what you sat down for.

4 stars