The State of the Cabins (6/2/10)

Movies watched for the first time (non-theatrically) since last week:
* Land of the Lost - As mentioned previously, I have this habit of recording fair/bad movies to watch during times when I may or may not be sleepy. I feel compelled to see them, and sadly, I'd rather watch them than one of the many "classic" films already sitting on my DVR. Yes, I have a problem.

LOTL is just the latest example. I had to see how bad Will Ferrell's cover of the TV show was. And boy did it live up to the advance billing. Now, the TV show was no great masterpiece, what with the cheesy effects, bad acting and men in rubber suits hissing a lot. But c'mon - did the lowest common denominator have to be used in every instance? I'm wondering if I can't lay some of the blame on Jorma Taccone (what a name, eh?), who played Chaka here, and most recently directed MacGruber (he's also a longtime SNL writer). Grubes played to the LCD at every available opportunity, but a) at least some of it was funny and b) it wasn't a remake of a Saturday's morning children's show.

Yet there's the lovable, used-to-be-a-child Chaka groping Holly within seconds of their meeting. And, hehehe, look at the giant mosquito thing on Ferrell's neck! HI-larious! And the major plot point regarding dino-poop - my knees hurt from all the slappifying.

The only funny parts? The opening and closing scenes involving Matt Lauer. I think that says it all.

* 44 Inch Chest - Like I told Steve and Brian on Sunday as we started talking about this movie, "I was a big fan of your show until you had me watch this...now, I think we might have to re-evaluate our relationship."

"From the writers of Sexy Beast," says the DVD cover of 44 Inch Chest. On top of that, it co-stars two of the main guys from Beast, Ian McShane and Ray Winstone. So going in, you'd think you knew what you were getting into.

So much for expectations.

If you're looking for a boring, stagey, all-talk-and-no-action movie featuring weak and blatant attempts to curse as creatively and repetitively as possible, this is your movie (you cunting sh#% f$$k!). If you're looking for a narrative, good writing, characters that you give a shit about, or productions values beyond what I might be able to make with a $20,000 budget, look elsewhere.

The only bright spot is McShane, and he's not in it nearly enough to make it worth your while.

Music I'm currently obsessed with:
I need your help. Instead of listening to shitloads of new music this week, I've been in a funk, saddened by the shuttering of my beloved Lala.com, which Apple purchased a ways back. Instead of furthering this fledgling site, they decided it was competing with iTunes, I suppose, though I've heard rumblings that the takedown of Lala is a sign that iTunes will finally be moving into the cloud and away from being software. Let's hope so.

In the meantime, I want to know: what music service do you listen to? Likes? Dislikes? Cost? All that jazz. Lala was great (in my eyes) for what it offered: upon signing up, you received credits for 50 "web" songs (read: non-downloadable) that you could listen to as much as you want via their site. Additionally, you could listen to every song on their site once for free - after that, you could either listen to a 30-second sample or purchase a version of it (web or MP3). A great way to experiment and bounce around all styles and such risk-free. I know other services are somewhat similar, but not quite the same - which do you like best?

Book I'm currently reading:
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest arrived yesterday. Booyah. Will be starting it tomorrow.

And then...

The last of the May guest podspots

In what was a busy month of podcasting shenanigans, I joined Steve and Brian (aka The Film Cynics) for the full hour of their Victoria, B.C.-based radio show (and LAMMY-nominated podcast), and it was a jam-packed 60 minutes, with a few minutes spent on some departed celebs to TV finale talk to a review of 44 Inch Chest and more.

Check out the full details posted here. Many thanks to the guys for having me on again.

And then...

The State of the Cabins (5/26/10)

Movies watched for the first time (non-theatrically) since last week:
* The Hammer - As advertised. Adam Carolla still had his radio show when he made The Hammer, so as a former listener, I heard plenty about it not only as it was in production, but also the reaction from the show's crew, guests, and fans. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and followed Carolla beyond his radio days and into his days as one of the Lords of Podcasting. I was a loyal listener for a long, long time before finally calling it quits a year or so ago, as I found that in a one-on-one context, Adam made for a shitty interviewer - the guy can't help but dominate the conversation and talk about himself. We're talking 80% of the time...which is fine for a radio show, but then why have guests?

Anyway, I digress. Point is, I started to worry over the months about The Hammer that, with Carolla producing an small, independent film with himself as the star, that it would be 90 minutes of him riffing, or at least 75.

Fears assuaged. The Hammer is indeed the feel good, charming, and funny indie it was made out to be. Carolla is, by comparison, reigned in a lot, as much screen time is given not only to his non-acting, real-life friend/sidekick Oswaldo Castillo (hilariously unintelligible), but also to potentially up-and-comer Harold House Moore, in his first acting gig as a rival boxer. Jane Lynch even pops up in an extended cameo.

Being the small-time film that it is, it's clunky in a few spots, and the acting is spotty as well, particularly from Heather Juergensen, who plays the love interest (and produces as well). Nonetheless, The Hammer is more than worth your time.

* 44 Inch Chest - I'll be joining Steve and Brian of The Film Cynics (again!) this Sunday - for a full hour this time. We'll be reviewing this flick, amongst other things. So, all you Cabin Dwellers over there in Victoria, B.C. (so, Steve, in other words), listen in to CFAX-1070 on Sunday at 3:00 PM. For the rest of you, I'll be posting a link next week for your auditory pleasure (Steve and Brian sound a lot better than I do).

Music I'm currently obsessed with:
Somehow, I never listened to a full Muse album until Watchmen came out. It wasn't until after hearing "Take a Bow" that I thought it was time to give them a fair shake. Of course, it didn't take long at all for me to realize that I was already familiar with more than a handful of songs from them. Hell, I think all of the Black Holes & Revelations disc got radio play - I was just too thick to notice that I all of these songs that I kinda liked were all from the same band.

Fast-forward to this week, when I picked up my fourth CD by them, Origin of Symmetry. I count them as one of my favorite bands, and have at least one song of theirs overtaking my head every week. Can't wait to get some from this latest disc in there as well.

Book I'm currently reading:
Still none. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest ought to be arriving shortly...

And then...