Summer Movie Reviews: From Demons to Revenge

Alright! Back to summer movies! My favorite time of the year, entertainment-wise (football season is my favorite FAVORITE time of the year so to go from favorite to FAVORITE will be awesome at the end of August).

This will be a packed entry, reviewing Angels and Demons, Terminator Salvation, Up, The Hangover, The Taking of Pelham 123, The Proposal, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I know, with Transformers rounding out the review, I am about a month behind. I guess that's what happens when family life begins and this isn't my day job, haha. (That and NCAA Football 10 came out a few weeks ago and I've occupied a lot of time with that too.)

Here are the ratings of the two movies I reviewed last month:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - 6.5
Star Trek - 8.5


And now the main attractions:

Angels and Demons

Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard team up again to make another film interpretation of a Dan Brown novel. I am not that big on reading books (kind of surprising, huh?) so I had not been exposed to reading Brown's novel, so I went into this with no real expectation. By itself Demons stands pretty well. The film is a big whodunit mystery/chase with some nice surprises.

Compared to the first installment of the character Robert Langdon series The Di Vinci Code, it is pretty much on the same level entertainment-wise. Demons is more action and a little less story and character development, but works well with everything that goes on in the plot.

Not a bad summer flick. If you still have the opportunity, see this in the theater.

7.0

Terminator Salvation

This film had a lot going against it from the beginning: not directed or written with any assistance from Terminator's creator James Cameron, being directed by cheese McG, and there is the whole Christian Bale rampage on one of the crew members during production. All of this topped off with the disappointment that was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, there was a large uphill climb for this movie from the beginning.

I don't hate McG, I just didn't think he would be able to be serious long enough to make a decent Terminator movie (he did direct the Charlie's Angels remakes). I was mistaken. Although it is short on actual story, I would have to say that I liked this movie. It is popcorn and it does have some corny references to the previous films, but this succeeds in being entertaining and has enough action to carry the thin storyline. Sam Worthington really stands out in this film.

Although not the classic the first two Terminator films were, definitely worth a watch or two.

7.0

Up

I feel the need to preface this before my review...I'm a Pixar fan. I believe their only miss so far has been A Bug's Life (not that it was a bad movie, just was not as good as the rest of the Pixar lineup). Disney/Pixar is just a hit-machine, just as Disney was a hit-machine in the early 1990s.

Up is probably Pixar's finest achievement in story and concept. Hard to believe but somehow these Pixar characters feel more relatible than most of the characters in live action films. It takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of an old man who had lost the love of his life as he attempts to keep a promise he made to her. Not to say this isn't humorous and fun (how did they make it both sad and fun all in one movie?). Like any Pixar movie, very kid friendly (I took my two year old son to see it in the theater).

Probably the best film of the summer when it is all said and done.

9.0

The Hangover

I'll admit, I was very skeptically going into this movie. This type of comedy is usually hit or miss. I do like this style of comedy but was scared it would be a let down.

Far from it. This is the surprise of the summer.

The Hangover is the story of a group of friends trying to retrace the steps they don't remember taking the night of their friend's bachelor party...a friend they lost and are trying to find. Outrageous and over the top on occasion, The Hangover is full of hilarity. Bradley Cooper shines in this comedy. Great cameo by Mike Tyson. Not a film for everyone but definitely a hit.

Great for multiple viewing with so many quotable scenes.

8.5

The Taking of Pelham 123

I'm a big Denzel fan, so it was nice to find out he was going to be in a movie this summer. Pelham 123 is a heist flick, John Travolta being the hostage taker, and Washington the reluctant hero. This is director Tony Scott and Washington's fourth film working together.

There is enough tension to keep someone entertained, but not enough for it to be a great movie.

It is nice to see Travolta in something again, but as a villain his aggression and cursing dialogue seems very forced. Denzel is decent but it seems he is kind of just dialing in the performance here. What is kind of funny here is actors John Turturro and Ramon Rodriguez are in dramatic roles in this film and then in comedic roles in a movie to come out two weeks later (the last reviewed movie here).

Might want to wait to rent this one, but it'll be a pretty decent Redbox movie.

6.5

The Proposal

For those of you who have read previous stuff from me (all you Xanga users remember HopelessHero?), you will know that I'm not opposed to the chick-flick. I will joke every once in a while about chick-flicks, but when it comes to romantic comedies I usually like them. It is the dramatic chick-flick I'm usually hesitant to see.

With that said, The Proposal was very formulaic and predictable...as most rom-coms are. But it is pretty funny. And I like funny. I usually like Ryan Reynolds and I've always liked Sandra Bullock (except in crappy sequels like Speed 2 and Miss Congeniality 2). So all-in-all this movie is pretty fun.

Good date movie to take your significant other.

7.0

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The biggest blockbuster of the summer. With the summer now close to its end, this movie will probably make the most money of any movie this year. Off of the success of the first movie, Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf became huge stars. But what could they do to make a sequel to the first movie? I'll let you watch and find out.

As far as a summer movie, this is probably definitive. Big explosions, big action, lots of CGI, cheesy comedy, and a couple of contrived heartfelt moments. If you come into this movie expecting that, then you will not be disappointed. My argument has always been that director Michael Bay will never make a masterpiece, but he will give you a popcorn summer movie. Every single time. And I like a good popcorn flick. I will say that Revenge is about 45 minutes too long, but I didn't really have anything better to do that Saturday.

If you like action movies and just want to turn your brain off for a couple hours, go see this movie.
7.0

Well, the summer is almost over, and there are still some movies I still plan on seeing before it is all said and done. So you know what that means...more reviews to come!

Here are the movies I still want to catch before the summer is out, hopefully I'll get to see them:

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Public Enemies

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

The Ugly Truth

Funny People

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

District 9

The Time Traveler's Wife

Inglorious Basterds

There are other movies out that I will either wait on seeing or probably have no intention seeing (Land of the Lost and Harry Potter being the latter):

Drag Me to Hell (in the safety of my own home)

Land of the Lost (wow, how did they ever sign Will Farrell to this movie?)

Year One (looked like could be either really funny or flop-o-licious)

Bruno (Sasha Baron Cohen seems like a one-trick pony to me)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (haven't had any interest in any these movies since the first)

Next entry, we'll continue the College Football Preview with the Meat Life's Five Predictions!

http://www.themeatlife.blogspot.com/

College Football Preview: The Best Teams of the 2000s

Less than two months to go until the college football season begins. The last two seasons we have seen crazy scenarios and exciting matchups. There have been a handful of teams that have stood out as the Football Bowl Subdivision power elite this past decade. To start off the countdown to the college football season, I have listed the best schools this decade in the FBS.

1) USC Trojans (93-22, .809)

Reggie "Give My Parents A House" Bush

National Championships – 2*, Conference Championships – 7, Top 10 finishes – 7, Heisman Winners – 3. It is hard for me to list and talk about these first three teams being a Sooner fan, but you cannot deny the success USC has had this decade. No one in the Pac 10 has been able to challenge them on a consistent basis. They have won an AP National Championship in the controversial split in 2003, have won a BCS National Championship the following year and appeared in another championship game the year after. The Trojans seem to reload every year and Pete Carroll always seem to be in the national hunt. It has also been hard to have more star-power than the Trojans (Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez…and that’s just on the offensive side of the ball).

2) LSU Tigers (90-27, .769)

Anonymous LSU Tiger

National Championships – 2, Conference Championships – 3, Top 10 finishes – 5, Heisman Winners – 0. The only school to have won BCS titles with two different coaches (Nick Saban and Les Miles). In the competitive SEC, LSU has been the most consistent team in the conference over the course of the decade. The team trademark has been defense since Saban, and had carried over in the Miles era (at least until Bo Pelini left). The only thing holding them back would be no real Heisman contenders…or you could say that it speaks well to how much of a team the Tigers really are with no real star standing out.

3) Florida Gators (87-28, .757)

Douche bag #1...I mean the Second Coming...I mean Tim Teblow

National Championships – 2, Conference Championships – 3, Top 10 finishes – 4, Heisman Winners – 1. This would have been a sexy pick for the #2 slot with the second coming of Jesus as their Heisman QB (I know, I’m taking shots at them already). I placed more importance on wins and top 10 finishes. But it is hard to argue the Gators haven’t been a force in the SEC, especially in recent years. At the beginning of the decade it seemed they would never be able to replace Steve Spurrier…that is until Urban Meyer took over. Two BCS Championships in the last three years. If only they got a hold of Meyer earlier (thankfully not).

4) Oklahoma Sooners (102-19, .843)

All Day baby...all day

National Championships – 1, Conference Championships – 6, Top 10 finishes – 7, Heisman Winners – 2. If not for BCS woes, Oklahoma could be the team of the decade. OU has the most wins of any schools in the decade (although they have played more games than any other school). They have had two Heisman winning QBs (Jason White in 2003, Sam Bradford in 2008) leading them to BCS Championship games. They have the most BCS Championship appearances (4). And when it comes to conference play, the Sooners have won more twice as many conference championships as anyone else in the Big 12…combined. In the first half of the decade it was all about the dominating defense. That has since shifted to prolific offense (maybe changed since Mike Stoops left the program). Now if Bob Stoops can straighten out their post-season, maybe they can end the decade in the #1 slot.

5) Ohio State Buckeyes (91-23, .798)

Heisman winner Troy Smith

National Championships – 1, Conference Championships – 5, Top 10 finishes – 6, Heisman Winners – 1. The Buckeyes seem to be suffering from a similar virus the Sooners suffer from. In a similar situation, the Buckeyes could have also found themselves at #1 of the decade with another BCS Championship, losing back-to-back title games to SEC schools (Florida in 2006, LSU in 2007)…both in blowouts. Ohio State has rocked the Big Ten, winning at least a share of the conference crown five times in nine years. Jim Tressel has not only ruled the Midwest, but has also ruled rival Michigan, winning the last five matchups.

6) Texas Longhorns (97-18, .843)

Vince Young...before he went insane

National Championships – 1, Conference Championships – 1, Top 10 finishes – 6, Heisman Winners – 0. For Texas, there has only been one thing keeping them from being a dominating force in the Big 12 and in the country…Oklahoma. Texas has ended up second or losing a tie-breaker to OU six times in the last decade (including the controversial THREE-way tie a year ago, I emphasize the THREE for those Texas fans who forget they were also tied to Texas Tech). If Mack Brown wasn’t the Sooners whipping boy in the first half of the decade, the Longhorns could have also had a shot at the #1 spot. Instead they are stuck at midnight missing their crystal slipper…I mean trophy. They’ll always have the asterisk. And Vince Young.

7) Miami (Fl) Hurricanes (83-29, .741)

Willis McGahee before the injury

National Championships – 1, Conference Championships – 4, Top 10 finishes – 4, Heisman Winners – 0. No offense to Randy Shannon, but why did the Hurricanes fire Larry Coker again? (Oh yeah, because he wasn’t able to keep his team disciplined that culminated in an all-out brawl with FAU) The Canes dominated the first half of the decade just as they were a force since the mid-1980s. BCS Championship in 2001, lost in overtime in the title game the next year and in 2000 was kept out of the title game by the BCS and Florida State despite beating them earlier in the season (this BCS thing is full of controversy, huh). Where they really went wrong was leaving the Big East in 2004, where they dominated, to the ACC where they have consistently disappointed. Shannon has them in the right direction, so we shall see where the future of “the U” is going.

8) Boise State Broncos (98-17, .852)

Ian Johnson after the Statue and before he disappears of the face of the planet

National Championships – 0, Conference Championships – 7, Top 10 finishes – 1, Heisman Winners – 0. Perhaps if they were in a BCS conference, one could argue that Boise State is the best school of the decade. They have the best winning percentage in all the FBS (the first half of the decade under Dan Hawkins, the second under current coach Chris Petersen). They have won their conference as many times as USC during the same time frame (in the WAC and the now defunct Big West). Or as some would argue that the only reason they have such a high winning percentage would be the quality of competition in the WAC doesn’t stack up with the power conferences (with the only real challengers in the conference being Fresno State and Hawaii). The Broncos shining moment came at the expense of an over-achieving Oklahoma team in their Cinderella-like Fiesta Bowl win in the 2006 season, in a thrilling overtime victory that became an instant classic. The victory propelled them to their only top 5 finish.

9) West Virginia Mountaineers (77-35, .688)

The Dynamic Pat White

National Championships – 0, Conference Championships – 4, Top 10 finishes – 3, Heisman Winners – 0. In the last half of the decade, the Mountaineers were probably the most exciting team offensively, dominating the Big East under Rich Rodriguez. The coming-out party was the Sugar Bowl in the 2005 season, upsetting the heavily-favored Georgia team. After that the school has been trying to duplicate that success for the most part, especially since Rodriguez ditched the team to take the Michigan job. Current head coach Bill Stewart now has the job of replacing the only QB to start and win bowl games in all four years of his college career in Pat White.

10) Utah (76-33, .697)

The Utes upset Alabama

National Championships – 0, Conference Championships – 3, Top 10 finishes - 2, Heisman Winners – 0. Utah is the only non-BCS Conference team to ever win two different BCS bowl games, and with two different coaches (Urban Meyer in 2004 and Kyle Whittingham in 2008). Would be the model example of how a non-BCS team can have success in the BCS…except for the fact that they are trying to get Capitol Hill to replace the BCS with a playoff system (I wonder why? Not really). Last year the Mountain West Conference that Utah belongs to stepped up its game with two teams finishing in the top 10 (TCU) and a third in the top 25 (BYU). Maybe they can replace the ACC or Big East in the BCS (haha probably not).

Others receiving votes:

How did Eric Crouch win the Heisman? More importantly, how did Nebraska pull off a play that Oklahoma couldn't in the same game? Oh yeah, that's right, because Nate Hybl can't run and fell down.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (74-40, .649) – The second Heisman winner (Eric Crouch) and even though still trying to resurrect, the Cornhuskers were a force in the early part of the decade (some idiot up there just decided to fire Frank Solich and hire Bill Callahan).

Florida State Seminoles (78-38, .672) – Bobby Bowden had the first Heisman winner of the decade (the old-man Chris Weinke), a BCS Championship appearance, and has four conference championships (but none since 2005).

Virginia Tech Hokies (89-29, .754) – “Beamer-ball” has led to great defensive and special teams, giving the Hokies three conference championships including the last two. Highlights also include Michael Vick (pre-dogfighting) and outshining “the U” in the ACC since the move in 2004.

Georgia Bulldogs (90-26, .776) – Since Mark Richt has brought Georgia back to relevance in the SEC, winning two conference championships (2002 and 2005). Has yet to produce and lift the Bulldogs to the national forefront, but hard to do so with LSU, Florida, and now Alabama and Ole Miss surging in the SEC.

TCU Horned Frogs (83-28, .748) – Three conference championship (2000, 2002, 2005), a wealth of talent in the hotbed that is the state of Texas, and some guy that used to go there named Ladainian Tomlinson. And why did the Big 12 pickup Baylor instead of TCU?

Oregon Ducks (77-35, .688) – Two conference championships early in the decade and in 2007 almost another one (and a BCS Championship bid?) had Heisman frontrunner QB Dennis Dixon not gotten injured toward the end of the season (talk about bad luck, they went on to lose a total of four QBs in four straight weeks).

Michigan Wolverines 76-36, .679) – Outside of being controlled by Ohio State the last five years, the Wolverines started the decade with three conference crowns in five years. There is also a reason they are the winningest program in FBS history (but if they keep having 3-9 years like last year maybe not for long).


The next College Football Preview entry will have the annual Meat Life Five Predictions. My very next entry will be the Summer Movie Reviews continued!

themeatlife.blogspot.com

Michael Jackson: The Last Tribute / MeatTracks of the Decade

The Last Tribute

I am watching the Michael Jackson memorial. I had it recorded on my DVR because I was at work not able to watch live.

Michael Jackson. An entertainer. An innovator. A philanthropist. A polarizing figure. Everything he was for the 50 years of his life, if he wasn't anything else, he was a spectacle. In the many songs he wrote, the many dance moves he made, the millions of records he sold, Jackson touched the soul and inspired greatness. Yes, he was strange. Yes, he was controversial. But even with all the madness that surrounded the latter years of his life, you can't discount the impact the man had on music and popular culture.

There are so many words that can describe Jackson. I have one: remembered. Every once in a while I'll roll to his tunes and every now and then a contemporary song will remind me of one of his songs. During his turbulent years in the 1990s and 2000s, I chose to remember Jackson as the guy who leaned so far forward in the Smooth Criminal/Moonwalker video or the guy who danced on the lit sidewalk in the Billie Jean video instead of the guy pleading his innocence on national TV or strolled into a courtroom in pajama pants.

There was no one like him before, and although immitated, no one in the next 50 years will be like him. So instead of remembering when he held his kid off the balcony window, remember the Motown special he first moonwalked to. Remember the first time you tried to do the Thriller dance or remember when you sang along to The Way You Make Me Feel just for fun one night with your friends.

Remember MJ.

It has been a crazy summer with all the celebrities who have passed on. I'd also like to say goodbye Steve McNair, I'll always remember playing for the Titans in Madden 2001 for PS2 and cheering you on with 1:48 left on the clock on that last drive in Super Bowl XXXIV.

MeatTracks of the Decade: Deluxe Edition

I had a busy month last month with my birthday and all the doctors appointments for my wife, so I'm playing catch up a little bit on this segment. Again if you haven't already known, this is chronicling my favorite tracks this decade. We'll first start this edition out with a few artists that were inspired by Michael Jackson.

-Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” (2001)

One of the few good Michael Jackson covers. I love the kid in the mask in this video. This song along with Blackstreet's "Billie Jean" cover and Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There" cover are probably my favorite MJ covers. Fall Out Boy's cover of "Beat It" did not move me, their lead singer's voice kind of annoyed me in that song.

-Usher’s “U Got It Bad” (2001)

Probably my favorite Usher song. You can see the influence of Jackson throughout Usher's music and dance style.

-Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” (2002)

I gotta say one thing about this song...this is SO about Britney. Now, I'll admit, I listened to a little *NSync...not much but enough. I always thought Justin was the Michael of *NSync. And this song set Justin apart from his former group.

-Ne-Yo’s “Sexy Love” (2006)

When I first heard this song, I said to my brother, "Wow, this reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson." Well, a Michael Jackson with less range. That summer I jammed out to this song so much in my car.

-Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss (featuring T-Pain)” (2007)

Now, since Chris Brown is younger, his influence is more Usher. But Usher was inspired by Jackson, so Chris Brown is indirectly influenced by Jackson, especially in his dance style. That and I love this video.

And now more tracks. These are anthems of some sort. Anthems in clubs and in my car stereo. These are some songs I rock out to and sing along to almost every word.

-Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness” (2002)

Brings me back to freshman year. This is probably my favorite Jimmy Eat World song. My favorite memory connected to this song was singing along to this riding in Justin's car along country roads.

-Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” (2002)
Awesome to hear in the club. At first I didn't like this song, that is until I heard it in the club. A lot of songs actually end up like that during college.

-50 Cent’s “In Da Club” (2002)
I'll have to admit, for all the hype before he debuted, I was a little underwhelmed by 50. Club anthem in any event. My favorite memory involving this song was when my cover band did part of this song. If you have the tape, give it to me...so I can watch it once then destroy it.

-R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)” (2003)
Awesome song to sing along with. Definitely another club/party anthem. This came out back when all the remixes to songs were better than the original put out. That original Ignition song sucked balls.

-Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” (2004)
Instant classic. When I first heard this I thought "OH SHIT!" The beat hits you hard and his verse catchy. I played out this song on Winamp when I still had that program pre-meatPod.

-Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out” (2004)
Rocked out this song one Winamp as well. No one memory attached to this one, just fun.

-Modest Mouse’s “Float On” (2004)
Great song to sing along to, especially on Rock Band. When I first heard this song when it came out, I was like "Wow this guy can't sing at all, maybe I have a chance to be famous..." Haha, yeah right.

-Fat Joe’s “Lean Back (Remix featuring Lil Jon, Eminem, & Mase) (2004)
I'll admit on this one...played out. But was awesome in the club and loved the remix. Eminem was great on this and it was funny that Mase came back that year.

-Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2004)
I think the album this song came off of marked the revival of Green Day. Earlier in the decade they were written off and to be honest their music was getting softer. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely different. Green Day's reinvention was complete and this song was awesome. Another song my cover band played.

-Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot (featuring Pharrell)” (2004)
Oh so classic on the dancefloor in the club or the front seat of the car cruising through town. Pharrell's peak in producing.

-The Dandy Warhols’s “We Used to Be Friends” (2005)
First heard this on the OC and then became the Veronica Mars. Love this song in the car.

-Kanye West’s “Gold Digger (featuring Jamie Foxx)” (2005)
Admit it, when you first heard it you thought it was crazy for Kanye to sample Ray Charles. Made sense to have Foxx since he just played Charles in Ray the year before. I remember this was on my playlist on my old mp3 player (pre-meatPod days) on the way to my summer class.

-The Killers’s “When You Were Young” (2006)
It is kind of odd, this reminds me of the summer before my son was born. Reminds me a lot of the month I lived at Thanh's house. It first came out then, so I guess that is probably why. Served as sort of a transition song of sorts, the end of one stage of my life and the beginning of the next.

-Rihanna’s “Umbrella (Remix featuring Jay-Z and Chris Brown)” (2007)
Probably the biggest song of that year. For some reason I like the version with Chris Brown better. The song works very well as a duet. Another song that I didn't like at first but then caught on.

-Kanye West’s “Stronger” (2007)
Another Kanye track where listen and go "how does he get the idea to sample Daft Punk?" Awesome song and still rock to ocassionally in the car.

And always to close out this segment, the previously covered MeatTracks of the Decade:

-Linkin Park’s “Pushing Me Away” (Original 2000, Remix 2002, Live 2007)
-Linkin Park’s “My December” (2000)
-Eve 6’s “Here’s To The Night” (2001)
-Fabolous's "Young'n (Holla Back)" (2001)
-Jagged Edge's "Where the Party At? (featuring Nelly)" (2001)
-Clipse's "Grindin'" (2002)
-Jimmy Eat World’s “A Praise Chorus” (2002)
-Coldplay’s “The Scientist” (2002)
-Jay-Z's "La La La (Excuse Me Miss Again)" (2003)
-Mae’s “Summertime” (2003)
-Blink 182’s “Miss You” (2004)
-Thrice’s “Stare at the Sun” (2004)
-Finley Quaye and William Orbit’s “Dice” (2004)
-Jimmy Eat World’s “23” (2004)
-Fall Out Boys’s “Sugar, We’re Going Down” (2005)
-The Foo Fighters’s “Best of You” (2005)
-The Killer’s “Smile Like You Mean It” (2005)
-Youngbloodz's "Presidential (featuring Lil Jon)" (2005)
-Acceptance’s “So Contagious” (2005)
-Fort Minor’s “Where’d You Go?” (2006)
-Justin Timberlake's "My Love (featuring T.I.)" (2006)
-Nelly Furtado’s “Say It Right” (2006)
-Taking Back Sunday’s “MakeDamnSure” (2006)
-T.I.'s "What You Know" (2006)
-Anberlin’s “Godspeed” (2007)
-Shop Boyz's "Party Like a Rockstar" (2007)
-One Republic’s “Apologize” (2007)
-The Starting Line’s “Island” (2007)
-Rick Ross's "The Boss (featuring T-Pain)" (2008)
-Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" (2008)


Next entry:
the beginning of theMeatLife's College Football Preview, featuring the Schools of the Decade
and Summer Movie Reviews continued!

themeatlife.blogspot.com