Jerry Maguire: “I will not rest until I have you holding a Coke, wearing your own shoe, playing a Sega game featuring you, while singing your own song in a new commercial, starring you, broadcast during the Superbowl, in a game that you are winning, and I will not sleep until that happens. I’ll give you fifteen minutes to call me back.”
Tickle Me Elmo
Every year, there seems to be that “must have” toy at Christmas. In 1996, the case was as profound as ever. The frenzy that happened involving the “Tickle Me Elmo” doll was absolutely insane. Parents were literally brawling in the store aisles, fighting to get the last Elmo doll on the shelf.
I remember shopping in Toys R’ Us with my Mom, looking for a present for my sister. I saw some of the Tickle Me Elmo’s, and thought that she’d like one. We decided to get it the next time we were at the store. This was a few weeks before everything went mad, and right before it became nearly impossible to find one.
Tickle Me Elmo was originally priced at around $30, but at the height of the obsession, it was going for upwards of $1500 on eBay. Parents were easily paying $400 and $500 without thinking twice (I remember seeing several of the Elmo toys in the local Classifieds for prices of up to $700).
I never really understood why there was such a demand for this stuffed toy. It said a few cute things, but was nothing all that special. It basically comes down to hype and supply and demand. Whether it was intentional or not, “Tyco” (the company that made the toy) didn’t produce enough of them, thus creating the massive demand.
I remember, about a week before Christmas, several more of these were released. Thanks to that, on Christmas morning my sister got to unwrap her present, and sitting in the box was a brand new talking Tickle Me Elmo doll. A doll we purchased a week before Christmas for around $30.
My Mom and I had a pretty good laugh when we found some sitting on the shelves, a few days before Christmas, at- which in comparison to $1500- a pretty good price.
A few weeks after Christmas, I was walking through the toy section at WalMart, and there sitting in the discount bin, were a few Tickle Me Elmo dolls for $19.99. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I was the guy who paid $1500 for one just a few months earlier.
In September 2006 a new Elmo doll, called TMX (aka Tickle Me Elmo Xtreme, or Tickle Me Elmo 10) was released. According to Wikipedia, “rather than simply vibrating like the original, the TMX rolls around on the floor laughing and smashing his fist on the ground, begging for the tickler to stop.”
Thanks to promotional campaigns from Amazon and Toys R’ Us, there were huge pre-sales on the toy, and just like the toy from ten years previous, some people just had to have it, and went to extreme ends to get one. One person from Tampa, Florida was actually threatened with a gun over the new version of the toy.
Apparently some of the TMX dolls were in such limited quantities, they went up to nearly $2,000 in price.
Haven’t people learned from the past? I guess not.
This is an actual news article posted on CNN.com today:
Outsmart Your Toddler: 5 tricks for getting yours to do what you want
1. Act like an idiot
“Even the most defiant toddler will take pity on us if we seem like total incompetents,” says Harvey Karp, M.D., author of the DVD and book “The Happiest Toddler on the Block.” The trick is to convince your child that you should be helped, not resisted.
2. Become a silver-lining expert
Want to avoid disaster? Pretend everything’s great. Your attitude, and the way you handle disappointments (big and small), can greatly affect how your child learns to do the same.
3. Try reverse psychology
“When your child doesn’t want to wear certain clothes or taste new foods, it’s called ‘the oppositionalism of toddlerhood,’” says Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D., author of “The Ten Basic Principles of Good Parenting.” The solution? If you want your child to do something, like put on her socks, pretend you don’t want her to do it.
4. Say, “Yes, but…”
Instead of saying no all the time, Paolucci now says, “Yes, Amanda, you may go outside, but after dinner.” Or “Yes, you may ride your big wheel, but we need to wait for the rain to stop.”
5. Stay a step ahead
Staying a step ahead of your child is not a quick solution so much as a smart way of thinking. It comes down to consistent routines and reasonable expectations, so you don’t have to be a toddler mind reader.
The first question that comes to mind is, what kind of parent are you if you actually have to resort to finding a list of ways to OUTSMART your toddler? Seriously, it’s a freakin’ toddler! You’re a grown person, and you can’t possibly come up with even one way to outsmart a two year old?
Congratulations… you’re the stupidest person on the planet.
From Telegraph.co.uk:
Birds do it. Bees do it. Now it seems that sharks are the latest, and largest, creatures that are able to reproduce without having sex, a finding that could have important implications for conserving these endangered fish.
A female hammerhead shark has given birth without the help of a male, after genetic tests revealed that its baby shark had no paternal DNA.
An international team reports that the shark’s “virgin birth” was down to an unusual method of reproduction known as “parthenogenesis”, where an egg starts to divide without being fertilised.
This is the first scientific report of male free asexual reproduction in sharks.
That’s pretty cool, actually. It should really help support the Shark population if they are able to give birth without the involvement of males.
Let’s just hope this never happens with the human race, or… I’m sad to say it, but women really would hold all the power. Then again, the grass still needs to be cut every week, so at least we can still cling to that.
Well, the Stanley Cup Finals are upon us. After nearly 2 months, we are about to find out who the Stanley Cup Champions will be. And for a third year in a row, a Canadian team is in the finals.
Before I get to my prediction, let’s take a look at how I did in in my Round 3 predictions.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks. Ducks win in 6 games.
I went against the grain, and picked the Red Wings to take this series. It seemed pretty much everyone was going with the Ducks, but I took a chance with Detroit. It was a close series, but the Ducks ended up winning. I had picked Detroit in 6, but it was the Ducks who were able to finish it in six games.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Ottawa Senators. Senators in 5 games.
Once again, I went against the favorites and picked the Sens to win, in 6 games. They managed to do even better, and take the series in five games, nearly sweeping the NHL’s top regular season team. At the start of the Playoffs, I picked the Sabres to win the Cup. Ottawa came on so strong, and looked like such a well-rounded, hard working team with a lot of talent, and I just couldn’t bet against them.
I ended up with a 1-1 record for round 3, making my Playoff record 11-3, with all three of my incorrect choices coming from betting against the Ducks.
If you’re a Ducks’ fan, you should be excited by my prediction for the Finals…
Stanley Cup Final: Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators
For the fourth straight round in this year’s playoffs, I am going to bet against the Ducks. The Senators have been such an impressive team the entire playoffs, and it seems they really have everything put together. They are solid in nearly every area.
In goal, the two teams are practically even. Both Ray Emery and J-S Giguere are capable of incredible performances, but also can have a weak game here and there. I don’t expect either goalie to be the cause of either team winning or losing, besides a major break-down, which I don’t see happening. Giguere has been here before, and ended up winning the Conn Smythe trophy, but didn’t win the Cup.
This is Ottawa’s first trip to the finals, despite continually being a favorite that bows out early. Ottawa has a very superior offensive lineup up-front, and their defense is much, much more complete than Anaheim’s. They don’t have the star power of a Pronger-Niedermayer tandem, but they are very good from 1-6 on D.
I am going to pick Ottawa in six games, to win the Stanley Cup.
Leonard Shelby: “I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning, even if I can’t remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world’s still there. Do I believe the world’s still there? Is it still out there?… Yeah. We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.”
Well, after an incredibly enjoyable long weekend, I am back to the daily grind. I’ve uploaded all the pictures from the weekend, which you can view here.
We had a blast. Most of our time was spent playing road hockey, hitting the volleyball around, relaxing out in the sun, playing card games, sitting by the fire or having a few drinks.
It was a great weekend, and it was great to see all the Vancouver family we don’t see as often as we should. Good to meet the wild n’ thirsty Cail, as well.
I can’t wait to get back to the cabin, again. We had much better weather this time than I expected, and it will only get better as the Summer goes on.
Again, make sure you check out the pictures from the weekend.
My favorite place to vacation is our cabin on the lake (seen in the picture above), which we refer to as “Graceland”. It’s a long story as to why, so I won’t get into that now… but I will say it has to do with my Grandpa and an Elvis joke. Graceland has always been such a relaxing and enjoyable place to go, for as long as I can remember.
I’ve been looking forward to getting back up there since about Christmas (we only go in the Summer), and finally that time has come again.
I won’t have any updates to the blog until Monday or Tuesday, but you can always go back and take a look at some previous posts. Here are some that I enjoyed writing, and if you haven’t read them yet, I suggest taking a look:
> Joke of the Day for March 12th
> All my ‘Remember This…?’ posts
> Saved by the Bell… Where are they now?
> My Top 10 Favorite TV Characters
My favorite posts to write, and often my most popular, are my Top 10 Lists. You can check out all of them, by clicking here.
Have a great weekend, everyone. I know I will!
From Dayton Daily News:
Police responded to The Golden Corral, 8870 Kingsridge Drive, behind the Dayton Mall because a female was throwing Gummy Bears at the manager.
She was in the parking lot yelling at employees when the officer arrived.
An employee said the subject came into the restaurant late and complained about the food.
She started putting gummy bears in a napkin and putting them in her purse. The subject yelled and cursed at the manager when confronted. She then took the candy from her purse and threw it at the manager and on the floor.
The manager said the subject threatened to beat her up. The subject told police she had to wait five minutes before being seated and that most of the food was gone. She went to get ice cream but was unable to and told the manager. She denied threatening to beat up the manager. The subject was issued a summons to appear in court.
How is this even news? Oh, “let’s call the cops because someone is chucking freakin’ gummy bears at me. The horror!”. WTF?!? Idiot.
Little toddlers should not be running free while someone’s break dancing. This video is not for the sensitive…
If you enjoyed this, then you have to check out the REMIX video!
Mr. Blonde: Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?
Mr. White: What was that? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch it. Would you repeat it?
Mr. Blonde: Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?
Saved by the Bell was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I swear I saw every episode at least five times. Every guy my age wanted to be Zack Morris (and have a kick-ass cell phone like him) and every guy wanted to date Kelly Kapowski.
As per the usual, once a hit teen TV show ends, most of the stars fade into oblivion, with one or maybe two becoming slightly successful.
I wanted to take a look at where all the stars from Saved by the Bell are now. Here’s what they’re up to.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris)
He was the star of the show. He was the most likely to become a star once Saved by the Bell ended its run. He, sadly, has probably been the most successful. He went on to star in the film, Dead Man on Campus which made a mere $15 million at the box office. Gosselaar then got a job on the short-lived TV show, Hyperion Bay, which only lasted 17 episodes.
He went on to star on a few TV movies, before getting his break as Detective John Clark on NYPD Blue, which he starred in for four seasons (and 65 episodes). When NYPD Blue ended, Gosselaar got a role on Geena Davis’ TV show Commander in Chief, which was quickly cancelled. He has since been in two made-for-TV movies.
Tiffany Thiessen (Kelly Kapowski)
The former Tiffani-Amber Thiessen was probably my first celebrity crush. She played the sweet and innocent Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell for five seasons. After Bell, she appeared in the moderately successful Son In Law with Pauly Shore. Over the next several years she appeared in nothing but made-for-TV movies and a few bit parts in forgettable films.
In 2000 she had a role on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, which only lasted 9 episodes. Her most successful role since Saved by the Bell is a lead role in the TV show, Fastlane, which lasted an entire season. She currently has a small role on the TV show What about Brian?, which it appears may be cancelled.
She is currently married to actor Brady Smith who, well… has less work than she does.
Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater)
I hated Slater on Saved by the Bell. He was an idiot, and at the beginning, was always going after Zack’s girl, Kelly. He did end up dating Jesse Spano for the majority of the show, however. He was a moron, and annoyed me to no end.
Since Bell, he has appeared in a long list of junk, while getting a few part-time roles on TV shows The Bold and the Beautiful and Nip/Tuck. He did star in the made-for-TV film, “Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis story”, which was well received.
He’s also had work on reality/entertainment shows such as Dancing with the Stars, Entertainment Tonight and as the host of the 2007 Miss America Pageant.
By the way… he still looks exactly the same as he did 15 years ago. And yup, he still has that big douche bag smile.
Elizabeth Berkley (Jesse Spano)
I never really liked Jesse Spano. She was incredibly annoying, and my one main memory of her is the episode where she gets addicted to sleeping pills and has an absolute freak out. It was a pretty serious moment in the usually tame show. But it forever labeled her a psycho in my mind.
After Bell, Berkley got the lead role in what was supposed to be a blockbuster film; Showgirls. The squeaky clean actress wanted to change her image, and agreed to play the role of stripper/show girl Nomi Malone, in a role where she’d be basically nude the entire film. It was a complete disaster, and an absolute failure. Since then, however, it has become something of a cult-classic, in a “it’s sooo bad, it’s good” kind of way.
She then appeared in a few small films, while also getting a supporting role in the successful First Wives Club. She had a small role (also getting nude) in the Al Pacino film, Any Given Sunday.
Berkley has since had guest roles in several hit shows such as CSI, Law & Order, NYPD Blue and Without a Trace. Other than working on some stage plays, she isn’t really doing anything at the moment.
Dustin Diamond (Screech Powers)
Oh, the lovable Screech. He enjoyed his Saved by the Bell time so much that he’s attached his name to nearly anything to do with it since. Like the other members of the show, he also starred in Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He then continued on with Saved by the Bell: The New Class.
Other than that, he’s appeared in nothing but having bit parts in no-name films. He was, however, on a few reality shows like Celebrity Boxing 2, Celebrity Fit Club, The Weakest Link and Hollywood Squares. Anything for a buck eh, Dustin?
Last year, he actually tried to raise money by selling T-Shirts so he wouldn’t lose his house. Oh, and there’s that whole disturbing situation with the home-made porn film with him that was released. *Shudder*
Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle)
Lark played Lisa Turtle, Screech’s long-time obsession on the show. She was a pretty good character, and I always liked Lisa. She has, however, practically been invisible since the show’s end. Besides appearing in small roles on a few TV shows and movies here and there, she’s hasn’t really done anything.
She came back for a one episode spot in The New Class, and was in the mini-series “The Last Don” by Godfather writer Mario Puzo. Oh, and she has her own production company, and was once engaged to Martin Lawrence. That’s about it on Ms. Voorhies.
Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding)
Mr. Belding always entertained me. His character was great in the supporting role it had. Dennis Haskins followed along the same path as Dustin Diamond (minus the porn tape and T-Shirt selling), by also continuing on with Saved by the Bell: The New Class.
Since that show’s end, he has had a few one episode roles in shows such as The Practice, The West Wing, 7th Heaven and JAG.
So, we’ve answered the question of “where are they now?”
Saved by the Bell is another hugely popular teen sitcom that ended with most of it’s stars fading away and rarely to be seen or heard from again. Mark-Paul Gosselaar is easily the most successful of the bunch, with his long tenure on the popular NYPD Blue.
They should try and put together a Saved by the Bell: Reunion movie. After seeing what they’re all up to these days, it shouldn’t be hard to convince them to return.
From 10News.com:
McDonald’s Happy Meals are not supposed to be this happy.
Keith and Andrea Irelan are planning on suing a McDonald’s in Chicago after their 8-year-old daughter was given a Happy Meal with marijuana in it. The bag of marijuana was complete with a lighter and pipe.
According to police, the drugs belonged to a 17-year-old boy who worked at the restaurant. He was fired and charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
I guess this is what happens when you hire teenagers at $5/hour.
From The Seattle Times:
A Lake Stevens high-school teacher is being investigated by the school district after students say he told them he should take anyone who was talking in class and line them up against a wall and shoot them.
The Lake Stevens School District said it placed the teacher on paid administrative leave and launched an investigation Tuesday after the mother of one of the students complained to the school principal. She said her daughter was berated in class Monday for not paying attention, and when some other students came to her defense, the teacher made his remark.
I wonder what he would have threatened if someone was caught skipping class? Or cheating on a test? What a psycho.
David Mills: Wait, I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
John Doe: Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man… a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you’d point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn’t be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!
David Mills: Murderers?
John Doe: A woman…
David Mills: Murderers, John, like yourself?
John Doe: [interrupts] A woman… so ugly on the inside she couldn’t bear to go on living if she couldn’t be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let’s not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that’s the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it’s common, it’s trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I’m setting the example. What I’ve done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed… forever.
As a kid, I liked the heroes, but the villains always seemed so much cooler. They had the best costumes, they were the bad asses, and they appealed more to me than the “do-gooder” super heroes.
Here are my top 10 favorite villains…
10. Mystique
Wikipedia: Mystique is a mutant shapeshifter whose natural appearance includes blue skin and yellow eyes. She is over 100 years old, stating in her solo series (issue #17): “I wasn’t born last night, or even last century, for that matter…” Mystique is also the biological mother of Nightcrawler and foster mother of Rogue. She was forced to abandon Nightcrawler, but raised Rogue for a number of years.
Mystique was one of the main “bad guys” in what was my favorite comic group, The X-Men. Her ability to change into the shape of anyone she wanted was different, and made for some good storylines. Then, after being played by the beautiful Rebecca Romijn in the X-Men films… well, how could you not like her?
9. The Yellow Bastard
Wikipedia: Roark Junior, aka That Yellow Bastard, was the son of Senator Roark. He was handsome, young, and rich; he was also a sadistic child molester and serial killer who raped and murdered pre-pubescent girls, a pastime that was covered up by his father and the Basin City police.
‘The Yellow Bastard’ is about as evil as it gets. He’s also a completely original character, and one of the most interesting from the Sin City series.
8. Apocalypse
Wikipedia: Apocalypse is a virtually immortal mutant bonded with extraterrestrial technology. He is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe, possessing a multitude of superhuman abilities, including almost unsurpassed strength, invulnerability and the ability to both shift and alter his mass and form. He has a longstanding association with many X-Men characters.
Apocalypse always interested me, mostly because it was rare to ever see him talked about, and because he was probably the most powerful of all the Marvel characters. He was practically a God and could do whatever he wanted. How do you beat someone like that?
7. Carnage
Wikipedia: Carnage is a character in the Marvel Comics Universe, a supervillain and adversary of Spider-Man and Venom. Carnage is the result of a spawning of a separate extraterrestrial symbiote by Venom. This symbiote bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady, creating one of Spider-Man’s most murderous adversaries.
I’ll be honest and say that I never really knew anything about Carnage. I still don’t, besides what I’ve read in his Wikipedia bio. The reason I’ve always liked Carnage was he simply looked cool. He looked like Venom, and as Venom was one of my favorites, Carnage became one as well.
6. Chapel
WeirdSpace Bio: Chapel was trying to do some good in the neighborhood, beating the gangs in the area. While doing this he was recruited for Operation: Knightstrike. During his time in Knightstrike he was ordered to kill friend Al Simmons (aka Spawn) by the director Jason Wynn.
Chapel was the guy that killed my favorite superhero, Spawn. He didn’t last long in the Spawn comics, but he had a cool look to him, and during his short time, was an interesting character. I always hoped he would have been focused on more, but after a few issues he was taken out of the picture.
5. Juggernaut
Wikipedia: The Juggernaut, also known as Cain Marko, is X-Men founder Charles Xavier’s step-brother and bullied Xavier when they were children. Granted superhuman strength and invulnerability, Juggernaut then embarked on a lengthy criminal career, often tangling with his step-brother’s superhero team.
Juggernaut is one of the more popular X-Men villains and I’ve always liked him. He is usually quite humorous and his whole method of attack is just to smash through anything and everything.
4. Onslaught
Wikipedia: Although his nature was initially unclear, Onslaught was a composite lifeform made up of Professor Xavier’s repressed mental characteristics and influenced by psychic contact with Magneto. Using Xavier’s vast psionic powers and Magneto’s control over the electromagnetic spectrum, he transmuted himself into the physical world and was defeated through the combined efforts of the entire Marvel superhero community.
As what seems to be the case among my favorite villains, I initially was interested in Onslaught because he looked cool. I actually drew a large poster-sized picture of him for an art class once. I did read the entire Onslaught storyline and it was actually interesting.
3. Azrael/Batman
Wikipedia: Valley plays a pivotal role in the “Knightfall” story arc, in which he stands in as Batman after Bruce Wayne is defeated and paralyzed at the hands of Bane. Against Bruce Wayne’s orders, Valley fights and defeats Bane. His performance as Batman is influenced by his Azrael conditioning; he grows increasingly violent. Valley also refuses to recognize Robin as his partner. After he recovers, Wayne is forced to fight the technologically enhanced Valley to reclaim his identity.
The ‘Knightfall’ series was one of my favorites as a kid. The timelessly cool Batman was actually defeated and knocked out the storylines for quite a while. The reckless and crazy Azrael took his place. Azrael donned a very different, although awesome, looking costume.
2. Magneto
Wikipedia: Magneto is depicted as one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe, possessing the ability to control magnetism. He is also one of the most morally complex characters in American comic books. A Jewish Holocaust survivor, his actions are driven by the purpose of protecting the mutant race from suffering a similar fate.
Magneto is arguably the most well known villains around. He is also one most interesting. How many comic book characters are holocaust survivors? I’m looking forward to the Magneto spin-off film that is coming out in the near future.
1. Venom
Wikipedia: The characters and their superhuman abilities are derived from the bonding between the human host and an extraterrestrial parasite known as the Venom symbiote. The symbiote came to Earth with Spider-Man, at the end of the Marvel Secret Wars. Soon, the symbiote began to take over Spider-Man. It was rejected, and later found and bonded with Eddie Brock, a journalist at the Daily Bugle.
As I’ve mentioned a few times, Venom has always been my favorite comic villain. He looks cool and the character is interesting and simply insane. I even dressed up as Villain for Halloween when I was 11. He easily takes the #1 spot on my list of comic book villains.
This is pretty cheesy, but I got a laugh out of it…
Live and Learn
Psychiatry students were in their Emotional Extremes class. “Let’s set some parameters,” the professor said. “What’s the opposite of joy?” he asked one student.
“Sadness,” he replied.
“The opposite of depression?” he asked another student.
“Elation,” he replied.
“The opposite of woe?” the prof asked a young woman from Texas.
The Texan replied, “Sir, I believe that would be giddyup.”
I got exactly what I expected out of ‘Night at the Museum’. It’s a family friendly film and is good for some action, cool special effects and some laughs as well. It’s a nice light movie and it was actually a little better than I expected. It looked pretty cheesy, and although it is more for kids, I still had fun watching it.
Ben Stiller is the star and gives, like usual, an enjoyable performance. The film also stars, in lesser-roles, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Ricky Gervais.
The special effects are quite good, and the story is good on the fantasy side of things. It’s a film about a middle-aged man (Stiller) who can’t quite hold down a good job. He finally gets a job working at the Museum of Natural History. He then soon finds out this Museum is like no other, as the exhibits come to life at night.
The movie accomplished what it set out to do by providing a couple hours of light-hearted entertainment.
My Rating: 7/10
The first thing you notice about ‘Bobby’ is the incredible cast listing. Rarely do you see a film (that’s not named Ocean’s 11) with a cast as good as this one. Here are just some of the stars who have roles in the film…
Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Fishburne, Ashton Kutcher, Wlliam H. Macy, Lindsey Lohan, Helen Hunt, Shia LaBeouf, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen, Freddy Rodriguez, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Elijah Wood, Nick Cannon, Heather Graham, Joshua Jackson, David Krumholtz (from TV’s Numb3rs), Harry Belafonte and Joy Bryant.
Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe that listing.
‘Bobby’ is an ensemble cast film that follows the lives of several people on June 6th, 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel; the day Robert F. Kennedy was shot. The film didn’t just rely on it’s incredible cast to carry the film. The script was excellent, and I am beyond impressed with Emilio Estevez, who wrote and directed the film. Pretty incredible job for the former ‘Gordon Bombay’ of Might Duck fame.
It reminded me somewhat of “United 93″. The story is obviously not as intense, but the film had the same feel and atmosphere to it. This is a very good thing.
I had heard both good and bad about the movie going in, and I came out extremely impressed with what I had just watched. It passed my expectations by a long shot.
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone, whether you’re familiar with the Kennedy assassination or not. It’s one of the best dramas of 2006.
My Rating: 9/10
Although you wouldn’t call this film a blockbuster by any means, I had still been greatly anticipating it for quite some time. To me, it seemed like Outsiders meets Kids. I knew if it was even half as good as either of those films, it would be a great movie.
The movie wasn’t quite as fast-paced as I expected (well, it’s a drama… it isn’t fast paced at all), but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. For being a “coming-of-age drama”, it was surprisingly quite depressing.
Shia LaBeouf and Channing Tatum are two up-and-coming actors that have really been impressing me with their work as of late. They were great in their respective roles. Robert Downey Jr., although his role is small, did a good job as well. He’s an amazing actor, and now that it seems his personal life is finally coming together, hopefully he can continue to put forth great work.
Also making appearances are Chazz Palminteri, Rosario Dawson and Dianne Wiest.
The film is slower than I would have hoped for, but the acting is great, and it’s a very well put together film. It came pretty close to matching my high expectations. If you’re in the mood for a dark, intense drama, I’d recommend ‘A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints’.
My Rating: 7.5/10
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