The trailer for The Hurt Locker should be one of AFI's top 100 movies of all time, I don't know if I can watch the full feature-length film, because it might blow my mind.
Lost Tourist: Excuse me, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Grizzled New Yorker: Practice.
I'm a huge fan of Kevin Smith and the funny thing is that his movies are probably my least favorite aspect of his artistic contributions*. I love his weekly Smodcastpodcasts with his longtime filmmaking partner, Scott Mosier. He's a fantastic guest on Opie and Anthony and he's a fun actor to watch on screen. Most important, he strikes me as a guy that would be a pisser to hang out with.
I admire good storytellers and Smith is a master. His engrossing stories seamlessly weave thought-provoking points with his great sense of humor. So when Smith announced that he was performing his one-man show Silent Bob Speaks at Carnegie Hall, I immediately bought tickets. And in my case, I took the LIRR to the C train (Columbus Circle) to get to Carnegie Hall.
In what must have been a thrill of a lifetime for Smith, he held court on stage in front of a mostly packed houseSOLD OUT CROWD for about three hours, regaling the crown with stories about Jennifer Garner, adventures in the bathroom and claiming that he was the Wayne Gretzky of cunnilingus.
Here are the first 6 minutes, courtesy of Gregg "Opie" Hughes' Twitter account:
Congrats and thank you, Kevin Smith. You knocked it out of the park, and put on a hell of a show.
*That's not to say that I don't go to the theaters when his movies come out and I own all of his movies on DVD, in fact I think I've bought Clerks 3 times.
Last week, in an attempt to check off one of my goals for my month of freedom, I thoroughly enjoyed watching JJ Abrams' reimagination of the Star Trek franchise (I watched it in Times Square, what a trip). While most people might place Star Trek in the sci-fi genre, I walked away thinking of it as a futuristic war film encapsulating both the cadet and operational experience.
Beginning with James Tiberius Kirk's days at Starfleet Academy, we're deprived of an Iceman-Maverick type pissing contest, but the interplay between Kirk and Spock provided a more cerebral battle of alpha dogs. The storyline regarding the Kobayashi Maru presented an awesome ethical challenge, one which still makes me unsure of how I feel.
Even though he's placed on probation because of his resolution to the Kobayashi Maru, Kirk finds his way into the operational Fleet for a mission against the Romulans. Having been a cadet that trained in skydiving myself, I thought it was awesome that he was able to use his own freefall training during a mission on Vulcan.
Kirk does a great job when placed in the spotlight (facing numerous challenges), and is honored for his valor with a medal and a battlefield promotion that ends up sticking. The realist in me hopes that the military bureaucracy one day becomes a true meritocracy and a cadet can jump to O-6 in one fell swoop. That said, I don't care how logical Spock is, I'd be pissed if some snot-nosed son of a war hero jumped over me for a promotion (no matter how talented he is). But we all know that not all promotions are deserved, ain't that right Voldemort?
Speaking of Spock, I love that he eventually becomes an ambassador after his time in the Fleet. Of course, that might be because I'm partial to guys who become diplomats after their military service. George C. Marshall, Colin Powell, Morgan O'Brien--and the tradition apparently continues on into the future.
Following the diplomatic vein, it is interesting to see how the military efforts of the Starfleet are all intimately tied to diplomacy. Senior leaders within the Starfleet are all well versed in statecraft, and their mission better fits the realm of peacekeeping than that of an offensive force, resorting to engagement only after all other avenues are tried. I don't know what my point is, I guess I just wanted to point that out.
Finally, and with apologies to Gen. Michael Ryan, I wonder why it's Captain Kirk and not Colonel Kirk. I thought America's Air Force was supposed to own space...what gives? Here's hoping that one day we get an explanation. Maybe the Federation saw that supporting the Air Force was a drain on the budget.
After catching the trailer for The Hangover, I didn't necessarily need to see it considering that my life over the past few months has unfolded like the Vegas-based comedy. It would be too real. However, my mind was changed at the end of the trailer when Mike Tyson shows up. I'm sold. Review coming soon.
Screw the 2009 Academy Awards, I already know what's going to win Best Picture in 2010. Behold Inglorious Basterds:
The only thing I don't love about this trailer is that it's scary how much 2nd Lt. Aldo Raine reminds me of a young butterbar named Morgan O'Brien. I might have a lawsuit against Mr. Tarantino for stealing my identity...
