From this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con:
Author: admin
The Dark Knight | A+
director: Christopher Nolan
starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman
How could you expect anything less than an A+ after all the advance hype and favorable critical reviews leading up to The Dark Knight’s release date of July 18? Never have my expectations been so high going into a moviegoing experience, and never have I had such lofty expectations exceeded in so brilliant a fashion. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece, one that will require many more viewings to fully absorb its’ nearly perfect execution. Hyperbole aside, this movie was as thrilling and impactful on an artistic level as any I’ve ever seen.
I guess I’ll start with a few non-spoiler points, for the three of you that haven’t seen TDK by Monday morning (what are you waiting for?).
Ronald Jenkees
I stumbled upon this thanks to ESPN columnist Bill Simmons.
Wow. Reason #8,623 why the Internet kicks ass. Much more to see and hear here.
W.M.A.
[audio:wma.mp3]
| He won the lottery when he was born Took his mother’s white breast to his tongue Trained like dogs, color and smell Walks by me to get to him Police man Police man He won the lottery by being born Jesus greets me…looks just like me… Do no wrong, so clean cut All my pieces set me free…human devices set me free… |
 Pearl Jam Madison Square Garden II 6.25.08 Release: 2008 Lyrics: Eddie Vedder Music: Pearl Jam |
DO IT LIIIIVE!!!!!!!!1
Let’s start with my all-time favorite Inside Edition host, Bill O’Reilly, and his thoughts on Sting.
Then hit play below for another example of Internet magic:
John Adams | A-
Having just come back from Washington, DC a week ago, it seemed like an opportune time to catch HBO’s latest mini-series sensation, John Adams. Adams, our 2nd president, is a guy I knew little about, other than the fact he had a ridiculous haircut. When you think about it, though, if he was the second President in our nation’s history, he had to have done something noteworthy beforehand, right? But why do we, as a nation, seem to know so little about the man, other than he and George Bush are the only Presidents to have their sons occupy the same job (John Quincy Adams was our 6th president)? Why is he not honored with the other Founding Fathers with a monument in Washington? Why haven’t we learned more about him from our high school history teachers?
Jaws V
Amity Island had everything. Clear skies. Gentle surf. Warm water. People flocked there every summer.
It was the perfect feeding ground.
You’ll never go in the water again.
Pearl Jam – Camden 6.19.08 Review
Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
opener: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
Main Set: Hard To Imagine, Corduroy, Severed Hand, Do The Evolution, All Night, In Hiding, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Gone, Who You Are, Unemployable, Even Flow, Light Years, Grievance, Given To Fly, U, Rats, Why Go
Encore 1: Love Reign O’er Me, Better Man(Save it for Later), State Of Love And Trust, Black, Leash
Encore 2: No More, Crazy Mary, Porch, Yellow Ledbetter
editor’s note: the majority of this was written in the wee hours of the night after the show on 6/19
I went into my semi-annual Pearl Jam tour-a-palooza with a bit of trepidation at the thought of seeing yet another Pearl Jam show–my fifteenth. I’ve certainly enjoyed each and every one of the fourteen shows I’ve been to in years past, but there’s been a growing sense of staleness and contemptuous familiarity with some of the live sets. (Keep in mind this is all relative–Pearl Jam’s most staid and boring show is better than 97% of the crap bands on tour at this very moment.) I’ve not been following this year’s tour dates with the interest I had in the past–I don’t know what the setlists have been like, I don’t know what crowd reaction’s been, etc. My Pearl Jam fanaticism was in need of some rejuvenation.
The Happening | C
director: M. Night Shyamalamadingdong
starring: Marky Mark, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
What the frick happened to M. Night Shyamalan? He hits his first two movies out of the park, in my mind (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable) and since then has slowly devolved into a heavy-handed, melodramatic con artist of a writer and director whose crowning turd hits theaters today: The Happening. I liked Signs quite a bit, Lady in the Water a little less, and was mystified at some of the editing decisions made in The Village–decisions that effectively destroyed all semblance of tension and surprise in the movie’s final act. Shyamalan’s clearly a talented director, and has some good ideas in terms of storytelling, but the decisions he’s made as of late are baffling. But I digress. I’ll have some spoilers in the rest of my review, but I’ll save you your 12 bucks now:
Dear Humans,
Stop treating me like shit.
Sincerely,
Earth.
There, now you have no need to see this snoozefest. On with the spoilers…
A Capital Experience
I know, I should just punch myself in the face for that title.
Anyway, I’m just back from an extended weekend jaunt to Philadelphia and Washington, DC for some Pearl Jam, beer, monument-viewing and more Pearl Jam. The band once again proves itself as the best live act working today, and sightseeing in Washington was a rewarding experience I’ll not soon forget.
Pictures are forthcoming, but it’ll take some time, as I have 1,000+ pictures to sort through (yes, 1,000+, most of them blurry, off-center pictures of the sky and/or PJ drummer Matt Cameron’s hi-hat), but there’s sure to be some good stuff. I’m not sure if I’ll do a full trip report yet, but I’ll definitely have reviews of the two Pearl Jam shows I went to. Enjoy your week, everybody.
UPDATE: Pictures are now up. Click here.