Monday, June 11, 2007

A Mixed Bag



Without going all Larry King on you (how in hell does he turn a bunch of non-sequiters into a paid gig?) I'm going to just put some odds and ends into one mega post.

Ok, a mini mega post. I don't have all that much energy.

One commercial I have been watching pretty closely is Gary Coleman for Cashcall. First, he almost acts as if he is high during the commercial. He laughs like, I don't know, a kid who is one toke over the line. Those song lyrics never made sense to me, but then Gary Coleman's commercials don't make a hell of a lot of sense either. I did got to the website, and they have Mafia-like lending rates. They range from around 60% APR up to 99.25%. And they charge a fee for the loan itself. Tony Soprano would be proud of the Bank of Delaware dba Cashcall.

I saw a TV show last night that was brought back from last year. It is so bad, that I won't even waste time to review it. It sucked last year, and after its hiatus, it didn't get any better. It was a double episode last night, and I couldn't sit through either one. The Loop is awful, and has the potential to be one of the worst shows ever made. It is available on DVD, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy and then watch it, unless of course, one wanted to use it to torture Gitmo prisoners and hope to interrogate them more effectively.

My Yankees are on a roll. Some lesser fans have already jumped off the Yankees bandwagon, and I can only wonder why they would give up so soon? They have 2 guaranteed first ballot Hall of Famers in Jeter and A-Rod, and Posada as a possible member. They have a pitching staff with 2 more guaranteed first ballot guys (Clemens and Rivera) along with two guys who may make it also (Pettitte and Mussina.) Add to this All-Stars like Cano and Matsui, and this is one hell of a team. And some fans had given up before Memorial Day? Front runners, turn in your Yankees Fan Club memberships immediately. And, don't be trying to hop back on the bandwagon when we catch the Sox. I know who you are.

What is up with all these commercials with the effeminate portrayals in them? The berries and cream Starburst commercial is one that comes to mind first, followed by one with some guy licking his friggin phone. Is this supposed to be showing gay men in a good light? Is it supposed to be funny? Are these supposed to be straight guys acting effeminate? I have no idea, but it sure makes me wonder what the hell these advertisers were thinking.

I just got a new DVD last night, so I'll probably watch it tonight. Johnny Dangerously used to be one of my all-time favorite movies, so I look forward to seeing New Jersey's own Joe Piscopo in one of his greatest roles. So, it didn't exactly get him an Oscar, but the movie was pretty funny.

Lastly, why do we pronounce bologna and baloney the same?

Friday, June 08, 2007

IFC

I rarely watch movies, as I miss big blocks of them. I watched one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies last week (whatever one was part 2 shown on Starz) and I fell asleep in the middle of it. So, it is obvious that I have trouble watching movies when I miss huge blocks of them during my "naps." That said, I do find a certain type of movie that I like, and am able to stay awake during the entire film. I am not sophisticated enough to describe them using the word genre. I'm not even sure what genre means, but I've heard my friend Kevin use it, and he knows a lot about movies, so it must be pretty important and I hope it makes me sound smarter. I really enjoy "quirky" movies. Is that a genre? I'm not sure. But I know what I like. And it seems they are almost always on IFC (Independent Film Channel.)
I recently saw a few movies I really liked. The Station Agent pretty much had everything a quirky movie needed. It starred an angry dwarf, a tortured artist, and a wacky Puerto Rican guy. It was a perfect setting for quirkiness, and lived up to, no, it exceeded the TV Sherpa standard. Another one I saw was Danny Deckchair. It was sort of a chick flick, but quirky enough that I was able to watch it with my better half.
IFC also is the venue for 1970's karate movies. The 70's were the absolute "Golden Age" for karate movies, and these classics never seem to show up anywhere else. Various documentaries like "the F word," are not going to show up on "normal" channels. IFC movies and specials seem to have limited appeal, but this is what cable TV is supposed to be. A cable station should provide real choice, not the same re-hashed, repackaged crap found on other channels.
Showtime, HBO, Starz, and whatever movie channels are out there are all pretty much the same. They might have a different mix of movies at any one time, but they are all basically the same. Regular theater releases, only about 6 months to a year after anyone cared about them.
Boooooring.
It's hard to rate an entire channel, but if I could, it is a perfect movie channel. It is the only movie channel consistently worth having.