How 'bout that election?

Now that I have some time, I am going to share some thoughts I have about the election.

First of all, I am proud to be witnessing history. Some 40 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his "I Have a Dream" speech, his dream is being realized. I told my students to take this in, because they will be telling their children about this in 30 years. Many of the African Americans I work with were literally crying with happiness, and rightfully so. Even though Obama is half-white, this is a huge step for race relations in this country, and Obama's story about his humble beginnings (I highly recommend "Dreams From My Father" if you haven't read it) makes this a true example of the American dream.

That having been said, I am glad he was elected, and I truly believe he will be a good president. I was very impressed with his serious demeanor during his victory speech Tuesday night and his press conference on Friday. He basically said that this was not the time to celebrate- our country is in a big mess and it's time to get to work. He even cancelled the fireworks that were supposed to take place on Tuesday because he thought they would be inappropriate.

Congrats to Obama for running a nearly perfect campaign. Not only did he win the election, but he beat the Clintons! He did not stoop to negative campaigning, his message from the beginning was clear- change and unity, and he managed to withstand every attack the opposition leveled at him. His response to the criticisms about his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright was pure genius. His only blunders were his remark about bitter rural Pennsylvanians clinging to their guns and their religion (which is absolutely true) and the "lipstick on a pig" line (which probably had more people laughing than fuming). However, Obama's biggest supporter was the media. He received so much more coverage than McCain because the media wanted to make history too. Unfortunately this was done at the expense of John McCain.

On the other hand, the Republicans had some big problems, and they are going to have a lot more if things don't change. Right now, McCain staffers and Palin staffers are blaming each other for losing the election. McCain wasn't a bad candidate, but his team was never able to communicate a clear message, and resorted to negative campaigning like Obama worked with so-and-so, and immature scare tactics like his foreign policy inexperience. McCain also used the old chestnut that Obama is another tax-and-spend Democrat. Gee, that's original. Obama even beat McCain on the tax issue. Obama said he won't raise taxes for anyone making under $250,000. Period. McCain wasn't as clear, and Obama wisely went after him, saying he would give tax breaks to companies who send jobs overseas. Naturally, his views on the Iraq war didn't help him either. IMHO, the final nail in the coffin for McCain was Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama. Not only did he turn his back on the party, but it was his way of saying that the Bush Administration's policies were a failure that should not be allowed to continue. Kudos to Powell for such a bold move.

The one thing I agreed with McCain on was a spending freeze on all but a few key government programs until we are out of this mess. Obama may be trying to bite off more than he can chew with expensive plans to improve the nation's infrastructure and building more energy efficient factories and cars. This stuff, as important as it is, needs to wait until we get out of this recession and get our troops out of Iraq. However, I believe we need to bail out the American auto manufacturers ASAP. Too many American jobs hang in the balance here. However, the trade-off here is that the UAW and auto workers should be grateful for having these jobs, and not ask for unreasonable demands like not having to take a payroll deduction for the health plan and unreasonably high pay. I may sound elitist here, but no unskilled worker should make the $75,000-$90,000 per year that some of the workers in these plants are making. The UAW and its ridiculous demands are the reason the American car companies are in this boat in the first place (and placing too much effort on developing trucks and SUVs, and not cars).

Some Cabinet suggestions for Obama: I can't believe I am saying this, but Obama should consider Hillary Clinton for a cabinet spot. She tirelessly campaigned for Obama, and would be a good asset to his administration. Also, Bill Richardson (Governor of New Mexico) has made some important contacts overseas and would make a good Secretary of State. Kathleen Sebelius (Governor of Kansas) and Tom Daschle (former Senate Majority Leader) would do well in the right position. Finally, and most importantly, Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska, is a true moderate, and puts his own convictions over those of his party. He would be an ideal choice for Secretary of Defense. And one other thing... Don't ask "The Gov" Ed Rendell to leave Pennsylvania, because we need him here. The Lieutenant Governor has been diagnosed with cancer, and if The Gov serves on the cabinet, and if God forbid something happens to Catherine Baker Knoll, Pennsylvania will be plunged into political chaos. We need a strong governor and a solid government so we don't become West New Jersey!

Finally, it's time to discuss the Republican Party. They have some huge problems right now and they need to make some changes in order to stay relevant. Here are some suggestions.

1. Ditch the Religious Right, and drop the Social Conservative agenda.

The Republican Party has become the party of God-fearing Bible thumpers. We are being told abortion and gay marriage are unholy, and it's the government's job to stop these atrocities from happening. First of all, that's not the government's business. Secondly, in the grand scheme of things, these are issues that affect few people, and we have a nearly infinite number of more important problems to worry about. Unfortunately, these crackpots dictate the party's agenda, and it is scaring off independent voters. This is the reason I left the party. McCain supposedly wanted a moderate like Tom Ridge to be his running mate, but the social conservative wing of the party forced him to go with Sarah Palin, who some argue lost the election for him (I don't agree).

2. Focus on fiscal conservatism, and the true meaning of Republicanism.

The government is too big, too expensive and needs to be cut down. That should be the core mission of the Republican party. True Republicanism is cutting back government, and cutting back on government interference in Corporate America, and letting big business guide itself. Ron Paul was a perfect example of pure Republicanism, and even Libertarianism. However, despite a great deal of grassroots campaigning, the media chose to ignore his message, and he was shut out of the campaign too quickly.

3. For future elections, find the best personalities.

If Obama does well for his first term, no Republican stands a chance, and could lose as badly as Mondale in 1984, so they might as well put up the token opposition and go through the motions. If Obama has problems, the Republicans have some good candidates. All they have to do is look at some Republican Governors with high approval ratings, like Charlie Crist in Florida, Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota (although I am hearing mixed things about him.) I agree with the one columnist who said that the Republicans are just one good personality from a win.

Fun facts we learned about Minnesota!

Now that we are back home, here is some of the stuff we learned on our trip to the North Star State:

Minneapolis, the state's largest city, has about 377,000 people, and Saint Paul, the state capitol and second largest city, has about 287,000 people. I thought the cities were larger. Las Vegas, Cleveland, Omaha, and even Tulsa, Oklahoma are larger than Minneapolis. Philadelphia has more than four times as many people as Minneapolis.

On any given day, the MOA becomes the third largest "city" in Minneapolis.

Minnesota has about 5.2 million people, ranked 21st in the U.S. That is about half the population of Pennsylvania.

The weather in the Twin Cities area was about the same or slightly cooler than Pennsylvania (highs in the 50s and 60s) when we visited in early October. However, the average temperature is 17.9 degrees in December and February, and, get this, 11.8 degrees in January. The Twin Cities have an elaborate system of indoor heated skywalks to navigate through both downtown areas without freezing to death outside.

On that note, the MOA has no heating system. It relies on solar energy and people's body heat.

The MOA is the most popular tourist destination in the entire Midwest.

Yes, Minnesotans really talk with that accent you heard in the movie "Fargo." It can be very amusing sometimes. One person even said "Oh, goats!" as a mild expletive. That having been said, most of the people I interacted with were very friendly, outgoing, and more than willing to start a friendly conversation.

Surprisingly (to me), Most Minnesotans really had a lot of respect for Jesse Ventura and his practical, can-do attitude. They were disappointed when he said he wouldn't run for governor again, and blamed the media for being too tough on him. Opinions are mixed on current Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He was one of the finalists to become McCain's VP before a certain hockey mom from Alaska was ultimately chosen. He is a true fiscal conservative, but not a Christian right whack job like Mike Huckabee or Rick Santorum. Some people say that they are glad he wasn't picked for VP because Minnesota needs him, while others vehemently dislike him, even blaming him for the I-35W bridge collapse because he kept such a tight rein on the budget.

People are generally happy the I-35W bridge was rebuilt in less than a year and ahead of schedule. However, they wonder why another bridge across the river (I don't remember which one) has been under construction for more than five years.

Garrison Keillor is one of Minnesota's most respected people. I haven't really heard his stuff on NPR so I am not too familiar with him, aside from the syndicated columns in newspapers. There was even a store in the mall called "Lake Wobegon USA" with Garrison Keillor and "A Prarie Home Companion" related merchandise. Our tour guide did nothing but gush praise about him and the movie version of "A Prairie Home Companion," while Bob, our bus driver, said the movie was a bit too quirky for his taste.

Minnesotans love to tell "Ole and Lena" jokes, about a elderly Scandinavian couple. Some were funnier than others. Unlike other races who are appalled at ethnic jokes, Scandinavians like self-deprecating humor. I laughed a few times, because I happen to like corny jokes.

7 Yankee Stadiums can fit inside the MOA.

An 5.6 million square-foot expansion is planned for the MOA, making it the largest mall in North America (a record currently held by the West Edmonton Mall). The only part of the expansion built so far is an Ikea furniture store. The expansion includes a skating rink, Bass Pro shop, and an area for snooty, overpriced stores. The expansion is currently in limbo because of the current crappy state of our economy.

Twin cities wrap-up

I've been really busy since I got back to Pennsylvania, and now I finally have some time to chat about the rest of our trip to the Twin Cities.

On Sunday, after another fun morning of shopping in the MOA, we took a 3-hour bus tour of the Twin Cities. The Social Studies teacher in me wanted to learn more about the area than just the fact that there is a really big mall there. The tour was informative, and I was glad I got to see the cities.

The first stop was Minnehaha Falls, a rather scenic waterfall. Next, we drove through downtown Saint Paul, past the state capitol, and we took a quick look inside St. Paul's Cathedral, which looked like a scaled-down version of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. We also drove past the state capitol, which is very large and elaborate.

Then we drove down Summit Avenue which was a 4-mile-long stretch of beautiful victorian homes. By the way, Almost all of these homes had Obama signs in their front yards. Minnesota is leaning towards Obama, but is still considered a battleground state. After all, Minnesota is the home of some of the best known Democrats of the past few decades like Hubert H. Humphrey and Walter Mondale. (Who remembers the results of the 1984 election?)

Then it was on to Minneapolis. First of all, as a roadgeek, the highlight of the tour for me was crossing the new I-35W bridge. As you probably know, this was the bridge that collapsed last year, killing and injuring dozens of people. This is one of the busiest highways in the Twin Cities, so the new bridge needed to be built ASAP. Work progressed 24 hours a day, even through the harsh Minnesota winter, and the new bridge opened three months ahead of schedule.

I was surprised to hear other tourists make smart remarks like "Let me make sure I have my will drafted before I cross the bridge." I like macabre humor as much as the next person, and I didn't find this funny. Ounr next stop was at a sculpture garden where there were many modern art sculptures, most of which I just didn't get.

Then we drove past some of the lakes in Minneapolis. There are at least half a dozen large lakes inside the city limits, and the two I saw were very scenic.

Overall, this was a very informative tour, and it was nice to see the cities. Minneapolis looks like many other large American cities- modern, bustling, etc., but Saint Paul had much more of a European look to it with older buildings and brick streets. One of former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's most memorable quotes was that the streets of Saint Paul looked like they were laid out by drunken Irishmen. I can see his point.

Then, it was dinnertime. We returned to downtown via the light rail. The $715 million Hiawatha Light Rail line opened in 2004 (now called the Blue Line), and goes from the Mall of America(south of the city) to downtown. Except for a tunnel at the airport, the line is all above ground, much of it follows surface streets, and is even able to stop at red lights. (However, it is able to control the lights like an ambulance or other emergency vehicle.) The ridership on the line has greatly exceeded expectations, and they want to build additional lines, including a line connecting Minneapolis and Saint Paul (update, the "Green Line" is now a reality, and several other extensions and routes are either proposed or under construction in the Twin Cities). The trains are clean, the ride is smooth, and the cost is reasonable ($1.75-$2.25 per ride).

The line was the brainchild of Gov. Ventura, who was able to convince the people and the state congress that it was necessary. According to our tour guide and other people I have spoken to, current governor Tim Pawlenty is not as effective at expanding the light rail, because he wants a line to go north of the city (where his family is) and many people are opposed to it. (Update: despite opposition, the Blue Line extension is proposed and scheduled to open in 2021.)

Anyway, dinner at the Melting Pot was wonderful as usual, but they skimped on the cheese! There's no excuse for this, because we were 20 minutes away from Wisconsin! I still prefer the Melting Pot closest to us in Towson, Maryland.

We had a few more hours on Monday to say goodbye to the Mall. We also visited the aquarium underneath the mall. It was worth seeing, and they had a good collection of undersea life including several good-sized sharks (check out this video of Darwinism in action taken at the aquarium), and a 300-lb. turtle. On the downside, the walk through the aquarium was short, only about 40 minutes or so. We had discounted tickets and paid $15 per ticket. I would recommend the aquarium, but only if you can get a break on the ticket prices. Our hotel had the coupons, and I am sure most of the hotels around the mall have the same coupons.

Overall, it was a great trip. Some people say the Mall is just a bigger, gaudier version of a regular mall, but I thought it was overwhelming, fascinating and well worth seeing. Cynics say that the mall is a giant concrete symbol of American consumerism, and I respond to that by saying that I am proud to be an American!

MOA live blog!

It's our last hurrah before the baby comes in March... We flew to beautiful Minneapolis to see the Mall of America.

The trip there was interesting... We took off from Baltimore airport- this was my first time there, because I usually take off from Philly. I will do anything in my power to travel out of here instead of Philly. The airport is nicer, there were very short lines at the ticketing line and the security checkpoint, and we didn't have to sit on the runway for 15 minutes behind a line of planes waiting to take off. This was also my first experience on a commuter plane, which we flew from Baltimore to O'Hare. A bit cramped for my tastes, and some asshole said it looked like Buddy Holly's plane right before we got on. 

Then it was time for a nearly 4-hour layover in O'Hare. This was a huge airport, but it wasn't fun being there for that long a period of time. Then we took a "real" jet for the 1-hour flight to the Twin Cities.

Our hotel, the Cambria Suites, was a true bargain for the money. The shuttle service is great. They will take you back and forth to the mall and the airport any time. The rooms are very nice. There is a sitting room, desk with ethernet connection and cordless phone, 2 widescreen HDTV's and even a DVD player. The hotel is only a couple of years old. The decor is very modern. It looks like the raided the local Crate & Barrel for the furniture, and it has one of those newfangled sinks that sits on top of the counter. All the soap and shampoo in the room was from Bath & Body Works.

The only drawbacks are that the swimming pool is the size of a large puddle, and there is no complimentary newspaper.

We took the shuttle over to the mall to eat some dinner and get the lay of the land. Obviously it was overwhelming. I got to see the amusement park for the first time. Wow. The mall is obviously huge, but it is laid out like a square and is easy to get around in. King of Prussia mall, in our home state of Pennsylvania, actually has more retail space than the MOA, although the Mall of America is a much larger building with the amusement park and all. We ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. I have seen many complaints that these places are touristy and overpriced. I can see their point, but the food I got (Jambalaya) was very good, and people need to understand that you are paying for the experience, not just the food. It would be an understatement to say this restaurant is elaborately themed. Our table was next to a huge saltwater aquarium full of tropical fish. Every 10 minutes or so, some animatronic gorillas would come alive (no, they didn't sing, we weren't at Chuck E. Cheese), and thanks to clever lighting and sound effects, there was a "thunderstorm" every 30 minutes.  All in all, it wasn't cheap, but this is a really cool place to bring kids, and adults will like the food and booze. (lots of elaborate frozen drinks.) Update: The Rainforest Cafe has reopened on the third floor. 

We headed back since we were ready to fall over. The next morning, it was time to shop. Most of the stores on the first two floors of the mall were stores like any other mall, and can be found in our neck of the woods. All four department stores (Sears, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom) are nationwide chains, and I know a lot of people have complained that there is no distinctively Midwest store like Marshall Field's. The Apple store was actually smaller than the one that just opened in our local mall. The Macy's was about the same size as the store in King of Prussia. My wife did find a dress at Macy's for an upcoming black-tie wedding we are attending, and I found a good, relatively inexpensive pair of shoes at Nordstrom Rack. The MOA also has the first in-mall Best Buy location I have ever seen. It opened only a few months ago. (see picture). On the third floor, the shops have a bit more local flavor. There are a couple of Minnesota-themed gift shops, a store completely devoted to farm toys, and some sports memorabilia stores that had way too few Eagles stuff. The mall itself is really nice. It was built about 16 years ago, and has held up well since, and still looks contemporary. Each side of the mall has its own "theme," and this idea works pretty well.

Since lunch was digested, and my pregnant wife wanted to sit and relax, it was time to hit some rides. First, I rode the most intense coaster in the park, the SpongeBob Rock Bottom Plunge (the bright green coaster in the pictures That's me in the front row). This ride only opened earlier this year, when they re-themed the park as Nickelodeon Universe. You go up a totally vertical chain lift. Then you go over the top, literally in the rafters on the roof of the building, and drop 97 degrees. Then you go through a loop, than another near-inversion, then the second inversion, which is a barrel roll. Of course, this pales in comparison to any of the coasters at Busch Gardens (See an earlier entry on the blog), but the ride was smooth, and this was pretty intense for an indoor coaster. I also rode the Fairly OddCoaster (dark orange track in the picture), a wild mouse coaster that gave a fun ride, and the Pepsi Orange Streak (green track, long orange train), which is as old as the mall, and isn't all that exciting. I also rode the Paul Bunyan Log Flume, which was a lot of fun. The ride was 4 minutes long, and there were two large drops, one of which was in the dark. There were also some low-tech but entertaining animatronics during the ride. It looks like they may take this ride down as they continue to put up Nickelodeon-themed rides.

Dinner was at Tony Roma's. There are none of these in Pennsylvania, but there are a few scattered around the country. The ribs, their specialty, were almost as good as the ones at the Texas Roadhouse (best ribs ever!) My wife's pork BBQ sandwich was really good, and had a nice, tangy flavor. The food here was very good and the prices were reasonable.

Tomorrow, we take a bus tour of the Twin Cities, and eat at the Melting Pot in downtown Minneapolis.

Obama visits Lancaster!

So, my co-workers talked me into seeing Obama's speech in Lancaster Thursday. It was a spur of the moment thing for me, so I didn't have a camera or my copy of "The Audacity of Hope" in the unlikely event of me getting an autograph.

So, I drive from my job to the other side of town about six blocks from the park where he was speaking. We get to the park, and the line is wrapped around the block, through a college campus and snaking in and out of the park. Apparently the Obama people and the city were expecting 5-7,ooo people, and more than 15,000 showed up. I guess they forgot that Lancaster County was Obama country, and one of the few counties in Pa. where Obama beat the evil ice queen in the Democratic primary. 

Anyway, we were in line for about two hours before we finally got through the security checkpoint. Obama waited about 20 minutes to start his speech, because he knew that people were moving slowly through the understaffed checkpoint. He began speaking about 5 minutes before we made it through. 

So, I saw him speak for about 30 minutes. Did it change my life? No. But I can say that he is a very impressive speaker, and he talked very specifically about the economy, the budget, and what he wanted to do to fix it. I didn't quite agree with everything, and I want to know more about his health care plan, in which he says he "will work with existing providers." Also, I naturally cheered loudly when he advocated for higher teacher salaries. The person standing next to me was even nice enough to say "you guys deserve it." Overall, I think he has a good grasp on the big picture and a definite plan on how he wants to improve this country. I was impressed about how diverse the crowd was. There were people of all races and all ages. Quite a difference from the RNC where there were two kinds of people in the crowd... white and bread. There were only 36 black delegates out of 2,380.

The volunteers, and there were a lot of them, were working hard at this event. Many of them were passing out voter registration forms, and were sure to remind the college students in attendance that their absentee ballots must be postmarked a month before the election. Also, they were nice enough to pass out cases of water to people standing in line on what turned out to be a hot afternoon.

As for the Republican Convention, I thought Palin was a good speaker. She was set up as the attack dog like most veep candidates, but came across as smart and somewhat down-to-earth. The one remark I really took offense to was her cut on Obama's tenure as a community organizer. She said something like her job as mayor of whatever town in Alaska was like that of a community organizer, except she had actual responsibilities. Having met several community organizers, I believe this statement was truly ignorant, because they are hardworking people who often volunteer their time to fight what is often a losing battle to improve the communities that they are proud to live in.

McCain's speech wasn't that impressive. He made bold statements, and said he was going to change things (where did he get that idea from?) but gave few specifics. I am looking forward to the debates, where I can hopefully learn about more of the nuts and bolts of his plans.

McCain veep shocker!

My compliments to the McCain camp. His pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was such a surprise, that it finally got the media attention away from Obama. As much as I like Obama, I believe the press has a duty to cover both candidates equally, and they haven't been doing it. Until now.

The skeptics are saying McCain is a hypocrite because he has cited Obama's lack of experience, then picks a two-year governor of a small state who has zero foreign policy experience. I still think it's a smart choice. Vice presidential picks have usually had little to no effect on elections, and unless your name is Lyndon B. Johnson or Dick Cheney, the vice president really doesn't do all that much. Harry Truman said the role of the VP was "to go to weddings and funerals." I think Palin can do nothing but help the ticket. It brings some much needed youth to the party, which has to overcome its image of being a bunch of rich old white guys. Also, McCain may even be able to bring over some feminists who are miffed that Hillary isn't on the Democratic ticket.

Palin also has a strong personality. She is a successful opponent of pork barrel politics and earmarks. She has taken on fellow Republicans in Alaska, even the infamous Ted Stevens, halting construction of a $398 million "bridge to nowhere," one of his pet projects. She is also a hard-line conservative, pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and a lifelong member of the NRA, so she will please the right-wing social conservative whackos. 

All I can say is buckle up, because it's going to be an interesting two months. And Gov. Palin, if you're reading this, all I can say is start studying for the debate now, because you have to face off with Joe Biden and his 30-plus years of experience in the Senate.

Huh?

So, a movie like "No Country for Old Men" can get all sorts of praise from critics, and win Best Picture (over "There Will be Blood?!"), even though the movie ratchets up the tension for an hour and a half only to reach no climax? The Coen Brothers have made some great movies, but this wasn't one of them. Critics universally overpraised this movie. Technically, it was a beautiful film with great cinematography, acting and directing. But you have a really tight, well-paced action movie that completely unravels into self-important drivel in the third act. I can't remember a movie fall apart so quickly since Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate." And maybe "Jurassic Park III." At least Jurassic Park III had an excuse... The studio wanted a movie released in the summer, and it just wasn't finished. Here, it's all part of the story. I don't know if this narrative was more effective in Cormac McCarthy's book, but it sure didn't work here.

Suggestions for car dealerships...

I had an interesting experience helping my brother buy a car on Monday. We were at four different dealerships, and I experienced four different approaches to selling a car. Here's how it all broke down:

Nissan: Salesperson was straightforward, talked about the car's strong points and its price advantage over its competitors. All of his claims about the car were 100 percent true. Did not come off as sleazy or scripted.

Honda (CR-V): Salesman was laid-back, but came right out and said "Our car is the best." He didn't like the Rogue, because he was 6'1" and said it was too small for him. The Honda drove nicely, and had a well laid-out interior. It wasn't as peppy as the Rogue, and was about $1-$2,000 more than a comparably equipped Rogue. The salesperson had no argument for this. And I stand by my opinion that the CR-V looks like a chick car.

Toyota (RAV4): This salesperson claimed to have been in the business for 30 years, and it showed. He also didn't hesitate to say "our car is the best" and was very slick. I honestly couldn't tell what was real and what was bullshit with this guy, and it was very off putting. The vehicle drove very nicely, but Adam echoed my complaint about Toyotas.. it has no personality. I like to call Toyotas "transportation appliances." We deliberately didn't bring the trade-in along for the test drive, and he picked up on that tactic right away. He somehow figured out that I was a former car salesperson. I don't know if that came from 30 years of intuition, if he overheard me, or if I ended up being heard on an intercom somewhere (remember, in a car dealership, someone's always listening). He and his sales manager were both asking very smart open-ended questions, and were trying to get as much information out of us on what we wanted to pay and the condition of our trade-in. Finally, he gave us a long-winded speech on how Kelley Blue Book values were inflated and how they would offer the "wholesale" price for the car, which was an obvious attempt to condition us and deflate our expectations before working the numbers. Even if Adam decided to go with the RAV4, I would have insisted that he get it at a different dealership, because I am certain this guy would have stopped at nothing to screw us for every last dime.

Subaru (Forester): Subaru is more of a fringe player, and doesn't move quite the volume of cars that Honda and Toyota do, so they weren't nearly as aggressive. Our salesperson was the most easygoing out of the four of them. He didn't brag too much about the car, instead letting the car prove itself during the drive. The car drove very competently. The interior looked nice, but the exterior styling was a bit oddball, like most Subarus. 

So, it was pretty much a toss-up between the Nissan and the Subaru. Adam decided to go with the Nissan, because he liked the styling and overall packaging of the car, the peppy engine and decent fuel mileage. The Subaru was a close second, and we very well may have gone with it if things went south at the Nissan dealer.

Fortunately, everything worked out with the Nissan. Unsurprisingly, they lowballed us on the trade in at first, but that ended promptly after I threatened to walk. After a few more minutes of back and forth, we made what I think is a good deal, and Adam is now the proud owner of a new Nissan Rogue.

Overall, here's what I liked about my experiences in the car buying process:

- The Nissan salesperson and the Subaru salesperson both talked about the strengths of the car, but did not come across as arrogant. They allowed the cars to do the talking during the test drives. The Nissan salesperson printed out some comparisons between the Rogue and its competitors, showing an obvious price advantage.

- We were very clear about our intentions during the first visit- test drive only, and no dealers kept us waiting or tried to make a sale.

- When I was haggling down the price of the Nissan, the salesperson took everything I was saying seriously, and didn't feed me lines like "Your information from the internet is false," and "We have to keep the lights on in here." He listened to what I had to say, and brought my concerns to the manager. I'm glad he did, because we would have walked otherwise, and I think he knew it.

- The Nissan dealer not changing the price of the vehicle, even though they only one they could locate was a car with a sunroof, which we didn't ask for.

- When Adam took delivery of the Nissan, no one tried to offer him worthless crap like undercoating, service plans or pinstripes.

- All four vehicles we drove had a full slate of safety features standard. It's about time.

- I would recommend any of these vehicles depending on someone's personal preference. They all are well-engineered, safe and drive nicely.

- Only the CR-V has seats that tumble forward. The rest have fold-down seats only. Honda is very clever when it comes to practical features.

- All four of these vehicles have enormous glove compartments and tons of storage space. The CR-V and RAV4 even have two glove compartments.

Here's what I didn't like:

- The arrogance of the Honda and Toyota dealer, saying their cars were the best. The Toyota dealer didn't even say why the RAV4 is the best, he just said "I've been in the car business for 30 years, and I know what's good and what isn't." Well, that clears everything up for me. And every Honda dealer I have gone to over the years has constantly said how their cars are so great and every other car sucks. IMHO, a good salesman, like the Nissan salesman who sold Adam a car, will emphasize the car's strengths, and allow the customer to form his own opinion during a test drive and detailed look at the car.

- The fact that Honda and Toyota charged $1-2k more than Nissan and Subaru for comparably equipped vehicles. Consumer Reports constantly reminds us how Hondas and Toyotas are the greatest cars ever built, so more people buy them, their resale values are astronomical, and these two manufacturers are able to get away with doing this. Note to car buyers: CR is a good resource, but it is not the Holy Grail, and there are other companies out there, even American companies, that are putting out cars every bit as good as Honda and Toyota.

- Constant lowballing of trade-in values everywhere. The only dealer that didn't do this was when we bought my wife's car from a small-town used car lot. 

- The fact that the Nissan dealer didn't put the trade-in value on the sheet with the payments. I told the salesperson we wouldn't even look at payments until I saw a trade-in value.

Overall, this was an interesting and entertaining experience. I enjoy the psychological games that go on at car dealerships, and how you can get eaten alive if you don't know what you're doing.

He has chosen... wisely

Now for some political commentary... I think Barack Obama was smart to choose Joe Biden as his running mate. Obama's critics said his foreign policy and national security experience is limited, and this addresses his potential shortcomings. Also, Biden could help Obama capture some key states on the East Coast like Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, which could go either way. And don't forget Delaware's whopping three electoral votes. Finally, and most importantly, this ensures that Hillary Clinton is completely out of the picture. The only drawback to this choice is that Obama said he was the "change" candidate, and Biden, a six-term senator, is viewed by many as a Washington insider. I think Biden's experience will help Obama more than it will hurt him. Hopefully, Biden won't pull a Cheney and turn into the fourth branch of government who thinks he's above the law and wipes his ass with copies of the Constitution. 

This is shaping up to be an interesting election. I think both of these candidates are more qualified than either candidate in 2004. I already think the ads are getting too personal. First there was the ridiculous ad comparing Obama to other "celebrities" like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, obviously designed to appeal to ignorant voters who won't vote for Obama because they think he is a Muslim. Obama counters with an equally ridiculous ad that McCain can't keep track of how many houses he has, labeling him as another rich white guy. In defense of McCain, he grew up on Navy bases, earned an appointment to the Naval Academy, and did not have the same priviliged childhood that Bush had. His wife has most of the money and the houses, and Cindy McCain is supposedly very generous, donating a great deal of her money to charitable organizations. Either way, I won't not vote for someone because I think they have too many houses.

Finally, this will be another close election, because just about everyone over 65 seems to back McCain, and most people under 45 seems to back Obama. And we all know the people who vote the most often are those over 65. I think the recent announcement that most troops should be out of Iraq by 2011 (yeah, right), will boost McCain, and I personally think this charade was manufactured by the Bush administration to do exactly that, because most Americans oppose the Iraq war, and this will be McCain's biggest hurdle. 

As for McCain's choice of running mate, it's looking like it will be Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, or the current favorite, Mitt Romney. I personally don't think it will be Romney, because McCain and Romney supposedly don't like each other. I am pulling for Tom Ridge, because he's from Pennsylvania, and he is pro-choice, and will piss off the religious right wing of the party (the reason I left the Republican party a few years ago).

I am looking forward to how this all plays out, and I think the debates will be interesting, because, unlike our current chief executive, I think both of these candidates are intelligent and can think on their feet.

DVD review: "21" busts

It seemed like a great premise- Smart college students go to Vegas to count cards and get rich. It was even based on a true story. However, the screenplay uses every cliche in the book, the characters are one-dimensional, and you knew how every scene was going to play out within the first few seconds. My wife and I had the whole movie figured out at the 35-minute mark. My wife quit watching at that point, and I made it through the whole thing. The movie wasn't quite unwatchable, but it was a major disappointment. 

Still, I'd like to read the book, written by one of the former MIT students who counted cards. Incidentally, the book was written by an Asian, but the main character in the movie was total whitebread. Gee, I wonder why...

More DVD reviews and random thoughts

Don't expect too much from "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay." If you liked the first one, you will probably like this one, but I thought there were fewer funny jokes. It had its moments, particularly any scene with Neil Patrick Harris, who reprises his role as himself. On the other hand, I think the movie relied too much on shock value, with raunchy sexual and potty humor and lots of nudity (Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds" would love this movie, if you know what I mean, and I think you do, gentlemen!). All in all, not a high recommendation from me.

I kind of wanted to see "Clone Wars"... until I read about the plot! So Anakin (not voiced by Hayden Christensen) is mentoring a teenage female Jedi-in-training who calls him "Sky-Guy" and their mission is to protect Jabba The Hutt's baby, who is named Stinky! The reviews say the movie is a steaming pile of Bantha fodder. Entertainment Weekly gave the film an F, and it is the first movie to ever receive a 0/10 from Joblo.com. Another critic said that it makes the Ewok TV movies look like "Citizen Kane." The movie made a mediocre $15 million over the weekend, overshadowed by "TDK" which has already passed Star Wars Episode IV as the second highest-grossing movie of all time. Back to "The Clone Wars," One of my main complaints about the new trilogy, and even parts of "Jedi" was the childish slapstick humor that completely didn't fit the tone of the story, and it looks like it was taken to extremes here. So we have this, an upcoming "Clone Wars" TV series, another live action  TV series and yet another re-release of the original trilogy, this time in 3-D. Hear that thumping sound? That's George Lucas beating a dead horse. You won't find a bigger "Star Wars" fan than me, but Lucas needs to move on or retire with the billions of Republic credits he has amassed over the years. And one other thing.... HAN SOLO SHOOTS GREEDO FIRST! 

Finally, Rock Band is the greatest party game ever invented... My wife's work friends were over, and we took out all of the instruments and jammed... Even for a novice, the game is pretty easy to pick up. Most people had no problems on the easy level, and some people even moved up to medium. Most importantly, we all had a great time.

Attack of the summer movies: Shake n' Bake edition... and other thoughts

Shake n' Bake is back! In "Step Brothers," Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are two fortyish men who still live with their parents. Will Ferrell's character's mother and John C. Reilly's character's father get married, the two "kids" become step brothers, and comic mayhem ensues.

Not too much to say about this movie. It was very funny and really raunchy. Well worth seeing for a few good laughs.

How about "The Dark Knight?!" 4 weeks, $441 million, and it looks like it will beat the original "Star Wars" to become the #2 top grossing movie of all time behind that movie about that boat.

And for this week's stupidhead award, the groups protesting "Tropic Thunder" need to lighten up. Apparently, certain groups who are advocates for the disabled take offense to the movie because Ben Stiller's character plays an actor whose previous role is "Simple Jack," a mentally challenged man, and because the word "retard" is offensive. These people need to take a chill pill and realize that this movie is making fun of the shallowness of movie stars, and take it all with a grain of salt. Also, over the years, no one seems to get the fact that protests and boycotts only draw attention to the movie and inspire curiosity, which leads to more people seeing the movie, and the studio making more money. Quite counterproductive, if you ask me.

The latest waste of time from Netflix

"The Bucket List" is a Hallmark Channel movie with A-list actors on a big screen. My wife couldn't make it through the movie, because she thought it was overly sentimental, predictable, and was not a realistic portrayal of cancer patients. I at least wanted to see how it ended. It was indeed predictable, and very manipulative. Your typical John Q. Moviegoer who likes just about everything and is easily manipulated by artificial emotion and treacle will like this movie. Yes, we all know people like this. They are the same folks who liked Patch Adams and Stepmom. However, more savvy moviegoers should steer clear.

The drive home from hell!

We didn't feel like braving the Friday crowds at Busch Gardens, so we headed home early, and planned to stop at Potomac Mills for some shopping. 

We got out of Williamsburg, and drove north on the ever-popular I-95. A flashing overhead sign says "Accident ahead - 30 miles." So, we bail at the next exit for Fredericksburg, VA. We hit a lot of traffic lights, stop-and-go traffic, and a bottleneck on an old bridge that took 10 minutes to get through. Then, north of Fredericksburg, in some town called Stafford, lots of other traffic bailed on I-95, and Route 1 was crawling for 10 miles. 90 or so minutes later, we finally made it to Potomac Mills. We didn't stay too long because we wanted to get home. I didn't want to go through the Washington-Baltimore megaplex on Friday at rush hour, and the radio said the Beltway was moving at a brisk 17 m.p.h., so I had the trusty GPS find an alternative route avoiding the urban areas. So, it takes us on a bunch of suburban roads to Dulles Airport. We then head northwest on the Dulles Greenway to Leesburg on the outer suburbs of D.C. We sit in traffic for 15 minutes as U.S. 15 shrinks to one lane.

We then cross the Potomac into Maryland and get to Frederick. Then, we sit in traffic for another good 30 minutes in the middle of nowhere on I-70 between Frederick and Hagerstown for no apparent reason other than a broken down car and construction on the shoulder. No lanes were blocked. I think "The Blair Witch Project" was filmed around here somewhere. We stop for a quick fast food meal in Hagerstown, then take I-81 into Pennsylvania, and we made it home without further incident at 9 p.m., ending our vacation and bringing us back to reality. A rough and long drive, but, as a roadgeek, I am glad I got to see new roads like the Fairfax County Parkway and the area around Dulles Airport.

The highlight of this trip for me was definitely getting over my phobia of roller coasters. I am already looking forward to visiting other parks and trying out other coasters. Also, someone needs to loan me money so I can buy the Lego Eiffel Tower...

Williamsburg live blog day 3

Today, it was Water Country USA. Like Busch Gardens, the landscaping was beautiful. Most of the park was in a wooded setting, and trees obscured the view of other rides, Unlike other parks where the rides are all smooshed together into a small area. Also, the food was better than any water park. I actually had garlic-sauteed shrimp for lunch. This is one of the best-looking water parks without the name Disney in front of it.

As far as the rides go, they were pretty decent. There was no mega-thrill slides (see Summit Plummet in Disney's Blizzard Beach), But there was the 75-foot tall rampage that I was unable to go on. Memorable rides were the Aquazoid, in which you hop on to a 4-person tube and slide down a mostly pitch-black tunnel, and the Big Daddy falls, where a 4-person tube hits two drop pools. There was also a large wave pool, but the waves weren't that intense. I remember when the water park at Dorney had waves that crested, and you could surf them into the shore.

After dinner, we took in some mini-golf at Pirates' Cove. The theming and landscaping was done well, but the course itself was mediocre, with pretty ordinary holes and few frills.

It looks like tomorrow will be shopping and the ride back, so it looks like my time in the parks is finished. It was a memorable trip, and the perfect park to help me get over my coaster phobia.

Williamsburg live blog day 2

Today we took on Busch Gardens Europe. First of all, this park is themed and landscaped beautifully. This is the nicest looking park I have ever seen outside of Disney World. 

Despite my brother's skepticism that I could hack it, I decided to face my fear of coasters (and heights) early in the day, and our first ride was the legendary Loch Ness Monster. When it was built 30 years ago, it was the tallest rollercoaster in the world. So, the wait was pretty long, they added a train right before we got on, which built the suspense even more. Then, we finally got on, went up the long chain lift, and down we go. I was okay after the initial drop. Then another big drop, then the first of two loops. I was the most frightened of the loops, but they were the best part of the ride. Then we went into a tunnel, and it was pitch black as we spiraled downward. Then we climbed a second chain lift and entered the second loop. Because I was so scared, the adrenaline rush during and after the ride made it all the more fun. Soon, I will have a picture up here that was taken just after the first loop. The look on my face is pure fear. If you ever wanted to see what my tonsils look like, now is your chance.

Next, it was Escape from Pompeii, A shoot-the-chutes ride. We went up, into the dark area where there was some cool pyrotechnics, then the big drop and the splash. 

Then, while my nieces were getting their caricatures done, My father-in-law and I braved Apollo's Chariot, The tallest coaster in the park. The cars were interesting in that there was only one lap restraint, and your feet didn't touch the floor to make the most of the coaster's crazy airtime. The chain lift went up, up, up, then there was the massive 210-foot first drop, another hill, another huge drop, up again, then down on a curve as we descended toward the lake. The airtime on this coaster is impressive. Then we went up a helix, then there was a series of great airtime hills, an intense curve as the coaster passed under itself, and some great hidden drops that seem to come out of nowhere. Whew. Luckily, I didn't suffer the same fate as Fabio, who had an unfortunate encounter with a bird during the coaster's maiden voyage.

Then it was on to the Roman Rapids. The wait was long for what was a fun, but typical rapids ride with good theming.

Then, it was time for a second ride on AC. Once again, very exhilarating.

After a decent lunch in fake Italy, and a stage show that was even cheesier than my chicken Parmesan, it was on to fake Germany. 

We hit the Big Bad Wolf, which is a suspended (not inverted) coaster. This made for a wild ride. After a short chain lift, you dropped into a German village, barely missing the buildings. Then it was up a longer chain lift, followed by the big drop towards the fake Rhine River and a sharp turn. Another great ride.

Our next big ride was the Curse of Darkastle. It was a 3-D dark ride with elements of a motion simulator. There was a long wait, but part of it was mercifully air conditioned. The ride itself was a lot of fun. It was very similar to the Spider-Man ride in Universal, but not quite as good. Unfortunately, My 4-year-old niece was scared and started crying.

It was 98 degrees outside, and, at this point, the 4-year-old was out of gas and it was already 5:00, so we called it a day. We got to see some cool animal exhibits on the way out, and I was almost ready to strangle a fellow tourist who didn't listen to the large signs and fed a wolf park food, which could completely mess up its digestive system.

Anyway, we may or may not get back there on Friday, and I may or may not ride the Alpengeist. I don't know if I am ready for a 195-foot tall inverted coaster with 6 inversions. I might ride a less-intense one like the Great Bear at Hersheypark first. 

Then it was dinner in the hotel (long wait, good food), and a quick dip in the pool. Tomorrow, we hit Water Country USA and cool off. 

Williamsburg live blog day 1

Thanks to an amazing device called a "laptop" and something called "wi-fi," I can give some live reports from our trip to Busch Gardens. Not too much to talk about today, it was mostly a travel day, with a 5-hour trip from Pennsylvania to Williamsburg.

First was a lunch stop at Tysons Corner. This was my second visit to Tysons Corner. See a report of my first visit here. We hit lunch in the food court, and my father-in-law and I chowed down on burgers and fries from Five Guys. Certainly a lot better than the last meal I ate in this mall.

Then, while my wife visited Bath and Body Works, I finally got to see the Lego store! It was worth the trip. Among the products was a $500 Millennium Falcon that had a diameter of about 2 1/2 feet (with 5,000 pieces, it's the biggest Lego set ever made, even dwarfing the Death Star I build with my brother and two other friends), a motorized walking AT-AT, a very detailed Volkswagen Beetle kit, and a Eiffel Tower kit at 1:300 scale using the original blueprints! It was more than 3 feet tall. If I had done better at the casino last night, I may have purchased one of those kits. My wife asked where I was supposed to put these after I build them, failing to understand that the true fun of Legos is actually building them.

We finally get to Williamsburg around 5:00. After some research on the Internet, we liked the menu from a place called J.M. Randall's. It was off the beaten path and away from the tourist traffic. However, we were disappointed. The place was pretty much empty, and despite an extensive menu, it probably does more business as a bar than as a restaurant. First of all, there were several items on the internet menu like chicken pot pie and fried ice cream that weren't on the real menu. Obviously their internet menu needs to be updated. Also, we had our 7- and 4-year old nieces with us. Despite a lengthy children's menu, they gave our nieces no crayons or nothing to draw on. Almost every restaurant I have taken them to gave us paper and crayons. Also, the service was slow. It took too long to get our drinks, and way too long to get our food. This is an even bigger problem when you have kids with you. Most of us were disappointed with our food. I have had worse, but the food I tasted (pork bbq sandwich, grinder where the lunchmeat was toasted but not the roll!?) was just mediocre. We elected not to get dessert there because we were afraid it would take forever, and, frankly, wouldn't taste all that good. (Update: This place has CLOSED sometime in 2012 or later).

So, we went back to the hotel and had dessert there. My wife had a tasty orange cream cheesecake, my sister-in-law had apple caramel pie, and my brother-in-law and I enjoyed a beer. To those of you staying at the Crowne Plaza in Williamsburg, I highly recommend the dessert menu. If we had known better, we would have eaten dinner there. oh, well...

So tomorrow, it's off to Busch Gardens, where I will attempt to conquer my fear of rollercoasters. Will I go for it or wimp out? Stay tuned...

The 150 Greatest Performances... ever

So, it's the summer, I have some time to think, so I came up with a list of the 150 greatest performances in movie history. These are lead and supporting roles. Sometimes I agreed with Oscar, sometimes I disagreed. Oscar tends to recognize actors who play people with a physical or mental ailment, I disagree because I think it's more challenging to play a normal, regular person who is facing life's challenges, Such as Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. For the most part, I stayed away from characters with ailments. Also, there are many action movies and comedies on here that Oscar is too snooty to recognize. I also tend to recognize actors who dare to work outside of their comfort zone, like Cameron Diaz in "Being John Malkovich."

This list obviously skews towards newer movies, and I will admit I am not well-versed on older movies and actors. There are many movies, like "On The Waterfront," "The Deer Hunter," and "Raging Bull" I haven't seen which supposedly have great performances, so this list is by no means complete.

Out of the 150 performances, there are only 29 women. That is probably because I watch more action movies which usually have male leads.

Without further adieu, here is the list in alphabetical order. A "*" means this is a truly exceptional performance-  the best of the best.

Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine

*Christian Bale, American Psycho
Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
*Kathy Bates, Misery
Ned Beatty, Network
Annette Bening, The American President
*Marlon Brando, The Godfather
Matthew Broderick, Election
Matthew Broderick, Glory
*Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
Steve Carell, The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Sascha Baron Cohen, Borat
*James Caan, The Godfather
Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas
Nicolas Cage, Adaptation.
Nicolas Cage, Face/Off
George Chakiris, West Side Story
Sean Connery, The Untouchables
Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
James Cromwell, Babe
*Russell Crowe, L.A. Confidential
*Russell Crowe, The Insider
Tom Cruise, Collateral
*Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire
Tom Cruise, Magnolia
Matt Damon, The Talented Mr. Ripley
*Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Robert DeNiro, Heat
*Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver
Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Cameron Diaz, Being John Malkovich
Leonardo DiCaprio, Catch me if You Can
Leonardo DiCaprio, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Vincent D’Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket
Michael Douglas, The American President
*Michael Douglas, Wall Street
Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man
Faye Dunaway, Network
Robert Duvall, The Apostle
R. Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket
Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story
Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List
*Peter Finch, Network
*Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption
Morgan Freeman, Glory
*Henry Fonda, 12 Angry Men
Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath
Harrison Ford, The Fugitive
Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs
Jamie Foxx, Ray

Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz

Paul Giamatti, Sideways

Mel Gibson, Braveheart

Mel Gibson, Signs

Cary Grant, North by Northwest
Alec Guinness, Star Wars
Gene Hackman, The French Connection
*Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Katharine Hepburn, Bringing Up Baby
*Katharine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter
Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie
Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs
Margaret Hamilton, The Wizard of Oz
Tom Hanks, Big
*Tom Hanks, Cast Away
*Tom Hanks, Philadelphia
Tom Hanks, Road to Perdition
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River
Ed Harris, Apollo 13
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Talented Mr. Ripley
William Holden, Network
Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction
Madeline Kahn, Blazing Saddles
*Val Kilmer, The Doors
*Val Kilmer, Tombstone
Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
Martin Landau, Ed Wood
Angela Lansbury, The Manchurian Candidate
Jude Law, The Talented Mr. Ripley
William H. Macy, Fargo
Virginia Madsen, Sideways
John Malkovich, In the Line of Fire
Frances McDormand, Fargo
Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange
Ian McKellen, Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Steve McQueen, The Sand Pebbles
Burgess Meredith, Grumpy Old Men
Rita Moreno, West Side Story
Julianne Moore, Boogie Nights
Eddie Murphy, Beverly Hills Cop
Eddie Murphy, Bowfinger
Liam Neeson, Schindler’s List
Paul Newman, Road to Perdition
*Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt
Jack Nicholson, Chinatown
Bill Nighy, Love Actually
Edward Norton, American History X
*Edward Norton, Fight Club
Peter O’Toole, The Lion in Winter
*Al Pacino, The Godfather
*Al Pacino, The Godfather, Part II
Al Pacino, Donnie Brasco
Jack Palance, City Slickers
Bill Paxton, Frailty
Guy Pearce, L.A. Confidential
Guy Pearce, Memento
Sean Penn, Mystic River
Joe Pesci, Goodfellas
*Brad Pitt, Fight Club
Natalie Portman, Beautiful Girls
Natalie Portman, The Professional
Natalie Portman, V For Vendetta
Christopher Reeve, Superman
*Alan Rickman, Die Hard
Jason Robards, All the President’s Men
Tim Robbins, Mystic River

Tim Robbins, The Shawshank Redemption
Seth Rogen, Knocked Up
Paul Scofield, A Man For All Seasons
George C. Scott, Dr. Strangelove
*George C. Scott, Patton
*Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove
Robert Shaw, Jaws
Maggie Smith, Gosford Park
Kevin Spacey, L.A. Confidential
Terence Stamp, The Limey
David Strathairn, Good Night and Good Luck
Meryl Streep, Adaptation.
Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry
Charlize Theron, Monster
Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan
Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade
Uma Thurman, Kill Bill
John Travolta, Face/Off
*Denzel Washington, Glory
Denzel Washington, Training Day
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
Sigourney Weaver, Aliens
Hugo Weaving, V For Vendetta
Christopher Walken, The Dead Zone
*Orson Welles, Citizen Kane
Orson Welles, Touch of Evil
James Whitmore, The Shawshank Redemption
Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Gene Wilder, Young Frankenstein
Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Reese Witherspoon, Election
Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones’ Diary

Overall, I would say the best male performance is Michael Douglas as the unforgettable Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street," but Orson Welles comes close in "Citizen Kane." The best female performance is Ellen Burstyn's unbelievable turn in "Requiem for a Dream." Her Oscar was stolen from her by Julia Roberts of all people for an overrated performance in "Erin Brockovich."

Actors with multiple mentions:

Tom Hanks: 4

Nicolas Cage: 3

Tom Cruise: 3

Johnny Depp: 3

Al Pacino: 3

Natalie Portman: 3

Matthew Broderick: 2

Russell Crowe: 2

Robert DeNiro: 2
Leonardo DiCaprio: 2

Michael Douglas: 2

Morgan Freeman: 2

Henry Fonda: 2

Mel Gibson: 2

Katharine Hepburn: 2

Val Kilmer: 2

Eddie Murphy: 2

Jack Nicholson: 2

Edward Norton: 2

Guy Pearce: 2

George C. Scott: 2

Billy Bob Thornton: 2

Denzel Washington: 2

Orson Welles: 2

Gene Wilder: 2

Movies with multiple mentions:

Network: 4

The Godfather: 3

Glory: 3

L.A. Confidential: 3

Mystic River: 3

The Shawshank Redemption: 3

Sideways: 3

The Talented Mr. Ripley: 3

About Schmidt: 2

The American President: 2

Adaptation.: 2

Dr. Strangelove: 2

Election: 2

Face/Off: 2

Fargo: 2

Fight Club: 2

Full Metal Jacket: 2

The Lion in Winter: 2

Schindler's List: 2

The Silence of the Lambs: 2

West Side Story: 2

The Wizard of Oz: 2

I am sure I missed some, and I am sure some of you think there are people who don't belong on this list. Let me know your opinions!

Another look at a classic...

In an interesting moviegoing experience, me and three others went to the theater to see a 25th anniversary screening of "WarGames," which was one of my favorite movies growing up. There was a decent sized crowd there for a Thursday night. Before the movie, there was a well-put-together 20-minute package of interviews with the cast and crew. The writers had a lot of insightful comments about the approach they took with the script, which was nominated for and Oscar, and how it came to be. There were also comments from the director and cast, including Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, and Barry Corbin, whose anecdote about how the line "I would piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good" was priceless.

Then there was a brief preview for the awful-looking direct-to-video sequel, in which Joshua (the computer from WarGames) has to match wits with Ripley, a computer who will stop at nothing to defeat the terrorists. Interestingly enough, the film takes place in the Philadelphia area, my old stomping grounds, and the main character chooses to nuke the city of brotherly love. We commented that a gust of wind may blow the nuke to nearby Camden, thus doing the world a favor.

Spoilers ahead...

As for the movie itself, it is still a great movie. The technology is definitely dated (some of the scenes that got the most laughs were Matthew Broderick's character using a 8" floppy disk drive), but the story has stood the test of time. The writers mentioned that despite all of the technology, the movie is essentially a character story about David Lightman and Stephen Falken (modeled after Dr. Stephen Hawking). The acting is very good, the movie is often quite funny, and the story is well-written and easy to understand. I still think the comparison of Tic-Tac-Toe to nuclear war is brilliant. 

It was nice to see the movie on the big screen for the first time, and see the pure grandeur of the NORAD war room set (The most expensive movie set ever built at the time). I also noticed some details I didn't catch on TV, like a sign in NORAD that said "Anyone caught urinating here will be discharged." One of the highlights was the screen going dark just before the start of the third act. Among the comments in the crowd was "maybe a missile hit the theater." After a 20 minute "intermission," the film resumed. Overall, a very worthwhile moviegoing experience.

More DVD madness

The latest delivery from Netflix is "Bruce and Lloyd" out of control, a direct-to-DVD spinoff of the "Get Smart" movie. This is an innovative approach to have a spinoff be released only a couple of weeks after the film hits theaters. This film is about the two guys who create gadgets for the agents. This movie used a lot of the same sets as its big-budget counterpart, and there were appearances by some cast members (including a very forced cameo by Anne Hathaway), but this film, which only clocks in at an hour and change, otherwise had the tone and budget of a TV movie. 

Overall, very mediocre and forgettable. It had some funny jokes, some of which were funnier than those in the Get Smart movie, but overall was merely disposable entertainment. Worth watching only if you really have nothing better to rent and nothing else to do. 

Attack of the summer movies, part 6

"The Dark Knight" is, simply put, a masterpiece.

It makes up for the glut of mediocre movies this summer.

The screenplay is complex, but still engaging and accessible. It is refreshing to see a film you have to actually concentrate and keep up with things in order to understand it, as opposed to the mindless drivel that you often see at the multiplex.

Also, without giving anything away, the movie has a lot of great characters, and the story uses the 2 1/2 hour running time to flesh out all of them.

The action scenes are well-choreographed and are a blast to watch. You can see every penny of the $180 million budget on the screen. Also, the film relies on practical effects, and gives a sense of realism that can't be achieved with computer-generated effects.

Speaking of realism, the reason I like Batman so much is that he is just a regular guy with no superpowers, just a lot of gadgets and a messed-up childhood. Christopher Nolan embraces this idea and has given his two Batman movies a very realistic look.

I was and still am a fan of Tim Burton's 1989 take on the Caped Crusader, but "Batman Begins" and "TDK" both put it to shame. You can't fault Jack Nicholson's deliberately over-the-top performance as the Joker, because it fit in to the gothic, somewhat fantastic atmosphere Tim Burton created for his film, but again, Heath Ledger's Joker brings a sense of realism not seen before. One review I read really hit it on the head when he said that it's entirely possible that a lunatic like the Joker could appear in the real world. Ledger's performance is spot-on as his Joker is insane, chaotic, but completely believable and downright scary at times. I found myself dreading what he was going to do next as I was watching the film. 

Anyway, this easily surpasses "Ironman" as the year's best film, and I am hoping the screenplay and Ledger will receive Oscar nominations. Hopefully, the Academy voters will come to their senses, and, like I said before, nominate films people have actually seen. The critics have been rightfully complimentary of this film, with the exception of a few snotty reviewers from New York. Speaking of reviewers, avoid reading Kurt Loder's review at all costs. (link deliberately not provided). I usually like Loder's writing, and it was priceless when he confronted Jewel on a grammatical error in a poetry book she authored, but he reveals way too many plot points, and spoiled some surprises for me.

Also, this movie is already bringing in money by the truckload. It made 66-plus million on Friday ALONE. Every single show was sold out at the theater I went to on Saturday. Luckily, we bought tickets beforehand. So, it looks like some box office records will be broken this weekend. Rightfully so, because this movie is unforgettable.

On a sad note, this pretty much marks the end of the summer movie season for me. Aside from "The Clone Wars," there are no other movies I am really busting to see. I was never a fan of the Mummy movies, and I just don't care about the X-Files anymore. I may go to see "Step Brothers," which looks amusing, but I am not looking forward to seeing it like I was to see "TDK." No problem, because that will give me more time to make the trip to see "TDK" on an IMAX screen.

DVD reviews

It's been a while since I posted a DVD review, because my wife and I are in the process of watching every episode of "Buffy," my favorite TV show ever. 

Anyway, I managed to fit in "The Spiderwick Chronicles." It seems like, after the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films, fantasy films are a dime a dozen. Still, "Spiderwick" qualifies as decent entertainment, despite the presence of Nick Nolte. The concept is derivative but engaging, the acting and the characters are solid (yes, that was Seth Rogen doing a voice over), and the special effects were well-done.

The movie does a good job appealing to kids and adults. It doesn't seem bloated or overdone (ahem.. Golden Compass), and it is an easy watch that goes by in a quick 90 minutes. They certainly didn't re-invent the wheel with this movie, but this was surprisingly enjoyable and worth watching.

Hilarious!

For those of you champing at the bit to see "The Dark Knight," here is something really funny to tide you over...

Michael Bay's rejected TDK script!

I don't know about you, but I think it looks AWESOME!

Attack of the summer movies: Big Willie Style

It seems like the opening of a new Will Smith movie is just as much a part of the Fourth of July as fireworks and backyard barbeques.

This year, we get "Hancock," about a superhero who has alcohol problems, and is just an all-around jerk. This movie has been getting mixed reviews, and I don't think the studio quite knew how to market it. 

I was satisfied overall. Parts of the film were very funny, and the main characters were developed well. I enjoyed the surprisingly dark third act, and it didn't have your typical superhero movie ending where two rivals duke it out in the middle of the city amid a barrage of special effects. Instead, it was much more personal and character-driven. Also, we are so used to Will Smith playing nice-guy roles, so this is a welcome change.

Some critics complained that the film went from funny to dark too quickly, and I disagree. The tone of the film was consistent with the arc of the main characters. Another complaint I disagree with was that the middle of the film dragged. I thought the film was entertaining from beginning to end, and there were plenty of action scenes and laughs to balance out the quiet moments.

I thought it was a good film, but not quite a great film. There were a lot of different elements like action, comedy and a dark character story, and the pieces just didn't quite mesh together smoothly. I would be interested in seeing a sequel, because this is a great premise, and I think there is a lot of potential here.

By the way, director Peter Berg uses lots of shaky, jumpy camera work and some quick zooms, so you might want to steer clear if you don't like this kind of directing. Personally, it didn't bother me too much, but some gimmicks seemed a bit overused and deliberate. Also, try not to read too much about the movie because there are some key plot points and surprises that some dumbass reviewer or reporter might reveal.

Attack of the summer movies, part 5

This weekend, it's WALL-E. Before I get into what I thought of this movie, I will share my thoughts on Pixar. They have consistently been putting out good movies year after year. I have not disliked a single one of their films. "The Incredibles" is on my top 10 of all time list, and "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" are right on the bubble. I appreciate their creative vision, their willingness to come up with new and creative ideas, and their desire to make MOVIES, rather than vehicles to merchandise toys and fast food. Disney made the right decision when they allowed John Lasseter and the higher-ups at Pixar to take creative control of Disney's entire animation department.

So, like I mentioned, I have enjoyed every single one of Pixar's films. The only reason I was a little worried about this movie, is that I was disappointed in "Ratatouille" last year. It was by no means a bad movie, but I couldn't really get into it, and I found it to be kind of boring. I am glad I saw it, but I really have no reason to watch it again. I probably wouldn't have been disappointed had the movie been made by another studio, but Pixar has set the bar so high that I expect to be blown away by every single movie they make, and this just didn't do it.

It turns out I had nothing to be worried about. WALL-E, although not one of Pixar's best, is creative, entertaining, and unbelievable to look at. Once again, they have outdone themselves in terms of animation. Since the movie has very little dialogue, the movie had to depend on visuals to drive it, and the visuals were unbelievable. Earth in 2800 or so is viewed as a dust-covered wasteland, and I found myself just looking at the screen with my mouth open in awe at some of the visuals, kind of like I did with "Cars." Also, like most of Pixar's stuff, this is not a kid's movie per se, but a movie for everyone that kids will enjoy.

This was a tough story to pull off, because the two main characters, both robots, barely speak. It worked overall, and even inserted some relevant social commentary without becoming preachy, but still doesn't top the "Toy Story" movies, "The Incredibles," or even "Finding Nemo" in terms of pure entertainment value. My wife was even more critical, and although she liked the movie overall, she thought it dragged during some parts.

I thought the movie was very good, and will probably end up owning it on DVD, but I still give the edge to "Ironman" as the best movie of the summer (and the year) so far.

As far as box office goes, it is no surprise that Pixar is 9-for-9 going #1 on opening weekend, with WALL-E making a healthy $60 million. What did surprise me is that "Wanted" exceeded predictions with a big $51 million opening despite mixed reviews. A few people I have talked to said it was a lot of fun (see my brother's blog), so I actually want to go see it now.

On a final note, a trailer for "Beverly Hills Chiuhuaua" was shown before WALL-E. Laws should be passed preventing movies like this from being made. Yeah, kids may think talking dogs are funny, but studios have to remember that parents pay for the tickets, and won't pay to see junk like this, no matter what their kids say. More creative, engaging films like WALL-E need to be made, rather than crap like "Beverly Hills Chiuhuaua."