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.