LUNAR ECLIPSE TONIGHT!!!

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Last night after work, I watched one of my favorite movies "Unforgiven" for the first time in a while. It's a great movie...especially if you like Westerns. Eastwood is a retired gunslinger who needs money, so he takes a job that he hears about from a near-sighted young gun to kill some cowboys that cut up a prostitute. He bring along his buddy (Morgan Freeman) and runs into a sheriff (Gene Hackman) who's wanting to keep his city of Big Whiskey clean and pure...even if it means busting a few heads. It's a great flick. Go check it out. It won Best Picture in 1991...and gave Clint Eastwood a do-anything pass as a director.

This morning, I awoke to my mom calling me and telling me that she's been sick with the flu the past few days, so she's probably not going to Seattle. Lame, I know. Who's going with us then? She's going to ask my brother...and give him a few hundred bucks because he doesn't work much. It will still be fun...just different because other than the Sci-Fi Museum, I have no idea what he wants to do there. Oh well, we'll find out when he gives me a call later today. Fun, right? Still waiting for somebody who still wants to go to San Diego in a week-and-a-half. Any takers? Ladies? Who happen to be single? No?

Fidel Steps Down - Cuban president, former MLB prospect, and socialist icon for the past half-century Fidel Castro has stepped down as President for Life of the island nation, leaving his little brother Raul to run things. The 81-year old dictator's health has been in question over the past few years but that'll happen when you've been dodging assassination attempts and ruling with an iron fist since the 1950's. President Bush, in his infinite wisdom, said that this may be the start of democracy in Cuba...but at best, they may be a little more lenient with trade policies or something. Anyway, end of one era, beginning of another. Just mentioning it because it's kind of big news.

Liechtenstein Makes the News - Liechtenstein recently launched a withering attack on the German government for paying an informer in the Alpine state for bank secrets to launch a tax probe targeting hundreds of wealthy Germans. Prince Alois said that Germany violated the sovereignty of the tiny principality (which I had lunch in eight years ago) and sending in spies to uncover the scandal (apparently Liechtenstein is the Cayman Islands of the Alps). The prince said, "We are a small country and we want good relations with our neighbors but we are also a sovereign state. Germany will not solve its problems with its taxpayers by attacking Liechtenstein." Berlin has admitted paying a whistle-blower between four and five million euros for information and using the country's foreign intelligence service to work on the case, the biggest of its kind in German history (roughly involving four BILLION Euros). If you're interested in more details, please read the link. I just like that I can finally read a little bit about Liechtenstein...because I tell people that it's one of the countries that I've been too...and they look at me like I made it up or something...like Derkaderkastan or something. I don't blame them. I am usually full of crap.

Somebody Help Stallone - British tabloids are saying that Sylvester Stallone is trying to pitch a sequel to the 1993 rock-climbing movie "Cliffhanger" entitled "The Dam" which was originally planned for the late 90's…but due to dwindling box office numbers was scrapped. However, with recent success of remakes for Rocky & Rambo, there may be a little something to it…but I sincerely doubt it. Well, I don't doubt that they may make a similar rock-climbing action movie…and maybe even use his script…but I doubt that he would star in it. By the way, if you haven't seen the original "Cliffhanger" you may want to check it out. John Lithgow is the bad guy. It's great. Other scripts that Stallone is working on include "Stop Or My Mom Will Cap Your Ass" (grittier sequel starring Betty White, directed by John Singleton), "Tango & Cash & Caviar", "Way Over the Top" (where he arm wrestles Goldberg to the DEATH), "Judge Dredd: Dredd Harder", and "Get Carter Dammit!!!" Those all may be silly ideas (because there's no "Demolition Man" sequel) but are they really that much sillier than what he's really planning?

What the Smurf? - The CGI-animated Smurfs movie is going along swimmingly and there's some footage on the internet about it. The link has some footage about it…and a new bit that I didn't know was that Spike Jonze is making a CGI "Where the Wild Things Are" movie. That's doubly fantastic for kids in the next year. All we need know is a "Land of Sniggl-de-Bloop" movie and we'll be well on our way. Smurf yeah!!!

Transformers II - Apparently, during the Writer's Strike, Michael Bay has already written the sequel to his blockbuster movie "Transformers" which grossed millions. Though it's probably unlikely to really be used even in the "template" format that he has…it's still reassuring that the writer's strike didn't completely shut down Hollywood…sort of. Oh…and in his version, there's no Dinobots. Why do I mention this? Because I’m a nerd…and it goes with this sequel theme for today.

Wolverine Update - Okay, so this "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie gets more interesting to me every day. So it was cool when Hugh Jackman was going to remain Wolverine, then Liev Schreiber signed on to be Sabretooth, Danny Huston ("30 Day of Night") as a young William Stryker, and Lynn Collins ("Number 23") signed as Silver Fox, the love interest. Now, the coolness level just went into the stratosphere as Ryan Reynolds ("Van Wilder") has signed on to play the ultimate mutant ninja badass Deadpool and some guy named Taylor Kitsch (TV "Friday Night Lights" & "The Covenant" a.k.a. Dude Craft) signed a 3-movie deal to play everybody's favorite kickass Cajun who carries a big stick, Gambit. Tentative release date is May 1st, 2009...so it's going to be a while...but still, it should be awesome.

Jumper 2 Involves Time Travel - Despite the movie's lameness, there are sequels to "Jumper" on the way…and according to director Doug Liman, they're going to involve time travel. "The kind of jumping that we're showing in the movie which is a kind of worm hole jump which is why those scars are left behind, if you can travel through space through a worm hole from a scientific Einstein point of view, you could also travel through time...I've left the door open to time travel because of the specific kind of teleportation that I chose to portray in this film." Whatever. I like the idea of Time Travel and all…but I'm sure the sequel's going to suck too. However, that does lead me to my first movie list in a while…

Time Travel Movies

Medal Winners

Gold - Back to the Future (1985-90) - You all know that I love Back to the Future...and have seen them LITERALLY thousands of times in my life. By the way, did you know that Billy Zane & Elijah Wood were in them? You can see both of them in Part II. Frodo's the little kid that says "You have to use your hands? That's a baby's toy!" and Billy Zane is one of Biff's buddies, the one in the cowboy hat in the alternate 1985 if that helps. Otherwise he wears shades usually. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Anyway, I've already talked about this movie enough...and I still want a DeLorian...with a Mr. Fusion in the back to save on gas.

Silver - 12 Monkeys (1995) - If you've never seen this movie, you should check it out...at least twice. Director Terry Gilliam ("Brazil") tells the story of a prisoner (Bruce Willis) from a not-to-distant future where a plague has forced the human race underground. Scientists (including the Riddler himself, Frank Gorshon) pick him to be sent back through time (in cinema's craziest time machine not involving a telephone booth) to investigate where the disease came from and possibly find a cure...or stop it completely. While back in time (mid-90's) he's committed into an institution and meets a crazy rich kid (Brad Pitt) who helps him break out...and then he bumps into a beautiful psychologist (Madeleine Stowe) and together they try to solve the mystery of the 12 Monkeys...and save humanity. It's really a great movie though my plot summary's really lame. Check it out...or stop on by & we can watch it together.

Bronze - Terminator (1984) - Though there are loop holes in the logic of the time traveling (such as how is Kyle John's father if John has to be born to send Kyle back in time?) it's still a classic in time travel action films. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, even small parts for the likes of Lance Henriksen & Bill Paxton (punk at the beginning of the movie), great flick...and has one of my personal favorite pick-up lines ever - "Cum with me if you want to live." Not a whole lot of success with that one...but still one of my favorites.

Suggestion - Planet of the Apes (1968) - Most of you have probably seen the Tim Burton 2001 remake with Marky Mark, Tim Roth, Michael Clark Duncan, and the superhot Estella Warren...but have any of you seen the originals with Charlton Heston? Those are actually really good. I saw them a few times as a little kid...and then again recently while hanging at my dad's and they're pretty good...considering they were made forty years ago. Speaking of classics with remakes, feel free to check out "The Time Machine" (1960) based on the classic H.G. Wells novel starring Rod Taylor...or the 2002 remake starring Guy Pearce ("Memento") and Jeremy Irons...and was actually directed by H.G. Wells great-great-grandson Simon Wells. Also, "Timecop" (1994) wasn't a completely horrible Jean-Claude Van Damme movie about a cop that goes through time. Who knew, right? The sequel has Jason Scott Lee going back after Hitler, I think, but I have yet to see it.

Flush It - Butterfly Effect (2004) - So much to choose from...but Ashton gets my pick because he punked me in a dream...so I'm a little biased in this decision. Basically, the concept of the movie is you can go back in time if you think hard enough...but doing so will destroy everything...or will it? They made a sequel. I shall probably never witness it. Running a close second is a ridiculous chick flick that I haven't seen...but don't really need to because people told me about it...and that is "The Lake House" (2006) with Keanu & Sandra Bullock. Concept: There's a magic mailbox that allows them to write letters to one another. Did I mention that Keanu was in it too? Yeah, it was close...but because I hadn't seen it, I figured I would let it slide...just a bit. Also horrible was the Martin Lawrence movie "The Black Knight" (2001) where he plays a man who slips at a Medieval Times restaurant and ends up in the Middle Ages. It's really kind of sad when the best part of a movie is when the lead character convinces a regal band to play Sly & the Family Stone. "Frequency" (2000) made me cry because of the whole dead father-son communication thing...but they did it through a CB radio.

Future Watch - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2009) - Based on the video game (that I've never played) but it's basically set in medieval Persia, the story of an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world. Which is why after the prince was tricked by a dying Vizier to unleash the Sands of Time that turns out to destroy a kingdom and transforms its populace into ferocious demons. In his effort to save his own kingdom and redeem his fatal mistake, it's up to the prince and the princess to return the sands to the hourglass by using the Dagger of Time, which also gives him a limited control over the flow of time. Yeah, sounds like a winner, right? Well, it's going to be directed by Mike Newell ("Harry Potter & Goblet of Fire" & "Donnie Brasco") so it could be okay. I'm also waiting for a "Quantum Leap" (2020?) but I may be overly optimistic of recycling popular 80's shows...or am I? I think Ziggy could sell.

Anyway, that'll do it for this evening. I really don't have much else to say other than to check out the Lunar Eclipse tonight around 10 PM MST. Remember, Life is made of moments!!! Peace!!!