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Stu Gotz is Back, Movie Talk Abounds, An Emmy Awards Re-cap, Oysters, and Mussels.

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Things are back to normal as Stu Gotz is here for our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, and the Chicago Bears still suck. Yup, Stu and I finally reunite after a couple of weeks of not being able to hook up, and Stu has seen a lot of movies since the last time we chatted. So, Stu gives us his quick take on “Our Idiot Brother,” “Everything Must Go,” and “Thor,” while I refresh Stu in my watching of “Lourdes” and “X-Men: First Class.” Movies isn’t all we have to talk about, as Stu at some oysters and got cut up by some mussels, while I got to do some fence repair.

We have a detailed wrap-up of the Emmy Awards from the night before, and I have to tell Stu that no, he wasn’t hearing things because there was some kind of annoying sound effect/ringtone going off during the entire broadcast. We are both looking forward to the return of the Fall TV season, though we are both sad because for whatever reason, well, mostly because of self-destructing TiVo’s, both Stu and I are down to being able to record only two shows at one time, and needed to share some of this recording time with our respective spouses.

It was great to have Stu back for the podcast, but even greater is that next weekend the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers, possibly solidifying an opening sound effect for the podcast!

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

X-Men: First Class

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 2:12 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

X-Men: First Class Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones
MPAA Rated:	PG-13
Released By:	Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date:	2011
Kiddie Movie:	I’d send them to bed. It can get a little intense.
Date Movie:	If she generally likes comic book movies.
Gratuitous Sex:	Hinted at, but nothing gratuitous, although Mystique is painted naked.
Gratuitous Violence:	It get’s pretty brutal, though not bloody.
Action:	Lots of action going on.
Laughs:	A couple of good chuckles.
Memorable Scene:	Magneto lifting a submarine.
Memorable Quote:	I don’t want to ruin it, but it’s during a cameo.
Directed By:	Matthew Vaughn

I’ve generally been a fan of the X-Men series of movies and thought they’ve done a good job keeping the stories moving along, but there was a hint of trepidation when I heard they were making a “prequel” kind of film, namely “X-Men: First Class.” I mean, how can you have an X-Men movie without Jean-Luc, I mean, Patrick Stewart, but there it was coming to my local gigaplex, and somehow I couldn’t find the time to make the theater. After watching the Blu-ray, I really wish I had made the time.

Let’s get to the movie.

“X-Men: First Class” starts at the beginning. Well, I’m not sure about the beginning, but we get introduced to younger Erik Lehnsherr, who would eventually become Magneto, at a Nazi Concentration camp, and the twisted Dr. Klaus Schmidt/Sebastian Shaw (An outstanding Kevin Bacon in a bad guy role). It is there that young Erik’s psyche begins to take shape, his distrust for government folks, and desire to put humans in their place. We are also introduced to a younger Charles Xavier, learning of his abilities and developing his first mutant relationship, with a young Raven who would become Mystique.

We then movie time-travel to the early 1960’s and find that Sebastian Shaw is building his own mutant army, hell-bent on pretty much destroying the human race in favor of mutants. How? By manipulating the Russians and Americans into a nuclear war, of course. Meanwhile, Erik (Michael Fassbender) is hot on Sebastian’s tail, seeking revenge for some concentration camp atrocities, and Charles (James McAvoy) is getting a reputation for his research into evolution and the possibility of mutants, as well as being a ladies man. Enter Moira (Rose Byrne). She’s with the feds, investigating potential problems with government folks and nuclear war.

Eventually the paths of everyone meet, Charles and Erik get recruited by Moira to stop Sebastian, and the personalities and destinies of Charles and Erik unfold with Charles wanting to do good, but Erik, although becoming friends with Charles, seeks his path of getting his revenge and building his army for a war against the humans. In the meantime we are introduced to a group of mutants who join the ranks, some bad mutants affiliated with Sebastian who, of course, split to Magneto’s side in the end, and just general mutant showing-offedness in finally stopping Sebastian from his dastardly deed.

Here’s the thing with “X-Men: First Class”… I’m almost happy it ended up as a prequel rather than the first in the series. It was way enjoyable watching the characters grow, understanding now how their personalities developed, seeing how Mystique ended up on Magneto’s side, and as it occurred to me at the end of the movie, after not realizing Charles was walking the entire time, it was good to see how Charles ended up in a wheelchair. A very fine X-Men movie, indeed!

Now, as to why I was disappointed in not seeing this movie in the theater? Simply because this is a movie with blow-away effects and some beautiful scenery, that lends itself to your being engrossed in it, in a theater, with the sound blasting around you, and watching Magneto “lift” a submarine out of the water probably played out tons better in super-giant size. Sure, your home theater can do a decent job, but for the best effect this was a movie that should have been seen on the real, big screen.

So, for a great film about the beginnings of the X-Men, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know if it was generally true to the comics, but I don’t really care because it did work for me, I’m giving “X-Men: First Class” 4 ½ stars out of 5. There were a couple of hiccup spots, maybe a little too much “here’s how this came about” stuff, but all in all a super-solid movie to make you appreciate your X-Men favorites even more.

Now, as far as the Blu-ray is concerned, it’s loaded with extras. “Children of the Atom” gives you pretty much everything about how the movie was made, in various parts so if you don’t care about the make-up and just care about the effects, sure you can watch only that, but if you want to really understand how “X-Men: First Class” was made, from beginning to end, grab a bucket of popcorn and a soda and enjoy. The “Cerebro: Mutant Tracker” is kind of cool, especially if you are looking for refreshers on all of the mutants, or quick summaries of who they are, as you select mutants as they fly by on the screen and get video clips from the movies they were in, and a nice summary chart. The deleted and extended scenes are nice, but I’m glad they were left on the cutting room floor, and you can also watch the movie in “X Marks the Spot Viewing Mode,” sort of an extra blown commentary track that gives behind the scene scenes as the movie plays out.

All in all a fabulous Blu-ray – I just wish I had a full-blown screening room to watch it in!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Lourdes

MPAA Rated – Unrated
It’s 1:36 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Lourdes Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Sylvie Testud
MPAA Rated:	Unrated
Released By:	Palisades Tartan
Release Date:	2010
Kiddie Movie:	Only if they are advanced readers and want to be bored.
Date Movie:	My BFF liked it, but expected something different.
Gratuitous Sex:	Some hints of talk is about all.
Gratuitous Violence:	Nah.
Action:	Nah.
Laughs:	A chuckle or two.
Memorable Scene:	I can’t give it away – it would ruin the movie, but I had two of them.
Memorable Quote:	Something in French.
Directed By:	Jessica Hausner

Well that was totally different than I expected. I’m talking about the movie “Lourdes,” and after I got through the annoyance of it being a French film and realizing that I would have to “read” the movie, and then realizing it wasn’t going to be exactly what I imagined a movie about Lourdes would be, suddenly, after watching the limited extras on the Blu-ray, namely the interview with the director, it all made perfect sense. I will try not to give too much away about the movie during this review so that maybe you can discover its goodness for yourself, but let’s see how I do…

So there it is, on my list of Blu-rays to review, “Lourdes,” and I’ll be honest in saying that when I got the publicity sheet for the movie, well, I really didn’t read it other than a quick “One woman’s journey to Lourdes,” or something like that. So, yup, I was instantly of the “Well, here we go, a nice, tightly-wrapped movie about some woman going to Lourdes and wanting to walk again, or something like that. Maybe in a twist she gives up the miracle for someone else. Ah, in any case it will probably be a feel-good film.” So I snuggled on the couch with my BFF, realized I would be a little annoyed because, yup, it’s English subtitled and therefore I couldn’t really multitask while watching if it was boring, and hunkered down for the evening.

As the movie starts we are introduced to Christine, (Sylvie Testud), and yes, she’s in a wheelchair so I’m instantly of the “She’s going to be cured!” attitude. It’s kind of a typical “group excursion” to Lourdes, but as we continue along, what it turned out to be, rather than a “Glory be to Lourdes, it heals people!,” this is a movie about people. There isn’t anything flashy, anything grandiose, just a nice character study of the various types of people who might be visiting Lourdes, and those around the shrine. There is the staff, some of whom have been there for years, understanding its importance to people, yet still sort of going through the motions of things like “Today we are going to go to the baths, so line up nicely and wait your turn,” to the volunteers who are there maybe to feel better about themselves, but maybe also just to hook up with the other staff members, and the priests, who do their best to explain the reasoning why some people are healed. Then there are the people of the vacation/excursion group. As you would expect, there are a lot of people with a variety of ills, being in wheelchairs or just having non-descript reasons for their journey. Christine, as it turns out, is there maybe with a little wonder about the place, but as it’s also a group excursion spot, it’s also a vacation she can go on where the staff will help take care of her, similar to a trip she took to Rome.

So the days go on, there are trips to the baths, trips along the paths, prayer meetings, and as Christine is being pushed around Lourdes, we get to meet the people a little bit more, of which my favorite are, whom I call, the two biddies – there more to gossip than to pray, and reminding me of many an aunt that I have come across.

And I think I will stop my story synopsis at this point. Why? Anything else gives too much away, too much for you to find on your own, too much for you to think about. Is there a miracle? Yes. Sort of. Maybe. Will the movie make you sad? Yes. Sort of. Maybe. Will the movie make you happy? Yes. Sort of. Maybe. And in the end, after I watched the special feature on the Blu-ray, I really got it.

Yup, even though I had to “read” the movie, and even though it took watching the special feature on the Blu-ray to fully get it, I’ve got to give “Lourdes” 4 stars out of 5. It’s probably not what you might think it’s going to be, I know it wasn’t what I thought what it would be, but when all was said and done, upon further reflection, I’m sticking with the 4 stars. It turned out to be a realistic movie rather than a preaching movie, and I liked that.

As far as extras on the Blu-ray, I’d say they aren’t really worth it, as most of them are trailers, but the interview with the Director, Jessica Hausner, is priceless, especially in fully understanding the end results of the movie.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

LMFAO, Go Bears, Come on Browns, Lourdes, X-Men, and Survivor is Back!

By: The Dude on the Right

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While I had passion in my pants and I wasn’t afraid to show it, Stu Gotz was trapped at a hardware store. Probably best that this is a solo “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, as for another week we couldn’t seem to get our schedules together, but that’s okay, one of these weeks we’ll be back together! All that aside, I’m quickly becoming a fan of the band LMFAO, especially for the song they wrote about me, “I’m Sexy and I Know It.” The thing is, though, that as much as I sing along, I also can’t help but recollect the days of Right Said Fred and their song, “I’m Too Sexy,” whenever I hear LMFAO. It was a big weekend, also, as the Chicago Bears opened up their season with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons, and dreams of a Super Bowl fill my head. Sadly this Super Bowl probably won’t also include the Cleveland Browns. Probably best to dream small, I suppose.

I saw two Blu-rays, “Lourdes” and “X-Men: First Class,” and give a quick dissection before my full reviews get posted later, I’m excited because “Survivor” is coming back on Wednesday but I’m worried about DVR conflicts, and I’m not excited about any upcoming movies, but after seeing a reviews of “Drive” after I recorded this podcast, maybe I should be.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this podcast! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

I Really Wanted to Use Bombardment. Is That Wrong?

It’s the 10th anniversary of September 11th, and I just am trying to reflect on what is wrong with me that I’m almost getting sick of what I’m nearly considering the overblown commemorations of the event. And yet, here I am, adding to it. Like many, I have my remembrance of the day, which is similar to many yet is still my own, but for the past week I feel as if I’ve been being bombarded with how I should feel about the event, with how I should remember, with how my life has changed because of it. And in defiance of my feeling pressured to remember, I posted a word on my Facebook wall – “Diquadeaux.”

Now what the hell does this mean and how does this relate to September 11th? Well, for my Facebook friends, for reasons beyond reasoning sometimes, I post a word of the day. There is generally a reason for every word I choose, and as yesterday was a normal day, with my wife calling me a “dickadoo,” a word she thought she made up, I wanted to post the word today as my word of the day. Then she we looked it up on Google, and low and behold, there it was in the Urban Dictionary, something about males being penises, dicks, etc. All I could see in my head was a smile the next day as my sister would look up the word “dickadoo” on the internet, and wonder what she would put as a comment. Then the fear of what my in-laws would think if I posted the word crept in, especially after my sister’s comments, so I decided to change the word to a different spelling, knowing my sister would probably end up with a comment like “That’s not a word, Google doesn’t know it.” In my head, I smiled again.

Then I woke up this morning. How could I put “diquadeaux” as a word of the day on the 10th anniversary of September 11th. Shouldn’t I use something like “remembrance,” “defiance,” or something more seemingly appropriate for the day? But then the thoughts of being sick of all of the coverage creep into my head and I’m thinking things like “Overblown,” “Sick” (as in sick of it all), and then, “Bombardment,” being sick of being bombarded with all of the coverage. Then I’m like, “No, if I do that the terrorist win. I’m not going to let them dictate my word of the day!” Then I’m like, “Don’t be such a, well, dickadoo. Post something about remembering.” Then I turn on the TV and get bombarded, once again, by how I should feel, how I should explain it to kids, how some lady was in the Sears Tower 10 years ago who still works there today and how her life has changed (it hasn’t, other than the increased security, she looks 10 years older – and is more observant of planes). As I’m watching the coverage and reading my Sunday paper, I’m thinking “More of this?”, and I feel bad that I’m feeling that way. Today, though, I understand the tributes, and the coverage, but I’ll never understand the need to re-edit the Bad Meets Evil song featuring Bruno Mars, “Lighters,” cutting out the Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″ parts with news clips from September 11th.

I remember the day, in my way, and will say some prayers.

But my word of the day is “diquadeux.” Fuck you terrorists.

That’s it for this one! I’m the Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

One Last Fling, Who’s Got America’s Talent, Paul is An Alien, and Stu Gotz Isn’t Here.

By: The Dude on the Right

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I missed connecting with Stu Gotz, I missed seeing Cathy Richardson and the Macrodots, and I missed staying on my diet, but what I didn’t miss was a weekend, and although late, it’s solo podcast time for our “Weekend Wrap-Up!”

Yup, my mistake caused a missed joint podcast yesterday, Stu got tied up so we didn’t talk today, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to chat about my Labor Day Weekend. Some of it was just plain restful, but a lot of it was some fun running around. I hit Naperville, IL’s, Last Fling carninval, where a super-dog was procurred, and I should have paid more attention because one of my favoritest bands/singers, Cathy Richardson, was performing, but I missed them/her. I did get to catch up with some family time for a birthday where I learned that no matter how much I’ve been walking, well, I’m still out of shape, and I’m not really missing Netflix as My BFF and I watched the movie “Paul.”

I quesiton if fresh-squeezed lemonade can come from a spigot, is Facebook killing family conversations, can I talk up a record, and I’ve got my favorite for “America’s Got Talent” (I’m rooting for the illuminate people, the Sillouette people, and some dude named Landau), how about you?

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this podcast! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Prom

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:44 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Prom Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell
MPAA Rated:	PG
Released By:	Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Kiddie Movie:	Tween girls is probably best.
Date Movie:	Only if she’s the mom.
Gratuitous Sex:	Just some kissing. It’s Disney clean.
Gratuitous Violence:	A small fight.
Action:	Nah.
Laughs:	If you’re a tween girl, maybe.
Memorable Scene:	Nothing really.
Memorable Quote:	Nothing really.
Directed By:	Joe Nussbaum

I know it’s a Disney movie, and I know it’s not really made for the likes of me, a 40-something year old reviewer, but please, Disney, you are better than this movie. I mean, it’s like they took the cookie-cutter, mostly perfect world of Hannah Montana, changed characters, and decided to make a movie about prom. Yup, the movie is “Prom,” I don’t think there is any school in the world that has a prom like this, and I suppose if you want to shield your pre-teen about high school and give them the “perfect world” version, Disney did its job. Let’s get to the story…

It’s the end of high school in Perfectia, or at least some high school, and Nova (Aimee Teegarden) is the go-getter, cute girl who dreams of the perfect prom and is in the midst of planning it. She is hoping her prince-charming will ask her, but ever-so-slowly things go wrong when she is asked to prom by someone else, and then there is a fire destroying all things prom decoration. Enter Jesse (Thomas McDonell). He’s the bad-boy in this story, if you really want to call him that, whose biggest problem seems to be that he has a complicated life outside of high school. As punishment for something minor by most any other high school standard, he is ordered to help Nova rebuild all of the decorations for prom, and yes, you can pretty much assume what happens when Ms. Perfect is paired with Mr. Bad-Boy, right before the prom.

And so, we get little stories about various high schoolers, from the jock, to the nerd, to the dork, to the Goth, and how their lives get effected by A) Having to leave high school soon, B) Having to ask the right person to prom, C) Having to deal with the jock making the moves on your girl, D) Girls breaking up best friends, and E) Just about every other cliché you can think of, but in a Disney-safe kind of way.

Look, the movie is pretty much harmless, as long as your daughter doesn’t get ultimately delusioned that high school will be the way this movie shows it to be. Yes, the stories probably end up similar, but the real world always seems a little, or maybe a lot, edgier than a Disney film, so I guess, sure, for your younger daughter, she who likes something like a Hannah Montana, “Prom” will give her a Disney-fake world, but if your girl has already hit freshman year I’m guessing she will already know nothing happens like it happens in “Prom.”

In the end the acting of the lead characters is fine, it’s your classic story of good-girl falls for bad-boy who really isn’t that bad when you get to know him, all wrapped up in Disney goodness. For me the movie was a 1 star, cliché mess, but for some young girls I can see them finding it a 4 star gem. I’ll average stuff together, drop it a bit for a lot of bad acting by most others in the film (watch the “Making of” featurette on the Blu-ray and you’ll find out why), and leave this movie at 2 stars. And I hate to say it, I remember the trailer, laughed a little during the clips of Justin (Jared Kusnitz) trying to ask girls to prom, and thought it might be better. Sadly, in the end, even those scenes turned out bad.

As far as the Blu-ray you get a “Making of…,” which is nice enough in telling you how the film ended up on the big screen, the blooper reel is pretty lame, you find that they made the right decision in leaving out the deleted scenes, and there are some music videos for your viewing pleasure. They don’t really add that much, so for the most part your tween is getting this to keep watching the movie, making her own dream of how her prom will be, and probably finding Jesse dreamy. And, oh yea, I almost forgot the “Last Chance Lloyd” short, highlighting Lloyd’s various exploits at trying to ask a girl to prom. Cute enough, but then it just dragged on too long. Oh well.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

VMA Talk, The Doctor is Back, Here Comes Beavis & Butthead, and Someone Likes Skinnygirl Sangria.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Stu Gotz and I haven’t gotten together for a couple of weeks for a “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, and maybe that’s why the swear words are a-flyin’. That, or maybe it’s just our way of trying to convince MTV that it’s finally time to really get edgy and not bleep out anything during the VMA’s. Yup, I give Stu my breakdown of wasting a few hours and watching the Video Music Awards, and yes, I did like Lady Gaga’s performance. Stu, meanwhile, has seen a couple of movies on DVD, namely “Cedar Rapids” and “Source Code,” and he gives his analysis. Both of us are looking forward to the return of “Beavis and Butthead,” although TiVo issues might be issues for both of us in maintaining our fix.

Stu is happy that “Doctor Who” is back on the air, I’m very handy, the tee pee is down for the season, and we don’t talk about the Chicago Bears because, well, it’s still preseason and no one really cares. And, oh yea, I like Skinnygirl Sangria. There, I said it.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this podcast! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

A Corn Dog Quest, Good Beer, Free Food, Bad Rubbish, and GWAR is Coming

By: The Dude on the Right

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There is nothing like a corn dog from a carnival, festival, or a fair, and as a photo of Michele Bachmann eating a corn dog over the weekend seems to be stealing any corn dog talk I may have, during this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I tell Stu about my and The BFF’s quest for a good corn dog, as well as some funnel cake, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Stu’s weekend, although sans corn dog, was filled with corn difficulties, but with beer goodness, though not necessarily in that order. He relates to me the good times of hanging out with The Mystery Dude and also finding a new, nearly-favorite beer called Dark Horse, where, thanks to Mama Gotz going to some jewelry party, or some crap like that, he got to hang out at Tribes Ale House, partaking knowing he wouldn’t be driving home.

Stu finds out that kids eat for free sometimes at IKEA, I’m not excited about the Chicago Bears yet, Stu saw “The A-Team” movie on TV, most people, in reference to Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs, are saying “Goodbye to bad rubbish!”, I debate busting out of concert review retirement to see GWAR, and both Stu and I lament the end of the summer movie season.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this podcast! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Buh Bye Netflix, Some Salsa (not Seltzer), Revisiting the 80’s, and It’s Not a Full Moon, Yet.

By: The Dude on the Right

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During this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I find out that Stu Gotz has a farm for a back yard, and Stu finds out that I gave up on Netflix. Okay, Stu doesn’t really have a farm for a back yard, but he does have enough stuff growing in his garden to make a mean salsa, and yes, I cancelled my Netflix account. Yup, it took the BFF and me about six weeks to watch “Inception,” and during the podcast I tell you if you should watch it if you haven’t seen it yet. Oddly enough, it really wasn’t their rate increase that finalized my Netflix decision, but Stu and I break it all down. Stu, meanwhile, was enjoying a weekend without the Little Gotz’s, so he and Mama Gotz caught “Cowboys & Aliens” and revisted the 80’s by catching some Cheap Trick and having Mama Gotz doing some tequila shots.

I found people crazy on Saturday, Stu won some cool stuff in a SCUBA raffle, I’m looking forward to the return of Millionaire Matchmaker, and both Stu and I think “30 Minutes or Less” might be funny. It’s another weekend, and we talk about it.

Thanks for listening!

That’s it for this podcast! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!