Andy Labis, Author at Entertainment Ave!

Kids at a Farm, Disturbing SNL, No Marathon Running for Us, One Last Carnival, and Assburgers.

Download and Listen

I wish you could hear the original open for this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast because it was smooth, perfect, and I hit the post for a very fun Billy Currington song, but sadly there was a computer hiccup that messed up recording the perfect version, and you get this one. Oh well. it is a weekend wrap-up, and neither Stu Gotz nor myself ran in the Chicago Marathon, and that’s probably why both of us are functioning, but Stu wonders about the woman winner of the marathon and the use of these dudes called “Pacers.” He also wonders if Lady Antebellum’s singer blew out her voice, but then realizes it might be Adele and I have to fill Stu in on some Saturday Night Live and some disturbing skits they showed.

With the season of Autumn upon us, Stu had time for one last carnival, and we analyze little kid’s attention spans that I witnessed at Johansen Farms pumpkin patch/corn maze/hay ride/giant slides/petting zoo place in Bolingbrook, IL., and Stu is iffy on a couple of new TV shows.

The Chicago Bears are tonight so we didn’t have Bear talk, but South Park is back and Cartman’s got assburgers. Of course we both laugh.

Thanks for listening!

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

Herman Cain v Samuel L. Jackon, iPhone 5 v iPhone 4, Bears v Panthers, and More v More.

By: The Dude on the Right

Download and Listen

I have Schweddy Balls and during this podcast episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!”, I tell Stu how I got them, and I also compare Herman Cain and Samuel L. Jackson, an idea that I stole from the Roe & Roeper radio show here in Chicago. Balls and stealing radio bits aside, this podcast also has Stu explaining why he is a poor example of a gentleman, while I am super-excited because tomorrow is the release of the iPhone 5, or maybe the iPhone 4s, or maybe the iPhone 4 but with better stuff, or maybe Apple announcing there will be a new phone that talks – who cares, Apple is having an announcement and I’ll be there, in spirit, through my computer watching people blog about it.

The Chicago Bears, as Stu puts it, almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, “Pulp Fiction” comes out on Blu-ray tomorrow (October 4th), Stu is worried about “Terra Nova” and “Pan Am,” I’m looking forward to the return of “Chuck” at the end of October, Stu wants more TV, and we seem to be in movie-release limbo.

Looking back on it we didn’t do too much this past weekend, but we talk about a lot of stuff!

Thanks for listening!

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

New TV & Old TV, Sucky Bears & Sucky Shoes, Getting Wet & Getting A New iPhone.

By: The Dude on the Right

Download and Listen

The fall television season has begun, and for this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, Stu Gotz and I break down the return of “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Saturday Night Live,” and my lack of seeing the current “Survivor.” Then there are the new shows, and I explain to Stu that “Pan Am” is a good show, especially because it portrays how a stewardess should be, Stu is worried that some shows like “Up All Night” and “Person of Interest” might easily lose steam if they are even able to build an audience at all, and we discuss “The X Factor” and a naked man.

The Chicago Bears lost even with a trick play that reminded me of my football days, lots of people have seen “The Smurfs” movie and we don’t know why, I can’t decide whether I should see a funny movie about cancer (“50/50”) or a movie about baseball (“Moneyball”), I went shoe shopping and was denied by both Nordstrom and Zappos, Stu Gotz got wet and it didn’t even have to do with his wishing his Lil’ Gotz a happy birthday today, and I recommend you start getting in line now to buy a new iPhone on October 14th.

It was a busy weekend, let alone week!

Thanks for listening!

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

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

By: The Dude on the Right

Download and Listen

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

Below is an excerpt from his full review of “X-Men: First Class,“ now available on Blu-ray. The Dude on the Right really liked the movie, though is a little bummed he didn’t take the time to see it in the theater. Read the full review to find out why…

… 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! …

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

Below is an excerpt from his full review of the Blu-ray, “Lourdes.” The Dude on the Right liked it, even though he had to read it, and was pleasantly surprised in the movie it turned out to be…

… 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. …

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

Download and Listen

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!!!