Category: Movies

Have You Been to an Opening Day?

Have you been to an opening day?

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Now that pitchers and catchers have duly reported, as well as the rest of the players, it’s that time of year when, unless your basketball team is great, or you are a hockey nut, your sport’s thoughts are probably drifting to baseball, because, as James Earl Jones says in “Field of Dreams,” – “The one constant through all the years… has been baseball.”

Yes, even if you are a casual fan there is hope, hope that this year your team might be a little bit better, that maybe, just maybe, this could be the year that they catch fire and actually become good, or that, God forbid, they might actually make it to the playoffs (Oh, wait, most everyone makes it to the playoffs nowadays – scratch that – The World Series).

Me, I have three teams that have my loyalty, the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. The Indians are always near and dear to my heart because they are really my home-town team, the team I loved while growing up in Lorain, OH, even though they always sucked, and my first big-league game. The White Sox and Cubs are a result of my transplantation to Chicago for college, and my general sticking around here. Back in college we would go to the old Comisky Park quite a bit as it was right across a few streets from Illinois Institute of Technology, my college alma matter, and a trip to a Cubs game became a staple of Rush Week in our fraternity.

As the years progressed my core group of friends would generally score bleacher tickets to opening day for the Cubs, a little easier back in the day before the online ordering system became a cluster-f of “Waiting Room” delays, though lately, I’ve missed a few, although, for me, the bleacher experience has come and gone, preferring now the comfort of my own seat, with a little less of a “drunk” crowd around me.

In any case, opening day is coming soon, and though I’ll be missing it this year I will have hope for all of my teams, at least until probably the end of opening day, and I wonder: Have you been to an opening day?

That’s it for this one! I’m Andy!! L8R!!!

Did you even consider going to see “The Lone Ranger” this weekend?

The big movie news over the weekend was twofold. First there was joy in Universal-land with “Despicable Me 2” as it brought in some $142 million over the long 4th of July weekend, a new record for a an animated film over the long, 5-day opening. Hooray! And then there was “The Lone Ranger.” Yup. you know the movie, at least I’m thinking you’ve heard of it. The one with Johnny Depp. He plays Tonto. And there is something about a train over a bridge and it blowing up? Yea, that’s the one. Well, it appears people heard of it, but for the most part no one went to see it as the news for Disney was bad with the movie only making about $48.9 million. Now, that seems like a lot of money, but the budget rumors say the movie cost anywhere between $215 and $250 million to put together, and when all is said and done after worldwide stuff and video it might break even, but if there were Disney dreams of replacing the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise with something new, they seem to be squashed.

Me, I relaxed a bit this weekend, working on some long-term projects, so I have to say that I didn’t even think of going to see “The Lone Ranger.” Well, there was that and the fact that the movie just didn’t look that good in the trailers, but as this weekend is over, and we get back to our normal schedule, I’m plighting: Did you even consider going to see “The Lone Ranger” this weekend?

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

Do You Plan on Watching the Golden Globe Awards?

It’s award show season, and there is no more controversial award show than the Golden Globe Awards. There are many in the industry that consider it a joke, that the Hollywood Foreign Press is a joke, and that the award is really meaningless, but these are the same industry people who are praying for their movie, show, song, etc., to be named as the winner this year. Why? Publicity, and somehow the Golden Globes figured out how to market themselves as the “fun” award show. Yup, you get everyone seated at round tables instead of a stuffy auditorium, so it seems like a wedding reception, and then of course there is the flow of alcohol that sometimes loosens up either a presenter, or better yet, one of the award recipients. We like a train-wreck, and for the most part people aren’t tuning into the Golden Globes to see who won, nope, they are tuning in to see said train-wreck, and hope it might be an actor or actress we admire who is slightly over-served and trips on their way to the stage.

Okay, I don’t know if that’s why people are tuning in, but it’s one of the reasons I’ll be tuning in, that and the fact that this year Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are hosting it and they can usually bring the funny. Hopefully they will be unleashed, hopefully the booze will be flowing, hopefully someone will be goofy, but you can bet there will be someone who gets up there proclaiming they didn’t have a speech written because they didn’t think they would win, people will gripe tomorrow, especially if a “darling” doesn’t win, that the awards are a joke, and in a few weeks once the Academy Awards hit no one will care who really won the Golden Globe. Except the winners.

I’ll be watching, but I wonder and I plight: Do you plan on watching the Golden Globe Awards?

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

Stu Needs a Keg Fridge, Good and Bad Movies, Bears in the Super Bowl, and Did Blossom Ever Get Naked?

By: The Dude on the Right

Download and ListenDownload the Podcast!

As Stu Gotz and I eagerly await what Apple has up their sleeve with their cryptic announcement of “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.”, to be, well, announced tomorrow at 10AM EST, (I’m guessing it’s The Beatles catalog, just in time for the Holidays, or streaming TV, or cloud based iTunes, or free iPhones to the people who send the most e-mails to Bill Gates telling him to buy an iPhone, but that’s just my guesses), we get back to pondering more important things, like our respective weekends which means it’s time for another podcast episode of Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up!

Me, I saw the movie “Unstoppable” and actually liked it, and I tell Stu why. Stu, he saw “Megamind” and actually didn’t like it, and Stu tells me why. We reminisce about a keg fridge and the scariness of getting some CO2, Stu tries to calm my hopes that the Chicago Bears will be going to the Super Bowl, and did you know that “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” opens this weekend?

Stu is liking the Blossom girl (Mayim Bialik) on “The Big Bang Theory” and wonders if she ever got naked, I had some alone time from my BFF, Stu knows a lot about tee-pees, and wouldn’t you know it, “Burn Notice” and “Psych” are back, much to the delight of Stu.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

A Scrubbed Shuttle, Wax On, Funny Movies, Stupid People and Doggie Diet Pills

By: The Dude on the Right

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Stu Gotz is back! Hooray! Yup, Stu is back from Florida for our "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast, and he tells me all about his failed attempt to see a space shuttle launch. Luckily for the podcast it did lend for some good storytellin’, and speaking of storytellin’, a smell of freshly waxed floors over the weekend made me reminisce of college days where I was relegated to cleaning the fraternity house kitchen while the floor crew got sloshed. Ah, college days!

But as weekends do go, I let Stu know that "Due Date" is a pretty funny movie and he should go and see it, Stu told me that "Date Night" is a pretty funny movie and I should add it to my Netflix queue, Stu is sucked into "Supernatural" on TV while I"m sucked back into "Smallville," and Stu has a story of stupid people in Spain.

And speaking of stupid people, Milo had a quick trip to a vet on Sunday where I found that yes, people are lazy and stupid, especially when I saw a pharmaceutical ad for doggie diet pills. How lazy is that?

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

8mm

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 2:03 Long
A Preview by:
– The Dude on the Right

8mm
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, Catherine Keener
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Columbia Pictures
Directed By: Joel Schumacker

We’ve got Nicolas Cage playing a Private Eye, hired by this old lady, to find out if this 8mm film her dead husband had in his safe truly depicts some horrible atrocity, or if it is fake. So, Cage has to watch, and watch, and watch this film, try to find out who shot it, and solve the mystery that turns into gunfights and chases.

It looks to be a pretty cool psychological thriller, with lots of action especially if Joel Schumacker is involved. Cage always entertains in these styles of films, so barring a catastrophe this should be a winner.

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

Netflix is Cool, Repo Men is Not, Dodge Ball is Cool, Politics is Not. Go Buckeyes!

By: The Dude on the Right

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Somehow The BFF and my NCAA brackets are not busted yet, so during our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast I let Stu know that he should be cheering for The Ohio State Buckeyes as the Sweet Sixteen are now set, and that Mama Gotz should clean the house. Yup, it seems the NCAA basketball tournament is messing with her TV schedule, and she’s not happy about it, but neither Stu nor myself watched that much TV, and I’m thinking Celebrity Apprentice shouldn’t be two hours long.

Stu, though, gave the Netflix on Demand a try, with good success, we both saw “Repo Men” and thought it sucked, Stu was surprised to find Dodgeball at a little kid’s birthday party (Happy Birthday Little Gotz!), and I actually got dressed up for a 60’s themed birthday party. Heck, we even talk a little bit about the health care bill that passed.

Something is seriously wrong with the two of us, and we will know that for sure if either of us end up seeing “Hot Tub Time Machine” this upcoming weekend.

Thanks for listening!

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

American Idol is Coming, Up In the Air is Good, Jay Leno is Moving, and 3-D TV Will Survive.

Another Stu & The Dude’s "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast has come, and the boys talk about porn.  Well, they sort of talk about porn, namely a sexbot and 3-D-ness, and if anything else at the CES show last week will be a staple of tomorrow because of sex.  There is talk of a new computer, about computer server issues, about beer, about movies bad and good for kids, i.e., The Pink Panther 1 & 2, about movies for adults, i.e., Up In The Air, about TV catching up with "Chuck," and the return of "American Idol."  The dudes don’t talk about Jay Leno that much, what with him losing his show and all, but hey, it’s topical, and Stu’s not really a fan, so why not, there is some Jay Leno talk as well.  So much, so little time, yet Stu and The Dude figure a way to squeeze it into a 20-minute podcast.