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How to Be a Bad Dad, Congrats South Park Dudes, and The Key to a Great Mojito.

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Our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast is back after a week hiatus, and Stu Gotz admits that he is a bad father. Well, he’s not a bad dad all of the time, but the Queen Mary docked in California has a tour, and he took his little ones on it. He also saw some movies, and doesn’t like “Rango” but does like the new “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” Me, my congratulations go out to a multitude of folks, namely Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks for beating LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, the boys of South Park for their Broadway play “The Book of Mormon” that won a bunch of Tony Awards, and Rick Bayless who, as luck would have it, posted his recipe for a Watermelon Mojito, and it is delicious (and yes, do yourself a favor and find the D’Aristi rum from Yucatan – it makes it very yummy!) and my new, favorite, summertime drink.

All of that and more, and thanks for listening!

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

Timmmmmberrrrr! Memorial Day Weekend Movies, and Chicago Closes a Beach!

By: The Dude on the Right

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A recent lightning strike took out a tree in the Stu Gotz backyard, and during this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I mention to Stu that I saw some guys on TV competing in Timbersports that might be able to help him out. Storm damage continues wreaking havoc with Stu, with a mini basement flood, but lucky for me, my weekend was mostly about movies and maintenance, so I skip the work and tell Stu my thoughts on “Red” and “I Am Number Four.” Both of us saw “The Hangover Part II” and enjoyed it for what it was, pretty much the same story as Part I but with a different bachelor, even though we sort of had our own instance of “Losing Doug.”

Stu is worried that “Kung Fu Panda 2” might actually be kind of rough with the mom-dying scene as his Little Gotz seemed a little freaked out, Stu doesn’t want to talk about Jim Tressel resigning from Ohio State, my wife likes going to Hooters, I saw a “South Park” episode Stu didn’t see yet, and Chicago closed their beach because it was too hot (or so they say).

All of that and more, and thanks for listening!

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

I Am Number Four

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:49 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

I Am Number Four Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Argon, Teresa Palmer
MPAA Rated:	PG-13
Released By:	Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment & Dreamworks Studios
Release Date:	May 24, 2011
Kiddie Movie:	Not too young – teen girls mostly.
Date Movie:	Not really.
Gratuitous Sex:	Skimpy outfits are all.
Gratuitous Violence:	Alien violence, and some hinted at gruesomeness.
Action:	Lots of chasing and running around.
Laughs:	Not really.
Memorable Scene:	Nothing stands out.
Memorable Quote:	Nah.
Directed By:	D.J. Caruso
Produced By:	Michael Bay

Sometimes a movie seems to try to be a few too many things, as is the case I found with “I Am Number 4.” The premise is fairly simple – There is a group of people left here from another planet, and they have some special powers. The problem is that their planet is pretty much gone, and these assassin dudes have been dispatched to kill them. Sounds simple enough. Now try to make it a “I’m a teenager and have all of these other issues to deal with,” and also leaving some of the characters as caricatures of bad dudes, and a grandiose ending, and you get “I Am Number 4.”

Okay, I made things a little simpler than they should be, but for this movie we have John Smith (Alex Pettyfer). He seems like your normal, teen, outsider, only he’s an alien. He has his protector (Timothy Olyphant), but he’s not really one to help John as he’s discovering things like girls, and his abilities. All of his life he has been on the run from assassins dispatched to kill him from his home planet, and in the world of the internet, things get even harder when your image can pop up at any time when someone snaps a photo and puts it on their Facebook page. So John can’t be normal, yet he still likes to fall for the ladies, and of course that tends to be a problem when he ends up in his new small town. The problem is that the bad guys are hot on his trail, there’s some weird backstory about a kid at the school whose dad seemed to be on the trail of our alien visitors, and of course John suffers the same “nerd v jock” attitude in most high school themed movies.

Look, for me, this movie is mostly one for the teen girls, looking for the cute guy with superpowers, and they’ll find that in John. For the dudes, well, this dude anyway, things got almost too cheesy with the bad guys as they carted around this big monster in a truck and scared little kids as they passed them in their car. In the end it’s kind of just an okay movie, and I’ll wrap things up with a 2 stars out of 5.

As far as the Blu-ray and DVD, you don’t get too much in the way of extras. Most of the deleted scenes are better off deleted, although I did like the scene with the Mom, and the bloopers are a waste of DVD space. I do admit I did like the “Becoming Number Six” featurette, which was kind of a “The Making of…” thing, especially seeing how “blue-screen” kind of scenes ended up becoming what they were in the movie. In the end there’s nothing that special – you’re getting this set for the movie.

A movie that had potential for a series of films, but one that gets lost in typical “I’m a teen trying to fit in high school” story. That’s my end take on “I Am Number Four.”

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

Arena Football is Fun, John Rich is a Winner, Dr. Strangelove is Good, and Balls are Clean.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Stu Gotz is watching old movies (Dr. Strangelove), and I’m watching girly TV (Real Housewives of New Jersey), and during this podcast episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!”, we dissect is all, sort of. We have talk about a Chicago Rush game, talk about The Celebrity Apprentice, but surprisingly no review talk about “Pirates of the Caribbean.” I tell Stu he should catch the season finale of “Saturday Night Live” with Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga because it is was very funny, and Stu learns his kids might be a little too young for “Doctor Who” sometimes.

We have tick talk, “American Idol” talk, and whether you want it or not, a lot of talk about washing my balls.

All of that and more, and thanks for listening!

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

Hooray for Survivor, Hooray for Chuck! Boo for The Green Hornet, Boo for Flat Tires.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Sure, we’re a week and a day late for this podcast, but that don’t stop us none! Nope, during this podcast episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!”, I explain to Stu Gotz how Boston Rob was a great player during “Survivor,” and truly deserved to win. I also give my breakdown of the movie “Thor” to him, but with the summer movie season now upon us, Stu figures he still won’t go and see it, but does have hope for the new “Pirates of the Carribean” flick. Stu sort of had hopes for “The Green Hornet,” but those hopes were quickly squashed, while both of us had the hope of the TV show “Chuck” come to fruition.

I’m excited by the Chicago Bulls and Stu isn’t; Stu had a fun time with the Gotz family and their RV, and I don’t have one; I forgot to send an RSVP and Stu didn’t; Neither of us have tickets to Oprah’s final show, but both of us know how to pronounce library.

All of that and more, and Thanks for listening!

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

Osama is Dead, A Priest is Suspended, Fast Five is Great, and the Cleveland Indians don’t Suck. Here Comes the Apocalypse!

By: The Dude on the Right

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I wonder what Stu Gotz thinks about Osama Bin Laden being dead, but just as, if not more important during this Weekend Wrap-Up! podcast, I question Stu on a topic he will know nothing about, namely how in the hell the Cleveland Indians have the best record in baseball right now. Stu’s weekend was a little tame, mostly just hanging with the kids and watching “Jackass 3,” while I was all over the place. The world’s greatest nephew took me to see Coheed and Cambria in concert at the House of Blues in Chicago, and I liked it even though I didn’t know any songs, and we also had a chance to catch the greatest movie ever, in the likes of “Fast Five,” the fifthwel in the series bringing The Rock into “The Fast and The Furious” franchise. But what would a short tourist trip for the W.G.N. be without being a little bit of a tourist, so myself, The BFF, and the W.G.N. played tourist on Sunday hitting “The Ledge” at The Sears, I mean Willis Tower, checking out The Bean at Millenium Park, and taking in the “Hand Painted Posters from Ghana” exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center.

And, oh yea, in case you are wondering, Hope Dworaczyk was fired on “Celebrity Apprentice,” and Osama Bin Laden is still dead.

Thanks for listening!

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

Movie Mania, Another Easter Over, Buh Bye La Toya, and Hello Paula, maybe.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Another Easter has come and gone but not without an abundance of food, and Stu Gotz and I detail some of our food partaking during this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast. (Would you believe that pierogis and sushi might be involved?). Along with gastrointestinal delights, my weekend included a lot of TV viewing, mostly catching up on my staple of “Survivor,” “Celebrity Apprentice,” and playoff games of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks. Stu, meanwhile, was seeing a lot of movies and does his best to let you know if you should see “Hanna,” “The Lincoln Lawyer,” and “Water for Elephants,” the last of which leads to a discussion of movies “based” on books. And in news that makes me happy, I’m almost totaling looking forward to “The X Factor” now that the story over the weekend is that Paula Abdul is close to being announced as a judge! Okay, subsequent stories say “not so fast,” but hey, a man who loves babbling TV can dream, can’t he?

There is no rest for the wicked, and it seems no rest for Stu and I over a weekend, but that’s okay because in the words of Bon Jovi, sort of, we’ll sleep when we’re dead.

Thanks for listening!

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

Stupid or Lazy? Dogs or Bunnies? Boston Rob or Gary Busey?

By: The Dude on the Right

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Stu Gotz’s weekend involved bunny rabbits and mine involved a dog, so during this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast we discuss animals. We also discuss being domestic, as the Dude household needs some windows treatments for privacy purposes, while Stu wants my opinion of a person he interacted with over the weekend, and if they were stupid or just lazy.

On the movie front, Stu lets everyone know if “Hop” is destined to be a classic, or at least if it’s any good, and I’m telling you that the movie “Babies” contains a lot of boobies, but not necessarily those you might originally be thinking about. Stu is looking for a Doctor Who coffee mug, I’m looking for a quieter dog, Stu didn’t watch something that had to do about “Burn Notice,” and I’m still wrapped into “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Survivor: Redemption Island.” All of that and more!

Thanks for listening!

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

Tron: Legacy

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 2:05 Long
A Blu-ray Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Tron: Legacy Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde
MPAA Rated:	PG
Released By:	Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date:	April 5, 2011
Kiddie Movie:	It’s a tad violent, so not too young.
Date Movie:	Especially if she’s a little geeky.
Gratuitous Sex:	Skimpy outfits, mostly.
Gratuitous Violence:	It’s Disney and PG, so nothing horrible.
Action:	Lots of chasing and running.
Laughs:	Some snickers.
Memorable Scene:	The Game Grid is cool.
Memorable Quote:	Nothing stands out.
Directed By:	Joseph Kosinski
Cool things about the Blu-ray?	The “making of” stuff is nicely detailed so you don’t get the feeling it was just thrown together, but for shear interactive Tron-ness grab your iPad or laptop and use the Second Screen feature.

I barely remember the original “Tron.” Sure, I played the game on my Intellivision, but in my movie world, if my life depended on remembering any of the story, well, it’s a good thing that “Tron: Legacy” has a 5-Disc, 2-Movie combo pack that includes not just “Tron: Legacy” on Blu-ray, but the original “Tron” on Blu-ray as well, a Digital copy of “Tron: Legacy” for portability, a basic DVD of the new one and, if that weren’t enough, if you’ve popped for that new Blu-ray 3D TV and have been looking for an entertaining movie to watch on it, well, this set has one of those as well! Yup, there is no excuse for you to not be assimilated into all things “Tron,” but so that this review isn’t too long, let’s pick up where the first movie left off…

In “Tron: Legacy” we find that it’s been a number of years since Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared from his son, Sam’s (Garrett Hedlund), life. Sam has always been a rebellious son, even though technically in charge of ENCOM, his father’s company. As it goes, after ruining a software release for ENCOM and posting bail, his father’s old confidante tracks down Sam and lets him know that he received a page, from Dad. So Sam is on a quest to the old arcade, finds a trap door, gets sucked into the computer game Dad was sucked into, and when he realizes things aren’t well on the Grid (that’s the computer world), he also realizes he can save his Dad.

So, with the help of Quorra, a resident of The Grid, Sam is able to survive a bit, and eventually Sam, Kevin, and Quorra realize that Clu, who is now the “Ruler” of The Grid, is trying to build an army to enter our real world, take it over, and make it better.

Sure, it sounds a little confusing on paper, but even for me, who couldn’t remember a lick of most of the original, “Tron: Legacy” did a nice job of moving along and bringing you into the story. There are some scenes that, if you aren’t watching it in 3D, will say “Come on, already!”, but in terms of entertainment in your living room, I liked “Tron: Legacy” and think you won’t even have to be a geek to like it.

Visually the movie is pretty stunning and part of me would love to run out and buy a 3D TV but damn, I still hate those glasses, even though I’m guessing it looks even better in 3D! Acting-wise things are what they are, but you get some fun action and just some popcorn fun. It’s 3 ½ stars out of 5 for “Tron: Legacy.”

Now in terms of the Blu-ray package and the various extras, gosh, where to start? Well, in terms of normal stuff you get some pretty good looks at how things are made and that, even though technology has made the movie look a hell of lot better than the original, the challenges are still many to bring a movie about a fictional “game” universe to the big screen. Some stuff is throw-away, I suppose, unless you are a Daft Punk fan and really want to watch the video of “Derezzed,” but in terms of shear movie interaction, Disney has included their “Second Screen” extra, which allows you to use your iPad or laptop to follow along with movie, synching the extra coolness, views, and tidbits for you on your device while you watch the movie. It’s pretty cool, and a lot more fun than things just popping up on the TV screen.

So, in the end, I’ve got to say that in terms of movie-packaging, Disney did a great job with “Tron: Legacy,” especially if you opt for the 5-disc package.

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

Your Highness is High, Storms are Low, TV is On, and Bikes are Ridden.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Storms didn’t materialize where I live, Stu rode a bike, and during this episode of the “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast there is a lot of talk about TV. Yup, I’m still a fan of “Celebrity Apprentice” even though most of the celebrities are idiots, I’m still a fan of “American Idol” even though the judges are idiots, and I’m still a fan of “Survivor: Redemption Island” even though most of the contestants are idiots, and I tell Stu why. Stu, meanwhile, had a quiet weekend alone with the Gotz children as Mama Gotz was away, and with the nice weather Stu went bike riding with his kids. Mama Gotz apparently had a brain fart, “forgetting” all of the goings on that went on during a trip to New Orleans, because Stu had no stories to tell from her, but the both of us had a story to tell as we were of the minority of folks who went to see “Your Highness” over the weekend.

Stu says that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I” comes out on Blu-ray this week, I say that “Scream 4” and “Rio” hit the theaters this week, I say I had a nice time at a confirmation party, and Stu says, “’nuff said.” And such is another podcast episode!

Thanks for listening!

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