Five Years Of This?

Yes, as of yesterday this blog is now five years old. And what better way to mark the occasion than by thanking Wikipedia for explaining the content of a modern-day classic?

All these years and I never figured that out!

But seriously, I'll try to post some other stuff. I was thinking of a "best and worst movies of the last five years" post, but I've seen so few 2014 films...

Catching Up On Movies

Remember when I used to go see movies, and then give my opinions of them? Those were the days. As part of this return to blogging, I present the movies I've seen but haven't written about. Grades for all, a few needed comments on some. Unfortunately, the 2014 portion of the list is rather barren, in great part because of my financial situation, which is pretty horrible at this time. So I'm not sure how many more films I'll see from here on out.

2013

The World's End: B-plus
Kick-Ass 2: D-plus (If I recall, the off-beat charm and humor of the first film -- in the midst of all the violence -- was gone from this one. Juvenile and stupid.)
Lee Daniels' The Butler: B (Based more loosely on the true story than it should have been, and some of the actors portraying Presidents were jarring.)
You're Next: C-plus (Very much a mixed bag, with some good acting but a ridiculous plot.)
The Conjuring: B (Very old school. Not like today's horror films at all.)
Don Jon: C-plus (I love love love Joseph Gordon-Levitt and this film was his baby. It just got old and dumb pretty fast.)
Gravity: A
Machete Kills: C-minus (Pretty disappointing. I had to watch the first film On Demand and that was over-the-top fun. This was more over-the-top dumb.)
The Counselor: F (I walked out of this pretty fast. I didn't even make it to the scene where Cameron Diaz humped a car.)
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa: B
Carrie: C-minus (So unnecessary. And setting it in the present, with smartphone videos and the like, didn't help.)
Thor: The Dark World: B (A little better than the first, which isn't saying much.)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: B (Not as good as the first, which is saying a lot.)
American Hustle: B-plus
Saving Mr. Banks: A
The Dallas Buyers Club: B-plus
Frozen: C (So, so overrated! The film is overrated! "Let It Go" is overrated! The movie took forever to get started, the story wasn't all that exceptional. It's not that the movie and song are awful. It's just that they're not special. Why did people make such a fuss over it? Overrated!)

2014

Anchorman 2: B-minus (Again, had to watch the first On Demand. Not as good as the first, but a rather clever comment on the advent of 24-hour cable TV news and what it would become.)
The Lego Movie: A (Everything is awesome!!!!)
Muppets Most Wanted: B (It's like they're making minor changes and reissuing the first Muppet movies. First came the movie in which the Muppets get together (or get back together). Then there's the sequel where a Muppet is framed as a criminal. If they make another, expect the Muppets to hit New York City again.)
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier: B-plus (Not only did this movie turn out well, but it rejuvenated the Agents of SHIELD TV series. It's a miracle!)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2: B-minus (Why did they reboot this so soon? And why is it not better?)
X-Men: Days of Future Past: B (This was very good in a lot of ways, but I think my expectations were raised by the pre-release hype.)

This Guy...

...well, the version of him that's ten or so years older than when this picture appeared in the Flyers' 2003-04 Pictorial Yearbook (not just a yearbook, a Pictorial yearbook)...just won the Conn Smythe trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. Justin Williams of the Los Angeles Kings won his third Cup since being traded from the Flyers in 2004.

And hey, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter won their second Cup since they were traded by the Flyers. Are we sensing something about the Flyers' player evaluation over the years? But this is not about the Flyers or Richards or Carter. This is about Justin Williams. He's woefully overdressed in this photo.

I'm Back! With "Pride"

Hi there! Remember me? I used to blog. I got away from it for many reasons -- partly related to laziness, and other things I won't talk about right now (or maybe ever) -- but I want to get back to it. I need to get back to it.

So, as we go along perhaps I'll get to some other stuff I've been meaning to post. For now, though, here's a little iTunes Baker's Dozen. Not a shuffle from my collection, but from iTunes Radio's special LGBT Pride station. I'm trying to figure out exactly where the "LGBT" comes in, how this is different from any other pop-oriented radio station (other than the inclusion of the old Cher hit). Also, at some point in the near future, will Pitbull appear on EVERY song?

Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake

I Will Never Let You Down - Rita Ora

Chandelier - Sia

Wut - Le1f

Drunk in Love - Beyonce feat. Jay Z

Into the Wild - LP

Song for the Lonely - Cher

Hideaway - Kiesza

Dark Horse - Katy Perry feat. Juicy J

Exotic - Priyanka Chopara feat. Pitbull

Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix) - Lana Del Rey

Fancy - Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX

Problem - Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 9-17-13

Okay, so this is just another sort of placeholder to show that this blog hasn't officially died...although honestly, I'm not quite sure why I keep posting (when I actually do, that is, and don't procrastinate on things like writing about the movies I've seen recently -- five, although none in the last two weeks)...

Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross and the Supremes
Bullet Proof Soul - Sade
Dance, Freak & Boogie - Nitelife Unlimited
Please (You Got That) - INXS
Say Say Say - Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
Cupid Boy - Kylie Minogue
Heartbreak Hotel (Hex Hector Club Mix) - Whitney Houston
I Love To Walk - The Simpsons
If I Never See Your Face Again (Paul Oakenfold Remix) - Maroon 5 feat. Rihanna
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Old Flame - Kimbra
Rapunzel - Dave Matthews Band
Girl Afraid - The Smiths

Gaga: Release The Damn Album, Already!

This post from one of the people I follow on Twitter inspired this. He wrote, "I don't think I can wait another 2+ months for the new Gaga album!" My reply: "I don't understand how the music industry functions any more." And I really don't. I used to not only read but subscribe to Billboard magazine (which is odd for someone who doesn't work in the business) during the 1980s and into the 1990s. And as the years went by and new charts were created, and the methodology for compiling the charts, especially the Hot 100, changed, and as the magazine itself evolved, I lost interest in it.

But things were simpler back then: a record company released the first single from an artist's upcoming album. Then, within a few weeks or so, the album itself would arrive, followed by subsequent singles from that album until it was time for a new album, or perhaps a single from a motion picture soundtrack. (Of course, the number of singles would depend on the popularity of the artist and album.) The advent of music videos tweaked the process a little.

But the modern process is unreal. Singles sales pretty much died until the mp3 format rejuvenated it. Now, I don't know if there's such a thing as a single release unless it's digital. The only CD-singles I ever see are for dance mixes. The only vinyl records I ever see are full-length albums, because there's a segment of the music buyer that prefers the sound of vinyl to digital sounds. And the newfound popularity of buying individual songs seems to have caused people to lose interest in buying full albums, except for certain acts or albums that manage to sell big.

The digital format seems to lend itself to leaks of unreleased songs, which is part of the problem. Let's get back to Lady Gaga.

Too Long For Twitter: Credit Union Surprise

In the last month or so I've been using my debit/ATM card for purchases instead of running to the machine to withdraw cash. I used my credit union's app to transfer money from saving to checking via phone and then paid for food, etc. with the debit card. So convenient, right? Except I noticed today these $1.00 fees on my list of transactions in the last few days. It turns out that I get ten free ATM withdrawals and POS (point-of-sale) transactions per month. After that, it's $1.00 each.

Granted, credit unions are much, much better than the big banks, but still, this bothers me. If the point of the card is to keep people from having to run into the bank and get money from a teller, and to not have to process a paper check to pay for things, then why shouldn't debit card sales be free of transactions?

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go withdraw enough cash to tide me over for a while.

HELP WANTED: Copy Editor. Apply Phila Daily News

Unless they're tied (which they weren't) only one team can be leading the NL Central at a time, unless they're tied.

I've written about these errors often in the last year or two. I haven't been pointing them out lately, but they're still going on. The other day a headline said someone was a "targed" of a lawsuit instead of a target.

And I haven't even gotten to my annual critique of their Sexy Singles promotion. Don't worry. It will arrive shortly.

Quick Reviews: Four Most Recent

Yeah, I keep procrastinating instead of writing about a movie right after I've seen it. It's a good thing I don't get paid for this. Of course, if someone would like to pay me, I'd be sure to stick to deadline. Anyway, I'll be pretty brief with these. Mostly not bad, but not really worth a ton of analysis.

The real selling point of 2 Guns is the Denzel Washington-Mark Wahlberg pairing, as law enforcement officials (undercover, but each thinks the other is an actual criminal) trying to bring down a drug lord. It gets much more complicated, with double-crosses galore. I just let go of trying to keep up and rode the wave of the two stars' having fun. My grade: B.

Speaking of drug lords, there's one in We're the Millers, and he forces a low-level drug dealer (Jason Sudeikis) to make a pickup of pot in Mexico. To do this successfully, he decides to take family with him in order to avoid suspicion at the border. As he has no family, he recruits a stripper (Jennifer Aniston) and a couple of teenagers, one a latchkey kid and one a runaway, to act as his family. At times raunchy but generally pretty funny. I can't entirely buy Aniston as a stripper, though. She's just too...nice. My grade: B-plus.

Elysium is a sci-fi film and a lesson. In 2154 the world is a real mess, and the wealthiest people have gone to Elysium, a space station/satellite/mini-world where life is perfect and disease is cured instantly with a short lie-down in a machine that looks like a tanning booth. Elysium is visible in the Earth's sky, like the moon, taunting those left behind with no hope of getting up there. So this is all a commentary on current events and the need for universal health care. Poisoned by an industrial accident and with five days to live, Max (Matt Damon) hooks up with a group who smuggles people onto Elysium to get their own diseases cured. Damon's fine, but Jodie Foster as a government official defending Elysium from the illegal immigrants is kind of a misfire. Still, it's watchable and food for thought, although the Tea Party nutjobs might disagree. My grade: B-plus.

And then there's Paranoia, which is pretty much a mess. It's about a guy (Liam Hemsworth, pretty but vapid; I think he has a total of one facial expression) who gets himself entangled in corporate espionage between two tech companies, run by a pair of former friends (Harrison Ford, with head shaved(!) and Gary Oldman). Ridiculous script and plot, and not particularly well-acted. What really got me was how some of it was filmed in Philadelphia but it's set in New York. But there are times when it's so obvious it's Philadelphia. Street signs, local establishments, the concourse under Broad Street that obviously isn't a New York City subway concourse -- and not only did they film inside the Comcast Center, but at one point you actually see the building's name. Really sloppy work. Fortunately, not many people will see it. When I saw it on Friday, it's first day of release, only one other person was in the theater with me. My grade: D-plus.

My Olympic Solution To The Russian Gay Thing

Something good MUST come from this! I know
Homer Simpson would approve.

There's been a large outcry from around the world against Russia for its recent onslaught of anti-gay laws and violence, particularly as it relates to two things: Russian vodka and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Among the many suggestions and counter-suggestions that have meandered into my brain via various media outlets:

Boycott Russian vodka, especially Stolichnaya. Put financial pressure on Russia.
Don't boycott Stoli -- the company isn't actually Russian-owned and is pro-LGBT.

Boycott the Sochi Olympics. That will hurt and embarrass Russia.
Don't boycott the Sochi Olympics -- that will only hurt the athletes who aren't allowed to compete.

Move the Olympics to another location. That will hurt Russia.
Don't move the Olympics -- logistically it just can't be done.

Athletes, coaches, officials and others participating in or attending the Olympics should protest while there -- for example, wearing items with the rainbow flag.
Athletes, etc. shouldn't protest -- the Olympics shouldn't be politicized (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA -- they've been politicized longer than I've been alive) and athletes may be disqualified or sanctioned. Plus these visitors may risk being arrested themselves. (Russian officials keep changing their tunes in this regard and the International Olympic Committee, engorged as it is by greed and corruption, doesn't have a clue how to react.)

No one should travel to Russia for vacation. Spend tourism money elsewhere.
...actually, I haven't seen a pro-tourism viewpoint here. But how many people actually visit Russia for pleasure when there isn't an Olympics? I have no statistics, but if you're not a Russophile like Johnny Weir, there are a lot more glamorous vacation destinations.

What disturbs me is the infighting I've seen regarding these ideas. Maybe it's just my finding links and comments on Twitter, but it seems both supporters and opponents of these boycotts are doing a lot of nasty sniping at each other. While they agree that something needs to be done, they aren't exactly putting up a united front.

That has to stop. I'm for any boycott that anyone wants to do. I'm in favor of not buying Russian vodka. I'm in favor of moving the Olympics (more on that in a moment). I'm in favor of boycotting the Olympics, if any governments decided to do so. I don't really care what's done, but something must be done to stop the injustices in Russia. But I'm not in favor of fighting and insulting each other.

As far as moving the Olympics out of Sochi, I think there's a way.