Finally, the mainstream media is giving the ding the attention that it deserves. “What is this… some sort of… hot tub time machine?” I don’t understand why sexy Amy Burley from Tru Blood is kind of eh as the love interest April.

(image Daniel in the Hot Tub Time Machine originally uploaded by Gentleman of Sophistication and Refinement)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 63%

The Perfect Storm is the perfect example of a ding. Like anyone wouldn’t understand the title, they had to have a meteorologist interpret the weather and say, “It is… the perfect storm.” George Clooney sure has come a long way. Mark Wahlberg, not so much. Speaking of perfect storms, my last weekend in New York and the weather forecast is crazy all out blizzard.

(image The Perfect Storm originally uploaded by Dan D. just got a shiny 5D Mark II)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 47%

Watching Rock Star and wondering if this is what hometown hero Jason had to go through to get into Kasabian. Except instead of losing his girlfriend and ending up in the cafe grunge scene, he gained a Lee Starkey and twins. By the way, one of my new year’s resolutions is to date someone that I don’t keep track of through tabloids.

(video Rock Star! acting cute in HD originally uploaded by Watchcaddy)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 52%

I was watching the end of The Day the Earth Stood Still (Keanu version) today and I was thinking that Klaatu (yes, that is Keanu’s character’s name) has the worst assignment. He has to come to this stupid planet, hang out with this lady’s obnoxious kid, and then brave little metal insects eating him to save this lady and her kid. As an aside, this is Jaden Smith’s worst acting to date. Of course he is in the new Karate Kid so… stay tuned. Anyway, I was thinking that Klaatu really got the short end of the stick when I thought about Don Draper’s role in the movie. He heroically offers to go with lady into danger, five minutes later gets hit with a missile while driving her in a giant Escalade, and gets left in the Escalade to be eaten by little metal insects. I guess everyone is pretty unlucky to be in the movie.

(image day the earth stood still originally uploaded by hastingsgraham)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 20%

Everyone knows that the main reason to live in New York City is that in the case that a zombie-creating virus takes over the city and you survive, you can totally claim a brownstone on Washington Square North. What other reason is there to put up with all the cockroaches and drunks living on your stoop? But I recently learned that the building that Dr. Robert Neville lives in with his dog in I Am Legend isn’t even a brownstone. The facade looks like a brownstone, but inside it is just apartments for NYU faculty. It looks just like every other crappy apartment in the the city. What am I doing still living here?

(image I Am Legend Movie Pic originally uploaded by timaldermd)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 68%

I am starting a Calculus class on Thursday at a CUNY school. When I decided on enrolling, I thought why have I overlooked this great NY resource for a decade? I could have been taking inexpensive classes for years. Then I went through the bureaucracy of trying to enroll. I am almost there, after 1 trip to NYU health services, 1 trip to the Baruch registrar, 2 trips to Baruch admissions and several emails and calls. Now I am watching Good Will Hunting and I’m wondering what was I thinking? I aint no super genius. In fact looking over my high school transcript, math classes were the only classes I got Bs in. Well except for gym class once, but I swear that was just ill will and not my nerddom. I was a fit nerd. Anyways, I just looked up the syllabus and apparently there is homework before the class starts on Thursday and I can’t even understand the homework assignment:

Review Precalculus
The appendix is only available at the publishers web site http://college.hmco.com
1 P. D8: 1, 3, 5, 15, 29, 45, 49, 59
2 P. D15: 1, 7, 9, 17, 29, 33, 35, 45
3 P. 8: 3, 5, 7, 9, 30, 53, 54, 61, 62
4 P. 16: 1-7 odd, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 25, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45
5 P. 27: 1-11 odd, 13-18, 25-28, 39, 41, 42, 59, 61, 62

This is going to be a long semester.

(image good_will_hunting.jpg originally uploaded by stephen.saine)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 97%

When I did gymnastics, I never did that well in competition. I showed up, did some routines, fell off the beam, and went home. The night before my second-to-last meet, I watched The Natural on tv. The next day at the meet, I felt inspired. As the national anthem played, my courage rose and I resolved to do my best. I tied for second on bars and placed overall qualifying me for states.

Tomorrow I am running the NY City Half Marathon. I am pretty sure that I won’t win any awards or qualify for anything (except for maybe a free Jamba juice), but I think watching The Express right now does improve my chances at winning the Heisman. At the very least, it will give me something to occupy my mind during the (fingers crossed) 2 hour run.

By the way, if you watch The Express on an airplane, you will cry.

Football season officially begins in 30 days!

(image Walt Disney World Monorail System – Your Express Highway in the Sky originally uploaded by Matt Pasant)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 61%

I went to see Moon yesterday after the Gold Coast race. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it given that the whole cast is basically Sam Rockwell. If I was casting a movie with one actor I wouldn’t really think Sam Rockwell. But he works it, he is pretty good. Anyway, Peter Rainer from the Christian Science Monitor says, “It just may be the most boring movie ever made — period.” That’s true too. It was pretty hard to stay awake. Don’t go after getting up at 4:45 AM and running/cycling/running a race. I guess Peter Rainer is in a tri club too.

(image Moon Shot 2 originally uploaded by jpro747)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 85%

I remember how excited I was to see Jurassic Park when it came out. I was around 15 and I went by myself. I can’t really remember how I got to the movies by myself when I was 15, but I am pretty sure I went by myself. Jurassic Park was my first experience going to see the movie version of a book I loved. Of course since then I have had the opportunity for many disappointments (The Watchmen, anyone?), but this was my first. I remember being really upset that they made the girl dumb and the boy smart even though in the book the girl was smart… sexism! So, the other day when Jurassic Park was on tv I was surprised to realize that the movie is not sexist, it is all about sex… sexy Jeff Goldblum that is. Every other shot is Jeff Goldblum with his shirt unbuttoned, reclining, explaining chaos theory. It makes adult Michelle feel confused. I am not sure what to think about Jurassic Park now.

(image madison or jurassic park? originally uploaded by randite)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 86%

A Room with a View really can’t compare at all with the book. It rushes through the whole story just to get to the romantic ending with Lucy and George, which is of course the best part. I was thinking, though, about the casting of Daniel Day-Lewis as Lucy’s odious fiance Cecil Vyse. Daniel Day-Lewis is known for staying in character for the entire duration of a movie. I was just thinking how awful it must have been when he was Cecil Vyse for a month. I wonder if he traveled by carriage and insulted everyone he met.

(image A room with a view………. originally uploaded by MarceloRuiz)

Rotten tomatoes rating: 100%