Snark, Critic and Pop!

Davy Jones of the prototype boy band/Beatles hybrid, the Monkees, died today. Their 25 minutes of fame were before my time, but I greatly enjoyed this shoddily lip-synced music video. Look for the guitar player strumming his tie:

Saw two headlines over at IMDB.com that I had to share and comment on:

• Johnny Depp’s ‘Lone Ranger’ starts shooting in New Mexico.  Fortunately, no one was injured.
• Tens of Thousands Sign Petition Urging MPAA to Overturn ‘Bully’s’ R Rating.  Tens of thousands urged by fellow citizens to pursue nobler causes with their free time.

At long last, the Paper Airplane World Record for distance has been beaten. Behold the astonishing video evidence: (continue reading…)

“My Bible burst into flame for some reason”:

Fronted by the lovely and mega-talented Karin Bergquist Over the Rhine is one the great under-appreciated bands, and one of Ohio’s finest exports, which is still going strong after 20 years. Here’s Over the Rhine from Dutch television in 1992 with a great rendition of their song “If I’m Drowning”: (continue reading…)

The Die Hard franchise gets around. 1988′s classic action movie Die Hard popularized the lonewolf hero trapped in an isolated location battling villainous villains while the rest of the world watches from the outside. Ever since, the idea has travelled to more exotic locales than Tintin and his dog Snowy.

Die Hard has taken a boat ride and then a train with Steven Seagal (Under Siege 1 & 2); gone to a hockey game with Jean-Claude Van Damme (Sudden Death); travelled by plane with not only Kurt Russell (Executive Decision) but also Wesley Snipes (Passenger 57); spent the weekend at a ski resort with Bruce Campbell and Sean Astin (Icebreaker); and climbed a mountain with Sylvester Stallone (Cliffhanger).

You’d think screenwriter’s plundering from the Die Hard playbook would be running out of cool locales.  All that would be left is: Die Hard at a retirement home with Clint Eastwood (Retire = Hard).  But disproving that theory, now Die Hard not only goes to Moscow (the one in Russia!) but gets to go to a rock concert with Dolph Lundgren in in Moscow!  That’s today’s subject, Command Performance. (continue reading…)

In an apprent attempt to frighten and confuse anyone who might for some reason be a fan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays the team will be giving out Zim Bears on June 29th.  The Detroit Tigers will be in town, and what better way to celebrate your team losing, than to go home with something that will undoubtedly give your children nightmares.  The bears were best described at Big League Stew:

…half-crusty old coach Don Zimmer, half-cuddly teddy bear and 100 percent terrifying.

With Shannen Doherty! Oh how the mighty — or, once less weak, I suppose — are fallen!

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Roadhouse! You really get a sense of the movie in these 45 seconds:

“JWKB” is short for the now defunct band “John Wilkes Kissing Booth.” The band never made it big, but they did reach the top tier of bands ironically named after Presidential assassins. (continue reading…)

Formerly Incredible and formerly the non-acting version of the Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno is back with a new film! The old timer, still in far better shape than I’ve ever been in, plays a secret agent type dude who is also apparently a super hero, The Liberator. The trailer speaks volumes, but I understand very little of it. The film also features Ed Asner as “The President” (there’s a scary thought), Don “the Non-Ricky Steamboat Dragon” Wilson, former basic cable La Femme Nakita Peta (no, not the animal worshipping kind of Peta) Wilson, and Worf! Yes, Michael Dorn sans makeup even has a role.

One question: Where’s the Stan Lee cameo? They really dropped the ball on that one! (continue reading…)

I thought the Super Condor franchise jumped the shark after the top notch Super Condors 7: The Wrath of Koko B. Ware, but here they go again: