Saturday, December 15, 2012

Bull Durham: Live blog...


4:10pm – And it begins...I'm a baseball fan, and the people that share my interest in baseball are surprised when I tell them I haven't seen this movie so I'm pretty pumped. I haven't seen a baseball movie I didn't like except for Major League baseball 2. What a let down that movie was...

4:12pm – I'm sure making love is a lot like playing baseball, Susan Sarandon...

4:13pm – “The only church that feeds the soul day-in and day-out is the church of baseball...”

4:15pm – Hey it's Tim Robbins!! This seems a little bit different than his character in Shawshank Redemption.

4:18pm – Who would have thought that his “pre-game warmup” would affect his control.

4:19pm – Kevin Costner! Prince of Thieves...I would love that Oscar Meyer inflatable

4:21pm – Considering his career now, I'm sure Kevin Costner would love being a Single-A player.

4:21pm – And he quits...movie's over

4:22pm – He's back! What a plot twist.

4:24pm – Tim Robbins is cracking me up, what a goon. He can dance, and he's picking a fight with Kevin Costner. I don't see anything wrong with this guy in the first 15 minutes of this movie.

4:26pm – Well I liked him until he got mind f'ed and knocked out by Kevin Costner. What a loser...my opinion of him has taken quite a drastic turn. 

4:28pm – Susan Sarandon, you slut.

4:30pm – Crash is just mind f'ing everyone!!

4:32pm – I wonder if Tim Robbins got his role in Shawshank Redemption from this movie.

4:35pm – Well that was...interesting.

4:35pm – Hey, it's Marty from Home Improvement. I loved that show. Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh! (that was my way of typing out the grunt that Tim Taylor did.)

4:37pm – I talk to myself like that all the time when I'm at the plate in church league softball. C'mon Crash stop thinking.

4:40pm – Ha! Crash, you are something else. Kudos to you for starting the popped-collar trend. Juicy J and the rest of the 3 6 Mafia should give you some props.

4:43pm – WHOA! Quite the transition from the batting cage to the bedroom! WHOA! It's Nuke...that was a little “curveball.” See what I did there...

4:44pm – I like Cerrano's spiritual antics over Jose's. Is there a guy that believes in voodoo on every baseball team. Will have to Wikipedia that after this movie.

4:44pm – I'm proud of the tobacco companies giving back to kids after the kids give so much to the tobacco industry.

4:47pm – Nuke needs to work on his coach-ability.

4:48pm – Steaks for everyone!!

4:49pm – How do you pitch from the mound and get that far away from the plate????

4:51pm – Dag gum lolligaggers...I'm reciting this speech verbatim to motivate Bench Mob for our upcoming season.

4:54pm – It's extremely weird seeing Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon in their roles for this movie.

4:58pm – HA! I love this broadcasting...

5:00pm – Kevin Costner, you make these wild claims that you can cause a rain out?? There's only one weatherman, and his name is Nic Cage.

5:01pm – I will give you credit for being resourceful, however.

5:02pm – Nuke is such a head case...who dreams about stuff like that?? Well, apparently Crash does too...

5:06pm – Do all minor-league teams have a slut that sleeps with a promising prospect?? There are so many things I need to Wikipedia after this movie?

5:08pm – Maybe I should try to wear those girly, slutty whatever those things are when I'm on mound for the Bench Mob.

5:10pm – Man, I love baseball...

5:12pm – Haha, the manager chatter cracks me up every time.

5:15pm – Bulls are winning!! I have a feeling that slutty Annie is going to mess whole thing up...

5:17pm – Baseball is so superstitious, it's awesome. I guess since it's such a more mental game than physical, whatever will give the player consistency through a winning streak does actually make a difference. I type this out not to make a point, but to find something else to write about as Tim Robbins is getting seduced by Susan Sarandon.

5:22pm – Well Crash just reinforced my last point.

5:25pm – HA! Everyone meeting at the mound is awesome...

5:27pm – Shower beer!!

5:30pm – Heeeey Nuke gets called up! Good for him!

5:33pm – Uh oh, Crash is jealous...this is not going to end well.

5:35pm – Well that was anti-climatic.

5:35pm – Nevermind!!!

5:36pm – Wait, yeah that was anti-climatic.

5:38pm - “You got to play this game with fear and arrogance.” Makes no sense but I know exactly what that means. Being a marginal MLB player has to be so stressful...and awesome.

5:39pm – Marty gets married on the baseball field. That is so manly. Oh oh oh oh oh!

5:41pm – No way they're cutting Crash...you bastards!

5:43pm – Well, I guess I can understand him going to Annie's place after that just happened. I can also understand why he'd want to listen to slow, soft, sensual jazz music. That stuff is soothing...

5:44pm – This is getting kind of weird....

5:45pm – And boom goes the dynamite...

5:46pm – Don't cry over a gallon of spilled milk.

5:47pm – This music that they're playing doesn't really belong with the actions taking place right now....

5:50pm – Well looks like Annie has fallen for Crash, and she's over Nuke. Maybe she should go for someone will a less hazardous nickname.

5:53pm – This movie is all about using emotion to be successful in baseball, while Moneyball is about using science to be successful in baseball. It is from a different point of view as you're looking through the lens of a GM and a player, but nevertheless, both movies provide great approaches to the game.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Movies I haven't seen....

As I've mentioned in my Jurassic Park live blog, there has been a number of movies that I have not gotten around to seeing. It is in my best interest that I watch these movies for...

1. Their greatness
2. So I will not get (justifiably) harassed on my Facebook timeline.

Some reactions to me posting, "I'm watching Christmas Vacation for the first time..."
Adam Stevens Come on phil

Laurie Thompson Tucker seriously????

Matthew Cooper How have you never watched these classic movies Phil?? You are tardy for the party!


Indeed, Matthew. I am tardy for the party...

Nowers and Sean reactions to me posting, "So...I've never seen Star Wars."

Sean Kotora But surely you've seen the Lethal Weapon films.... Or Braveheart.

David Nowers But you've seen Jurassic Park....right?

Sean Kotora Hey Phil, do you think Tom Cruise gives his best performance as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible or one of the sequels?

Sean Kotora Which Harry Potter book or movie is your favorite?

What a couple of tools.

But anyways, here is the list of movies I haven't seen that people react like I just turned into a walker...
(I've crossed out the ones I've recently seen...)

- Star Wars IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars I: Phantom Menace
- Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars III:  Revenge of the Sith
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Lethal Weapon 1
- Lethal Weapon 2
- Lethal Weapon 3
- Lethal Weapon 4
- Braveheart
- Mission Impossible 1
- Mission Impossible 2
- Mission Impossible 3
- Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocal
- The Goonies
- Any of the Harry Potters
- Predator
- Alien
- Christmas Vacation
- Jurassic Park 1
- Jurassic Park 2
- Jurassic Park 3
- Bull Durham
- The Natural
- Little Giants
- Jaws 
- Princess Bride
- E.T.
- Schindler's List
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Terminator
- Terminator 2
- Terminator 3
- The Green Mile
- Blade Runner
- A Beautiful Mind
- V for Vendetta
- Scarface
- Blues Brothers
- Saving Private Ryan
- Usual Suspects
- Donnie Darko
- The Big Lebowski
- Elf
- Tombstone

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Jurassic Park: Live blog...


Jurassic Park: Live blog...


If you know me pretty well, then you should know that I have not seen a TON of movies. So I had an idea...I'm going to watch different movies and make a play-by-play commentary of my thoughts throughout the whole movie.


Tonight, I have decided that I will watch the classic, dinosaur film “Jurassic Park.” I love dinosaurs, the outdoors, and 90's action movie music, so it's a foregone conclusion that I will love this movie.
Here it is...enjoy.

6:55pm – I'm pretty pumped about this movie. Dinosaurs are awesome, and the bits and pieces that I have seen of this movie has been nothing but enjoyable. I also hope David Nowers and Sean Kotora can stop giving me so much grief about not seeing this movie.

6:56pm – I want a Jurassic Park hardhat. Those things are sweet!

6:57pm – 2 minutes in and a black guy dies already?!? That deserves a Keyshawn Johnson “C'mon, man!”

7:03pm – What a dumb little kid. Comparing a raptor to a turkey?? Well, Dr. Grant made him feel pretty stupid. And that's that.

7:05pm – “WTF HELICOPTER!?! Wait, it's ok. It's a rich, old guy who wears all white.”

7:08pm – ENTER NEWMAN!!

7:09pm – Is it just me? Or does Newman seem like he would be extremely unqualified to run around an island collecting a bunch of embryos.

7:10pm – Hey! It's Jeff Goldblum. Is this the movie where he intercepts the satellite signals from all the dinosaurs and he eventually uses a virus to kill all of the dinosaurs and save the planet??

7:13pm – Awesome music...Awesome Jeeps

7:15pm – OHHHH MAAAHHHH GEEEEEERDDDD!!!!! DINOSAURS!! (is what I would be thinking)

7:20pm – So these dinosaurs came from mosquitoes?? That's pretty far-fetched...not sure how realistic this movie is.

7:22pm – Can you imagine how much the insurance premium would be for Jurassic Park employees if Obama was president at this time? ZIIIING!!

7:23pm – I kind of expected Andrew James to hatch out of that dinosaur egg.

7:26pm – YOU BRED RAPTORS?!?! WTF?!

7:27pm – “This is some bull!” - says the ravenous dinosaurs.

7:30pm – Jeff Goldblum is awesome.

7:32pm – I'm with you man in white. I want you to keep the park and open it to the public. I think dinosaurs and man will be able to co-exist for sure.

7:35pm – Wait, is that who I think it is...no...wait, YES! SAMUEL L. JACKSON!! I think it would be awesome if he made a movie to where some terrorists put some dinosaurs on a plane and chaos ensues. I would call it “Dinosaurs on a plane.”

7:37pm – Where are the Dilaphosauruses??

7:42pm – Dr. Malcolm is very witty. I am a fan.

7:45pm – Seriously, how cool would it be to pet a triceratops!? Extremely cool is the correct answer.

7:50pm – I didn't understand anything Newman just said, but I'm assuming it's bad because it's raining and there are a bunch of dinosaurs roaming around.

7:51pm – Newman, you bastard.

7:52pm – NEWMAN, YOU BASTARD!

7:53pm – Side note: You'd figure that security at a park holding dinosaurs would be a lot tighter.

7:56pm – Ahhhhh shooooot!! Is that Chris Bosh??

7:58pm – Jeff Goldblum on queue for another smug, arrogant remark. Love it.

8:02pm – What a dumb girl. Tim is awesome, though.

8:06pm – Hahaha I do remember this scene with Newman. Classic!

8:13pm – Didn't write for awhile due to intensity of getting Timmy out of the tree without the Explorer falling on them. Well done Dr. Grant.

8:14pm – Jeff Goldblum does it again...

8:15pm – OOOHHHHH MAAAAHHH GEEEERDDD!!!!

8:16pm – This movie was so far ahead of its time when it came out. This is truly a timeless classic. Yeah this is the first time I've watched it all the way through, so what?

8:18pm – What do you call a blind dinosaur? A Doyouthinkhesaurus! Classic!!

8:19pm – This girl is soooo stupid...

8:20pm – In the meantime, John is eating a ton of ice cream. Seems logical.

8:21pm – Old man rant....DOOOON'T CAAAAARE

8:24pm – That stupid girl getting sneezed on by a dinosaur was pretty enjoyable. God bless you!

8:25pm – Ahhhh shoooooot!! Dinosaur eggs!!!

8:27pm - “Hold on to your butts” - Samuel L. Jackson

8:28pm – If SLJ gets killed trying to turn the power on, I'll be PISSED.

8:30pm – Cool dinosaur scene...

8:31pm – Why didn't they give SLJ one of those guns????? Or a walkie talkie?????? WTF?!?! RACIST!!!

8:34pm – Uh oh....

8:37pm – This timing could not have been worse!!!! No!!!!! Turn the power off!!!! GET DOWN TIMMY!!

8:38pm – TIMMY!!!! WHOA DINOSAUR!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!

8:39pm – NOO SLJ!!! HOW COULD YOU, DINOSAUR!??! That was an intense 2 minutes...this guy is about to be dead.

8:40pm – Yup.

8:41pm – That a way Timmy!! Survived 10,000 Volts of electricity...somehow.

8:43pm – Ah, they learned how to open doors? Big deal, I've been opening doors for over 20 years.

8:44pm – These two raptors sound like a couple of SIDiots.

8:47pm – Good for that little girl for making herself useful. She really needed the self esteem boost.

8:50pm – AHHHH!! Dinosaurs are aggressive for no reason! Probably due to the lack of father figures in their life.

8:51pm – What!?!? T-REX/RAPTOR FIGHT!!! The timing was extremely convenient.

8:53pm – Wouldn't this John guy be a pretty high-profile criminal in real life? I mean, this is pretty messed up. He just cloned animals that are extremely dangerous, and they could do a lot of damage if they reached the mainlands.

8:54pm – Don't commit Dr. Grant. Remain a bachelor.



Sunday, December 2, 2012

Rapid Reaction - Walking Dead 12/2

This is a rapid reaction of my thoughts after the Walking Dead episode...

- WTF?!? What do we do 'til February 2013???

- Andrea is still super annoying.

- Tyrese is a BAMF.

- The Governor is about to be super ruthless.

- Merle has become extremely expendable, as he doesn't really belong with anyone anymore.

- Carl is evolving into Rick more and more as the season progresses.

- Axel thinking Carol was a lesbian was HILARIOUS!

- Seeing Shane again made me miss him even more. :(

- Michonne has shown that she's human after her encounter with Andrea and how shaken up she was once she got back with the group. Did you see how easily Rick took the sword away???

- I CAN'T WAIT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TYRESE!!

- Glen's resourcefulness was awesome, and I'm so glad they didn't die.

PREDICTIONS FOR REST OF THE SEASON...

- Andrea will never be part of the Team Prison group again.

- Merle will sacrifice his life for Daryl.

- The Governor will blame Penny's "death" on Merle and kill him since Daryl won't.

- Rick and the Governor won't meet til the season finale.

- The Governor will kill Andrea.

Share what you liked, and what you think will happen the rest of the season. I mean, we got 2 months...



Friday, November 30, 2012

My thoughts on Andrea from Walking Dead


Let me preface this by saying, if you are looking for an intelligent, deep insight into the character development of a Walking Dead character. You are not in the right place. However, if you can't stand Andrea, then you might enjoy this...



In Walking Dead, there are 2 constants that are inevitable unless something extremely drastic happens.
- There will be walkers/zombies.
- Andrea will be super annoying.

***HONORABLE MENTION (Almost inevitable, but not quite)***
- Daryl will turn down Carol's advances.
- Judith’s first words will be “I’m changing my name to Ass-Kicker”
- Hershel’s right pant leg will forever be way too long.

This post focuses on the 2nd constant as the first is pretty self-explanatory. My problem with Andrea’s character is that she tries to come off as a BAMF, when in actuality, all she is a puppet. Sure, there are other main characters on the show that follow orders, but they don’t lack the depth or identity like Andrea does.

For example:

Merle – Merle is the Governor’s right-hand man. Merle fears the Governor and the consequences of disappointing him (ex. His mission to kill Michonne ). Merle has been extremely loyal to the Governor thus far, but we can sense that once Merle and Daryl are reunited (for which I’m pumped!!), there is a chance that Merle could turn on Woodbury. Even the Governor addressed the possibility. Throughout Merle’s time during this season, his character is developing to the point where viewers are intrigued and curious of what he truly values and where his allegiance lies. He is loyal to the Governor and will take orders faithfully. He even fears the Governor (lying about Michonne, RIP Neil!) With that being said, he is also a wildcard that has a monumental battle within himself much bigger than the Governor when he reunites with Daryl (PUMPED!), and it will be interesting to see what he's going to do. We really don't know Merle, and even though he's a soldier in the Governor's army, he offers that unpredictability factor that keep viewers intrigued with his character. Andrea is so predictable. She wants to be a BAMF, but instead of being one herself, she'll ride the coattails of someone who is. And when she takes a stand, she always "comes around." (ex. I hate the gladiator ring. Oh, you like it? Ok, well so do I! Let’s do it...)

Daryl – Merle to Woodbury is what Daryl is to Team Prison. Daryl is Rick’s right hand man, and it’s interesting to see the correlation between Merle, Daryl, and their respective camps. Daryl has been extremely loyal to the group for most of the series, but we can sense, once again, that things might get shaken up a little bit when Daryl and Merle are reunited. Sure, Daryl is super consistent compared to Merle, but you can’t honestly tell me that there’s no chance that he could get rattled and mind-f’d by Merle once they meet up. He’s about to see his brother that he thought was dead!! But that’s all besides the point... There are infinity plus a million reasons why Daryl is better than Andrea, but the one thing that really stands out is how he reacts when leadership is needed. Can you imagine anyone taking Andrea seriously? Not even MILTON listened to her when he almost got eaten by Michael Coleman! Which brings me to…

Milton – Ahh, Milton. He kinda reminds me of Hershel with that whole trying to humanize walkers thing. He’s chasing a hopeless dream, but at least he’s chasing something. I really enjoyed last week's episode when we got to see Milton's conviction toward his purpose of bringing back the dead. It was pretty stupid, but it showed some moxie from an otherwise, doormat of a character. That showed us that Milton has developed a purpose for himself.

This seems to be the reason I can't stand Andrea. If you look at the other leading roles, these characters have found some sort of purpose in their existence.

Maggie and Glen - love

Hershel - doctor, wisdom

Governor - restoring order

Carl - family, little sister

Carol - Nurturing, mother figure

Michonne - BAMF, doing what's necessary (kinda like Shane)

Prisoners (Axel and Oscar) - Fitting in with Team Prison

Beth - Hersel?? Maggie?? Carl?? (I don't really know. To be honest, I could see her being like Andrea as the show progresses. Especially since she already tried to commit suicide. But right now, she's alright I guess.)

And then you have...



I know Andrea's lack of purpose has a lot to do with her search for a meaningful relationship, especially after  Amy's death and being left at the farm...

.......BUT SHE COULD'VE HAD THAT WITH MICHONNE!!! 


Michonne saved her life and protected her only to be abandoned for a sleazy, zombie-head collector with power. The Governor undoubtedly sees her as an expendable pawn, while Michonne saw her as a companion. It's inevitable that Andrea will eventually see the Governor for who he is. HOPEFULLY, it will be too late, which leads to...

HOW WILL ANDREA LEAVE THE SHOW???

Here's some possibilities I have thought of...

- The next episode will begin where the last one left off, and the Governor puts her in a sleeper hold and feeds her to Penny.
- That girl at the wall that was supposed to teach Andrea how to use a bow and arrow shoots an errant arrow that kills Andrea.
- Daryl finally takes out his revenge for her shooting him in season 2.
- She leaves the Governor for a walker who she mistakenly assumes is an "alpha-walker"...and the walker bites her.
- Hershel beats her with one of his crutches.
- She's put in the gladiator arena with Milton where he pulls off the upset and avenges Coleman's death.
- Michonne kills her, lets her come back as a walker, and throughout the rest of the series, Andrea is her pet. (This is the ONLY way I would accept Andrea for a whole series)
- The writers inexplicably write Andrea out of the show and bring back T-Dog. Everyone welcomes T-Dog, and no one asks questions.

These are all acceptable.

BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR MID-SEASON FINALE.
- BOTH Glen and Maggie survive.
- Merle dies.
- Andrea leaves the Governor and Woodbury for a walker who she mistakenly assumes is an "alpha-walker"...and the walker bites her.

RIP T-Dog




First post...

This has been tried before and has not worked. However, as a semi-grown man with a big boy job and a mustache, I feel like this is something that can work. The purpose of this blog is to talk about things that are extremely important and dear to my heart, such as: Walking Dead, Nicolas Cage films, MTV Challenges, awesomely bad films, awesomely awesome films, Homeland, funny YouTube videos, Miami Connection, Krispy Kreme (the rapper not the donut), and anything that would be viewed as awesome.

I would like for other people to submit their own opinions and observations of awesomeness, so I don't have to sift through all of social media to find a handful of things I believe are pretty cool. That being said, if you have anything that you think is interesting and the content meets the purpose of this blog which is clearly stated in the previous paragraph, submit your column and get that ish published.

Here's how I came up with the title...



Here's how I came up with the URL...

Miami Connection comes out on DVD December 11th. We will have a viewing party at the Views of Brentwood.

My first blog post will be in regards to Walking Dead, and a character that I, along with the people I watch it with every Sunday, just cannot stand...