1. Hey! There’s still time to enroll in October classes at the Brave New Workshop!

Adult Everyday Improv 1!

This class is perfect if you’ve never tried improv and want to see what it’s all about!

Thursdays 7:30pm-9:30pm beginning October 29th
Click here for more info!

Special All Women Everyday Level 1 taught by THE Lauren Anderson!

Discover ways to be more present in everyday conversation and cultivate your creativity in this perfect girl’s night out of laughter, discussion and discovery.

Saturdays 10:00am-12:00pm beginning October 31st

Click here for more info!

2. A few nights ago I saw “Zombieland”. To say that I am burned out on zombies is an understatement. In fact, it’s getting to the point that Hollywood should consider making a movie titled, “Zombies vs. Vampires” since apparently these are the only monsters that are worth making movies about.

So it’s to “Zombieland’s” credit that despite my bias, I still enjoyed this movie thoroughly. It was funny and engaging which of course makes it “fungaging”. Jesse Eisenberg is very funny in the movie playing a geek who’s social alienation and attention to detail has helped him survive the zombie apocalypse. Woody Harrelson is delightfully crazy, which apparently is just Woody being Woody and not a character choice.

Whatever. It’s funny. See it. FOTIs.

Mike

1. Last night I saw the new sci-fi alien flick District 9. District 9 is truly one of the most original movies I’ve seen in a long while. Bear in mind, I don’t actually see that many movies, so whether or not this movie truly is original is probably best answered by someone more “sci fi” informed than me. And that person might be the asshole fan boy who sat behind me and at the end of the movie proclaimed with more authority than I think he truly has in any other aspect of his life, “I hated the ending!”

And that was that.  Fan boy had spoken. His penis may never feel the inside of a vagina,  but on this night his fear of dying a virgin was overridden by the rage he felt over D-9′s ending.  I feel pity for those who shared the same District 9 chat board with him later that evening.  Surely his venomous posting was not for the faint of heart.

What I do know is that it turns out I really respond to movies about ugly aliens, segregation, the evil of bio technology and the human impulse to create an “us vs them” scenario when dealing with anything that’s different from the norm or threatens what we consider to be normal, and endings that leave everything in doubt.

Ray felt overdressed when he realized he was the only person who wore riot gear to the BBQ.

D-9 is not a bang bang shoot em’ up alien flick, at least the majority of it isn’t. That’s not to say the movie isn’t gory. It’s gory as all get out. It’s simply that the gore comes in different ways than I expected and is central to what I thought was a brilliant plot device.

I would tell you more about it, but I am not a good enough writer to do so and NOT give away major plot points.

If you’re expecting Independence Day, don’t go. If you want to continue eating shrimp without guilt, don’t go. But if you’re looking for the “thinking man’s” alien movie, then District 9 is right up your alley.

FOTIs.

1. Over the weekend, I went to go see Inglourious Basterds. And before I go any further with this review let me just say a few things.

-I think I’ve spelled this movie correctly. I’m going off the poster.

-If you’re in a movie theater with a large group of people don’t divide your group into two and have one section sit behind me and have the other sit directly in front of me. It is very unsettling. So much so that I will switch seats.

Back to the review. I’ve been looking forward to this movie ever since I first caught wind of it oh so many years ago. I love the premise and the promise that that premise holds. My anticipation for this movie had reached such fever levels that it was almost inevitable that I would be let down. Which I was. That’s not to say this is a bad movie. It’s not. In fact, I thought it was pretty awesome. Mr. Tarantino just had to pit his movie against the perfect movie in my mind (my brain movie), which is a formula that as Roger Ebert has famously never said, “is fucking impossible to solve.”

Anyhoo, Inglourious Basterds is an amazingly well written film wherein there is a tense “sit off” involving a table, chairs and 2 or more people every 15 or 20 minutes.  Seriously, I’ve had trouble sitting and talking to people for nearly two days now. I am convinced that such an encounter will lead to my demise. For example, last night I went to Applebee’s and a man who looked like he could’ve been a Nazi in a past life sat down next to me.  It was awful and has only added to my paranoia.  I had heard what a gore fest the movie was, and while there is certainly plenty of it to be had, the real impact of the movie are the moments leading up to the violence. Moments that are wrapped in really wonderful dialogue.

My “brain movie”  skipped those moments in favor of more action.  And my “brain movie” made a terrible mistake.

FOTIs

1. Sorry for the late blog, but the rain has me so…sad. Just kidding. You know what did make me sad? The new movie about Julia Child and her blogger/stalker, Julie and Julia. Here’s what worked in this movie. Meryl Streep as Julia Child and the scenes involving her life. Here’s what didn’t work…EVERYTHING ELSE.  I am a proud blogger and I reserve the right to take back this next statement, especially if it ever happens for me, but movies about bloggers are fucking boring.  Honestly, this movie felt like a Masterpiece Theater special* you’d only watch if you had a horrible headache and needed background noise to help you sleep.  FOt.

*Or something equally PBS-y.

1. If you look at the top of my site, on the menu bar, you’ll notice a tab labeled, “pics”. In other words, I finally have a photo element to my site that I like.

Q: Mike, it sounds like you just learned how to add photos. I was watching NOVA the other day, and the episode was about brain damaged monkeys that were easily able to do the same thing? Why do you brag about such easy shit?

A: Shut up. This took forever to set up. It was ridiculous. I have shit “pinging” here and shit “pinging” there and shit “pinging” everywhere. It’s awesome. Anyhoo, take a gander. I have photos from the first two nights of TCIF 2008 up right now. I’ll be editing those and adding more photos over the next few days. Woo hoo!

2. Role Models is a really funny movie. Some critics have claimed that the movie dives too far into sentimentality for their tastes.  Fair enough. This movie does do this, but it’s about a pair of losers looking for direction in their lives and kids who are looking for…well, role models.  Sentimentality is an unavoidable side effect.  Whatever, I thought they actually handled that well. FOTIs.

3. Final preview for the BNW holiday show is tonight! Get your tickets for this show and the rest of the run, here!

Talk to ya’ tomorrow!

Mike

1. Last night I saw The Incredible Hulk. It was fine. The major problem with it was that the least interesting parts of the movie involved the Hulk. Any scene involving a giant green monster whose major skill is crushing things should be the most exciting part of any movie. Sadly, it wasn’t. The Hulk just didn’t look real. At all. He looked kind of adorable. Like The Green Giant going through a rather bad bout of puberty.

The chase scenes involving Eddie Norton were actually pretty great. In fact, I think I would have really liked this movie if it was just about a scientist who was on the run from the government. That would have been pretty sweet. Tim Roth was delightfully maniacal and William Hurt looks like the prototypical abusive father with that mustache he’s sporting in this movie. Seriously, his mustache should be nominated for best supporting actor. Speaking of awards for acting, Liv Tyler shouldn’t get one. She’s pretty bad. Unless she’s screaming. When she’s screaming, she’s actually pretty good.

FOT

Sorry, for the short blogs. Week crazy. Mike mad. You not like Mike when Mike mad. Mike smash!!!!!!

Mike

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1. No bat discussion today. Not even of the Louisville Slugger variety. You’ve all had your fun, prodding at my phobia and causing me one fuck of a sleepless night. Kevin, shame on you. No man should be deathly afraid of another animal’s poo. No man.

2. Big thanks to Josh Carson for lending me the wonderful book, I Love You Beth Cooper, by Larry Doyle. It’s a really sweet, funny book about the never dealt with before issue of nerd in love with head cheerleader. It truly is a delight. Make sure you read the the “afterword” after the book. Doyle tells the story of his journey from college graduate to Simpson’s writer. For those of you who assumed that the window for success opened and shut between the ages of 21 and 25 (and this is 99% of people who have recently turned 26. Admit it.), his story is a refreshing kick in the optimism gut.

3. Re-watching the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull last night only made me hate the monkeys more and grow even more confident in my belief that in the time the she and Indy had been apart, Marion had tried the whole lobotomy thing. Seriously, something is missing in Karen Allen’s eyes that exists in all other humans.

4. Drove around Lake Harriet last night. There is nothing better than Lake Harriet in the summer. Especially in the evening.

5. Seriously. 2 hours of sleep last night. Thanks.

6. Come see Old Enough To Know Better at the BNW tonight. You’re running out of time to see the most funniest show evah!

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Indiana Jones

It’s good. I liked it a lot. They far outweighed the parts I hated. The choice to make Marion Ravenswood mentally retarded was a brave choice indeed.  FOTI

Punch Out

Mustache Rangers vs. Family Night. 11pm. $10. BNW.

Sorry for the short blog, nothing but meetings and shows today and tonight. I want to expand on what I like about Indy, but will wait so as not to spoil some stuff for folks who maybe haven’t caught it yet.

Carrier

It’s well known throughout the city that I am by far the hippest and coolest cat in town. And like most cool cats, I spent my Sunday evening sitting on my futon watching a fascinating PBS documentary called, Carrier. Carrier details the day to day stresses and tedium that make up the lives of a crew on a Naval carrier en route to Iraq. The wonderful thing about this doc is that it spends as much time exploring the appeal of the Navy, and the reasons people enlist, as it does exploring some of the problems with it. I wasn’t expecting that. Truthfully, I was expecting something far more biased and critical of the Navy. It’s a ten part series, and I’ve only seen 2 of them, so who knows what the future holds for the balance of this documentary, but so far the tone is just right. If you get a chance, check it out. FOTIs.
Poker

I’m ok at poker. I’m not great. I’m ok. That pretty much covers it. I wish I was that Russian guy in Rounders, but I’m more like the guy who forgets whether a flush beats a straight or vice versa. Actually, I know all the rules and am, for the most part, a pretty patient player. However, I’ve played twice in the last couple of weeks and have been done in both times by sudden and unexplained burts of stupidity. The thing is, I can’t handle not seeing the cards revealed. I should just fold, but I have this crazy need to see all the community cards AND what cards my opponents have. Even when I know I’m beat, I just have to know what type of hand is beating me. And that flaw my friends, is a bad one to have.

Solitude

Sunday, aside from a trip to Target to exchange some pants, was spent at Ft. Fotis all by my lonesome. It was lovely. I needed a little “me” time. I watched some basketball, stared at a wall, made a turkey roll up (Ok, ok. I made 4 of them), did 200 jumping jacks, watched some PBS, and thought about, but boldly chose NOT to write, my fringe show. It was great. For about 3 hours. The other 21 hours were incredibly boring. But hey, I’m more relaxed, so that’s something.

Rampleseed

They ripped the heads off of rabbits before their set. Come on! I was so terrified that Tom (or Tyler) was going to shoot me with a bullet, or an arrow, or a rabbit’s head that I could barely function during our set. Joe was ashamed of me. I was just happy to get out of the show in one piece. Rampleseed is not to be fucked with.

Mike

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Judd Apatow and crew have become so successful that they are now able to make a movie out of any idea that any of them might have. Luckily, they are also on a pretty good roll. The roll continues with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a movie about a guy who is dumped by his famous girlfriend, goes to Hawaii to get over her and finds out that she’s staying at the same hotel with her british rocker of a boyfriend. Throw in a beautiful perfect woman who just happens to work at the hotel as the main love interest and you’ve got yourself…a pretty hokey plot. Which makes it all the more amazing that I genuinely liked this movie. It was always about the relationships. In fact, the goofy setting and plot setups only came into play when it was helping to enhance those relationships as opposed to most comedies where the goofy setting and the plot are the focus of the movie and the characters are just there to move the movie to the next goofy premise.  Out of all of the recent Apatow joints (is that just a Spike Lee thing?) like Knocked Up and Superbad, this one would be my favorite. It wasn’t perfect. The supposedly killer opening seemed forced and like all Ro-coms,  the middle of this movie, or at least some of it, seemed pointless. Regardless. FOTI.

Commercial Chat

I did a commercial yesterday. My part took less than 20 minutes to film. OUSTANDING.

Improv Punch Out

Ferrari McSpeedy will be performing at Improv Punch Out this week, competing against the young upstarts known as Rampleseed. Should be a good battle. By the way, Tom and Tyler (Rampleseed) are very mean. They have apparently been threatening us at Go Go. Also, one of them followed me home last night and kicked me. I’m not sure which one kicked me because he had on a disguise and was on stilts and used voice modulation. I am afraid of them.

Mike