Go see Tropic Thunder. Lot’s of laughs. Not the funniest movie I’ve ever seen, but some really hilarious parts and sequences. And overall, a really well done movie. The production value is really high and the action is surprisingly good for a comedy. Like Pineapple Express (I haven’t seen it yet, but here good things) it’s a great comedy/action movie but it wouldn’t be great as just one or the other. It just be sub-par. But I really enjoyed it.

Look out for Robert Downey Jr. in one of the best roles ever. An amazing actor, he is. I don’t get the controversy of him playing a black guy, either. Isn’t there a movie called White Chicks where the entire movie is basically the same thing, reversed, but not funny?

Ben Stiller doesn’t blow you away, but he contributes well enough, and he wrote, directed, and starred in the movie so he still rules. Jack Black is kind of pointless at first, but gets really good towards the middle to end. His drug problem in the movie is really well acted. Jay Baruchel plays the smart, simple actor and gets a lot of screen time which is great, since he hasn’t done too many huge projects since Undeclared. Very funny guy. Brandon T. Jackson is very funny too, probably most funny in the very first frames of the movie, where they have a fake commercial for his rapper-turned-actor character’s energy drink called Booty Sweat. It’s awesome.

Oh yeah, the movie opens up with fake trailers for the actors’ movies, which is one of the coolest ideas and best parts. Think Grindhouse’s fake trailers, but better. Jack Black does a Nutty Professor type fart flick, Ben Stiller does a ridiculous action sequel, and RDJ does a movie about gay priests. They are all hilarious. I can’t wait for the DVD of this film because there’s going to be like nine discs of special features of the making of the making of the movie within the movie.

I highly recommend Tropic of Thunder. There’s a ton of non-advertised actors like Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise (best dancing ever filmed), Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Nick Nolte, Jon Voight, and Tobey Maguire. Go see it whenever you can.

Late last night I also started watching Hook. Bang-a-rang, Rufio.

Categories: movies, trips
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I saw this movie Wanted today. It’s based off of a series of comic books and it had some awesome action and a good cast. Very insane action, actually. Very entertaining. And it was a good “R” rated movie because they didn’t hold back with any of the graphic scenes, which is always nice to see. And you get to see Angelina Jolie’s ass for a short second. Again, awesome.

I did a guest set at Barrel of Laughs in Oak Lawn, IL on Friday night and it went extremely well. Very cool crowd and lots of laughs all around. It’s always a good confidence booster to do a great set randomly at any given time. I’m slowly trying out new bits here and there and they seem to be going well.

Then I did a show at the Edge Comedy Club later that night and that was good too. Fun show and lots of laughs with some great Chicago comics. I always wonder if other cities have half as good comics floating around like Chicago has. I’m guessing they do, but not nearly as great of a variety.

Saturday night I did a guest spot at Comedy Comedy in Aurora thanks to Mr. Bert Borth. The show featured the headliner Vince Maranto who was very funny. Vince Carone, a booming comic and buddy of mine, did an awesome set and threw me a copy of his newer DVD. Very funny stuff, and an all around great guy. Check out Vince’s video on dealing with hecklers, it’s fantastic. I can’t wait to tell people in the future that we rocked the town of Aurora at one point. Without a supply of illegal drugs, that’s hard to do.

Categories: college, movies, shows, trips
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I saw Get Smart on Saturday and The Incredible Hulk on Sunday. They both were great and entertaining.

Get Smart was funny throughout in a variety of ways, rather than just relying on single jokes and their repetition, i.e. Meet the Spartans or Semi Pro. Steve Carell was great and really molded a good Maxwell Smart. I was really hoping it wouldn’t just be a Michael from The Office clone and while he kept the same amount of delivery and subtly, he doesn’t come across as stale. The whole cast was amazing and put together well, and the action was worthy of the movie admission price.

Speaking of ticket prices, my hometown theater now charges $7.75 to see a movie before 5pm and a whopping $9.75 after that time. However, if you go to a show on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday before noon, it’s only $5. And there’s no one there to talk during the movie or to bring crying babies into the theater. It’s always like a husband, wife, three kids and a little baby. How does the husband pull it off? “Honey, I know we have a newborn baby girl. And I know she’s hungry and needs a diaper change. But I need to see Rush Hour 3 like nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”

So then I saw Hulk the next day and it was very entertaining. Lots of great action, Ed Norton was a solid Bruce Banner, and effects and things were superb. I wouldn’t say it’s better than Iron Man, not by a long shot, but it was great to see these two related Marvel franchise films coming out in such quick succession of each other. I think a Captain America movie a little later in the summer would have been the ultimate setup to a huge amount of Marvel revenue, but that’s just an idea. I think Hulk could have used a little more storyline, since the whole movie is based on getting the Hulk captured, and then the government needing his help to stop a bigger problem near the end. If they just would have left him alone, there wouldn’t have been the need for any events in the film, so I just thought that could have been a little stronger. And he does the arms out roaring thing about fifteen times, which got a little repetitive. He’s pissed, I get it.

Speaking of pissed, I don’t understand how people think it’s okay to commentate and yell things out during a public movie. The row of people behind me swore aloud several times when the Hulk was violating people with a ton of little kids around everywhere. And for some reason the whole theater would erupt into laughter at very unfunny moments of the movie. Norton would knock something down or kiss Liv Tyler and for some reason people would laugh. It was very weird. So I’m definitely only going to the early shows now. And I will continue to bring cans of pop from home so I don’t have to pay five bucks for a drink.

Categories: friends, movies, trips, youtube
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I had a fun start of the week in Cadillac, MI with some friends where we found joy in collecting firewood, starting fires, and reciting this 1991 commercial for the Chicagoland favorite Mr. Sub.

A dog at one point joined us, who was incredibly mangy and old, and who I think was really just a homeless-hippie-werewolf that was waiting to turn back into a homeless-hippie. I think at one point he may have asked us for spare change with his barks, which was very impressive.

I ate at Culver’s on the way home from the trip. I got this Moutain Dew Chill thing that was pretty great looking, but upon taste was deathly sour. It had to be like fourteen cans of M.D. condensed into one slurpee texture. It ended up melting in the car on the way home while I watched season two of Arrested Development.

Culver’s should really think about just throwing cocaine on their menus. Have a line with every bite of butterburger. Those two vices service each other very well. And cocaine doesn’t melt unless you burn it. Right?

Ending, in the words of Scottie Pippen about his lacking skill of sub eating, “ThisisonesixfooterIcan’thandleladieslet’shaveaparty.”

Categories: friends, funny stories, trips
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