Nerd item of the Day: Elvis M&M

Something that every  Elvis fan needs

Zombie Santa: Dec 3rd in the City of Orange

Sounds fun

Here is more info about it
http://socalzombiewalk.com
http://www.facebook.com/socalzombiewalk

Creepy ad of the week Kinect Fun Labs: Christopher Llyod looks terrible in drag. Yikes

I first saw this commercial inside Innoventions at Disneyland on a giant TV ----Yikes  Doc Brown.....don't scare the children...

Chuck Norris commercial of the week

Embrace the legend that is  Chuck Norris!.....(Is he actually the most interesting man in the world?

Geek Item of the week: Lord of the Pez

TV Show Theme Song of the Week Number 3: Wonder Women

One of the best Theme Songs....This theme song has got a lot of hip cool 1970's energy.... 

Muppets Week Continues :Can you Picture That!

Another great song from the Orginal Muppet Movie..

Kermit and Fozzie meet the Electric Mayhem...

Brad's Top 6 Movies from 1981

Number 6 

Victory 1981...... 8 out of 10 Pele Pele and more Pele with his weird Dracula type speaking style.... Stallone and Caine...Great stuff

Number 5

Escape from New York 1981 8 + out of 10
This bad ass sci-fi movie features Kurt Russell at his most kick ass.....As Snake Plissken--the Eye patch wearing tough motherf---er that must rescue the President from New York which is a literal prison Island.....This was John Carpenter when at the height of his directing greatness...Churning out cult hit after hit..And badass soundtracks to boot

Number 4

Chariots of Fire  9 out of 10

A great journey into the  1924 Olympics the British running team.

Number 3

Time Bandits 9 out of 10 Great comedy from half the Pythons.....David Warner as Evil ....(So good as a villian) John Cleese rocks.......and midgets midgets midgets........Love the humor in this flick

Number 2

For Your Eyes Only 1981-- 9 out of 10----James Bond Need I say more......Roger Moore

and Number 1

Best movie of all-time 10+ out of 10

Harrison Ford

Spielberg

Lucas.....

1981= Perfection for Brad

Equinox 1971 SO BAD it is GOOD 7 out of 10

About 20 minutes into this film all I could think about was that The Evil Dead (one of my favorite horror films)  borrowed a lot from this movie.   The key to borrowing elements from an older movie is to make it better.  Even though the makers of The Evil Dead deny being influenced by this cheesy earlier film it has many common scenes.  Here was an interesting blog that showed screen caps showing this fact.

http://thelucidnightmare.blogspot.com/2011/09/equinox-vs-evil-dead-comparing-cult.html

 Equinox is a bad movie ---but it is SO BAD that it is GOOD and therefore enjoyable.   It is part  homage to  Ray Harryhausen  with stop motion special effects and and feels like something out of the 1950's and part  H.P. Lovecraft  (which is where Evil Dead similarities come into play).  One of the stars is Frank Bonner that would later play Herb on WKRP in Cincinnati    It follows a group of 4 young people that are heading up to some professor's cabin in the forest for a picnic.   Instead they stumble across the Book of the Dead that opens a gateway to  hell...  They listen to a recording very much like in Evil Dead where the Professor talks about the book.    In this movie the consequences of stumbling upon this book are comical  with Green Giants in Tarzan outfits and giant Rancor looking creatures...   A part of what makes this movie so bad is that it was fiddled with later and the story changed and additional scenes shot for the new release....which makes for an odd plot and goofy voice overs  and the actors looking different in scenes that should connect since they were shot years apart.   

It was interesting to find out that Dennis Muren (of ILM Star Wars fame and beyond was director and co-author of this film)The best summary I found  online about this movie can be found here
http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/e-h/equinox6770.htm

Muppets Week continues: Ok GO and the Muppets

Enjoy

My thoughts after revisiting Pandora and thinking what attractions could come from the movie to Animal Kindgom

Here is the blog I did about it on Miceage...

http://micechat.com/blogs/brad-chowen/3231-avatar-back-pandora-search-clues.html

Nerd thought of the week: Is Bernadette Hotter than Penny?

So on The Big Bang Theory.....Penny is supposed to be the Hottie Neighbor that lives next to this group of super nerds.....But Penny always seemed to lack something for me and me wife agrees.  
She isn't hot enough to play the hot girl.   I'm just not buying it.   The character Bernadette played by  Melissa Rauch who I remember from all those Best Week Ever and I love the  80's episodes is much hotter.  Even all buttoned up in the try to make her look nerdy grandma sweaters.....Step aside Penny Howard's  girlfriend is much hotter than you are.

Muppet Week Continues: Moving Right Along

"A Frog and a Bear  seeing America"

Important Commercial of question of the week # 1

Todd gave his Sub to Sally?

Question  did he give her the  6 inch or the foot long?

The Wild Wild Planet 1967 4 out of 10 : Great Poster: Bad Movie

Totally cheesy Sci-Fi movie out of Italy.    It had hopes of being one of the special So-Bad that they are Good movies ...but unfortunately never quite turns the corner .   Sure it has a mad scientist that is stealing humans by shrinking them with the help of women and bald guys with 4 arms wearing sunglasses.   Sure it has a ton of scenes with tiny models of the city. Sure it has bad dialogue and cheesy fights.   Sure it has a capture scene followed by the mad scientist giving him a tour of his liar straight out of a James Bond movie.  The villains henchmen look like they were getting dressed to go to a Renaissance Faire and forgot to put on their suits of armour.

A sample quote...
"Soon she will be ready for the great moment when she and I will become one person; when my flesh will absorb hers. We will be one, one dual person. That will be the perfect combination of my work - the total fusion, the great moment. "     


 Here is the trailer

Muppets Week Continues: with Classic Steve Martin in the original Muppet Movie

Steve Martin is awesome....And he was especially great in this cameo in the original Muppet Movie.

A perfect scene.

"Don't you want to smell the bottle cap"

Clone Wars vs Green Lantern CG animated shows

The Clone Wars looks amazing...Here is trailer for the most recent episode of one of my favorite shows on TV.   Continues to amaze me with the great quality of some of the episodes.

After Clone Wars the kids wanted to see the New CG Green Lantern series......And the premiere episode was embarassing.   Seriously that is the best you can do when coming on right after Clone Wars....The detail in Green Lantern CG is laughable.

I felt embarassed for this show.

Battle of the Bottle: Who is the most kick ass guy from Liquor ads?

Contestant number 1

John Jameson :   Jameson  Wiskey....He will do anything not to lose a barrel of Whiskey....

Contestant number 2

The Heinkein guy:   A cool James Bond meets David Cooperfield.

Contestant number 3

Captain Morgan:  Rum is his drink of choice

Contestant number 4

The man to beat

The Most Interesting Man in the World

"The Police Often Question him just because they find him interesting"

VOTE Now!

My Vote still goes to 

Muppet Week Continues: The Fuzzy Pack Trailer

TV Show Theme Song of the Week Number 2: What's Happening

Rerun and the gang bouncing that basketball down the street.   This was a fun show to catch Reruns of back in the day...And I love the theme song.

And Rerun......that fool could dance......I may have to have a video dance battle between with and Carlton from Fresh Prince on this blog someday....

Muppet Week Continues: A look back at Pigs in Space and the Meaning of Life

The Captain of the Swine Trek was great----He should have a bigger role in the Muppets other properties...but never did.  Maybe he was lost in space.

Brad's Top 10 Movies of 1999

Coming in at number 10

The Thirteenth Floor 1999 9 out of 10
A cool look at a realistic Virtual Reality World.....Cool Fun underrated Sci-Fi

Number 9

Galaxy Quest 1999 9 out of 10
A great comedic look at what would happen if the stars of a cheesy sci-fi show were mistaken for real heroes by some other planet. Alan Rickman is perfect in this flick

Number 8

Mystery Men 9 out of 10

Some real superheroes.......(coughs under breat

Number 7

Fight Club 9 out of 10

Brad Pitt's second best performance after 12 Monkeys.

Number 6

Tarzan 9 out of 10
A thrilling action packed animated adventure with a great soundtrack by Phil Collins

Number 5

Bowfinger 9 out of 10

Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy two of the best comics of our time

Number 4

Dogma 9 out of 10

Kevin Smith takes on god.... With the help of Alan Rickman and Chris Rock and Jay and Silent Bob

Number 3

The Mummy 9 out of 10

Bringing the fun back to Adventure.

It is no Indiana Jones ---but the closest thing to it in a long time

Number 2

Toy Story 2 10 out of 10
Pixar Perfection. Best than the first one. A thrilling comedy filled action adventure as they are off to the rescue

Number 1

The Phantom Menace 10 out of 10
My least favorite Star Wars movie was still great enough to be my favorite movie of 1999

How do you know it is your number 1 movie of the year...When it is going to be re-released in  3-D  in Feb of 2012 and you already are excited about seeing it on the big screen again

Muppet Week Continues: With a Little Pig Action

She takes on Martha Stewart :   I love the "Obessive" comment Miss Piggy makes.

And her screaming out to load all Martha's stuff in the van....Classic

Horrible Bosses 2011 8+ out of 10

Horrible Bosses was a fun R Rated comedy.   A modern day 9 to 5 where in this case instead of one asshole boss played by Dabney Coleman in the original we get 3 totally horrible bosses (of course I wouldn't have complained about Jennifer Aniston).   And instead of 3 women wanting to kill their boss we get  the always excellent Jason Bateman  as well as Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis.   

 The bosses are all excellent in this movie.  Kevin Spacey plays the perfect asshole boss (a role he was born for as seen previously in Swimming with Sharks).  Jennifer Aniston was hilarious in a role outside of her norm as the Dentist that sexually harasses her assistant.   And Colin Farrell was great as the ninja sword wielding  cokehead that takes over for his father.    The movie and chemistry between the actors was nearly perfect and the movie had many good scenes like the their meeting with the "Hit Man that does Wet Work"  which was very funny.   Another great scene is when they are doing recon on Kevin Spacey's house and Charlie Day is supposed to be on look out.    It ranks right up there with Hangover 2 for me for 2011 comedies and succeeds where I felt the funny but overrated  Bridesmaids didn't.

Hoodwinked 2005 7 out of 10

With little to no expectations I went into Hoodwinked.   I DVR'd it for the kids and thought why not give it a try.   The animation was basically TV CGI animation quality along the lines of say a Jimmy Netron or Planet Sheen.   Cheap looking when compared to say the intricate details of a Pixar movie.  The plot and movie however were actually entertaining.   I could barely make it through Shrek 3 the other day as I found it boring and dull and the jokes just weren't that funny ---but  Hoodwinked which I had passed up on as a CG animated movie that wasn't on my radar --actually was pretty decent.   The story was like an animated retelling of Little Red Riding Hood as told  by each of the central characters  Rashomon style  (like the classic Japanese film)  mixed together with a homage to Fletch  in regards to the Wolf's story  (played perfectly  by the talented voice actor Patrick Warburton).   It had a Fletch like wit and sense of humor to it as well.   All in all it was a decent surprise for a movie that I really wasn't expecting anything special out of. The action sequences inlcuding an extreme ski race and roller coaster type mine cart ride were fun and the twist on the fairy tale interesting.       I may have to check out the sequel now.  I would rather see Hoodwinked 2 then Shrek 4 or Puss and Boots.

Nerd Link of the week: Raiders of the Lost Ark Documentary clip

Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite movie of All-Time----so I had to post this link that I saw today on Topless Robot that has 17 minute of a Raiders of the Lost Ark Documentary.....It is like finding the Holy Grail.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/11/throw_me_the_idol_ill_throw_you_this_indiana_jones.php



Here is an old Trailer of the greatest movie ever

Muppet Week: Turkey with the Swedish Chef

After seeing the Muppets on Good Morning America this morning ....I couldn't help but think of the Swedish Chef.....One of my favorite Muppets.

Here he is preparing a Turkey

And again with Danny Kaye

The most inappropriate Holiday commercial ever

The most inappropriate  Holiday  commercial ever
I'm talking about Bob  and his enhancements.....A hit at the Holiday party.
I thought of this today for some reason while my wife was trying to come up with some clever lines for a Holiday party.

With lines like
"All the Ladies want to sit on his lap"    
"A sack full of pride"----Seriously.......Bob is one naughty Santa

Cheers meets Star Wars

Cheers is one of my top TV shows of all-time and Star Wars one of my top movies......So this really made me smile this morning

Romance on the High Seas 1948 6 out of 10

The story follows a Private Eye sent on a cruise to keep an eye on a wife that might be cheating on her husband.   Well the wife actually hired a different girl to take the trip for her so she could spy on the husband which leaves us with a funny romantic tale. The movie  stars Doris Day (who is adorable)  in her first big movie as the girl  pretending to be the wife and Jack Carson as the Private Detective.   They of course fall in love aboard the world cruise --but can't get together because the are pretending to be other people.  The movie has some good singing by Doris Day and some funny sequences like when the husband finally heads off to track down the wife in Rio based on bad info from the detective.

For the Love Of Scooby Doo: Part 1:Scooby Doo Abracadabra Doo 2010 7 out of 10

I'm a sucker for a good mystery story and that love of mystery came early in life thanks to a gang of kids and their talking dog.   From there my love grew to include  Sherlock Holmes,  Charlie Chan,  Columbo, Fletch movies and book series, the Pendergast novels,  Monk and much more.   It all started though with that mystery solving dog and as a result I continue as an adult to enjoy his mysteries.     In this 2010 outing the scooby gang is heading to an old castle which is the home of a school for magic.    It is a typical Scooby Doo movie adventure.   The gang shows up and must help solve a mystery that includes the school being terrorized by a giant Griffin.  The story has some good action sequences that make it worthy of a straight to DVD Scooby adventure.  There is typical Scooby Doo fun and the mystery comes to a satisfying conclusion.   Scooby can be generally relied upon to be good quaility animated entertainment for all Scooby lovers (there is rarely a dud although they do exist).

For more thoughts on Scooby check out my Scooby Tiki blog

http://pineapplemantiki.blogspot.com/2011/09/for-love-of-scooby-doo-and-tiki.html

X-Men: First Class 2011 8 out of 10

X-Men: First Class 2011  8 out of 10

An X-Men Prequel this movie tells how Magneto and Charles Xavier became who they are in the later X-Men movies.  In the movie the U.S, government  enlists several Mutants to take on Kevin Bacon and the Kevin Bacon movie connection game gets that much easier.  The movie has some great Mutant battles as the line between good guy mutant and bad guy mutants is drawn and then crossed over without much thought at all.    Professor X and Magneto are on the same team but it is a team that is put together by a shared enemy.   The same themes from other X-Men movies are in this one as well.   Why should they help the humans when the humans treat them like freaks and threats?  Magneto is driven by personal revenge after watching his mother be killed by Nazis so it is no surprise that he ends up a villain eventually ( a fact we already know going in)   It is no surprise where Revenge leads....It is the path of the darkside.    The fun of the movie  (not being an X-Men comic book reader) is to see what new mutants are in each film and what their powers are.   And this movie had several fun ones  including the very sexy and interesting  Emma Frost.  It is a good watch and a solid addition to the X-Men films......Fun and action packed.......

Rage of the Yeti 2011 2 out of 10

Here I am suckered into watching yet another Yeti movie or in this case  Yeren. 
I will give them one thing....They did have a lot of Rage....


Whatever it looks like a bad CG Polar Bear....with sharp teeth.   The story is just plain bad....A group of people sent by some rich dude after some long lost thing  (sound familiar)  Been there done that about 40 times before.   Anyway...the movie starts out with the first group of people getting attacked by Yeren ( Yeti's in the title--because who wants to see Rage of the Yeren).   Running away on snowmobiles and getting knocked off by Polar Yeren.    Send in team number 2  (with some badly casted treasure hunters that act like too idiots).    Well luckily acting isn't that important since half the movie all everyone has to do is yell there poorly written dialogue over the snow storm.     "Helloooooo    Bigfoot"  someone yells as they try to lure one of the Yeren into a freezer to capture it for 1 Million dollars ---a great idea after watching several Yeren rip other members of their party to shreds.    The plot seemed like they were making it up as they went along....just stealing scenes from other bad Syfy movies.     Yet again the Yeti's   (Yeren) let me down

For more on Yeti's and their bad movies check out my old  Yeti blog
http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-yeti-blog-feb-2009.html

TV Show Theme Song of the Week #1 TJ Hooker

A new Weekly feature   The TV Show  Theme Song of the week.  The other night my wife randomly got caught up looking at funny new ring tones which included a bunch of old TV show themes some of which just weren't the real songs from the show..  That lead of course to at least an hour of watching TV show themes on you tube of shows with good theme songs or that we remember watching.  So to kick it off I give you  TJ Hooker.  Not a favorite show of mine by any means.   I only ever caught this show because the beautiful Heather Locklear was on it.     While watching the Opening theme I could help laughing at how many times William Shatner jumps on or rides on top of cars, boats, buses and planes...

Here is Season 2 opener where he hangs onto the windshield of a car

Here is Season 3 where we find Heather in a bikini a lot of things flipping or blowing up and Shatner leaping on anything that moves....(And I'm not talking about Green Slave women Captain Kirk Style)