For one week only (until winter break anyway), I’ll be doing everyday blogs and since its music tuesday, the top ten countdown is back. It’s only been one week since the last top ten and the chart has been flooded with new songs. Now without further to ado, let’s get to #1…

10. Friday I’ll Be Over You – Allison Iraheta

One of two eight season American Idol performers on the chart this week. It drops a spot from last week, the only difference is there is an actual music video for it now. I now know that there is someone else in the music world who has Hayley Williams hair who isn’t Hayley Williams.

9. According to You – Orianthi

I got this song as an iTunes Free Single a little while back, it’s the best one that has come out in awhile. Orianthi is this australian guitarist who was going to play in Michael Jackson’s This Is It tour. Really can’t believe that she would’ve been stuck as a guitarist if he lived (too soon), anyways her debut album came out in late October and she’s being invited to backup many famous artists incluidng Carrie Underwood.

8. Alpha Dog – Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy actually released this song a year ago as apart of their Welcome to the Administration mix tape. But in the song they said it was unfinished, and it was suppose to come out on their Folie à Deux album. They finally finished it and it is coming out on their Greatest Hits cd that was released last week. It still sounds pretty good.

7. Brick by Boring Brick – Paramore

First of all I watched this video yesterday on the Fueled By Ramen (their label) channel and today it was taken down for copyright violation? I just don’t get it. Anyways this song gets a second chance on the charts as their is an actually video for it now. Be it a really weird fantasy video. But even more importantly, Hayley is blonde now??

6. Half of My Heart – John Mayer (feat. Taylor Swift)

The dude just has a really smooth voice. It still sounds much like all of his other songs except with Taylor Swift on backing vocals. I think this is the best song on his new Battle Studies album.

5. Cousins – Vampire Weekend

Like OK Go, Vampire Weekend released a new single early to promote their new album Contra coming in 2010. Will the boys who rocked the indie rock world be able to keep it up with their sophmore album. Well Cousins sounds pretty good and a little different, so its a start.

4. Live Like We’re Dying – Kris Allen

Kris Allen was last year’s American Idol winner. Right now I’m refusing to listen to his runner up counterpart Adam Lambert (showboating moron), but Kris actually sounds pretty good. Like all American Idol winners, he gets one single that will be well, though his future releases look pretty bleak. What I do like about Kris is that he sounds similar to the lead singer of The Script who has made some pretty good songs.

3. The Authors – VersaEmerge

Yep still digging it. Since we’re still waiting on their new album and there isn’t going to be any music video for this song, I’ll give you something different to watch. So here is the acoustic live version of the song.

2. Black Hearts (On Fire) - Jet

The second single off of Shaka Rock came out sometime this week and I caught it on the radio. The sound of this song reminds me of their older song Cold Hard Bitch. Something about this song really clicked with me as it has begun its life on the charts at #2

1. WTF? – OK Go

The video and the song are just so interesting that how could I not let it be on top for a second week in a row.

Oh and as an added bonus, just because this music video was so weird and I have a like/hate relationship with this song. I present to you the Bad Romance video by Lady Gaga…

Nov. 18^th

Two weeks later, Sunny is still hanging out and being bossy.  She’s definitely come a ways though.  At our last adoption event, she didn’t bark at every passing dog.  Most of the day she sat calmly in here crate enjoying those who came to see her.  What a change!

She now automatically sits when coming inside, has learned get off, knows her boundaries, stays for short periods of time and is no longer jumping up on people but sits while being petted.  For us, it’s been difficult to learn how Sunny responds.  None of the old and faithful tactics truly work all of the time for this sweet girl.  She doesn’t care to be praised or petted; she’ll wait until she has an itch.  She doesn’t want treats; she’ll wait until dinner time.  She doesn’t want to be scolded, she run to her nearest safe spot and plant herself for an hour.

Sunny is truly a loving lady.  She wants nothing more than to snuggle or a good belly scratch.  Very content to just listen to you read.  She is still struggling with coming when commanded. I feel it’s partly my fault as I haven’t learned an appropriate teaching method.  Other flaws: stuffed animal destruction (she loves to throw the fluff everywhere), chair dominance (though she’s learning that it’s big enough for another), and the occasional kitty nibble is just too irresistable (all in love).

(My journal entry on November 5^th)

Wow, we just weren’t ready for you Sunny. We’ve never had an alpha female in the house.  Here we were, foster family spoiled with Miss Josie and Sunny comes over.  Oh how she asserted her dominance quickly.  She was here to rule the roost, or at least one dog and two kitties – she wasn’t going to boss me around, she just didn’t know it yet.

At first glance, you’d think Chihuahua, but think twice the size and spunk.  Sunny snooped around those first few hours, jumping up on me, running away just so I knew she didn’t care that I wanted to pet her, growling and snapping at Pebbles. Oh she was in for a treat.

She ignored me. That is until she heard that scoop hit the dog food.  She was mine.  First step to asserting dominance – food control.  You do not jump on me for food, you do not rush at the bowl, you do not scarf it down. She ate in her crate.  Then, to the leash.  She would learn that I’m a patient one – I will wait until she obeys.  Nope, she wouldn’t sit. Not yet.  Sunny’s a stubborn one.

That night, spent in a crate – she let us know just how unhappy she was there.  Determined to be let out of that crate, every hour or so she’d start to whine.  Not just any ole whine, this whine was so shrill and loud that I could hear her in the kitchen beneath us and at the back of the house.  At 3 – we moved her to the garage.  Didn’t do much to help.  Two nights later, she was tied to the dog bed at the foot of the bed – not a peep.  She even sits there quietly in the morning until I’m ready to let her loose.

Sunny has a long way to go.  Pebbles will be a great help there.  Coming from a house full of precious little Chi’s and other fosters, she had tons of love and lots of play time, but as an alpha dog – she needed more one-on-one time obedience training so that she can be the best adopted pup she can be.

Yay, they made it official: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrNEavVeiRU

Smelyalata.

Ahogyan arról már nemrég írtunk, a Fall Out Boy még kiad egy válogatáslemezt, mielőtt jegelnék zenekarukat egy időre. A tizennégy FOB sláger mellett két új dal is helyet kap a ‘Believers Never Die’ című anyagon, melyek közül az ‘Alpha Dog’-hoz most a banda elkészített egy elég egyszerű klipet is, ide kattintsatok érte!

Watch Fall Out Boy’s new video for “Alpha Dog” right here.

Today I had the delight of watching the famed ‘Jennifer’s Body,‘ which ideally focuses on many controversial concepts which include subjects such as; Satanic worship, torture, mutilation, demonology and lesbianism. Oh, well, sounds like everyone’s first day of the summer break, right? No, of course not. This appeared to be apparent as Box Office sales didn’t exceed more than $19 million with its $16 million budget at hand and scoring particularly badly among critics.

I’ll dive right in to the pool of blood and bad attempts of comedy left behind by the film’s oh so apparent success among younger viewers, which was also dubbed ‘Twilight for boys‘ by acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert, who enjoyed the film. To be fair to Jennifer’s Body, it wasn’t an entirely bad film, it was indeed an interesting and original plot, however it could have been tackled far better by Diablo Cody who, to be honest, had her heart set on the film, but not necessarily all of her head. Fox’s acting was adequate at best, which significantly contrasted against Seyfried’s, who I have to admit, was surprising to say the least. Brody was also rather convincing as a slick-haired, satanic worshipping lead singer, which one wouldn’t have envisioned from his performances on ‘The OC.’

Roger Ebert was correct in saying that Jennifer’s Body is Twilight for boys, I mean how many women out there are prepared to sit through 102 minutes of blood-dripping, body-dismembering, scantily-dressed-cheerleading? Well, I’d imagine a few. It’s like Twilight in the same sense that every female in the world would go to see it because of the actor’s portrayal of the protagonist, who beyond all disbelief is Megan Fox, most men’s favourite young actress of the year.. or four. It’s also like Twilight in the sense that it’s completely and utterly successful beyond ever imagined. Oh wait a second…

Jennifer’s Body, overall, isn’t great. If you enjoy cheap thrills, then hey, be my guest. However, as the analysis goes; the acting is poor, the satirical side of it fails to achieve what it’s designed for, and probably the best part of it was the ending where I had a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to watch any more of what I thought would be a crazily good film. Unfortunately, it isn’t.  Despite a few occasional moments in the script, kudos to Cody for those, the film really can’t take off as what it’s supposed to be, comedy, slasher, horror or a film about female empowerment and it’s not like any other teen horror movie out there, for starters this one has some degree of a plot line, but it’s still not really worth the money of a cinema trip. Sorry folks. Oh and this poster is blatantly a rip of True Blood.

The new single from FallOut Boy “Alpha Dog”. Review to follow!

Not much has happened actually!

I’ve been checking twitter (religiously) and the FBR Street Team is really starting to come together, I of course cannot be a part of this because my email accounts will not accept the account verification email. siiigh.

But this is what I know! Cobra Starship’s song ‘Hot Mess’ will be featured as the theme song for the premier of the show Styl’d on MTV. Which is awesome for them because they’re trying to promote that song as their new single! They are currently on the OP tour with Boys Like Girls, The Maine, A Rocket To The Moon, and Versaemerge. You can find out more info about the tour at www.OP.com . I can’t wait to see them on November 20th, but I’m really only going for Cobra because I’m not a fan of the other bands. I do, however, have meet and greet passes and will be able to talk to Ryland and Gabe! I’m SO excited. see also www.Cobrastarship.com for more details. If you’re a real fan like me and have bought the Hot Mess album make sure you join their fan club Cobra Crew, it’s free (granted you bought the CD) www.cobras4life.com

Ah, now we move onto The Academy Is… Oh boy. I have mixed feelings for them now, regardless  of what music they make I will ALWAYS love them…but I’m not 100% digging their new sound right now. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they’re co-writing songs now with professional writers. I’m not sure :/ however, you can pick up their 5-song EP ‘I’m Yours Tonight’, released last month. The boys are on the Fall Ball tour co-headlining with Mayday Parade (who I really like and have not seen yet), Set Your Goals, You Me At Six, and The Secret Handshake. See more about this tour at http://www.altpress.com/specials/theaptour/ . I see TAI next week actually on November 7th!

And finally NEW MUSIC. Fall Out Boy released a new…yet old song this week titled ‘Alpha Dog’ for loyal fans of the band you have seen this released on the CFOB Mixtape (CFOB: Citizens For Our Betterment, a downloadable mixtape by Fueled By Ramen and Decaydance bands to get teens excited about the 2008 presidential election). The song on the mixtape was about a two minute teaser – however, the song has been rewritten in parts and definitely has a bigger presence. ‘Alpha Dog’ really shows Patrick Stump’s exquisite vocal range as well as the band’s progress together. It’s really an amazing track and is now available on iTunes! Sadly enough the band is taking a hiatus, the duration I believe is of a year or more. You can snag the Believers Never Die Greatest Hits collection from Fall Out Boy on November 16th & 17th. They range from regular to deluxe bundles and offer a plethora of treasures for true FOB fans (should you choose the Infinity bundle). http://www.falloutboyrock.com/oldskool/

Hope this was helpful to any lovers of the FBR or Decaydance labels!

Xoxo,

Harley

The scene begins in the backstage area of the FedEx Forum in Memphis Tennessee. Noble Domino Jr. can be seen sitting in his locker room playing the new Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 video game on the Playstation 2. He is playing the game before his huge match against Alpha Dog. Noble is playing as a created version of himself beating a created version of Alpha Dog. Just like he is going to do in the match with the real Alpha Dog, Noble Domino Jr. then begins to speak.

Deuce:

Everyone of my fans, and even those that don’t like me, tuned in last week to see me defeat Flex Johnson. In the match I won a chance to have this match right here against Alpha Dog for the No Limits Championship. I knew when I heard about my match last week that I would win. I didn’t realize the title match would be this soon though; I am ready to beat Alpha Dog, and take my place as the new No Limits Champion.

Noble Domino Jr. pauses the game as he has just picked up Alpha Dog for Noble’s finishing move. He then turns around towards the camera and smiles.

Deuce:

When I was away from the company on injury and then my personal issues I had to take care of, I saw Alpha Dog’s career soar. When Daz came back onto the scene everything changed, in a blink of an eye. You lost the power that you held, thing is though Alpha you had lost it long before then. You lost that power when the Black Blood Mafia broke up.

Noble Domino Jr. turns back towards the game and unpauses it, as the game continues Noble slams down Alpha Dog with the Domino Effect.

Deuce:

Alpha Dog how do you plan on defeating me in this match, you are going to be competing on your own power and have no one to help you out. You might have held that title for a little while but thing is you have never had a title defense against me yet. You are now going to be going up against one person that you have never fought before, so get ready for a huge fight.

Noble Domino Jr. looks up as someone opens the door, as he sees who it is a huge smile comes across his face. As the camera moves over to see who it is, it happens to be the two ladies from the week before.

Deuce:

I remember sitting at home watching on TV when you sat on the outside of Andrew Ryder’s house, and threatened his wife and kids lives. But that is one thing that you wont be able to do with me man, the ladies I care about are right here with me. So if you want to get to them you would have to go through me first, which I am sure you are saying that can be arranged but there are some things that you don’t know about Noble, Alpha. One of those things is that I am not one to just give up on something that I want, and this title is one of the things that I want.

Noble Domino Jr. pauses the game once again and walks over to the two ladies, he gives both of them a kiss before turning back to the camera.

Deuce:

You want to know what I have done in my career that might be the one thing in your career, you have said that is the truth… I have done nothing with my career as of yet, only because I wasn’t here long the first time before I wasn’t injured and the personal issues came up. But I straightened all that out and I am back to make a name for myself and it all starts tonight when I defeat you in that ring and become the No-Limits Champion. You know Alpha you will not always have that title over your shoulder, it is time for you to lose. And that will come against me in our match tonight, you will see though that everything isn’t the way you think they are.

Noble Domino Jr. begins to laugh before continuing to speak once again

Deuce:

Alpha, you think that you are the best in the business but there are some guys that have proved they are better than you are. One of those guys happens to be Daz. There is one other guy that is better than you, that you haven’t had a chance to face, and that is myself. But that all changed tonight when you step into the squared circle against me. There is one thing you need to know, but you will find out when it comes to the match. Noble…Domino…Jr…will…not…die.

Noble Domino Jr. walks over to the game system and turns it off, and walks back over to where the ladies are. He puts one arm around each lady and begins to walk out of the room, as the scene ends.

La stupenda giovane attrice Amber Heard supersexy sul prossimo numero di FHM. Visiona la fotogallery aggiornata di Amber Heard o le foto del magazine sotto.

Il suo ruolo più importante è quello nel film con Charlize Theron nel film North Country – Storia di Josey nel film interpreta il ruolo della giovane Josey, e la sua performance è stata molto acclamata dalla critica. Nel 2006 partecipa al film Alpha Dog, con Justin Timberlake e partecipa ad un episodio nella serie The O.C. Le parti importanti arrivano con Never Back Down nel 2008 e nel prossimo Zombieland con Woody Harrelson.

You can listen to Fall Out Boy’s new single “Alpha Dog” on their website here.

Ahogyan arról már nemrég írtunk, a Fall Out Boy még kiad egy válogatáslemezt, mielőtt egy időre elpakolnák a zenekart a  spájzba. A tizennégy sláger mellett két új dal is helyet kap a ‘Believers Never Die’ című anyagon, melyek közül az egyiket -  ‘Alpha Dog’ – a csapat honlapján meghallgathatjátok.

Here is that new Fall Out Boy song that got released today. It should be on their upcoming greatest hits album that won’t be worth buying. Not because they make bad music, quiet the contrary. You don’t need to buy it because you should really just buy thier full albums because they are all really good. Also have a link for you to download it from. Shhh don’t tell anyone with lawyers about that.

Fall Out Boy- Alpha Dog

I hope everyone went immediately to the Waiternotes’ fine article that I quoted from yesterday.

I had a few comments to expand on the theme a little.

One of the points that he made is:

1. Your waiter unleashes a torrent of descriptors of the daily specials, down to preparation details and the components of the homemade sauces. She is similarly fluent on any menu item you’d care to ask about. She knows the ingredients in every cocktail. She can name 20 different single malt scotches, including their specific producing region.
2. There’s a good chance this person took 7 years to get her college degree – or else she’s still ‘working’ on it, just taking a couple years off to find out where her head is at. She is taking so long not because she’s unintelligent. Rather, she’s very smart, and she’s applied those wiles to her job. She just likes waiting tables better than the idea of getting a ‘Real Job,’ working 9 to 5 (or more realistically 9 to 7), and taking the effective cut in hourly pay.
3. Again, this can effectively be a bit of a parlor trick, albeit a useful one for the guest. But it comes to bear mainly on the selection part of the dining experience. What do you order? After that question is answered, there’s so much that product knowledge does not affect.

This is a good point, and he continues to make it regarding wine as well. If you follow this blog, you’ll know that I like to insist that a good waiter knows massive amounts of stuff and I try to go into excessive detail about things that I think a waiter should know. This doesn’t imply using that knowledge as a cudgel though. Just because you know each ingredient in every dish on your menu, that doesn’t mean that you need to go into incredible detail – you just need to be prepared in case someone has an allergy or is a foodie and likes to talk about flavor profiles or can’t decide between a couple of dishes (perhaps they’d be interested that dish A has cilantro for instance).  Use your knowledge to stimulate a dialog, not impress someone with how much minutae you have stored away in your cranial real estate.

It’s the same with wine – most of the time, the fact that you know that only 400 cases of a certain boutique wine is irrelevant. However, should the occasion ever come up when that fact might actually result in you closing the sale, it’s there for you to use. The worst thing you can do is become a wine Nazi. No, the worst thing that can happen is that you serve a wine Nazi who knows more about wine than you do.

Knowledge is power, but it’s also a dangerous weapon that needs to be used surgically and strategically. Nobody likes a showoff.

He also talks about control being the most important thing. I pretty much agree.

Right . . . It’s part of control. Problems are like a dike springing leaks. If you don’t acknowledge them with that little verbal ‘finger,’ (no jokes, please) they keep leaking. Isn’t it irritating when a waiter pretends nothing is wrong? Yet, when something is wrong and it is noted and promised to be attended to, guests quit worrying.

That’s the key to Control. The guest knows you’re in control and they don’t have to worry about how their meal experience comes out. That’s why they’ve come out to eat instead of doing it themselves at home. Who wants to fret about that junk when you’re paying $30-100 a head? Why should they?

If you lose control at the beginning, you’re dead. You’re like the wounded antelope waiting for the death blow from the lion. You’re chum in shark-infested waters. You’re every bad “wounded animal” metaphor. I see getting run and bossed around in your future.

You have to establish control quickly and firmly. I’ve even gone so far as to tell large groups in a mock-serious tone, “And there’s be no seat-swapping  if you want separate checks. Visit all you want, but I want butts back in chairs for the entrees – got it? Otherwise, you’re (pointing to one person) are going to be eating her (pointing to another) food and paying her check”!  That, coupled with a playful nod and a wink, got the message across about who’s running this show.  Keep in mind that there’s a line that you have to learn that you can and can’t cross. I would use that sort of approach with a happy, up group, whereas I would never use it for 10 businesspeople. They require a different sort of Alpha dog technique. You simply have to establish who’s pack leader, which is a lot tougher with people who are used to being the Alpha dog.

Confidence breeds confidence. However, occasionally you’ll get in a power struggle with someone who doesn’t want to relinquish control.  That’s a fight that you can rarely win. You can, in fact, win the battle but lose the war if you take a war of wills too far. Best to recognize when someone simply must retain control and try to work around it. If you get a jab or two in, so much the better, but you have to be pretty savvy to get away with it. Some people have it and others don’t. If you don’t know which type of person you are, you don’t. Have it, that is.

So, I’ll continue to feed lots of culinary info your way and continue to exhort you to learn as much as possible. but just remember Waiternotes’ post and my caveats regarding how to use that information. Use your knowledge for good, not evil.

Here’s the link to the original post by Waiternotes again:

http://waiternotes.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/what-makes-a-real-pro/

Image courtesy of http://alaskadogboardntrain.com/id91.html

למי שיצא לראות את הקליפ החדש של uffie לשיר פופ דה גלוק שביימה Nathalie Ganguilhem, גם אם לא אהב את המוסיקה כמוני (די סבלתי האמת) בטח התרשם. הקליפ מלווה בארט מדהים וצילום מבריק שנראה כמו צילום שקופיות בקרוס פרוססינג היישר מעולם הלומו המעט נדוש אך לחלוטין חדשני בהקשר הנוכחי. חוץ מהצילום עצמו, שנראה כמו פרסומות של אמריקן אפרל

אמריקן אפרל

שקמו לתחיה, משולבים בקליפ קטעי אנימציה שמזכירים מאוד את הקליפ של justice לשיר D.A.N.C.E (קליפ שהיה מועמד לקליפ הטוב ביותר של מ.ט.ו ב-2007). האמת, שאת הקליפ גיליתי מפרסום בעמוד הפייסבוק של ג’סטיס מה שגרם לי להגיע להשערה שהקשר הוא לא סתמי (למרות שבאתר של so me, הבמאי של הקליפ של ג’סטיס אין אזכור נכון לעכשיו לקליפ של אפי).

קשה להתעלם ממקורות ההשראה של גנגיים והמקומות אליהם הקליפ שולח את המוח המתרוצץ. השילוב של הארט המוקפד ואווירת המופקרות המינית של נערי הפרברים בסרט מזכירים מאוד את הסרטים של לארי קלארק ואת רוח הכתבות של המגזין vice.

נראה שגנגיים התפתחה מאז הקליפ שעשתה לדייויד גואטה ב-2004 ובהחלט המשיכה לפתח את הסגנון המעניין שלה העמוס בנערים ונערות יפים ויפות, גרנג’יים ומקועקעים כמו שכיף לראות תמיד. מחכה בקוצר רוח לקליפ הבא.

אבל חבל לעצור פה ולהתפעל מהקליפ המעולה לצלילי המוסיקה המבאסת אם אפשר לדבר על הקישורים שהקליפ מעלה. בולטים במיוחד במסגרת האוירה, הצילום והארט הסרטים של לארי קלארק wussup rockers על חבורת הסקייטרים הלטיניים (מרתק, חובה, לראות) והסרט alpha dog – עם ג’סטין טימברלייק המפתיע לטובה – העוסק בסיפור האמיתי על חטיפתו ורציחתו חסרי הטעם של נער על ידי חבורת צעירים נהנתנים וספקי הסמים שלהם, בני גילם±, מפרברי ארצות הברית. שני הסרטים עוסקים בקשר בין ניכור חברתי, הבדלי מעמדות ותרבות השוליים של חברת הפרברים האמריקנית ומשאירים טעם מדכא למדי על החברה בה אנו חיים לצד תחושה עזה שהחיים מרתקים, מדהימים ומלאי אנרגיה (אני יודע שכבר אמרתי שחובה לראות אבל אני אדגיש שוב – אם מישהו מקשיב לי).

בנוגע לחלק של הגרפיקה בקליפ, אותו כבר אמרתי שלא הצלחתי לברר מי עשה בשלב זה (מבטיח לעדכן ברגע שאגלה) אבל שמזכיר מאוד עבודות של so me אשר אחראי לקליפ המאלף של ג’סטיס, D.A.N.C.E – שפשוט תענוג לראות שוב ושוב, ושוב:

עוד קליפ של so me לשיר good life של קנייה ווסט שנראה כאילו נכפה על המוסיקה בכח רק כי קנייה יכל להרשות לעצמו – וחבל. לעומת זאת, הקליפ שלו לשיר  day n’ nite של קיד קדי הרבה יותר מינורי ופחות מלוטש אך עם זאת מלא בניואנסים שריגשו אותי בצפייה ראשונה ושניה וכיף לראות שso me הצליח להישאר מעניין ולא להתמסר לגמרי לצד המסחרי שהגיע אחרי הפריצה שלו עם הקליפ המחתרתי של ג’סטיס.

לסיום, עוד כיוון אחד שהקליפ הזה זרק אותי אליו הוא כמובן הסרט המבריק של פול תומס אנדרסן מ-1997, בוגי נייטס.

]]> http://matthewceo.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/jennifers-body-trailer/ Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:57:15 +0000 matthewceo http://matthewceo.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/jennifers-body-trailer/

Enjoy!

With the media induced Megan Fox frenzy, which is still going strong after her performance in Transformers 2, it was inevitable that this post was going to arrive.

Chances are, if you walk into a crowded bar full of fairly young and most probably drunken men and you say the name Megan Fox, most, if not all of their heads would turn. This is the result due to the Fox frenzy I was referring to, where everything I’ve read about her, everything I’ve seen with her in, uses her beauty and sexual prowess to grant her a level of success not widely given to those who can act better, rather than those who rely on voluptuousness. Whilst I am not saying her skills as an actress are bad, I am however saying they’re limited. Miss. Fox, granted she is very beautiful, can only act to a point before she starts relying on her physical form.

Personally, I think a quick rundown is in order. Hope and Faith… Who does she play? “a popular, vain, boy crazy, mean, and kind of ditzy” older teen. In Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Fox plays ‘the most popular girl in school’. In Transformers 1 and 2 however she is portrayed slightly differently, being differentiated from ‘typical’ women in her age group. Yet still, somehow her performance is obviously there to want to make every male pay once, twice, or even three times to see her fixing up a car or  glistening on top of a motorbike. Those are just a few examples of what I mean. I have nothing against Megan Fox, I think she is a pretty good actress as far as her acting goes, but regardless of whether I’m a man, I don’t want ALL of her roles to be a popular, typical sex symbol. Megan said herself in an interview with MTV recently regarding her being portrayed as sexy all the time: “I’m not comfortable with it at all. It annoys me.” Good on her,  I’d like to see her trying to pull of something like Transamerica. That would be interesting to watch, just to see whether she can do it.

Anyway, about Jennifer’s Body. Diablo Cody wrote it, the screenwriter of Juno, who stated ‘she wanted the film to speak to female empowerment and explore the complex relationships between best friends‘. The film stars Megan Fox (Transformers, Transformers 2, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!, Mean Girls, Alpha Dog), Adam Brody (The OC, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Thank You For Smoking) and Johnny Simmons (Hotel For Dogs, The Spirit, Evan Almighty) with a release date of 28th October 2009 just in time for Halloween. Despite all the ruckus, it looks like an okay – pretty good film. So enjoy the trailer.

A great science fiction concept that never quite goes far enough as a movie.  It’s like the movie is using a surrogate when the real movie would have been so much better.

We live in a world where people spend hours on the computer to have more “real” relationships online than they do five feet from their house.  Where we want to be society’s idea of “perfect” but we don’t want to take the steps to get there.  So sci-fi surrogacy doesn’t seem so far fetched…but does the movie deliver?

The Setup:
Based on an independent graphic novel (aka a comic book with credibility) that I haven’t read, but I heard is fantastic, Surrogates is a world where everyone lives through robots.  Sex, drugs, and rock n’roll couch potatoes.  Can’t get hurt and you can’t do any real damage so why not?  Crime rates is down and the good times are up.

Well, some people have a bit of an issue with it.  Led by the Prophet (Ving Rhames), there is a small contingent that wants to ban surrogates and live like real people.  Hippies.

All is well and superficial (remember this word, it’ll come in handy later) until someone starts killing people through their surrogates.  Kinda defeats the purpose doesn’t it?  Enter Bruce Willis and Rahda Mitchell as the cops on the case.

The Thoughts:
Wow, Bruce Willis as a cop.  No one saw that coming. (insert sarcasm here).  As far as Bruce goes, he’s pretty much on auto-pilot here.  It’s not a terrible thing because he can play the role with his eyes closed but it really doesn’t give us anything new.  His robotic version, bad hair and all, versus his real-self is evident and you definitely get a sense this guy is much more fragile than the surrogate.

The rest of the cast are pretty much a thrown away.  Yes that’s Ving Rhames and yes that’s James Cromwell but pretty much anyone could have played those roles.  Radha Mitchell and Rosamund Pike (partner, wife respectively) did their jobs and nothing else.  Everything was obvious and pretty boring.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I wish the movie had been longer.  Longer to explore surrogacy.  Longer to give a crap about Bruce’s marriage.  Longer to care about his dead kid.  (sorry).  I wanted more than the 83 minutes gave me.

This movie was a great idea with specially special effect but too simple of a message – “So…um, surrogacy is bad?”  It all just felt superficial.  (told ya)

Surrogates Rating:  1 Ticket – I’m saying a renter.  It’s a decent movie that makes you think, just not so much with the feel.

Rating system:
½ ticket – rip up your ticket.
1 ticket – go, but don’t tell anyone.
2 tickets – good movie, take a friend. 
3 tickets – tell everyone you know.

Coming Attractions:

Up In the Air – If you’re read my blog in the past you know I have a little bit of a love for George Clooney.  This movie keeps the love alive and I’m sorry, if you don’t feel something from watch this 2.5 minutes of monologue, you are dead inside.  (support director Jason Reitman, he’s a good Canadian kid)

Randomly Recommended

Alpha Dog – I like Bruce Willis, I really do but I actually had a hard time coming up with a highly recommended flick of his (excluding the first Die Hard, too obvious).  I’m going with this 2006 movie based on the true story of Jesse James Hollywood, the youngest man ever to be on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.  Bruce only has a cameo in it but it’s an intense little thriller that’s worth checking out.  (even Justin Timberlake is good)

Gattaca – If you want a great movie that focuses on the pursuit of perfection, you’ll do yourself a favour by watching Gattaca.  Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law have to deal with man-made excellence and where that puts you on the success scale.  Smart murder mystery and entertaining as hell.  (the anti-Surrogates)