Ever follow an actor through terrible movie choices in hopes of seeing them shine in something that maybe everyone around you has missed out on?

I pretty much do this for two actors.   1.) Is Philip S. Hoffman.  2.) James McAvoy

I got introduced to McAvoy after seeing Bright Young Things and then sorta went out of my way to see him in just about anything I could find him in.   One of my favorite movies he was in was Starter for 10.

But I digress…  I spent my Sunday afternoon watching Penelope.  A film about a girl is having to cope with a family curse involving her face looking like a pig.

Enter James McAvoy who can sorta see past this but can’t commit to her because he doesn’t have the ability to brake the curse.

It sorta takes a predictable turn near the end of the movie and if it wasn’t for an interesting soundtrack I think I would have turned it off midway through the movie.

Its not bad for a “bad movie”.   The soundtrack is pretty good…  and it has a little charm to it.

The BAD MOVIE I wanna see most right now is the House Bunny!

So… we had a devil’s haircut of sorts yesterday.   Took both my dog (Elliot) and my sister’s dog Coco into a local groomer to get their hair~did.

They’ve groomed both dogs before so dropping them off and picking them up is pretty smooth.  The toughest part is really the drop off… Elliot tends to shy away from strangers and the groomers can give you a disapproving lecture about not brushing Elliot’s coat out more often.

Prior to leaving the groomer I was asked what type of haircut Coco would need.  I replied with “a Pomeranian one?” to which I got a disapproving stare.  I was told that they would trim and balance some lengthier sections so that her coat was even.

Fast forward to 9:20PM last night and I get a hysterical sister and weeping parents at my doorstep.   It took about 45 minutes to sorta calm everyone down so that I could find out what happened….   In short, my sister refused to pay for the botched haircut and she begged that they call the cops on her.

High drama indeed.   My sisters dog is in better spirits today.  We spent a few minutes outside this afternoon to get in a little sun and so that I could take a snapshot.

Attended my first ever Dignowity pushcart derby last night… I can’t express how much fun I had at this event. I was moved by the incredible attendance and it was also great seeing a number of locals I’ve become aquatinted with in the past 12 months.

Spoke to a few local scooterists last night and it looks like we’re going to get very serious about entering a pushcart for 2009.

At the office, working on an iPhone mail issue, just installed wordpress on my handset. Wonder if it works.

Took a quick photo of Anders.

Got off the phone with my parents a little while ago… happy to report that both of them are doing fine. The worst part of the storm is over so now all they have to do is stay dry and wait for the winds and rains to die down.

They’ve been without power for a little longer than I’d like.. but I’m sure they’ll get back on the grid once its safe for repair crews to come out.

Flooding is currently our family’s biggest concern. My mom informed me that water is up to halfway up their drive way. which means if we had a car parked on the street it may possibly be filled 3/4 of the way with water.

They think the water is beginning to drain. They had a hard time confirming that through the window tho’.

Anyhoo… my heart and thoughts go out to all my family in friends in the RGV.

.aCr.

Been meaning to post entries on a number of subjects this week but have been a little preoccupied with the tracking of Hurricane Dolly.

The storm is looking to hit the Rio Grande Valley (where I was born and raised) tomorrow morning… if all goes well, the storm will not increase in intensity this evening.

My parents were slated to pay a visit this weekend… but things are on hold as they stay locked inside and brace themselves for the storm.

If all goes well, the storm will make its way inland and die out somewhere over Northern Mexico.

My thoughts are not only on my parents but a number of residents in the RGV that may have homes not up to snuff to take on a CAT 1 storm.

Braved the big crowds and long lines last night to catch what may arguably be the greatest Comic Book Movie ever made.

In short, I thought the film was spectacular.  I’m of the opinion that it had a few flaws…  but I think that’s because Comic Book movies tend to victim of having horrific dialogue bookend – some of the most mesmerizing action sequences ever captured on film.

But enough about that… the Dark Knight is, from beginning to end, a dance between the Gotham Knight & the Joker.   A freakish hush came over the crowd whenever Heath Ledger was on screen.  With the exception of two very gruesome moments – the audience stayed in complete silence so that not a single syllable could be spoiled by prolonged laughter or horrific screams.

I’m fairly certain that the performance given last night will earn Heath Ledger a nomination for Best Supporting Actor…   While I’m not sure if he can win it out right, you only have to look back one or two years to see the academy – recognize Johnny Depp as a drunken-Keith Richards pirate in POTC.

If you haven’t seen it yet.  Treat yourself to what may possibly be the finest Batman movie to ever hit the silver screens.

Whose kidding who…  the only thing I want to do right now is cut outta work and get to a local theater to catch a showing of “the Dark Knight”.

My friend Chivo said that he went to a local theater last night with friends to catch a midnight showing.   It was on 6 screens so he didn’t bother getting tickets in advance.  The joke was on him tho’.  All 6 midnight screenings were sold out.

Jaime in Detroit just informed me that shows in Southfield (North of Detroit) are all sold out also.

Purchasing tickets in advance for a movie screening seems like bad luck to me.   I rarely get anywhere on time and it always seems easier to just catch a screening 30 minutes after I get there.

There’s no fucking way I’m not catching it this weekend.  I feel like I need to add to the box-office-breaking number.

So I participated in an event called – Ride to Work Day – today…   I ride my scooter to work all the time so it wasn’t that big of a deal.  I did however get to meet a number of other scooterists at the new Vespa Alamo Heights store on Broadway after werk.

Its seriously turning out to be a good year for scootering.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so enthused about Summer Sequels.  Not only do I get to look forward to a new Batman installment this week…   I got treated to another Hellboy movie Senior Del Torro.

By admission… I’ve never read a Hellboy comic before.  I’ve never really read a comic of any kind come to think of it.

Hellboy instantly got my attention because the main character has some connection to the prince of darkness.

I didn’t rush out of my way to see the first installment tho’.  If I remember correctly I sorta got around to seeing the movie on DVD because I assumed it was going to be terrible.  I found the story line to be pretty amusing and the costumes were simply amazing.

Fast forward to part 2.   Got a number of my friends to join me at the theater to catch the second installment.   Happy to report that the movie is seriously one of the best comic book movies I’ve ever seen.  Not only does the movie look spectacular – the film is rewarding on a number of levels and that’s sometimes a little difficult for comic book movies to pull off.

Have a few complaints tho’.  The first…  I found the movie to sorta feel derivative at times.  Don’t get me wrong… I love that the director has created an amazing world and that the director has brought that to life in this second installment.   It sorta however felt like an extension of Pans Labyrinth.  

When I wasn’t dwelling on the monsters… i couldn’t get over how the Prince felt like he was part Lestat from Interview with a Vampire and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII.   Surely I’m not alone on this thought.

Anyhoo…. the movie is amazing.   I can’t tell you how many times I wished George Lucas went to the trouble to create incredible costumes instead of going the CGI route.