Yooooo Joe!

They are who we thought they were. GI Joe wasn't everything I wanted it to be but it was everything I thought it was going to be. The movie was hidden from critics pre-opening and then the critics crushed it once they did get a hold of it.

I had no expectations, but I had hopes.

I loved the cartoon. It was awesome. The different characters, the vehicles, and weapons, all of it. I wanted the movie to live up to what the cartoon meant to me and not what it actually was. The cartoon, in reality, was a giant commercial for toys. The dialogue was a joke and the battles were a farce. There would be a giant military engagement and no matter how big the fire power, none of the key players ever died.

The movie delivered on fire power. It had all the characters. But it had as much heart and sole as a $3 plastic toy. You don't go to these kinds of movies looking for great plots or great acting, you go for the attitude, the adrenaline thrill ride, the special effects glitz, and the nostalgia. Star Trek delivered on all four. GI Joe failed only on the attitude. Every joke fell flat. Crickets flat. There was zero sexual tension where there was supposed to be some. Maybe it was the need for the movie to be toy buying kid friendly that killed the attitude. I have to say there was a spark of attitude from the Baroness, Sienna Miller, but it was snuffed out about 3/4 of the way through.

All in all, I am not disappointed, I don't regret going, and I hope they make a sequel. I am a sucker for nostalgia...and explosions and CGI. But I hope the sequel takes the training wheels off.

Against all warning...

I am heading to see G.I. Joe today. I am going in to the movie thinking it will be terrible. Every review out there is that it is terrible. But I can't help myself. A friend described it as "his Twilight".

My favorite of the cartoon series was the five-part Weather Dominator epic. The Weather Dominator breaks into three parts and the Joes and Cobra send teams to gather the pieces. High adventure.

Tiger Woods is three back of the lead at the Bridgestone, starting at 2PM on CBS. Tiger is a 6-time winner of this tournament.

Of course, the Yankees go for the sweep at 8PM on ESPN. The Yankees are surging, having won 30 of their past 40.

There is a Mythbusters marathon today on Discovery starting at Noon.

For a real treat, find the Green channel at 3PM and watch Blue Planet, the absolute best ocean life show ever made. The music is John Williams level and the narration by David Attenborough is legendary. The BBC spent five years and millions of dollars making this 10-part series. The same production company made Planet Earth a couple years ago.

Lastly, there is the HBO Sunday night. I am really on the edge of my seat for True Blood lately.

John Hughes weekend

Celebrate the movies of John Hughes this weekend. They don't make them like that anymore.

Today at 1PM on AMC - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Tomorrow at 8PM - Sixteen Candles followed by Weird Science at 9:30PM

Check out Pappi's press conference

David Ortiz will hold a press conference at 12:30pm at Yankee Stadium to discuss the report that he is among the 103 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. All signs are pointing to him taking no responsibility for his alleged actions. Expect denials. This is a Yankee fans dream given that every one of us could feel the millions of judging eyes on us from New England ever since ARod, Clemens, Petitte, and the rest. I believe ESPN will carry the presser live.

The game last night was a classic. The first at the new stadium. ARod hit a walk-off in the 15th inning of a scoreless game. High intensity and high drama. Awesome. Check out the best Yankee blog in the world over at beat writer Peter Abraham's Yankee blog.

What kind of a guy was John Hughes

Check out this blog post from a pen pal of John Hughes. It is pretty impressive stuff.

What to Watch tonight - 8/7/09

8PM - 1:30 AM Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon on HBO Signature

Other than that, watch the Yankees where available...or go out.

R.I.P John Hughes...and a recap of the night.

John Hughes, if you don't know, died today. He was the man. In my mind, they don't make comedies like they did in the 1980s. They just don't. The list of all-time great comedies is chalk full of 80s movies. John Hughes was behind a large majority of these movies. He is probably most known for the Molly Ringwald movies - Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club. But for me, he is so much more. Here is the list of all-time funny movies John Hughes wrote...

- Mr. Mom (1983)
- Vacation (1983)
- Sixteen Candles (1984)
- The Breakfast Club (1985)
- European Vacation (1985)
- Weird Science (1985)
- Pretty in Pink (1985)
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
- Planes Trains & Automobiles (1987)
- The Great Outdoors (1988)
- Uncle Buck (1989)
- Christmas Vacation (1989)
- Home Alone (1990)

WOW!!! That is an unreal 7 year stretch of movies. Millions of kids my age grew up with these movies. Christmas Vacation is still played every year at my family's Thanksgiving. Thanks for the memories.

The Yankees crushed the Sox 13-6 to get the monkey off their back...at least for tonight.

SYTYCD finale - It was actually a great finale. There was mad bling, great past routines, and I predicted the winner. I am very impressive. I called Jeanine very early on as my favorite. You can tell that the judges and dancers really love what they are doing. That in and of itself makes it fun to watch.

Top Chef Masters - Oprah's guy got sent home. First, I predict the French guy will win. I called him from the first night. The challenge was great. I love the idea of taking these guys out of their comfort levels without severly limited their access to high quality ingredients, equipment, or time. I completely agreed with the decision. The Asian fusion girl definitley mailed it in, but she wasn't as bad as Oprah's guy. He tried to pass off Rice Dreams as his dish for judgment. See ya.