My daughter and I really enjoyed the The Expendables two summers ago. It turned out to be my daughter's (17 years old) favorite movie. Shocking to me considering the stars of the movie were action stars when I was her age. What wasn't to love though if you enjoy a good action flick that puts the plot where it needs to be... the back seat. The Expendables wasn't a great movie, but it was a seriously fun ride. Seeing Stallone, Willis and Swartzenager all on screen at the exact same time was just BONUS!
When news that the inevitable sequel was is production and that not only would we see MORE of Willis and Swartzenager, but also Chuck Norris and Van Damn; quite simply we were excited - SIGN US UP! We knew the movie would again be short on plot while heavy on action. We didn't care, that's what we wanted!
Many of you didn't watch Dallas during it's original run in the late 70's and 80's. I remember my parents watching the show and I even got hooked eventually on the intrigue, money and total abuse of power. It's the grand daddy of primetime soap operas and "Who Shot JR" started the cliffhanger trend that so many shows, including my favorite sci-fi shows, use decades later.
If you haven't heard, because you are living under a rock, Dallas is returning to television in a few short days on TNT. They've been pushing the show hard since last summer and have definitely got anticipation running high. The reviews are starting to come in, and they are very good. With the return we get three of the original actors who played J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen; along with a new young cast for the 21st century. So there will be plenty of money, sex and dirty dealing.
To my XBox 360 owning friends (Jeremy, I'm looking at you kid) it's time to start gloating again. Halo 4 is inbound. Granted you won't have it until Christmas 2012, but it will be a cold day in hell before PS3 owners can play Halo 1, 2, 3 or 4. So enjoy the bragging rights; I'm sure you won't be afraid to remind all of us PS3 owners that we are just SOL.
If you haven't already seen the trailer shown at E3, I've embedded it below. I will worn you now - IT'S SHORT!
Not surprisingly it's one of the most watched videos of the past week with 2.7 million views. I remember when a few million views was amazing number of views for the lifetime of a video, much less a week.
On Friday, February 22nd during the 1980 Winter Olympic Games being held in Lake Placid, New York; the United States hockey team did the impossible. A very young team of American hockey players, Led by coach Herb Brooks took on the most dominate team ever in international Hockey - the Soviet Union. They did so and WON!
No one thought it was possible, except maybe coach Brooks. I remember the day well, considering it was decades ago. While the game was played in the afternoon ABC delayed it for prime-time, there was no CNN or internet to spoil the surprise. It also meant I could watch the game after school with my dad.
I wasn't a hockey fan, but by Friday night it would have been un-American not to watch. I sat in our living room with my dad mesmerized by this game I didn't understand. While the sport was a mystery, at 9 years of age I did understand that the Soviets were the bad guys; and we were the good guys. I also knew we were the underdog, but had a team that was in a medal round. That alone was amazing and unexpected.
The periods passed with the US team playing well, but losing. With 10 minutes on the clock the US scored, making it a 4 to 3 lead. While details like that are foggy for me, what came to pass in the final 10 seconds of the game are not. As the clocked ticked away I remember Al Michaels wildly excited as he screamed:
Eleven seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles?...YES!
At that moment my dad and I went nuts, just as the stadium had in Lake Placid. It was an incredible moment that probably can't be understood by anyone born after 1980. It was just a moment in history where our nation came together in glorious happy unity to celebrate a good moment instead of a bad one. Alas those moments are rare and seldom last.
Enjoy that last minute of the game. Relive the moment. A moment where we all could ask "Do you believe in miracles," and answer "YES!"
Today Tracy, Krisite and I are going to go see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We've seen all of them and have enjoyed them all.
No they won't win Oscars for acting or writing, but they are FUN!! Johnny Depp is a blast as Captain Jack Sparrow, and Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa always seems to steal the scene. With Ian McShane joining this latest voyage as Blackbeard and Penelope Cruz as a new vixen; it should be a wild ride.
I don't care if there will be a 5 and 6, just looking forward to having fun with number 4.
