I Drink Your Milkshake

Andy Samburg is a Genius Part IV

Roger Ebert's Best Movies of 2007

The year's ten best films and other shenanigans


Go Juno and Across the Universe!

The Kingdom - Slight Let-Down

I can't remember the exact phrase, but the trailer I saw on TV said something along the lines of, "The most exciting 10 minute part of any movie." This was not true.

The Kingdom is a good movie. It has good actors and an intense plot with themes and elements that are tied into a lot of America's current fears. The setting of the movie alone would scare me. Saudi Arabia? Whew.

The ten minute clip the trailer said would be the most exciting of any movie I've ever seen was good. It was exciting and had me on the edge of my seat, but it was no where close to the intensity of Mission Impossible: III or Saving Private Ryan or Blood Diamond. It was good but not as good as advertised; and I feel like, if they wouldn't have advertised it like that that people would have liked it better. Instead, the movie came off as kind of a let-down, in that area.

I would recommend this movie regardless. It's worth seeing. It's probably not the best date movie (like 50 First Dates) or movie for someone craving a thought-provoking drama (like Donnie Darko), but it is definitely worth watching. Oh and it has Jason Bateman from Arrested Development and Juno. And Jennifer Gardner from Alias and Juno.

It all started with a chair.....

Have you seen Juno yet?

If not, why not?

I saw Juno while playing the 3rd wheel with some friends one weekend night (I think I was more accurately the 5th wheel). Looking back, I am glad I was stag that night because I don't think I could've absorbed the amazing-ness of Juno otherwise.

(No Spoiler) Juno is about a 16 year old know-it-all cutie named Juno. She has a crush on Paulie Bleeker, a tall, skinny cross country runner that goes to her school. As high schoolers do sometimes, they got bored and had sex. And when you have sex, pregnancy is always a possible outcome. In this case, it was the outcome. The rest of the movie shows Juno's struggles and witty comments while dealing with pregnancy during high school. It sounds like this is a serious movie, but it is completely the opposite. I've never enjoyed a movie's dialogue so much. Juno is the funniest weird-named, pregnant girl ever. I know this little summary probably doesn't make you want to get up and go see it right away, but please know that this movie has a stellar chance of getting best movie of the year. Comedies have a hard time pulling that off and this is a high school comedy even. It is honestly one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Sweet Facts about Juno

It's directed by Jason Reitman, who is great. He also directed another of my all-time favorite films, Thank You For Smoking, and has helped directing on the set of the hit TV show The Office. If knowing he helped in those two productions doesn't make you more keen to Jason, than you should probably stop reading and go watch Grey's Anatomy.

Juno was written by a woman named Diablo Cody. Cool name right? I think its fitting, and I don't even know her. She's from Chicago and from reading her biography on IMDB.com, she is just as interesting, if not more, than Juno. She's been nominated for a Golden Globe, and another 7 wins & 2 nominations in screenplay awards. After seeing Juno, you'll want to watch every screen-written movie she does.

Next there's Ellen Page, the girl that plays Juno MacGuff. She is spectacular! When you see Juno, you'll try to figure out where you've seen her before, and chances are it'll be on the tip of your tongue. So let me help: most notably she was in X-Men: The Last Stand playing the part of Kitty Pryde, or Shadowcat. For the not-so-hardcore X-Men fans, she was the girl running through walls. She also had a role in Hard Candy in 2005. Lastly, she is ironically friends with Olivia Thirlby, who plays her best friend Leah in Juno, and also had a role in the movie United 93.


Lastly, are the two Arrested Development boys, Michael Cera and Jason Bateman. Michael Cera plays the lovable, quiet Paulie Bleeker, a boy that has Laz-y-Boy sex with Juno, and Jason Bateman plays the adoptive husband of Juno's bastard child, Mark Loring. Both of these guys are great and have been in some really good stuff. I'm just going to list it. Michael Cera: voice in the Bernstein Bears TV series, Frequency (2000), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), "Arrested Development," Superbad (2007), and in 2009 Youth in Revolt (It's going to be good!). Jason Bateman: Black Sheep (1994), "The Twilight Zone," Starsky and Hutch (2004), Dodgeball (2004), "King of the Hill," "Scrubs," "Arrested Development," The Break-up (2006), Smokin' Aces (2006), The Kingdom (2007), and in this year Hancock (starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman).

Oh and Jennifer Gardner was in it, too. And Allison Jenney playing Juno's step-mom and J. K. Simmons playing Mac McGuff, Juno's dad.

So I'm going to ask it again: Have you seen Juno? If not, why not?

Best and Worst of 2007 Movies / Movies in 2008

I came across this extensive list of all the upcoming movies for 2008, and it looks like it's going to be a better year in movies than 2007.

But as I made the list of movies that came out this year, I second-guessed that statement. There were some personal instant classics this year. I guess I'll have to wait and see if this next year can out-do movies like 300, Juno, Hot Fuzz and Grindhouse.

Movies I Liked This Year: (Ranked in order of how much I liked it)
1) Juno


2) 300


3) Knocked Up


4) Grindhouse


5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix


6) Blades of Glory


7) The Number 23


8) Hot Fuzz


9) I Am Legend


10) The Bourne Ultimatum


BONUS: Across the Universe (A Must-See), Black Sheep, Transformers



(Ones I haven't seen, but know I'll like:) ( No order)
1) No Country For Old Men


2) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street- I saw it finally and liked it. I will probably never see it again because it was too-musical-y for me. But I did like it.


3) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

4) The Golden Compass
5) Enchanted
6) Southland Tales
7) Lions for Lambs
8) The Kingdom- The hype was overrated. I liked it, but the big hype for it caused a slight disappointment for me when I saw it.
9) Hot Rod
10) Sicko


11) Fido
12) Once


Movies I Thought that were Ok: (Ranked in order of how much I liked them)
1) Ocean's Thirteen
2) Live Free Die Hard (Action-packed)
3) Hairspray (It's only ranked here b/c I would feel like less of a man if it was ranked with the
movies I liked)


4) License to Wed ( I secretly liked this one too)
5) The Simpson's Movie (Just a long Simpson's episode, but still very funny)


6) 1408 (Weird)
7) 30 Days of Night


8) National Treasure: Book of Secrets
9) I Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
10) Superbad (Raunchy)


Ones That I Disliked: (Ranked in order of stinkiness)
1) Spiderman 3
2) Ghost Rider
3) Alpha Dog
4) Norbit
5) Shrek 3
6) Shooter
7) Rush Hour 3
8) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
9) Hostel and Saw Sequels (all of them)
10) Because I Said So

Movies I'm excited to see this New Year: (Ranked in order of anticipation)
1) Be Kind Rewind


2) Burn After Reading
3) The Box
4) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

5) Semi-Pro


6) Wall-E


7) Valkyrie
8) The Happening
9) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
10) The Fighter
11) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
12) 21


13) The Incredible Hulk
14) Where the Wild Things Are


15) Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Why 2008 Will Be An Awesome Year For Movies