Munsch Ado About Nothing

Ok...This has been in the news a bit lately so I feel (as Always) that I have to comment.   I know...you're shocked, right?  It seems beloved child author of such classics as "Mortimer"  and "I Love You Forever" has announced to the world that he had an addiction to alcohol and cocaine.  Also, he has bipolar disorder and has suffered with this from the time he was a child.

My Opinion...get ready for this...it'll knock your socks off.  WHO GIVES A CRAP!.  I mean seriously.  Yes he may be a child's author and storyteller, but he's also a human being.  This day and age many many many people suffer with addictions.  Whether its alcohol, tobacco, pot, cocaine, internet porn or video games, literally hundreds of thousands of people suffer with various addictions.  Some may say that this may deminish his credibility, to me it doesn't do a thing.

Bottom Line, he is a brilliant author and wonderfully engaging storyteller.  So he has some personal issues..that's what they are ...PERSONAL.  In no way should this effect his professional life or how people view his public self. With any celebrity they have a "public" persona which is what we all see and their "Private" Persona which they reserve for people who they associate with, friends, family etc.  To me the fact that he's come out and told the world about this makes him even more special to me.  He could have easily kept it to himself and secrectly received treatment, but he chose to share his plight with the world and say "Yes, I'm an addict, and yes, I am getting help for that addiction".  This is what a real stand up person does...not sneak off to some secret celebrity rehab facility...this guy has got the right idea.

GO PUBLIC, GET BETTER, MOVE ON

As an aside...alcohol addiction has literally plagued dozens of famous authors....as Brad Paisley wrote in his song "Alcohol".... "I've influenced Kings and world leaders, I helped Hemingway write like he did, and I'll bet you a drink or two that I can make you, Put that lampshade on your head"

Iron Man 2 - A Solid Sequel

Let me begin by saying this, in my life I am blessed with a really awesome wife.  Not only is she a wonderful cook, mother and house-keeper, she also enjoys movies based on comic books almost as much as I do.  When X-men Origins:Wolverine came out she was right there waiting in line with me.  The Dark Knight?....yep...she was waiting in that insanely long line at the Galaxy cinemas Guelph that wrapped all the way around the side of the building, almost as eager to see this movie as I was.  So when my birthday rolled around on May 11th, it was a no brainer that we were going to see Iron Man 2 as part of the celebration (after a really yummy steak dinner of course, a man has to eat right?)

I am going to keep spoilers to a minimum, but let me start by saying this, Iron Man 2 is an extremely solid second offering in the series.  I love comic book sequels because you don't need all the back story and character development, just jump right in to the story. Buckle up, it's going to be a good one.  Starring the always wonderful Robert Downey Jr as our hero, supported again by Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Director Jon Favreau pulling double duty as Stark's driver Happy Hogan. New to the series this time around is Don Cheadle, replacing Terrance Howard as Rhodey, Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Mickey Rourke as Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko, and Sam Rockwell as foil for RDJ, Justin Hammer.  

Now a lot of reviews I have read have been a little negative, citing too many characters and too many subplots as a detrement to the movie.  Obviously these reviewers have never been comic book readers.  The Marvel Universe is all about lots of characters, subplots, hidden agendas, etc.  That's what make Marvel superior to DC (save for the Batman Franchise which is positively Marvel-esque in its depth of plot and Character library)  The use of secondary characters to build to something greater is a huge part of this movie and, in this humble reviewer's opinion, totally awesome.  

You have the whole buildup to the upcoming Avengers Movie with appearance of Sam L Jackson reprising his role as Nick Fury, and the use of some clever imagery in one scene to foreshadow the upcoming Captain America Movie.  I'm not going to go into spoilers here but, fellow geeks, the scene is classic and you will all know what I'm talking about when you watch this movie.  But, back to the review of the actual movie.

Plot is Solid, showing Tony battling his own ego as well as blood poisoning from his chest implant.  Not to mention that he has basically failed to do what he always does, find the solution, when he is unable to find a replacement for the chest piece that is slowly killing him.  The introduction of fellow weapons designer Justin Hammer played by Sam Rockwell, who always plays the part of slimy arsehole to perfection, as a foil/wannabe to RDJ's Tony Stark make the plot even thicker.  Top that off with Rourke's Ivan Vanko, revenge-driven son to Stark Sr's former partner, and brilliant mind in his own right as the newest "Super-Villian" and you have yourself a story worthy of any of the Marvel books.

Cast's performances are again, up to snuff, with RDJ playing the lead to perfection, Cheadle is good as Rhodey, although I think I may have liked Terrance Howard's version better.  Scarlett is awesome in her role (not to mention Drop Dead Gorgeous) And Paltrow is, well I've never really cared for her as an actress...but she's fine I suppose.  The return of a lot of familiar faces from the first film used both as plot devices and as humor points are very well done.


To Sum Up...I loved this movie...an excellent sequel, but stands well on it's own.  

A MUST-SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN

Wheeeeee

OK Iron Man 2 ROCKED

Full review coming soon

Separated at birth??

Chastity Bono is now officially, legally a man now as reported here. Just Call Me Chaz  Take a look

hmmm....kinda looks like someone else we all 
have seen before

Stupidity of the Average Consumer

Ok...I can’t believe this

They are now selling Hands free soap dispensers in the supermarkets.  I just saw one of these things yesterday that was available to purchase.  How stupid are people that they would buy this product.  Let me explain

Prevention magazine reported that hand soap dispensers are one of the top 10 worst places that bacteria grow.  And they recommend that you scrub more vigorously and even use alcohol based hand sanitizers afterwards to battle this.

I’m not sure but am I the only one who sees this for what it is...pure crap.  Yes true..dirty hands touch soap dispensers all the time so they leave behind bacteria and germs for the next person.  But think about it.  After you touch the soap dispenser what do you do...YOU WASH YOUR HANDS, effectively eliminating any germs and bacterial you may have picked up along the way.  That dispenser could be caked with poop and baby snot and you would still have clean hands after you finished.  Is the average consumer that dumb that they don’t realize this??

As an aside, I played baseball last night for the first time in 2 years...I hurt today

I’m not liking where the next couple of days are headingL

Owie

Finally...Originality...not to mention almost every action star I loved growing up

Just when I was losing all hope in the movie industry I see this

...Nuff Said

The Drugs Didn't Kill Corey Haim...that day

In an article in the Toronto Star today it says that the actor died of pneumonia and an enlarged heart and other health concerns and that the over the counter drugs in his system played little role in his death.

Ummm..I know it may be semantics, but don’t the years of drug abuse and generally not taking care of himself count towards his death and, by extension, THE DRUGS CAUSED HIS DEATH?  It’s common knowledge that people who are addicted to drugs usually don’t take care of themselves, they don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t wash etc.  After years of drug abuse I’m certain that Mr Haim’s health was compromised, and just because he didn’t have the drugs in his system today, doesn’t mean they didn’t play a role in his death.

The coroner says he died of pneumonia, arteriosclerosis and an enlarged heart.

In my mind, there is no doubt that the killer of one of the “Coreys” was CONTINUED DRUG ABUSE.

Good Lord Make It Stop

Ok this has got to stop...now.  I am getting so tired of Hollywood remaking/rebooting all kinds of my favourite movies.  Some have hit the mark (2008’s Incredible Hulk) others have missed (Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes...Ape Lincoln? Seriously?) The latest remake that’s in the works that I have read about HERE  is  1985’s Schwarzenegger Action Blockbuster “Commando”.  Though the original was full of silly one-liners and over the top action and explosions, I really think this trend has to stop.  Some movies just don’t need updating. 

For me Movie Remakes are the “reality TV shows” of film.  It’s like the studios and film makers have run out of ideas and/or creativity so they’re just pulling stuff out of a hat and saying “Hey..this made money before..lets remake it and charge the same people again to see a shitty remake of a 25  year old movie”  ugh.  I love movies.  I love what Hollywood used to be and what it used to represent.  Now it’s all about $$ and publicity.  It’s no longer about creating and art and people collaborating to create something “magical”.  It’s a bunch of stuffed shirts in a fancy room around a big shiny table talking about Money and how they can get their claws into more of it.

It’s sad and exhausting.

Happy Star Wars Day

To All of my fellow Star Wars geeks; Happy unofficial Star Wars Day

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU ALL

Followup - Shatner for Governor General?

So Canada can breathe a collective sigh of relief.  The wonderful actor Bill Shatner will not be campaining to be Governor general despite the support of thousands of Facebook Fans.  The Chicago Sun-Times reports. Alas, he just can't afford the pay cut. "No way I'm giving up those Priceline commercials, plus everything else," he says. Not that I thought that he would seriously campaign...or even have a chance really..like I said in my previous blog...actors are good at being actors...but as a public servant and Representative of the country...I hope he sticks to acting.  I wish more actors would stick to acting and not try to sing..or dance...or do anything else..be happy being a famous actor.


Love Ya Kirk :) 

As an aside if you want, like me, you can follow William Shatner on Twitter