...go to Bhaliwood. (Slumdog Millionaire review)

I don't know if this was actually a Bahliwood movie, but it is based in India...so thats close enough, right? I'm so mad. I generally like to see the movies that were nominated for Best Picture, but I didn't get to see any! This is the first of that group that I have seen.

So this movie was the out-of-nowhere favorite of 2008. It won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It has an 8.5 on IMDB and has had ridiculous amounts of hype. Does it live up to the hype? Absolutely! Do I think its the best thing since sliced bread? No. But it's probably the best movie I have seen in several years.

I do have a question though. Does anyone know why Indians tend to bobble their head when they talk? I hope this isn't offensive, but I've never gotten an answer regarding that.

The Good: I love the story. It is based on an Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Everytime the contestant answers a question, it shows a flashback of how he actually knows the answer. This was a pretty sweet gimic that ties together a rather compelling story (although the story itself reminds me of The Kite Runner). They are all no name actors, at least in America, but all do a great job. The entire movie was paced well...I was never distracted by boredom--like the Mars scenes in Watchmen.

The music was awesome. There was a couple of pop songs that are familiar, but a lot of up-beat Indian music that I had never heard. I think one of the songs ended up winning an Academy Award as well.

The Bad: Nothing really. Maybe I would've like to laugh a little bit more, but not necessary.

Rating: 9 out of 10

...give up on Vin Diesel--if you haven't already. (Fast and Furious review)

C'mon! It should be a simple recipe: take some sweet cars, make them fast, use them a lot, and have good choreography...BUT, the most important ingredients are: keep the story and acting to a minimum. Why can't they figure that out? I really liked the first Fast and the Furious, kinda liked Tokyo Drift, hated Too Fast Too Furious. This one falls into 3rd place.

So we go to a late show on Tuesday...they apparently have $1 popcorn on Tuesdays. My gf doesn't want to watch (I don't blame her), so she goes to watch Monsters vs Aliens. I come to find out that she was the only person in that theater! And further, she said that the movie sucked. Check it out, 2 reviews in 1.

So I haven't verified this, but apparently this story takes place between the 1st and 2nd fast and furious movies. It also ties itself into Tokyo Drift as well with a 2 minute cameo by that Han dude.

The good: There are about 2 cool racing scenes. Ummm....done with this section.

The bad: Almost everything else. Bad acting, bad story is a given. There isn't enough action. Zero comedy. The beginning part of the movie has some computer generated action...horrible! They try way to hard to make the characters internally conflicted about everything! Every single scene has someone whining about something.

And the ending... really?

Rating: 5 out of 10

...play Zitch Dog. (How I Met Your Mother review)

Zitch dog!

Sitcoms? Really? Do those even still exist? I thought television had been taken over by one hour shows and reality shows. At least, those are the only ones I ever hear about.

So 4 years after the debut, I started watching How I Met Your Mother. This show is hilarious! Maybe it because its about a bunch of 27/28 year olds hanging out and I can relate, but I think its much more than that.

The good: The pranks and jokes that they play are always fresh and original. The cast has a great chemistry. I love how every little detail of the show has a story--usually portrayed with an immediate flashback, but sometimes they only mention a story, which then plays out in a later episode. The humor is very smart, and when they decide not to use smart humor...they just ask for a high five and it becomes funny.

The story is oddly deep. Although you can easily watch sporadic episodes and enjoy it, watching it in sequence provides enough story to grab bigger audiences.

The bad: None. Go Doogie!

Rating: 9 out of 10

...watch baseball! Or, at least look at the box scores.

I am prepared for the wrath of actually baseball fans...

Who knew that such a boring sport to watch could produce an overwhelmingly fun experience of Fantasy Baseball. Sure, go ahead..."its no fantasy football", "it takes up too much time", "there are too many games", blah blah blah. You people are missing the point of the great joys of competition, despite the lack of interest in the subject. For example, I know someone who plays fantasy with celebrities, based on how many headlines they make...ahem.

So most recently, we did an auction draft this past weekend. This is where you actually bid for players versus just picking them snake style. And I'd like to say, ITS MUCH MORE FUN. Imagine having to pay attention to every pick and having a chance to win them. There are so many more facets of strategy. I have 2 teams, the first team was standard drafting, the 2nd team was my auction.

Standard:
C: Geovany Soto
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Chase Utly
SS: JJ Hardy
3B: Jorge Cantu
LF: Matt Holiday
CF: Lastings Milledge
RF: Ryan Ludwick
Bench: Kazuo Matsui, Ryan Theriot, Jayson Werth, JD Drew

SP: Brandon Webb, John Lackey, Gil Meche, Jair Jurrjens, Brad Penny, Ubaldo Jimenez
RP: Joe Nathan, Fernando Rodney, Brandon Morrow, Joakim Soria, Brian Wilson

Auction:
C: Victor Martinez
1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Brian Roberts
SS: Jimmy Rollins
3B: Kevin youkilis
IF: Chris Davis
OF: Matt Holiday
OF: Matt Kemp
OF: Carlos Quentin
OF: Jermaine Dye

Bench: Carlos Pena, Ryan Theriot

SP: Gil Meche, Paul Maholm, Wandy Rodriguez, Clayton Kershaw, Chien-Ming Wang, Johnny Cueto
RP:Brian Wilson, Fernando Rodney, Brandon Morrow, Joel Hanrahan, Kevin Gregg, George Sherrill

My strategy for the auction was to go Closer heavy and get cheap starters. And to spend all my money on offense. Lets see how that works out.

Good luck Fantasy Filipinos.