The good: Just about everything.  I love Joss Whedon’s work.  He appeals to my every sarcastic, humor loving fiber.  And he did a marvelous(see what I did there) job with this movie.  I was afraid it might be a little too Whedony, but that fear was laid to rest when I read that he had written comic books before.  So he has credibility and boy did he use it.  He has such a knack for character development and interaction between characters and it really shined here.  Parts of the movie where viewers would usually be antsy, were still engaging.  This movie is close to 2 hours and 30 minutes long but I never felt it.  There’s a point in the movie that I almost forgot there was a bad guy because of all the Avengers stuff that was going on.  Each character was awesome to see on screen.  I had a moment a few weeks prior when I thought, “How the H@%% are they going to make the Black Widow and Hawkeye relevant?  We’re talking about Iron Man, Cpt. America, Thor and the Hulk.”  But there are amazing Hulk moments, amazing Hawkeye moments, amazing Black Widow moments, etc.  Each character was equally as important.  And you care about all of them and what’s happening to them, individually and as a team.  You’re invested.  So much so that… well, maybe I shouldn’t say.  But let’s just say that there is one moment that this movie will have you like, “Whoa whoa whoa, he’s not… wait.  No no no.”  And if you’ve been following all the movies so far, there’s a moment that will make you say, “No freaking way!”  This movie does not disappoint.  It is the most fun I have had at the theaters in a long time.  And there have been great movies in the past few years.  All the actors were great in their roles.  I cannot think of one single person that I felt brought the movie down.  And I usually find at least one.  But this movie is so close to perfect.  I say close because I’m still picking at it trying to find the chink in the armor.  But thus far, story is awesome, visuals were amazing, actors were spot on… it was a fantastic comic book movie.

The bad: Not enough Hulk?  I’m sorry, I know I’m knit picking but this movie is so good that’s all I can think of right now.  Ask me for an update in a couple weeks when the fanboy wears off some.  I can go into this long diatribe about how The Dark Knight was better, blah blah blah.  But to be honest it’s petty.  If you really want to have that discussion, feel free to get a hold of me and I’ll be glad to share my thoughts.  Keeping with that thought I will play Devil’s advocate and say this.  This movie had a 600 minute intro known as Iron Man 1 & 2, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, and Captain America.  There really wasn’t any way it could fail.  Everything had been set up.  But I digress.  I will counter my own counter by saying, it really doesn’t matter.  This movie is damn near flawless.  The only bad thing about it is that it’s too good.  The Dark Knight set the bar for comic book movie and The Avengers just raised it.  I feel bad for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.  I hope he brought his A game.

In case you haven’t read my other movie reviews, my ratings are like this.  1 – avoid at all costs, 2 – watch only if obligated(date night), 3 – watch but wait for DVD, 4 – go see it ASAP, 5 – movie perfection.  My final thought, this movie is a 5.  But there’s a catch.  In rereading this for editing purposes, I realized that I come off as a fanboy.  Is this the best comic book movie ever?  I can’t answer that.  My opinion is way too biased.  I am a HUGE Hulk fan.  I don’t know everything, but I love the character to death.  He is my favorite comic book hero.  I don’t read much, but I went through the entire World War Hulk series.  So on that merit alone I would say yes.  But for the average movie goer, I don’t know for sure that they would like it as much.  I’m too partial.  So I will say this, my mom likes action movies.  Indiana Jones, True Lies, etc.  But walking out of this movie, she commented that she HAD to go back and get all the Avengers movies: Iron Mans, Thor, The incredible Hulk, and Cpt. America.  Maybe that’ll help.  Would I at least recommend The Avengers?  Ten fold.

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AC

P.S.

I usually try to avoid spoilers, but look for the Hulk bitchslap.  LOL

P.P.S.

Cpt America – “…we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here.  And Hulk… smash.”

Hulk – *grin*

P.P.P.S.

Great.  Now thanks to the Hulk, I wanna go see it a third time.  Yes, I said “third”.

What’s one of the longest running stories ever told?  Nice guys finish last, right?  Good guy wants the hot chic, but she wants the bad boy.  Or worst yet, hot chic puts nice guy in the dreaded friendzone.  Here’s the problem with this story: no one ever tells the full story.  Yes, all the stories are true for the most part, but not complete.  It truly is sad when a guy is being nice to a girl and after all his dedication and hard work all he gets is seeing the object of his desire walking off with the cocky, bad boy.  He actually thought that the friendzone was the future boyfriend waiting room.  There are 2 problems with this scenario and I shall finally shed light on this as only I can.  Here.  In the wonderful world that is RandomMuch.

One.  No one ever tells the full story.  Yes the goofy-nice guy is chasing the shallow-hot chic that never pays attention.  And yes the shallow-hot chic chases the cocky-bad boy.  But people forget how the cocky-bad boy is usually chasing the awkward-library girl.  And worse yet, that the awkward-library girl is looking for the, you guessed it, goofy-nice guy.  Why do you think you see the goofy-nice guy trying so hard to learn how to be a jerk?.  The shallow-hot chic wants to put on the glasses and seem nerdy.  The awkward-library girl wants to get all dolled up.  And of course the cocky-bad boy tries to seem smart and sensitive.  It rarely ever works.  The problem is that all these people are looking forward at their goal, when all they have to do is turn around and notice the guy/girl that’s been noticing them.

Two.  The guy/girl complaining needs to realize that this is all self inflicted.  If you know someone isn’t interested in you, MOVE ON.  I’ve never understood why people insist on pining over people that don’t want them.  Why do you want to convince these people that they “should” be with you.  The only thing that’s gonna happen is that eventually they get that itch and cheat on you.  Things not going your way?  Change your perspective and the results will follow.

People follow their desires like brain-craving zombies when the solution to their loneliness is right behind them doing the same.  But we hear the moping and whining about “why doesn’t he/she want me?”  One of two things needs to happen.  Either turn around and be happy, or keep trying and stop whining.  Do “nice guys” finish last?  Only by choice.

As usual, please remember to check out some other posts.  My thoughts are all over the place and I’m sure you can find something worth your time.  Here a few of my favs: Never Shoot for the Stars, Precious movie review, and Mid-Life Awakening.

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AC

P.S.

This was not written with any ONE person in mind, so please don’t get all butthurt.  And if you insist then HAHAHAHAAA.

P.P.S

This may or may not be my triumphant return.  I’m kind of itching to do an Avengers reviewy thingy.  Thoughts?

OK, I have to bring this to light. Raise your hand if you know the name, Anders Behring Breivik.  Not too many off hand, right?  OK, how many heard about the Norwegian massacre by a Christian extremist?  That rings a bell, right? And there may have even been mention of survivors.  But who among you know who Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen are?  No one?  They were far away from the shooting, heard the shots, went TOWARDS the danger 4 TIMES in their boat and saved 40 kids. Why didn’t you hear about them? They are a lesbian, married couple. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but fuck the media. That’s why I don’t watch the news on a regular basis. They won’t give credit where it is due, and they won’t call the sick bastard a Christian.  But if it was a straight couple and a Muslim, you better believe they would have it all over the news.  Back to our regularly scheduled banality.

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AC

Look, before people call me insensitive and all that, let me tell you a little story.  I have been overweight all my life.  And every since I can remember I was made fun of because of it.  I even remember this one time where another chubby kid that lived next to me was being picked on by some kids at school.  I go over and help him out.  But since my jokes about them were more insulting than theirs about him, they decide that physical violence was called for.  So I tell my chubby friend to get back to back with me and as soon as we get the chance we run like hell.  He manages to kick one of them right in the babymaker and I push two more over the hunched over guy and we ran as fast as our chubby feet would carry us.  I went through all my school years defending myself from people making fun of me.  If anything I appreciate it because it made me quick on my feet with the comebacks.  I have lost that talent as of late ’cause there’s fewer bullies now as an adult.  But the one thing that helped me the most, was my dad.  He taught me so much.  And one of the most important things he taught me was that words will NEVER hurt me.  The moment I let someone’s words affect me, they have more control over my life than I do.  The only person that should affect my mood is me.  And that stuck with me.  When I was picked on, I managed to anger others with my simple words, even to the point that they wanted to fight.  All I did was embarrass them and walk away.

Have we really raised our kids to be so sensitive that some idiot calling them names makes them this depressed?  Stop and think for one second.  If all you do is go around telling your kids to tell someone if they’re being picked on and that there is help if they need it, what do you think that tells them about you.  ”If YOU have a problem come tell me and we’ll talk.”  So, if they never come to you, the problem will never get addressed.  What you’re really saying is, “My life is so filled with problems that I do not have time to pay attention and notice that something is bothering you.  But if you feel like adding to my problems by telling me yours, please make an appointment so I can take on more of a burden.”  Now, would you really tell your problems to someone like that?  NO!  Or the good old, “Tell a teacher or your counselor” or “We can get you help.”  Basically you’re telling your kids that you’re too busy to deal with it yourself.  Yes, we are not perfect and we may not be capable of handling this situation ourselves.  But at least make the effort and then let them know that if they need ADDITIONAL help, it is available.

Yes, I know.  I don’t have kids so I wouldn’t understand.  Whatever.  I had two GREAT parents who I learned tremendously from, and I have plenty of surrogate kids in my life that confide in me all the time.  The real problem is that adults are trying so hard to provide their kids with EVERYTHING they didn’t have as kids, that they forget the most important part…. attention.  I tell people all the time.  Yes, I was a spoiled only child.  My mom worked odd hours to provide for me.  And she spoiled me when ever she could.  One, she did it because she was making sure she enjoyed every possible moment she could with me.  And two, I would gladly have given away ALL my toys for her to have had a regular job and have been able to spend more time with me.  I do not regret anything, she is the greatest woman I have ever known.  And I know some GREAT women.

Stop passing the buck.  Talk to your kids.  Teach them to be strong.  Let’s put child psychologists out of business.  Let’s stop expecting the world to raise our kids for us.  Instead of teaching our kids to be so sensitive, why not teach them how to tell people to go F’ themselves when it’s deserved.  Let’s stop raising such wimps.  And bullies too, while we’re at it.

Don’t fix the problem, prevent it.

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AC

Let me start off by saying again that I was raised by strong, beautiful women.  As I’ve stated in previous posts, this fact makes me very aware of women’s struggles and feelings.  And this mentality is often mistaken for weakness.  But women are anything but weak.  The reason I take issue with being told that my MAN card is revoked is not because I want to be considered a “man”.  I hate the fact that this mentality is sincere and passed on to little boys.  Luckily I had a very intelligent father that taught me at an early age that people that make fun of you often envy you.  So when my friends and others made fun of me for being so “feminine”, I took it as a compliment.  And what helped me get over the ridicule is that while guys were teasing me, the girls were saying how much of a nice guy I was.  Now, a girl telling you that you’re a “nice guy” is the kiss of death.  Very few women will ever have any kind of relationship, physical or otherwise, with a “nice guy”.  They want the bad boy.  But the acknowledgement is enough.   The lesson I learned is this: If I’m going to try and impress anyone, will they be male or female?  DUH!

I remember one time I was out at a club with friends and one of the guys told me that it was a little disturbing how much I was shaking my ass and moving my hips.  We both laughed, but then I leaned back over and said, “First off, I’m shaking it for my wife.  Second, if anyone else is looking, I’d hope it’s girls that notice not guys.  Third, why you looking at my ass?!”  I’m reminded of that scene in Grease where Danny is being an ass to Sandy to impress his friends, but as soon as she leaves he makes that “I screwed up” face.   But in the end he even changes his image to get the girl.  Why am I supposed to be trying to impress you, a guy, to keep my MAN card?  I don’t want YOUR attention.  I’d a million times over prefer to look like an idiot to you, and have the admiration of a female.  When I’m lonely and in need of company, will I prefer female company or male company?  Hmmm?

Sadly, even some women will criticize men for being too feminine.  But then they also complain about how their MAN cheats on them or worse.  But fellas, keep being that bad boy cause some where out there is a “nice guy” that’s gonna console your woman while you’re out being a MAN with your friends.  And ladies, keep complaining about those less than manly guys.  That helps us weed you out from the REAL women.

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AC

P.S.

Yes, I did refer to Grease.  Too gay for you?  No problem.  I’ll be sitting next to your girl and her friends at the theater when they release the sing-along, while you’re out drinking beers with THE GUYS.  

I have been accused MANY times of over thinking things.  And not only have I concluded, but my doctors have confirmed, that that way of thinking adds to my anxiety and ailing stomach.  But since I consider myself a philosopher, over thinking is a prerequisite.  I take umbrage to being told to “shoot for the stars” because of what I have come to learn about light, space,  and time.  This is how I see it.  It turns out that the light we see from stars has traveled a great distance to reach our eyes.  And in all likelihood, that star has actually died and disappeared from existence.  But it took so long for the light to reach us that we won’t know it’s gone ’til MANY years later.  Maybe even millennia later.  So although the advice to “shoot for the stars” is figurative, I still find it misleading.  If a child truly does shoot for the stars, there is a very good possibility that he or she is shooting for something that is no longer there.  And that is where all those people come in.  ”You’re over thinking again.  You know what they meant.”

And therein lies the rub.  Funny that I should use that, since I hate Shakespeare.  But I digress.  The problem is that it is that very apathy that has made this world, and more specifically, this country the atrocity it is.  We have become not only a society, but a race whose motto has become “You get the point”.  We have allowed ourselves to settle for meaning rather than strive for accuracy.  We are a race of shoulder shruggers.  Even things as simple as grammar and punctuation are casualties of our “hurry up and get to the next BIG thing” mentality.  We don’t have time for the little things.  And sadly, the important things have become the little things.  I know you’ll probably scoff at the reference I use next, but PLEASE pay attention to where this is going.  I play video games quite often.  A fact that my wife loathes.  And in playing these games, I often find myself playing online.  Meaning I play against other people all over the country and sometimes all over the world.  Playing online usually allows for communication back and forth, either by voice messages or text messages.  I have made very little friends, but many enemies.  And I often amuse myself with poking at these enemies.  And what I have found is that many of these people send messages with “yo mama” jokes written in very poor English.  One of my biggest pet peeves is the use of “your” in place of “you’re”.  And I also found that when I point out their(NOT there) stupidity, I am often ridiculed as gay or a nerd.  It’s that dumb jock mentality that has become not only ingrained in our everyday lives, but has become almost a standard.  Just look at who we, as a people, envy.  Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, the Jersey Shore cast.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Jersey Shore.  But I watch it to laugh AT them, while most people watch it and envy them.

I say it often to those that will listen.  A group that has decreased with time.  Put aside the general absurdity of the movie Idiocracy and pay attention to what the movie is actually saying.  If anything, just watch the first 15 minutes or so.  It is a comedy, but it’s a sad look at what not only coud be our future, but almost seems like a very close future.  Like yesterday, future.

I have often thought how much better a classical education would benefit people and society.  But what person now a days would even care to have Latin, Greek mythology, Shakespeare, and philosophy taught to our children.  Those are things for them to take in college IF they go and IF they so choose.  When history WAS written, it took note of Aristotle, Alexander the Great, and Abraham Lincoln.  Notice they all start with A’s.  *wink*wink*  When people remember the post-WWII world, the US especially, what will they remember?  That racism STILL exists?  Reaganomics?  Snooki, for God’s sake?

But alas, I am merely a puppet to the same charade that I complain about.  As I said, I am often told that I over think, but even more often I am told that I am the very epitome of potential over achievement.  A fact that I am trying to make my history rather than my present or future.  And THAT is why I feel I have the right to express this opinion.  One: I have every right to as a human to express myself.  And more importantly, unlike the people I’m ranting about, I’m actually trying to improve.  I haven’t settled.

Don’t tell your kids to shoot for the stars.  Become the star you want them to strive to be, and then tell them to be a bigger star than you.

–

AC

P.S.

Please note that I admit my own mediocrity in this post before you tear me a new one.  ;)

A lot of people will argue that the only people that really care are pirates and hackers.  Since this will make things a little more difficult for them.  But this is not true.  It affects a lot of other people.  People like me that own our own little websites will be pushed out by businesses and networks with money that can afford to pay money and have their content viewed instead of ours.  There is an article and a petition to sign HERE.

I wrote a heartfelt letter to Google and was hoping to post my manifesto here.  But like the big dork I am, I copied something else onto my clipboard which overwrites the previous “copy”.  TARD!  Either way, please take a moment to read and sign.

–

AC

I saw this movie over a week ago, so it may not be as spring-time fresh in my head as I would like.  But I think I’ll do juuuuust fine.  I’ll even skip the usual, blabbering intro to make up for my possible failure.  This post is reviewing the remake of the 80′s classic, The Karate Kid.  Let’s go!

The bad:  Not much bad to whine about.  One thing that definitely stood out was the homages.  I am all for paying homage to the original.  In fact, I insist on it.  But, this movie seemed to have a little too much, if that’s even possible.  I was getting to a point where I was starting to predict where they would through in a line from the original, word-for-word.  It was a bit distracting.  The only other complaint I might have is that they threw in a curve-ball from WAY out in left field(I apologize for my baseball reference, not really my sport of choice).  I won’t spoil the surprise for those who haven’t seen it, but needless to say, you’ll know it when you see it.  If you’ve seen the original that is.  And you have better seen the original.  It’s a major revelation about Mr Miyagi and it made for a very tearful but almost too dramatic moment, albeit well acted.

The good:  I’m hoping I can keep this short.  I love how they made this version contemporary.  The plot is a little out there.  Possible?  Yes.  But just not the most likely of scenarios.  Having to move to China… Hmm?  But they pulled it off rather well.  Little Mr. Jaden Smith, AKA Will Smith’s son, did a pretty good job.  He’s no, Will Smith, but he’s still a kid and has potential.  It’s obvious that he really does study martial arts though.  Jackie Chan is always fun to watch and his performance in the aforementioned dramatic scene was very convincing.  Maybe not Oscar worthy, but I bought it.  The upgrade from traditional Karate to Kung Fu, I thought, was a nice touch as well.  Way better choice than the MMA infused wanna-be-remake known as Never Back Down.  *gag*  I also like that they made this new Karate Kid an actual kid.  It brought a refreshing dynamic that made it more uplifting when he succeeds.

Overall, I loved this movie.  I’m actually a little perplexed as to which I like better… the old or the new.  I guess I can say that the old one has a special place in my heart.  I have been a LONG time fan of Martial Arts, and the original Karate Kid helped solidify that.  This new version however, reignited that love and I am SOOO grateful for that.  You might not have the same “awakening” when you see this new Karate Kid, but I am confident that you will enjoy it.

Using my 5 star rating system, I give this movie 4 and a half stars.  It was just short of perfect in that I did catch myself actually thinking rather than just enjoying the movie.  But VERY rarely.

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AC

P.S.

Please give this site a looksy… maybe you’ll likey.   www.lipsyncallstars.com

I just had a realization about this lost reception/you’re-holding-it-wrong crap. So, Apple claims that it’s due to programming that is displaying the wrong number of bars right? Well that didn’t sit right with me. How can “displaying” the wrong number of bars actually cause you to drop calls? If anything, you would show NO bars but still be on a call.  And now I figured out why it seemed odd. They programmed the phones to show more bars than it actually had so that people would think they were getting better reception. Since they ran a risk of people finding out, they used the crappy antenna design to disclose this programming and fix it without being accused of doing it on purpose. I very seriously doubt this update is gonna fix the actual reception problem. It’ll just remove the farce they were trying to pass off as better reception.

Debunk that conspiracy theory Apple fanboys.  LoL, I’m only semi-quasi-half way serious… kind of.

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AC

P.S.

Please give this site a looksy… maybe you’ll likey.   www.lipsyncallstars.com

For some reason, emails haven’t been getting to the people who subscribed and new subscriptions don’t seem to be going through. SO… I am trying a new subscription method.  If you’re an old fan, please subscribe again.  If you’re a new fan, please subscribe for the first time.  Hopefully you’ll get all the RandomMuchy goodness on the regular.

Also, PLEASE… if you have any suggestions, want my take on something,  maybe a review of something, help finding something out, a movie you’re curious what I though of, whatever… please leave a comment and I’ll try my best to indulge.

Please run over to lipsyncallstars.com and have a look around.  Thanks a mil.

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AC