First of all, this past weekend the Halloween decorations, costumes, and candy appeared.   This is only a couple of weeks after the back to school supplies were put out.  Now, I've heard all the jokes about malls and department stores putting up Christmas decorations earlier and earlier, but putting up Halloween stuff almost two and a half weeks ahead of time is as crazy as you can get.  Of course, in this town everybody is nuts about Halloween, but I really don't know if Hannaford truly understands the breadth of the situation.  I'm sure that this section is going to be almost bare by October 1st anyway, and will likely be followed by the question of "When are you getting more Halloween masks?"

But this is much more offensive than attempting to squeeze the Halloween market dry.  What you see here is bottled water for dogs.  Now, I understand having Oreos for dogs (they are actually to the left in the picture), and even having ice cream treats for dogs, but this is retarded.  Who the hell came up with this idea?  Who was it that thought, "Hey, my dog sure is thirsty.  I wish there was some little tub of water that I could just peel open and give to him because I'm too damn lazy to pour water into a bowl or something."  I understand that this is "Water for the dog on the go" but you're telling me that you didn't think of giving him some of your own bottle of water?  $1.99 is far too much for 32 oz of water you could easily buy from Poland Springs, or someone else for at least half the price.  And no, I'm not sitting here wishing I was the guy who came up with this, because most people are not stupid enough to buy this, hence this "genius" isn't making any money off of it.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the product in this photo, and I've got no gripe with it.  I mean, I absolutely hate ramen, but pretty much everyone else I know eats their weight in this stuff in a year.  But my question here is, "What exactly constitutes 'Oriental' flavor?"  You can go in a few directions with the answer.  The first route you can go is "It's made from Oriental people."  I approve of this theory because I think cannibalism is funny.  The second answer is more bland, as in "It tastes like ingredients found in various Oriental foods," and I'd assume that you'd be talking about ginger, soy sauce, etc.  The third theory is "It tastes like a rug."  The fourth and final answer is "The term 'Oriental' is an outdated and offensive term for people of East Asian decent."  I wonder if there have been any complaints?

At the end of the day, though, I have few complaints.  I mean, we sell Pocky now.  If only I can remember that we've got it so I can buy some and write up a review.  If we don't sell it, it's going back to Japan.

Blade Runner - Shockingly enough, I'd never seen this.  It's probably the most important sci-fi film made after Star Wars and before The Matrix, so you'd expect me to be familiar with it.  I wasn't disappointed, actually, I thought it was one of the coolest movies I've ever seen.  I guess it should be noted that I saw the "Director's Cut," however, it's not exactly Ridley Scott's final version, which should be coming to DVD in a big set at the end of the year, according to Wiki.  I'll be waiting for it, I can't wait to see this again on a remastered print. 
The coolest thing about Blade Runner is the production design.  The film takes place in its own little microcosm, and you get completely soaked up in it.  Production design is one of my favorite elements of sci-fi TV and movies. 

Brazil - I'd been hearing references to this film a lot lately, so it was a big reason I joined Netflix.  There's nowhere around here that's going to have a copy of the movie, let alone the Criterion's DVD.  Monty Python's Terry Gilliam directed this one, which was an absolute visual feast from beginning to end.  There's tons of stuff going on in this movie that got me going, from the Orwellian influences to more great production design to some nifty performances.  It's a biting satire of bureaucracy and totalitarianism that can go from being lighthearted and funny to dark and disturbing in the blink of an eye.
Jonathan Pryce plays a great everyman hero and manages to remind me of a British Robbie Langevin through most of his scenes.  Ian Holm is very funny, and Michael Palin is deliciously macabre.  Robert DeNiro is in the film briefly, and you can tell he enjoys every minute of it.  If you plan on seeing it, only watch Gilliam's cut; the other versions that the studio would attempt to assemble tread all over his vision and his message.  Brazil has already become one of my favorite movies.

Dark Star - I rented this one because it was written by and starred Dan O'Bannon.  Dark Star is basically a super-low budget science fiction satire, and O'Bannon ended up somewhat re-writing the film later in a more serious vein.  What we got out of that was Alien.  I'm a massive fan of Alien... I've read about its making and watched all sorts of documentaries about it (the special DVD features on the 'Quadrilogy' set are incredible).  Dark Star really wasn't much to write home about, but it was definitely worth watching for me.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - Another movie you'd assume I'd seen before.  I'll put it simply: this is my least favorite of anything the Pythons have done, but there's still some genuinely classic bits.  My personal favorite sketch in the film is the "British Officer Class" scene in which officers in the Zulu Wars lounge about in comfort and style while the soldiers get the crap kicked out of them by the Zulus.  The matter-of-fact reaction to Eric Idle's leg being eaten by a tiger is among the funniest material they ever wrote.

Primer - This is without a doubt a braintwister of enormous proportions that was made for only $7,000 and looks better than most movies you see on the Sci-Fi Channel on the weekends.  It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004 and has been on my list of movies to see since then. 
Primer is a heavy piece of filmmaking, and considering its microscopic budget and running length of only 78 minutes, it's hard to believe that there's so much going on here.  But first-timer Shane Carruth manages to do a great job with every single resource he has available.  His commentary track gives you plenty of insight to the development of the movie, but still not enough explanation of its very difficult plot.  The story follows Abe and Aaron, a couple of friends who accidentally build a time machine and shows the implications of their ability to manipulate fate - their own and each other's.  It's a film that demands at least three or four viewings to be fully understood, which is why I'm happy Netflix doesn't charge late fees. 
I won't give much of the plot away, but that doesn't hurt because I still don't have much of a handle on it.  But I can sum up the way I reacted to it like this:  There's a scene in the film in which Aaron tells Abe that he's been audio taping all of his conversations so that when he goes back in time he can repeat the conversations the same way and keep integrity in his own timelines.  Aaron gives Abe the tape and tells him to listen to a conversation he's about to have with someone.  Abe looks on, and while the words don't match in exactly the same way as on tape, the conversation more or less follows the same structure.  Watching the movie made me feel like Abe in this scene - I didn't quite understand everything that was going on, but I had faith in the filmmakers' ability to tell the story.  If you are big on movies like this, you have to see Primer.  And then see it again and again.  Very good stuff.

Well, once I send Primer back, it's on to Christopher Nolan's debut, Following.  Keep 'em coming, Netflix.

Snakes on a Plane takes liberally from slasher flicks, thrillers in the Aliens vein, and movies about Asian gangsters (think Steven Segal).  Then it adds the One True Badass, Sam Jackson, into the mix.  Now look at any disaster movie you've seen on an airplane (or even Airplane! itself) and you've got the formula for this movie, formula being the active word here.  SoaP is a movie that knows its place.  It's a satire, but still enjoyable as an action movie.  Once the producers realized the true potential they had with the film, they made sure to up the ante, even doing some extra reshooting to keep up with the expectations of fans.  What you get is more extravagant ways for people to be killed, more comedy, and of course, Sam Jackson's key line.  The rest of the cast is a great ensemble, notably Kenan Thompson, Juliana Margulies, and David "Champ Kind" Koechner.  Whammy!

Snakes on a Plane is the perfect movie to see in a crowded theater on an August evening.  Go and enjoy yourself with some friends.  Don't be shy to laugh.  Don't be shy to applaud.  I know I did.

Adventures in Computer Repair
Fran's laptop crapped out recently, and since we'll be driving to Jersey to help her move into her new dorm, I went out to see if I could get it fixed so we don't have to miss out on Internet access while we're gone.  I tried Best Buy at the Greendale Mall, and I showed the unit to the Geek Squad guys.  He asked what was wrong, and I told him that I thought it was because the jack you plug the charger into was broken.  He immediately said, "You have to call Dell, we don't do that."  Wow.

But when I got back into the parking lot, I noticed that there were fliers on people's windshields for, wouldn't you know it, a computer repair shop.  What else did I have to lose?  Might as well call up The Computer Hospital and see if they'd be able to do anything.  A fella named Dave said that he certainly could do it, but his office was currently without power due to some road work... so he offered to come down to the parking lot and take a look.  Now THAT'S customer service!  I let him take the unit with him and he called me back that night (after seeing Snakes).  Turned out that not only was the jack broken, but the motherboard was also fried... and with a laptop, that's pretty much the end.  However, he said he could save the hard drive and that other parts could be salvageable.  So he turned the HDD into an external USB unit, and at a very good price... MUCH better than Best Buy or Circuit City or Staples would ever offer. 

If you're having computer trouble and you're in the Worcester area, I suggest you give The Computer Hospital a try!  Drop Dave an email or give him a call. 

If you're not first, you're last
Talladega Nights was the movie to see this week, as evidenced by the fact that pretty much everyone I know is already using lines from it.  Essentially, it's Anchorman at NASCAR, but the formula still works here.  It's a movie too stupid to be taken seriously, and a good thing, too.  There are too many preposterously funny moments to count.  Will Ferrel is right at home as Ricky Bobby, and Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G, Borat, etc.) steals the movie as his arch-nemesis, French driver Jean Girard.  The rest of the supporting cast is filled out by always-reliable actors, like Gary "Bill Lumberg" Cole and Jane "Laurie Bohner" Lynch.  I wasn't sure if I'd really dig this movie seeing as how I hate NASCAR, but at times it's hardly a factor.  If you loved Anchorman, Talladega Nights is a must-see.  Shake and Bake!

I also just signed up for Netflix... I'll be posting capsule reviews of my first few rentals, but I'll save that for next time.   

We Got The Beat: 80's Night at the Lucky Dog
The other night, the masterminds behind We Got The Beat (click on that, dammit) held an 80's night at the Lucky Dog Music Hall in Worcester.  The idea behind the party was to get a bunch of local bands to cover some 80's tunes, and the best acts will get a shot at being on the movie's soundtrack.  It was my first time there, and I loved it.  Decent bar, great atmostphere; it's the perfect place to go see a couple of bands for an evening.

I can't remember how many bands we had there, but I'd estimate it was ten.  They were all pretty good, with the exception of one or two who I didn't think were all to tight.  One band in particular decided to ride that wave of reggae-fying perfectly good songs.  Now, I love reggae, but some bands (COUGH 311 COUGH) seem to think it's a good idea to take 80's songs and do the worst reggae-style renditions of them imaginable.  The band we saw on Tuesday announced the next song would be "Safety Dance" and played this awful version for us.  I happen to think that "Safety Dance" is one of the dopest songs on the planet in its original form.  I guess you can tell I wasn't too pumped, but hey, that's me.  It's gotta be working for someone.

Anyway, like I said, the rest of the acts were all pretty damn good.  One band, Jediah, did both "Message in a Bottle" by the Police (just as my rum and coke began to kick in) and "I Will Follow" by U2.  The guy BECAME Bono.  It was amazing.  I believe another favorite of mine was known as Craig, and they played a good hard rendition of "My Sharona" and then "Dirty Deeds" by AC/DC.  Texas Gunner of Dover, NH had an eclectic set (Springsteen, Devo, and Van Halen) and looked like they should have been playing The Clash (the singer gave me the mic and I handed it to an appropriately attired Alex).  Another band (I forgot their name) towards the end played "We Got the Beat" and we all started to dance like crazy up front.  The singer saw me and told me to get up on the stage, so I got up and did a Ben Carr from the Bosstones type of act.  I can now say that I've performed on the same stage as the Rolling Stones.  Jon told me that I was getting a 12% raise for my efforts.

Hopefully there'll be pictures available.  I tried to take some, but it was so damned hot that my camera refused to operate properly.