15 April 2010

Kevin Bean Sells Out !! + Pop Culture This Week

I finally watched The Fantastic Mr. Fox this week. From Wes Anderson, the director of one of my personal favorites (The Royal Tenenbaums), The Fantastic Mr. F is a stop-motion animated action-adventure story about a cocky, mischievous fox voiced by a smooth-talking George Clooney. Mr. Fox has two weaknesses: his ego and his affinity for stealing chickens. I really liked the look of the animation. It was like a really sharp Gumby (for those who even know who Gumby is). I liked that Mr. Fox and the rest of the crew acted like humans until they ate or fought and then they snarled like the wild animals they are. Wes Anderson's work has the feel of a novel or picture book adapted to the screen. I liked that about Tenenbaums and it really works well here too.

If you copy and paste this link...
http://video.rottentomatoes.com/video/video/article/104/1042051/fantastic_mr_fox_1_110409_qthigh.mov
....you should be able to see Mr. Fox call role.



LOST has put up back-to-back jaw dropping episodes the last two weeks. About time. They were really starting to lose me. I like having Desmond back and (SPOILER ALERT) especially like him acting as a mover and shaker in the "alternative timeline" or whatever the hell they call it.

I watched Iron Man again this week and I know this is old news but RDJ really knocked it out of the park. And so did director Favreau. I really can't wait for number two (Coming Soon!!) I'm having surgery on April 27 and will be laid up for a week. My post-op appointment is May 3 and I am definitely finding a way to the theater on the 7th!

I listened to part of the Neil Young Archives this week and it's really something. Live At Massey Hall was recorded before Crazy Horse, CSNY and the rest of Neil's ridiculous career. I'm a traditionalist and I always like to listen to early stuff from an artist. Neil's voice sounds so young you can tell he's still almost just a kid. Crazy.

To anyone paying attention, I want Lyle Lovett's If I Had A Boat played at the memorial service when I die. No, I'm not suicidal and I'll probably outlive everyone reading this (no offense but if you follow me at all you'll know I believe I'm somehow exempt from death). Here is Lyle............. and the original video for the song. I think Lyle and my friend Sarah would have made a good couple.

And here is something that I've been thinking about for awhile. If you watch ESPN at all, you might know Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic from Mike And Mike In The Morning. It's a sports talk show that is simulcast every morning on radio and tv. No one entertains me or makes me laugh like Mike and Mike and I don't think there is a more decent (as in being a good person) pair of people on tv.

As you can see I have sold out my blog (I feel stupid even saying that because just about anyone would sell out - the trick is having something someone wants to buy) for advertising space. It's currently experimental and I don't know if I will expand it beyond my Friday pop culture blog. Here is another plug for the World War II reporting I posted last month. These books are the most fascinating thing I have read since Mary Karr's The Liar's Club. Haha, speaking of which here is a link to that. What a fantastic book!

Oh yeah.  I almost forgot about Heidi Somebody who is famous for some reason - I think because she gets lots of plastic surgery.  What the cuss is a "back scoop" anyway?  Sounds pretty gross.  Here is a pic of her and her fake boobs.  I've always liked my women real and with little make-up (I'll give fake eyelashes and fingernails a pass).  Good luck Heidi! I would wish you luck in aging gracefully but I think it's too late for that.

While I'm on the subject of real versus fake and what I find attractive, I loved Chelsea Handler (Chelsea! Chelsea! Bang! Bang!) taking on Sandra Bullocks' husbands side piece and Nazi paraphanalia model
in a war of words.  What a piece of trash this lady is.  Natural good looks, funny, smart versus a female Marilyn Manson look-alike (no offense to Manson - if that is your real name) who likes to attract white supremacists.  I'm sure her parents are very proud.
Ok that's it.