I had a pitter patt in my heart when I opened the box of Family Guy Blue Harvest to  be greeted with a inset saying how easy it was to use the second included disc for "digital copy" on a mac. It's the first such release with this new feature. I'm excited to see it, it's a great idea!

Inside it says: " Simply insert disc 2 into your Mac's DVD drive and 'Double click to transfer to Transfer Movie to iTunes' will guide you the rest of the way and.. once you have it…transer to iPod etc…". Great I think, I'll do that!

I insert it. It opens up a window with a nice graphic and a iTunes icon saying "Double Click to Transfer to iTunes" , I double click it like it says… and… nothing. I do it again… nothing. Again, nothing.

Obviously it doens't work as advertised, so I look in iTunes, there is the disc - I select it and BAM, up comes a screen with the title asking for a serial number, it's on the insert. Type type type… download starts.

So it worked - but not off the disc, I think. It downloaded it from iTunes, I think, not sure. But it worked, I think, as advertised, kinda. They need to do it on a mac a few times to get the instruction process down a bit more, I think.

I will say though that the Mac side was one paragraph of instructions (that didn't work) sharing the front with all the 'freakin' sweet' info, serial number and fine print, the whole other side was PC instructions with a four screenshot spread. WTFs up with that?

I got it in iTunes anyway for now, so that's somethin' I did this week other than  be buried alive in pincushion orders. (how many times am I supposed to feel weird saying that?)

Well, that was interesting. Kinda wish I’d seen Shrek 3 or Knocked Up (which I hear is great) instead this week.

Not that it wasn’t okay, but I should have watched the second movie again first. A large portion of the film I was absolutely clueless what they were going on about.

Not the Matrix 3 clueless suckfest, just “Uh Elizabeth killed Jack? Uh how now? I don’t remember that.” And I do remember that two was a mite more confusing that one was. The first was just plain fun, but I could at least keep up with it. Of course I watched the first one a number of times before seeing the second. It’s one of my favorite DVDs.

One thing that did annoy me in the new one was Jack’s whacked out other invisible selves. Okay, Jack is crazy, fine. That was established long ago, we didn’t need to see him hanging off his own giant dreadlocks did we? Or squabbling with many hims on the Black Pearl in Limbo. Jack was never right in the head, but his own company in there just seemed silly and unnecessary.

Also in watching 3 yesterday I’m like wondering about the heart, Will’s taking over the Dutchman and and all that. Turns out I found something online that told me more than the movie did.

‘At World’s End’ had the real resolution of Will’s curse left out of it. The two writers, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot, had intended to explain it like this:

If Will returned home after ten years and found his true love waiting, he would no longer be bound to the Flying Dutchman, and his obligations as the farrier of souls lost at sea would be broken.

The reason Davy Jones cut out his heart was because after ten years, he came home and Calypso was not waiting for him, thus dooming him to be the Captain of the Flying Dutchman forever.

However, in Will’s case, Elizabeth was waiting, so he is free.

Which makes the last snippet after the credits (which I missed) make sense. Ish. Wether they make that clear in a fourth movie, if the same cast does it, is to be seen later.

Anyway I think they just tried to cram too much in, and went off on too many sight gags, but meh, it was better than Sunday night summer tv. Nothing on.

Oh and despite what some sites have said, Keith Richards is in it.

They definitely left it open for a fourth, and we’ll see if that happens, but they need to go back to the original formula and not put so much into it. Simple is better. Because effects wise they will be hard pressed to beat this one.

Saw Spiderman III tonight. Thought it was a little long, litlte slow to get rolling, but otherwise really good. I think I liked 2 better, though this one definitely has it’s points that I really liked.

Driving home I commented to Mr Man that all the bad guys have some tie to Peter Parker. He’s some kind of viral villian carrier. Watch out for that Mary Jane, soon she’ll knocking over liquor stores with her super bitch powers. And Aunt May, she’s got potenial moonshiner all over her.

Hot Fuzz Kicked ass. Go see it NOW before Spiderman crushes it. Better than Shaun of the Dead and I LOVE that movie. Just great. Mr Man raved too and he rarely does that if it doesn’t have Hobbits in it. Lots of blood and explosions, so that’s probably why.

I learned something this week that is timely with the upcoming 400th Anniversary. Earthworms were extinct in the US before the arrival of the Jamestown colonists, who brought them in the soil of the plants they brought from England.

The pincushion-book-that-I’m-in’s cover is out.

And that new ipod is gonna come in handy on the trip! Woo! Nearly every ep of Robot Chicken on demand! Texas Holdem in Kentucky! Tetris through Tennesee! Bejeweled in the Smokies!

Think I’ll bring some crafty stuff to work on since it’s such a long trip and we’ll hae some dull night inthe hotels I’m sure since what we consider a good channel selection and what other people think is a good channel selection are not even close. DirecTv or death! And yes, I will miss the TiVo, possibly as much as the dogs. Okay… more.

Saw 300 today. Sure it’s only passingly truthful about the actual battle, but it has to be the best gay action movie ever!
Ladies, there is so many pretty half naked men with rippling abs and leather undies that it almost qualifies as porn. Hoo baby. And it is visually stunning, of course. If they don’t give an Oscar for best Fitness trainer, they should! This movie had a uber buff Faramir with a 299 body doubles, Gollum, and giant elephants, ugly fighting machines… it was only lacking some homoerotic mischievous Hobbits.

On the way out I was joking to Mr Man that I heard we should wait till the end for an alternate ending tacked on in the credits where the Spartans all go out for ice cream. A woman walking by looked at me confused till se realized we were joking.

I was rather disappointed with how Leonides died though. In the actual battle he died before the end and then there was a fight to protect his body from the Persians, which the Persian captain saw as a pretty dangerous thing since they were fighting for their KING not because they were told to. The way the movie did it was okay though, I just think it would have been more moving to have the Spartans dying to protect their dead King. But then I dress up like a viking on weekends and have a medieval name I answer to better than my own.

I did like what Leonidas says to the traitor Quasimodo standing admist the enemy. He wished him something on the line of a long life. I imagine that to a Spartan thats like wishing a Klingon to a peaceful death in his comfortable bed. Ouch, that had to hurt.

I went with a pal to see Amazing grace today, head cold and all, and just in time. Starting Friday it goes to one 10pm showing a day, and it’s gone next Friday. If you can go see it, it was really wonderful. It’s interesting to see how history collides.

But then I’m a history junkie.

I want to see 300, Mr Man is balking, unimpressed by “cool grpahics for coolness sake” and it’s questionable historical accuracy and the costuming etc… I’d like to mentioned to the court that when *I* say this stuff about other movies he tells me to “get over it”. So this is a bit of a confusing double standard here.

Grillboy sent me this review, and I just sent it to Mr Man to read at work…

… “My final analysis is 300 the most ass-ruling movie I’ve seen this year, and will probably be the King of 2007 unless someone makes a movie where a pair of sentient boobs fights a werewolf.”

That will seal the deal!

Saw Night at the Musuem. Nothing deep, I mean Ben Stiller is in it, but I really enjoyed it! I’ll probably get it on DVD, so that is sayin’ something.

The museum geek in me of course was thinking half the time: “What are Teddy Roosevelt, an Easter Island head, and Romans doing in a ‘museum of natural history’? It’s more of a “just plain history” museum.”

But past that, I though it was lots of fun!

It’s called The Wilhelm Scream. And I bet you’ve heard it a hundred times. At least.

I’ve heard it in SO many action movies I began to think I was nuts! I got to the point when I would hear it I’d point at the screen and look at Mr Man with a “ee! There is is again” look on my face. I began to wonder in theatres if the current movie would have the scream in it. (I have been known to obsess time to time.)

I thought Lucas was just reusing and some of his Star Wars sounds were being used elsewhere, but the re-use is much older than that. Lucas just used it in EVERY film he’s made, I know I’ve noticed it in all of the Star Wars ones…

Now I can live knowing I’m not the only one who’s noticed.

Am I the only one who is entirely bored by the very idea of a new Superman movie? (I cringe at the media discussing the “superman curse” again ad nauseum… )

Superman is an old an busted goodie two shoes. Boring, puritan, stupid and more than a bit ghey. I have met more exciting and engaging social studies teachers.

I MIGHT rent it on DVD, or pop $4 for it on PPV, if nothing else was on, but there’s no chance in hell I’m paying theatre money for it.

And this is coming from someone who paid to see Daredevil.

Point-conterpoint, if you will.

I thought Kong was good as a whole, but it didn’t need some scenes that stretched this thing out to 3 hours. Other parts were a little “out there”.

I loved the visual effects. Kong was gorgeous and the detail on the character was incredible. They managed to give Kong personality, too. Of course, he showed a little too much at times, considering he is an large ape on a secluded island and the only human contact is normally the tribe that camps out at the wall. For him to play the “hard to get” routine when he meets Naomi is stretching it. They really did succeed in making you think that a 60-foot tall monkey and a woman could fall in love. Although, the original didn’t have the leading lady falling in love with Kong as much she had a lot of compassion for him.

WETA is incredible in this. From the scenery to the creatures. The CGI is bar-none the best Hollywood has produced yet. Lucas could take a cue from these guys and kick ILM in the ass. The whole New York city scenes are great. You truly feel like it’s 1930.

Was it worth seeing? I think I got $6.00 out of my $10.00 ticket. And I disagree with Jen about Jack Black. He’s really not meant for serious roles. Yeah, he plays the likeable con-man enough, but almost every scene features his trademark “crazy face” where his eyebrows prop up and he has a smile reminiscent of the Joker.

Now, for the bits I didn’t like…
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Ignore those who are crying bomb. Far from it.

King Kong is amazing. Utterly beautiful and heartbreaking. It really is that good. Your head will be swimming from all the action sequences, and they are fast and unrelenting. It’s three hours of pure action.

I think the “bomb” tag is applied too liberally, first it came out on a Wednesday in mid (not late)-December. People aren’t off work for the holidays yet. It IS #1 right now, but nothing is raking in a mega-ton if you look at the numbers. Not even the Super CS Lewis thing that I never read. And at 3+ hours it’s a little hard to fit in your day if you have gift shopping and work to do still. I fully expect it to explode this weekend. This should have opened up the day after Christmas.

Anyway how was it?

It was so good I barely noticed how crooked Adrian Brody’s nose is - and believe me thats ALL I tend to notice about him. (I think maybe Weta might have “fixed it in some scenes actually.) It was so good I stopped thinking of Naomi Watts as a younger and less plasticized version Nicole Kidman, and see that she can really act. And do it well. The opening sequences alone were brilliant and really sent the tone and Jackson’s attention to detail showed as the US military costumes were accurate to early 1930’s that were still the dopey “doughboy” ensemble from WWI until like 1940. He made great pains to make it accurate and realistic looking for the era without the fake polish and glitter so many other put on in the time period.

What I loved most was “Ann Darrow” pulling prat falls and physical comedy to get through to Kong. Previous movies had Ann talking to Kong as if he understood English, this movie their interplay was all dialog in expression and mannerisms, which is how apes, and humans, really communicate. Kong was amazing to see in action.

The effects were amazing, if not a little too up close and personal for too long, you’ll understand when you see it, but it’s okay I doesn’t hurt a thing. We sat a few rows closer than our normal favored seats and I think thats the reason.

I saw TWO little effects (in a movie that is ONE big CGI) that stood out as a little less than Weta-typical quality, but they were in such small parts in such LARGE scenes I’m pretty sure I’m nitpicking. I’ll let you tell me if you think you know what they are.

Andy Serkis, who was the action actor for Gollum is back in King Kong. This time in TWO parts, as Kong and as the ship cook. It took me a whole half hour to recognize him. He was wonderful. I think I’m a fan now.

Holding off seeing it because of some dislike for Jack Black? Don’t. You’ll hate him by the end anyway. It really was a good casting job, swear. In this he’s a merely egotistical sneaky hollywood creep who turns into the movie’s true evil villain. I was so sorry he didn’t die in bloody and painful way instead of essentially getting off scot-free for the tragic and horrific series of events he caused.

Trust Jen. Go see it. Just be sure to not sit TOO close, and to go in with an empty bladder and you’ll plenty happy.

Can someone explain the Golden Globes, PLEASE?

How can they nominate movies that aren’t even OUT yet? Everyone was bemoaning that King Kong didn’t get any nods but Jackson did - the damned movie wasn’t even out for two days yet!

How can they do movies that are barely out but a few weeks, or not out even in europe yet if they are the “foreign press”. At least the oscars has a timeframe movies have to be released in, and how many theaters count as a “release” the globes just appear to be what film can get the most top of the year buzz.

Is it just a buzz contest? The more and more I see from the Globe noms the more and more I feel it’s a freaking useless popularity award and I’m sick to freaking death of hearing about it.

The Perfect Man with Hilary Duff was our in-flight “entertainment” back from vegas. Let me just say I used my own headphones and still paid too much (nothing). I almost chewed my arm off in trying to supress my brain begging for the sweet release that only death can bring. Eventually the iPod whispered to us that it was charged up and wanted played with. Thank god.

One thing I learned in Mr man and I trying to challenge each other’s musical knowledge on the plane is that his musical 80’s knowledge doesn’t expand much past hair metal, heavy metal, Duran Duran - and Flock of Seagulls (WHAT DID I MARRY???). He can’t identify nearly anything else from the era. Nothing sparked his memory, not the Cure, not anything - and I played some mainstream stuff! So very sad. Not a single Cure song… I think that’s divorceable.

Other movies I’m pissed about:

RENT:
NO way in hell will I ever see this. You couldn’t pay me to even pretend seeing it. First it’s in NYC, who freaking cares about that anywhere but there, and Second, they are all too pretty and too fabulous, to self absorbed and I just couldn’t give less of a freaking damn if it was a musical about dogs wearing underwear. (I’d prolly see that one though…

HARRY POTTER:
I haven’t read it, not gonna. Not gonna see it either, can’t make me so shut the HELL UP ABOUT IT ALREADY. I’ll die first. Seriously. So there. All you fourty year olds without kids raving about it need to get lives and stop hyperventilating over it like it’s some magical mana from Micheal Jackson’s kiddie porn heaven. If you get so worked up reading a children’s book series and so into the movies like that - you really need therapy. Dude.

MADAGASCAR:
Is this any good? Seriously. The folks who made Shrek did it so that gets some street cred along with Pixar with me, but it seemed to do nothing at the box office and I heard no one raving about it until just now with all the dvd ads for it. Is it worth a rental? Is it a good animated movie (like Shrek, Nemo or ANY Pixar stuff) or just an “okay” kids movie? (I have no interest in a kids movie AT ALL). It has to be FUNNY to people who pay mortgages.

Okay, going to bed now, been running around for two days… pooped.

Just a quick followup on the other movies we rented…

Longest Yard: I had not seen the orginal, but Mr Man had and he was very pleased by the remake and said it was a well done faithful remake and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Not oscar material, but then I tend to not like that stuff anyway. I’m a MOVIE girl.

Robots: Meh. Some cute parts, some little Star Wars nods that Ewan MacGregor did the lead voice, but overall a good kid film adults will likely be bored silly like we were. Not one belly laugh or even a polite snicker unlike other CG animated films like Shrek which get the Too damn good for kids” Jen Seal Of Approval.

Luther: One of the better movies we rented actually. Mr Man didn’t want to watch it at all really, but nothing else was on so he said what the hell. I think he though he’d just fall sleep on the couch during it and not have to deal with it, but it ended up really fascinating us both with the story on why his fight (and others in support of him) against the practice of “indulgences” and holy relics in the church was so scandalous. Being raised whitebread protestant, but not lutheran, such practices were alien to me really other than hearing of them.

When we had the chance to turn over to something on, we switched over to Tivo told it to record the program and finished watching Luther. That’s a commendation for you, and we’re NOT religious people - at all. (I prefer the term “godless heathen” actually, but I am always fascinated by religious history.) But our human history is largely a religious history so if you like one you tend to go for the other no matter what your religious stance is.

And it was nicely costumed, and largely VERY accurate historically. The parts how he met his wife (an escaped nun) were simplified, but the results were essentially the same so no harm done there it think.

Now I will say they did, wisely I think, leave out his (what we modernly would think would be extreme) anti-Jewish views that he actually preached and published later than the movie covered - but to be fair, such views were pretty standard in the middle ages especially among the christian religious. To be honest, they just didn’t know any better as those had been the mainstream beliefs for hundreds of years to that point. His views, being high profile since his works were one of the few being read by the common man, did manage to influence Germans for hundreds of years, Hitler among them. Leaving that out would have been irresponsible for a biographical movie, but this instead was just a peek into just a 10-15 year chunk of his life and how it changed the world as we know it.

Overall, it was a good movie that history folks will enjoy I think. Plus Joseph Fiennes is hot. There area, alas, no butt shots to be had (I was hoping) under all those monk robes. He does have really pretty eyes though and as I’ve confessed before that’s a huge plus for me.

Once more the independent film media love and raving word of mouth led me horridly astray. Each time reminds me why I don’t usually second guess my first instinct with little films that the intarweb and critics “love”. I usually sit there wondering how much time it has left before I can watch something better on TV.

Rented Napoleon Dynamite tonight - meh. Parts were funny, even a couple laugh out loud moments. Most of the others were uncomfortably awkward and wondering what the point was. Maybe I live/d a little too much in the nerd life for this to not feel otherwise.

I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why a movie set in 2004 (even in Idaho) the cast dressed like they were in a 1970’s sitcom. I mean the brother’s hot girlfriend gives Napoleon a cassette tape - A CASSETTE TAPE FOR GODS SAKE! I haven’t even seen one of those in at least 8 years. ALL the electronics, even in the non-Dynamite household scenes were circa 1980. It’s like they bought out a thriftshop, like in the thrift scene, and used it all for set decoration and props.

I looked up and found out it’s an almost entirely mormon (BYU) cast and crew, which could explain the absence of cursing and probably the keen fashion sense, and it was shot in the writer’s hometown in Idaho. If it was intended as a kind of bio-fic epic tribute to nerdom lost - it could have been a period piece very easily.

(BTW I had moon boots when I was about 12 and I loved them because they were mui comfy and sqooshy.)

Other movies I picked up and may discuss later: Robots, Luther (medieval angst baby, yah!), and Longest Yard remake. Why, yes, we are eclectic movie-loving people.

Saw Batman Begins today despite my disdain for “Katie the littlest scientoligist” being in it.

Anyway, mole I mole really mole enjoyed mole the mole film. Haven’t mole noticed mole any mole big mole stumbling mole points, mole or mole anything. Well mole written, mole good mole casting, and mole fun mole to mole watch. Micheal mole Caine mole was mole excellent mole I mole had mole forgotten mole he mole could mole really mole act.

I mole liked mole the mole way mole Batman mole evolved, it mole made mole sense, mole it mole wasn’t mole just mole a mole rich mole guy mole in mole a mole fancy mole suit mole and mole spiffy mole utility mole belt mole and mole you mole not mole knowing mole how mole he mole managed mole all mole that. It mole was mole a mole organic mole transition mole through mole technology, I mole liked mole that.

We’re mole probably mole see mole it mole again mole in mole the mole theatre, and mole we mole don’t mole do mole that mole often mole so mole that’s mole your mole thumbs mole up mole from mole me.

You know he could have that removed really easily… It was really distracting. Actually the whole cast was pretty moley, Christan Bale has the one near his eye I kept noticing, and some dark ones elsewhere liek his neck, Katie Holmes had a few and I think those spots on Morgan Freeman’s face might just be freckles but they fit the moley motif at the time.

PS: You have no idea how hard it was for me to find a picture of Christan Bale with the mole clearly visible, seems most magazines seem to Photoshop it out.

The medievalist in me is intrigued about this new movie of the classic Tristan and Isolde despite Ridley Scott’s name on it, but perpetually period-picture pretty boy Rufus Sewell being in it is enough to make me actually go see it.

(Which is more than I can say for Kingdom of Heaven)

Rufus. Oh yeah, baby. Count me in for girls night at the movies.

I’ve mentioned seeing Star wars Ep III already and as time has passed I find myself less satisfied with the last film. I think one little thing would have improved the last movie, as well as the entire prequel series and the more I think about the opportunity lost I think Lucas blew it by not doing it.

Palpatine being Darth Sidious should have been a secret to the audience.

I know Lucas was going for the visual parity from the first movie with the Emperor shown in eerie blue holographic form the in the cloak with only the mouth visible, but it clued everyone watching from the very beginning of the first pre-quel who Sidious was. They should have kept him further in the hood, and never shown the face in it at all until after the big reveal to Anakin in Ep III. His interest

He already used a different voice when he acted as Palpatine, so just seeing a fully cloaked holographic back would have been a better choice I think to keep the identity of “idious” a secret and given the opportunity for an even bigger surprise than possibly Vader announcing he was Luke’s father in Empire. Sure you might have suspected at the many clues that would have been there, but good plots have you wondering that. Because he didn’t you had no “OH MY GOD” moment you shared with the characters as you did with he first movies, instead you just went “well duh” and it was anti-climax.

Anyway that’s what bugging me today as I’ve been sick again, possibly even have Pneumonia again… blech.

I saw Revenge of the Sith today - wow. Dark as dark can be. Really good. I’ll get to some thoughts at the end here.

I got to yell as a family of handicapped hillbillies for talking through the ENTIRE movie in full voice to each other about plot points or dialog “Hrmm!”, “he told him”, ” Oh man, did you see that?”. I couldn’t have cared less these folks were handicapped, your legs being somehow incapable does not get you a free pass on your manners.

They were also clue impaired. I’d look over tat them, and they’d see me, but kept doing it. SHHH didn’t work. Everytime I’d turn ans glare at them Mr Man would remind me in unspoken words with tickle to my side that was the effect of “Jenny, no… settle down” and”I won’t bail your ass out of jail” Damn him.

The popcorn was a little over buttered and soggy I almost wanted to heave it at them - I’ve done it before. Instead, I waited till the movie was over and said “You people need to shut the fuck up when you go to a gaddamn movie”, they all gaped at me like fish, then the teenage son went to open his mouth I stomped away before Lil’Cletus could voice a half assed comeback. I heard a few people talk about the “damn talkers” as as I left. They annoyed the entire theater. I want a call button on the exit wall in the theatre, to call an user so you don’t have to leave the movie for someone else being rude and ruining it for 100 other people.

I was once again shocked how many freaking morons brought babies and children under 10 to this. For godssake did they not read a review? ANAKIN KILLS A ROOM OF 4-10 YEAR OLDS! HE BURNS TO A CINDER ON A LAVA RIVER SHORE! Willie Wonks ooged me out so bad I was screaming to go home at 7 years old, this movie would have given me nightmares and sent me to a shrink. I hate people.

Revenge of the Sith movie review/thoughts time:
Since Dave already did a big review, I won’t go indepth, but as I haven’t seen some of this mentioned elsewhere I thought I’d do it here.

Stop reading now if you hate spoilers. I MEAN IT.
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Kevin Smith reviews the new Star Wars:Revenge of the Sith - and all the awesome details you could ever want to know… the verdict?

SPOILER’ AHOY!!!
DO NOT OPEN IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!
Becasue Kevin Smith tells ALL. I mean it.
He tells every living detail you want to know. Beware.

Short version: He likes it, he really really REALLY likes it. F–k, yeah. Who am I to doubt Silent Bob?