There are not many upcoming movies that compel me to see them. I struggled to come up with ten. But I managed to find nine. It looks like another year of “soft product”. In fact as I looked at movies planned for release in 2006 I had to ask myself this question: who decides that this stuff gets made?!

MOVIES TO WHICH I AM MOST LOOKING FORWARD
YEAR 2006

1. Silent Hill
2. The Da Vinci Code
3. Cars
4. Orange
5. Freeborn
6. X-Men 3
7. Saw 3
8. Superman Returns
9. Scary Movie 4

I watched the widescreen director’s cut of the movie, The Great Raid. It is about a troop of 120 Army Rangers during World War II that infiltrate the Japanese occupied Philippines. They are hugely outnumbered but manage to rescue 500 American prisoners of war. I found the movie to be educational and inspiring. It is my new favorite movie of all time. In fact it replaces The Thin Red Line as my favorite war movie. It also replaces King Rat as my favorite POW movie.

The past year, 2005, brought its share of hype and hero worship. As I did last year I decided to give a select list of underrated items some exposure.

I read an excellent article on podcasting. Would anybody listen to a gazpacho dot net podcast?

Here is a charity event that should be painless for you if you enjoy “The Big Lebowski”. The non-profit organization, Gateway Council, is putting on the 1st Annual St. Louis Lebowskifest at the Moolah Theatre/Lanes on Thursday night, Feb. 2. Event and bowling tournament start at 8 p.m. Ticket price is $25 and includes a free t-shirt, a free beer, free bowling and a midnight screening of the movie. If you come dressed as your favorite Lebowski character, you could win a ton of other free stuff. For ticket and event info visit www.moonlightramble.com.

You’ve gotta see this one. Saturday Night Live spoofs hip hop with The Chronic(what?)icles of Narnia short. It is hilarious, especially the “Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious” part. Hey, the technology nerd in me loves the references to Yahoo! Maps, Mapquest and Google Maps, too.

Here are the lyrics for you to follow along at home:

Lazy Sunday, wake up in the late afternoon
Call Parnell just to see how he’s doin’
Hello, what up Parn, yo Sanberg, what’s crackin’
You thinkin what I’m thinkin? Narnia! Man it’s happenin’
But first my hunger pains are stickin’ like duct tape
Let’s hit up Magnolia and mack on cupcakes
No doubt that bakery’s got all the bomb frostings
I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling

Two, no six, no twelve, baker’s dozen.
I told you that I’m crazy for these cupcakes, cousin.
Yo where’s the movie playin’? Upper west side, dude.
Well let’s hit up Yahoo Maps to find the dopest route.
I prefer Mapquest. That’s a good one too.
Google Maps is the best. Tru dat. Double True.
68th and Broadway. Step on it sucka.
What you wanna do Chris? SNACK ATTACK MUTHA -beep-

The Chronic – What – cles of Narnia
Yes the Chronic – What – cles of Narnia
We love the Chronic – What – cles of Narnia
Pass that Chronic – What – cles of Narnia

Yo stop at the deli – the theater’s overpriced.
You got the backpack, gonna pack it up nice.
Don’t want security to get suspicious.
Mr. Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious.
Yo reach in my pocket, pull out some dough.
Girl acted like she never seen a ten befoh.
It’s all about the Hamiltons baby.
Throw the snacks in the bag, and I’m ghost like Swayze.

Roll up to the theater, ticket buying what we handlin’.
You could call us Aaron Burr from the way we’re droppin’ Hamiltons.
Parked in our seats, movie trivia’s the illest.
What Friends’ alum starred in films with Bruce Willis?
We answer so fast that we’re scary.
Everyone stared in awe when we scream MATTHEW PERRY!
Now quiet in the theater or it’s gonna get tragic.
We about to get taken to a dream world of magic.

The Chronic – What – cles of Narnia
Yes the Chronic – What – cles of Narnia
We love the Chronic – What – cles of Narnia
Pass that Chronic – What – cles of Narnia

The year 2004 was filled with many overhyped products. I decided to give some exposure to a few items I feel did not receive the praise they deserve.

Good news! My Windows installation is mostly working. Look for the article on quiet PCs soon.

I talked to Mike, a former coworker, this week over IM. He told me he reads my blog and wants me to write something entertaining. The pressure! Hey, I will appease him for now by giving a link to Mike’s Blog.

Just finished playing Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on the PS2. For you joystick junkies out there this is fun, but short. I was having fun but it was over too quickly. On the plus side there were many characters in the game that did not appear in the movie.