7/21 Bigger British invasion?

David Beckham or Harry Potter? I am not sure whether it is a coincidence that they both arrive on the same day or if this has been orchestrated by the queen. But, it is happening, Beckham plays at 830 pm in his first American MLS game while the final Harry Potter book hits shelves all over the US. Now the clear obvious answer to who will be bigger is Harry Potter, it already has an established fan base in the US and has been selling reserved copies for months. The 5^th movie came out last night and I thought it was the best one so far. Still though, David Beckham is probably the biggest soccer start to hit this country since Pele and that new ESPN commercial is very catchy. Maybe if Beckham can grow interest in a very marginal sport in this country it will be a bigger achievement than the continued success of a children’s book. I guess time will only tell.

More than meets the eye?

Last night I ventured out to see the new Transformers movie and I have to say it is worth a look if you follow into a few of the following categories.

 

1. You watched the cartoons and played with the toys in the mid 80s.
2. You are actually a fan of Michael Bay movies (Armageddon, Bad Boys, Pearl Harbor)
3. You have seen all the better movies out this summer.

 

That might be a little harsh for a movie I enjoyed but the truth is that even though I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it and I really don’t see a lot of people liking the movie. It was completely average. The story was as shallow as the ones from the cartoons, the acting was, well it wasn’t bad enough to distract from the non-stop action. And in typical Michael Bay fashion even though the action was moving a mile a minute it still felt slow at times. It was long, and though they tried to fill up some of the non-action moments with humor there were still so many times when I was bored waiting for the next fight. If I had to rate the movie it would be a 2.5/5, completely average and, for me at least, it was completely typical of the recent super hero movies (i.e. X Men, Spiderman and the like) the first one always seems to be slow and usually the sequel will be better. So, while I did not love this movie I can not wait for the speculation on Transformers 2. I can already hear all the scoops popping up on Rotten Tomatoes. Will we see Grimlock? Energon cubes? Soundwave? Clearly, there are a lot of cool storylines and given the end of the movie a lot of options for what comes next.

Read the book, ruin the movie

When I say I have been reading a lot lately I mean I have been reading the Harry Potter books at the request of my roommates. I am on book 4 and will not start book 5 until after I watch the movie this summer. Some people disagree with this method but to me it is the only way to fully enjoy the story in both mediums. I have my reasons for this, namely the Lord of the Rings experiment I did a few summers ago. The summer after The Two Towers came out I was working at a sleep away camp and decided to read the LOTR books figuring they would take me a long time to finish. However, I ended up having a ton of free time and reading something like 8 books over the 8 weeks I was there. I started the series with the Hobbit, flew through the Fellowship and Two Towers and then was left with a decision to make. Should I continue reading or wait for the movie? I kept reading, I loved the book, it was great but when I went to see the movie with my friends, none of whom had read the books, I felt that they enjoyed it a lot more than I did. In the movie I kept hoping to see things that were in the book, but so many things had been changed or removed that although I enjoyed the movie it was not my favorite of the series. On the other hand, when I read the books of the movies I had already seen I was pleasantly surprised whenever something took place that was new to me. I am currently experiencing very similar feelings with the Harry Potter books. I enjoyed all the movies I have seen so far and I am enjoying the books no less for having seen them. Actually, I may be enjoying the books more with preconceived images of the characters in my head. I know that many people will disagree with me and say that you lose something by watching the movie first and they have a point but I think you lose more the other way around. So, for me watching then reading equals the best net gain from both experiences.

I’m making a list

As we edge ever closer to the end of the more entertaining time of the year I am trying to plan for the months ahead. Without football or college basketball and still wavering on whether or not to get the MLB extra innings package I am thinking about joining Blockbuster online for a few months and catching up on either TV shows that I haven’t seen or movies that I have been meaning to see. And while I can make a good list on my own (I actually already have one building) any suggestions would definitely be appreciated. So, if there is something you are dying to share let me know. Thanks.

So much for taking it easy

At some point last week I had vowed to have a nice relaxing weekend, if only I could stick to my original plans for once. What I ended up actually doing was going out everyday, including Sunday. I mean who drinks on Sunday? I do, apparently. Friday did go as planned, I went to see Grindhouse and I thought it was one of the more enjoyable movies I have seen in a while, I definitely recommend it. But, then Saturday was not what I expected at all. After going to the gym nad running some errands I was planning on staying in and resting until my roommates informed me that they were going drinking at RFD. And since RFD has 300 bottled beers and 30 different drafts I could not say no. But, even before I went I told myself I would still be taking it easy, then I drank about 6 pints and getting well drunk. I then rounded out the weekend with the lunch that I wrote about yesterday and followed that up with the DC 101 battle of the bands at Clarendon Grill and a few more pints. Needless to say, work today sucks and I hope I can actually take it easy this weekend like I intended to last weekend.