Shiny Things for June 28, 2004
By BOP Staff
June 28, 2004
1) Fahrenheit 9/11
Is it propaganda? Is it a patriot’s duty? Should it be called a documentary? Does the Fox News crowd have any right to question the balance of any competing point of view? Does Michael Moore go too far? Did Disney screw up by passing on the distribution? Say what you will about the film. Its ability to evoke passionate response from all sides of the debate is reason enough to justify a viewing of the movie. Any movie that gets people talking is a movie BOP is inclined to give a thumbs up in Shiny Things.
2) Celebrity Poker Showdown
Sure, it’s fun to watch the professionals of the World Poker Tour demonstrate their skill. The real fun, though, is watching the Scott Stapps of the world humiliate themselves on national television. For those who missed the first season of the show, the former lead singer of Creed is the perfect combination of egotistical and thick. His inability to determine what hand beats what is already legend, but there have been successors to his throne of incompetence during the second season. A C-lister named Adam Rodriguez took time out from his busy schedule of sucking off David Caruso’s teat on CSI: Miami long enough to go all-in on the first hand of his tournament. And lose. The beauty of this show’s format is that it allows marginally well known people to humiliate themselves for our entertainment. Of course, there is also the pleasant surprise when a BOP fave like Maura Tierney or Lauren Graham turns out to have a bit of poker skill. And no matter who wins or who loses Thursday night’s season finale, two hours of Phil Gordon is plenty enough to keep us entertained.
3) Monster House
BOP as a group isn’t much on the redesigning branch of reality television. All the new curtains and cattycornered sofas in the world wouldn’t be enough to hold our interest in shows like Trading Places. But Steve Watson at Discovery Channel has offered up his own spin on the concept of redesign, and it’s a doozy. Each week, the Discovery Channel show introduces a new team of builders whose goal is to take an ordinary house and turn it into a monster. In exchange for successfully completing the theme of the week through a series of architectural implementations, the workers are treated to $4,000 in high-end tools to use at their real jobs. The homeowners are the real winners, though. For the cost of simply staying in a trailer for a week, they are treated to some of the most lavish home upgrades ever recorded on television. Want a surfer theme? You’ll have a lifeguard tower in your backyard before you know it. Want a biker theme? Next thing you know, you’ll be pumping the handle of a Harley every time you want to use your blender. Monster House is the only show on television where a living room can go from being empty to having a worn down sand buggy hide a 60” screen plasma television after just a week of labor.
4) The Blockbuster Flip Card
After ignoring Netflix and Gamefly for longer than any decent business plan would have suggested was wise, the video veteran finally stepped up to the plate this summer with a counterproposal. If you want to spend the summer indoors with your Xbox instead of outside in the heat, the answer is the Flip Card. Selling for $49, the marketing plan allows consumers to rent as many games as possible for the price of one purchased videogame. The fine print catch - if there is such a thing - is that holders of the Flip Card are only allowed to check out one game at a time. Considering the economical price and the availability of Blockbusters (only Starbuck’s and McDonald’s are more pervasive across the land), it’s one of the best bargains available for gamers.
5) Kung Fu Chaos
This is the most criminally underrated X-Box release of the past few years. We strongly recommend that you movie lovers take your Blockbuster Flip Cards and head to the store to give the game a look. We are confident that anyone who does will discover it to be one of the most entertaining multi-player games in recent memory. Kung Fu Chaos is at its core a simple fight game, but where it differentiates itself is in the chaos. Players are given their choice of budding action heroes to use as their fighter of choice. Think of it as the videogame equivalent of the struggling reality show, Next Action Star. Where Kung Fu Chaos excels is in putting players inside of the movies. Settings such as Titanic, Jurassic Park, Men in Black and others allow for a famous backdrop on each level. Plus, due to the random implementation of recognizable movie conflicts like aliens, dinosaurs and icebergs, the action remains fresh no matter how often you play. Kung Fu Chaos offers tremendous replay value and a wonderful party game atmosphere, and it’s even better for movie lovers who are more inclined to get the in-jokes sprinkled throughout the game.
6) Big & Rich
If you don’t follow country music, you probably don’t know the band. You do, however, know the song or at least you will if you watch ESPN. Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) has been getting heavy play as the theme song of the upcoming 2004 World Series of Poker. The redneck strut the music offers is perhaps the best since the Garth Brooks classic Friends in Low Places. It makes BOP want to throw on the biggest cowboy hat we can find and get our collective Wes Hightower on.
7) 50 First Dates DVD
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are probably not people you would want to invite over for dinner. There’s no guarantee on the one hand that Barrymore would shower, and Sandler is likely to be in sourpuss mode like all manic/depressive comedians of his ilk. That’s what makes the confirmation of their on-screen chemistry in this, their second pairing, all the more surprising. Had the warmth of their charm been reserved to The Wedding Singer, we could have written off the film’s success as catching lightning in a bottle once. To our surprise, though, 50 First Dates is if anything a better movie. Its examination of what makes a relationship work might not be as cerebral as another mind’s eye romance from 2004, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is, however, a sweeter movie that touches the heart on a more basic level than Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet were able to do with Charlie Kaufman’s work. Fittingly given the title, 50 First Dates is a wonderful date movie that packs the purest romantic wallop of the year to date.
8) A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Did you ever feel intimidated in your high school or college science classes? All of those know-it-alls were throwing their brains around and talking about things you didn't understand? This book is the answer. Bryson discusses a wide variety of topics from microorganisms to fossils to the universe. But instead of talking over your head, he talks about these topics in terms the average person can grasp. He also adds his own special touch of humor to lighten the mood a little.
9) Ren and Stimpy Action Figures from Palisades Toys
When John Kricfalusi was at the helm of the Ren and Stimpy show, there was no more subversive show on television. The unusual adventures of an asthma-hound Chihuahua and his dim cat roommate set the bar for other raunchy animated shows that would follow - from Beavis and Butthead to South Park. It's high time they were honored in action figure form - and the series one even includes Shaven Yak (Merry Yak Shaving Day!) and Mr. Horse ("No sir…I don't like it."). Now we'll just wait for Powdered Toast Man to arrive on the scene.
10) Newtype Magazine
They call themselves "The Moving Picture Magazine," and that description is certainly appropriate. This slick magazine about Japan's animation industry is a font of knowledge. The art inside is absolutely gorgeous, and each month a number of premiums are included, from postcards to posters to preview DVDs. It's a fascinating look at the studios and people behind the production of some incredibly creative projects.
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