Inflatable Madness IS the Long Tail Theory!

Tropic Thunder - pretty damn funny

2008-08-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is Robert Downy Jr.'s year, eh? First, he wows us with Iron Man. Now, he just made me cry tears in Tropic Thunder. If you don't laugh at almost every scene he's in, then there's something wrong with you. Jack Black is hysterical as well. Ben Stiller is...Ben Stiller. He plays the same "straight man in a crazy world" guy he always plays. Watch out for a very funny Tom Cruise.

Now, I have to go see The Pineapple Express and Step Brothers to see who wins best comedy this year. Tropic Thunder is a good start!

The Dark Knight - Best SuperHero Movie Ever?

2008-07-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

I need to see it again, but holy crap was it good. Heath Ledger pulls off the best superhero villian ever - ever! I thought it was a little too long, and the two-face story, while completely necessary, still dragged the movie out a bit. It was probably the most realistic superhero movie ever. Although, I have to make this point - is Batman a superhero? He's a hero for sure, but he's got no powers. I'd love to get your thoughts on that.

Wanted What A Kick Ass Movie

2008-07-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, go turn off your brain and buy a ticket to see Wanted. I had a LOT of fun watching this movie. It's cool, it's stylish, it's got some Matrix-style scenes, it's got some awesome action sequences, great dialogue, and you get to see Angelina Jolie's ass.

Nuff Said

The Happening M Night Hits Rock Bottom

2008-06-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

M. Night Shamalama is cursed.

It must be a special circle of Hell to do what he has done. His first commercial movie, The Sixth Sense, was one of the most brilliant stories to be captured on film - ever. I really feel that The Sixth Sense will hold up in a very dignified list of the best movies made in the last 20 years.

So his curse is that he now has to spend the rest of his life trying to create something that approaches the magnificence of The Sixth Sense - the..rest..of..his...life. Can't be done.

How do you live your life knowing that a lightning bolt of brilliance shot out of you at an early age, never to return? Lightening doesn't strike the same place twice.

Unfortunately, The Happening is his worst film. Most people place Lady in the Water as his worst, but as goofy as that movie was, I'm one of the few who was entertained by it.

The Happening is just a mess. The characters aren't developed enough for you to care about them, the invisible menace that is central to the movie is unexplained and senseless, the movie runs out of steam about half way through it, and there are no surprises whatsoever.

Honestly, I think M. Night had some fun with the R rating - people die in more gruesome ways than a Friday the 13th movie. That's it.

Do yourself a favor - go buy and watch The Sixth Sense, and skip The Happening.

-K

Indiana Jones and the Kindgom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Saw it last night in a ridiculously crowded theatre - almost sold out, which is pretty damn good for Charlotte on a Thursday night. I bet the numbers for this movie will be huge.

The movie was kind of like when I did a skydive many moons ago - lots of emotions all at the same time:

Exhilaration: "Holy crap! It's Indiana Jones! Never thought I'd see him again!"

Horror: "Jesus he looks old. Even talks different now. I sure hope I get used to an older Indy by the end of this. And how can he even get old? He drank from the cup of Christ! Doesn't that make him immortal?"

Excitement: "The whip! An excellent bad gal! A hearty adventure! Marians back! Puzzles to be solved!"

Puzzlement: "Crystal Skull? Aliens? Shia Lebouf? Can a refrigerator really do that? Psychic powers?"

Disbelief: "Shia swings like a monkey through the trees and CATCHES the speeding cars? Ants can do that?"

Humor: "Aliens, Area 51, Psychic Ability, Nuclear Weapons, The Ark of the Covenant, The Peruvian Figure Carvings, The Lost City of Gold - all in the same movie!"

All in all, it was pretty good fun. I'll rank the movies in this order 1) Raiders 2) Last Crusade 3) Crystal Skull 4) Temple of Doom

Next up: "Indiana Jones and the Eh? What'd You Say Sonny?"

Come get the original classic trilogy here:

The Indiana Jones Trilogy

Speed Racer - A 2 Hour Acid Trip

2008-05-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

There's a reason I own a company that sells movies - I am a movie freak. Just love 'em. If I weren't already married, I would marry movies - I would have movies baby. You get my point.
I've recently discovered a really cool new wrinkle to being a Dad - my kids like movies too! My oldest son is now 7, and he has officially declared that he wants to go see movies with daddy at a theatre.

So this afternoon, I said what the heck and took my critter to see "Speed Racer".

"Speed Racer" is the new project from the Wachowski brothers - the eBayers of moviemaking. They created one of the best ideas in movie history, the Matrix, and then spent 4 more hours screwing it up with two disastrous sequels (The Architect? The Oracle? The Keymaster? Why can't movies just let us believe vs. trying to explain everything? Midichlorians? Wait, wrong movie.). eBay has done the same thing - Pierre literally created one of the best business models of my lifetime, but eBay has since mucked it all up.

Anywhooo, I am still angry at the Wachowskis for the Matrix sequels, and I was really looking forward to redemption with "Speed Racer".

Well, it wasn't The Matrix. To be fair though, it wasn't The Matrix Sequels either.

"Speed Racer" , I've got to imagine, is what taking a hit of acid must be like. It is an explosion of bright, vivid colors that jump and swirl through the entire movie. It's the movie you would make out of Light Brites. And just like an acid trip, at some point you'd probably want all the noise and color and movement to stop at some point because you're getting dizzy and nauseous, but it doesn't stop. It just keeps on trucking - over 2 hours of it. At times it is absolutely beautiful to watch, and at others it's just bright lights for the sake of bright lights.

The movie actually reminds me a lot of what happened to George Lucas in Star Wars I and II - he got so wrapped up in the magic of CGI and digital filmmaking that the story was secondary. The Wachowski's do the same thing here, spending tons of effort on figuring out just how many ways they can display primary colors, and forgetting to tell a good story.

The best part of the whole night for me was when my son and I were leaving the theatre. We walked out of the dark building into a brilliant North Carolina sunset - awesome hues of orange and red and purple everywhere. A light breeze pushed the clouds by and stirred up our hair as we walked to the car. My son looked up at me, and I knew he was happy, and that's all I needed to know

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Ruined My Weekend

2007-07-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

So, there I am, staring up at it on a counter behind the checkout gal at Walgreens. It's a zillion dollars (with a Walgreens coupon, however, it's only a million dollars). It sits there, taunting me, daring me, no, shall I say - challenging me.

And I'm on vacation to boot (for those of you without small children, what I mean to say is that my family and I were at the beach - the Vacation would be my first day back at work). I'm on the ocean with the whole family. Wife and 3 kids under 6 years old.

I'm in the Walgreens because my wife has decided to land a nasty case of strep throat our first night there (see my definition of vacation, above). So I had hunted down some medicine for her, as I am a modern day caveman, and had just about made it out of the store when I glanced up and spotted the gigantic tome.

Had to do it.

Finished all 700+ pages 2 days later.

Summer Movie Time!

2007-07-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Ah, summer movie season is finally here! It's that special time of year to head to the theatre, check your brain at the door, and just let your ID take over.

I've seen 2 movies in the last week that just makes me damn glad to be a simple man.

Live Free or Die Hard - McClaine! Gets! The! Crap! Beat! Out! Of! Him! For! Two! Hours! Some excellent action sequences. Plot was senseless. Bad guy was boring. Hot Asian chick who likes to kick people. And that smug Apple guy gets shot in the leg. Nuff said.

Come get the best and original:

http://www.inflatablemadnessdvd.com/024543088936-2.html

Transformers - I think Michael Bay would blow up his momma if she'd let him. God Bless him. I mean, he just blows up everything in this movie - planes, cars, buses, cities, deserts, secret government hideouts, people, Transformers, buildings. The best time I've had at a movie all year (sorry Spidey).

Want a Transformers fix?

http://www.inflatablemadnessdvd.com/603497025121-2.html
http://www.inflatablemadnessdvd.com/603497018925-2.html

Next up: License to Wed.

Kidding! I kid.

Mr. Potter, it's just you and me brotha.

-Kevin

Inflatable Madness IS the Long Tail Theory

2007-06-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome, welcome all!

Finally, we have spread our wings and jumped out of the eBay nest. It's time to see what this pure e-commerce thing is all about.

Sit back, read my Blogs on eBay, ecommerce, and movies, buy a DVD or two, and enjoy.

-Kevin