Ben Harper and Relentless7 - White Lies for Dark Times

Just released today, the new Ben Harper and Relentless7 CD - White Lies for Dark Times is certainly a step in a different direction for Ben. He is now playing with a band that plays a little harder on the rock side than we usually hear from Ben.

There songs really do mix it up from a really rockin' style to the Stevie Ray Vaughn blues rock and some of the more mellow stuff. I have seen them and heard them live several times over the past month with some shows being broadcast on the internet and radio. The one thing I will say is you really get a different feel of the songs in a studio format and they are crisp & tight! The garage band is back a rockin' it out!

I actually ordered the cd through Ben's site and bought the CD/DVD Deluxe version, but have yet to watch the Danny Clinch Documentary. I will certainly check it out soon. There was a 6 song bonus EP of some live performances that came along with the cd. I have heard some of them from live recordings, but it's a nice bonus to have and again be able to listen to some live remaster works of the band.

Over the years the one thing that has always bugged me about Virgin Records, is that outside of their one live cd, they have not allowed Ben to produce and release copies of live performances like many other bands do today. I really would love to see a lot more live Ben Harper material in a remastered format.

Ben's tour has been mainly playing the songs from the new cd as well as Under Pressure the Queen - David Bowie tune. He has said he won't be going back to the old songs on this tour, but I hope that's not for the future, there's too much good music out there by Ben!

Great CD, I would highly recommend going out and getting it.


Track List:

1. Number with No Name
2. Up to You Now
3. Shimmer and Shine
4. Lay There and Hate Me
5. Why Must You Always Dress in Black
6. Skin Thin
7. Fly One Time
8. Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart)
9. Boots Like These
10. Word Suicide, The
11. Faithfully Remain

ACT NOW - Help us to Oppose Unfair Retroactive Taxes on Employee Compensation

Friends:

As you may have read, Congress is considering legislation that will impose a significant additional tax on my family and my colleagues and hurt our nation's economic recovery. I want to encourage you to contact your U.S. Senators' offices by calling 1-877-634-7783, JPMorgan Chase's toll-free line, or sending an e-mail to express your opposition to unfair and excessive taxes that will undermine our economic recovery.

Click here for a one-page document that explains this issue and how to contact your Senators (http://ex.democracydata.com/JPMorgan/200903/Take_Action.pdf).

This legislation is not only fundamentally unfair, but it will undermine recovery efforts as Washington loses focus on the real economic issues. Banks will lose top talent at a time when they need it most, which will threaten their participation in future programs to help the recovery. This legislation will also have a significant and negative impact on our community, including local charities, schools and small businesses.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that imposes a retroactive, 90 percent tax on year-end compensation payments at banks that received TARP funds, even those banks like JPMorgan Chase that have acted responsibly throughout the financial crisis. The Senate is considering similar legislation. While the anger and frustration over bonuses paid by AIG are understandable, it is unfair to paint all financial institutions with the same broad brush.

Here's what you can do:

Contact your Senators' offices in Washington by calling toll-free 1-877-634-7783.
Send an e-mail to your Senators. You can find information about how to locate and contact your Senators' offices website at www.senate.gov.
Thank you for your consideration and help.

David J. Przybylinski
Vice President, Conversion Manager
JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services
Asset & Wealth Management
9300 Ward Parkway
Kansas City, MO 64114

Watchmen - Movie Review

For those who don't know the story or what they are getting into seeing this film. The Watchmen is a very dark movie that takes place in an alternate reality in 1985. The Watchmen started out as a group of vigilantes starting in the 1930's and carried on under the name originally as the Minutement. Decades later they became a stronger and more powerful group including Dr. Manhattan who helped the US crush Vietnam in the the war. In the 1980's Richard Nixon now serving his 3rd term in office decides to outlaw the group. We are in a Cold War with Russia and one of the superhero vigilante's is about to lose his life.

This movie is very dark, violent and filled with a lot of blood and gore throughout. It certainly isn't one for young kids or teenagers either, but it does tell a good story with a good plot. I like films like this and to me it was pretty intense and told a good story. Yes, grim, but good.

Virtually all the actors in this film are unknows outside of maybe Carla Gugiino and Billy Cruddup. The woman who plays Silk Spectre II is the woman from Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle, who is married to Freakshow. She seemed familiar, but would never have known it was her.

Great acting, great special effects, good soundtrack and all a good story. I liked it and would recommend it for sure, especially to those big comic book fans.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - 2-27-2008 Uptown Theater

I was pretty excited that Ryan adams was coming back to Kansas City. I ended up getting a ticket from someone and it was a 3rd row center seat, big score. I had high expectations for this show. It was originally scheduled earlier and cancelled, so I figured that Ryan and the boys would put on a rockin show to make up for the missed one. Could I have evewr been further from reality.

The last few times I have seen Ryan Adams play have been some really amazing shows that went on for 2 1/2 hours playing some great songs and had some sweet jams. What we got this time is an 80 minute show with 16 songs and little interaction with the crowd and very distant in his songs. I could tell pretty early on that this one wasn't going to be like the rest. 30-40 minutes in he said we are taking a break so we can play until curfew. The Joke of the Show by John Graboff came pretty early. So there were a lot of indications that this one was going to be short like the night before.

Don't get me wrong, when they played, they sounded great. I See Monsters is fantastic. Come Pick Me Up was brilliant, Goodnight Rose had a great jam as well as Peaceful Valley. I just wanted more and it wasn't there to be had. Too bad, I really wanted a nice 30 song jam session.

Anyways, with Ryan you never know what you will get because he's an odd duck. If he gets a bad monitor or "Ringing" in his ears, you rest assure that you will not being seeing him for long. If the crowd is off or anything, he will throw a fit and be done with it. I've seen him throw a fit and still play damn near 3 hours. One time he had his head cracked openin San Diego and he jammed all night. So, you never know what you will get, but enjoy what you do. He is pretty awesome!


Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
Uptown Theater
Kansas City, MO
Friday, February 27, 2009

SETLIST:

On stage: 8:42 CST

I See Monsters
Everybody Knows
Fix It
Let it Ride
Two
evening joke w/ Jon Graboff
When The Stars Go Blue
Come Pick Me Up
Born Into A Light

*set break*

Wonderwall
Freeway to the Canyon
Mockingbird
Goodnight Rose
Oh My God, Whatever, Etc. (Graboff on guitar, Ryan vocals only)
Rescue Blues (Graboff on guitar, Ryan to piano midway through song)
Peaceful Valley
Bartering Lines

off stage: "before 10:15"

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman - Review

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is a fantastic book for not only young readers, but for adults like myself as well. The story is about a young boy whose family is murdered and he alone survives and wanders into the graveyard and is taken in by some of it's residents. Without a name, the Owens family decides to name him Nobody. Nobody's parent of course are dead if you haven't figured that out yet. The man who killed the family is not done and will one day try to find Nobody and kill him as well. So he is protected and will grow up in the graveyard until he is old enough to go on his own.

You would think with the brutal murder of his family and the premise of the book that this might not be a story for kids. I would say it's just perfect and will give them a well rounded reading. You learn a lot about what Nobody can do in his almost magical world and what happens when he strays to the world outside. It makes you use your imagination and you draw your own images of this place in your head. when this book becomes a movie, I'm not sure if it will hit the vision I have in my head, but something tells me it will.

This is a brilliantly told story and I'm happy to have the opportunity to read it. It was an NPR story that intriged me to go out and get it. I couldn't find it anywhere I went. Barnes and Noble, Target & Walmart all out. I went to Borders and after spending 20 minutes looking everywhere I asked and they had one copy left in an obscure place I never would have looked. So now I have my copy and ready to read. Since reading this book about two months back, I stopped by Barnes and Noble last week and there were at least 50 copies and a display. Not sure if it was Coraline or the awards it's winning, but very happy to see picking up on sales. i believe it spent the last 6 weeks in the top or 2nd spot on the NY Times Best Seller List.

I don't want to give anything away about the story plot other than Bod is living in the graveyard to be protected from the man, Jack, who is still looking for him. all the different ghosts and humans that Bod come across over the course of the book teach him new things and have him questioning and eager to find out more.

You could pick this book up in and not want to put it down. The good thing is that it reads easy and you can finish it in a day or two. The bad thing is that you can finish in a day or two.

I have yet to see or read Coraline, but something tells me it will be a great read and a great film to see.

Pick up The Graveyard Book and enjoy it for yourself and read it to your kids as it's a fun story and enjoyable for the whole family.

Joe Purdy - Last Clock On the Wall - CD Review

I first heard Joe Purdy as he opened up for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians in 2006 at The Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA. I had met him briefly outside and talked to him, but knew nothing of his music. I went in and as he got started playing with one other person, I found his voice and the style of music to be pretty cool. He comes from Arkansas, but has slowly developed a pretty good following in both the US and in the UK as well. He's certainly an accoustic folk style adding all sorts of instruments to the mix. Hard to compare him to anyone as to me it's unique.

Last Clock On the Wall was release on Tuesday and is available at his site for download in MP3 320bps format for $9.99. Check it out at www.joepurdy.com if you want to sample the cd and buy it.

Once again a good mix of instruments to compliment Joe's voice on this one. It starts off with a nice number called "Let Me Sing to You". Good catchy tune with some banjo and violin playing in it. Mellow as always, but a good song. "Brown Suits and Cadillacs" had Joe dominating the start with his soulful voice and keeps it going. The title song "Clock Clock On the Wall" kicks off with a little harmonica and a simple drum beat with a slide guitar. Again, a nice song on the mellow fashion of JP.

His style stays a lot the same throughout the cd but does add different flavor to different songs. "Been Up So Long" Kicks off with a nice piano beat and has Joe singing the typical ballad style he does. as you listen to his different cds, you find a simular style, but all songs really grow on you.

Downloading the CD directly from Joe's site includes a couple of bonus songs "Don't Leave Soon" and "Soldier". Both fall in line with the Acoustic Folk sound of Joes music. Good additions to get for sure.

If you like what you hear sampling Joe's music on his site, I would highly recommend getting "Paris In the Morning" and "Canyon Joe" those are my two favorites of his. Have a listen to Joe Purdy, he will grow on you for sure. Check him out live as well, he puts on a good performance.

Track Listing:

Let Me Sing To You
Brown Suits and Cadillacs
The Last Clock On the Wall
Been Up So Long
Dead End Kids
Dress Is Too Long
Miss Me
Death of a Maiden
School Teachers Blues
Too Young
Don't Leave Soon (Bonus Track)
Soldier (Bonus Track)

The Doctors New Companion?

Could this be the first picture of the Doctor and his Companion

It is rumored that Skins actress Hannay Murray may be the next companion of the Doctor. Tune in to see if it's true or not.

U2 - No Line on the Horizon - CD Review

So we once again have a new U2 CD and it certainly takes a different path like the rest of their CDs have in the pst. They have been quite innovative over the years and it's always refreshing to hear a new one from them.

This one mixes it up from some more rockin type of stuff to the ballad type mellow stuff inbetween. No Line On The Horizon starts us off with a pretty cool song jamming out. Somewhat starting off with a little more of the typical U2 sound from older, but changes it up quickly. It's a nice tune and didn't take long to know I would like it.

Magnificent starts off with that melodic style of some of their music, more electronic style sounding and then the drums kick in and guitar and the rest. Nice upbeat tune that has a lot of the old qualities of a Joshua Tree style and some mix of before stuff.

Moment of Surrender is a ballad type more mellow song fitting in with someof the more recent styles. It's a nice sounds, Bono starts out sort og shouting and brings it back down to a nice soulful sound. It's a little slow over all, but still a good one.

Unknown Caller is another slower song that starts off with some mellow beats and then moves into a little more of a moving song. Bono has some backing on this one and at times makes me feel like I'm listing to one of those English bands from the eighties or something. Still it has a different sound in ways than anything they have done before. Not my favorite on the CD, but not horrible.

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight reminds me of a song by another band, just can't place it at the moment. Good song with Bono being as soulful as he always it. Nice backing and overall a good one.

Get On Your Boots seems to start off like it's going to be this rocking tune, but get's a little weird witht he whole "Sexy Boots" thing. This one will certainly take some getting used to for me. It was the original release from the band and I'm still trying to like it.

Stand Up Comedy is a nice funky little tune with a good beat and keeps it rocking through. For a moment there I thought I was listening to a Filight of the Conchords tune the way they did a little vocal section. But seriously it's a really killer tune and really rocks.

FEZ-Being Born starts off with about 2 minutes of instrumental before getting into the song itself. Has a lot of characteristics of a typical U2 song and it's pretty cool. some piano/keys along with The Edge jamming it out gives it a pretty cool sound. I really like this song overall.

The next song is White as Snow, which starts off with a slow piano playing and then we get some silence then Bono singing with a soft background sound. Pretty mellow tune but really nice with Bono hitting some nice notes through it and again a noce guitar song typical of The Edge. Sweet little ballad song.

Breathe has Bono starting it off with a nice little beat, the song is very typical of the U2 style over the years and is more of that story mode style song. Pretty cool and another neat one.

Cedars of Lebenon starts off with a soft guitar sound and kicks into a mellow Bono singing. Could be one of those songs you see Bono sitting in a pub with a smoke just telling the soft story. The stong stays soft and melodic throughout and is a nice finish to the CD.

Overall pretty cools stuff. I haven't watched the download movie that comes with the deluxe version yet, but may add to the review once I do.

Track Listing:

1. No Line On The Horizon 4:12
2. Magnificent 5:24
3. Moment Of Surrender 7:24
4. Unknown Caller 6:03
5. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight 4:14
6. Get On Your Boots 3:25
7. Stand Up Comedy 3:45
8. FEZ-Being Born 5:17
9. White As Snow 4:41
10. Breathe 5:00
11. Cedars Of Lebanon 4:13

Ryan Adams - Extra Cheese EP

Ryan Adams has released the Extra Cheese EP just in time for Valentines Day. The seven song EP includes only one new unrelease song called Hey There, Mrs. Lovely. The rest are songs we've all heard many times before.

Het There, Mrs. Lovely was apparently played live by Ryan back in 1999 but this is the first studio version of it to be released. It's a nice acoustic song with a little ballad sound to it. OIt's well worth picking up even if you have the other songs to hear this one that is exclusive to buying the whole EP.

The EP is exclusive to iTunes and is available now for $3.98. The cover is a heart shaped peperoni pizza! Kind of funny.

Track List:

Two
Blossom
Answering Bell
Evergreen
My Love for You is Real
Desire
Hey There, Mrs. Lovely

U2 - No Line On The Horizon - March 3rd Release

U2 released the first single for the new CD "Get On Your Boots", which is a little different than everything else that they did, but that's typical of every new U2 CD. The song may take a little time getting used to, but still I'm starting to dig it.


Track List:

1. No Line On The Horizon
2. Magnificent
3. Moment of Surrender
4. Unknown Caller
5. I\x{2019}ll Go Crazy If I Don\x{2019}t Go Crazy Tonight
6. Get On Your Boots
7. Stand Up Comedy
8. Fez \x{2013} Being Born
9. White As Snow
10. Breathe
11. Cedars Of Lebanon

Taken - 2008 Movie Review

Taken was originally released in Germany and has finally come out in the US. Liam Neeson is a father who is very protective of his daughter. He is a former comapny man with a lot of knowledge in how to protect and defend. He is divorced and his wife has remarried to a wealthy man and now he has decided to retire in order to be closer to his daughter, played by Maggie Grace from Lost.

This one plays out as more of an action film with Neeson going over to France to bust some heads and find his daughter. I would call it a version of Spartan, but it's not nearly as good as Spartan was.

Sure they have some action and knife and gun fighting scenes, but overall this one lacks any depth and really is just a boring old story.

Rent it or watch it on cable.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Slumdog Millionaire - Movie Review

Slumdog Millionaire is a story about a young man who comes from the slums of Mumbai and gets on the Indian version of the show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and makes it to the final round. He then ends up in the jail being questioned as to how is he cheating in order to get as far as he has.

this film is directed by Danny Boyle, who has directed, 28 Days Later, Millions and Trainspotting. He has once again put together a brilliant film.

This movie stars Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, a kid from the slums who serves tea at an office for money. At first you see him being tortured as they try to figure out how he is cheating to get as far as has.

This is where things start to get interesting because they go question by question and Jamal has a story for how he knew the answer for each of the questions. He goes back to the days when he lived in the slums and his mother was killed and he ended up in some sort of strange group where they men where using the kids to beg and get money.

Jamal has an older brother Salim and they meet up with a girl, Latika, who is the one that Jamal has always had feeling for since his youth.

I really enjoyed this film and how they tied the stories into the questions and how he knew the answers. I have a feeling this one might win the Oscar. I thought it slowed at times, but overall really was a good story.

It's well worth checking this one out.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Burn After Reading - Movie Review

The Coen Brothers are back again in an interesting spy type drama. In typical fasion they live out the lives of several characters bring them all together at a point later on in the movie. This summary basically gives away the movie, so don't read further is you haven't seen it, but know it's worth watching.

John Malkovich plays Osbourne Cox, a CIA low level analyst, who is demoted for having a drinking problem, so he up and quits his job. He decides he is going to write his memoires. Osbournes wife Katie, is played by Tilda Swinton, and she is a dry, unhappy type woman whho is not happy and is having an affair with Harry Pfarrer, played by George Clooney.

Katie is planning to divorce Osbourne and burns a CD of his hard drive to give to her lawyers. Little does she know that there are a bunch of files with Osbourne's memoires on it. An assistant at the law office accidently leaves the CD at Hardbodies, a gym in which Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand)work at. Linda is trying to have all sorts of cosmetic surgeries to help her look better, a face lift, tummy tuck, and other lippo. So she finds out that her insurance won't cover it and now she finds the CD and wants to Blackmail Osbourne Cox.

When Osbourne blows them off they take the CD to the Russians to try and sell it to them. Just no luck whatsoever in trying to get money.

Along the way, Katie kicks Osbourne out and Harry moves in while his wife is off on a book tour. While living with Katie, Harry is dating other women and meets Linda Litzke through a web search. They continue to have an affair on top of his other affair that his wife isn't supposed to know about, but does because of the PI that is hored by the lawyers she is filing divirce papers with. Crazy?

Well, Chad Feldheimer, Brad Pitt, goes to find more information at Osbourne Cox's house. Harry comes home and Chad is stuck in the closet. When Harry opens the closet Chad is smiling at him and he shoots him in the head, freaks out and dumps his body.

While all this is going on the spys are watching and monitoring the situation. Everyone freaks out and they all tie togehter the story and connections in the end.

This is a fun film and really does a good job twisting the stories and bringing them all together. In typical dry humour fashion of the Coen Brothers they make this into a brilliant film.

It's well worth seeing this one and now it's on DVD so reant it for sure.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Oliver Stone's W - The Movie Review

The new Oliver Stone film W is loosley based on the life of our 43rd President George W. Bush. This is a pretty interesting translation of the live of good old GW. Starting off from the time he was in college being hazed at Yale and jumping back and forth over 2001 at the time that GW and his team were preparing for war in Iraq.

George Cromwell plays GW's dad and at times looks right for the role and at other times really looks like he shouldn't be in the role. They really portray him out to treat GW as the loser brother and has big plans for Jeb and thinks GW underminded their plans to get Jeb in the White House.

Along with showing GW's past and the failures he had before finally running successfully for Governor of Texas, they also show the situation over making a decision to go to war with Iraq. It was an interesting movie and it really put togehter an interesting interpretation of GW's life.

It's interesting that GW went from an 80% popularity down to about 25% the lowest of any President in history.

Christian Bale was originally cast in the role and was replaces by Josh Brolin. Brolin did a fantastic job playing GW.

This was a fun film to watch and I would really recommend seeing it.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Oscar Predictions

So the Oscars will air on February 22 at 8pm EST on ABC. This year Hugh Jackman will be the host and there are a lot of interesting choices for movies and actors. So here are my predictions and we will see if I get anything right:

Best Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

So these are my predeictions for this year. I know the Academy seems to think differently than me, so I could be way off. If Heath Ledger didn't die and have such a good performance, I would probably pick Robert Downey Jr. for his role in Tropic Thunder.

Mickey Rourke to me was hands down the best actor listed of the five. Sure Brad Pitt did a good job in Benjamin Button, but really it was more about the effects and makeup that played a bigger role. Sean Penn was ok, but honestly Rourke played his role right on the money and should win the award.

As far as director and movies go, Slumdog Millionaire and Danny Boyle should win. Boyle did an amazing job with the story and really showed the predjudice of people in different income classes in India. The acting and the story were brilliant. It too me should walk away with the award.

So let's see how the predictions go. Biggest surprise was that Clint Eastwood didn't get a nod for his role as Walt in Gran Torino.

Cass - Movie Review

Cass is based on the true story of Cass Pennant, a West Ham Football Club supporter/hooligan. Pennant has gone on to write many books about his days in the I.C.F. (Inter City Firm) as well as about other hooligans. He may have been the first one to speak out about the whole Firm mentality and what went on. Some say he's full of it and others say it's all true. So take it for what you like.

Cass grew up on the streets of East London. He was an adopted Jamaican baby, by an older white couple. He grew up in a white area and stuck with his same mates he grew up with.

His first experience of football violence was when he was 14 years old. He was off to a match and found himself in the middle of two firms fighting. He stuck around and eventually became the leader of the I.C.F. He wasn't very educated and he tried to turn what he was doing into something glorified.

Personally I think that these Firms need to be disbanded and they all need to be banned from going to matches. I have personally had a couple of run-ins with some of them as I was on my way to a match with Arsenal against Man United. A friend of mine stepped in and told them off and they went on their way. another time they started to taunt me on a train with my wife and when they found out I was an American, they laughed it off and told me I should be a Man United fan since they were owned by an American.

There's no place in this world for these types and they don't need to be glorified either.

The movie is interesting because it does tell the story based on Cass's view. He does show the people around who were against what he was doing along with the violence as well. Nonso Anozie plays Cass and does a good job at it. The one who plays Freeman, Leo Gregory was Bovver in the movie Green Street Hooligans. There was a bunch of film footage from the actual time added. Some Margaret Thatcher footage talking about Hooligans. Other footage of the violence added in to show the reality of it.

Overall I like the way they portayed the story even though I still don't think it should be glorified. Sometimes it's just interesting just to see a little of what went on so people know not to get involved. It shows the dark side of what goes on and what went on with Cass. He was shot after he went clean and walked away. He was working as a bouncer at a nightclub and was shot by some people he had a run-in during the years before.

I think it's worth checking this one out just to see went on in those days. Things have certainly change over the years and with CCTV there isn't as much of it happening now, but it still does exist. Not sure when it will be available in the US, but keep your eye out and rent it for sure.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2008 - The Next Doctor

The latest Christmas Special of Doctor Who brings us to wonder are we about to meet the new Doctor. David Tennant is back for this episode and four more to come before calling it quits as The Doctor.

Taking place on Christmas 1851 in London, The Doctor runs into a man who claims he is The Doctor, this doctor is played by David Morrissey and now the questions all start rolling in your mind. Could this be the man replacing David Tennant as the 11th Doctor. It's Starts with the two of them chasing a new kind of creature, a Cybershade, a new kind of creature that is working with the Cybermen. But neither of the Doctor's have ever seen anything like this and they also don't know that the Cybernen are in this time. So they chase the Cybershade pulls them up the side of the building and eventually escapes.

The new villian in this one is played by Dervla Kirwan – Miss Hartigan. She is plotting to collect all the children of the town up from the orphages, to use them as slaves in helping to build something to dominate the world.

When The Doctor is shown the new Doctors facilities, he realizes they are just living in a flat and then he sees the TARDIS, which is actually a Hot Air Balloon or "Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style". So as The Doctor digs in a little more he finds that This other Doctor is really a man named Jackson Lake who lost his mind because of something that might have been traumatic to him.

The Doctor discovers that Jackson Lake had found an infostamp, one that had all The Doctors information in it. He opened it up and took in all the information of The Doctor, while killing Cybermen. Now we know that Jackson Lake is just a man and he came across the Cybermen through the cellar of his house. He saw his wife die and there was something else he can't quite see.

Now that they have seen the Cybermen, they realize that they have escaped the void after the battle of Canary Warf. As they go to Lakes house they discover that in the cellar is a Dalek device called a Dimension Vault, that allowed them to get out.

As they put it all together they realize that the Cybermen are working on developing a CyberKing to take over the world. Hartigan thinks she is going to see the CyberKing, when she is actually going to be hooked into the mind of the King that turns out to be a very large Cyberman that comes out of the Thames and walks across London. It's Hundreds of feet tall and is destroting everything in it's path.

The Doctor decides to take Lake's hot air ballon TARDIS and along with a bunch of infostamps, fights to destroy the CyberKing. He opens them all and destroys the big King and all the Cybermen. Before the CyberKing can fall and destroy the city, the Dimension Vault is used to transfer the King into the Time Vortex.

Jackson discovers the missing thing from his mind is his son. He finds him at the building site and is reunited. So Jackson Lake asks The Doctor to join them for a Christmas Dinner and at first he says no, but then decides to.

A great episode and it starts with a good twist. Now if you haven't already heard, the 11th Time Lord to take over in 2011 will not be David Morrissey or John Simm or any other of the people we all wondered about, but it will be 26 year old Matt Smith, who has done a lot of TV and Theatre, but will be virtually unknown outside of The UK. Still after watching the Doctor Who Confidential featuring The 11th Doctor, you will see he will be a good one to play the part.

Fund episode, not sure when they will release it in the United States. I know that there are only going to be 4 specials this year and the dates are not yet know for those either. So tune in and get ready for more Doctor Who.

Righteous Kill - Movie Review

The new cop thriller starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro will be coming out on DVD this Tuesday, January 6th. So a review for those debating on renting or buying the DVD. My thought before I get into the review is rent it.

I won't give away the ending in my review, so read on if you like.

This film has Robert De Niro starring as Detective Tom "Turk" Cowen and his partner is David "Rooster" Fisk played by Al Pacino. The movie starts off showing a man getting off for murdering his girlfriends daughter. This is upsetting enough to the two Detectives that they plan to do something about it and plant a gun to get the guy nailed. He was guilty, but got off, now he's in jail.

From there you get a little of the background of the two showing them playing softball and coaching, drinking with the boys and so on. Gives you a little bit about the characters.

Then you cut to Detective "Turk" confessing to killing 14 people. So now you start to learn about who these 14 people are and why they are killed. They are all a bunch of scum that got off. they keep referring back to this video throughout the movie of Turk talking through each of the killings and why he did them.

So now enter two more detectives, Perez played by Leguizamo and Riley played by Wahlberg as well as another Detective Corelli who is played by Carla Gugino. It turns out as Perez and Riley are working on a related murder to one that Cowen and Fisk are on. Corelli is the murder scene processor of evidence and she's banging Cowen.

It has a whole thing going on with Turk having you believe he really has been doing it and you will find out the truth, but what that is - you just have to see it and find out.

It's a good thriller and certainly worth a rental. I say that as I just don't see it being something you will watch over once you know the end. All the actors do a good job. De Niro and Pacino are always fun to watch. Wahlberg and Leguizamo do a good job as the straightlaced detectives and Gugino is her sexy self and does a good role in this one.

Well worth a rental - pick it up at NetFlix, Blockbuster or Red Box!

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

The 11th Doctor Has Been Named

The eleventh Doctor has been named. Matt Smith will be taking over as The Doctor after David Tennant finishes up his contract at the end of 2009.

Nearly 7 millioin people watched a specoal Doctor Who Confidential: The Eleventh Doctor last night in the BBC.

Matt Smith is 26 years of age, the youngest to play The Doctor. He is relatively unknown and has done some work with The National Theater on Alan Bennetts's The History of Boys as well as staring with Christian Slater in Swimming With Sharks in London's West End.

Smith grew up in Northampton and was head boy at Northampton School for Boys. He played Football(soccer) with Nottingham Forrest Youth Program and then moved on to Leicester City and was forced to retire due to a back injury.

He was involved in the National Youth Theatre and has involved in a bunch of different BBC productions as well at the theatre work.

Here's a link to the BBC's press announcement: BBC 11th Doctor Press Announcement.

So he will be in the series starting in 2010, but it will be interesting to see if he is transitioned in the Christmas Special in 2009 or will just take over.

I guess it's a good choice to put a young unknown in the role. The expectation level will be different and it will be good to let someone other than a John Simm or James Nesbit have a go at it.

I wish you luck and Can't wait to see the next episode to air!

Babylon AD - Movie Review

Babylon AD is a futuristic film starring Vin Diesel, who plays Toorop a mercenary who is hired by the Russian mob to to deliver a young woman named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) to New York City. There is no explaination at the start as to why, but Tootop is banned in the US, so the Russians are abor to give him a fake passport.

Now he arrives at the Noelite Convent to pick up Aurora and she is accompanied by her guardian nun Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh), who has raised Aurora since she was a little child. The adventure begins from there as they have to cross through the great north to Canada and into the US. Someone is trying to stop them from making the delivery.

This is a relatively action packed film that at times seems to have too much action and it makes it hard to watch because bullets are flying and things are blowing up and you just don't know what the hell is going on.

It's one of those futuristic films where every town is run by the bad guys and it's a struggle to trust anyone at all. Nothing new or original about the film and it's plot from what I see.

The story gets weird about the background of Aurora and that she is special learning 19 laguages by age 2 and has all these other special things about her. We also find that once in NY that she is pregnant with twins. It's an immaculate conception as she has never been with a man. Now things unfold and you find out she was created in a lab and genetically altered. Her mother or probably the one whose egg was used happens to be the head of the Noelite church. She wants to use the immaculate conception to grow the church into a large power.

Toorop tries to get her out of NY without turning her over. He gets blown up and is surgically altered with prosthetic limbs to go on and help find Aurora, who has now gone into hiding.

Basically in the end Aurora is found by Toorop, dies giving birth and he's left to raise the twins.

So there you go, I told you the story so you don't have to waste your time seeing this one. It cost $70 million to make and I bet it doidn't gross anywhere near that, my guess is a total flop.

Too much crap to deal with and a reused story as far as I'm concerned. Don't bother with this one.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars