SUCKER PUNCH... I saw the Zack Snyder-directed film earlier today, and much like his previous films Watchmen and 300, it was visually stunning. Plus, it had a pretty cool soundtrack. The most interesting aspect of Sucker Punch is that all the fantasy scenes in the movie involving the main character Baby Doll (played by Emily Browning...who I remember from 2004’s Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which starred Jim Carrey) took place while she was burlesque-dancing (which we never see on-screen) for different clients at the mental asylum she was held in. Who would’ve thought it was possible to gyrate and titillate while simultaneously picture oneself fighting against a 30-foot-tall Samurai welding a Gatling gun? Hm.



I also saw the sci-fi adventure comedy Paul. It was funny... If I had the funds I’d totally go to Nevada and visit the "Extraterrestrial Highway" that leads to Area 51, just like what Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s characters did. Seth Rogen was amusing voicing the alien, while it was interesting to see Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor (who both appeared in the long-defunct but very hilarious FOX TV series Arrested Development) show up in the film...along with Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio (who, along with Rogen, both showed up in 2007’s smash hit Superbad. Greg Mottola, who helmed Superbad, also directed Paul). Nice um, cameo by Steven Spielberg in the movie... I’m looking forward to watching the upcoming J.J. Abrams-directed film Super 8—which is produced by Spielberg. The film comes out in theaters on June 10. So, yea. You know what I’m gonna say next: That is all.

SOUTH PARK... Check out this preview clip to a new episode of South Park...which started its 13th season a few weeks ago. It’s pretty funny...spoofing recent comic book flicks such as The Dark Knight, Watchmen and The Spirit (though the references lean more towards The Dark Knight side, lol). The question remains: Just who IS Mysterion? (Most likely it’s Stan, haha.)

WATCHMEN... I saw the film in IMAX on Saturday night, and it was pretty interesting. One of my friends filled me in on the story of the graphic novel last year, so I kinda knew what to expect from the movie before I watched it. Seeing as how director Zach Snyder was trying to give Watchmen a realistic feel a la The Dark Knight, it’s understandable that he didn't include the giant alien squid in the ending. Haha.



Anyways, my favorite character in the movie is Rorschach. Not only does he look bad-ass, but his actions and dialogue are, too. Case in point: The scene where he confronts that child killer in the apartment. I don’t watch horror films, but is there one that actually shows someone getting their head repeatedly hacked to pieces by a meat cleaver? I’m pretty sure there is. But this scene was craaazy. In terms of dialogue, the best line came when Rorschach (a.k.a. Walter Kovacs) was in prison. A fellow inmate tried to intimidate him in the cafeteria, and Kovacs ended up flinging a pot of hot oil at the prisoner’s face. Just as Kovacs is taken away by security guards, he shouts, "I’m not locked in here with you... You’re locked in here with ME!" Nice.



Overlooking Rorschach’s badassery, the rest of Watchmen was all right. Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) had a decent share of nude scenes...which off-set seeing Dr. Manhattan’s wang so many times in the film (what, he only puts that loin cloth on when he’s in the mood?). The Comedian was cool... Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played the sadistic superhero with an affinity for happy-face pins, kicked-ass in the role...much as how he kicked ass as the demon-hunting dad, John Winchester, in the popular TV show Supernatural. All-in-all, I give Watchmen 8 out of 10 stars. Later.

WATCHMEN... The much-anticipated Zack Snyder film based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons gets released in theaters this Friday. I’m planning to watch it in IMAX on Saturday night, though. It’s all good... The one film I’m definitely planning to watch on opening day (Midnight screening? We’ll see) is, you guessed it (if you've been reading my Blog for at least the past year or so), Transformers 2. Which comes out on Wednesday, June 24.



Back to Watchmen, Malin Akerman and Carla Gugino are hot...especially in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Sin City, respectively. Yup.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!! It’s time for that annual journal entry where I post a series of events that are happening this year...and half of them interest me and only some of them interest you. Just kidding. Seriously though, you’ll notice a consistency of events from January to July that I’ve listed in the previous years...such as the USC Trojans playing football in the Rose Bowl every New Year’s Day to the Tour de France taking place in July (July 4 thru 26). And of course, just like the past recent years, there aren’t that many significant events (um, American-wise) taking place from August through December...which is why I list international stuff like elections taking place in Uruguay, Honduras and Chile (October 25, November 29 and December 11, respectively).



Personally, I’m looking forward to the re-release of The Dark Knight in theaters later this month, Christian Bale kicking cyborg ass as John Connor (May 22), the return of the Autobots and Decepticons to the big screen (June 26), the test flight of a prototype of America’s next generation launch vehicle (July 11) and a federal election in Germany (September 27). Just kidding about that last one. But I am looking forward to the return of the hit TV show 24 (January 11) as well as the launches of Kepler, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Glory spacecraft within the next 6 months (March 5, April 24 and June 15, respectively). Why am I looking forward to their launches? I’ll tell you later. That is all.



January 2009
-Rose Bowl: USC vs. Penn State (Jan 1)
-BCS National Championship Game in Miami, Florida: Oklahoma vs. Florida (Jan 8)
-66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Jan 11)
-Season 7 premiere of 24 (Jan 11, 12)
-Season 8 premiere of American Idol (Jan 13, 14)
-Popular TV show Supernatural returns from hiatus on Season 4 (Jan 15)
-U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama (Jan 20)
-Season 5 premiere of Lost (Jan 21)
-The Dark Knight re-release (Jan 23)
-2009 National Hockey League All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec (Jan 25)



February 2009
-Super Bowl XLIII in Florida (Feb 1)
-51st Annual Grammy Awards (Feb 8)
-Mission STS-119... Space shuttle Discovery (Feb 12)
-51st annual Daytona 500 in Florida (Feb 15)
-2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona (Feb 15)
-NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, en route to asteroid Vesta, flies by Mars for a gravitational assist (Feb 17)
-81st Academy Awards (Feb 22)
-Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (Feb 27)



March 2009
-Launch of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft into solar orbit (Mar 5)
-World Baseball Classic (Mar 5)
-Start of the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens, hosted by Dubai (Mar 5)
-Watchmen (Mar 6)
-Conclusion of the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens (Mar 5)
-2009 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament begins with Opening Round Game (Mar 17)
-Conclusion of the March Madness tournament prior to the 2009 Final Four games in Michigan (Mar 29)



April 2009
-2009 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament in Detroit, Michigan (Apr 5)
-NCAA Final Four Championship Game in Detroit, Michigan (Apr 6)
-Dragonball: Evolution (Apr 8)
-The New York Mets open their new Citi Field stadium against the San Diego Padres (Apr 13)
-The New York Yankees open their new Yankee Stadium against the Cleveland Indians (Apr 16)
-Launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to the Moon (Apr 24)
-NFL Draft (Apr 25, 26)



May 2009
-X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1)
-Star Trek (May 8)
-Mission STS-125... Space shuttle Atlantis (May 12 – tentative)
-Angels & Demons (May 15)
-Mission STS-127... Space shuttle Endeavour (May 15 – tentative)
-Terminator Salvation (May 22)
-Start of the 2009 French Open tennis tournament (May 24)
-93rd Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (May 24)



June 2009
-Conclusion of the 2009 French Open (Jun 7)
-Start of the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa (Jun 14)
-Launch of NASA’s Glory spacecraft into Earth orbit (Jun 15)
-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Jun 26)
-Conclusion of the FIFA Confederations Cup (Jun 28)



July 2009
-Start of the 2009 Tour de France (Jul 4)
-2012 (Jul 10)
-Test flight of NASA’s Ares I-X rocket (Jul 11)
-2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis, Missouri (Jul 14)
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Jul 17)
-2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy (Jul 19)
-Total solar eclipse (Jul 22)
-Conclusion of the Tour de France (Jul 26)



August 2009
-Conclusion of the 2009 World Aquatics Championships (Aug 2)
-Mission STS-128... Space shuttle Atlantis (Aug 6)
-G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Aug 7)
-Start of the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poland (Aug 23)
-Conclusion of the World Rowing Championships (Aug 30)



September 2009
-Parliamentary election in Norway (Sep 14)
-Jennifer’s Body (Sep 18)
-Federal election in Germany (Sep 27)
-NASA’s Messenger spacecraft makes a third flyby of Mercury (Sep 29)



October 2009
-Toy Story 3-D (Oct 2)
-Announcement of the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics (Oct 2)
-Presidential elections in Uruguay (Oct 25)



November 2009
-Mission STS-129... Space shuttle Discovery (Nov 12)
-Sherlock Holmes (Nov 20)
-Presidential elections in Honduras (Nov 29)



December 2009
-Mission STS-130... Space shuttle Endeavour (Dec 10)
-Presidential election in Chile (Dec 11)
-Maiden voyage of the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship (Dec 12)
-Avatar (Dec 18)
-Deadline for implementing the United States’ REAL ID Act (Dec 31)