Movin' On Up

Well, there's a lot to talk about today, but I'll start off with a piece of good news -- I got a promotion! Yep, I've graduated from the coordinator to manager level. My daily duties and responsibilities at NBCU will mostly (I think) be the same going forward, but nonetheless, it's definitely a nice vote of confidence, and nice to get a little payoff after my five years in the company and 3 1/2 years in my current department. No, I am still not exactly raking in the big bucks, but hey, at least it's something. And by something, I mean I'm one step closer to achieving my master plan of ruling Hollywood with an iron fist, suckas! (commence evil laughing ... now). Seriously though, thanks to everyone who's helped and encouraged me up to now, and yeah, I definitely feel lucky not only to just have a job in this current economic climate, but to be working in an industry that I remain (as I think readers of this blog can see) quite passionate and enthusiastic about. And as I implied earlier, this is only the beginning, baby.


A TRIBUTE:

- I would like to take a minute and give a shout-out to a man who was a large presence in my pop culture-saturated childhood - Captain Lou Albano. The good captain was a fixture of WWF wrestling in the 80's, and some of my earliest memories of watching WWF Superstars and All-American Wrestling as a young kid include the crazy antics of Cap'n Lou as he managed the likes of "The Rock" Don Muraco and other larger-than-life competitors. Captain Lou made his name as a wrestler in the 60's and 70's, but hit his stride as a manager during WWF's "rock n' wrestling" period in the 80's, during which Captain Lou enjoyed crossover, mainstream success - appearing and fueding with Cyndi Lauper, and becoming a fixture in movies and TV shows, from Hulk Hogan's Saturday morning cartoon show to guest appearances on Hey Dude. Not only that, but the guy was the first (and to many, definitive) live-action Super Mario, portraying Mario on the Super Mario Super Show back in the day, where he taught us all to "do the Mario," and became a fixture of Saturday mornings for many of my generation. With his trademark Hawaian shirts and rubber-banded beard, Captain Lou was a true character for the ages. So let's all give one final salute to the good captain.

- The other week, I mentioned the home video releases of two awesome yet underappreciated movies in Observe & Report and Anvil: The Story of Anvil. This week, I want to remind everyone that another one of the best movies of the year thus far, DRAG ME TO HELL, is out on DVD and blu-ray. You can check out my full review from this summer, but I just want to reiterate that if you've enjoyed Sam Raimi's earlier horror-comedy flicks like Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, or if you just like horror-comedies in general, you need to see Drag Me to Hell as soon as possible. In fact, now is the perfect time to catch it given that Halloween is fast-approaching. Drag Me to Hell is hilarious, totally insane, and completely memorable. Alison Lohman kicks ass in the lead role. And yes, this is old-school Raimi at the top of his game.

- On a somewhat random note, I had had the classic movie DELIVERANCE taking up space on my DVR for a couple of weeks, so I finally decided to hunker down and watch it the other night. Very, very well-made movie, and the outdoor scenes have a real sense of danger to them, due to the awesome cinematography and stunning real-life setting. Like many though, I came away with two particular scenes burned forever in my brain. One being the totally weird banjo-duel at the beginning of the movie, and the other being the, well, the whole "squeal like a pig" scene. Talk about disturbing. Anyways, at least now I will be fully in the know whenever I see a Deliverance parody.

- Argh, too many movies. Even though I've been on a big movie-watching streak of late, I feel like I am going to get behind after this weekend. I still want to see Capitalism: A Love Story, and am still kind of curious about Surrogates. This weekend, there's WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, which I very much want to see even if it looks kind of bleak and depressing. On the other end of the spectrum is BLACK DYNAMITE. A retro-comedy parody of 70's blaxploitation movies? Sign me up, sucka.

- Also, I would lose some geek cred if I didn't mention how insane of a week this is in the world of gaming. This week, of course, saw the release of what is probably my most-anticipated videogame of the year, that being UNCHARTED 2. The first Uncharted game on the PS3 totally blew me away, and it was the first game I purchased when I got a PS3 a few years back. To this day, it is probably one of the most definitive games of this console generation - taking so much of what was great about games like Tomb Raider, and adding a level of graphical gloss and narrative polish that was pretty incredible at the time and still holds up today. In terms of graphics alone, I have never, ever seen outdoor environments (and particularly water) as amazing looking in a game as those in Uncharted. I can't wait to see what developer Naughty Dog has cooked up for part 2. And assuming that all of the great reviews its gotten prove true, I think you've got to talk about ND as one of the premiere developers working today, if not THE best of the best. From Crash Bandicoot back in the day, to Jack & Daxter, and now with Uncharted, these guys consistently outdo themselves and raise the bar. Can't wait to reaquaint myself with Nathan Drake and the world of Uncharted. At the same time, this week marks the release of another hotly-anticipated game, BRUTAL LEGEND. From the mind of iconic game producer Tim Schaefer, BL looks to be a ton of fun. Afterall, it comes from the man who brought us cult favorites like Grim Fandango and Psychonauts. Schaefer is one of the few real storytelling masters in the world of games, a guy who could easily get out of gaming and just produce awesome Adult Swim animated shows if he so chose. Gaming is not a medium known for comedy, but Schaefer has produced works that are hilarious and therefore easily stand out from the pack. He's a guy who reminds me of the reason why many of us got so into the medium in the first place - the chance to visit strange new worlds and get caught up in absorbing, surreal experiences far removed from the real world. It's great to know that Brutal Legend is of that same Schaefer spirit, and also that it's actually getting a lot of great press thanks to the involvement of Jack Black. I can't wait to rock n' roll with this one.


TV STUFF:

- I've got to start off by talking about last night's hilarious episode of MODERN FAMILY. I've been singing this show's praises for a while now, but until last night's ep, I still had my doubts that the show was really as good as the hype would lead you to believe. Don't get me wrong, I was already a huge fan of MF, but man, last night's ep was, to me, a landmark. I am now 100% sold - MF isn't just a sort-of funny show, it's officially a must-see comedy in the upper echelon of currently-airing scripted TV. Last night's ep just fired on all cylinders. Shelly Long was great as the returning mother hen who's had a bit too much of the crazy sauce. And just every cast member was killin' it. I loved the teen boyfriend singing his love song to the family, and their expressions going from adoring to horrified within a matter of moments, as the lyrics took a turn for the racy. And then everyone singing the catchy tune at the end of the episode? A perfect ending to an all-around awesome ep.

My Grade: A

- Looking forward to tonight's 30 ROCK. Everyone watch!

- Getting a bit behind on GLEE ... will have to catch up, perhaps this weekend.

- Enjoyed Monday's GOSSIP GIRL, but found it to be a bit underwhelming in the dramatics department. Georgina's revealing the truth about Rufus and Lili's secret son was not quite the bombshell it could have been. That said, Georgina was sort of awesome in this ep, just downright psycho and entertaining. But some of the other subplots are really lagging. Don't care at all about any of the Serena-Carter-Nate stuff.

My Grade: B

- Last night's JIMMY FALLON featured a Monty Python reunion! Awesome! Looking forward to checking that out later today.



- Anyways ... that's about it for now. I'm off to mentally prepare for a busy weekend that will include, among other things, my annual trip to KNOTT'S SCARY FARM. It's been cold, wet, and dark here in LA -- perfect Halloween weather.