August 2, 2010

It’s pop-corn and soda time — aka Movie Review Time.

Here’s Joseph Prescott bringing you his review on —

Dinner for Schmucks is the story of Tim (Paul Rudd) who has the opportunity to get a big promotion in his job (the motivation of which is to win the heart of his girlfriend and get her to marry him), but must first prove himself worthy of the position by attending a dinner hosted by his boss and bring one guest. But this isn’t any ordinary dinner. This is a dinner where all the coworkers bring the craziest, stupidest, biggest idiots they can find, with the intentions of mocking them the whole night, in a competition to find the most idiotic person — aka, the Dinner for Schmucks (which is ironically never what the dinner is called in the movie).

Tim accidentally hits Barry (Steve Carell) with his nice expensive car (Barry: “Wow, I’ve never been hit by a Portia before…”), and stumbles upon someone who is perfect to bring to dinner. Barry’s main hobby is creating dioramas using dead mice as the subjects (seen below vv) Of course, Barry turns out to be more than Tim bargained for and a whole mess of comic calamity ensues.

(Barry: “Do you know who this is? He pretty much wrote the Bible.” Tim: “Jesus?”)

The movie was interesting in the fact that, despite it’s title being Dinner for Schmucks, the majority of the movie did not take place at this dinner, and instead followed Rudd and Carell around as Carell’s character manages to quickly disrupt Rudd’s life. However, the dinner itself was worth the wait. Carell was not the only celebrity schmuck at this dinner. Joining the table was

Zach Galifianakis^^ (as a guest with the power of mind control) and comic-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham vv (who was married to…his puppet).

Other characters and actors that appeared in this story, though outside of the dinner, were Julie - Tim’s girlfriend, played by Stephanie Szostak, Darla - a crazy ex-one night stand, played by Lucy Punch,

(Left to Right: Punch [Darla], Rudd [Tim], and Szostak [Julie] in Dinner for Schmucks)

and the Flight of the Conchords co-star Jemaine Clement, as Kieran Vollard (a nutty artist with irresistible animal attraction). 

(Clement as Kieran Vollard and Szostak as Julie in Dinner for Schmucks)

The story ends up delivering a good message in the end (don’t make fun of weird people, because they are people too), which is ironically destroyed by the whole premise of the movie being a comedy, as the audience spends the entire time laughing at the expense of weird people. Yet, viewers still find themselves hoping that Paul Rudd will get what he wants in the end, and find that, even through his idiocy, that there is a touching side to Steve Carell’s character.

The comedy in this movie is a little strange, and on the edge, but it is exactly what most teenage guys are into these days. Most adults will probably leave this movie feeling like they have wasted their lives, though that being said, they will have to admit that they did laugh through at least some of the movie. The jokes are there, they made me laugh through most of the movie, and yet on the other side of that, I still found myself at times feeling like the movie was a fail. 

Overall, this was an interesting movie to watch because half of the time it was painful and I found myself asking “How the hell did I wind up going to see this movie?” and yet the other half of the time I was thoroughly enjoying the incredibly funny hilarity, and even found myself feeling a little emotional connection toward the characters.

The positives: When it was funny, it was pretty damn funny. The comedy did deliver when it counted. The story was not that original, (being based off of a French film, based off of a French play) but definitely entertaining. The cast of characters was fun to watch and enjoy, and in the end, I felt good for the protagonists.

The negatives: When it wasn’t funny, it wasn’t funny. Some of the comedy is definitely geared toward typical teenage guys (not in a sexual dirty way, but in it’s ridiculous and ludicrous manner) and the humor is lost on older audiences. That alone almost destroys the comedy, because there’s a feeling that you should be laughing, even though you’re finding nothing funny at all…

My overall rating: 85%

Summary: Though it misses out on some comedy here and there, Dinner for Schmucks is definitely funny and entertaining enough to go see with a handful of friends (though whether or not you spend $10 a person in theaters or wait to pay a total of $5 to rent it, is up to you).

The Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FHlvEc3vaE

Comments?

An update on last night’s Late Night Report, I’m here to bring you some devastating news…

Late last night, I reported on the flash-flooding in Pakistan, and now I have a brief update on the situation. The death toll has risen to at least 800. The forecast only looks like more rain, and with it more flash floods, landslides, and casualties. Government officials are pleading for international aid with this natural disaster.

Leave your thoughts below?

July 31, 2010 (2:24AM)

It’s late in the night, I’m still awake, so here we go — short news pumped out in rapid succession (this would work better live or recorded on video) — the first ever Late Night Report!

Entertainment:

Ellen Degeneres announces that she is leaving her spot as an American Idol judge, claiming that although the experience was fun, she simply had trouble criticizing the contestants. With Paula Abdul already gone, Simon Cowell peacing out, and reports of Kara DioGuardi being fired, Randy Jackson is the only remaining judge, and there is talk that American Idol, may completely start anew with brand new judges next season. In the talks of taking Ellen’s place, is Jennifer Lopez. 

(American Idol cast at the start of last season ^^)

MTV Jersey Shore’s “Snooki”, aka Nicole Polizzi (like they have real names), was arrested for disorderly conduct Friday in Seaside Heights. Word has it she was booked for being drunk in public (as opposed to on television, where everyone can see her from their living rooms). 

(Jersey Shore’s ‘Snooki’ being taken away by police ^^)

(The main cast of NBC’s 30 Rock vv)

NBC’s 30 Rock announced that they will be performing a LIVE episode during this season, airing October 14th. The episode will be performed twice, to accommodate both sides of the country. Tina Fey (producer and actress on the show) is up to the challenge. I’m honestly looking forward to seeing how a live episode will turn out. Hey, wait a minute, isn’t Tina Fey already used to doing live comedy… (SNL….?)

Technology:

YouTube has extended it’s maximum video length from 10 minutes to… wait for it, 15 minutes. Because when 10 minutes is not enough, 15 will do just fine. Thank you, YouTube. I’ve been waiting for this since….well, I personally haven’t really cared, but I know there are those out there who do.

Windows is STILL trying to catch up to……well, everyone else. Reports claim that Windows is hard at work to produce a tablet computer (similar to Apple’s iPad), based on Windows 7. According to more tech savvy people, this is not a good idea. But Windows is pushing forward with it. They are also going to base a tablet off of their Windows 7 Phone (which is also really no comparison to Apple’s iPhone — can you tell I own a Mac?)

World News:

In a serious side of the news, Pakistan flooding is taking the lives of hundreds of people. Monsoon rains have caused flash-flooding and mudslides in Pakistan, claiming (as of Friday’s count) more than 400 lives. Reportedly villages have been completely swept away, and thousands more people are trapped by these floods. Pakistani officials say that the waters are expected to rise, as is the death toll, as there are many parts of the region that are just too inaccessible.

Back to the fun and ridiculous — Tokyo: Wow, some of the weirdest things have come out of Japan, and this news report is among them. Tokyo’s oldest living man, Sogen Kato (111 years old), is actually not living anymore, nor has he been alive for some 30 years. Apparently his family had been keeping his mummified body upstairs in his room, and collecting the money from his pension. Though, according to their report, Kato had locked himself in his room, refusing to eat and drink, to become like Buddha 30 years prior, and they just…never decided to check in on him. The body was found when officials came to wish him a happy 111th birthday and were refused entry into the house. The officials called the police, who forced themselves into the house where they found Kato’s body mummified in his bed, with a newspaper from 1978 sitting by his side. The family is being investigated for fraud due to the pension they had been collecting while Kato was dead.

That is ALL for now, as it is nearing 2:30 in the morning. Leave some feedback if you wish:

Who do you think should judge American Idol? Will you tune in to watch the Live episode of 30 Rock? Will 5 extra minutes make your YouTube life more exciting? What do you think of Tokyo now? 

EDIT: Due to my own stupidity, answers were not enabled on this post, and I can’t figure out how to enable them after the fact. If you really care to share your thoughts:

Send me a message via the link on the right —>

OR,

E-mail me: j.prescott@live.com

Thanks again, and good night.

July 30, 2010

If you’ve been wondering how Friends‘ Joey Tribbiani portrayer Matt LeBlanc has been doin’ I’ve got an answer for you. Here’s another News Debriefing from Joseph Prescott.

Reporting from my local Panera Bread, here’s what’s new with Matt LeBlanc.

The former Friends actor will be starring in a new Showtime series called Episodes, airing this fall. The show is about an actor named Matt LeBlanc (seriously, that’s the character’s name) who is starring in an American remake of a successful British TV series. The comedy series was created by David Crane (co-creator of Friends) and his partner Jeffrey Klarik (co-producer of Mad About You). 

In the time since Friends and the spin-off flop Joey, LeBlanc says he’s mostly just been spending his time being a dad to his daughter. However, this hasn’t stopped people from always remembering him as Joey Tribbiani and frequently stopping him to ask him, “How You Doin’?” 

(Matt LeBlanc as a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes ^^ [photo credit Hutton/SHOWTIME])

Reports say that LeBlanc is fine with being called Joey and being asked that famous question, as it means that he was doing his job well, portraying a character who was believable and memorable to audiences and fans.

As for the gray hair seen in the above photo, LeBlanc has stated that he has had premature gray hair for quite some time, and dyed his hair dark through most of his time on Friends. However, he’s let the gray come out for Showtime’s Episodes.

That’s all for now. Joseph Prescott, signing out. Closing questions below:

So, what do you think? Are you going to watch Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc in Episodes? Do you like the gray hair? And lastly, How YOU Doin’?

Joseph Prescott here reporting on a company dedicated to the community.

Panera Bread has always had delicious breads, sandwiches, soups, salads and pastries, but their price has always been borderline on the pricey side. But now, in Clayton, MO Panera has opened up it’s very first Non-Profit Bakery-Cafe. The restaurant allows customers to pay what they can afford, based on the honor system.

(A photo of the Panera Bread bakery ^^)

While this may seem a bit risky, according to reports, the system is working out quite fine. A good 60 to 70 percent of customers are paying in full price, while about 15 percent are paying less and another fifteen are paying more. In fact, there are reports that there have been a few very generous donations. 

So far the community of Clayton and the company itself has been very pleased with the outcome of this operation. There are heart-warming tales of those in need able to purchase food for a discounted price, or even for free, if necessary. 

Panera Bread has always been dedicated to its communities, donating its left over bakery items at the end of the night to various charities, with what they call “Operation Dough-Nation.” With everything in the bakery being baked fresh every morning, there is a lot left over at night, and it’s nice to see the company giving to the community in this way.

With the success of this Non-Profit Cafe in Clayton, reports indicate that Panera is in the works to open up a few more locations in other cities.

Joseph Prescott, signing out.

Let us know: How do you feel about this?

Here is the very first Movie Review. You know who wrote it, so we’ll skip over introductions…

Grab a drink, get some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the movie review of:

After 2008’s blockbuster hit The Dark Knight, the mention of Christopher Nolan’s name on a movie has audiences already talking about how great the mentioned movie is going to be. And with a visually titillating and very mysterious trailer Inception (July 16, 2010) looked like a very promising movie. 

That promise held true.

While the main attractors to this film were Nolan’s name and the wonderfully entertaining scenes of hallways (and whole landscapes) turning sideways on themselves (as in this shot here—)

the movie delivers more than that with a highly imaginative and creative story that leads the audience to many different locations — from a stormy city, to a hotel building, to the slopes of some snowy mountain top, to the shores of a crumbling city (all of which are located within the imagination and mind of a dreamer). 

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a man who enters people’s dreams and steals their important secrets. Cobb is bribed (by the promise of clearing his name and allowing him to return home to his family) to push the laws of the dream-sharing process to plant an idea into a man’s mind, by traveling deep enough into multiple layers of dreams (aka a dream within a dream). This planting of an idea is the titular process of Inception. 

(^^ DiCaprio as Cobb and Ellen Page as Ariadne watch as the dreamscape they’re in literally rises up and folds over on itself.)

This leads DiCaprio and a pretty good cast (including Ellen Page [ Juno], Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Marion Cotillard [Public Enemies]) into the high stakes, high risk, adventure that is the rest of the movie. The dream-layering, (and various other rules of the dream-sharing concept) can be complicated at times, and may lose some audiences, but those who stick with it are in for a very good and very exciting story. For those who get lost, at the very least they get a visual treat as hallways spin in circles and worlds start to crumble down around the characters.

The positives of this movie: Very original and inventive story that keeps audiences attentive and ready to see what will happen next. Also, the visual effects are wonderful entertainment and quite exciting. DiCaprio delivers Cobb’s character very well, pulling away nicely from his last role as Teddy Daniels in Shutter Island. The other actors performed well (Gordon-Levitt’s stiff dry character turned out to be better than originally thought.)

The negatives of this movie: It can be complicated. Audiences can get lost. A few locations (aka the snowy mountain top) seem strangely out of place (even for a dream) and serves more as a “fun new location” for the audiences to see and for characters to move around in, but less to really do anything to further the story. Cotillard (as well as she performed) managed to occasionally bother me with her role. 

My overall rating: 98%

Summary: You want an action movie that gets you thinking and still entertains visually? Go see Inception. 

The Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/inception#p/f/7/xitHF0IPJSQ

With this News Debriefing all I can start off by saying is - Wow.

A school district in Montana has proposed to implement a sex education plan starting to teach children about sex as early as kindergarten.

The plan involves teaching kindergartners about what all the different parts of the male and female reproductive systems are and their proper names. Starting in the first grade, students will be taught that there are same-gender relationships and taught to avoid making homosexual slurs. By the time the students are in the fifth grade, they will be taught about the various positions in which two people can have intercourse, including the penetration of different orifices and the different types of objects which can be inserted into these orifices. 

Now, this last part is not intended to be a “How-to” session, but is more about teaching students that there are many different ways in which STDs or pregnancy could occur.

Not surprisingly, most parents are quite upset about this plan and have voiced their concern about implementing sex ed at such a young age. However, there are a few who do believe that this may be a good idea, as it will hopefully lead students to make safe decisions regarding sex by teaching them about it early. Others say that when parents don’t talk to their kids about sex, that the school has the responsibility to step in.

So, what do you think? Should the school district teach kindergartners about sex? Is kindergarten too young? How old is old enough to learn about sex?

July 10, 2010

Once again, the man with too much time on his hands, Joseph Prescott bringing you another News Flash:

Not Long Ago, In A Country Far, Far Away…

Hong-Kong based company Wicked Lasers has been sent a cease-and-desist letter from LucasFilm Ltd. in reference to their Pro Artic Laser which strongly resembles the famous sci-fi weapon from Star Wars - the Lightsaber. The letter sent to Wicked Lasers stated that the design of the Pro Arctic Laser “was intended to resemble the hilts of our lightsaber swords, which are protected by copyright…” and asked the company to stop selling their product or to change it’s appearance so that it does not resemble the lightsaber. Below is a photograph of the Spyder III Pro Arctic Laser.

Below this is a photo of Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber from the Star Wars movies:

There are some strong similarities between the two, but Wicked Lasers CEO Steve Liu says that in the several years he’s been selling these series of lasers, his company has never compared them to the lightsaber weapons in the Star Wars series. 

But although Wicked Lasers has made no such comparison, the blogging world has. And it is through these blogs that people write things like “a real life lightsaber” when referring to the Pro Arctic Laser. It is this reasoning that LucasFilm Ltd. has stepped up and claimed that “These references make it clear that the public is being led to believe that the Pro Arctic Laser is an official lightsaber device and/or copied from our design.”

It’s been longer than two weeks after Wicked Lasers received the letter from LucasFilm and they haven’t changed the style of their product or ceased in selling it, even though the cease-and-desist letter requested that Wicked Lasers send back a written statement assuring that they would change their lasers or face the threat of “the initiation of legal proceeding without further notice to you.”

As of now, no such legal proceedings have taken place, and CEO Liu hopes that this ordeal does not head in that direction. 

iHack Pro

According to the latest reports, Apple has uncovered that Mr. Thuat Nguyen was not the only app developer who had hacked into iTunes users accounts. It’s been stated that there are “a number of other app developer accounts with very similar, if not more innovative approaches to stealing users money.”

And again, Apple advises that iTunes account holders change their passwords and check their iTunes purchases to make sure that there are no illegitimate purchases being made. Reports say “iTunes users have reported anywhere between $100-$1400 spent using their accounts.”

DDDDDDDUUUUUUUCK

In a more serious matter (I seem to be having more of these) Philadelphia’s famous Ride the Ducks tour took a horrific turn of events on July 7th. The amphibious tours that start out on land and head into the sea are a common site to see in Philadelphia, and this reporter has often thought it would be an interesting opportunity to try it out.

(A photo of the Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle on land^^ and in water vv)

On Wednesday, July 7, one of the Ride the Ducks tour boats was struck and run over in the Delaware River by a barge, capsizing the boat and spilling out the 37 passengers into the water. The tour boat had apparently caught fire prior to the collision, and had stopped and set anchor in the river. Why the barge was unaware of the tour boat’s presence is still in question.

(Photo of the passengers of the duck boat tour in the water)

The tour boat in question was carrying a group of Hungarian language students hosted by Marshallton United Methodist Church located in suburban Philadelphia. There were 13 Hungarian students and two Hungarian teachers amongst a handful of U.S. students and teachers as well. 

Those rescued sustained minimal injuries and some of them were hospitalized. However, there were two passengers unaccounted for: a 16 year old female Hungarian student and a 20 year old male Hungarian. Both of their bodies were later recovered and identified.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter stated that a private memorial service was to be held 11:30 am Saturday at the Independence Seaport Museum. Following that, there would be a public ceremony of wreath laying and the flying of doves.

Total Eclipse

On a lighter (or is it darker) note — it’s happening again! This Sunday the moon and the sun will be lined up just right to create a total solar eclipse, and if you live on the right part of the planet, you will be plunged into complete darkness for a few beautiful precious moments. 

Though, in all honesty, every time I see a picture of one of these, all I can think about is the opening logo to the NBC television series: Heroes.

Oh well. 

Well, unfortunately that’s all for today (pretty much due to a lack of time). I would have loved to have reported on the Robots working on the BP spill (I mean, seriously, how cool does that sound? Robots. Saving the world. Alright!), or on Lindsey Lohan Terrified of Prison (because let’s be honest, when celebrities are afraid to face the consequences of their actions, we might as well get a chuckle out of it) or even about Mel Gibson’s Destroyed Career (which is apparently being blamed on his domestic abuse of his ex-girlfriend and not on the fact that his time as an actor has long since passed…). But alas, time is up and I must go. 

Until next time,

Joseph Prescott, signing out!

P.S. Does anyone actually read these?

July 6, 2010

It’s been a long while since we’ve had a News Flash, but I’ve managed to gather up enough interesting pieces of news to make a short one to commemorate the recently passed holiday. As always, Joseph Prescott reporting…

iHack

Reports came in over the Fourth of July holiday indicating that some hundreds of iTunes accounts had been hacked and charged for purchasing apps that the account holders did not purchase themselves. Apparently, an Apple application developer named Thuat Nguyen is responsible for the scam. A major indicator of this was that 42 out of the top 50 ranked e-book applications were all being sold by this Thuat Nguyen.

Now, Nguyen has been “removed” from iTunes, as well as all of his apps. Apple urges any iTunes account holders that have been affected to immediately change their iTunes passwords and contact their financial institution to see what can be done about canceling their credit cards. Happy iNdependence Day.

Parade Accident

In a more serious light a six-year old child was run over by a float during a 4th of July parade in Menan, Utah. The boy who was sitting on the back of a vehicle that was towing a float, apparently jumped off the vehicle and then fell under the float. The float then ran over the boy’s head. The child was hospitalized and underwent surgery, but as of now, the prognosis is looking very positive for the boy. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office reports that the boy had “no broken bones, and went into surgery, but came out okay. He has mostly lacerations.” Below is an actual photo from the incident:

I know I’m going to upset a lot of people with this next comment, but I only say it because the boy’s prognosis is looking positive. So, here we go:

The reports all indicate that the boy jumped from the float. It is also to be noted that he is wearing what appears to be a black spider-man costume. I could make a joke about Spidey-senses tingling, but that would be going too far.

Viagra Causes a Rise in…

This just in, studies indicate that men over 40 who are taking Viagra or other ED medications have a rate of three times as many Sexually Transmitted Diseases as their fellow men who are not.

The main reason seems to have little to do with Viagra itself and more to do with that fact that after a certain age, doctors stop talking to men about practicing safe sex, due to lower risk of pregnancy.

Um…yeah, what? Really? I mean, do older men actually think to themselves, “Well, that woman in the red dress across the bar is way past menopause, so I don’t need to wear a condom tonight. Just pop one of these blue pills and I’m good to do whatever I want.” Uhhh… Well, whatever raises your flag, sir. 

Personal Note from the Editor:

Here’s the first one of these to ever really make it into a News Flash, or any Present Times article for that matter. I just wanted to make a brief little note about our country and what it means to me. 

I’ve never really had too much pride in America until recently. It wasn’t anything personal. I just didn’t have any American Pride. I didn’t feel like I would be someone who would be like “Fight for my country? Sure! I love America!” but…well…time has changed me.

In America, we really do have a good life. We have a good country. And we have freedoms that a lot of other countries don’t have. And we have the good men and women of our United States military to thank for a lot of that. We live in a wonderful, beautiful, diverse, and unique country that has granted us a lot of freedoms and liberties that I am truly grateful for.

So, reflect back to the holiday weekend, and think about how you spent it. Whether it was watching fireworks on a grassy hilltop, or having a barbeque and swimming party in your backyard, or stuck at work, or even if you were across the ocean, in a far away country, sitting in a McDonalds because it was the most American place you could find, you were celebrating an amazing day for our country.

Happy (belated) Fourth of July!

Sincerely, 

Joseph L. Prescott

Present Times Editor and Writer

July 5, 2010

In this latest News Debriefing, I’ll briefly discuss the one and only Lady Gaga…

Reports are coming in: Lady GaGa has broken yet another record, this time in the facebook department. The music artist has set the new record of number of facebook fans for a living person at 10 Million strong. 

With 10,723,040 fans (as of 10:32 am today), Lady Gaga is the living person with the largest amount of facebook fans, even ousting President Barack Obama (9,844,935 fans). That’s Fame right there.

Lady Gaga’s only competition on facebook now comes from either dead people, or inanimate things. She is fifth place in fan number behind Texas Hold’em Poker (+20 Million), Michael Jackson (+14 Million), Mafia Wars (+12 Million) and Facebook (+11 Million). Lady Gaga has only recently surpassed Family Guy (currently at 10,698,282 fans).

So, here’s to you Lady Gaga and your incredibly odd outfits. 

So, for anyone else who wants to help Lady Gaga take over the facebook world, here is the link to her page: http://www.facebook.com/ladygaga?ref=ts

That’s all for now. Joseph Prescott signing out!

P.S. Can you guess which outfit I was going for?