Archives for May 2010

BodyRockers Album Review: BodyRockers

Posted on May 4, 2010 Written by ripitup

I never intended this blog to be the go-to site when it comes to album reviews. Sure you will find some new albums but let’s face it, my heart does belong to a lot of bands frm 70s/80s and 90s. I also don’t believe in fashion. Which means that if I like an album and if the album is good enough, the release date can’t matter less. And I have so much writing to do, trying to review everything I like. But hey, what better way to do this one album at a time?

Band: Bodyrockers

Album: Bodyrockers

Year: 2005

Reason for buying: I like the way

Company: Mercury Records

Most of the time, I can’t stand dance music. But I am addicted to rock. I even dance and exercise to rocknroll. But one band did a wonderful combination couldn’t resist. They brought together irresistible dance beats and played them on electric guitar and drums. They also have a perfect name: Bodyrockers. The first video made me rush to the store and buy the CD. And it is the only dance album I have and surprisingly, all songs rock and make you dance.

Songs List:

Handle on your face

I like the way

I wanna live

You got me singing

Round and round

Dirty

For one night only

Keep your boots on

New York City Girl

Dignity

Stuck in a rut.

Absolute Favorites: I Like The Way, Keep Your Boots On and New York City Girl

But I have to underline the fact that the whole album is really good. Recommended for dance and rock fans alike.

Valentine’s Day starring Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher and More

Posted on May 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

Valentine's Day starring Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah. There is a chance I missed some of the name. It is not my fault that the cast is so crowded. Image from: http://www.shockya.com/

I was so looking forward to this movie. I mean have you seen the cast? With the exception of Taylor Swift, the names are really impressive: Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Taylor Lautner, Shirley Mclaine…

But it is like director Gary Marshall (Pretty Woman, Frankie and Johnny, Runaway Bride) knew he would have an all-star cast so no effort or whatsoever has been put into the script. There are many intersecting stories and ordinary dialogue. Yes, it takes place on A Valentine’s Day but nothing interesting happens- either in the comic or romantic sense.

The stories? Well, it is more like a bunch of characters:

– Grandparents and their little grandchild in love and missing his mother and teenage granddaughter announcing she will have sex.

– A married, two-timing doctor (Patrick Dempsey) and his clueless girlfriend (Jennifer Garner)

– A nice guy working in the mailroom (Topher Grace) and his girlfriend ( Anne Hathaway)- who is secretly working as an adult phone entertainer. Yes, phone sex. And no, he doesn’t know about it.

– A PR professional who hates this day – Jessica Biel

– A football player whose future is in jeopardy- Eric Dane- oh, his PR gal is Jessica Biel.

– Two strangers on a plane- Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper

– Two high school kids in love- Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift- friends with the couple getting ready to have sex

– A flower shop owner- Ashton Kutcher- who just proposed to his girl friend (Jessica Alba). Unfortunately for him, she is not that eager. And, oh- he also is friends with Jennifer Garner’s character Julia- who is a school teacher, also the teacher of the lovesick grandkid

– An unhappy sports news guy-Jamie Foxx-given a Valentine’s Day assignment-trying to secure a sports gig, with the help of our PR girl Jessica Biel

2 hours with some fun moments. Watch it if you have no better alternatives or if you just wanna see a movie where almost everyone is pretty. 5.7/10 on imdb. 5/10 from me. But hey, I will recommend other films and TV shows with the cast members for you- their other projects that are either more fun, that have more soul or both. Click on the red to go to the reviews.

*Jessica Biel: The Illusionist. She is the co-star the Edward Norton in once cool period drama/romance/thriller/mystery

*Ashton Kutcher: Butterfly Effect, What Happens in Vegas, Just Married, My Boss’ Daughter.

*Jennifer Garner: Watch her TV show Alias. Amazing, kick-ass show with the right amount of romance, action, drama and comic-relief. But more action than anything. She is playing the same characters in her movies over and over again. Same goes for Ashton Kutcher obviously. But the movies I recommended above for him are either really gripping or really funny so who cares?

*Patrick Dempsey- Watch the first 2 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy or Made of Honor. Made of Honor is a typical romcom but at least its comedy part is actually funny

*Eric Dane: Marley and Me where he stars alongside Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. But if its about giving him screen time, he has been a regular on Grey’s Anatomy since season 3 or so.

* Taylor Lautner: Twilight, New Moon

* Bradley Cooper: He also stars in Alias alongside Jennifer Garner. But he also played in awesome comedies like Wedding Crashers and The Hangover. And if you want Cooper in a romcom that is worth seeing, see He’s Just Not That Into You.

*Julia Roberts: She has done many good movies. Start with Conspiracy Theory, if you want original action/thriller.

* Jessica Alba: The Sleeping Dictionary, Awake. And for mindless entertainment and eye candy for girls, watch Into The Blue where she stars opposite Paul Walker.

*Topher Grace: That 70’s Show, obviously- where you will also see a very funny Ashton Kutcher. And please check out the solid comedy/drama In Good Company where he stars opposite Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson.

* Anne Hataway: Becoming Jane

*Jamie Foxx: Law Abiding Citizen

Chuck

Posted on May 1, 2010 Written by ripitup

Chuck starring Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski. Image from: http://www.22dakika.org

Chuck is in its 3^rd season and my feelings for the show have not changed. I like half of it, and I can rarely stand the other half. I like the whole secret agents, gears, spies storyline. The nerdy friends and bosses of Chuck? Not so much.

Well, let me introduce the show a little bit.

Chuck (Zachary Levi) is a smart, nice, cute and a little nerdy guy who works at an electronics store. His best friend is the really geeky and socially disgraceful Morgan. Two other guys who are supposed to form the rest of the “gang” are even worse than Morgan (Joshua Gomez) but one of them thinks he is super cool. Well, Chuck could have done much better for himself, had he not been kicked out of Stanford. Now he lives with his older doctor sister Ellie (Sarah Lancester) and her “awesome” doctor boyfriend Devon (Ryan McPartlin). His stable and not so interesting life changes when an old friend college friend sends him something. Because of that thing he really wasn’t supposed to see, his mind is filled with confidential CIA intel. Two CIA agents are assigned to his case: John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski). So Chuck becomes-albeit unwillingly) an important asset for his country and these two agents. A true pro, poker-faced John is impatient and unwilling to “hang around” with Chuck. But Sarah and Chuck develop feeling for each other. The covers? Chuck keeps his day job, John Casey starts “working” at the same store as Chuck and Sarah poses as Chuck’s girlfriend.

The concept is really fun. An ordinary guy tries to keep his secret identity secret from his sister and best friends, tries to keep his feelings in check for Sarah, tries not to panic during real operations and tries to get rid of the shock. The action and the comedy coming from Chuck being a total anti-hero is really fun. The other supposedly funny elements such as his co-workers and their relationships end up being boring or annoying or both. Too much time is spent there. So what could have easily become the show to look forward to, becomes an alternative pastime activity if there is nothing else to watch.

It has really good episodes, but most lose its charm due to the elements I counted.Other than that, casting is pretty ok. I previously watched Zachary Levi on the tv show Less Than Perfect. He played a pretentious snob really well and it is quite enjoyable to watch him as this genuinely nice guy. Adam Baldwin is perfect at his role, Yvonne Strahovski is really gorgeous and she really fits her part. “Awesome” Devon is a hunky yet dull character and handled well by Ryan McPartlin. In fact, it is handled too well. I can’t help but think if he is that square in real life. If Chuck gets cancelled, I won’t celebrate but I won’t really miss it either. I hope they give it a make-over with the Morgan storyline.

Chuck starring Sarah Lancester, Adam Baldwin, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez — Chuck Cast, from left: Sarah Lancester, Adam Baldwin, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez. Image from: http://www.dizidizi.net

Chuck, Sarah Lancester and Ryan McPartlin — Sarah Lancester and Ryan McPartlin at a Chuck event.

That’s all I need to say for Chuck. If you want to check out the other TV shows I covered on the blog, here’s the list.