"Eagle Eye" is uneven but fun

My freelance review:

The new flick Eagle Eye, starring Shia LaBeouf, wants to be it all: a fast-paced, youthful political thriller complete with a message, amazing technical effects and awesome car chases. Oh, and a story that tugs every so often at your heartstrings and offers cutesy dialog during moments of extreme duress.

LaBeouf (fresh from the latest Indiana Jones flick) plays the twin brother of a recently-deceased government operative. He returns home from his brother's funeral only to find his apartment loaded with top-secret military weapons. A mysterious phone call sends him on a dangerous, prescribed run as a suspected terrorist. He's joined by a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) whose son has been kidnapped and whose actions are also being deliberately controlled.

Every move these two make is of the kind where the viewer's belief must not only suspended but completely thrown out the window. As our stars escape harm time after time, the surrounding violence and collateral damage is quite high, contributing to an uneven overall tone to the film.

Despite being about 20 minutes too long, there's still plenty of fun to be had with Eagle Eye, especially if you try not to think too hard about it. And this includes not thinking too hard about why they miscast Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton as an FBI agent. Someone like former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson would have fit the bill quite fine.

I have a feeling this will make for a great flick to catch on HBO some Saturday afternoon.

How we spend our days...

I received a wonderful little quotation book from my friend Amy for my birthday. It's called Enjoy the Journey. One of the quotes really jumps out at me:

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

—Annie Dillard

Boogaloo

Discovered a great place to eat last night -- it's Boogaloo, a restaurant with Caribbean flair located in Maplewood.

It's a relaxed atmosphere with very bar seats at the bar that hang from the ceiling and swing. There's also more traditional seating, both indoor and in a screened-in patio. My ginger mojito was quite tasty and the following tapas -- with Cuban, Creole and Caribbean influences -- tasted as good as they sound:

• New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp with a sweet potato biscuit 
  
• Jerk chicken wings and garlic coconut rundown sauce
  
• Crispy crab empanadas and mango-mustard mojo 
  
• Plantain tostones with goat cheese & roasted pepper mojo
  
• Brazil nut encrusted manchego cheese with romesco and chimichurri
  

And as a special bonus for my vegan friends: The plantain tostones and the following two tapas -- as well as a number of items on the dinner and sandwich menus -- can be prepared vegan upon request:

• Curried chickpea hummus and Jamaican buss-up-shut bread
  
• Flat bread with wild mushrooms, pepper rajas, goat cheese & crispy onions
  

Highly recommended!

Just call me Baretta Hockey Palin!

Track, Willow, Trig, Bristol, Piper... Afraid that all the cool Sarah Palin baby names have been taken? Fear not, for there is help, courtesy of The Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator.

Each of us can now find out what our names would be if we had been born to Sarah Palin.  Just enter in your first name.  Time Magazine calls it "as simple as moose pie."

Click here to find out your name, and feel free to share here.

Happy Autumn!

The first day of my favorite season of the year:

Arrrrr!

I just found out that today was International Talk Like A Pirate Day. With only 47 minutes left in the day, all I can say is this:

Arrrrr! Me aut to get dis added to me calendar for next year, matey.

Curvaceous

That is the word I use to describe the new iPod touch, having visited the Apple Store tonight after work. The iPhone 3G is also quite curvaceous. My first-generation iPhone used to seem curvaceous.

I suppose everything's relative. Including curves.

I want one in every color!

Let's Rock

Apple is holding a special product announcement event titled "Let's Rock" on Tuesday.  My predictions of what they'll announce:

• iPod shuffle:  More memory for the money. 2 GB at $49 and 4 GB at $69. Some new colors.
  
• New iPod nano:  The tall form factor returns with a sculpted body and a widescreen when viewed sideways. Lower price points; more memory; some new colors. $99 for 4 GB. $149 for 8 GB. $199 for 16 GB.
• New iPod touch:  More sculpted body; enhanced iPod interface; GPS now built-in; lower price points. $199 for 8 GB. $299 for 16 GB. $399 for 32 GB.
• iPod classic:  Price reductions: 80 GB is $229; 160 GB is $299.
• iTunes version 8: Many new features and user interface enhancements, including the Genius playlist that automatically suggests combinations of your songs that will play well together.
  
• iPhone software version 2.1:  Enhanced iPod interface.
• And one more thing:  The Beatles are now on iTunes.

See the comments on Tuesday evening to see how good my predictions were.

Chuck Norris facts

My nephew Bernie got a Chuck Norris t-shirt for his birthday from his cousin Jaime. There was no other birthday gift that got him so excited. So why is Chuck so popular again? It's all in the name of satire! (I feel very late to this party!)

"This is where the end of cancer begins."

As my friend Colin states on his blog, "If you’re breathing, you’ve probably been impacted by cancer -- moms, dads, kids, sibs, friends… some still here, some not."

A new charitable services fund, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), raises funds to put together "the best and the brightest minds in cancer research -- those on the edge of accomplishment -- investing in their projects and taking the bureaucratic obstacles out of their way."

I just donated in memory of my brother Jim and in honor of two cousins and a close friend who are currently battling cancer.

In SU2C's manifesto, they declare "this is where the end of cancer begins." May this be so!

Scooters for Obama

My dog Scooter, namesake of scoodog's blog, likes this button, available for purchase here. Special thanks to my friend Amy for the tip!