By Eddy

Going into a George Clooney film is a bit of a gamble.  You really don’t know what you are going to get. 

Am I going to have some smarmy Ocean’s rip-off or big  budget block buster, am I going to have some kind of propaganda filled anti war film-(Syriana, Michael Clayton, Good Night, Good Luck) or a quirky weird performance (O’Brother Where Art Thou, Intolerable Cruelty).  Taking a look at his resume so far, I doubt anyone could have figured it out.  Unfortunately, the same could be said for his prospects of box office success. 

Watching the previews of the film on TV, I had a distinct feeling that this was going to quirky weird Clooney.  Of course, the title of the movie might have had a bit of an influence as well.  The movie is based on a book of the same name by Jon Ronson.  We learn first hand about the development of the so called "Jedi" warriors by the U.S. Army.  These "Jedi" use their training in various new age techniques to fight wars in a new way. 

 Clooney stars as Lyn Cassady on of these trained fighters and the most gifted to come out of the program.  Ewan McGregor is a down in the dumps small town reporter that happens across Clooney and is brought in the secret world of Psy-Ops.  Through flashbacks the audience is taken through the history of the New Earth Army created by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges). Whose revelation during the Vietnam War inspired him to find alternative ways to defeat the enemies resulting in the New Earth Army.  Concurrently we find McGregor and Clooney undertaking Clooney’s final mission for the now defunct group.

I found the movie to be kind of interesting.  It definitely is not for those who are into broad comedies, but rather fit in with more of the dark ironic comic styling of the Cohen brothers (of whom Clooney is certainly familiar with).  The most hilarious aspect of the movie is that it is basically a true story; the army really did most of this crap.  Of course, I am sure the movie had to crank up the volume regarding many of the characters and the hi-jinks that were actually perpetrated but most of it looked like it could have really happened.  The parts where when these groups were taking LSD and other mind altering drugs to reach higher levels of consciousness seemed pretty plausible considering that most of this research happened during the sixties and seventies. 

The performances by both Clooney and McGregor were pretty standard.  The only standout was Jeff Bridges who as Bill Django is the catalyst for all the wackiness that went on.  Playing a supporting roll is Kevin Spacey who provides a reliable but unremarkable performance as the Darth Vader of the movie.

On a more personal note, I found out that a good portion of the movie was filmed in Bayamon, Puerto Rico where my father grew up and where my grandmother and great grandmother still live.  I am hopeful that the filming provided the area’s residents with some jobs and security during these crazy economic times.

Like I said before, this isn’t a comedy for everyone.  While I found it funny I wasn’t tearing up with laughter.  But if you are fan of Clooney or McGregor you won’t be disappointed.  For you ladies out there, there is a butt shot in the movie of both Clooney or McGregor.  My mind blanked out when it happened so I am not sure if they were body doubles or not but for some of you out there that might be a reason to go see the film.  With that I am out. 

Till next time.

My Thoughts On Comic Con

by Eddy

As a Newbie to Comic Con I was really excited to experience The Con first hand.  Now that I am back to my Fortress of Solitude it dawned on me that I am just glad I survived it (To think that it wasn’t even the busiest day…that would be Saturday). 

So here are a couple of my thoughts on The Con.

*No Children allowed- not to say that children can’t go to Comic Con, I am just saying that it extremely difficult.  There are so many people, and it goes without saying that many of these people are fanatical.  Luckily Divina is an expert baby wrangler because it could have been much worse.  Right before opening, there was a huge pushing crowded chomping at the bit to get at the exhibits (and the free stuff) and it wasn’t like it was pizza faced teens dressed up as the Green Lantern or their World of Warcraft characters.  It was the grandma aged women who represented the greatest danger. They were pushing, pulling and yelling at security guards who were only trying to prevent anyone from being trampled.  It was definitely a tough environment to be in, so I felt bad for those parents who were pushing large baby carriages or those attendees in wheelchairs or crutches.

*The Costumed Attendants- Comic Con is known for the costumes worn by the attendees and this year was no different.  The day I went was Friday, Star Wars day, there were several different kinds of Princess Leias, Jedii, Han Solos and Storm troopers.  Like I mentioned before there were Green Lanterns, Deadpools, and various vampires, monsters and other heroes. While one costume didn’t stand out to me, I did happen to notice that there were a number of decent looking girls dressed to the nines for the event.  For most outsiders, I am sure they expect that most of the females there would fall in the butter face and butter body categories, but it looked like some of the hotties took this opportunity to open themselves to a little more alternative and very daring outfits.

*The Film studio exhibits-All the major studios were present with their latest offerings. Lucasarts Films was in full force with their Star Wars exhibits; though it was appropriate considering that it was Star Wars Day.  Paramount, Fox, Sony, Lion’s Gate, Disney and Warner Bros were also present and each had an impressive display of their latest movies and shows.  Heavily represented was AMC with the new show The Prisoner , Jesus Christ ie. James Caviezel was in attendance, I am really looking forward to checking the show out. In addition there were many other surprise appearances from stars which caused a number of rushes to various locations.  D and I were able to catch Ludacris roaming around the exhibits, though I wasn’t sure if he was there for something specific or if he just wanted to check everything out.  The craziest scene was at the Twilight area, where there was a huge line wrapped around the halls for the free memorabilia.  From what I heard from other attendants people were camping outside a couple of days before the comic con just to get in to see a preview of New Moon .  There were also a number of premiers such as a showing of Ninja Assassin that was screened in full.  I totally wish I could have been there to watch it.

*The Video Game exhibits- much like the studios the Video game companies were well represented.  Namco Bandai and Bandai America had a great set up with various flat screens with a number of game previews ready to be played by the masses,(see our posts on the Namco Bandai blogger party a couple of weeks back).  Especially exciting were the bags being given out by Bandai with various figures and coupons.  These were a hot commodity especially for the Dragon Ball Z fans.  Sega, Playstation, Sony Online Entertainment, EA and others were there.  I had a blast playing all the great games that they had to offer.  I could have stayed playing video games all day.

My final impression is that I had a great time and would definitely go again.  If I had more time I would have given in depth descriptions of all the games and movies that I played and saw and what I thought, but the post would be way too big.  In the end, I would definitely return, sans baby of course.  You can definitely count me in for the Comic Con 2010 in NYC. 

So you could not make it to Comic Con 2009, don’t worry, D and I put together two awesome Comic Con giveaways so two lucky DancingHotdogs Readers can be a part of it all.

Valued at $50 each bag includes Comic Con, LA Blogger Prom and AC Milan game (Blog posts to follow) stuff. 

See picture below.

Bandai bag, buttons, G4 show visor, AC Milan hat, AC Milan key chain, AC flag, Hungry Card Deck LA 2009, Computer Skin are just a few of the things in the bag.

There are several ways to enter and win!

• 1. Leave a comment telling us about your Comic Con experience.
• 2. Post a question about Comic Con.
• 3. Follow us on Twitter: @Dancinghotdogs and post a comment saying so.
• 4. Join our fan club on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dancing-Hot-Dogs/56791664427?ref=nf and post a comment saying so.

We will pick a winner on August 1, so start commenting and following us!