A Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2. A lot of my friends have complained that this movie doesn’t stand up to the first one. I agree, but on the otherhand, this movie is a great popcorn summer movie. If there were ten Best Picture nominations when Iron Man came out, it would have been in the running for one of those slots. Will this one be in the running? No, but on the other hand, for a popcorn summer movie this one does more than enough to get the job done.

Here are some of the popcorn action movies from the summer of 2009 that I saw: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers: Rise of the Fallen, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation and GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Is Iron Man 2 better than all of those movie? Yes. (Though I must admit many folks loved Star Trek while I was so so on it so some folks who come across this blog might rank Star Trek higher.)

And who can’t love the cast. Robert Downey, Jr (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Mickey Rourke (Ivan Vanko/Whiplash), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer), Scarlett Johansson (Natalie/Black Widow), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan) and Don Cheadle (James Rhodey Rhodes).

Sam Rockwell was over-the-top as Justin Hammer and awesome for it. Scarlett Johansson was as sexy as can be. The fight scene where Natalie/Black Widow and Happy Hogan were trying to get to Ivan Vanko/Whiplash was hysterical.

A McDonalds Sign

While driving down the 5S, I noticed a truck hauling a McDonalds sign to its new home. Don't see that very often.

Television TV series: some good-byes

It is so sad. With the releases of next season’s network television schedules, I’ve learned that ‘Heroes’ and ‘Flash Forward’ have been cancelled. Also, I already knew that ‘Lost’ and ‘24’ were gone. I guess that leave me with just ‘V,’ ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Fringe,’ and ‘Caprica.’ And as for ‘V,’ I’ve learned it’ll be a mid-season replacement.

I’ll either have a lot more free time later this year or I’ll need to find a couple gems among the new series.

The Shakers at Kibitz

Mercy, I hadn't seen The Shakers in awhile so I trucked on over to Kibitz to catch their set. They had the crowd dancing. A guy who looked to be in his 70s was dancing with a couple of the younger ladies in the crowd. He wore two watches, which was interesting. For someone who walked with a cane, he had some moves.

Jodie was showing support for one of my favorite bands, The Mulhollands. Check out the photos for proof.

Non Ultra Joy at El Cid

I headed out to El Cid for a Rob Z night. Non Ultra Joy was playing. This was the first time I've seen this band. They really rocked the night. Two of the guys switched off between bass and guitar -- as well as different sides of the stage.

Jail Weddings and The Like at The Echo

First off, my editor over at intraffik.com wasn't able to secure me a photo pass for The Echo (which requires one) so unfortunately no photos for the night.

Anyways, it was off to catch Jail Weddings and The Like at The Echo.

I got there around 10 p.m. It was already getting crowded. One of my friends was supposed to meet me at The Echo. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to get into the venue.

Jail Weddings went on shortly after 10 p.m. It doesn't take long for the lead singer to engage the audience. The band got it going from the start though they did have some technical difficulties with the lead singer's microphone that slowed down the set just briefly. At one point, I noticed that the lead singer had left the stage, drinking some water while the rest of the band led the way.

Comment one of the night from Jail Weddings: I'd like to ask the band and you, who is insanely depressed at the moment.

Not me, I say, because I was getting to see Jail Weddings.

Comment two of the night from Jail Weddings: This song goes out to the guy who changed the 'L' to 'D' on all the Like posters on Sunset.

Jail Weddings ended their set with the lead singer going down into the audience and starting a mosh pit.

My friend showed up just in time to catch the last couple songs of Jail Weddings. We then waited for The Like as the venue started to get even more crowded. The Like has been around for awhile, I was told by my friend, but this was the first time I was seeing them. This is an all chick band though the lead singer had a broken left arm (sprained???) and so she mentioned: We're having a boy on stage for the first time in nine years. (A friend was taking over guitar duties.)

This band has pop sensibilities with a lead singer who has a very bubbly personality. They'll be playing at Silverlake Jubilee. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch their set and post some photos up on a future blog.

And as we were leaving, we noticed a line of folks waiting to get inside. Yes indeed, The Echo was packed.

The One Mile Radius Project

It was off on a walk to the Fountain Community Garden.

We walked pass Grant School. If you look carefully into the doorway, you'll see some sleeping bags.




A Christian church.



Looking at the 101 Freeway.



Here are some shots of the community garden.







There is a small art district on one of the streets.



I found the following two photos interesting. On one side of the street you have a rather old apartment complex. On the other side is an apartment complex that was advertising a rooftop pool.






We stopped off at the Casablanca Coffee Lounge.

A Couple Random Sunday Events

Comment heard at the mall: I was trying to be nice, but you were being such a bitch.

The Census Workers are out in force. I saw one in my apartment complex and another while walking in the neighborhood.

I went to Fresh & Easy to use my $5 coupon. It was probably the most busiest I've seen at Fresh & Easy.

Ashes Divide and Sweethead at Spaceland

It was off to see Ashes Divide and Sweethead at Spaceland. I try to make it out to a Monday night at Spaceland once a month.

The first band up was Ashes Divide. It was actually a long wait to hear Ashes Divide. I got to Spaceland at around 9:50 p.m. and they didn't go on stage till 10:30-ish. Initially, I was getting a bit irritated, but then as Spaceland started to fill up and folks began to press towards the stage I found myself getting excited by the vibe. When they finally got on stage, I enjoyed every minute of their set. Anyways, one thing I was watching out for -- rather or not the lead singer would run into his bandmate. He came close a couple times. A guy in the crowd noticed the lead singer sweating it out so he put a water bottle on stage for him. The lead singer never took a swag so as soon as the band left the stage, the guy in the crowd walked over, "I may as well get my water back. I was trying to be helpful."

Next up the the residency band, Sweethead. The set up was all profession, roadies and all -- actually there were roadies for Ashes Divide. The set list was carefully taped to the floor. The nice set list didn't last long as there was a spill almost as soon as their set started. I think the lead singer likes to throw things. She tried to throw a balloon into the audience (that didn't work out very well, of course). And towards the end of the set it looked like she was considering tossing her microphone. She does hop in heels rather well.

Comment of the night (Sweethead lead singer): I was trying to have a drink, but I only have water."

Noticed: Sweethead had a small unicorn up on stage.

Over-all: A great night of music.


Ashes Divide







Sweethead

Move Rankings: Winter, Spring 2010

Here are my winter, spring movie rankings.

Forget playing in the snow, these movies will be so much more fun

Alice in Wonderland
Ghost Writer
Kick-Ass
The Runaways
Book of Eli
Daybreakers

It is raining, time to see a movie

Crazy Heart
Clash of the Titans
Shutter Island
She's Out of My League
The Yellow Handkerchief
Lovely Bones
Edge of Darkness
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Oops, mistake

Youth in Revolt
Twilight: New Moon

A Movie Review: Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass. This is one of those movies where you realize you're getting old. While I was watching the movie, a handful of audience members were oohing and aahing about a switchblade. Okay, enough about my aging self. What about the movie? There were moments that made me squeamish and think that this was a slightly inappropriate movie, but I couldn't help but enjoy this movie. Though the focus of this movie is Dave Lizewski /Kick-Ass (Aaron Johnson), I think the thrill of the movie is when there is a focus on Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and Damon Macready (Nicolas Cage). They bring the humor and inappropriateness that makes this movie a joy. It is a kick-ass movie.

Up on intraffik.com: Metric

I am up on intraffik.com with an article on Metric. Check it out.

That Noise, Socadia, Vanaprasta and Mulhollands at Club Moscow

It was off to Club Moscow to catch The Mulhollands. They were the last band of the night so I ended up catching four bands in total. The other bands being That Noise, Socadia, and Vanaprasta.

First off, I made some friends in line. We had a nice conversation.

We were then allowed inside where That Noise was already on stage. They had a camera guy there. The guy went on stage where he was taking photos from all angles. One of those angles was with the lead singer straddling over the camera guy who was lying on his back.

Socadia was next. They had to deal with a dead microphone. They dealt with it with ease.

The third band was Vanaprasta. They had the crowd going with a Cinco de Mayo scream. The crowd even carried the lead singer around for a few moments.

And then The Mulhollands, one of my favorite bands. They had a back-up singer for the night.


That Noise







Socadia







Vanaprasta





The Mulhollands

Sometimes you capture a photo like this . . .

Sarah Jeanette from The Mulhollands

Adam Stern and Aaron Roche at Hotel Cafe

I headed off to Hotel Cafe to catch Aaron Roche. One of my friends, Aaron Beaumont (singer-songwriter), is friends with Aaron Roche. I've meant to catch Aaron Roche for awhile now, but just never got around to it. And during the set I was like, "Wow, once again it has taken me way too long to catch this guy." Really great music, singer songwriter style that is pleasant to the ear.

I also caught a few songs from Adam Stern. A more rocking style that was just as catchy.

Adam Stern



Aaron Roche

Bleeding Livers, Swagger Sticks, King Cheetah and Mad Planet at Mr. T's Bowling

I headed off to Mr. T's Bowling on Saturday night where I caught Bleeding Livers, The Swagger Sticks, King Cheetah and Mad Planet.

This was the first time at Mr. T's Bowling in awhile. There was some redesign going on. Some extra room on the side of the stage was opened up.

I saw King Cheetah for the first time in awhile. I don't know if this in a permanent change, but they were a two piece band for the night.

Mad Planet includes two former members of Bang Sugar Bang.

Some fun night of music over-all.

Bleeding Livers





Swagger Sticks







King Cheetah







Mad Planet