Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

September 20, 2006 at 9:01 pm (A mute character, Child beauty queens, corpse hiding, dance number, Dramedy, gay character)

Abigail Breslin …. Olive Hoover
Greg Kinnear …. Richard Hoover
Paul Dano …. Dwayne Hoover
Alan Arkin …. Grandpa Edwin Hoover
Toni Collette …. Sheryl Hoover
Steve Carell …. Frank Hoover
Bryan Cranston …. Stan Grossman
Marc Turtletaub …. Doctor #1
Beth Grant …. Pageant Official Jenkins
Jill Talley …. Cindy
Brenda Canela …. Diner Waitress
Julio Oscar Mechoso …. Mechanic
Chuck Loring …. Convenience Store Proprietor
Justin Shilton …. Josh
Robert O’Connor …. Pagent Judge #1

Tagline: Where’s Olive?

Memorable quote:  Frank: Frederick Nietzsche? You stopped talking because of Frederick Nietzsche? Far out.

Little Miss Sunshine is an emsemble movie about Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear), an ambitious, yet crappy motivational speak, his wife Sheryl Hoover (Toni Collette), the character who tries to keep everyone together, even when it seems hopeless, Frank, Sheryl’s recently released from the psych ward brother.  Frank is gay, he fell in love with a grad student and was rejected, which sparked a serious of events which resulted in his attempting to commit suicide. Grandpa Hoover is a foul mouthed old man whom was recently kicked out his nursing home for doing drugs.  Dwayne Hoover is the son of Richard and Sheryl, who isn’t talking until he is allowed to enter flight school.  He hates everyone.  everyone.  And then, there is Olive Hoover.  Olive wants to be Miss America.  Olive the runner up contestant for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.  When the original contestant can’t make it, Olive bursts with excitement to find out that she is up for the contest and everyone is along for the trip to California in a VW Bus.

Everything seems wonderful, well, okay at the beginning. Yeah, everyone is crammed in a bus. Yes, it is hot. Yes, they are going to have to drive for hours and hours to make it to California on time.  However, it is tolerable.  Even though Richard is constantly edgy and critical, pushing Olive to think of winning as the only possible option, even critcizing her for eating ice cream, because she might get fat.

Things begin to go awry with the van.  The gears are fuckt.  There is no way to get the van into first.  So, the solution?  Push the van until it is going fast enough to start it in third. That entails parking on a hill, everyone pushing the van, and then jumping in.  Words don’t do the visual justice.

Frank runs into his infatuation at a gas station and is forced to hide while the grad student and his new lover turn to look at him in the gas station.  Frank is completely crushed after this incident.

Richard cannot get into contact with a fellow businessman who was to help jumpstart his idea.  He rides a moped all the way to where the gentlemen is to confront him.

After Grandpa goes over Olive’s routine the night before the pageant, an unforeseen event occurs and a sudden grim tone overtakes the film.  How will the family still get to the Little Miss Sunshine contest?

They manage to work with the situation and continue onward towards California, when Dwayne learns that he may not be able to attain his dream and becomes extremely upset. This is yet another obstacle that the family must overcome.

After one hell of an trip, the family manages to make it to the pageant in the nick of time. Olive’s performance is amazing!!!

First thing first: the acting. Superb.  Steve Carrell was amazing. I believed his character. Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin as the results of a completed screwed upbringing were wonderful. Grandpa brings much comic relief and Greg Kinnear, though I usually think he sucks, did a wonderful job as an overbearing prick.

Secondly: The humor.  This film is so funny on many levels. I laughed throughout the entire thing.  It was so hilarious.

Thirdly: I was sad.  You could feel the character’s pain. Steve Carrell and Paul Dano especially.  It was an unbelievable sadness.

The beauty of this movie is that it is nothing but your average, screwed up family, hanging onto a little girl’s dream as each one of their dreams is systematically fucked with and broken apart on the journey.  The whole event seems to be a catharsis for everyone, however.  I recommend this movie, for the richness of the layers and the humor that it provides to the audience.

Overall grade: A-

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Brothers of the Head (2005)

September 17, 2006 at 10:08 am (1970s punk music, Book Preceeded, Conjoined Twins, Mockumentary)

Harry Treadaway …. Tom Howe
Luke Treadaway …. Barry Howe
Bryan Dick …. Paul Day in 1970’s
Sean Harris …. Nick Sidney
Jonathan Pryce …. Henry Couling
John Simm …. Boatman
Ken Russell …. Himself
Brian Aldiss …. James Greene
Elizabeth Rider …. Roberta Howe
Luke Wagner …. Young Zak
Anna Nygh …. Zak’s Mum/Rita Bedderwick
Howard Attfield …. Zak Bedderwick
Edward Hogg …. Chris Dervish (as Ed Hogg)
Nicholas Millard …. Tubs
Ken Bones …. Henry Couling

Tagline: From some people… Rock & Roll was always a freak show.

Brothers of the Head is a mockumentary about conjoined twins Barry and Tom Howe who become rockstars in the 1970s.  I’ll give you a minute to digest that…………….

Are you okay with that?

Okay, good.

So, the brothers are conjoined around the midsection/chest area. They are sent? to a castle in England to learn about music and become rock stars.  Tom, the more docile twin, is taught to play the guitar, while Barry, the more abrasive, explosive of the two is the lead singer. Their group is called The Bang Bang and they travel around, becoming a huge punk sensation.

This is a movie within in a movie. The actual movie is a retrospective on a documentary done about the Howe brothers in the 70s. Present day characters often talk about what it was like with the Howe brothers 30 years prior, while most of the time, you are seeing the “documentary” that was made.  The brothers are followed, relentlessly, to the point of them being filmed while attempting to bathe.  They are watched while rehearsing, sleeping, playing, fighting, and when they are trying to be alone, from the eyes of the world.  Over the course of the film, you really begin to pity them, as they are praised more for their sideshow freakishness then for their value as human beings.

While at the castle, Laura Ashworth enters the scene.  She comes to observe the men, as she is there to gather information that is she writing in an academic journal about the exploitation of the disabled. Barry is very rude to her, and this only escalates after she and Tom fall in love.  Barry is forced to be privy to their sexual acts.

The relationship begins to get very intense, just as their band begins to get very popular.  In conjunction with the pressure of the success of the band and the relationship with Laura, the twins, especially Barry, begin to drink heavily, use drugs heavily, and their relationship turns more distant and violent.

A letter to a doctor regarding the possible separation of the twins ends Tom’s relationship with Laura and the movie spirals downward from there.  Barry is injured at one of the gigs and they are both forced to go home so that they can be taken care of.  The last fifteen minutes of the movie are so grim. I normally don’t divulge endings, but the Howe brothers die. That is all I will say.  There are more details in the film, so I will leave it at that.  This is really not a secret, as the tone of the entire film is that they are dead.

The concept of this movie, conjoined twin rock stars, great idea. Very fresh. Who in the hell would have thought of such a thing.  The film work is very experimental and the movie is very artsy at times, which is also fresh.

The execution of this movie could have been so much better.  The Howe brothers did an excellent job of acting.  Very believable. Here is my main objection: I never really knew anything about the Howe brothers.  They are observed from far far away.  I believe that was the point of the film.  However, in order to truly empathize with a character, it does help if the audience is allowed to delve deeper into who the observed is as a person.  Everything is very surface in this movie.

The movie is also slow in parts and doesn’t sustain the focus on anything long enough for you to truly absorb it.

I recommend a watch as an exercise in experimentation, but I will you know now, you will probably walk away dissatisfied.

Ingenuity: A-
Execution: D
Overall: C

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Everything is Illuminated (2005)

July 5, 2006 at 9:59 pm (Book Preceeded, Dramedy, Historical Content, Use of the phrase "premium penis")

Eugene Hutz …. Alex
Elijah Wood …. Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer …. Leaf Blower
Jana Hrabetova …. Jonathan’s Grandmother
Stephen Samudovsky …. Jonathan’s Grandfather Safran (as Stepan Samudovsky)
Ljubomir Dezera …. Young Jonathan
Oleksandr Choroshko …. Alexander Perchov, Father
Gil Kazimirov …. Igor
Zuzana Hodkova …. Alex’s Mother
Mikki …. Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
Boris Leskin …. Grandfather

Memorable quote:
Alex: Make sure to secure the door when I am gone. There are many dangerous people who wanna take things from Americans, and also kidnap them. Good night!

Jonathan is an American Jew with a particular prediliction for preserving items in Ziploc bags. In order to avoid forgetting, he picks up an object, in the moment, and preserves it in a Ziploc bag as a reminder of his experiences.

Just before his grandmother dies, she gives him an item that belonged to a woman that saved his grandfather during WW II. Jonathan decides to make it his mission to find the woman. In order to do this, he must fly to the Ukraine, where his family was from orginally.

Before Jonathan arrives, we are introduced to Alex. He is “carnal with many women because he is a premium dancer.” His father runs tours for Jewish people wishing to return to the Ukraine to see where their ancestors died during the war. Alex’s gruff grandfather is to be Jonathan’s driver and Alex, with his small knowledge of the English language, will be the translator. Grandfather refuses to drive without his “seeing eye bitch”.

Grandfather and Alex retrieve Jonathan from the airport and they are off. The are in search of a small town that may no longer exist. The movie chronicles their search for this town. They are able to stumble upon the “town” and Jonathan meets his “archiving” match in the town. He is also able to discover the past concerning his grandfather and the woman that saved his life. Alex’s life takes a twist at the end as well.

The scenery is wonderful and the music, though in Russian, I truly enjoyed. It definitely helped to add to the mood of the film. Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz (Alex) had excellent chemistry in this movie. I found the character of Alex to be completely captivating. This movie made me laugh and cry. Not in that corny way either. The twist at the end is something unexpected. Alex’s explanation of how he sees everything is very interesting at the end. This movie is so much better and completely different than I would have ever expected. I can see how some would perceive that it is slow in parts. However, I believe that wanting constant, instant gratification in film is stupid. This is NOT that kind of movie.

I’ve read that the book is excellent as well, but far different from the movie.

I recommend watching the special features as well, if nothing else, but to understand why the scenes were cut from the movie.

Overall grade: B+

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Nacho Libre (2006)

June 28, 2006 at 11:28 pm (Jack Black, Movies about Orphans)

Jack Black …. Nacho
Ana de la Reguera …. Sister Encarnación
Héctor Jiménez …. Esqueleto
Darius Rose …. Chancho
Moises Arias …. Juan Pablo
Eduardo Gómez …. Chuy
Carlos Maycotte …. Segundo Nuñez
Richard Montoya …. Guillermo
Cesar Gonzalez …. Ramses
Rafael Montalvo …. Elderly Monk
Julio Sandoval …. Snaggle Tooth Monk
Enrique Muñoz …. Señor Ramon
Carla Jimenez …. Candidia
Agustín Rey …. Galindo #1
Troy Gentile …. Young Nacho

Memorable quote:  Precious Father, why have you given me this desire to wrestle and then made me such a stinky warrior?

Jack Black is an orphan, who himself becomes a priest and also a cook.  He cooks at the monastery, but has very little money to create truly delicious meals for the priests and children.  He decides to become a wrestler so that he can both create truly delicious meals for the children and impress the new Sister, for whom he has a crush on.

He begins to make money with the aid of a homeless man that he finds.  They are a tag team match and soon he is making delicious meals for the monastery.  However, he must keep his wrestling a secret or the monastery will shame him.  Leading his double life, he moves through the ranks and finally is able to fight the most powerful wrestler in Mexico.

There are some truly hilarious parts in this movie.  There are some parts of this movie that drag, drag, drag.  There are parts that try to be funny and it simply does not work.  The plot meanders.  I loved Napoleon Dynamite and it meandered and I LOVED it. This meanders and all I could think was, “Make a point already.” ND made a point.  You understood it on a gut level.  You loved the characters.  Nacho Libre fails to do this and I was, unfortunately, disappointed.  Especially, since I truly wanted to love this movie.

Sadly: C- *wait for the DVD*

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Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (2006)

June 13, 2006 at 8:36 pm (Superior Films)

Jake Gyllenhaal …. Donnie Darko
Holmes Osborne …. Eddie Darko
Maggie Gyllenhaal …. Elizabeth Darko
Daveigh Chase …. Samantha Darko
Mary McDonnell …. Mrs. Rose Darko
James Duval …. Frank
Arthur Taxier …. Dr. Fisher
Patrick Swayze …. Jim Cunningham
Mark Hoffman …. Police Officer
David St. James …. Bob Garland
Tom Tangen …. Man in Red Jogging Suit
Jazzie Mahannah …. Joanie James
Jolene Purdy …. Cherita Chen
Stuart Stone …. Ronald Fisher
Gary Lundy …. Sean Smith

Memorable quotes:

Donnie: Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?
Frank: Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Dr. Lilian Thurman: What did Roberta Sparrow say to you?
Donnie: She said "Every living creature on earth dies alone".

As a person who liked this movie from the first time I saw it, and continue to enjoy it no matter how many times I've seen it, I'm a bit biased.  It also stands to reason that I would go out and purchase the director's cut when it became available.

If you were to ask anyone who has seen this movie what the story is, I'm sure you would get different answers.  Some would say it is the story of a psychotic teenager rebelling against ridiculous adults in his suburban world.  Others would say it is the story of time travel or still others might venture to call it a love story.  The director, Richard Kelly, stated that the film is about navigating through the unknown. Maybe a tale of destiny. It could possibly be the complete fabrication of one of the character's minds. Donnie Darko might be a metaphor for Jesus, sacrificing himself for the good of the world. That is why I love this movie.

The movie is set in 1988. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the middle of a highway with his bicycle next to him.  He gets back on the bike and pedals, to "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS (one of the only INXS songs I ever liked). This is different from the original cut, which opens with Donnie biking to "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen. I like both songs and both contain lyrics relevant to the movie, but something about that INXS song has always gotten to me.  We soon learn that he has mental issues and is currently not taking his medication, which creates tension between Donnie and his parents.

Later than evening, Donnie is summoned from his bed by a tall, frightening bunny rabbit.  The rabbit informs him that there are less than 30 days left until the end of the world.  While he was out, a jet engine has fallen upon his bed, where he would have been sleeping.  The FAA has no idea where the engine came from and the Darkos are sent to stay in a hotel.

Donnie begins experiencing strange events, including more encounters with Frank (the rabbit).  Donnie's daily life begins to unfold and you see that he is a lonely, confused teenager struggling to understand himself, his place in the world, and the confirmation of a god. In his struggles, he befriends Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone), a new student who is hiding from a past. 

He begins committing illegal acts at the direction of Frank. Donnie also begins to contemplate time travel and discusses his thoughts with a science teacher (Noah Wyle), who reveals to Donnie that Roberta Sparrow (a crazy old lady referred to as "Grandma Death" by the local teens) was once a nun, who left the church, wrote a book about time travel, and began teaching science many years before at that school. Donnie begans reading the book and notices that he is experiencing many similiarities between himself and the feelings described in the book.  Donnie's acts begin peeling back the lies on some local people, prompting his mother to have to chaperone a dance competition for his younger sister.

With Donnie and his older sister Elizabeth (Maggie Gyllenhaal) alone in the house, they decide to throw a Halloween party.  This becomes the crux of the film.  Things begin moving very quickly and the nightmares, hallucinations, and encounters with Frank all come together within the last half hour of the film.

I, of course, give this cut the same high kudos that I give the original cut.  The score and soundtrack are both phenomenal.  The score gives such depth to the characters and the lyrics in the soundtrack are amazingly, quite in sync with the themes in the movie. 

The acting is fantastic.  This was the first movie that I saw Gyllenhaal in and I found his portrayal of Donnie completely real.  Everything about the characters in this movie is completely genuine.  You cannot help but be completely swept away in their emotion, as many of us have felt the same way as these characters. 

On the positive side of this cut, more information is given regarding the time travel aspect of this film. I had to watch the original cut twice to even completely comprehend everything.  There are so many nuances in this movie, that I am amazed at how many times I can watch this movie and catch a subtlety that I may have missed in previous viewings.

On the negative side, its a two DVD set, so you're expecting alot. The second DVD really doesn't offer much, except a glimpse into the minds of some over obsessed fans.  I do recommend watch the "#1 fan Darkomentary", however. I'm not sure if he is joking or nuts.  Please someone else watch it and let me know you're thoughts.

Overall Grade: A 

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Over the Hedge (2006)

June 11, 2006 at 9:45 pm (Cartoonies)

Bruce Willis …. RJ (voice)
Garry Shandling …. Verne (voice)
Steve Carell …. Hammy (voice)
Wanda Sykes …. Stella (voice)
William Shatner …. Ozzie (voice)
Nick Nolte …. Vincent (voice)
Thomas Haden Church …. Dwayne (voice)
Allison Janney …. Gladys (voice)
Eugene Levy …. Lou (voice)
Catherine O'Hara …. Penny (voice)
Avril Lavigne …. Heather (voice)
Omid Djalili …. Tiger (voice)
Sami Kirkpatrick …. Bucky (voice)
Shane Baumel …. Spike (voice)
Madison Davenport …. Quillo (voice)

Memorable quotes:

Tiger (the cat): "My father's face was so flat that he could barely breathe."

Dwayne: [after shooting the head off a plastic flamingo] "Arrrgh! Not again! Those things are so lifelike! Curse you, plastic moldsmen."
After a rained out attempt at the Shakespeare Festival, I ended up at the movies. Well, there was not much to choose from. So, I opted for Over the Hedge, the recent multi animal concotion by Dreamworks.

I expected very little going in. It seems with the popularity of Shrek (an excellent film), there have been a number of recent animation movies with talking animals and I honestly can barely tell one from another. It only seemed worse once I saw four (4) previews for animated movies before the film.

This is the tale of RJ, a raccoon (Bruce Willis), who runs into a bit of a bind with a bear named Vincent (Nick Nolte). RJ must fix his mistake and has but one week to do so. He soon falls upon a family of different animals led by Verne the turtle (Garry Shandling). RJ promises to make the animals work of forraging for food all year long for the winter months a thing of the past. While the family of animals has slept, a hedge has been built dividing their home from a brand new subdivision. RJ teaches the group about the wonders of the human life and human food. Soon, the animals are aiding RJ in collecting food, despite the protests of Verne, the safe leader. Once the animals' presence is known, the president of the neighborhood association (Alison Janney) is devising a plan to dispose the suburban bliss of the nasty vermin.

I really enjoyed the film. There were some total laugh at loud moments. One in the beginning was when RJ is attempting to get a bag of nacho chips from a vending machine and enlists the aid of a "grabber" that he has in his little golf bag. I laughed for a good five minutes on that one. Thomas Haden Church is hilarious as the exterminator Dwayne and Steven Carrell is a total stitch as Hammy. The movie's explanation of humans is so spot on, that its scary. I think that the film is making a small political statement about how humans behave and after how the animals behave after getting a taste of the human's food. If you have children, I highly recommend. You will all enjoy it.
There are some animation movies superior and I will see some of the movies that I saw on the previews.

Overall grade: B-

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The Stuff (1985)

May 30, 2006 at 12:25 am (Childhood Classic)

Michael Moriarty …. David 'Mo' Rutherford
Andrea Marcovicci …. Nicole
Garrett Morris …. 'Chocolate Chip' Charlie W. Hobbs
Paul Sorvino …. Colonel Malcolm Grommett Spears
Scott Bloom …. Jason
Danny Aiello …. Vickers
Patrick O'Neal …. Fletcher
James Dixon …. Postman
Alexander Scourby …. Evans
Russell Nype …. Richards
Gene O'Neill …. Scientist
Catherine Schultz …. Waitress
James Dukas …. Gas Attendant
Peter Hock …. Miner
Colette Blonigan ….

Jason's Mother

Read the rest of this entry »

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I promise to finally be consistent on this site.

May 29, 2006 at 10:21 pm (Uncategorized)

Please be patient, for I am not always consistent.

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SubUrbia

May 16, 2006 at 9:46 pm (Uncategorized)

1996

Screenplay written by Eric Bogosion

Directed by Richard Linklater

Cast:

Jeff…………Giovanni Ribisi

Tim………….Nicky Katt

Pony………..Jayce Bartok

Sooze………..Amie Carie

Buff…………..Steve Zahn

Bee Bee……..Dina Spybey

Nazeer Choudhury……….Ajay Naidu

Pakeesa Choudhury………Samia Shoaib

Erica………………Parker Posey

Memorable Quotes:

So you and I can fuck while your parents are out having dinner at the Sizzler? What are we doing, Jeff? You and me?

Jeff: Go home. Stop Drinking. Go home and sleep it off.

Tim: Sleep what off? What should I sleep off, Jeff? My life? I should go home and go to sleep and when I wake up, what will I be? A pilot? An olympian? Maybe a rock star? I don't think so.

SubUrbia is tale of five suburban youth in their early twenties struggling to find direction.

The main character is Jeff (the philosopher), who is a lost twenty something, living in a pup tent in his parents' garage. Jeff is dating Sooze, an aspiring artist, who is trying to move to New York, much to the dismay of Jeff. They hang out by the Circle A and drink beer with Buff, a drunk spazz who mostly makes up lies about sexual escapades and provides ridiculous comic relief. In stark contrast to the carefree, simple Buff is the cynical Tim, an honorably discharged veteran drunk who cuts each character to shreds with his keen ability to find every character's weakness. His acute understanding of people is both accurate and cruel. He inflicts his hatred on the Pakistani owners of the Circle A by shouting racial slurs every chance he can. Bee Bee has a more minor role in the movie as a fresh out rehab friend of Sooze who is having a hard time dealing with reality.

The movie centers around the return of "Pony", a friend of the group who has left their town of Burnfield and become a rockstar. Pony meets up with the gang at "the corner", with his manager Erica, in tow. Pony tells them of his famous lifestyle, which he claims is a bore and later sings a song about being the "man invisible". Sooze and Pony become completely engrossed in each other and after Jeff becomes suddenly angry during Pony's impromptu concert, they all decide to take a ride in the limo to eat, while Erica and Tim stay behind on the corner.

Erica stays behind to seduce Tim and the limo ride provides several different twists and turns in the story, including Jeff eventually abandoning the group out of frusteration.

I do not wish to divulge too much, as the movie has several changes in the storyline beyond this point in the movie. I will be honest, the movie is dark and it is all dialogue, baby. The story of five lost people, who waste their lives through drunking and bitching is harsh. Nazeer and Pakeesa are the epitome of the American Dream and they are constantly harassed by these aimless youth who are wasting their lives.

Pros: I can relate to this movie. I know people like this. The dialogue, though sometimes contrived, can be very real at times. Richard Linklater did an excellent job directing this movie and the acting is excellent. Nicky Katt, seriously, is the perfect drunken bastard who feels entitled.

Cons: The movie is right at about 2 hours and does drag in parts. The movie is all dialogue and though the point of the movie is to depress the viewer, man, is it depressing. Though I can relate, it can still be hard to stomach.

Overall Grade: B

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Testes, Testes. One. Two. Three?

May 11, 2006 at 4:37 pm (Uncategorized)

So, this is my first or "test" post on this new blog.

I must tell you, I'm a movie whore. Seriously. I love it. I need to just get the damned Netflix and call it a day. I probably will as I have decided to embark on an actual blog in relationship to reviewing movies.

You may say, "Reviewmaven, do you review movies for a living?". I would say,"No". I do not review movies for a living. I do not make money doing this. I'm just another self important ass who wants to use the Information Superhighway as a venue to tell the entire world MY opinions about movies.

I will not being reviewing movies in any particular order. I may even review extremely old movies or movies from five years ago. Basically, any god damned movie I want. Do you have a problem with that, punk?

If you disagree or you agree, please, by all means, post a comment. Comments are liking getting a real letter in the mail. I get so excited, I pee a little, just like your Grandma's dog.

Nothing to review as of yet, but come back. I might have themes, I might make up a grading scale. I have to think about this and I was WAY too excited to think it through.

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