Andy Gapin

I don’t think I can think of a movie that had trailers portraying anything sillier and more ridiculous than Hamlet 2. So naturally, I was dying to see this.

There have been a lot of really good movies out this year. I can’t complain at all. So keep that in mind when I tell you that I can’t remember the last time that a movie came through for me like Hamlet 2 did. I’m not going to say that it was the best or funniest movie that I’ve ever seen, but it was exactly what I was hoping it would be in pretty much every way. It was completely ridiculous and over the top in all the best ways.

Steve Coogan has yet to let me down in anything and seeing him in the theater twice on consecutive weekends ruled. This dude really needs to get more attentions. The trailers made it seem like Amy Poehler was going to be a bigger character than she was, but I think it worked out better having her play a very minor role. She can be really funny, but she also can get real annoying, real fast. David Arquette’s movie appearances have seemed to drop off the face of the Earth for the past few years so I was really glad to see him in this. I’m hoping it sparks a small big screen comeback for him. Or at least more talk of Eight Legged Freaks. (What?!? Eight Legged Freaks was nothing short of amazing.)

I kind of have a few questions about the storyline, but I feel they are better left unanswered. When they finally get to the actual play scene, nothing else matters. Seriously, nothing. “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” is even funnier than the trailers would lead you to believe. Really, the only disappointment that I could have with this movie will be if they didn’t film the entire play for the DVD release.

Rating: A

I really wanted to see this movie when it was in theaters, but I had never gotten around to it. Once it came out, it seemed to fly under a lot of people’s radars and didn’t seem to get too much attention despite getting a few raving reviews here and there.

I was kind of expecting a lot from this movie in a smart comedy kind of way and I can’t help but feel a little let down by it. After Juno, I’ve been really all about Ellen Page after not really caring about her too much before that. I think she’s really cute and I like her disposition when she acts. She also exudes the feeling of her being a normal person instead of some egotistical Hollywood actress. She definitely was on top of her game for Smart People and was exceptionally cute even for playing a conservative, studies-too-much-and-has-no-friends conservative. So no qualms there.

Dennis Quaid played the overly full-of-himself, better-than-everyone-else college professor that isn’t happy with his life at all role a bit too well. Almost made me fear for what I may become in twenty years if I don’t stop hating everyone. I’m just hoping that not taking myself seriously at all will help offset that a little.

But overall, I feel like something just wasn’t there. It was a good movie that I would probably watch again and wouldn’t turn off if I was flipping through the TV and saw it on. The problem though is that it was just that, a good movie. Not a great movie. I can probably blame too high of expectations for this one, but I can’t really pick out what else I wanted from it. Maybe someone different casted for Dennis Quaid’s character’s girlfriend instead of Sarah Jessica Parker? She actually acted pretty well, but I just can’t stand her at all. In fact, I usually cringe when I see her.

Rating: C+

I got this guy from Threadless. I think it just may be my favorite music related t-shirt ever. It’s pretty simple, but clever at the same time.

As much as I always try to encourage listeners to call in requests, I think I actually hate it when the do. I find myself hoping that they request something we don’t have or that I can at least find a legit reason to not play their request. Last night, I had a listener request Coldplay which was fine and didn’t really disrupt any flow that I had going like requests normally do, but the song is like eight years long and I only have an hour on the air anymore to begin with.

Still, I’ll take this problem over the problem of feeling like no one is actually listening. It’s nice when you have a listener or two engage you in return for treating them to some awesome music. It’s great to know that someone is out there enjoying what you’re doing enough to pick up a phone and interact with you.

So I am pretty thankful that each week’s show is good for at least one or two calls/IMs from people who are listening.

I really liked the Wild Sweet Orange song that I played last night, but I was listening to the record this morning and was really turned off by all of the Christian lyrics. I don’t really care what people believe in when it comes to religion and nothing in the lyrics seemed preachy, but when every song has at least “god,” “Jesus,” or “pray” in it, it’s a bit much for me.

Source: 90.3 The Core

As I was leaving the radio station tonight after my show, I popped into the office to say bye to our Promotions Director and was very briefly talking to him about the stack of CDs that was sitting there waiting to be reviewed by the Music Director. While we were talking, I almost uttered the words “being MD is a thankless job,” but stopped myself before I did since I’m pretty sure that would have been the biggest lie I’ve ever said. Being MD at a college radio station can be one of the best jobs anyone could ever hope to have. You get tons and tons of free music, free shirts, stickers, and other crap from bands, free tickets to see bands, a badge for the CMJ Music Marathon and a whole ton more. Not to mention that your job is pretty much just to be a music snob and sit around listening to music and telling other people what music they should be playing. Plus, at my station, the MD usually has a ton of assistants to do all the tedious work and is involved in all of the decision making of how the station is run. It’s definitely just a “cool” and fun job and I think a lot of people look up to you when you’re the Music Director.

So that got off thinking about all of the crazy and fun times that I had in college and while I was MD. I really had a blast. I like to think that my life has yet to peak, but in hindsight, those were amazing times and somehow, I have some really impressive accomplishments to look back on and brag about. Back then, I had tons of stuff to deal with and plenty to complain about so I’m sure I didn’t fully realize how awesome it was, but I’m pretty sure that I remember thinking things were good.

This September will mark the first year that I won’t have a position at the radio station. It’s definitely a good thing and I probably came close to overstaying my welcome, considering that I graduated college three years ago. I wasn’t ready to give up all of it until about halfway through last year when I finally felt like my life outside the radio station was enough for me. Since then, I haven’t really looked back. I’ve been glad to have all the extra stress out of my life and the extra time on my hands, though I’m not sure where it goes. There are so many things that I see going on when I pop in each week to do my show that just cause me to think to myself “damn, I’m glad that’s not my problem anymore” or “I’m glad that I won’t have to deal with the consequences of that going wrong.” It’s kind of a liberating feeling, but at the same time I want to pass on everything that I learned so that the current and next generation at the station can build upon it rather than learn it all over again on their own like I did. But I know they wouldn’t listen because there were definitely people who tried to pass knowledge on to me and I refused to listen to them.

But anyway, back to the point, tonight was the first that I really felt sad about removing myself from all of the day to day stuff there. It’s really hard sometimes to let go of something that you not only contributed an asinine amount of your life to, but also became part of you. For a while in college, and for better or for worse, I’m pretty sure that I defined myself by being the Music Director at a college radio station.

While I’ve already mentioned that I don’t think my life has peaked, it is sad to know that some of the amazing times that I had at and because of the station are definitely well behind me.

I played this album a bunch on my show, but it just really hit me this week. I’ve gotten super hooked on it. The Bridges are pretty much a few cute girls and some dude doing what I would expect to happen if Zooey Deschanel and Eisley teamed up to do a country-pop album. And since I like Ms. Deschanel, Eisley and country-pop, I’m sold.

Also on the cute girl making music front, if you’re into ’90s alt-rock, New Brunswick area band Blindspot (though, I hear that name is going to change soon) just recorded a demo that can be heard on their MySpace page.

Claymation, zombies, and a hot chainsaw wielding French maid. What else could you ask for?

The plan was to go see Hamlet 2 last night, but since it’s only showing in limited locations until Wednesday, we decided to keep it in the Steve Coogan family and go see Tropic Thunder instead.

When I first heard about this flick a few months ago, I wanted to see it, but figured that it would end up being kind of eh so I wasn’t going to expect much. And after I didn’t see it when it first came out, I kind of started to lose some interest in it. I think it might have been because I heard some mixed reviews from people about it, but I’m really glad that I went to see it in the theater. I thought it was hilarious the entire way through.

Ben Stiller and Jack Black were kind of on par with themselves. I like both of them, but I don’t really think either of them have ever blown me away and neither of them are really capable of much outside of the standard roles that they get cast in. Though Robert Downy Jr was damn good. I think that between this and Iron Man, he has officially made one of the best comebacks of any actor ever. Seeing him doing black-face was pretty amazing and he really played the character perfectly. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him.

The fake trailers in the beginning of the movie were a perfect way to start things off a la Grindhouse, but it kind of made me wish that they’d actually make Satan’s Alley. And all of the cameos throughout the movie were awesome. Even though I had already known that Tom Cruise was in the movie, I actually took me a little while to pick up on it.

I found it kind of funny that no one really had any problems with the black-face, but the use of the word “retard” stirred up a lot of controversy. I’m not easily offended, in fact, there are only a couple of things that offend me. People who actually drink and drive making light of it and people being seriously intolerant of those that are different than them. Things that are very clearly satirical almost never offend me. That being said…calm the hell down. It was definitely a bit much and I am in no way going to say that people who did find it offensive are wrong, but come on, you gotta lighten up a bit. Satire isn’t supposed to give anyone a break. But my thoughts on all of that could be an entire serious of postings on their own.

Anyway, I just wish that I could remember all of the quotable lines.

Rating: B+

Here’s last night’s playlist for the show. It was a fun show musically and there’s a lot of really great music out right now. I didn’t even get to look at more than half the new stuff that came into the station in the last week.

Source: 90.3 The Core

This could be one of the best buddy movies of the entire year and best of all Pineapple Express doesn’t really try to pack in any silly love story like most movies do. I mean there is a love story and all, but this is a love story of completely heterosexual guy love with none of the wimpy kind of love (you know, the kind between a man and a woman). There are some clips in the trailers showing Seth Rogen and a girl, but don’t let that fool you, that story could be almost entirely scrapped without anyone even noticing.

As much as I love Seth Rogen’s charming obnoxiousness, he was totally shown up by James Franco’s loveable performance. And Pineapple Express pretty much solidifies the fact that Gary Cole should always be a bad guy. While he doesn’t quite approach Lumberg quality, you have to appreciate his ability to play an asshole without overdoing it.

There are a lot of great lines that are perfect for quoting, but I do have to knock the movie slightly for being such a stoner flick. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but I like movies that can be enjoyed to their fullest potential without having to get up every 38 seconds to find something to snack on.

Rating: B