Ananas

An uneven performance by the Leafs tonight, but good enough for the win. On a whole the Leafs were outperformed from the 2nd period to the start of overtime, but Belfour was good considering. Belak and Berg sucked ass, and Allison seemed off tonight, but the rest of the defensive core carried their weight and Lindros kicked ass as usual.

T'is a shame. They were hit and miss, but at their best the Tea Party were a great band. Their sound was unique, and on the somewhat glum landscape of often bland Canadian rock, they'll be missed. Why couldn't it have been Thornley instead?

He're I thought it was going to be something dated, like the news of "Goners" being greenlit. Instead, it was something slightly less dated. Funny nonetheless.

Belfour sucking at puck handling? Have you watched any of his other games?

The Longest Yard - 6/10 Fast moving and funny, "The Longest Yard" serves as a proper addition to the sports-film lexicon, even if it doesn't reinvent the wheel, or turn the wheel much for that matter. Like "The Replacements" before it, this Adam Sandler starring vehicle has taken a bankable star (formerly Keanu Reeves), given him a cast of talented supporting talents (formerly Jack Warden, Gene Hackman and Brooke Langton) and, as is so common with modern sports themed movies, borrowed heavily from the Burt Reynolds starring 1974 film "The Longest Yard". Only this time it's a remake, so the heavy lifting is not only acceptable, it's to be accepted. This 2005 reinterpretation doesn't carry the same gravitas as the original (the PG-13 rating might serve as a reasonable explanation for that), but the characters are effectively sympathetic, and we can really get behind their plight despite their obvious moral shortcomings. Some sequences fall flat, and the jokes aren't particularly sharp (or anything we haven't seen countless times in other Sandler comedies), but Adam Sandler is convincing as the bitter ex-NFLer, and Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, Bob Sapp and Terry Crews all endear themselves to the point that it's hard not to recommend despite it's obvious shortcomings. Thumbs up.

1. Toxicity 2. Mezmerize 3. Steal this Album! 4. System of a Down

If anyone was thinking of watching, all hell has broken loose in the Atlanta-Toronto game.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - 7.5/10 Although I've never actually watched any of the previous W&G efforts, I can honestly say that this about as involving as stop animation gets. These characters are some of the most lifelike as I've ever seen within the medium. Not only is this a great movie for the kids, but the infinite number of cultural references and jabs make it great for non-parents as well. Obviously it's the anti-"A History of Violence", but with such a witty screenplay and beautiful visuals, there's no lack of intrigue. While the voice acting can be a little underwhelming at some points, Peter Sallis is superb voicing the lead character. "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is a triumph for the whole family, and on par with the creators' last box office hit "Chicken Run". Thumbs up.

A History of Violence - 8/10 This is by some margin David Cronenberg's best film, and the first in a while to have a beautifully plotted storyline. Cronenberg can get lost in the subtext at times, but with this film we can follow along without being sidetracked in themes. Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello both give Oscar worthy performances. On the visual side of things, this is a beautiful looking film; there's not a dull shot throughout. A powerful score underlines some of the key sequences, and the final scene, which would have been dull and underwritten in any other filmmaker's hands, turns out to be a great dramatic point. It's brutally violent, and unlike Sin City, not sanitized slightly by the use of black and white cinematography, but that's the point; the contrast of the quiet mid-west and the brutality of mob life is what makes "A History of Violence" so intriguing. Thumbs up to the first "must see" film of Award Season.

Okay, the story according to a couple different online sources indicate that after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent bungled government reaction, Ben Harper recorded this song with the intention of including it on his upcoming album. However, the label refused to include it because of it's touchy subject matter and because of this, Harper has been sending it to people online telling them to "spread it like a bitch". So enjoy, hopefully, and if you link the song elsewhere then upload it to YouSendIt again so it doesn't go down. Anyway, the lyrics:

wait, you're a hockey fan you said? find your mistake in that quote.

If that's a good picture of Kou Shibasaki, then just don't see it. Kristen Bell on the other hand is sexy in a comfortable sort of way.

Amy Lee is meh, but Rachel Weisz is fucking gorgeous. I'm surprised by how little the quality has fallen off thus far, really decent picks thus far.