Bringing da Thunder

So 2008 is the biggest movie blockbuster summer to date. Hollywood is expecting a record 4 billion dollars in ticket sales. This pumped up from comic book sequels The Dark Knight & Hell Boy, and double dips to old franchises like Indiana Jones.

I've seen an unexpected number of movies this year. There is a theatre in the same complex as my hotel so it's pretty easy to catch a late show while i'm on the road. This summer held a lot of high expectations. Ironman really held up to its promise. One of my favourite comic book heroes as a kid, delivered a great summer movie. The retooled Incredible Hulk was incredibly not terrible either. Marvel is sewing the seeds to the biggest hero movie of all time by developing individual storylines that will eventually come together in the Avengers movie featuring Ironman, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America. The Avengers franchise ties together most of the Marvel Universe including Wolverine (new movie coming) and Spiderman. Maybe it is a move to counter the inevitable Justice League movie that can never seem to get off the ground.

Most other highly anticipated films could not say the same. Indiana was too far fetched and fell into the Lucas trap of blue screen effects over a solid cliffhanger story. Pixar is a guaranteed ticket but the eco-preaching Wall-e overshadowed a promising story and dazzling animation. The Dark Knight, I feared that the Ledger's demise would overshadow the performance, but in fact, the Joker's portrayal was so captivating, it blew away the rest of the storyline and as a whole, the movie was empty and aimless. Hellboy, while a surprisingly good first movie, was flat and boring in sequel form. Wanted was a cheesy film so get adolescent boys to buy tickets to see Angelina Jolie's naked ass. (it really was the best part of the entire 2 hour film) But the unsuspecting guy becoming secret agent story is already done and done much better in the TV series Chuck.

Many other efforts didnt even get my six bucks. (yes, Tuesdays in Rhode Island are cheap) Get Smart, The Mummy 3, Love Guru, Zohan, Speed Racer... (maybe Pineapple Express.. might see that next week) will all be lucky to get a few hrs of my time via the PVR when they're broadcast on TMN.

So tonight.... I think I saw the most wicked awesome film of the summer. Tropic Thunder has to be seen in the theatre with the commercials and previews and everything. Completely original, satires the Chuck Norris Delta Force movies with Hearts of Darkness, Making of Apocalypse. The concept is great and the cast has you jumping between "that's the guy from..." and "I can't believe he's in this too". This movie is a cool as Ironman, but funnier than anything i've seen this year.

3rd Anniversary

So Julianne and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary with a phone call. In lieu of being together for the actual day, we planned to have Friday as our 'date' day.

We dropped Russell off at daycare after breakfast and we headed up to Wonderland. It was a weekday, and the Ex was on so it shouldn't be too busy right??? Wrong.... we spent some quality time in line for the 3 rides we managed to get in before we left to pick up Russell.

Now aside from that, i did manage to catch Russell on video a fair bit so everyone can see what he's up to. Of course that's what anyone is interested in anyways.

Russell's Vocabulary




Russell's Exercise routine




Russell's new shoe

Snip Snip Russell

This is one of the hardest decisions the parents of any boy has to make. You know that he'll never be the same after the first cut, but as parents, you have to make a decision that is in you son's best interest, and frankly, Julianne and I think it just looks better.


.... so i caught the whole procedure on video....

Ron's Rental Review - more hawt pony action

So a week ago the hertz lady offered me either a Mustang or a Sonata... in that brief moment that followed, I could imagine my review of the Sonata: "The car was white....that's about it" I cannot imagine a more bland, uninspirational car in production today. At the Autoshow, I can't imagine coming within 100 yards of one of these buckets. At least the Mustang is an icon, so I took it.

This week, after feeling soiled by the 'stang, I had no problem taking the Hyundai keys she offered me.

From the outside, the Hyundai Sonata is indeed one of the most boring cars i've ever seen. It basically looks like a dated Honda Accord. They exterior styling just doesn't look quite current.




So i opened the trunk to stow my bags and things got slightly more promising. Two oval tail pipes and a V6 badge gave me a little more hope for the week. Opening the door and stepping into the Sonata was the big surprise. The fit and finish here is excellent. I would say that the dash and dials look better than my BMW (mind you my car is over 4 years old) The interior is the complete opposite from the Mustang. The quality and feel of the dash and all of the surfaces feel far beyond my expectations, and that of anything I've rented so far. Even the shift path has a fine subtle chrome pinstripe.






So lots of photos but how does it feel? Again, completely different from the Mustang. The engine is virtually silent. Even when you stomp on the accelerator, the engine is still hardly noticeable, you just feel a solid whoosh of power as you're surged down the freeway. Handling is surefooted, not exactly 'sporty', but confident and comfortable.

Honestly, this is the perfect car for someone who really doesn't care about cars. What I mean is I really can't find any 'quirks' that only a true enthusiast would embrace like the tone of the exhaust. This car really gets you from point A to B smoothly, comfortably, reasonably quickly, without any complaints or issues. And it does all this with the best fuel economy next to the Prius that i've encountered so far. Over 26 mpg.

Basically I can see the Ford & Hyundai engineers each given the task of building a $25,000 car. The Ford guys spend $20k on the body, (it is a cool looking car) and the remaining 5k to get the rest of the car done. The Hyundai guys took $24k to engineer the interior, engine, suspension and chassis, then make a quick sheet metal mould around the outside to design the body. Decide for yourself which is more important to you.

Oh, and by the way, it's white, with a metallic pearl hue. Very nice.

Ron's Rental Review 4 - The Pony Express

So i'm at the counter to pick up the car this week, and the lady says she has a Mustang for me. Almost like a gag reflex, I ask if she had anything imported that she can offer me instead. She says they have a Sonata, but in that time, i think of the blog, and the fact that the Mustang is a classic, the Sonata is pretty boring and good or bad, I should have something to write about. So I say I'll stick with the 'stang, take the keys and plod off to space #31 and the red 2008 Ford Mustang.

I drop my bags in the trunk and slide into the car and am immediately awash in a sea of beige plastic and polyester. Plastic here was far worse than any of the GM cars I had rented. Clearly the materials were supplied by either Hasboro or Mattel. Infact, i'm sure the dash in the Barbi version is exactly the same, only pink.

What was even worse than the dash was the ridiculous shift knob / lever thingy. The stupid design aside, the plastic used here felt like the handle of my super soaker. As a driver, there are really only three parts of the car you touch with your bare skin: the radio, the steering wheel, and the gear shift. If you have to use cheap materials, don't scrimp on those three items.



So a few minutes later I'm rolling down the interstate and I can feel the impressions of the Mustang flowing out like diarrhea. All the dials and vents have about an inch of chrome trim around them. The only good thing about that is that all that chrome reflects the sun into your eyes so you can't focus on how bad the rest of the interior looks. The view, the seats, the sound, the radio, the dash..... all so exceptionally bad they are truly exceptional.

The windshield is short and the hood line is very high which is cool in a chopped hotrod but for a practical car, makes you feel like you're steering a tank, looking out one of those little slits.

The Mustang has bucket seats, but they have absolutely no lateral support. It really just feels like a shorter version of the bench seat in my dad's 78 Impala. However, this is probably a good think because it discourages you from attempting any real cornering. You can feel the rear axle hopping over small highway bumps and you can easily imagine yourself facing the wrong way if you pushed the car in any way.

Of course, Ford has conveniently fitted the Mustang with a permanent traction control system. They've done so by giving the V6 absolutely no horsepower whatsoever. With your foot on the floor, you still can't squeek the tires.

The fact that you can't squak the tires is ironic because those very tires rolling down the freeway at 50mph are so loud, it sounds like you're in the bathroom filling up the tub. So with the roar of the tires, i turn up the Sirrus satellite radio to alleviate the noise. The radio, sounds awful. It has tons of treble and the plastic door panels rattle to the beat.

This car is so incredibly bad, it stands out among all others. In 2005 it was awarded Canadian Car of the year by some inebriated snowmobile drivers. How this is possible is beyond me. I guess the only question is how the copycat retro cars from Dogde (Challenger) and Chevy (Camaro) will fair.