Katie Perry Firework- A Capella Cover

This is pretty sweet!

In Movie News-American Reunion!

So in exciting movie news, it has been announced the cast of American Pie is coming back together for American Reunion!!  So far, Jason Biggs, Sean William Scott, and Eugene Levy have signed on.  It is being reported that the studio has been talking with Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, and Jennifer Coolidge.  I absolutely loved these movies back in the day!  They were great mindless fun!  Here is to hoping they can make a great sequel!

Top Ten 80's Cartoons for Geeks

Hey OPP homies,

Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of the most influential U. S. Presidents, once said: "Art is not a treasure in the past or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creating peoples." I'm pretty sure he was talking about 80's cartoons despite his death in 1945. As a tribute to the words of FDR, I offer you this genius list of 80's cartoons in order to keep the art of the past in my present life through reflection. Oh yea, Transformers are beyond #1, so they will be excluded (This isn't up for debate). Without further adieu, here is my list.


10. C.O.P.S. I loved this cartoon. I loved the fact that it took place in 2020 and followed sci-fi police officers as they fend off evil crime syndicates in "Empire City." The outfits in this show were straight-up trippy. Great toys too!!! These toys were the only action figure/cap gun that I have ever encountered.

9. The Centurions. I flippin loved this TV cartoon. Any futuristic sci-fi cartoon with the evil dude named Doctor Terror gets an A-Plus in my book. These toys were ridiculously cool. You could interchange attachments on their body armor. How cool is that??? Answer: H-Bomb cool.

8. Dino-Riders. First, you blow my mind with dinosaurs. Then, you add in cool futuristic attachments to harness the powers of the dinosaurs. You had me at Dino. Plus, I always found small lizards riding bigger lizards interesting. These toys were some of the coolest outside of transformers of course.

7. Duck Tales. Scrooge...you penny pinchin' coin vault swimming pimp. I want your top hat, cane, rimmed only glasses and shoe/sock combo thing you had going on. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were also legendary.

6. Ghostbusters. Come on...you all know Slimer ruled. He ruled even more than Scrooge, so this cartoon titan takes my 6th spot.

Now we are getting into the big dogs of 80's cartoons. This is going to be tough!!!


5. He-Man. "I have the power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Oh Prince Adam...I have no idea what protection your leather chest piece provided but you sure could ride the crap out of that battle tiger.

4. G.I. Joe. Though Megatron is the best villain ever, I'm pretty sure Cobra Commander is the second best. Skeletor and Mumm-ra were weak compared to your blue masked snake-like whispers of pending terrorism.

3. Voltron. Screw Mighty Morphin I copied Voltron Rangers. These cats (pun intended) formed the freaking defender of the Universe. The Megazords only protected earth (in the beginning anyway before it got all weird). Voltron was made up of 5 cats that were the equivalent of University of Michigan's fab 5 (yup, a Chris Webber/Jalen Rose reference was needed here).

2. This is a tough call. I'm going to say Thunder. THUNder...THUNDER!!!!! Yup, Thundercats takes the number 2 spot. Liono, Panthro, and Mumm-ra...Eagle Scouts should sing campfire songs of your greatness. Enough said.

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I loved this show. I would never miss a show. If my wife would let me, I would name my kids "Splinter" and "Casey Jones." I'm pretty sure these children would solve all world problems, but only if these names are allowed to occur. Remember...Donatello does machines (That's a fact Jack).



Honorable Mention: Rocklords, MASK, Silverhawks. These shows were not only awesome in story line and creativity, but really cool toys as well.

What is your top cartoon?


Narcosleepy Out

Super Mario Brothers 3: A Game Inspired by Freud?

There are certain events in our lives that we will always remember. First, we will remember where we were when 9/11 happened. Second, we will remember the first time we all witnessed Michael Myers rampage the poor villagers of Haddonfield, Illinois. For me, I vividly remember 1990. It was the year Super Mario Brothers 3 was released. I remember the first time I hit a floating metal question mark that kicked out a floating leaf. I ate that thing and turned into a raccoon that could fly with it's tail.

I loved this game growing up. It captured every bit of my attention, imagination, and took a high level of skill to complete. Most of all, I had so much fun playing it. Each world is so vivid and imaginative. It literally feels like I am in a dream. There are two worlds in particular that hold a special place in my heart. I remember my cousins and I bringing our vintage NES on vacation and having so much fun playing the water world (world 3). How amazing was it to turn into a frog, swim with your little frog legs out, but only to get eaten by a ginormous fish? The second world that is truly unforgettable is World 4. In this world, you are microsized and trying to traverse your way through a big world. What a visceral experience. How crazy was it to turn into a flying bear that could also shapeshift into a stone statue? Well, it was crazy awesome.



I was reflecting on this game the other day and I couldn't help but apply the works of Sigmund Freud to this game. The obvious freudian references are the plentiful sexual and death instinct references that are inherent in game play. First, eating a very phallic mushroom makes you bigger, stronger, and more resilient. One could argue that, sub-consciously, Mario has a centralized fixation on his junk. Through this fixation, his ego processes sexual experience as a way to gain power. Placing a larger amount of psychic energy into this function would also elevate social status, thus prompting limited disagreement with the social gatekeeper that is the superego with the conscious level ego functions. Moreover, the ID gains immediate gratification through rewards from killing creatures, gathering money, and sexual experiences (in Mario's case, these experience are not with a partner but independent). The in play behavior would demonstrate that self-gratification will elicit and improve on the long term goal of sexual relations with the princess, thereby improving personality and further development.

Second, the presence of death is very prominent in this game. Freud called this desire "Thanos" or the death instinct. In this game, there is little consequence for death. In fact, the user will attempt risky game play with little regards to the life and death of Mario/Luigi. As such, game play is designed to trigger our desire to sub-consciously think about death, thus driving an internal pleasure mechanism within our emotional processing/cognitive structures while not reducing our libido (psychic energy). Moreover, killing creatures and destroying objects earns the user rewards that ultimately increase the likelihood of sexual gratification with the princess. A common mistake is to refer to libido as sexual energy/stamina. However, libido actually refers to ones' psychic energy in balancing the Id, Ego, and Superego.


Finally, I couldn't help but notice a special item called a "P-Wing". This item, when consumed, allows you to fly through a level getting you closer and much more rapidly to your goal of sexual gratification with the princess. Here is the obvious, this P-Wing looks like a male phallic symbol and putting a "P" on it removes all doubt. Consuming the P-Wing also gives Mario a permanent "P" that is placed on his chest throughout the level. This could be synonymous with the "Scarlet Letter" thus creating a source of internal struggle between desire (ID) and the superego (our self in relation to larger society).


Some classic video games are truly amazing for so many reasons. Freud can be applied to anything and can never be proven wrong, so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, just know that what we interact with can influence us in ways we may not understand. For me, Super Mario Brothers 3 was an experience in which I could interact with objects in a dream world. For you, well, maybe you just like two sexy Rex Manning (Empire Records reference) plumbers in green and red.

Narcosleepy out

Fallon does Sheen

Spot on!  Fallon is sooo great at doing impressions of people!  Love this!

Quotes from a Crazy

Oh Charlie Sheen....the entertainment you have provided us in the last week is absolutely epic!  Are you crazy?  Are you bi-polar?  Are you on drugs?  Are you all of the above?  We may never know, but one thing is for sure, you have provided us with some great quotes in the last week!  Here are a few of the gems from recent!

"I don't have a tuxedo that fits anymore because my chest and my biceps are too big."
– Explaining why he wasn't planning on attending the Oscars, on Pat O'Brien's Loose Cannons radio show

"I have a disease? Bull–t. I cured it … with my mind."
– Rejecting his father Martin Sheen's statement that his son suffers from alcoholism to The Alex Jones Show

"There's a new sheriff in town. And he has an army of assassins."
– Explaining why he's decided to be so outspoken

"I'm on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen."
– Professing his sobriety to 20/20's Andrea Canning

"I'm not Thomas Jefferson. He was a p–y!"
– Taking aim at the founding father

"I closed my eyes and made it so with the power of my mind, and unlearned 22 years of fiction...the fiction of AA.  It's a silly book written by a broke-down fool."
-Explaining to The Today Show how he cured himself of addiction

"I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars, and people can't figure me out; they can't process me. I don't expect them to.  You can't process me with a normal brain."
-Informing The Today Show of his desire to be his true self

The Mike's Favorite Best Picture Winners of Ever

A lot of people, like (O)PP's own H-Bomb, will tell you that Oscar day is awesome.  An equal number of movie nuts - generally the type who have no life and spend too much time on the internet, like myself - will tell you that the Oscars are generally a narrow-minded ego-fest of BS.  No one can say who's right (I am), but one thing we can all agree on is that the Oscars have honored some great movies at times.

So, since I'm pretty awesome and you like reading, I thought I'd shine a quick spotlight on thirteen of my favorite winners of the Academy's Award for Best Picture.  (HINT: Chicago's not here, because it's the worst.)

It Happened One Night (1934) - Though I still prefer non-winner The Thin Man - nothing beats a bit of Powell and Loy - I can't argue against the first film to sweep the top 5 Oscar categories.  Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable provide a classic romantic comedy gem, and their journey through the film (which actually lasts several nights) is packed with entertaining banter between the two.  The infamous hitchhiking scene is worth the price of admission alone.

Rebecca (1940) - The only Alfred Hitchcock film to win Best Picture, which is one of the greatest proofs that these awards were already meaningless fifty years ago.  Rebecca is a fascinating tale with an old mansion, murder, ghosts of the past, and Judith Anderson's iconic evil chaimbermaid.  Anderson was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the film, as were leads Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.  All lost out, though Fontaine would win the next year for Hitchcock's Suspicion.

Casablanca (1943) - This is a film that needs no introduction.  It's widely considered the greatest screenplay ever written - which it also won an Oscar for - and the slew of iconic lines that still resonate nearly 70 years later are proof that it's never lost its punch.  There are jaded folks who can claim to not like this movie, but I challenge them thoroughly.  This is Hollywood magic at its best.

All About Eve (1950) - Filled with some of the best performances ever put on screen, All About Eve is a Hollywood soap opera that pulls no punches.  George Sanders - who also co-starred in Rebecca - won Best Supporting Actor as the vile critic Addison DeWitt, and gives one of my favorite performances ever.  The film also boasted four nominations for its actresses - Bette Davis & Anne Baxter for Lead, Thelma Ritter & Celeste Holm for Supporting - though none of them won as rumors of vote splitting still run rampant today.

Marty (1955) - A sentimental favorite of mine.  Ernest Borgnine stars as the title character, a mid-30s New York City butcher who finds himself in a surprise relationship with a mid-30's school teacher (Betsy Blair) despite his romantic shortcomings.  Borgnine would also win Best Actor, beating an all-star lineup of nominees that included James Cagney, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, and Spencer Tracy.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - I haven't seen this epic in years, but I still have vivd memories of the finale.  War-time spectacle at its very best, with star Alec Guiness and director David Lean winning two more of the film's seven oscars.  Plus there're explosions, man.

The French Connection (1971) - I don't know what was wrong with the '60s either, though I probably could have interchanged Lawrence of Arabia with Kwai.  But when 1971 - notorious to many as the year when Hollywood got violent - rolled around it was William Friedkin and Gene Hackman leading the pack with wins in the director and actor categories.  The first R-rated film to win Best Picture (though X-rated Midnight Cowboy had won two years earlier).

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - The second film to sweep the top five categories (after It Happened One Night).  I'm not entirely wild about this film - I always seem to nitpick a little when I watch it - but I always look back on it favorably when I think about it.  The supporting cast that includes genre favorites like Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif and Michael Berryman (plus the always underrated Vincent Schiavelli) helps the film immensly, and the leads are worth their accolades.

Rocky (1976) - Yeah, I know.  There were a lot of amazing films this year, including runners-up Taxi Driver and Network.  But...it's friggin' Rocky, man.  The ultimate underdog.  Dude lost his friggin' title match, a Best Picture win isn't even close to fair compensation for that.  (Yes...I think beating the fictional Apollo Creed is a bigger achievement than winning an Oscar.  There, I said it.)

Ordinary People (1980) - Yeah, I know again.  The nerds want me to say The Empire Strikes Back (which wasn't even nominated) should have won, the cinephiles want me to say Raging Bull should have won, and the dark side of myself wants me to say The Elephant Man should have won.  But Ordinary People isn't bad, folks.  Timothy Hutton's performance is as good as advertised, and the film feels a lot more genuine than most Oscar dramas.  Some have written this off as an average Hollywood drama, but I beg to differ.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - The third and final - thus far - film to sweep the top five categories, and coincidentally I love them all.  The closest thing to a horror film to ever win Best Picture, but there's more than my bias toward the macabre that makes me fond of this one.  Ted Levine's performance as Buffalo Bill was severley under-recognized, too...probably because he keeps his talents tucked away.  (ZING!)

American Beauty (1999) - A personal favorite of mine in regard to all cinema, this is probably the film from my lifetime that I've rooted for most loudly at Oscar time.  I really believe that this film took the Oscars in a new direction and kind of re-wrote Hollywood's expectations for what an Oscar winner can be.  Nearly became the fourth to sweep the top five, but Hillary Swank had to go and mess things up for Annete Benning.  I can accept that, because Boys Don't Cry.  (DOUBLE ZING!)

No Country for Old Men (2007) - I was pretty fond of Juno and Michael Clayton at the time of these awards - still am, too - but the Coens needed to have a Best Picture winner in their filmography.  I really enjoy the film, and feel it could be more timeless than the other nominees thanks to the great acting of Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Oscar-Winner Javier Bardem.  Time will tell the tale for No Country for Old Men.

NOW - If The Social Network were to win tonight, I have a feeling it would join these films on my list, because I'm quite fond of that one (and of 127 Hours, too, but let's be real folks).  But, all signs point toward The King's Speech looking better on the Academy's mantle down the road, and thus I imagine that film will take home a statue for its mantle tonight.

Doesn't matter anyway, none of those films hold a candle to Carl Weathers.

Top Ten Reasons Why "Highlander (1986)" Is Awesome

10. 1500 a.d. flashbacks of Connor McLeod from the Clan McLeod.

9. Katanas

8. 80's punk leather bound Clancy Brown giving "the tongue" in church.

7. A spanish Sean Connery that isn't spanish at all.

6. Whirling Tornadoes of Light transmitting knowledge.

5. Christopher Lambert, enough said.

4. Head decaps in medieval stone infused homes.

3. The Kurgan's two piece sword that is practically 4 to 5 feet tall.

2. The famous rooftop "Silvercup Studios" blade fighting sequence!

1. Original Music by Queen.

End Result = Awesome. Consider your mind blown.


Narcosleepy Out

Trailer Alert-Something Borrowed!!

I will definitely be seeing this!  I am the biggest sucker for chick flicks!!

Trailer Alert-New Thor Trailer!!!

Natalie Portman seems to be everywhere these days!  Love her!

Trailer Alert-Hesher

Joseph Gordan-Levitt looks like one bad mother trucker in this movie!  Looks pretty good!  Thoughts?!?!

Transformers 3

So, as many of you know, I am an uber huge Transformers nerd. I have loved the series since I was a child and I have a massive collection of vintage toys (some of which I still play with today). The first movie had me excited at what could be. The second movie, well, that was just plain awful. Outside of a solid forest fighting scene, there was nothing to that movie at all. Just thinking about Transformers 2 kind of upsets me. Jetfire was not old in the glory days. He was a bad mother, shut your mouth, I'm just talkin about Jetfire. And I have no idea what was with the ghetto twins either. I can't believe they killed Jazz for those two dweebs. The other thing that made me mad was the "hot chick" at Sam's school that was a pretender transformer. LAME.

With this rant in mind, you can see why I may have a few concerns regarding the direction of the third flick. They've tried killing Optimus Prime once...you know Michael Bay is going to do it again hoping we would forget. Now that the matrix of leadership is gone, which by the way was completely worthless in the second film, I'm not sure what direction they are going to go in. The villian, which was just confirmed to be Shockwave from sources, simply makes me mad. Watching the Dark side of the moon trailer, I thought for sure they were going to rock a Alpha Trion angle (which was one of the original transformers forged by the creators). I am still hoping that what we saw in the teaser was Alpha Trion. I can tell you this, if what I saw was Shockwave, my nerd rage will be through the roof. I mean, the vintage Shockwave was purple (cuz he was so awesome) a glowing yellow eye, a frickin gun for a left-hand, and oh yea...he turned into a flippin cannon. If all we are going to see is "hot busty chicks" oogle over Sam (which is confusing) and some random transformers, I am at a lost cause for this series.
To you fellow transformers fan, get ready for a junk shot I'm thinking (assuming you have the "junk" apparatus) because this flick could suck as much as a Uwe Boll flick.



Narcosleepy out

James Earl Jones does Bieber!

This is the only way I will listen to a Justin Bieber song!  Love it!

Trailer Alert-Arthur

This is a remake of the 1981 Arthur starring Dudley Moore.  I can't say I have heard of it.  This is probably a movie I will wait to see on Netflix.  Thoughts?!?

The Mike's Reaction to Super Bowl XLV

OK, here's the set up.  It's 4th & 5 with less than a minute left in the Super Bowl.  The Steelers have the ball, trailing by six points, and have to complete this pass to keep their hopes alive.  In short, all my beloved Packers have to do is stop the Steelers on this play.  Here's what the play looked like from Casa Del Mike, thanks to the directorial efforts of (O)PP's Dana, aka Chev Chelios.....



The rest....is history.  31-25.  Super. Bowl. Champions.

Favorite Super Bowl Commercials

So most years, like most Americans, I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.  I have to say this year, I was slightly disappointed.  There was some definitely lack of originality and I found myself laughing at very few.  Below are my two favorites of the night.  They both happen to contain cute animals.  :)  What were your favorites?!?

Cedar Rapids Trailer!

It is not too often movies are in or about Iowa.  I was thrilled to learn about this movie that not only fictionally takes place in an Iowa city but also chose to use the city's name as the title!  Cedar Rapids was devastated by floods in 2008 and I think it is great to give the town some exposure.  I will definitely be seeing this film not only because I am an Iowan, but because I think it looks pretty darn funny and has a really great cast lead by Ed Helms and John C. Reilly.



Fun Facts about Cedar Rapids:  It was the birthplace of Elijah Wood and Ashton Kutcher grew up a few miles outside of Cedar Rapids.  Ashton's family still lives there and he frequently visits the area.

Fantastic 3?!?

After 50 years,  Marvel Entertainment has laid to rest Human Torch/Johnny Storm.  Writer Johnathan Hickman has spent the last year and a half working on this story line and in the most recent issue, Torch dies in a massive battle.  Our thoughts are with all of the Fantastic Four fans at what I presume is a difficult time.

Best Picture Nominees

And the Best Picture Nominees are.............

*Black Swan
*The Fighter
*Inception
*The Kids Are All Right                                        
*The King's Speech
*127 Hours
*The Social Network
*Toy Story 3
*True Grit
*Winter's Bone


I would say there are no big surprises here.  I just wish the Academy would go back to five nominees.  Ten nominees really takes away from the prestige of an Oscar nod. It is all just a ploy to bring more box office money to more movies.

My prediction is that Social Network will take home the statue this year for Best Picture.  It seems to be the trend at awards shows this season.   I, personally have only seen six of the ten at this time, so can't specify a personal favorite yet.  I will have to say I am really excited to see The King's Speech.  I will blog about my favorite as soon as I have seen all ten. Please feel free to post any favorites or predictions you may have!!!  For a complete list of nominees visit www.oscars.org.  The 83rd Academy Awards air February 27th.

Hopkins to play Hitchcock!

Sir Anthony is currently in talks to portray Alfred Hitchcock.  The movie is rumored to be based on the book Alfred Hitchcock the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello.   The movie is to be directed by Sacha Gervasi.

Ahh! I think with a little weight gain, Sir Anthony will make the perfect Hitchcock!  Hitchcock is my favorite director, so I am SUPER excited for this movie!  I am already going to throw out this prediction-Sir Anthony will be nominated for an Oscar!  What are your thoughts on the casting??!?!?