Avatar: What the $%$^ Is This?

I have seen a lot of commercials for this new movie Avatar over the last couple months. Basically almost every commercial break while watching a football game. The early previews looked rather interesting, and tripped out. Now I'm not so sure. Later ones I see a bunch of people in Matrix-style chairs and CGI. So...basically a bunch of people play virtual reality games? Just looks stupid. I suppose I could look into this further...

James Cameron's big blue alien love story. Taking place about 140 years in the future, the film follows crippled ex-Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) as he lands in a mining colony on the planet of Pandora, populated by a race of aliens called the Na'vi. Given the opportunity to scout the land via a mind-controlled Na'vi avatar, Sully ends up falling for a native named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).

BUT...I saw HUMANS in the commercial. Clearly the whole thing is virtual right? Don't tell me this is a take on modern society living in dream worlds. I am just guessing...it probably is.

What my issue is with almost EVERY single early review I have seen? They spend the entire time talking about the Special Effects. Obviously this is a CGI blockbuster, and an action flick, but if the movie sucks, who cares?

This movie is 161 minutes long. 2 HOURS AND 41 MINUTES. Might need wrinkle cream for this one. I have yet to read a review about anything other than it being a fast paced action movie with great technology. Anyone?

I suppose if you like crappy movies with lots of explosions to get off then this may make you happy. If it is just a CGI spectacle for 3 hours I'm probably not going to be all that impressed. The early reviews make it sound like it is more or less a new tech invention to behold than a movie. Maybe someone will actually review the STORY eventually.

Anyone ever take the GMAT?

Having a degree in business already I am contemplating going back to school for a Master's. Apparently I have read that many schools have you take this Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) as part of the qualification to get in.

Not sure I even remember a lot of the math I would need to pass this test! I suppose that getting some GMAT prep would take care of most of this. I doubt I'd even have a chance if I had to take this test without some serious GMAT study help.

So...Some Dude Named Adam Lambert Made out With Another Dude on TV?

First of all, if you asked me if I knew who Adam Lambert was yesterday, I wold have had no idea. In fact I haven't watched American Idol more than twice since it started, and that was simply to appease a girlfriend. So...when I see the headlines today mentioning this guy, I was pretty sure that when I read them he would be from American Idol and he is.

My dislike for crap pop, and American Idol aside, I guess two guys making out is still a big deal? Who knew? While I don't particularly like to see two guys making out, I didn't think that it was that taboo still.

I just find the reaction to be hilarious at this point. So the guy was singing some song, which I assume is terrible, dancing around, and then kissing his keyboard player. Big deal. ABC picked up 1500 complaints about it from enraged homophobes I assume. Grandma that's biggest decision is what rv insurance to buy now, is upset. Boo hoo.

Good job dude. You sold about a million albums with that stunt. All the people making a big deal out of it made you into a superstar.

Michael Jackson's Doctor Bought Drugs in Vegas

Newly released court papers confirmed that Michael Jackson's doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray wasn';t actually on the up and up. Who would have thought? Conrad, Jackson's personal doctor, bought anaesthetic Propofol in Las Vegas and had it sent to Los Angeles, newly-released court papers show.

Search warrant records show Dr Conrad Murray bought it in May at about the same time he was hired by Jackson.

The coroner investigating Jackson's death has ruled it was homicide, primarily caused by Propofol.

Dr Murray admits administering the drug to Jackson on the day he died - 25 June - but denies any wrongdoing.

He says he had been injecting Jackson with the drug at the singer's rented Los Angeles house each night to help him sleep.

Propofol is a powerful anaesthetic normally administered to patients having surgery in hospital.

While fans with thier custom mouse pads with a pic of MJ on them are probably fuming about the malpractice of Dr. Conrad, there is no doubting that the guy would pretty much do anything to make a buck. Obviously MJ was paying him a ton of money, and probably looked for a long time to find a guy that would do these things for him.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Sets New Opening Day Record

Well...it appears that we know the end of civilization is getting close. The Twilight sequel recorded the biggest opening day in history at the box office this week with a haul of $72.7 million across the United States and Canada on Friday, a figure that includes record-breaking midnight sales of $26.3 million, said the film's closely held distributor Summit Entertainment. Get ready for a bunch of super crappy xbox 360 games.

The old record for a single-day opening was $62.2 million, held by last year's "Batman" sequel "The Dark Knight," which went on to become the second-biggest grossing movie of all time in North America before accounting for inflation.

Such heights could be difficult for the "Twilight" sequel to attain. Still, industry observers expect it could finish up with upwards of $125 million for the weekend once Saturday sales data and Sunday estimates are issued early on Sunday.

That would place the film at No. 4 in the record books, behind "The Dark Knight" ($158 million), "Spider-Man 3" ($151 million), and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ($136 million), and ahead of "Shrek the Third" ($122 million), according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo.

The previous record for midnight sales was held by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which kicked off its run with $22.2 million in sales in July.

Miley Cyrus Too Cool For Twilight

Join the club. Miley Cyrus said in a recent interview that she has no intention of seeing "New Moon", some movie that has something to do with Twilight.

She says she doesn't care for Twilight and has no interest in seeing New Moon.

"I've never seen it and nor will I ever," Cyrus, 16, said recently during an interview with Cleveland radio station Q92.

You're so awesome. That bad girl image is in full gear now kid. Go trash some florida hotels and take it up a level.

Michael Jackson Buried in $35,000 Suit, Private Funeral over $1 Million

Nobody ever said that Michael Jackson didn't have style. I guess the send off had to have as much style as he had in life. The total cost of his funeral were over $1 million.

The funeral bill alone cost over $850K. Costs included such things as his coffin at $25,000, and the suit he was buried in at an amazing $35,000.

Security cost $175,000, $3700 for one framed photograph of Jackson in his casket, family wardrobe costs of $2,000, $12,000 for invitations, $16,000 for flowers, and another $50,000 for cars and more security. Not to mention the after party and probably all the refrigerator water filters they needed.

The funeral was covered by his estate, as seen in the court documents.

Steven Tyler No Longer Heading Aerosmith, Band Seeks New Singer

Well...first thing I think of when I read this is..."Yeah right". There is no possible way to replace Steven Tyler, and for Aerosmith to ever be good without him. There are just some bands that the lead singer is pretty much the main reason they are so great, but I guess if Van Halen can switch singers 75 times and succeed I suppose even Aerosmith can.

Just seems a little odd. Tyler didn't really even sit down with them and let them know according to Joe Perry. He had to see it in an interview.

Guitarist Joe Perry took out his Sony VAIO and fired out on his twitter account on Monday to satisfy fans with mounting questions about the band’s status writing, “Aerosmith is definitely NOT breaking up ... one of the members is doing his own thing and said so in the press.”

Perry is referencing a quote from a now infamous interview Tyler gave with Classic Rock magazine which indicated he had no future plans to tour with Aerosmith and was now focusing on “working on the brand of myself, brand Tyler.”

Apparently this break up has all been played out in the press and no sit down discussions or phone calls were to be had for the men who were just shy of celebrating 40 years together in the same band and known endearingly in their drug heyday as “the toxic twins.” Perry seemed to be taken off guard but not surprised to learn his friend and singer no longer shared the same band outlook.

Paranormal Activity=Most Profitable Movie Ever

The horror/thriller Paranormal Activity was said to have had a budget of just over $15,000. As of the last look, the movie had grossed over $65 MILLION. If you are doing the math, that means this movie has made an astounding 434,000 percent return on investment.

Not since the $60,000 spent to produce The Blair Witch Project in 1999 has a film seen such a staggering return on initial investment. Blair With clocked in at a 414,000 percent ROI. Obviously that means the film grossed more overall, but Paranormal Activity is still living large in theaters.

Both films were in the horror genre, and Paranormal Activity took somewhat of the same approach as Blair Witch did. Not only were they both filmed in a way that made them appear to be home movies, they both used a guerilla marketing approach to stir interest. Blair Witch didn't have the internet progress PA has today, but they did well to promote it by word of mouth as a "found footage"/true story horror movie, just like PA did initially. The social networks out there definitely give PA the advantage online compared to what Blair Witch had back in 1999.

While I consider Blair Witch to be a much better movie overall, I wasn't unimpressed with Paranormal Activity either. I just didn't think it was that great. I found the boyfriend in PA even more annoying than the crying girl in Blair Witch, and that is saying something. Blair Witch just had a way better atmosphere to me. The isolation of being lost in the woods is much more fearful to me than a house. Not to mention that I have a bias against most "ghost" movies because I think they suck, and I don't believe in ghosts. They aren't real. Throw in the paranormal aspect on top and and it ranks a bit higher to me as it should for the general horror audience in my opinion. Both seem to have the audiences weezing and pulling out their new humidifier filters to allow them to sleep better.

Lifetime Pulls Heene Family 'Wife Swap' Episode

The Heene family is the one that perpetrated the supposed hoax of the "Balloon Boy" a week or so ago. The alleged hoax caused such an uproar in the fabricated media, and everyone else out there, that Lifetime has decided not to even show their episode of Wife Swap.

"It was on the schedule long before the incident," a Lifetime spokesperson said. The incident refers to the giant, homemade balloon that sailed over Colorado on Thursday, purportedly carrying 6-year-old Falcon Heene.

The bubble burst when authorities discovered Falcon had been hiding in a box in the attic. During an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the Heene's asked Falcon why he didn't come out as they searched for him, and the boy replied, "You guys said we did it for a show."

So...the stunt has cost them a few bucks already, and the fame they have been seeking is getting more negative as the days go by. Of course you and I both know that this isn't the last we will hear of the Heene family. Regardless of Lifetime pulling the episode, or not this is press for the family, and keeps them in the news.

Lifetime may have actually helped the family by doing this in my opinion. It gives them, even if it is just a little, a bit of sympathy from some I would guess. I am almost positive this family will eventually end up with their own show. Some desperate network that doesn't care about anything but getting that one night boost in ratings like the horrible Octomom reality special, will most certainly give this family their shot.

So mom...find some great weight loss pill and get ready. I'm sure it won't be long until some network exec is knocking on the door ready to put your obnoxious family on television.