Break The Walls Down

November has been a good month for a number of reasons, but last night WWE gave me one more reason to smile– the return of wrestler Chris Jericho (learn more about him right here).

So why does this matter?

For fans of wrestling in the nineties, or early 00s, you’ll remember Chris Jericho as not only a gifted pro-wrestler, but also one of the most entertaining performers to every step in the squared circle. He was funny, smart, spontaneous and never disappointed. Good guy or bad guy, he made you love him. And no one ever left a feud with Jericho looking like anything less than a million bucks. Jericho made sure everyone he worked with came out better for it and always put on the best show possible.

Now that’s he back, feuding with my favorite current WWE superstar, Randy Orton, it means the WWE championship scene is about to get interesting. There’s a reason to watch WWE on Mondays because RAW…is…JERICHO!

If you don’t know wrestling, this won’t mean anything to you. But if you do…you’re smiling right along with me.

Zut Alors! Part 2

And we’re back, continuing our look at my first day in Montreal with my brother Nick. When we left off, we’d been planning what to do for the evening and we both agreed on one thing– it was time to see a movie. American Gangster seemed like the best choice, as we’d both found the trailer interesting, figuring that the combo of Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe couldn’t possibly do much wrong. But before I get to that, let’s back track.

Parts of downtown Montreal don’t have crosswalk signs. You walk when traffic is running parallel to you and watch out for crazy drivers who don’t support your right of way. Nick & I were thrown off at first because every country has signs indicating when you can cross the street (the coolest ones being in Sydney, because of the “beep boop” noise they make), but apparently Montreal is all bad ass and doesn’t play by the rules. Certain sections of the city have the signs, but the busiest areas don’t– which just confuses me.

Equally confusing is crazy French people. No, I don’t mean all French people are crazy, but y’know– the transients (can’t think of a PC word folks– don’t skewer me) who seem totally nuts. When they babble and yell at you in Francais, they somehow sound even more nuts. My heart goes out to them of course, but I admit to chuckling when some crazy guy walked by and babbled at me in French.

Alright, well back to the movie. We went to the Scotia Bank Move Theatre on Rue Saint Catharine (this street was central to everything it seemed), which won me over by having not only a bar at the bottom (beer + movies = great combo if I was drinking), but a Tim Horton’s inside. What is Tim Horton’s you ask? Here’s the Wikipedia article, but I’ll define it simply for you: the best hot chocolate, the best donuts and some of the best sandwiches I’ve had in North America. Period. Try some TimBits and tell me you don’t love ‘em. I dare ya! Dare ya! An added bonus came in the form of all the advertising for WWE’s Survivor Series wrestling event later this month. Now we all know I’m a wrestling fan, but thanks to the Hart family (and others) in Canada, people are generally a lot more accepting of wrestling up in Canuckland. You’ll find more bars in major cities showing the weekly shows and as this theatre reminded me, you’ll often find the pay per view events shown in movie theatres. Sure, you’re not actually at the event, but how many home theaters can replicate the experience of watching a wrestling event larger than life, live and with hundreds of other fans?

Making out way into the proper auditorium, Nick and I got great seats when we both came to the same realization: we needed beverages. I headed out to get some drinks when I was approached by a member of the theatre security, who asked if I’d ever worked in security. I said “yes” and he told me he’d like me to call him about more work. I got his business card and didn’t have the heart to explain I’m not from around there because he just seemed so…enthusiastic about me. But at least I know if I ever went to Montreal, I can always do security work at the movie theatre, eh?

The movie was preceded by lots of commercials in both English and French, which worried me at first because I hoped the movie wasn’t in French. I love Quebec, the language and their proud history, but a movie in French meant I wouldn’t hear Denzel and Co’s own voices, which was part of the film’s appeal– hearing everyone involved deliver their lines. Thankfully, the movie was in English and, even better, it was a phenomenal movie. You probably know the premise– Washington plays a rising gangster who takes over the Harlem drug trade and Crowe plays the cop trying to taking him down. Based on a true story and drenched in authentic New York attitude, this is the kind of gangster films that gets us at the core because Washington’s character (”Frank”) is relatable to a point. He believes in a code of honor. He believes in paying people what they deserve. He believes in family. But at the same time he’s got no problem selling drugs to kids, killing his rivals in cold blood and getting violent with anyone in his way. Meanwhile Crowe’s detective character (”Richie”) is the perfect cop– a man of integrity who believes in justice and honor. A man who won’t compromise or take the easy way out. But when he gets home, he can’t stay faithful to his wife or be a good father. Both men are contradictions representing the dueling aspects of so many people’s personalities. The contradictions within us all.

But American Gangster succeeds on every other level as well, providing some gripping action scenes without excess gore or violence. When blood appears, it means something to the viewers and characters. That probably seems really silly to some, but in an era of torture porn films (IE: Saw) and so much violence in all our entertainment, it’s good to see a movie that recognizes the truth of violence. It’s disgusting. It’s repulsive. But it’s a big part of life and to tell such a layered story about these two broken men, we need to see the violence in which they’re drowning. But it never feels gratuitous because all the characters in the film recognize the effects of violence and react appropriately (if not immediately then down the line at some point). By so powerfully depicting how violence can twist us, a movie about gangsters– which one might expect to celebrate violence– is one of the best arguments against the culture of violence we’ve created. The dialogue is similarly purposeful– Frank rarely uses the “n-word,” even though we’ve been trained to expect that from African-American gangsters. I don’t know who made that decision– or if it’s how the real Frank spoke–but it makes his moments of anger even more powerful, when we see the sophisticated veneer swallowed by primal anger in the form of curding.

Easily the best thriller I’ve seen all year and highly recommended to all. On a lighter note, the trailer for the film (watch it right here) was a big part of what attracted me to the film and you’ll notice that half way through the trailer, there’s a catchy hip hop song. I enjoyed the song so much that I sort of worried I wouldn’t enjoy the film as much without that song in the background– but if you’re like me in that regard, no need to worry. American Gangster is easily one of this year’s best.

I’d expect a lot of people to copy Washington’s delivery of the phrase “My man” to convey irritation with someone while remaining cool on the outside. He just says it so much and makes it sound so cool that you can’t help but want to repeat it in place of cursing.

After the film, Nick and I headed out for dinner to a place called Mike’s, which apparently has numerous locations around the city and offers a nice variety of basic pastas, sandwiches, salads and entrees. While we hoped for some hockey on television, we ended up watching a CFL (Canadian Football League) game between the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I haven’t watched the CFL in some time, so perhaps I’m remembering old games with rose colored glasses, but did the quality drop significantly? There was barely any running game and it just seem like everyone ran the same plays. Blitz the offense. Offense throws long pass. Offense often has incomplete throws. I didn’t enjoy the game but had to finish it to see if it improved and it just seemed atrocious. Am I missing something or was this some incredible game I couldn’t appreciate? I know the CFL is inherently a different kind of football than the NFL (Go Cowboys!), but it just felt boring and sloppy to me, though I can remember loving old Calgary Stampeders or Toronto Argonauts games. Did something change?

After pondering this, Nick and I headed back to the hotel where I proceeded to continue reading Chris Jericho’s book. Just as the man made me laugh with his promos in ring, he made me laugh with some of his stories about rising up the wrestling food chain. I fell asleep at 1am and slept soundly, knowing I wouldn’t have to wake up any time too early on Saturday.

To Be Continued!

Three Missing Hours Of My Life

On the recommendation of my friend Arvid Nelson (writer of the phenomenally awesome Rex Mundi), I picked up up the video game Guitar Hero for my X-Box 360. You can learn more about the series of games right here. Essentially, you have a large guitar shaped controller and you use buttons on the frets and a strum button to play notes/chords when prompted on the screen. I played guitar a few years back, but never enough to be an expert, so I was a bit wary of how good (or bad) I’d be at this game, but I plunked down the dollars yesterday and purchased the game. Around midnight, I played my first song, “Surrender” by Cheap Trick, and I did fairly well, so I went to bed thinking I’d be alright at the game. Around noon today, I decided to take another shot and found that I wasn’t very good at the harder songs. So I practiced a bit, tried the career mode and played through as far as I could…and I realized it was 3pm. To call Guitar Hero II addictive is an understatement. The gameplay is simple, the songs are catchy rock tunes and even when you fail at a song, it’s not frustrating because the game is fair. It doesn’t trick you or contain glitches that mean it’s a crapshoot if you’ll succeed. It’s just fun.

That’s one of the problems with most video games these days, at least for me—they don’t immerse me in the world they create. I just want to be taken to another world and wrapped up in enjoyment of the game, whether it be a sports game or a shooter like Halo. The biggest success of Guitar Hero is that it manages to entertain you over and over by simply playing the same song, as there are lots of ways to get a higher score or make the experience entertaining. Everyone has played air guitar at one point in their life and this game is simply the fulfillment of everyone’s desire to rock out. I don’t know if country or pop songs exist that can be downloaded for this game, but it’d be interesting to try other genres of songs with this guitar and the style of play one becomes accustomed to with the rock anthems.

It’s also very relaxing to play the game as one hits the keys and starts jiving to the game. I slowly noticed that my stance changed, I starting moving my head up & down and really getting into the music. Sure, your fingers get sore after a few hours, but the rewards of playing are immediate and it’s hard not to sing along with the songs after a few tries at getting the high score.

There’s no real downsides to the game thus far—I’m sure I’ll want to get X-Box Live (Microsoft’s Online service for X-Box) and download more songs, but there seems to be a deep and fun catalogue that comes with the game itself. Hell, I’m not even very good thus far, so there’s lots of room for me to improve with the songs already available. This is the kind of game that everyone needs to try, if for no other reason than to see how fun video games can be and to learn how entertainment has evolved. The game costs a bit more than usual—at $90—but it’s got an insanely high replay value and if one purchases another guitar controller, you can have some great competitions with your friends. So, to those who have recommended this game before, I’ll admit it—you were right. This game rocks.

Changes At Arune.Com

I’ve addressed the reduction in posts on Arune.Com as a result of my burgeoning responsibilities at Marvel, but some people have commented over a shift in tone on Arune.Com– and that’s intentional.

There’s been a lot of focus on entertainment in the past and while I don’t want to stop talking about entertainment I enjoy– or hate– I’d rather focus on producing the kind of blog I’d love to read. More substance and more serious matters, all without losing a sense of fun and optimism. So while there will be less blog entries, I’m hoping they’ll be of a higher quality and more memorable.

I do, however, apologize to all the comment regulars– Dave, Jason, Neal, Kurt, etc– with whom I haven’t been able to converse or respond to in the comments section. I’m busy as hell and half the time I forget when I even get comments.

Paper & ‘Puter

I’ve noticed this before, but it’s become more apparent lately that I think a lot better when writing on paper than on a computer. I’m not sure why, but I find I can think more creatively– and less linearly– when I’m writing on paper. Being able to turn paper sideways, write in different directions, scribble and do all that kind of stuff seems to get my creative juices flowing. While I like doing final drafts on a computer, I prefer to be creative on paper– maybe it’s just a result of how we worked in school, but does anyone else have these same preferences?

I just find that when I stare at a computer screen, I can’t think as quickly if I haven’t used paper to gather my thoughts or lay out ideas. I’ve tried typing out notes on an empty Word Doc and working from there, but it just isn’t the same…the ideas come much slower.

So is this social conditioning causing me to prefer being creative on paper or am I just really odd? Or is it both? I’m going with both.

Becoming The Immortal Iron Fist

As I’m sure is apparent by now, the Marvel Comics character Iron Fist is one of my favorite superhero characters (along with DC Comics’ Superman and Hawkman), and with Halloween coming up in October, I wanted to build a good Iron Fist costume. I have two options, as shown above, with the suit on the left being infinitely easier to build, as it involves easy to find cargo pants and gun holsters that can easily be found– even the ammo pouches could be found at the local military surplus store. The problem I’m finding is in creating the mask and finding a custom t-shirt shop to make the top. I need a fitted, preferably thermal, green top on which I can put on that Iron Fist logo. Is there somewhere online or in NYC that could make an iron on transfer which could be applied to a regular fitted green shirt? If so, any specific ideas where I could buy the kind of shirt I need?

However, if someone knows how I could get the costume on the right side made in New York, let me know– it’d certainly be an interesting and cool outfit, even if it’s surely a lot more costly.

The mask is the other issue. In these images, the mask and belt seem to be made from similar material and so even if I did get the mask made, I’d need similar materials to create a consistent aesthetic.

So I guess the bottom line is that I’m lost and need help in becoming a superhero. Anyone want to help me fight for truth, justice and flaming iron fists?

Arune.Com’s Weekly YouTube Fix

Finally, The Arune has returned with some new videos for your enjoyment. The first is from American Wedding, highlighting the moment when alpha male jock moron Stifler tries to help his friends secure the services of a dress designer at a gay club.

If you’ve never seen the British show Coupling, you’re missing a hilarious and heartfelt series (if you doubt the latter, just watch the series finale). This is from an episode where Steve, the main character, is berated at a dinner party for watching a film called “Lesbian Spank Inferno.”

We can end with a clip from a film I can’t get enough of right now, namely Casino Royale. Here are the opening credits:

Arune.Com’s Weekly YouTube Fix

Time to show some videos, eh? The first one features WWE wrestler Edge (pictured above) in a hilarious Mad TV sketch parodying Canadians, Korean soap operas and wrestling in general. Just great stuff and another reason why Edge is so damn charismatic.

Edge is awesome. “I am such a sexy and strapping young man! How could it be that I am overpowered by a mere pork dumpling?”

Next we have…more wrestling, with an edition of TNA Today, featuring an interview with AJ Styles and some other stuff of interest to TNA fans.

Here’s a good one from the band “The Shins” for their song “Phantom Limb.” Great little tune you’ve probably heard somewhere that made you wonder “who is that band?” Their whole disc is great, though “Australia” is easily my favorite song and the one I like to listen to on repeat.

And we’ll end with a clip from season six of my favorite television show ever– The Shield. I don’t write about it more often because, frankly, it would take forever to write something discussing this show in the depth it requires. But if I could only watch one television show, it’d be this one.

New Catchphrases

So I’ve officially developed my own stupid, cocky, WWE-esque catchphrase to describe something I like.

“____ is the greatest thing since me.”

I’m sure that’ll endear me to lots of people.

Ah yes, thanks to Kurt for the inspiration. It is now property of Arune.Com and Arune Industries. It slightly edged out “I’ve got more game than Captain Kirk on shore leave.”

Update: Kurt and I have now coined, “Baby, I’ve got more moves than a Wii” as our newest declaration of nerd bravado.

Arune.Com’s Weekly YouTube Fix

We’ll begin with the video for the Casino Royale theme song, “You Know My Name,” by Chris Cornell. I’ve spotlighted this video before but I do so again because the film arrives on DVD this Tuesday and I hope to finally write my oft-delayed essay about how the film offers an interesting commentary on modern perceptions of masculinity. So remember to pick up the DVD and enjoy this great film– I haven’t enjoyed a film that much in years.

Next we’ve got a preview of the “Elevation X” match at TNA’s Destination X pay-per-view, which should be a phenomenal show. This match itself is pretty cool, with the wrestlers 20 feet above the ring and the Phenomenal AJ Styles attempting his death defying moves that high. Check it out.

Our final video comes from my friend Rich Bernatovech, who pointed this out to me when we were talking about drinking and trying to flirt with women.