Deadwood: HBO from Before It Was Popular

I've been enjoying Deadwood lately, particularly the Chromecast application that's even easier than downloading episodes from Direct TV. It follows the famous, or probably more accurately, infamous settlement of Deadwood. It follows some people you've heard of in Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, but focuses more on saloon owner Al Swearangen & a few other stalwarts of the community. Al is played brilliantly by Ian McShane, probably know more for being Frank Powell in Hot Rod (Rod's stepdad) than any other role tragically. Timothy Olymphant plays a hardware store owner who is also a main character, though like most HBO shows it follows around several characters, almost all are expertly played. I enjoy the Wild West and it's certainly entertaining. There's a relatively small cast since the settlement doesn't have a lot of people in it, so that's nice. The story is the relationships and how they are manipulated and changed throughout the course of the times in a relatively lawless town. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. Excellent stuff like you expect out of HBO. Highly recommended, right after you watch The Wire...

Guardians of the Galaxy

It was decided that $10 to see the highly regarded Guardians of the Galaxy. The film is loaded with known actors, but few "stars", which I really like. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista (he's decent in this one), the voices of Vin Diesel & Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio Del Toro (Small doses of the last 3) round out the quality cast. The film does an excellent job of creating the story & creation of the team (which I knew nothing about). It starts SOOO depressing that I thought for a bit I was in the wrong movie. It then quickly picks up into the action/adventure tale it wants to be. It moves fast, has some funny stuff, but it gets REALLY heavy on the overdramatic/self-sacrificial stuff. It gets over-the-top and goes even over-the-topper on the "friendship" stuff. Maybe I'm just mean and cynical, but I found it to be a bit much. I liked the movie a lot still, I just know it could have done without SO much of the dramatic stuff. I was impressed by Dave Bautista actually being in character on this one and I didn't think he was capable of anything besides breaking stuff and looking huge. Bottom Line: 8.3 out of 10. Certainly not a necessity to see this one in theatres, but it's your typical big budget, Summer action movie. It just lacks Will Smith, the Summer movie God.

Pain & Gain

Preface: I didn't even finish this thing. The movie follows Mark Wahlberg, an upward mobility obsessed personal trainer. He reads a bunch of self-help books and goes to a seminar along the same lines. He decides that rather than wait out his time until the American dream becomes his, he's going to kidnap a rich client (Tony Shahloub, WI own) and take his fortune from him. He enlists Dwayne Johnson (THE ROCK) and his longtime friend played by Anthony Mackie. I know that Wahlberg's characters name is Danny Lugo, but I really don't remember any of the other characters names. They plan, plot, and get supplies. Surprisingly a bunch of dudes who lift all day and know nothing about anything else aren't criminal masterminds. It's generally ridiculous and boring, but some people may find it funny. Bottom Line: 4.8 out of 10. I enjoyed very little about this film and have about 35 minutes left on it, if I decide to, that I imagine will be even more prolonged misery for me. Don't see this hunk of shit. There is a small bright spot of Ed Harris as a retired policeman who is a private investigator now, so that's something I suppose.

Relay for Life: Sauk Prairie Edition (Soap Box Time)

There was a hollow feeling upon approaching our local Relay for Life even that I've been away from for around 10 years. The complete lack of participation was deeply saddening. An event that used to look like a Summer concert festival worth of tents was now void of any camping equipment besides a few of the portable gazebo-like ones. A once mighty event that packed the high school track and football field area and raged from Friday evening into Saturday was reduced to 14 teams,around 100 people, and was winding down at 10:30pm. I don't know if the hurt was me personally, or the thought of how much the event used to mean to my Mom and the effort put into making it special. The speaker this year entertained not even a section of our high school bleachers, which couldn't have felt goot. That used to be standing room only and deeply uplifting. I don't know where the answers lie in trying to find out what happened to this once huge event for my small town, but I do know that fixing it is something I will work towards. There was a complete lack of energy and once uplifting spirit that carried the event through the 18 hours (or so) of time spent. Teams used to have to take shifts because not only were they so large, but the track was often packed as well. Luminaries used to have trouble fitting around the track, but this year there was plenty of space, and they were set out early and completely ruined by the rain (best $20 I've ever spent). I didn't feel like I honored the memory of loved ones, or accomplished anything to "Finish the Fight", this years theme. It's a very hollow feeling that can only be vindicated by succeeding in doing it right next year, and the years after.