Monday, June 4, 2007

The Award For Best Movie Released By the Parent Company of MTV Is ...

So, anyone see the MTV Movie Awards last night? Don't worry, if you missed 'em, something tells me MTV might, and I stress, MIGHT, air them again at some point in the near future.

To me, the Movie Awards and the Video Music Awards are basically the last bastion of old-school MTV. I've ranted enough on here about how useless and pathetic the network is these days, and I think anyone with half a brain realizes what terrible shape it's in. So, I won't go into it again now.

But on last night's awards show, just an odd mix ... on one hand there was kind of an old-school feel. Sarah Silverman would have fit right in as a host in MTV's heydey - she's the kind of semi-edgy comedienne who helped give MTV much of its initial street cred (well, that, and like, you know, they MUSIC they played). And Silverman was pretty good, the highlight being her opening monologue in which she slammed Paris Hilton to her face, to which I say "bravo." Get that worthless waste of oxygen out of the public spotlight, away from MTV, away from youth culture. Celebrate people who are out there doing music, doing comedy, whatever, but don't give any more face time to someone with nothing to contribute to pop culture other than her latest tabloid scandal. So I liked that Silverman let loose and didn't pull punches, and it was cool to see a staple of the old-school MTV, Mike Myers, get some recognition as well, reminding me of the period when he was probably my #1 comedy idol, pre-Shrek and Cat in the Hat. There were some funny bits as well courtesy of Will Ferrell and Sascha Baron Cohen, and seeing a loaded-up Jack Nicholson accept an award while being one step away from passing out was pretty amusing.

On the OTHER hand, while I found the show generally enjoyable, in some ways I'm sad to say this was a new LOW for MTV, especially in the realm of corporate shilling. Not only was the show a near constant promo for Transformers, but the show went so far as to award the movie with a "Best Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" trophy. Yes, I'm serious. This is probably smart marketing, and I have no doubt this movie will be HUGE, now that MTV's army of braindead pre-teen viewers are as psyched about it as us nostalgia-feuled twenty-somethings. But, this is semi-EVIL and just plain ridiculous. I mean, sure, it's not like the MTV movie awards have ever really been legitimate whatsoever, but this is, like I said, a whole new low, with Michael Bay even coming out and accepting this award, which is pretty freaking absurd.

- I would just like to take a moment and issue a warning to those on Facebook who have added the "Movies" application to their profile. This is possibly the most addictive thing ever. Basically a random movie pops up and prompts you to rate it from 1 to 5 stars. Sounds simple, but wait until you find yourself playing Ken Tucker and rating movies left and right, just hoping that Robocop will turn up soon so you can slap it with the 5-star rating it so justly deserves ...

- By the way, these Facebook applications are nuts, I don't have time to waste on any more of these things ... and yet ...

- On the NBA: Man, I am actually excited about the Finals for the first time in a while. And what a win for the Cavs on Saturday over Detroit. It was so nice to see a team like the Cavs prevail. Personally, I've never liked Detroit whatsoever. I think Rasheed Wallace is mentally ill the way he argues EVERY foul called against him as if someone just insulted his mom. It's one thing to play with emotion, it's another thing to be a complete moron and get yourself ejected from a game for no good reason just because you can't control your impulse to scream and throw a tantrum whenever you hear a whistle. Then, there's players like Chauncey Billups who just seem to have this unfounded arrogance about them. He, Rasheed, and Rip Hamilton all have a ton of potential, yet none have taken it to the next level and emerged as a superstar. I'm just happy to see Detroit's thuggish, obnoxious team taken out from contention and usurped by a bright young Cavs team that plays with a lot of class and is fun to watch. The Cavs are certainly overmatched against the Spurs, but it's going to be a lot of fun to watch them go for the upset. When you have the overall best player on the floor, I don't think you can ever be totally counted out, and I think right now Lebron is pretty clearly in that lofty spot of being The Man.

- Alright, I'm out for now. Had a good weekend - some good times on Saturday and even got in a little beach volleyball (!) on Sunday. My arms are still kinda sore from all that volleying but hey, it was a nice change of pace. Looking forward to another busy week ...

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