2009 Attraction Tourney: Final Four

Tower of Terror over Curse of DarKastle












Expedition Everest over Spider-Man












Tower of Terror over Expedition Everest

2009 Quiet Pool Theme Park Attraction of the Year

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

2009 Attraction Tourney: Six Flags Region

And now for the most controversial of my final four attractions...The Curse of DarKastle. The brother of Universal's Spider-Man ride, DarKastle has been a favorite of mine and JJ's since we first went on it two years ago. Many other people think we overrate the attraction, but it is a carbon copy of the highly toughted Spider-Man. I think the queue and theming of DarKastle are better than Spidey. The Sweet 16 in this region was incredible, with DarKastle, Splash Mt., Soarin' and Griffon. All four are unique, three of the four have great theming, and the one that doesn't, Griffon, is one of the best coasters I've been on. When it came down to it the overall experience of DarKastle barely edged out Splash Mountain to reach the Final Four.

SNL Uses The Fake Voice

• The Bonz shouting out, "T-time...use the fake voice!"
• JJ making fun of the way I talk to adults
• Hilton immitating the way Darren talked to his girlfriend..."I can't baby, I'm at practice."

All three are great example of how using a fake voice, whether it be on the phone or not, has been giving people (and by people I mean me) comedic value for years now.

Loved seeing someone address the issue and make it into a skit. Now granted they get away from the actual point. The point is that you change the way you talk depending on who it is, not that you talk exactly like the other person. Example: if Rogen's friend talks like Yoda, might he want to hear the comfort of an Obi-Won voice? Either way some of the other voices were great.

Check it out...

The Correct Answer Is Cool Hand Luke

As John Cusack says in Serendipity, "The correct answer is Cool Hand Luke," as he answers the question 'what's your favorite movie?" While I can confidently say it doesn't crack my top 50, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can see how it got the number one spot for him.

One of my favorite things about a movie is if they can get the title into the dialogue in a sly and creative way. I thought they did this perfectly. After Luke bluffs everybody out of their money in a nice game of stud, Frank Drebin's boss (right) says 'he kept coming with nothin.' Paul the Newman responds with 'sometimes nothin can be a real cool hand.' This phrase begins to grow on the character throughout the movie, as he is then called Mr. Cool Hand later on and finally given the monniker of Cool Hand Luke by the end. Loved it.

I consider myself a decently big Paul the Newman guy, as I loved both Butch Cassidy and The Sting. I'd take The Sting over the other two, but I really like all three.

A great opening can do wonders for a movie and this had it. Luke getting drunk and slowly taking the tops off of parking meters without a care in the world. This was classic.

I had a tough time figuring out how long they had been at the jail/camp. It seemed like they had been there for a while, like maybe six months. Why is Luke so determined to escape when he only has a two year sentence. Yeah sure it's a terrible time, but Jesus you're almost halfway done.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate." The famous quote from this movie was first said by the captain after Luke is returned following his first attempt to escape. I thought to myself, really this is such a great line? I was pleasantly surprised at the end when Luke repeats the line to the cops as they show up to take him down after his third failed escape. Awesome quote.

Friday Night Loss

Tonight aired one of my favorite Friday Night Lights episodes in recent memory. Take that for what it's worth, my memory is not so good. I felt so complete when it ended that I wished it was the season finale.

Lyla reunited with Buddy on account of the fact that the Riggins household is a dump. Tyra wrote a very moving college essay that was narrated over scenes of all the characters as they got ready for the State Championship game. Landry got his chance to play on special teams and ended up getting a nice smooch from Tyra (below left) after she realized how amazingly nice he has been to her. Julie and Saracen's grandma shared a nice moment after figuring out that it was best to let Matty (right) go to art school in Chicago. Matty got to play QB again after JD (or Sam Bonsey) was benched for acting like a jerk to everyone on the team. The thing is, maybe they should've called some running plays if the pass rush was so dominating. Saracen ended up leading the Panters all the way back to lead by one. Riggins was real emotional throughout about his Era coming to an End, and capped it off by leaving his boots on the field to end the ep. Coach T, as always, made a fantastic, heart-felt speach after the game, commending the players for what they did on the field.

What they did was lose. On a last second, game-winning field goal by the heavily favored South Texas Titans, the Dillon Panthers failed to win the Texas State Football Championship. Now they won the championship in the first season and I was worried that they were going to be dumb and have them keep winning and winning. This is the second season in a row where they have not won State. Nice work.

For a while I didn't know if I thought FNL was still a top flight show, but after tonight I'm convinced it's still up there. Thankfully there are at least two more seasons in store. I just hope that they don't keep all the same characters around...maybe Riggins can stay for his fourth senior year.