John Torrey

For me, ThinkGeek.com is the best place online to find great gift ideas and nerdy add-ons for all the Geeks in my life. With a truly unique inventory of products along with a GREAT rewards program for return shoppers, ThinkGeek is a great place to shop for stuff you might not find anywhere else.

Hard charging, no prisoner taking music for the gym.

Combining two things I love (the Oscars and surprises) this Secret Pack from Wine Library was an awesome addition to an otherwise lackluster awards show.

What's not to love about Iron Man 2? It's got everything my little nerd heart wanted: explosions, quips, setup for future movies and continuity building.

I think the best thing I read about this movie was that it's the best of the Twilight movies so far...which means its only the third worst vampire movie of all time.

Well played, lip biting Stewart!

Reviewed for Pop Culture Blind Spot: I could begin this post by saying that I didn’t enjoy the schmaltzy, over-the-top romance that drips from every corner of the movie “Ghost”…but I recently posted on Twitter that I cried at “Toy Story 3″ so what’s the point in even trying to fabricate that lie? It seems sort of fitting to talk about a movie like “Ghost” that offered a glimpse of supernatural romance the same week that the newest mythical romance movie hits the cinemas. I’m referring of course to “Mormon Monster Movie #3″ (also known as “Twilight: Eclipse”). Both movies offer stories of love and loss set against a world with a sci-fi rule set a bit more expanded than ours. Also, both movies saved money by eliminating their shirt budgets for key scenes. Looking back, the summer of 1990 was really the summer of Swayze. He was at the height of his power…and all because of some clay and a penny.

See the rest of my review at: http://popcultureblindspot.com/2010/07/02/ghost-so-thats-why-they-played-that-song-at-middle-school-dances/

Reviewed for Pop Culture Blind Spot: There’s a lot of “SOAP” in the sitcoms that I love. On a couple of different levels in fact. This season’s big breakout hit, ABC’s “Modern Family”, is like a toned down version of the 70′s hit. They’re both shows that really find their comedy in the interactions between the characters instead of the situations they’re in even though “SOAP” deals with some of the most outlandish situations I’ve ever come across. There are also a lot of actors from shows that I’ve loved randomly sprinkled in the cast of “SOAP”. How can you not love a show that’s got both the sassy grandma from “Who’s the Boss?” and the dad from “Blossom”? But most of all, I think “SOAP” was a show that was striving to move the social conversation forward and did so in a disarmingly ridiculous way. It’s a great example of socially responsible TV that accomplishes it’s mission without being preachy (even if basically every religious group at the time disagrees with me in a classically “Oh no! Gay people!” way). At one point in the series, one of the characters is abducted by aliens and replaced with an alien lookalike (played by the same actor). Now that’s good television!

See the rest of my review at: http://popcultureblindspot.com/2010/06/09/soap-the-whos-who-of-whos-that/

Reviewed for Pop Culture Blind Spot: This movie has Rob Lowe “playing” a saxophone…in a bar…with a band. There’s a part of me that wants to leave this Pop Culture Blind Spot at that. Seriously. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve shouted the word “Really?!?” at a movie. There’s that scene in “Transformers 2″ where they crash out of the back of the Air & Space Museum in DC and seem to suddenly be in Iowa…this was more shockingly unbelievable than that was. There was the moment in “The Usual Suspects” when you realize that Spacey is really Soze…this was more outlandishly twisted than that. It even tops the magical moment when Rob Lowe appeared on the Oscars singing with Snow White. It was just that crazy. Don’t believe me? Relive the magic for yourself. But as much as I want it to be, “St. Elmo’s Fire” isn’t all about a few insane scenes of Rob Lowe playing the saxophone. No, it’s about many more insane scenes with many more stars, culminating in Andrew McCarthy using a blowtorch to try to get to a soon-to-freeze-to-death Demi Moore. But, as always, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

See the rest of my review at: http://popcultureblindspot.com/2010/06/15/st-elmos-fire-sax-isnt-love-billy/

Reviewed for Pop Culture Blind Spot: Before anyone cries foul that I’m skipping “Rocky” and “Rocky II” and jumping into the series with the third movie I have to say that I don’t think it would matter. I’ve never been a fan of boxing but I’ve really enjoyed some boxing movies that I’ve seen in the past (“Raging Bull” and “Ali” immediately pop to mind). While boxing is a brutally violent sport that’s basically organized concussion handing outing, there’s something about boxing in the movies that makes it seem almost elegant. Think of all those slow motion shots of people getting punched in the face that you’ve seen over the years. This effect was really brought to bear in last year’s “Sherlock Holmes” reboot when Holmes would plan out his attack on an opponent in slow motion. There’s something beautiful about people getting decked 24 frames per second…but I digress. “Rocky III” is less about the slow mo throw down and more about a redemption story told through a series of music-fueled training montages. Seriously, I’d always heard that the Rocky series was one of the first to really use the training montage device that was so popular in the 80′s but I had no idea that there would be so many. Nor did I know just how much of the movie would be filled with sweaty, oiled up dudes. (Seriously. It’s a lot.)

See the rest of my review: (http://popcultureblindspot.com/2010/06/07/rocky-iii-do-you-like-gladiator-movies-bobby/)

Remember the button mashing fun of the Simpsons arcade game in the mid-90's? This is that with a bit of an upgrade. Well worth the purchase.

This is a solid, stand alone telling of the Crisis on Two Earths. Nerdy enough for the super fans without being off-putting for newcomers.

Polk.....Salad.....

Can you listen to this song and not think about the Cosby kids? I can't.

I'm a sucker for a remix/mash-up or uptempo version of a song I already love. This is one epic remake.

Definitely the song of Summer 2010

Duckie, Duckie, Duckie....

The one song that filled the dance floor at Prom 2010.

My beans and mash....

Used for a classy video of a friend pretending to be a boy scout so he could go to Beer Camp. :)

Anytime O is for Ophelia and she's got her head in a fishbowl, you know it's a winner.