From my brother last night around 6.

I hate traffic almost more than anything in the world. 1. Terrorists. 2. Traffic. 3. Mustard. 4. Writers Strike.

I love my brother. I actually laughed out loud when I got this.

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Maybe one of the funniest movies of the past 5 years.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (sans Ben Stiller THANK THE LORD) team up for an absolutely riotous buddy comedy / romantic comedy. There was a point during the movie that I actually thought I was going to choke because I was laughing so hard.

I read an interesting review that posed itself as a feature piece in GQ about Vaughn, Wilson, Stiller, Will Ferrell (whose cameo is actually pretty funny-WAAAAY funnier than Anchorman- but not nearly the funniest part of the movie), and Luke Wilson. Essentially, what the author of the article said was that out of all the movies that these guys have done together, Wedding Crashers is clearly the best. It went on to talk about how their movies are formulaic, but they continue to dominate the box office so why should these guys do anything else?

That’s a good question. I, for one, am a bit tired of Ben Stiller and was pretty psyched to NOT see him in this movie. It was infinitely better because of it. Vaughn and Wilson have great on-screen chemistry and Vince Vaughn delivers his lines better than anyone. His timing is perfect and he gives his best performance since Swingers.

The supporting characters in the movie are terrific as well. Rachel McAdams shines and is an up-and-coming star who has finally shirked her teen-comedy jinx and is starting to get better and better roles. Christopher Walken was, well, Christopher Walken. I mean, he’s Bruce Dickinson. And he’s gotta have more cowbell. Newish-comer Isla Fisher is great as Vaughn’s psychotic love interest and one of my favorite Alias characters, Will (Bradley Cooper) is so believable as the ultra-male, in-the-way, dominant boyfriend, that I almost disliked him.

LOCK IT UP.

Overall, I loved this movie. Sure, Owen Wilson isn’t exactly believable as a romantic lead, but Vince Vaughn more than makes up for Owen’s shortcomings in this flick.

My IMDb rating: 8.5 out of 10.

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I am a huge fan of Ben Folds. He is probably one of my all-time favorite artists. Which is why when I heard that Ben was putting his next solo record on hold to produce the recently-released William Shatner spoken-word album, Has Been, I was less than pleased.

After listening to a few of the tracks that they have put out, I have to say that I am completely blown away. Shatner is at the top of his game with his lyrical stylings and the arrangements (the work of my man Folds) are fantastic. The music is really what shines here…Shatner is really more of a sideshow. He enlists the help of everyone from indie songstress Aimee Mann (”That’s Me Trying”) to country star Brad Paisley (my favorite, “Real) to rocker Henry Rollins (the hilarious scream-fest “I Can’t Get Behind That”).

I was forwarded a link to the songs from someone and was hesitant, considering I had purchased 1998’s Fear of Pop, Vol. 1 which first teamed up Folds and Shatner. I was not very impressed with that one. After hearing these tunes, I may have to get it back out and give it another shot.

Of particular note, is “Real” with Brad Paisley. I’m not a big country fan, but the song is perfect. The lyrics are personal to Shatner and the melody mixes perfectly with Paisley’s chorus. If you’re going to download one song…that’s the one I would suggest. Then “That’s Me Trying”.

On another note, my brother hooked up a blog. Check it out.

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