Rated PG-13 – 1h59

I gotta admit. After Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was worried that we had lost Harrison Ford into the fray. No. It was just a bad idea to make another Indy movie. He delivers once again with his role as a grizzly old cowboy in Cowboys & Aliens.

I must admit, with that title, the bar is set pretty high. Cowboys and aliens are two great movie ideas. It’s like peanut butter & chocolate. Riggs & Murtaugh. Rocky & Apollo. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. I could go on. The casting also puts James Bond alongside Indiana Jones. Maybe this is going a little over the top?

In this case, the setting is the Arizona Old West in 1873. A lone man (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the desert with a weapon of some sorts strapped to his wrist. He can’t remember who he is or how he got there. He slowly starts putting the pieces together as he bands together with a posse of Cowboys and Native Americans to fight off a horde of alien abductors.

Craig plays outlaw Jake Lonergan and needs to do nothing but deliver that icy stare of his to impress. He is a rough and tough hombre and is a lot of the glue that keeps this movie together. Ford plays the brilliantly named Woodrow Dolarhyde who provides the role of mean guy with a good heart. Think his portrayal of policeman John Book from 1985’s Witness.

While you could argue that there isn’t a ton of intriguing dialogue, or that the story doesn’t quite embrace the feel of a true western, I still enjoyed it. Cowboys & Aliens is a silly idea. I expected some campiness. I expect to trade depth for a little more action.

Director Jon Favreau also gets credit for relying less heavily on special effects and more on his characters to drive the movie. The supporting cast (Sam Rockwell, Keith Carridine, Olivia Wilde and Paul Dano) also gives this push in a positive direction. Another toast to Favreau, no 3D. Its a fun movie that doesn’t need it. Well done.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I think Conan O’Brien does a decent job summing up the debt ceiling situation.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The best part is when he lifts his head to see if his ruse worked…

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If you searched 9 out of 10 homes in America right now, you’d find THIS

Incorrect Answers:  cellphone, fan, smoke detector, FM radio, that they’ve been foreclosed, fireplace, too many toys in the garage, computer, TV, microwave, shower, coffee maker, mold, blender

Correct Answer:  Ice Cream

Popularity: 7% [?]

There is a new report out today that says kids aren’t getting as much money from the Tooth Fairy as they used to.

The Tooth Fairy has been hit by the recession. A new survey by Visa says kids are getting an average of 40 cents less under their pillows this year compared to last year. The new going rate: $2.60, though the amount varies according to region. Children in the West get a whopping $2.80 on average, while those in the East must make do with $2.10.

To this I say BOO HOO!!! Please note the sarcasm. I was happy to get a quarter, maybe a dollar if it was a front tooth.  One time I didn’t tell my parents that a tooth had come out, put it under my pillow and I got NOTHING.

That was about the time that I gave up on the whole notion of the Tooth Fairy.  That is, until I saw Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the 2010 movie Tooth Fairy.  After watching that, I nearly gave up on everything.  I still am surprised that I sat through that one.

Popularity: 3% [?]

     Want fries with that?  Or apples?  How about both? McDonald’s has decided to downsize the french fries portion and add apples in every Happy Meal.  Apparently, this cuts lots of fat and calories.  Mickey D’s Happy Meals have had the “apples instead of fries” option for a while now.  88% of consumers know this switch is possible but only 11% take advantage of the trade.  Now, kids will get both fries and apples.  And you know what, they are certainly kids who will eat it all. 

      But let’s not kid ourselves.  This is a Happy Meal, not a Healthy One.

Popularity: 6% [?]

6% of babies have this in common.

Incorrect Answers:  blue eyes, jaundice, born breech, colicky, lactose intolerant, born Cesarean, out-e belly button, asthma, extra toenail, born outside a hospital, blond hair, multiple birth -twin or triplet, born with teeth, born on July 28th, born on the same day

Correct Answer:  born on their due date.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I don’t mean to be a downer here, but movies are known for drawing out the emotion of the viewer. Whether that’s joy, outrage, pleasure or sadness.

Two scientists recently set out to find the best film scenes to elicit specific emotional responses, from sadness to anger and found that the closing scene from 1979’s The Champ and its depiction of a heartbroken 9-year-old Ricky Schroeder did the trick when it came to depressing people.

The clip has been used over and over in the past 16 years, in various experiments related to sadness (for example, it helped to determine that sad people are more likely to spend money).

Other results from the study included the clips most likely to inspire disgust (an amputation scene), contentment (a beach scene), and fear (The Shining and Silence of the Lambs).

Second to The Champ for sadness? The death of Bambi’s mom.

Get ready for the waterworks:

Popularity: 4% [?]

The older we get the harder it is to do this.

Incorrect Answers:  lose weight, see, sleep, remember, have sex, exercise, stretch, meet new people, cart wheels, sweat

Correct Answer:  jump

Popularity: 6% [?]

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