MOVING: The Leshock Value has gone primetime!

Just wanted to let all of you readers know that I am now blogging on wgntv.com/leshock. Make sure you bookmark it to keep track of everything going on in the Leshock world and around Chicagoland.

VIRAL VIDEO: The Parking Ticket

The funniest thing I've seen today, once again from Joe Avella. Warning NSFW language:

VIDEO: Where to watch the Blackhawks tonight!

Maybe you don't have a ticket to see the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings tonight? You should still come out to cheer, perhaps at one of these bars we featured on last night's WGN Evening News at 5:30 p.m. (cough, *plug*, cough). Watch the clip here.

LeSHOCK Value Review: Terminator 4 a bore

COMMENCE BOMBING OF SKYNET!

Michael Ironside belts out this gem from deep beneath the ocean in a nuclear submarine. Yes, humans still have those in their fight against the machines, who are once again out to kill John Connor's father in "Terminator: Salvation."

T4 opens with a shot of Marcus, a convict on death row for killing his family. He's talked into donating his body to science by a cancer-stricken Helena Bonham Carter. He does so for a kiss, to which he adds gracefully, "Now I know what death tastes like."

Needless to say, a decade later Marcus turns up in a post-apocalyptic earth, where man is fighting machine and John Connor is leading the resistance. Marcus winds up fighting on the same side of the battlefield, until Connor finds out Marcus is more metal than man. Can he really trust a robot? What about a robot with a beating heart? A robot who just wants a second chance to right the wrongs of his life, wrongs that sent him to the death house? Oh the chrome-plated humanity! It's 2018, and not even a nuclear holocaust can wipe about sad blockbuster sap.

As far as the Terminator mythology goes - NOTHING HAPPENS. And when I say nothing happens, I literally mean that nothing happens. There's something that happens at the end of the film that leads you to believe that maybe all of this is coming to a close and either man/machine (won't spoil which one) has finally got the upper hand. But then, a character provides a few lines of narration just before the closing credits that tells us "Hey, all of that stuff you just watched? That pretty much didn't mean anything. Thanks for watching us spend $100 million blowing s--- to high heaven. See you in two summers."

"Terminator: Salvation" is just a dumb movie. I was shocked that somebody like Christian Bale, known for taking his time picking his scripts and making big-budget movies with brains, would sign on for something this silly. How many times does he need to tell characters to "get to the transport?" Or how about "run?" If there's a seven foot man of metal storming at you, can't people figure it out for themselves?

On the positive side, at least the effects are pretty solid. There's a fun scene with a towering harvester bot picking people up one by one, even though it's directly ripped out of "Transformers." I still don't understand why machines would want to collect humans, wouldn't they focus their time on developing better, stronger machines? And don't even get me started on the talking computer!

The tagline for "Terminator: Salvation" seems to be "Everybody deserves a second chance." I'm willing to grant this to Mr. Bale, but to the film's director Mr. McG? I think this would be more like a 5th chance. I'll take a pass on that.

A ticket to "Terminator: Salvation" will cost you $10. I think that's way too much money. T4 gets a LeShock Value of $2 out of $10.

2/10

VIDEO: Mancow waterboarded

In his latest on-air stunt, Eric "Mancow" Muller was waterboarded on his WLS Radio show. Here's the video:



I can see the value of undergoing waterboarding. Maybe you want to see how the human body reacts to such treatment and personally report the results to better educate your audience (I posted a much calmer video weeks ago featuring a Playboy reporter who went through the same treatment). In this case, it just kind of creeps me out to use waterboarding for entertainment value. Yet it worked, I was glued to my radio on my drive to work, wanting to know how long Mancow could last.

I've gone back and forth on this, but I can say that I enjoy most of Mancow's work. I think he's pretty funny. There are certain days I hate him, others I really love him. But in this case - does captivating a large audience make something right? It can certainly make you rich. You decide.

Mancow will be live on WGN-TV at 12 Noon to talk about the experience.

INTERVIEW: Director Pete Docter of Disney/Pixar's "Up"

"Up" doesn't open until next Friday, May 29. So far I've only been able to see a rough-cut screening that was missing the opening and ending credits. But based on that, I can tell you "Up" is set to be one of my favorite films of 2009. I was able to talk with the film's director Pete Docter (also of "Monsters Inc.") shortly before I left "metromix on CLTV." Here's the interview:

SPORTS: Broken Backboard Bonanza!

Props to the Zoner for pointing out Slam Online's feature of the Most Destructive Backboard Slams Ever! Maybe you caught big boy Dwight Howard destroying some Cleveland property last night. If not, watch:



But Slam shares this video from YouTube. My favorite dunk goes down at 2:07. I love how the guy just trots away as glass showers into the faces of the other team. Eye damage? More like "Eye Don't Care" damage! Boo ya indeed!

VIDEO: Sherlock Holmes trailer is out!

Stuff blows up! In England!

MOVIES: Cameron Crowe's Top 10 Music Moments in Film

This is a great list put together by one of the masters. Director Cameron Crowe has always been known to take a great song and turn it into something altogether different. Who could forget John Cusack holding up that boombox blaring Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" in "Say Anything?" What about the revival of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" in "Almost Famous?"

But being the gentlemen, Crowe omits his own work in putting together his list. Glad to see "Once" makes an appearance, but I'd probably put a few more Quentin Tarantino tracks in the mix ("Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" from "Jackie Brown" makes an appearance, but no Steeler's Wheel in "Reservoir Dogs?" Hmmm).

Regardless, a great list. Check it out here.

FOOD: Great Lake pizza named best in America by GQ

Lou who? Gino what? GQ Magazine's Alan Richman traveled 20,000 miles to find the best pizza in America. Chicago only landed one pizzeria in the Top 25, one many of its residents have yet to try - Great Lake in Andersonville, specifically the Mortadella Pie.

You can read Richman's full description here, but just to be brief:

"...topped with fresh garlic and mortadella, the dirigible-sized Italian sausage that looks like bologna, tastes like salami, and is usually cut into chunks. He sliced the meat very thin and laid slices of it over the pie the moment it came out of the oven."

OK I'm sold. I have yet to eat at Great Lake, but it's known for its long wait times (which Richman labels a good thing because of the care put into each pie). Looks like those wait times will be even longer now - because myself, everyone else and their mothers will be lining up to get a taste of this bad boy. I'll let you know the results after I get my hands on one.

What do you all think about the list? Any favorite Chicago pizzeria left off? My favorite remains Louisa's in Crestwood. It's a deep pan pizza but never too soggy, cooked in a very high temperature oven from both sides. I'm salivating just thinking about it.