This is the first installment of the “Pumpkin Roundup” your guide to the entertainment world from the head of the pumpkin patch.

Snakes on a Plane - Theatrical Release
I like Sam J as much, if not more than most people. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I have a man-crush on him, but I am still very fond. I remember one of my proudest photoshop moments involved me putting my grill piece on SJ’s body on the Shaft poster. All that being said, I’d have to say that this movie was a bit of a let down for the Pumpkin. The buzz is there, and I am a sucker for hype. The theater on a Friday day usually is filled by me and maybe three other people tops. The Snakes showing had probably about ten, so apparently the hype worked on others. This worked to my benefit because I got to watch an uncomfortable mother-son moment when there was a topless sex scene. The little guy’s little sausage fingers were twittling in the popcorn and shoveling into his pie whole at a speed only seen by the few that luckily witnessed the Pumpkin sneaking a snack in while the teacher was out in the hall back in the jv days. Essentially the movie itself was a showcase of Sam Jackson playing the pop-icon Sam Jackson that Dave Chapelle brought to the world. I truly heard an interview asking him what the movie was about and he basically said it was about some snakes on a plane. He was right.

Verdict: [rate 2]

Madden 2007 - Xbox360
This little bundle of joy in my opinion is like astronaut food. Meaning, you eat it because you have absolutely nothing else. I love football, I love video games, and I use to love Madden football games. EA sports secured excusive rights to make NFL football games not too long ago and what that means is essentially they have no competition in NFL based football games. This can also be reworded as “they have no immediate need to make a quality product or improvements.” The game itself is pretty fun, there are considerable features that make the game seemingly deep. My favorite part is the integration with the online services like a ticker with real scores and online gaming. That’s pretty much where it ends on the positives. The fatigue meter is all goofy, the animations are herky-jerky, the graphics are pretty much unacceptable at this stage, you can cheat easily to get achievements and gamer points by simulating games and not saving them, everybody wants to play as the Falcons (worst offense to me), and many numerous oddities and omissions that are too numerous to list. I am not trying to imply that this game is bad by any means, but the lack of improvement from year to year and the seemingly overall mediocre content just leaves me fluffed at best.

Verdict: [rate 3]

“Idlewild” by Outkast - CD Release
I will say that my general routine with new cd’s is spend a few seconds with each track initially and then come back later to the ones that stuck out. This cd did very little to grab my attention in that process. Then today I decided to take a drive to grab a fountain Mountain Dew at Taco Bell to get away from the computer screen. This was the perfect opportunity to give the cd another go. I turned a short run into an hour long drive through the country. The “two dope boys in a cadillac” are back. This album features the older rap style and the newer exploritory sound that was prominent on their separate double disc release. In all honesty, when they are flowing, there are few better at rap delivery. The album art is pretty awesome as well, the cover features a lenticular image that when you move it, it appears to move

Verdict: [rate 4]

“Kelis Was Here” by Kelis - CD Release
This album features some top-notch production and a wide variety of song styles. The single “Bossy” featuring Too Short is a fine example of her sassy style over a very catchy beat, similar to “Milkshake” from awhile back. She combines singing and rapping and gets good results. In contrast to the album above, the artwork for this album is very uninspiring. As a matter of fact it makes the album look cheap in my opinion and does not do her or the music any justice.

Verdict: [rate 3.5]

Prison Break (Season 2, Episode 1, “Manhunt”) - Television Show
The first season of this show gave me an addiction. It did start to get a little wild and sometimes unbelievable, but I was able to overlook that much and enjoy it as enterainment rather than reality tv. The second season picked up exactly where the first left off and had a couple major plot advancements. I won’t ruin any of those, but I will say that I do look forward to following this season. If you liked the first then this one will be fine with you. (My rating on this one is put into the context of continuing from last season and setting up this season.)

Verdict: [rate 4]