I can’t remember if Dug, the dog from Up, ever joined Carl or Russell on a see-saw in the movie, but this dog’s passing resemblance to the Up dog was more than enough for me to dedicate an entire post to it. Come on, the only thing I like more than chubby little kids are fat dogs doing human stuff. Well, actually it sort of depends on the amount of the chubby kid’s swagger. This kid was pretty legit, for instance.

"I was hiding under the porch because I love you."

So, what do you think? Probably not as cute as the real-life Up kid, but the world could always use more fat dogs on see-saws, I’m always saying.

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As you’ll see in the video after the jump, over the weekend, scientists from NASA’s 32nd balloon division (I’m assuming) recreated the house-lifting scene from Up for National Geographic’s upcoming series “How Hard Can It Be?“  The team used 300 helium-filled balloons to lift a 16-foot-by-16-foot house 10,000 feet, only they didn’t get it exactly right because IT DIDN’T EVEN MAKE ME CRY THIS TIME SUCK IT SCIENCE.

How Hard Can It Be? sent Scientists, engineers and pilots from Southern California into the Mojave Desert to try to recreate Carl Fredricksen’s flying house from the Pixar computer animated movie Up. [/Film]

Scientists, engineers, AND pilots?  Hey, how about next time you send a helium tank, some balloons, and this kid:

Hmmm, house still not floating?  This is indeed a mystery… (*puts on reading glasses, studies chart, heats bunsen burner, pours green liquid into graduated cylinder, frowns, smashes beaker on the floor, goes home, tears out hair, questions talent, hears wife say something inconsequential, asks wife to repeat it, shouts “that’s it!”, rushes back to lab, fills another graduated cylinder, shouts “I KNEW IT!”*)  According to my calculations, we need to fill more balloons.

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Rotten Tomatoes recently gave out its Golden Tomato awards for the best reviewed movies of the year.  Take this with a grain of salt, because as any hack director will tell you (*cough* Stephen Sommers *cough, cough*), all movie critics are albino hemophiliacs who live in a special closet at private school and thus don’t count as audience members, let alone real people.  Nonetheless, Up was the best reviewed film in wide release, while the Hurt Locker was the best-reviewed limited release.  Here’s the full list:

Action / Adventure: “The Hurt Locker”
Animation: “Up”
Comedy: “In the Loop”
Documentary: “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”
Drama: “An Education”
Foreign: “Afghan Star” (Afghanistan)
Horror: “Drag Me to Hell”
Kids / Family: “Where the Wild Things Are”
Musical: “Crazy Heart”
Romance: “Adventureland”
Sci-Fi / Fantasy: “Star Trek”
Thriller: “State of Play”
Best Reviewed Australian Film: “Samson and Delilah”
Best Reviewed UK Film: “An Education”
Best User Reviewed Film: “Zombieland”

As you can see, I tend to agree with most of these, even if I noticed a disturbing trend in Up of Pixar trying really hard to make me cry.  His wife died?  He has no friends and has to go live in a home?  For the third act are we just gonna play circle the fat?

In related news, a Golden Tomato is also what I call it when I pee on your mom’s face while chugging a V8.

Since I know you were all thinking it, let’s say it all together now: Awwwww.  Enjoy it while it lasts, he won’t be nearly this cute when he’s getting diabetes.  (Though he’s pretty cute now).

[via FowlerIGN]

I’m not going to pretend I’m qualified to name this year’s best movies (more qualified than most who make these lists, but still) or that I saw every movie, but people on the internet love lists, and I love money.  I find that the strippers object when you try to stuff post-it notes in their vaginas.  On that note, here are the 10 movies of 2009 that I would stuff in my vagina like a $1,000 dollar bill.  KNIVES OUT!

1. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
I need to see this again to truly understand what I experienced, but if I’m honest, it was probably the most fun I had in a theater this year. (I should’ve gone with Alanis Morissette *frownie*) Was it fun because it was really good, or just really crazy and weird?  I don’t really know.  But isn’t it a little unfair to make that distinction?

2.  The Hurt Locker
Definitely the most well-made movie this year.  It was a simple, straightforward plot, but it was well-acted, perfectly shot, and as tense as waiting for your STD-test results.  It really took you to another place, and that’s what it’s all about, right?  (other than being able to sit on your ass and eat nachos).  Every director should study the way this was storyboarded and edited. Especially Brett Ratner, that guy sucks.

3. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
What can I say, there’s just something about middle-aged men trying to live out their childhood dreams while repeatedly getting kicked in the face that does it for me.  It kept making me teary-eyed without feeling like it was trying really hard to do so (like Up). Damn you, you lovable Canadians.

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