Me and my nephew and niece.
Kids love me, yup yup.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Weekend Vblog
Alright, been 10 days and I know it's been a while. Changes in my life are taking place. Vblog in 3 parts, first I was interrupted then software crash, oh well.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Movie Reviews
Alright, as I promised yesterday, movie reviews, here we go.
Vantage Point is a 2008 thrill fest. Terrorists attack Spain during an anti-terrorist summit. The President of the United States is shot and there is plenty of twists, turns and action However as the title says, it all depends on a person's point of view. You'll see the same action a few times over, from the perspective of different people, the president, a secret service man, men blackmailed into helping the terrorists, an american tourist and the terrorists themselves. It does become a bit repetitive, but the action is shot from different angles and you catch and understand stuff better as the plot thickens. It's a good movie with an unexpected ending. A good rent, and I'd say a good consideration if you're looking to buy a decent dvd. I recommend it.
Dan in Real Life is a nice 2007 a drama/romance/comedy with one of my favorite comedic actors, Steve Carell. His character is an advice columnist who is widowed for a few years, taking care of his three daughters and having to deal with their needs above his own. During a family reunion he goes out shopping and meets a woman he becomes interested in. His surprise is that when he gets back to his family, his brother introduces his girlfriend to him, the same women he met earlier. This leads to a struggle of emotions on his part, and hers. Things get complicated and his actions lead to the family falling apart. I won't go past that, because you'll want to see the rest. A good rent and a great dvd buy for anyone who likes drama, romance and a bit of comedy combined. I highly recommend it
2007's Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is one of the best thrillers I've seen. Two brothers in debt struggle with their personal and financial problems. The older one is a drug addict and has been using company funds to buy drugs while his wife is having an affair with another man. The younger brother is having a tough time keeping up with alimony payments to keep his daughter in a good school. Their desperation to fix their financial woes lead to a robbery of a jewelry store. Unfortunately things don't go as planned, and what was meant to be an easy job where nobody gets hurt, ends up with the death of two people. This leads to an unexpected series of consequences that neither brother ever expected. Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Albert Finney give a superb performance and combined with a good storyline makes this a great movie to rent and a must-have dvd purchase. I highly recommend it.
Vantage Point is a 2008 thrill fest. Terrorists attack Spain during an anti-terrorist summit. The President of the United States is shot and there is plenty of twists, turns and action However as the title says, it all depends on a person's point of view. You'll see the same action a few times over, from the perspective of different people, the president, a secret service man, men blackmailed into helping the terrorists, an american tourist and the terrorists themselves. It does become a bit repetitive, but the action is shot from different angles and you catch and understand stuff better as the plot thickens. It's a good movie with an unexpected ending. A good rent, and I'd say a good consideration if you're looking to buy a decent dvd. I recommend it.
Dan in Real Life is a nice 2007 a drama/romance/comedy with one of my favorite comedic actors, Steve Carell. His character is an advice columnist who is widowed for a few years, taking care of his three daughters and having to deal with their needs above his own. During a family reunion he goes out shopping and meets a woman he becomes interested in. His surprise is that when he gets back to his family, his brother introduces his girlfriend to him, the same women he met earlier. This leads to a struggle of emotions on his part, and hers. Things get complicated and his actions lead to the family falling apart. I won't go past that, because you'll want to see the rest. A good rent and a great dvd buy for anyone who likes drama, romance and a bit of comedy combined. I highly recommend it
2007's Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is one of the best thrillers I've seen. Two brothers in debt struggle with their personal and financial problems. The older one is a drug addict and has been using company funds to buy drugs while his wife is having an affair with another man. The younger brother is having a tough time keeping up with alimony payments to keep his daughter in a good school. Their desperation to fix their financial woes lead to a robbery of a jewelry store. Unfortunately things don't go as planned, and what was meant to be an easy job where nobody gets hurt, ends up with the death of two people. This leads to an unexpected series of consequences that neither brother ever expected. Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Albert Finney give a superb performance and combined with a good storyline makes this a great movie to rent and a must-have dvd purchase. I highly recommend it.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Nervous
It's been years since I got a "real" job with a paycheck, so I've been waking up and going back to sleep all night. At 7AM I decided to stay up. I'm a bit nervous but Duane who was also up gave me some encouragement and support.
Meanwhile I found this image at lolcats.com which is one of my favorite sites.
Reminded me of my cat. If I get my legal situation on track somehow, I will definitely buy a white female cat and name her "Snowflake", I think I've mentioned this a few months ago.
Meanwhile I found this image at lolcats.com which is one of my favorite sites.
Reminded me of my cat. If I get my legal situation on track somehow, I will definitely buy a white female cat and name her "Snowflake", I think I've mentioned this a few months ago.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
No Internets
Ok guys, I got no internet, I'm posting this from the library. 2 video blogs from Tuesday before and after job hunting with Duane. I got a call back today, Boston Market, I will be going to an interview within an hour, wish me luck.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Monday Video Blog
Unfortunately I had a problem with my lappy, so the video was cut off, I will post another video blog this week. I think I covered most of what has happened lately.
Hope you guys had a great weekend!
Hope you guys had a great weekend!
Movie Review Fest!
I've spent some of the weekend watching some movies, some I've watched before the weekend but never got to review.
Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 drama/romance/comedy flick that had me from the start. How can a man explain to his young daughter the story of falling in love with her mother, during their divorce? a very tough thing to do. Love is simple and complicated at the same time, and this movie delivers some of it's meaning and complexities. Good acting, a great storyline and a beautiful flow of their character's growth and lives. It's not deep in a spiritual way, but very romantic. I highly recommend this movie.
Next is a trilogy of movies, with mixed reviews.
1997's Starship Troopers is a great sci-fi film, one I consider a must-own for anyone who likes the genre. Actings is not Oscar winning of course, but plenty of good action, special effects and a decent cast and story. I have watched this movie a few times over the years, and it still holds it's water. Aliens attack earth and we strike back with a vengeance. Who can forget "Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?", yeah, good time. I'm a pacifist, but god I love a good action movie. I always hoped there would be a sequel to it, and unfortunately, there was.
In 2004 someone, somewhere must have seen a ST script and decided "hey, we can make some money with this" and produced it. I'm not saying Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is an entirely bad film, no. What I'm saying is that even though the original was a blockbuster it wasn't grade A material, more like a very well done B movie with great sfx. This one however, seems to have been done with a tight budget with mostly unknown actors and few locations. The bugs have a team of troopers surrounded in the middle of nowhere while waiting on a rescue extraction. A new bug is introduced which puts the team in danger within an abandoned base. The CGI sfx are decent, but through the movie you can definitely label this as a B movie at best. If you like B movies, renting is ok, buying... not so much.
2008 brought the second sequel, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder with the return of Casper Van Dien in the role of Johnny Rico, the hero of Planet P. That alone made the movie better for some reason, a familiar character which thankfully was not "watered down". Jolene Blalock known from her role in the TV Series Star Trek Enterprise's Vulcan officer is a great addition to the film with a solid role. The story is not half bad to be honest and it certainly had a much larger budget than the previous film. Johnny gets himself sentenced to death by disobeying orders from a superior who is also an old friend. Meanwhile the Sky Marshall is MIA and the higher powers are avoiding a search for him, in what appears to be a power struggle. Can Johnny dodge a hanging and save the Sky Marshall who's going through a strange religious change? Maybe, you'll have to watch to find out. I recommend this movie, a good rent, and an ok buy.
Love in the Time of Cholera is a 2007 drama/romance that features a great cast and a superb story based on a novel. I must warn you this is not a movie for kids, it has very adult topics and scenes. The film captures Colombia's 19th century quite nicely I think. Good acting and beautiful locations bring the story to life but since I never read the novel I'm not sure if it was well adapted. The story spans 50 years of love, sex, passion, obsession and pain. It's hard to describe it. A couple fall in love, but her father takes her away and over time make his daughter forget the vow of love she had with her beloved. She returns years later and when they meet again she turns him down. Broken hearted the now grown man goes through many lovers while still thinking of his beloved and waiting for a time to recapture her love. For some people it may be a shocking film, so even though I recommend this film, be aware you must have an open mind to watch it.
Meet the Spartans... another 2008 movie spoof that not only doesn't deliver, but I swear they should burn the master and every DVD copy out there. Sure there are a handful of times you may chuckle, but that probably comes to a total of 3 minutes of laughter, the other 84 minutes of it, you want to throw a chair at the screen. Avoid it, trust me, run for the hills.
In Bruges is a 2008 drama/comedy of biblical proportions. Two hit men botch a job and are sent to Belgium to keep a low profile. One loves the medieval town, the other can't wait to move on while feeling guilt for killing the wrong person. A call from their boss changes things, leading to an unexpected discovery that one must make a decision to rectify the mistake that landed them in Bruges. Friendship comes to a crossroads, where all choices will lead to bullets, blood and death. I highly recommend this film, a must buy, a great rent. It's Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for god's sake, you know it's good.
2007's Resident Evil 3: Extinction is a mix of good and bad. Special effects, two thumbs up (as in the first 2 films). Storyline? weak, very weak. I loved the RE games back when I had a Playstation, they were great and the first two movies were so-so, but this one really doesn't grab me, even with the nice ending. If you're a sci-fi fan, a decent rent, but it's not something you should consider buying really. Oops, Alice does it again.
Never Back Down is a 2008 movie that a friend of mine recommended to me a few weeks ago. It reminds me a bit of The Karate Kid movie I saw many years ago. Not as inspirational, or good story wise of course. Guy in high school gets embarrassed after a fight with a popular fighter, trains in a gym to let go of his anger, friend gets hurt by the same guy who beat him and... well, you know where it goes from the start. Still it was an enjoyable movie, much more so than most of the Rocky movies. A decent rent, but not so sure about purchasing it.
Jumper is a 2008 sci-fi movie that has a few commonalities with other movies I've reviewed today. Good special effects, but a weak storyline. It was based on a popular novel, but it doesn't really deliver. Samuel L. Jackson could not be less believable with his white hair, what were they thinking? and Hayden Christiansen was probably the wrong actor to have as lead, but even so the plot is so hollow at times that you want to push the stop button. I watched the whole movie, and I can't recommend it.
Leatherheads is a 2008 sports/comedy with George Clooney and Renée Zellweger in the early 20th century. Clooney plays as Dodge Connelly, an old professional football player and Zellweger as Lexie Littleton, a nosy reporter. He has managed to save his team from folding by acquiring a former war hero who loves football. The game becomes popular again; but with a mission to find the truth about the young star Zellweger puts not only the team's popularity at risk, but Clooney's career. With a pre-regulation game style, you'll see plenty of cheap and funny moves on the field with only one goal "win at all costs". How will the team react to new rules, possibly losing their star quarterback and the love triangle between Dodge, Lexie and the young war hero? Well, I got to say. Watch it and find out, it's a fun film to see. A good rent, and an ok dvd to buy.
Back to the Future Trilogy well... I watched them again, and I got to say, they are still as good as when I saw them the first time around. A must-have for any science fiction fan, yes buy it! these movies have become classics without a doubt. Well there is something Doc was right about "The time-traveling is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!".
That's all for today, I think I caught up with all the movies I've seen for the past few weeks. Video Blog probably Monday.
Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 drama/romance/comedy flick that had me from the start. How can a man explain to his young daughter the story of falling in love with her mother, during their divorce? a very tough thing to do. Love is simple and complicated at the same time, and this movie delivers some of it's meaning and complexities. Good acting, a great storyline and a beautiful flow of their character's growth and lives. It's not deep in a spiritual way, but very romantic. I highly recommend this movie.
Next is a trilogy of movies, with mixed reviews.
1997's Starship Troopers is a great sci-fi film, one I consider a must-own for anyone who likes the genre. Actings is not Oscar winning of course, but plenty of good action, special effects and a decent cast and story. I have watched this movie a few times over the years, and it still holds it's water. Aliens attack earth and we strike back with a vengeance. Who can forget "Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?", yeah, good time. I'm a pacifist, but god I love a good action movie. I always hoped there would be a sequel to it, and unfortunately, there was.
In 2004 someone, somewhere must have seen a ST script and decided "hey, we can make some money with this" and produced it. I'm not saying Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is an entirely bad film, no. What I'm saying is that even though the original was a blockbuster it wasn't grade A material, more like a very well done B movie with great sfx. This one however, seems to have been done with a tight budget with mostly unknown actors and few locations. The bugs have a team of troopers surrounded in the middle of nowhere while waiting on a rescue extraction. A new bug is introduced which puts the team in danger within an abandoned base. The CGI sfx are decent, but through the movie you can definitely label this as a B movie at best. If you like B movies, renting is ok, buying... not so much.
2008 brought the second sequel, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder with the return of Casper Van Dien in the role of Johnny Rico, the hero of Planet P. That alone made the movie better for some reason, a familiar character which thankfully was not "watered down". Jolene Blalock known from her role in the TV Series Star Trek Enterprise's Vulcan officer is a great addition to the film with a solid role. The story is not half bad to be honest and it certainly had a much larger budget than the previous film. Johnny gets himself sentenced to death by disobeying orders from a superior who is also an old friend. Meanwhile the Sky Marshall is MIA and the higher powers are avoiding a search for him, in what appears to be a power struggle. Can Johnny dodge a hanging and save the Sky Marshall who's going through a strange religious change? Maybe, you'll have to watch to find out. I recommend this movie, a good rent, and an ok buy.
Love in the Time of Cholera is a 2007 drama/romance that features a great cast and a superb story based on a novel. I must warn you this is not a movie for kids, it has very adult topics and scenes. The film captures Colombia's 19th century quite nicely I think. Good acting and beautiful locations bring the story to life but since I never read the novel I'm not sure if it was well adapted. The story spans 50 years of love, sex, passion, obsession and pain. It's hard to describe it. A couple fall in love, but her father takes her away and over time make his daughter forget the vow of love she had with her beloved. She returns years later and when they meet again she turns him down. Broken hearted the now grown man goes through many lovers while still thinking of his beloved and waiting for a time to recapture her love. For some people it may be a shocking film, so even though I recommend this film, be aware you must have an open mind to watch it.
Meet the Spartans... another 2008 movie spoof that not only doesn't deliver, but I swear they should burn the master and every DVD copy out there. Sure there are a handful of times you may chuckle, but that probably comes to a total of 3 minutes of laughter, the other 84 minutes of it, you want to throw a chair at the screen. Avoid it, trust me, run for the hills.
In Bruges is a 2008 drama/comedy of biblical proportions. Two hit men botch a job and are sent to Belgium to keep a low profile. One loves the medieval town, the other can't wait to move on while feeling guilt for killing the wrong person. A call from their boss changes things, leading to an unexpected discovery that one must make a decision to rectify the mistake that landed them in Bruges. Friendship comes to a crossroads, where all choices will lead to bullets, blood and death. I highly recommend this film, a must buy, a great rent. It's Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for god's sake, you know it's good.
2007's Resident Evil 3: Extinction is a mix of good and bad. Special effects, two thumbs up (as in the first 2 films). Storyline? weak, very weak. I loved the RE games back when I had a Playstation, they were great and the first two movies were so-so, but this one really doesn't grab me, even with the nice ending. If you're a sci-fi fan, a decent rent, but it's not something you should consider buying really. Oops, Alice does it again.
Never Back Down is a 2008 movie that a friend of mine recommended to me a few weeks ago. It reminds me a bit of The Karate Kid movie I saw many years ago. Not as inspirational, or good story wise of course. Guy in high school gets embarrassed after a fight with a popular fighter, trains in a gym to let go of his anger, friend gets hurt by the same guy who beat him and... well, you know where it goes from the start. Still it was an enjoyable movie, much more so than most of the Rocky movies. A decent rent, but not so sure about purchasing it.
Jumper is a 2008 sci-fi movie that has a few commonalities with other movies I've reviewed today. Good special effects, but a weak storyline. It was based on a popular novel, but it doesn't really deliver. Samuel L. Jackson could not be less believable with his white hair, what were they thinking? and Hayden Christiansen was probably the wrong actor to have as lead, but even so the plot is so hollow at times that you want to push the stop button. I watched the whole movie, and I can't recommend it.
Leatherheads is a 2008 sports/comedy with George Clooney and Renée Zellweger in the early 20th century. Clooney plays as Dodge Connelly, an old professional football player and Zellweger as Lexie Littleton, a nosy reporter. He has managed to save his team from folding by acquiring a former war hero who loves football. The game becomes popular again; but with a mission to find the truth about the young star Zellweger puts not only the team's popularity at risk, but Clooney's career. With a pre-regulation game style, you'll see plenty of cheap and funny moves on the field with only one goal "win at all costs". How will the team react to new rules, possibly losing their star quarterback and the love triangle between Dodge, Lexie and the young war hero? Well, I got to say. Watch it and find out, it's a fun film to see. A good rent, and an ok dvd to buy.
Back to the Future Trilogy well... I watched them again, and I got to say, they are still as good as when I saw them the first time around. A must-have for any science fiction fan, yes buy it! these movies have become classics without a doubt. Well there is something Doc was right about "The time-traveling is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!".
That's all for today, I think I caught up with all the movies I've seen for the past few weeks. Video Blog probably Monday.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
39, one year closer to 40
Today I turn 39, not celebrating it. Not going to mention it to anyone either.
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