Monday, October 08, 2012

10-08-2012

Hrm....

I keep coming back, saying that I'm going to frequent this empty place again, and then I disappear after one entry.  I guess we'll just see how it transpires this time.

So, I started off the year with a goal: watching at least 200 movies this year, which I thought would be an easy accomplishment.  But, things happened, and here I am, the first week of October, with only 74 movies under my belt.  Elizabeth and I only saw The Dark Knight Rises twice, and we did not go to the movies a whole lot this summer.  We've rented them from the library, but recently we haven't had the time and they just sit there for a week.

We're going on a cruise next week, and when we get back, I'm hoping that my movie mood has finally returned.  At least for this past week, it has, as I've been tearing through the Halloween franchise.  i'm up to H6: The Curse of Michael Myers, which is probably the worst of the lot.  I watched H3: Season of the Witch for the first time, and enjoyed it.  If it hadn't been associated with the franchise, I think it would've been a lot more popular film.

Still undecided if I'm going to give the Rob Zombie films a try.  I'm thinking I will pass, as they will just make me angry.

Friday, May 18, 2012

05-18-2012

I think I'm ready to start using this again.

Clearly, I haven't been keeping up with updating, but not much has changed since I last wrote.  I haven't been watching movies as frequently.  I was on a good roll in the month of January, but events in February blindsided us all and I think we all reevaluated certain things in our life.   Our group of friends bonded closer, and I know Elizabeth and I have been trying to spend more time together.

Work is still work.  I've applied to a few places recently, but never hear back.  I think I'm at where I suppose to be, so I do my best to make the best of it.  if things do change, I'll write about it.

The summer movie season began 2 weeks ago, with the release of The Avengers.  Dave, Robert, and I went to the midnight showing of it.  Lots of fun, and the best part of the movie for me was The Hulk.  I'm really surprised that Marvel was able to pull off such a good team movie.  No one really overshadows the other, which is an aspect I didn't think they could pull off.  I'm not sure DC could ever have a movie universe like Marvel has, which is sad.

My favorite movie so far this year theatrically has been The Cabin in the Woods.  It's just a lot of fun, with a twist to the horror genre, and the last 30 minutes or so are just a pure blast.  Dave and I saw it together, and then Elizabeth and I had a date with the Spicers to see it.  Shockingly, Elizabeth even enjoyed it a lot.

Last night, Elizabeth and I had a date night here at home and finally watched The Muppets.  It was a lot of fun, and a great movie to bring the muppets back into pop culture.

I think that's it for now.  I'm glad to be writing again, but we'll see how long I actually keep up with it.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The last couple of days have been a blur.  And someday I'll be able to write about it.  But for now, I rely on the strength God has given me and the love and support of my 682 family.  Because we wouldn't be able to make it without one another.

RIP Jess

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

02-15-2012

Last night Elizabeth and I continued with the tradition of a Valentine's date night double feature.  Last year we watched Valentine's Day and Paranormal Activity 2.  So, in keeping with tradition, we watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. and Paranormal Activity 3.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. has a great ensemble cast that includes Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, and Kevin Bacon.  It's a film that covers a lot of emotions genres, and has a few different plotlines that eventually intersect and I didn't see it coming.  I give props to the writing and directing for something that seems so obvious and yet blindsided me.  It really was a great film, one that Elizabeth and I both enjoyed a lot.  I really enjoyed Stone and Gosling's pairing, and that Goslings character "Miyagi'ed" Carells.

Paranormal Activity 3 was a decent expansion onto the story.  It was creepy at times, especially since kids were involved.  I hate when things from the trailer don't make it into the film, and that has happened with both sequels in this series.  But I do enjoy series like this, since Elizabeth isn't into gore and slasher films.  I thought putting the camera onto the oscillating fan base was great, and the scene with the babysitter down stairs was easily the best scare for us.

Now I'm curious as to what next years double feature will be, unless there is a Paranormal Activity 4 for us to watch.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

02-14-2012

Elizabeth and I had a great time this weekend helping out at the Weekend to Remember.  We attended last year, and that is how we got involved with FamilyLife.  Friday night, we helped out at the registration table, and the rest of the weekend we were just helping out where needed.  We love being involved in the FamilyLife ministry, and already look forward to next years event.

Been on a movie kick recently.  Just knocking some library rentals out, plus hanging out with Dave again.

I watched Kung Fu Panda 2 Sunday night.  I really enjoyed it, and it will be something to add to the collection eventually.  Not sure if I would say it's better than the first one, but that's only because it's been a while since I have seen it.  I'm a sucker for most kid/family films, and it's hard for me to not be entertained by one of them.

Monday, Dave came over and we braved watching The Thing (2011).  In the end, it wasn't a bad movie.  The pacing was off a bit, and knowing how the movie ends because of John Carpenter's The Thing, I think it was hard to not judge the film.  I enjoyed the acting for the most part, and thought the effects were decent.  As a prequel to Carpenter's film, it was nice to see how things played out.  After watching it, I read about how the director and his team made sure that all the details were right, and had stills from the Norwegian site as seen in Carpenter's film so they would be correct, which I thought was very cool.  I might eventually buy it, if found at a decent price.

After that, we watching Terminator Salvation.  I really enjoyed it.  I loved the concept that Sam Worthington was a Terminator, but didn't realize it.  Christian Bale was John Conner was great, but Bale is one of my favorite actors so I'm always impressed with his work.  And I had forgotten that Kyle Reese was a character in this film as well, which I thought Anton Yelchin did a good job at.  Seeing the post-Judgment Day world is a good way to progress the franchise, and I'm hoping that Bale and Yelchin return for any further chapters.  Also, the surprise "cameo" (it's CGI) of Arnold as the T-800 was nice.

Dave also came over this afternoon and we watched a Chang Chen film, Ten Tigers of Kwangtung.  It was  an enjoyable film, told mostly in flashback (the movie is pieced together by 3 different people adding to the story), and has some great fighting, which is really the reason we watch Chen films to begin with.  That and the kills.  And the finale to this one doesn't disappoint.

Thursday, February 09, 2012

02-09-2012

I guess watching the Terminator franchise has put me into a sci-fi mood, as my movie watching this week progressed into the genre.

I watched Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines a few nights back, and I still enjoy it.  It's a little corny at times, but it has a really great car chase scene in it involving a lot of destruction, and then I like that we get to see SkyNet begin its takeover.  I remember seeing T3 in theaters the summer it came out and being shocked that Judgment Day arrives at the end of the movie.

Still haven't watched Terminator: Salvation, but that's because I'm going to watch it with Dave so I have to work it into the schedule.

Last weekend I borrowed Billy's Blu-Ray of Blade Runner, just to see what kind of stuff was on it and to see if it was worth upgrading eventually.  And it totally is.

I watched the final cut of Blade Runner Monday night, and it looks amazing on Blu-Ray.  I seriously couldn't believe I was watching a 30-year-old movie.  I couldn't tell much between Ridley Scott's final and director's cut, but it has been quite a while since I have last seen the DC.  I think the more I watch this movie, the more I like it.  I don't know if my mood changes, or I just see a bit more with each viewing.  But there are a few movies that I've been impartial to at first, and then the next time I really like them.

So, as good as Blade Runner is, the BR has a special treat that is right up the alley I've been looking for recently, with making of documentaries.  Not only does it have a disc filled with informative bits about the characters, Philip K. Dick, and other things, disc 2 is a 3-1/2 hour documentary about the making of the film.  Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner is so much, I've yet to finish watching it!  I'm about a little over half way through, and watching it has made me appreciate the actual film that much more.  The turmoil behind the scenes and on-set makes me wonder how this film ever got finished and released in the first place.

Last Saturday, we threw a surprise party for Brandi's 40th.  A group of us (Brandi, Gina, Brian, Amanda, Jamie, Billy, Jeff, Sheila, Dave, Elizabeth, and myself) all went to dinner at County Grill, and afterwards we went ice skating at IcePlex, where we were joined by Rocky, Rachel, Katie, & Angel and his family.  I had never been ice skating before, and it's been over probably 15 years since I had skated.  But, I decided I would at least give it a try.  And I'm glad I did, as it was a lot of fun!  I never fell down, and I actually was able to get away from the wall and skate.

Sunday night, after the new discipleship classes and fellowship was over, Elizabeth and I went over to Gammy's house to watch the Super Bowl with Lindsey, Brian, Bud, Kathy, and of course Gammy.  We also played Farkel, and I ended the night as reigning champ so we'll have to go back and play sometime soon.

The game was good, and very tense during the final 2 minutes.  I didn't see many of the commercials, but I did watch the movie ones online, and I seriously cannot wait until G.I. Joe: Retaliation comes out.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Hasta la Vista, Baby

I've been lackluster with the writing lately.  It's not that I don't want to write.  This is my outlet.  I'm just not making it a priority, which is fine, but I do need to start making time to do it so I don't stop completely.

Work was ok this week.  Last night was the worst of it, and it was a surprisingly good night.  The second of the month, and I had one call-out and a no-show.  Thankfully one cashier was willing to come back and work after working an earlier shift.  If she hadn't come back, last night probably wouldn't have been so good.

I've been in the mood for documentaries and making of features recently, but a lot of the stuff I want to watch I want to watch after the movie, so expect a lot of things coming down soon.  I finally decided a series to start with on Monday, when I watched The Terminator.  I watched Terminator 2: Judgment Day yesterday, and will probably have the other two movies in the franchise watched by early next week.

First things first: I finally reached a point where I think T1 is the superior film.  As Dave pointed out, a lot of people remember T2 from their childhood, so that's why they like it more.  And I think that's one of the reasons I was always impartial to it.  But after watching them so closely together, I think that T1 is the better film.  First off, Arnie as the villain is just cooler.  I love Robert Patrick as the T-1000, but the original Terminator is so methodical and menacing.  I know that T1 doesn't have the effects and budget of T2, but that is also one of the reasons it is such a great film.  And after watching the documentary about the making of T1, and seeing all that got put into it, it really shines as a film. It holds up well, for being almost 30 years old.

Another thing about T2: I found John Conner annoying.

T2 does have some great moments though: the mall scene when John is finally found by both T-800 and the T-1000, and the chase sequence that follows.  The shoot-out at Dyson's place, and the destruction of CyberDyne.  And of course the final chase sequence, that ends at the steel mill.

I was a little sad that T2 didn't have any making of features.  There are some commentaries, but that is not what I'm looking for.  I've got a couple documentaries I might watch without watching the movie first, so they might be watched soon.  And I might finally crack and start watching the plethora of stuff that is with the LOTR DVDs.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

01-31-2012

Wow, I can't believe that January has come and gone!  It's been a pretty good month, for the most part.  I look forward to what February has in store for us.  We've got plans to help out with FamilyLife at the upcoming Weekend to Remember, which is the 10th through the 12th.  We'll be helping out with the store, I believe.

The weekend was nice.  We've had really good weather recently.  Church was great on Sunday, and I look forward to Pastor John's preaching through the book of 1 Corinthians.  This Sunday is when the winter classes begin, which will be great.  Elizabeth and I are taking the class based off of Courageous.

So, what movies have I watched since I last wrote?  Let's see.

Elizabeth and I watched Blast from the Past starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone on Saturday.  We both thought we had seen it before, but neither one of us remembered it.  I really enjoyed it, and might even add it to the DVD collection eventually.  It's funny and sweet, with some really good performances (Christopher Walken and Dave Foley, in particular).

Sunday night we watched Devil.  I thought this was a nice little thriller.  5 people stuck in an elevator, one of them being the Devil in disguise there to collect the others, for whom are all to be punished.  It's based off of an old wives tale.  It has some good thrills, with a nice little twist I wasn't expecting.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

01-25-2012

Things are going ok.  It's been a slow week.  Work hasn't been to bad, but the end of the month is just around the corner, so business should pick up a bit.  Elizabeth and I have nursery tonight at church, which we always look forward to.  We haven't had it the last two months, as our designated week is the fourth week, and Wednesday night activities were cancelled due to the holidays.  Plus, it's also comic book day!

I took Elizabeth on a date Monday night to go see Beauty and the Beast at AMC.  It was a lot of fun, and the experience of seeing our favorite Disney film together on the big screen was great.  It's such an enchanting and amazing film.

Still been watching a lot of TV off of streaming.  It's weird that my two favorites at the moment are The First 48 and Phineas & Ferb.  They couldn't be much different from one another.  One is a true crime show, and the other is an addictive cartoon.

Haven't been able to find a movie I've wanted to watch recently.  I think my problem is having so many choices and not knowing what I want.  I just need to pick something and go with it.  Between my collection, what I get from the library weekly, and NetFlix, the choices are endless.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

01-22-2012

Haven't seen much over the last couple of days, working and all, but it's been a decent week.  Work hasn't been to bad.  At night, it's actually kind of slow after 8 PM.  But I'm happy to have a job, I just wish it was either FT or I got a few more hours weekly.

Comics were good this week.  I will probably start posting on them weekly, depending on my mood.  Dave brought over a couple books for me to read, which I will probably do tomorrow at some point.  He also got me a cool Joker bobble-head from the clearance at B&N.

Yesterday was a great day off.  Elizabeth had a baby shower to attend yesterday afternoon, so I spent sometime at the library.  Afterwards we just had a night in, chilling at home watching a few movies.

First up: Surrogates starring Bruce Willis, Rosamund Pike & James Cromwell.  A futuristic thriller set in a world where everyone uses a Surrogate (an android-like body made to your liking that you control via brain wave) to live.  When a murder takes place, not only destroying the surrogate but killing it's owner as well, Willis must investigate.  He eventually has the re-enter the world as a human, as his surrogate is destroyed and he must figure out who he can trust, if anyone.  I liked it a lot more than I expected, and there was a twist that caught me by surprise.

Next on the plate: Taxi starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon.  Elizabeth and I liked this one.  I'm a sucker for films in the buddy-cop genre.  Being a fan of Fallon from SNL and Late Night, I decided to check this one out from the library.  Not the best movie, but also not the worst movie I've ever seen.  I did feel like it was kind of long, but we also ended up watching the extended edition.

And the last film from last night: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls starring Jim Carrey.  I'm not sure which one I enjoy more out of the two Ace Ventura movies.  This one has Ace going to Africa trying to help a tribe find their sacred bat.  A lot of funny parts, one of my favorites being the party scene and his interaction with the guy from Monopoly. Just thinking about it makes me chuckle.

Church was great today.  Sanctity of Life Sunday.  John sure knows how to preach a powerful and moving message.

Dave came over this evening and we watched the remake of Fright Night.  It was a lot better than I expected it to be.  I would even say it's better than the original.  If I am able to find it cheap, I will probably add it to the DVD collection.  It's pays its respect to the original, but is also able to make it it's own (being that Tom Holland was involved in both probably helped there).  The CGI was good, and the acting was great.  I liked Anton Yelchin as Charley, and I thought Colin Farrell was excellent as Jerry ("That is a terrible  vampire name.")

Not sure what the plan for the rest of the night is.  Probably something on streaming, as I keep finding new shows to watch.  Besides Deadliest Warrior, I've started to watch some of the true crime shows that are available, like The First 48.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The New 52

So, I haven't talked much about the changes DC started 5 months ago.  DC decided to relaunch their universe in some fashion.  They re-imagined some characters (the Superman family, for instance), brought new characters into the DCU (Grifter from WildStorm, Swamp Thing from Vertigo), and some characters they just left alone (Green Lantern is the best example).  They tried simplifying the timeline, and some comics (JLA, Superman) are taking place 5 years ago, at the beginning of this new 52.

I don't have any big complaints about it.  I've never been one to complain as long as the story is good.  I quit collecting the Superman titles, mainly because they re-imagined him the most.  They wiped out the marriage of Lois and Clark, and both Martha and Jonathan are dead.  Dave has been getting Action Comics and Supergirl, and I've been reading them that way.  They've been ok, but I'm kind of glad I'm not collecting them.

The Batman books have been great.  Scott Snyder's Batman is my favorite book out of the new 52, and it doesn't disappoint.  It's been revolving around the Court of Owls, a Gotham urban legend that has been around since Gotham was being built.  But it seems there is more to the legend than even Bruce knows.  This week's issue was amazing, and I look forward to the upcoming event that will explain more of the Courts back story.  Another book I look forward to monthly is Nightwing.  Dick Grayson has always been my favorite sidekick, and I love that he is in his own book again.

JLA has been pretty solid, as well as Green Lantern and Aquaman.  But with Geoff Johns at the helm of all three, it would be hard to disappoint.

Off to work I go.  I guess I'll follow this up sometime soon in the future!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

01-17-2012 II

Watched Unstoppable starring Denzel Washington & Chris Pine tonight.  I thought it was a  highly enjoyable movie, one that kept me enthralled throughout it and actually had Elizabeth invested in it as well, to her surprise.  I thought the acting was great, and I've yet to find a Tony Scott film that I haven't enjoyed.

Tomorrow is comic book day, and week 3 is always a big week.  I especially look forward to Batman, as it has become my favorite book in the New 52.  Scott Snyder is great on it, and I can't wait to see what he does in the coming months with the Court of Owls.  Also, I get a new issue of HorrorHound tomorrow, which I believe has a cover story featuring The Lost Boys, one of my favorite movies.  So, don't be surprised if I end up viewing it soon.



Double Feature with Dave!

Dave and I got together today and finally had a double feature of Troll 2 and Best Worst Movie.

First off, Troll 2 is not the worst movie either of us have ever seen.  We actually both really enjoyed it.  Everything about it is bad (acting, the script, the costumes, etc.), but all the bad is what makes it so good!  It's a movie to watch with friends and a good time can be had.  I can't even begin the explain the plot, but that's not necessary.

So, following Troll 2, Dave and I watched the documentary about it called Best Worst Movie.  It was a very enlightening doc, that was directed by the young protagonist of Troll 2 but mostly focuses on the "actor" who portrayed his father, George Hardy.  I'm not sure how long of a time elapses throughout the film, but you kind of see Hardy rise to cult status, as the film has over the last 20 years, and then the slow "decline" he experiences.  Now that he truly declines, but as he states himself, he kind of burns himself out.  Throughout the course of the film, a majority of the main cast is interviewed, and also participates at events around the US that establishes the cult status of the movie.  There are a few depressing parts, especially the scenes where George and Michael are visiting the actress who played the mother, Margo Prey.  A highly enjoyable look into the film and the fan base it has. 

01-17-2012

Last night I watched The Devil's Double starring Dominic Cooper.  It was a very interesting film, and I thought Dominic did a fantastic job playing both roles.  The movie is about Latif Yahia and how he was chosen to be the double to Uday Hussein.  I enjoyed getting a glimpse into a world I didn't know much about, and seeing how things worked for the Hussein family.  Uday was beyond insane; it was sad to see how he used his power, and all that he was able to get away with.  I'm not sure if everything was fact or not, but he was an evil man none the less.

Still enjoyed Deadliest Warrior on streaming.  It's really fascinating getting a glimpse into the lifestyles of historic warriors, and seeing what damage was inflicted by the weapons used.

Took the car in today and had the head gasket replaced.  It's needed repair for sometime, and after last week's oil change I thought sooner than later.  A few other things need to be done, but most of it can be done by me (IE replacing the air filter).

Sunday, January 15, 2012

"All righty then!"

Last night Elizabeth and I went over to Brian and Lindsey's and watched Ace Ventura: Pet Detective starring Jim Carrey and Courtney Cox.  It was my first time watching it, and I found it entertaining.  It was a fun time with friends, as we played Apples to Apples afterwards, and I played around with Olive for a bit.  That was a lot of fun, chasing her around on the floor and throwing her ball for her.  She also knows some very impressive tricks!

For the movie, like I said, I enjoyed it.  Growing up I wasn't really into the comedies of the '90s, but I'd say over the past 5 years I've started watching them, mainly because a lot of Elizabeth's favorite movies are comedy.  Jim Carrey is pretty hilarious as Ace, and I look forward to watching When Nature Calls.

Been watching a show on NetFlix called Deadliest Warrior, which I find pretty entertaining.  They basically take two warriors (IE Samurai VS Viking is the episode I'm watching now) and tests their weapon and fighting skills, take the data and input it into a computer simulation and find out who is the better of the two after 1000 simulations.

Should be a pretty good week.  We're going to Gina's tonight for a game night, including Rocky's game that he invented himself.  From what I've seen and heard, it should be a fun time!  I also borrowed two movies from Brian last night, so I'll probably have a Jack Ryan marathon this week.  I've been in the mood for this for some time now, but the library doesn't  have Patriot Games, even though it's in their database.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Happy Friday the 13th!

Yesterday I watched Daybreakers starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Neill.  I surprisingly enjoyed it.  I remember reading about it in HorrorHound, but never heard much about it after it came out.

I think part of the reason I enjoyed it was that it took the vampire concept but did something differently with it.  The world has become overtaken by an epidemic, and humans are almost extinct.  Blood is a commodity that is getting scarcer by the day, and Sam Neill plays the the head of a corporation that is trying to create a substitute.  Ethan Hawke is the head of the team trying to create this substitute.  For the vampires that aren't drinking human blood, they are beginning to mutate.  Hence, finding a substitute is such a big deal.  Hawke runs into a group of humans, who are lead by Elvis, a former vampire who had an accident and was made alive again.  He joins their team, and is able to replicate the accident for himself, as an attempt to find a cure.

I thought the acting was good, and like I said, I enjoyed the fact that something different was done with the vampire mythology.  The ending was kind of brutal, and once again, I feel like the ending was also left open for a potential sequel.

Vampires are another thing I seem to have been into recently.  With the watching of this and Priest, and the desire to finally watch 30 Days of Night, which I'm hoping to get from the library soon.  But my all-time favorite vampire movie will always be the '80s classic The Lost Boys. :)

:-(

Uncle Bill passed away Wednesday night.  He hadn't been well for about the past year, some type of cancer in his body.  Mom told me on Tuesday when we talked that Di and him had been looking into Hospice.  I'm sad for the loss, but knowing his pain and suffering is no longer and that he is in a much better place helps.  If it had happened unexpectedly, I probably would've taken it a bit harder than I did.  Haven't had the chance to actually talk to mom, but I will this weekend.  Elizabeth and I would like to make it to the funeral, but it just isn't possible. 

We loved you, Bill.  You will be missed.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

01-11-2012

Last night I watched The Killing Machine starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren.  And I shockingly enjoyed it.  I thought it was a decent DTV movie, especially since the other actors in it were a bunch of unknowns.

The plot is pretty basic: Dolph plays a former KGB agent who is now a hit-man for hire.  After a job in Hong Kong, he and his family become the mark as someone is trying to tie up lose ends.  So he tries to figure out who is after him.  The acting isn't award-winning, but I never considered turning the movie off at any point.  The action scenes were great.  Not something I would own, but I'm becoming really picky with what I've been buying recently. 

As you can tell, I've been in an action mood recently.  I feel a lot of random movies, like this one, will be watched in the coming year.  Things I wouldn't have considered watching a few years ago, but now think they might be worthwhile.  I'm actually interested in watching more of Lundgren's movies.  I mostly know him from the late '80s stuff he did (Rocky IV (my favorite), The Punisher, and of course, the classic Masters of the Universe live-action film!)  Some of his stuff is on streaming, so I'll see what I think is worth my time.  Eventually, I hope to start getting DVDs again from NetFlix, so that will give me access to the stuff that isn't on streaming.

Today is comic book day, and Elizabeth and I also plan on hitting the libraries.  Other than that, not sure what the night holds.  It's a cold and dreary kind of day. 

Monday, January 09, 2012

01-09-2012

Last night I watched Drive Angry starring Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, and William Fichtner.  I really wanted to like this one, but I had some issues with it.  The language for one thing bothered me, plus the gratuitous nudity that was completely unnecessary.  The one scene where Cage is having sex with a woman while killing a bunch of bad guys was just weird.  The film was shot as a 3-D movie, and there are a few scenes where you can see that.  The CGI wasn't great when used either.  I liked the premise of the story, and thought the acting wasn't bad.  I loved Fichtner as The Accountant.  Easily the best part of the movie, in my opinion.  But the language, especially in the first hour, detracted me a lot.  Continual usage of the "F" word is not needed to make a movie entertaining.

Had a decent weekend, and work was ok today.  Nothing to special.  The time seemed to drag by for what seemed an eternity.  Last night and this evening, Elizabeth and I have caught up with a few of our recorded shows on the TIVO.  Watched a lot of Food Network stuff, as well as knocked out all Fallon and Conan we had.

Have tomorrow off.  Besides getting the car serviced, I don't have a lot planned.  Probably watch a movie or two.  Elizabeth has been getting refocused on her schooling, so I usually watch something while she's doing her school work.  Might even decide to watch something tonight after Castle.

Saturday, January 07, 2012

01-07-2012

Just finished watching Game of Death starring Wesley Snipes and Zoe Bell.  It was an ok movie.  It kept my interest enough for me to finish it, and I did end up giving it a 3 star rating on Netflix.  But it had some flaws, and the acting was great.

The plot is a CIA agent is working undercover for some shady folks, and his team decides to change the plans on him and intercept the money for themselves.  I'm not sure if the heart attack for the guy Snipes is body-guarding was planned, or somehow the CIA set it in motion, because the first half of the movie takes place in a hospital and seems to be easily overtaken if it wasn't planned.  A lot of senseless killing of innocents, as the new head (after Wesley's mentor is killed) of CIA team doesn't like witnesses.  Once the heart attack victim is good enough to move (and his doctor is kidnapped to keep him alive), the movie shifts to the building/vault of the guy whose money is being stolen.  The villain had the chance to kill Snipes character at the hospital, and it's never explained why he didn't.  I guess because they were partners.

Now that I think about it, this was a very weak movie.  Of course, not the worst movie I've seen, and I don't regret watching it.  It was more of a late night fare.

Guess I'll head to bed, even though I'm not all that tired.  I work an odd shift tomorrow, 12-7.  Which will more than likely be cut down, since I'm not expecting us to be that busy.  I normally close on Saturdays, so having an evening to do something will be nice. 

Friday, January 06, 2012

01-06-2012 II

I think one of the things I plan on doing this year is reevaluate my DVD collection.  I own a lot of movies that I still haven't seen (for example Murder by Numbers) and a few movies I wonder why I own in the first place (Lord of War, Spy Game).  Most of the titles that fall into the latter category are from my Blockbuster days.  I would buy a lot of RPL, and once we started the exchange program, I bought a lot of random things.

I'm in the den right now, trying to get the PC to run a little smoother.  I think it's a lost cause for tonight.  Time to just shut it down and watch a movie, perhaps.  Or maybe read some Patterson before bed.

01-06-2012

Today I destroyed a desk, but thankfully with the help of Dave, it was salvaged and looks better than before.  I was able to move it into the den area after spending my morning moving our board games out of the way.  We have a lot!  Just to give a taste, we have 18 different Trivial Pursuits with board, and an additional 4 question sets.  9 different Scene-Its, with 4 additional add-on sets.  As Elizabeth said, we have a slight problem.

Once I got the games cleared, I called up Dave to assist in moving the desk, but it fell apart on me before he got here.  Thankfully we were able to put it back together for the most part, and he helped me set up the PC.

Now I'm taking a break from moving the games into their new temporary home.  Then it's just a couple of hours before Elizabeth gets off work. We plan on either playing games tonight or doing a puzzle.  Might watch a movie too.

I had all intentions of finishing up Kill Alex Cross today, but I don't think that's going to happen now.  I'll at least attempt to see how far I can get before Elizabeth gets home though, once I'm done with the computer.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

01-05-2012

Yesterday, we ended up hitting the library after church since we had a few errands to run before hand.  Elizabeth and I both enjoy teaching AdventureLand; it's a different pace than Sunday School, with a wider range of kids.  Sunday morning we teach 4th & 5th grade, while on Wednesday nights we get 1st-5th grade.  Both are a lot of fun, and I love being involved once again in the church.  I never thought I would be a Sunday School teacher, let alone in the children's division!

At the library,  I grabbed a few movies and Elizabeth got a majority of the books.  I'm going to make sure if I borrow a movie from the library, it gets watched before returning.  That was a problem I had last year, borrowing items and never watching them.

Last night I watched The Mechanic starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster.  It was one of the DVDs I borrowed yesterday.  I enjoyed it, even though it does have a few flaws.  First off, as much as I enjoy Statham movies, he seems to play the same type of characters.  But he is good at what he does, and that's make action movies.  The plot was pretty basic, and I enjoyed the interaction between Statham and Foster.  There was some predictability to it, but was still an enjoyable flick.  I enjoyed Foster being shown the ropes of assassin for hire.  The action scenes were good.  I really enjoyed the scene near the end once Statham realized he had been played and they were going after his contact.  The SUV going through the bus was pretty spectacular.  And the ending was no surprise to me.

 I enjoy most any genre of movie. I can't think of one genre I dislike; even foreign films have begun to grow on me as I've grown older.  I think my favorite is probably Action/Adventure though, as I can throw on even the worst action film and have a good time with it.  Some of my favorite action movies include The Last Boy Scout and the franchises of Die Hard & Lethal Weapon.  Probably all movies I will watch at some point this year. 


Wednesday, January 04, 2012

01-04-2012

Last night, we went and saw Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, and Paula Patton.  Wow, such a great movie.  I was thoroughly impressed with it, and it is easily the best of the franchise.  It has a good plot and some of the best action sequences I have seen in a while.  The finale, which is a fight that takes place in a rotating parking garage, is probably the most intense I've been at the movies in a long time.  I can easily say that it's the best action film to come out in 2011.  Plus, Elizabeth really enjoyed it too.

Part of me wishes I had seen it in IMAX, just to see how crazy it is.  But, $5 is always the better option.  IMAX isn't necessary to make a movie enjoyable.

Today went by quickly at work.  We were closed for about an hour this afternoon, as Dominion had to shut the power off to fix a transformer on our grid.  So, by the time the power came back on and the store reopened, I only had about 90 minutes left of the shift.  Which part of that time went towards taking carry of lottery.

Elizabeth is off in an hour, and we'll hit the Poquoson library and probably Heroes & Villains before heading to church for AdventureLand.  Afterwards, we'll probably just come home and relax together.  I've got a few holds to pick up at the library.  The new Alex Cross book as well as Stephanie Plum for Eliz.  Will more than likely grab a couple movies while we're there.


Tuesday, January 03, 2012

01-03-2012 II

Just finished watching Priest, starring Paul Bettany, Maggie Q, and Karl Urban.  I had borrowed it from the library last Wednesday, so figured I would kill sometime today and watch it.

It was a lot better than I was expecting it to be; it's actually a movie I would like to add to my collection if found for a decent price.   I really enjoyed the mythology and look of the film itself, plus the action scenes were great.  I enjoyed most of the acting, and the special effects were good too.  Sadly, it seems like they were setting up for a franchise which we will never see, probably.  I don't think it did all that great at the box office. 

I think the plan for tonight involves seeing Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol , which I'm looking forward to.  May not be the biggest Cruise fan, but he can make a good movie.  Plus, looking forward to seeing how Brad Bird transitions to live action movies after working in animation and for Pixar.

Have a little bit of time before I have to pick up Elizabeth and we start our evening together.  I finally found the charging station to my electric razor, so I will most definitely be shaving soon.  Beyond that, who knows.

Oh yeah, I stumbled across a website this morning that lets you make lists.  I decided to start a list of movies I've seen this year, which can be found here.  And if you have any suggestions of movies for me to watch, please leave a comment and I will consider it.





01-03-2012

So, 2012 has begun and I've decided to take on trying to write again.  Going to start small, with a journal and work from there.  My thoughts for this thing are to pretty much talk about movies and such, but we'll see.  I'm at least going to start off that way.

Last year I begun to keep a notebook of what I watched, movie-wise. This wasn't the first time I've done such a thing, and I'm not really sure why I like keeping track of such things, but I do.  Surprisingly, I only watched 127 movies, including multiple views (IE I saw Captain America twice in theaters last summer).  That averages about 2.5 movies a week, but when you factor in things like Elizabeth and I did a POTC marathon before going to see On Stranger Tides, or Rocky, Dave, and I spent December 30th in a Puppet Master 'thon, where we watched the first 5 movies, it seems small.  Which means I know I am capable of breaking 200 movies in the coming year.

So, will I blog about every movie?  Probably not.  But my goal is at least 3 movies a week, which will give me 156 movies.  Between my own collection of films, NetFlix streaming, and the pretty amazing collection the public library has on hand, I can do this.

So, my first movie of 2012?  Twins, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.  Elizabeth and I watched it last night on streaming.  It's probably been at least 15 years since I had last seen it, so I only had a vague collection of it.  I enjoyed it a lot, especially seeing Arnold play the naive "nerd" role.  I enjoyed the chemistry that Arnold and Danny had, and I really liked the scenes where you see them having the same traits and actions.  I enjoyed Arnold poking fun at Stallone, as well as being able to make fun of his classic line from Terminator.

A work in progress, but hopefully I at least keep up with it.