life, and a little more

Shutter Island Review

Feb 21

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The first preview I saw of Shutter Island was before last summer’s crappy blockbuster, Transformers 2.  I was excited to see what I thought was an upcoming scare-the-crap-out-of-me movie.

I love scary movies, but not the bloody gory torture porn that are so popular now-a-days.   Mess with my mind, make me jump, put me on the edge of my seat.  Shutter Island is marketed as exactly this type of film.

So it was with great anticipation I went to see Shutter Island last night.   I left the movie feeling a little bit confused.

I’ll try to say as much as I can, with no spoilers.   Shutter Island IS NOT a scary thriller.  It is a drama, and a very good one at that.   Leonardo DeCaprio was very convincing in his role.   Everything about the movie felt like it was authentically set in the 50′s.

If you are looking for a review, here is mine:  now that I look back, it was a very good drama.  I went in looking for a scary thriller and was disappointed that I didn’t get it.

Transformers 2: the anger of a fallen fan

Jul 03

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I’m sure you have heard of all the bad reviews that the second Transformer movie is getting.  I absolutely loved the first movie so I just couldn’t believe all the bad press the sequel was getting.  The reviewers had to be missing something, right?

Wrong.

I took my beautiful wife of almost 16 years to see it last night.  I was giddy and excited and a little nervous.  What if this movie sucked as bad as the critics said? As the lights dimmed, I assured myself that I was in for 2+ hours of awesomeness.

Wrong.

Here goes my rant:  I could not wait for this movie to be over.  Shia LeBeouf did a good job, but otherwise, the characters were inane and weak and shallow.  Don’t tell me not to expect much as this is a Michael Bay movie.  I went in with super low expectations of a storyline and character development, and those expectations were sorrily disappointed!

The human characters aside, the robots  seemed like caricatures of themselves.  The magic of Transformers 1 was that the robots seemed real and you could establish a small connection with them.  Almost every Transformer besides Optimus Prime was in the movie only for comic relief.  Those twin robots?  What the crap man!!  They were more annoying than Jar Jar Binks!  Here is my biggest complaint:  This is a story about a huge robot war that has made its way to earth. Robots, robots, robots!  Why did Michael Bay have to sexualize them?  Devastator with testicles?  Boo!  The little remote control Transformer humping Megan Fox’s leg like a dog?  Again, boo!

Let’s just set morality aside for a moment.  These are freakin’ robots!  And unless they are Caprica Six from Battlestar Galactica, there should be nothing sexual about them!  These are not robots studying the human condition, a-la Data from Star Trek TNG.  Why anthropomorphize them that way?

Let’s put morality back in the mix.  This movie is PG-13 but it is marketed to kids.  C’mon folks, let’s be real.  I see the commercials on Nickelodeon and Disney and I see the toys prominently displayed at the local Wal-Mart or Target.  THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR KIDS!!!!

Maybe I’m too pure a sci-fi fan.  Maybe I am too picky.  All I wanted was to see giant space robots (check), big explosions (check), fast cars (check), a pretty girl (check), and a fun and entertaining story to glue it all together (epic FAIL).

I was not expecting an epic movie or a movie to make me think or a movie to move my emotions.  I just wanted a summer popcorn-eater blockbuster.  I did not get itl

2009 Movie Posters and Trailers

Mar 07

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Star Trek (Release Date: 05/08/09)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ETDE0VGJY4&eurl=http://www.facebook.com/home.php&feature=player_embedded]

Transformers 2 (Release Date: 06/26/09)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmgbbGJW6ZE]

GI Joe: Rise of Cobra (Release Date: 08/07/09)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKVqPzm134U]

Terminator Salvation (Release Date: 05/21/09)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAjWCyJ0krI]

X-Men Orgins:Wolverine (Release Date: 05/01/09)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epSX2Sr-lP4]

Public Enemies (Release Date:07/01/09)

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BawY4gjAdM]

Race to Witch Mountain (Release Date: 03/13/09)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buai86C0gY4]

Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQyrz5V7Vuw]

Inglorious Basterds (Release Date: June 2009)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcoPxyxpE9A]

Appaloosa – Very Authentic, Very Slow

Jan 15

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I’ve never been a big fan of western movies.  Sure, I loved the Young Guns movies of the 80′s but that was about it.

A few years ago a remake of 3:10 To Yuma was created and I absolutely loved it.  Great story, great character development, great everything!  I tried catching up on some western’s that I had missed, like Tombstone and The Unforgiven.  I was so glad to find another genre of movies that I liked.

Ed Harris’ Appaloosa was released to DVD this week, and I bought it right away.  I eagerly popped it in my laptop and fired it up…..

….and was still waiting for some action two hours later.  There were about 3 gunfights and that was about it.

I know Harris strived for authenticity, and that is to be commended.  Even when guns were fired, the sound wasn’t embellished and the fights were over very quickly.  I can appreciate that.  Absolutely everything looked authentic.  (Except for Renée Zellweger.  Is that a fat suit on her face?  Her face looked uncomfortably swollen.)

This was a good movie, but not what I was expecting.  Part of my problem might be that I will always have Ed Harris typecast as Robocop and will always have Viggo Mortensen typecast as Aragon from LOTR.

Check out the trailer below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw1XFu-mFVk]

Avoid Beverly Hills Chihuahua At All Costs

Oct 10

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This movie stinks worse than a three day old dog turd on the floor!  I love kid movies, and I love animal movies (Babe anyone?), but this movie is just horrible.  The voice acting is stilted and uninspired, the cgi is bad and the plotline is just plain old boring.  The audience might have laughed one time, but that was it.

Save your money and go see Wall-E instead!  But if you need to see the trailer, here it is below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx2G3qNkcaE]

Tesla – Comin' Atcha Live DVD

Aug 04

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Tesla has been I’ve loved ever since their very first album, Mechanical Resonance (released in 1986).  They have been producing great music ever since then.  I’ve never been able to catch a concert, so I was super excited when I heard this DVD was going to be released.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKqbbSSD35I]

As you can see, all of Tesla’s hits are played here.  Track number 8, Dear Private Ledbetter is an amazing new song.

This entire DVD is amazing. The sound quality is great, the performance is great, everything about it is great.  If you are a fan of hard rock in general, you gotta see this!

Iron Man is a must see!

May 18

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Just saw Iron Man and it was phenomenal!!  Really leaves you wanting more.  Lots of action, great metal soundtrack and Robert Downey Jr. totally nails Tony Stark’s character.

If you love comic book movies, this one is one of the best….I’d rate it number 3, with Batman Begins number 1 and Spiderman 2 in second place.

Here is the trailer, just in case you haven’t seen it yet:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhgzIM-9lfA]

Two For The Conspiracy Theorists

May 15

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I’m starting to turn into a documentary nut!  I love Netflix and the fact they have soooooo many great documentaries to choose from.

This go around, I picked out two that I had seen before (but twas a long time ago and I didn’t remember them that well). 

Did We Go? was directed by Aron Ranen and in it he tries to prove that the Apollo Moon Landing actually happened.  The film summary is this:

A tongue-in-cheek documentary explores the controversial conspiracy theory that asserts that, in 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words “one small step for man, one giant step for mankind” from an earthbound film set, not the moon. In investigating the claims of an Apollo 11 hoax, Ranen uncovers a KKK faction at the Kennedy Space Center, slave-owning Nazis, hippies, soused space cowboys and more.

You probably laugh, as I did!  But I’ll be darned if this documentary makes you think “that could totally be possible!”  I had no idea of the Nazi connection to our space program and that is actually very well documented. 

The next film to watch is entitled “The Who Killed the Electric Car?“.  In light of gas being over $4 a gallon here in California, this documentary is a must see.

Amid ever-increasing gas prices, this documentary delves into the short life of the GM EV1 electric car — once all the rage in the mid-1990s and now fallen by the roadside. How could such an efficient, green-friendly vehicle fail to transform our garages and skies? Through interviews with government officials, former GM employees and concerned celebs (such as EV1 driver Mel Gibson), Chris Paine (former EV1 owner) seeks to answer the question.

I’ve heard  of the carburetor that gets over 100 miles a gallon on late not AM radio shows.   I very much believe that the big oil companies have bought that patent and are sitting on it. 

Who Killed the Electric Car is a good film.  It tries to resolve the mystery of why GM would pull such a popular car that was loved by its owners, was very cost effective and very environmentally friendly.

I’m not a big believer in global warming, but I know that all our car emissions are harmful for the air we breathe.  Why kill production on a car that has zero emissions and runs as fast as a regular car?

So, if you have just a hint of conspiracy theorist in you, in know you’ll enjoy these two documentaries.  If you have seen ‘em, comment and let me know what you think!

Two Great Documentaries

May 08

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I’ve had the chance to see two marvelous documentaries (thanks Netflix!) and both have made me think and re-evaluate things in my own life.

Maxed Out is a deep look at the effects of debt in the lives of Americans.  It has a personal touch with some great vintage video footage.  If you have the chance to rent it or borrow it from a friend, I say watch it!

Amazon.com says this about the film:

In Maxed Out, author/director James D. Scurlock (Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders) takes on America’s debt crisis. Consequently, he touches on related issues like race, corporate malfeasance, and political subterfuge. Scurlock’s multi-media approach incorporates statistics, news excerpts, and interviews, but it’s rarely dull (comedy bits from Louis CK and tunes from Queen and Coldplay don’t hurt). Speakers include economic professors, debt collectors, pawn brokers, investigative reporters, beleaguered consumers, and even Robin Leach (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous). Instead of New York and Los Angeles, he concentrates on mid-size cities, like Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, and Seattle. Plenty of small towns also come into play. Though he never presses the point himself, Scurlock allows his subjects to note the similarities between the credit industry and the drug trade (others use such incendiary terms as “rape”). One thing he neglects to mention, however, is pride. If house payments are ruining your life, selling that property may be the only solution. In most cases, however, it’s hard not to feel for those individuals who didn’t know what they were getting into before they signed their lives away. For some viewers, this will be a dispiriting documentary–three subjects recount the suicides of relatives who found their debt too much to bear–but in explaining exactly how lenders and creditors make money, Maxed Out can help others to avoid some of their most egregious practices. In other words, debt may be a downer, but knowledge is power. –Kathleen C. Fennessy

Maxed Out hits very close to home for me.  I, like many fellow Americans, am in debt and I hate it!  After seeing this documentary, I feel like I’ve been played like a chump because the credit card companies know how to exploit us like nobodies business!  This documentary would be perfectly family friendly but for about 1 minute of a comedian using some adult language.

This film was a great kick in the pants for me.  I have read Dave Ramsey’s book, The Total Money Makeover, but I need to re-read it again.  Maybe I’ll blog about that as I read through it.  Ramsey does a great job revealing the myths of debt and gives the reader real world steps for getting out of debt.

On a different note, the second documentary I viewed was called “For the Bible Tells Me So“.   Two years ago I never would’ve watched this film.  I had the same mindset as presented in this documentary.  The Bible says homosexuality is wrong and therefore gay people are evil and willfully sinning and want to destroy Christianity.  I never really thought about the individual and their struggle to find out who they are and why they feel the way they do.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still very much a Christian and I still think homosexuality is not God’s design for us, but I’ve lost most of my self righteous attitude towards the people calling themselves gay and lesbian. 

This documentary is very tastefully done and honestly tells the story of how the American Church has persecuted the homosexual community.  I was actually embarrassed as I watched because I used to feel exactly the same way as the Christians presented here.  The American Church has tagged homosexuality the bane of all evil and that gay marriage will ruin civilization as we know it.  I honestly think that if Jesus were here on earth in this day, He would love and minister to gay people, not marginalize them.  His attitude would be far from the prevalent attitude shown by the American Church.  He’d be less concerned about gay marriage and more concerned with being friends and loving the homosexual community.

I’m very glad that I carved out some time (well, mostly driving time as I worked) to watch and listen to these two films.  Both have challenged me, as all good documentaries should.

The Movie You Should Rent This Weekend

Apr 18

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Time to watch movies has been very hard to find lately. Life and all of its general chaos just steals it away.

I was fortunate enough this last week to see one great movie! I have to qualify the meaning of “great”. Some movies are great, say, like The Transformers. Awesome action and explosions and computer animation. Great in every sense of the word.

Then there are movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy which transcend normal story telling devices and are in every way epic. The settings are exotic and the characters are foreign and story speaks to our heart.

The movie that captured my attention and touched my spirit was August Rush.  Here is the official review by amazon.com:

Music has long been considered a universal language with the power to bring people together, but can the simple act of playing music possibly unite a child with a mother and father who live in two different cities and don’t even know of the child’s existence? Having shared one extraordinary night, classical cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and Irish singer and songwriter Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) were a union meant to be that was torn apart by circumstances and a protective father (William Sadler). After eleven years, both Lyla and Louis have given up performing only to find that they are unhappy and searching for a sense of fulfillment that will ultimately lead both artists back to music and performing. Evan (Freddie Highmore) is an 11-year old orphan who’s grown up hearing music in everything around him and is convinced that his real parents want him and will find him with the help of music. Driven by his innate musical genius and a powerful compulsion to perform before the world, Evan runs away from the orphanage and is initially taken in by a street man known as Wizard (Robin Williams) who encourages his musical talent and renames him August Rush and, later, by a local priest who arranges for August to receive a Julliard education. August is a child prodigy who excels beyond even the wildest expectations and earns the opportunity of a lifetime–a chance to perform in front of an enormous audience in New York’s Central Park. The question is; can his performance possibly reach the audience August really craves? While elements of this film are completely unbelievable (take August’s instant prowess on the guitar or his immediate and sophisticated grasp of musical notation and musical theory), the message of the universality of music and the notion that “the music is all around us, all you have to do is listen” is both compelling and powerful. –Tami Horiuchi

With all that said, this movie is truly a homerun.  It has depth and feeling and brings the viewer into its world.  The movie does move at its own pace, winding slowly through August’s life and telling the tale of how his parents meet.  I’m a very huge fan of music, and this movie taps into that passion in a very big way.  August Rush is gifted in ways I would love to be.  He can hear music in everything, from wind moving the grass to the hum of power lines to the busy bustle of city life.  The music is in him, seeking to be released.

As I said earlier, this movie moves me in a couple of different ways.  The romantic in me can feel the gut-level love that connects August’s parents.  Once that love is gone, it extinguishes everything, and their passion for the music that expresses how they feel is sadly gone.  To love someone that deeply is a gratifying and mystical experience. 

Then, of course, the music of this movie is stupendous.  The producers created something truly magical.  Most of the music is classical in nature, but it maginifies and personifies the prodigy of August Rush.  I love the scene where August’s mom is playing her cello with fierce passion and the director overlays August’s dad playing his rocking love song so the two songs become one.  It is truly touching.

I downloaded the soundtrack this morning and have been listening to it all day.  It really captures to magnificence of the movie.  A lot of gospel, light rock, classical and jazz fused togethter for a wonderful listening experience.

So, to sum it all up:  if you love music, and you love movies that capture that mystical experience called love – then you should just go buy this movie!

It is family friendly, with maybe one or two minor curse words, but I’d let my kids (13, 11, and 9) watch it without hesitation.