The Winslow Boy

2/5... another Mamet misfire?
Based on someone else's play, which is based on actual events, occurring in 1912 London, ... yawn... probably another case of inappropriate expectations. I typically watch Mamet stuff for his awesome ability to turn a phrase. Those lines that are so rich you find yourself saying them out loud to yourself after they play (actually, maybe that is just a sign that I watch too many movies home alone...). That said there is ONE line like that in the movie, and if you watch the movie you can't miss it (it's literally the last line of dialog spoken). Because of that, for me at least, it felt like a 100 minute setup for ONE Mamet line.

oleander

2/5 stars...
This was the best workplace training video on sexual harassment that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I rented this because of David Mamet, so I was hoping for something more like Redbelt, Spartan, The Unit, ...

Southland Tales

OK, I'm clearly not as smart as I thought I was, because I am in the dark on this one. I understand that it is a satire, I even laughed out loud more than once while viewing. But when the movie was over I was left with an overwhelming feeling that I had missed something very important? I hear that there is a graphic novel prequel, that is really ought to be the first 1/2 of the film? I'm considering picking that up and re-viewing to see if this one makes any more sense???

The Farthest Shore

I definitely got more out of this book by reading it as an adult. While I still enjoyed the story (an epic adventure tale if ever one was told) I felt like I appreciated the author's thoughts/statements on religion, faith, eternal life,... which is all stuff that I don't think I slowed down for much when I first read it as a teen.

Newbery Award Goal Status: While this one won (I love using homonyms back to back) a National Book Award, it lost out to Julie of the Wolves when it came time to hand out the 1973 Newbery

Now on to Tehanu (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 4) (which won a Nebula... not a Newbery, I need to get back on task)

Reminded me of Bill the Galactic Hero

When I was in 9th grade 2 of my best friends (NotRoss and Marz) and I made a short film as a book report on Bill The Galactic Hero. This Star Wars short reminded me of it since we used a variety of action figures instead of putting ourselves in front of the camera. One of these days I'll have to see about posting it onto YouTube...

Heist

"Well, I tried to imagine a fellow smarter than myself. Then I tried to think, what would he do?"
This movie has more "quotables" than you can shake a stick at...

4 of 5 overly paranoid backup plans.

The Incredible Hulk

As good a hulk movie as I can imagine being made!

4 of 5 awesome transformations...

The Dark Knight

Best joker ever.
Get ready for a ride (if a little long)...
Some of the best lines in a comic book movie ever.

A strong 4 of 5 disposable henchmen...

Watchmen Trailer

YAY!


I fumbled the template a little so that this trailer wasn't cropped. I've been meaning to get around to making a template of my own... perhaps this will expedite that process...

Definitely, Maybe

Romantic comedy about a divorced, father coming of age in his mid-thirties... with a Broadway musical song sung on screen! Does a great job portraying a great Father/Daughter dynamic that I wish surfaced in more movies.

Sometimes I find a movie where I am the target audience.

A strong 4 out of 5 awesome DVD special features.

youtube test post

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Caught this one over the weekend with Runk. I dug it. My only real complaint was that I didn't take Em. She is a big Hellboy fan, but she and I agreed that I should probably see it first to make sure it would be OK for her to view. So now I'm really looking forward to taking her to see it (probably catch the early show next weekend).

4 of 5 visually stunning characters.

Mongol

After Wanted, Runk and I headed over to see Mongol. It was really good in a totally different way than Wanted. It's a little slow at points, but it's an art movie and you get a history lesson at the same time... so quit complaining! Click the image to check out the trailer.

4 of 5 wagon wheels that saved Temüjin's life

Wanted

Runk and I hit this and Mongol last night. This one is an adaptation of a comic book that I would previously have thought could NOT be adapted into a movie. In the end I think the film makers did an amazing job capturing the spirit of the comic while creating a film that has a much broader appeal.


4 of 5 physics defying bullets

The Tombs of Atuan

I love a good story about faith (even misplaced?).
This one was ONLY a Newbery Honor book (but too good to pass up).

4 out of 5 thoughts provoked.

Flightplan

What can I say about Flightplan? It wasn't as good as I had hoped. Jodie Foster was great. Michael Irby from The Unit was fine (but much better IN The Unit). Unfortunately it was missing ?something? that kept it from being great. Maybe it's because I was expecting it to be more like The Forgotten (which WAS great). (The comparison is funny to me since both Julianne Moore and Jodie Foster played Clarice Starling)

3 of 5 paranoid post September 11th airline passengers. (Although this one makes me consider using a more granular scale... it felt more like 2.5)

quick funny

Jedi Gym
Make sure you hang in there until at least the 4 minute mark!

Extended Summer Visitation with Emmalee

Emmalee and I just finished up our first 2 week stretch of Extended Summer Visitation. As always it was a great time. This year (and last) my boss has allowed me to work from home during this time, so it works out great since I don't have to worry about daycare (or any fights with the EX concerning daycare...)
While we found time to:
-go to 2 water parks
-spend some time in Capitol Reef National Park
-camp in Torry (where Em displayed an interest in whittling?!?!??!)
-spend some time at my papa's cabin
-see a few movies
-...
The best part of Extended Visitation (for me at least), is getting to see Emmalee first thing in the morning every day, as well as tuck her in each night. It's the little everyday bits of being that FULL TIME parent that I dig the most. Well, that and having someone to watch DS9 with each night. :D