2.26.2008

This is War I got an email about three weeks ago. This Is War: Memories of Iraq is the feature length documentary that has everyone talking. Bold, brash and a little sick, This Is War takes viewers inside Iraq and reveals the story that can only be told by the men and the women living the deployment. Although featuring members of the Oregon National Guard 2/162, This Is War is really the story of all of America's warriors that have been deployed. Already the winner of numerous awards (Best Documentary; Idaho International Film Festival, Florida Media Market and Sweet Onion Film Festivals) and accolades, This Is War is not a movie for the Left or the Right, it is simply a movie that showcases the reality, hopefulness, hopelessness, fear and joy in Iraq through the video and photos of the soldiers themselves, as they survive intense combat and the hunt for IEDs that define their mission. Priced at $19.95, all sales of This Is War: Memories of Iraq help to support the Wounded Warrior Project, the National Combat History Archive and the Iraq/Afghanistan Oregon Memorial Fund. I was given a copy of this documentary with a request to review it and write about it on my blog. I took a little longer then I meant to do so. First off, I can agree that this is a film that is neither for nor against war, it's just a film about war, and about the soldiers that find themselves in the middle of it. It really is their story, their experiences, about their buddies in combat and the sense of brotherhood that comes with being a part of the military. It follows an Oregon National Guard unit throughout their deployment in 2004 through Baghdad, filmed by the soldiers themselves from their view point. And it shows the soldiers being soldiers, putting a human face to our troops overseas, how the grunt on the ground thinks and feels about what is going on around him. It is frank and honest, sometimes very candid, soldiers video journaling their experiences right after it has happened, or in the middle of a mission. Indeed, this is not anti-war propaganda like I've heard of other similar documentaries such as Stop Loss. This is a film that simply is what it is. I often look for good videos that I can potentially show trainees once I hit the trail, and this is a film that tells it like it is, from the soldiers themselves in the middle of combat. This is about lessons learned, and what to expect. Which is something I can take for granted, as I have yet to experience it myself. I do heartily recommend viewing it for yourself, especially if you are curious about the war from the viewpoint of the soldiers themselves. All proceeds go to help the Wounded Warriors Project. Click here to learn more and order Labels: Military, Movies -Risawn: # 5:58 PM - |

1.12.2008

Rambling Life continues, sort of. I've been spending the last few days watching Season 3 of Lost, Drawing, Sleeping and working on homework. I need to work on homework more often. I've also been working at work, but fortunately they have been pretty small shifts that aren't that big of a deal. So I haven't been doing much of anything lately, so my sisters talked me into going to see Juno with them. Cute movie, funny, I laughed. I think I'll end up buying it. Though the moral lesson isn't always the best, I think in the end she does the right thing. Probably one of my new favorite movies to come out last year. I need to update my movie post. My brother plays Call of Duty 4, a lot. The multiplayer online deathmatches are interesting to watch, because the entire time I'm critiquing it because it is obvious why you get killed so much in this game, because everybody flags everybody else (of course, fratricide is optional), there is absolutely no MOUT techniques used and people rush into fire zones all the time. Oh, and nobody really cares if they die or not because they'll just respawn. Overall for a video game it is pretty realistic, i hear the campaign mode follows more rules of war but I can see using this game as an example to privates of WHY we don't do certain things. Like flag our battle buddies. Overall I'm feeling better though. I need to get on my homework now however. Labels: Movies, Video Games -Risawn: # 10:41 AM - |

12.29.2007

Best and Worst - Movies 2007 This will probably become somewhat of a staple for my blog, the movie review blog. For the year. Since you have about a hundred and one different reviews nameing the top ten movies of the year or what not, I thought I would give my own input on the matter. But I have a disclaimer, I haven't seen a whole lot of movies so this is limited to what I have seen. I had more artsy movies on my list last year. TOP TEN! (in no particular order) 1)Transformers - More then Meets the Eye. Definitely a popcorn movie, lot's of fun though, Loved the Special Effects. 2)300 - We. Are. SPARTA! This movie is eye candy, for both men and women alike. Men because of the blood and action and lot's of violence, women because these men have bodies that are drool worthy. . . 3)Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix - I like Harry Potter. Yes, I see the movies as being somewhat seperate from the books, and the books will always be better, but if you view them for what they are, the Harry Potter Franchise is quite enjoyable. 4)Knocked Up - Probably one of my favorite comedies this summer. Second viewing wasn't as enjoyable as the first, and now that I look back, they did go a bit far in some parts, like the crowning scene. Still, great film! 5)Enchanted - I've wanted to see it since I heard about it, and was not disappointed. A great film for a date, or a girls night out. It's a keeper! 6)TMNT - The Ninja Turtle fan in me gives this movie a high rating. Looking back, there are some developments that I would have liked to have seen, but the voice cast is spot on and its a nastalgic piece of film for the 80's kid in all of us. 7)Hot Fuzz - Hah! Hahahah! I loved Shaun of the Dead. Same dry british humor. Not as raunchy as the previous though. 8)Bridge to Terabitha - Tear Jerker. 9)Live Free or Die Hard - Action! Action action action ACTION! And Bruce Willis. 10)Grindhouse - Ok, I've only seen it the once, but I really enjoyed the strange impossible humor and campy stories. Haven't been witness to the DVDs yet though. . . Honorable Mentions Rattouille - Pixar can do no wrong. Balls of Fury - What Part of Sudden Death did you not understand? Stardust - I was pleasently surprised, I thought it was cute, though I think it could have been better. August Rush - Good Film. Heartwarming. Movies that I want to see that may have made this list. Bourne Ultimatum - I still need to see Bourne Supremecy. But Action! Action action action ACTION! Golden Compass - Anti Christian themes and boycotts aside, I like fantasy. I also like talking animals. I still want to see it. Dark is Rising - Apparently this one didn't do so hot, but I still really want to see it. Guess I'll wait till the DVD. And now, the bottom of the barrel. Watch at your own peril - Note, these are the ones I've seen that I put on this list. They aren't necessarily bad, but on principle I avoid films that I think will be bad. See next section. 1)I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry - Adam Sandler let me down on this little stinker. Some funny moments, but the underlying messages of tolerance is a little overbearing at times, and can be preachy. Gag me. 2)Heartbreak Kid - Just saw it. Some funny moments, but overall, a little bit much. It starts off well and then just goes down hill. Fast. 3) Perfect Stranger - Ok, this one is just plain Bad. No redeemable characters at all. And Bruce Willis! 4) Next - Disappointing, and I can't stand Nicolas Cage's character in it. Major Creep factor. 5) Captivity - I didn't sit through this one. There was absolutely no point to it. Movies That Would Have Undoubtedly Made This List If I had Seen Them, Hence Why I Didn't See Them. Sicko - Some people say he is an amusing film maker and everything, but Micheal Moore just makes me want to wrench and I don't care what kind of point he is making or if it is even a valid point, he has zero credibility because he skews his facts to get his point across. I've seen Bowling for Columbine. I don't need to watch any more of this man's garbage. I Know Who Killed Me - Lindsay Lohan was once such a cute girl. . . Norbit - Um, do I even have to say why I refuse to see this movie? Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - I couldn't sit through the first one. Evan Almighty - I like Steve Carrell. Still, this never appealed to me. At all. Are We Done Yet? - Just looks plain stupid. Thanks but, er, no thanks. List of All Movies out in 2007 Labels: List, Movies -Risawn: # 1:49 PM - |

11.28.2007

Enchanted I went and saw Enchanted today, and laughed so freakin' hard my sides hurt. This was probably the best movie I had seen in a while (I haven't seen a whole lot so I guess that isn't saying much), it's just a cute clean comedy where Disney goes out to make fun of itself and its princess characters and their cluelessness as well as their undying quest to meet their Prince. Yes, Susan Surandon is in it, but she plays a fitting part as the evil witch. In fact, the movie was pretty much perfectly cast. Definitely a great date movie, or one to take the kids to see (girls will love it). I'll be buying it when it comes out on DVD. For sure. Go. See. Laugh and cringe at the same time! It's really not just for kids! Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 10:26 PM - |

8.07.2007

Summer Movies, 2007 I've been in a very big movie watching phase this summer and have seen a lot of movies compared to previous years. My movie watching will soon come to an abrupt halt however when I leave in a bit. So I wanted to kind of give some mini reviews of some movies I've seen that came out this summer. They are listed in order of how much money they have taken in, because that's the order I'm reading them. Spiderman 3 - I really like how the Spiderman franchise has been done, maybe its because I'm a big Sam Raimi fan. When I initially saw Spiderman 3, I liked it, mostly because I think I'm drawn to the good guy in conflict with himself and the storyline of Venom. However, when I look back on it, I realize how campy and cheesy the series can be sometimes, and although there is a lot of villains in this particular installment, it probably would have run more smoothly if the villains were cut down to two instead, especially since Venom is such a popular character in the franchise, I think the storyline let them down in favor of appealing to a general audience. Still, it can't have been that bad, seeing as it's the highest grossing movie this year. *** Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End - I was so impressed with the first Priates movie that it was a given I would watch the two sequals. However, it seems like they didn't necessarily plan out the sequals as well as they did the original. Like they made the first one with the hopes that it would do well enough to make a series to it and when it turned into a major blockbuster they were all scrambling to come up with an idea on how to milk as much money out of this thing as possible. So in the end, though entertaining, Pirates 3 is a bit of a mess and at times a little hard to follow, like there isn't a real coherent plot. **1/2 Transformers - Being an animation major, I loved this movie. But it is not without it's pitfalls as well. There was a couple of scenes that could have been left out, and most people's biffs with the movie is it focuses more on the humans and less on the transformers. Other then Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, none of the Transformers are really developed in this movie to help you sympathize with them. And they could have left off the scene where Bumblebee 'pees' on the special agent and the masterbation discussion scenes were unnecessary and makes this a movie that you don't wish to take young children too. Great action though, but not enough character development in some parts. ***1/2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I have come to see the movies of Harry Potter a little seperate from the books. Some characters I picture in my head differently in appearance on screen vs their book counterparts. And Order of the Phoenix is a large book, so I was somewhat forgiving in how much they had to cut out, as long as they stayed true to the source. And they did, to a certain degree, though I would have loved to see more of some of the scenes, such as the Weasley twins, and its a shame they had to cut out the source of their funding from the previous movie, but all in all, this has been an enjoyable franchise that has been done well. Ironically enough, the longest book has become the shortest movie. ***1/2 Knocked Up - I wanted to see this movie the moment I saw the previews, it just looked so freakin' hilarious. That, and I'm a huge fan of the tv show Freaks and Geeks. However it is incredibly raunchy so not for the faint of heart. Well acted, great story, and lot's of fun. Despite its R rating, its a keeper and probably my favorite comedy of the summer. **** Live Free or Die Hard - I didn't really expect to see this movie in theaters, but when you are stuck somewhere with nothing to do, going to see a movie seems like the logical choice, and this one was a great choice. This thing is action packed and it does not let up. Pure testosterone on the screen, even if some of the scenes are a wee bit unbelievable, but you just have to turn off your brain and enjoy the movie with a big tub of popcorn. ***1/2 The Invisible - This movie's previews are very misleading. It makes it out to be a thriller, instead its one big drama. Not bad, but not great when its completely different from what you expected. ** Next - This one completely bombed in the theater. I can see why. I wasn't impressed with it, and Nicholas Cage, for all his merits, doesn't come off as an attractive character in this film. In fact, he doesn't have a lot going for him other then his unexplainable ability to see into the future. So he comes off as a bit of an obsessive guy who just keeps reliving the same moment hoping to say just the right thing so he can get into Jessica Biel's pants. I was disappointed. * There are a few other movies I've seen, but I've either seen them on DVD or before May, like Bridge to Terabithia, TMNT, Hot Fuzz, and 300. There are a few movies that I do want to see however, whether it is in the theater or on DVD doesn't matter, but it will likely wait until DVD at this point. Rattatouille - looks insanely cute, but I haven't gotten around to seeing it in the theater. Will likely be a DVD venture for me. Besides, its got Janeane Gerofalo and I don't really like her at all, so I tend to boycott her movies these days by simply refusing to watch them. Shrek the Third - I like the Shrek series well enough, but not so much that I think it is deserving of the major blockbuster status it has recieved. That said, I tend to watch animated features on principal. This will likely be a DVD feature for me. 1408 - I just want to see it. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - For a while I wanted to see this one in the theaters, it looked amusing. But I think I can wait for it to come out on DVD. HairSpray - Just looks hilarious. Stardust - Comes out this weekend. Might be the last movie I see before I head out. Superbad - Another 'knocked up' style humor type film. Bourne Ultimatum - Actually, I haven't seen Supremecy yet, even though it came for free on HDDVD with my Desk Top. Balls of Fury - I've been wanting to see this for some time. Looks like a riot. Here are the movies I am avoiding simply because i have absolutely zero desire to see them. In no particular order, and most of them should be self explanatory. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - I thought the first one sucked so much I never finished watching it all the way through. Evan Almighty - I love Steve Carrell, but this has never looked that appealing to me and I thought Bruce Almighty was way overhyped. Sicko - Well, its a Micheal Moore movie. I try not to watch propaganda to much, and despite the message of needing to fix US healthcare, I don't think following Micheal Moore's suggestion is the way to do it. Er, that covers it for now. I think I'm going to call work and see if any Magazines came in. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 7:55 AM - |

7.27.2007

Go Yellow! Well, in honor of the new Simpsons movie, Burger King has teamed up with Matt Groening and they have put together a website where you can simpsonize yourself. Granted, it looks really nothing like me, but it's still pretty fun messing with your simpson self. My laptop has lost its Print Screen Function. This is really annoying. Labels: Doh, Fun, Meme, Movies -Risawn: # 12:25 AM - |

7.02.2007

More then Meets the Eye I had an issue with trying to think of what to get my nephew Cody for his fifth birthday, when it kind of jumped at me while I was at work. I mean, I liked playing with them when I was a kid and now that there is a new movie out, they're making a come back. Yeah, I got him a couple of transformers. I don't think he really knew what they were when he opened them up, as he was to caught up with his nerf toys, but hopefully when he gets them out of their packaging and realizes that they turn into robots he'll have a better appreciation for them. But anyway, I might jump onto the bandwagon and get into a Transformers kick myself, because I'm a geek at heart and I'm all for things that bring on a nastalgic feeling in me. And holy crap, that movie is friggen awesome! I think Transformers will be making a comeback this summer becuase I can predict that this movie is going to do well. I went and caught the first showing at 8 pm (strange time for a first showing) and was amazed at the level of animation. I'm an animation major, I can now appreciate the detail and tweaking that goes into modeling all those little parts and for them to shift and transform from a Chevy Camaro to a giant robot. I was amazed at this alone. It was also amusing to sit in a theater with a bunch of twenty to thirty somethings who grew up on these things and were hooting and howling when Optimus Prime made his debut. They even had a couple people dressed up as Transformers in cardboard boxes running around at the front of the theater before the show started. Lot's of fandom and hollering going on, I shouldn't have expected anything less from a first showing. The story is a little fast paced, but I didn't mind because it is VERY action oriented. And violent. There is lot's of stuff blowing up. I do recommend it however, to anybody who likes heavy action that features giant robots that turn into different kinds of vehicles and proceed to blow each other up. Good old fashioned fun. I'll have to see if I can pick up some of the older cartoons just to see the difference, kind of like doing a comparison between old and new ninja turtles. That's always fun. Labels: Animation, Movies -Risawn: # 11:04 PM - |

6.29.2007

New Movie Out So, a certain 'documentary' film maker released a new movie today, a movie that I will refuse to pay for to watch. I'm sure he makes some good points in it, he does make a point or two in his previous forays. The thing about it is as far as I'm concerned, he has no credibility as a documentary film maker because he skews facts to mislead his viewers into seeing things the way he sees it. The fiasco with his latest film, in which he took rescue workers from 9/11 to Cuba to get medical treatment, backfired. What I find amusing was how he seemed to try to shift the blame of him doing somethign illegal to the fact that it was the government trying to shut his film up. Well, apparently in Cuba's superior health care system, if you are a regular citizen, you have to provide your own soap and bedsheets. Hmm, sign me up now! I also find the fact that this man decided that he needed to put a copy of his film in a safety deposit box outside of the country in his fear that the government would try to confiscate it was equally amusing. This shows the paranoia he faces, or rather, I think he stated it to get attention, and it obviously worked. Hey, even I heard about it, which gives the movie publicity, even though it is highly unlikely that anybody in the government would actualy confiscate the thing. Of course, with such a vocal figure, the government would be stupid to confiscate his movie, but I doubt that would stop him from making up a story that the government tried to. All the guy does is lie to meet his means. This is a fascinating article. I highly recommend reading it. New York Post review of Sicko Also check out Moore Watch. Labels: Movies, Politics -Risawn: # 8:32 PM - |

5.17.2007

Love is a Tree. . .or something bizarre Every so often I find enough time to come home with a movie from work and pop it into the DVD player and watch it. Just to keep current on new movies. Frankly, I tend to like artsy films. I like movies that make you go 'whoa', most of the time. Not to say I liked this movie, becuase I'm not sure that I did. Nor did I exactly hate it either. It was just one of those movies that left me scratching my head and wondering what exactly was going on. See, the Fountain is an artsy movie, and maybe so artsy as to require you to drop acid before viewing it to actually understand what is going on. Because quite frankly, I didn't get it. It was very beautiful and very well done, if not but completely incoherent. I think there was some play of metaphors, some symbolism between love and Hugh Jackman and The Tree of Life. But whatever the case, it didn't stop me from saying "you can't see a nebula that clearly with a telescope that small!" and other astronomical inaccuracies. This might be a movie that requires two viewings to get. But I was quite content on seeing it the once and returning it promptly thereafter. To which I decided to get to further play with my confused state by renting The Science of Sleep. I'll admit that this one does require a second viewing. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 10:44 PM - |

4.18.2007

GrindHouse Just FYI - Grindhouse totally rocked my world! I don't know if its just the style of movie, the fact that it was a Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration, or the fact that they have a chick with a machine gun for a leg, but this movie(s) flat out rocked! Planet Terror was a perfect mix of humor, action and zombies! Gotta love zombie movies! Where as the second picture was a different pacing, they fit together becuase they both had the same kind of feel to it, a throwback to the grindhouse picture of the seventies, complete with typos and conveniantly missing reels. And some interesting fake trailers, like Werewolf Women of the SS, or something bizarre like that. Some people didn't seem to like Death Proof, as it is heavy in dialog and slow at times, but for some reason, I liked it, even with all the dialog. There is one scene where there are four girls just sitting in a restaurant having a conversation that feels completely natural, and it never cuts the entire time, which I noticed. So I liked it. But not recommended for kids, or parents for that matter. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 12:05 AM - |

3.28.2007

Happy Feet and Liberal Love Fests Happy Feet came out on DVD yesterday, and I had heard some things about it that made me wish to wait until it came out on DVD to see it. Regardless, I watched it with an open mind and had just wanted to see it. First the good about it. This movie is beautiful, the animation is near realistic and it is stunning to see how far they have come in computer animation. The first two thirds of the movie is also actually enjoyable too, its fun with a cute story. And now what I felt would have improved it. 1. Original Songs. Because this movie is so realistic, first thing I noticed was these penguins were all singing pop ballads. There is a penguin named Memphis singing an Elvis song, Heartbreak Hotel, and I'm thinking "How does a freakin' penguin know about hotels anyway?" The very least they could have done is found a composer to make some original music that sounds like something a penguin would sing. Penguins wouldn't know the slightest thing about pop music, and though singing seventies music in 'Ella Enchanted' worked there, becuase it was consistent and kept with the feature, it didn't work here. Disney is able to make original music for their songs, why can't Warner Bros? 2. The main dancing penguin, Mumble, is the only penguin that looks like him. When he grows up, he is a mix between a baby penguin and an adult penguin, and every other penguin that is the same age as him is looks like a regular penguin. I bought it at first, thinking "he's a late bloomer and they want to convey that" but later in the movie it is obvious that months have passed and Mumble has changed slightly, suggesting he has grown older, but he STILL LOOKS THE SAME! Maybe the baby penguins are cuter, but it wouldn't have bugged me as much if some of the other teenage penguins were also in that transition phase, not just the lead character. It's like a scream of 'Look at me! I'm different!' 3. Liberal Love fest at the end. I knew exactly what Glen Beck was talking about when he mentioned this movie on his TV show. The last third was unbearably obvious. I didn't mind the plotline to be accepted for who you were, or even a small environmental message to kids to protect your environment because people aren't the only ones living in this world. But the environmental message just became obnoxious. Mumble is in a human zoo where he dances for people, so they release him with a tracking device on his back and he goes back and tells the rest of the penguins to dance. When the humans see a bunch of penguins dancing, they start saying "wow, maybe they are trying to tell us something!" "Maybe they're telling us that we're affecting their food supply!" "We need to do something about that." Then we get a flash montage (of what appears to be real footage of people, not animation) about how a bunch of dancing penguins makes the world stop fishing the antartic. This reminds me of "Hey Lassie, what is that? Timmy fell down a well?" Seriously, how would people get the idea of a bunch of dancing penguins would mean that they have a food shortage? By the sheer numbers of them in the movie, if I saw a bunch of dancing penguins, I would just say "cool, dancing penguins!" It wouldn't come to my attention that they might be hungry. The last third of the movie just became rediculous. Yeah, sure, it is a kids show and kids seem to love it, but the overbearing ending just makes me want to vomit. I will not be adding to my film collection. Movies like this annoy the crap out of me. Especially since I'm an adult who still enjoys kids movies. Cars was better, but because this is a liberal love fest, it won best Animated Feature in the Academy Awards. Cars at least had more originality in it. And just FYI, I HAVE seen Inconveniant Truth, and it didn't make me want to vomit. Though Gore doesn't offer any real solutions, and according to him, we're all going to die in twenty years. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 10:51 AM - |

3.26.2007

TMNT I don't really see a whole lot of movies in the theaters anymore. Most movies I can wait for to come out on DVD and watch in the privacy of my own home on my pretty TV. I reserve my theater going experience to movies that will wow me with special effects that I can take full advantage of with seeing on the big screen, like 300 and Pan's Labyrinth (both of which are excellent btw), or I reserve for major fandoms, like Harry Potter, and of recent, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Its good to see these guys making a comeback, tell anybody who knew me circa 1990 and they could confirm that I had a major obsession. I've kind of rediscovered them about two years ago and have been steadily collecting the DVD collections as they've come out. So anyway, when I heard that they were making a new animated feature, my first thought was "I'm so going to see this!" I've been watching both the 1987 and the 2003 series, and have a definite feel of the overall series (never got into the comic books, its probably to late for that now) and am prepared for probable campiness of what might come from a ninja turtle flick (and the orginal 1987 series was Campy!) Yes, they had some dumb jokes (I still laughed), and the script was not oscar worthy but come on, this is a movie about four crime fighting turtles. I went in with an open mind expecting to like it and guess what? I wasn't disappointed. I wouldn't recommend it to just anybody though, really. This is a show for kids and fans alike. I loved it because I am a fan. However, I didn't love the fact that I was watching a kid show at a prime showing with a lot of kids. My mistake. Remind me to catch the later showing if they get around to a theatrical release for TMNT #5. Labels: Fandoms, Movies, Ninja Turtles -Risawn: # 12:30 AM - |

2.13.2007

Depart Already!!! So I've got an appointment to see the Doctor at 8 this evening, because apparently they're booked up with the flu. Since I have to keep my foot on ice and elevated, and overall off of it (which leads to me relaxing on the couch with minimum activity *grumbles*) I decided since its new movie day, that I wanted to go rent a couple of movies to keep me occupied. So I sent my brother after the movies, one of them being The Departed, which I've been wanting to see for quite some time. Despite the horrible movie review done of it in one of my classes earlier. So I send him after the movie and while he's getting ready, he keeps trying to confirm the movie with me. "The Guardian, right?" "No, the Departed." Shortly thereafter, as he's getting his shoes on. "The Forgotten?" "No, that was an awful movie! The Departed!" A minute later, "Unforgiven?" "Departed!!!" So he finally leaves, I'm like trying to give him mnemonic clues just so he would get the hint, like how he needs to depart the house to get the movies. A few minutes later, he comes back, with The Unknown. Which I've seen. . . Maybe he'll get it this time. Labels: health, Movies, Random -Risawn: # 11:00 AM - |

1.10.2007

Best and Worst - Movies 2006 I don't really see this as becoming a movie blog, honestly I don't, but because I work in a movie rental place, I have a tendency to see a lot of movies, especially recently, when before I was barely watching them at all. Funny, I still haven't seen a ton of movies, so I'm going to leave it the top and bottom 5 movies I saw this year. Top Five (in no particular order) 1) Little Miss Sunshine - I think what won me over in this film is the VW Bus, as I could totally picture my family in those circumstances. We had a car much like that, an '81 Dodge Ram Minivan we called the Blue Bomber. That aside, there is a disclaimer I meant to add to my previous review of this film is that the humor is kind of dark and its not for everybody. My parents rented this on reading my recommendation and were more then a little disturbed at the heroin snorting grandfather. This movie felt a lot like a snowball to me. I was snickering at the beginning and as the movie progressed, I found it funnier and funnier. 2) Thank You for Smoking - I don't know why, maybe its the dry humor or the Libertarian Subject Matter of 'stop letting politicians make all your decisions and learn about it yourself' mentality, this movie is excellent. And I hate smoking. 3) Fearless - I've discovered that the subtitled foreign film doesn't bother me. This was the product of a date with a guy that I think wants something more and I am more then content to remain just friends. That said, I think I enjoyed the movie more then he did. Mostly because being subtitled, you have to keep your attention on the film to understand what's going on. Which might be why I liked it so much. 4) World Trade Center - I kind of avoided the whole 9/11 themed movies when they came out, mostly because I sometimes find it all drilled into my head and I'm a bit weary of it. However, I finally did see this film despite my initial weariness of it being an Oliver Stone flick and I was impressed. He focused on two Port Authority Police Officers and you experience the towers fall from their standpoint, and the knowledge that this is a true story makes it especially poignant. I hear United 93 is excellent as well, which I haven't seen yet. 5) Hard Candy - Call me strange, demented, or disturbing, but I really liked this film. And its definitely one I wouldn't recommend to just anybody (so don't go rent it mom and dad), but then again, I really LIKE films like this. A 13 year old girl meets up with a photographer in his thirties that she met in an online chat and it is soon revealed that she's been stalking him, and goes out to teach him a lesson. Throughout the movie you're wondering who really is the bad guy in this movie, and there are more then a few twists and turns. I would call it a thriller to an extent, but I watched it after having it reviewed in my Critical Thinking class and it really does make you think. Others worthy of consideration : Click - the running gag with the humping dog really killed it for me, but otherwise I really liked this film. So sue me if you agree with all the people who landed it in their 'worst of 2006' list. And I like Adam Sandler flicks, they make me laugh. V for Vendetta - I just liked it, ok? Devil Wears Prada - I love Meryl Streep, so much that I really hate her in this movie. Invincible - A feel good 'Rudy' flick, problem is it was over just when it was getting really good. Cars - Pixar animated it. Enough said. Art School Confidential - Definitely not for everybody, but as a former art student that used to have talent that was successfully killed by art school, I can say that I can understand the subtle humor in this comedy/drama/suspense type movie. And I laughed at a few scenes most non-former art students probably wouldn't get. Over The Hedge - Best animated picture about talking animals this year (unless Ice Age 2 beat it, and for some reason I douht this. As a loyal listener of Glenn Beck, I refuse to watch Happy Feet) Movies that may have made this list had I seen them (in other words, on my to see list): Casino Royale (not a Bond fan, but I keep hearing good things), The Departed (Lot's of buzz on this one, and the premise intrigues me), The Pursuit of Happyness (Have gotten a lot of good feedback from people on this), Stranger then Fiction (I don't know why, but I really want to see this film), Snakes on a Plane (so bad its good? Actually, from what I hear its not bad at all), For Your Consideration (Christopher Guest is God of the Mockumentary) 5 films to avoid at all costs 1) Date Movie - I was intrigued to see this film for one reason and one reason only. Alyson Hannigan. Can I say wasted talent? This was by far the worst movie I had seen all year. And further more, it's garage sale fodder because I bought the blasted thing! Fortunately, I got it on sale used so I'm not out more then I have to be. I vow to never see a "(enter word here) Movie" again. Which makes me ashamed to admit I actually laughed at the trailer for Epic Movie. Why, Willow, WHY???? 2/3) Open Season & The Wild - Ok, so I lumped the two together, I've been in an Animation Bid Lately. Is it just me or was the talking animal fare out in force last year? I was unfortunate enough to actually pay to see Open Season in the theater, and it was so bad my four year old nephew begged his parents to take him home. Fresh from a summer in Yellowstone, I found the whole thing about a ranger taking in a grizzly bear a little more unbelievable then necessary, like what is a deer doing partnering up with a grizzly anyway? (oh, wait, that's right, this IS an Animated Feature) but the ending was corny and cheeky, "Even though under normal circumstances we have to eat each other to survive, can't we all join forces to stop the BIG BAD HUNTERS???" Also, anybody say the word 'stereotype?' In regards to The Wild, I found the animation to look awesome, but the story was blah and what's with the Wildebeast trying to ascend to a higher level in the food chain? I would hope for more from Disney, part of me felt like they were trying to make Lion King again. And the thing had way to many plotholes (how could those animals survive at sea without anything to eat?) For a more superior look at Animated Talking Animals, give Over the Hedge a shot instead. 4) My Super Ex-Girlfriend - We recently rented this. I cringed. It was bad. So horribly bad. And way to much sex. I don't see how that could even be enjoyable. 5) Underworld: Evolution - I would think that this movie would be the type I like, as I did like the first, but I found it to be grossly underwhelming, and confusing, and somewhat of a mess. The opening sequence was horrendously difficult to make out, it was like the cameraman was having a siezure while filming it. I guess the 'avoid it at all costs' title may be a bit misleading, but then again I have a tendency to not try to see movies I think will suck so filling this list is somewhat difficult. Movies that would likely make this list which is why I haven't seen them: Barnyard (hermaphrodite cows creep me out), Big Momma's House 2 (the first one was bad enough), Little Man (White Chicks and made by part of the team responsible for the (adjective)- Movie franchise, 'nough said), Santa Clause 3 (honestly, I didn't like the first one when I saw it and found the second one to be retarded so why would I bother thinking they got it right the third time around? These things deplete in quality unless you're talking Lord of the Rings Trilogy) List of All Movies that Came Out in 2006 Labels: List, Movies -Risawn: # 11:15 PM - |

12.30.2006

Movie Review Time Since I'm not currently in school, and I work at a movie rental place, I've been watching a lot of movies lately. I thought I would give you a rundown of recent movies I've watched and what I thought of them. World Trade Center - Excellent movie, very respectful and well done, especially considering this is Oliver Stone. It does make you go back to that day and what you were doing when you heard about what happened. You do ask yourself if America is ready for movies about 9/11, I say we are. Part of healing is moving on, and after five years, we should be able to do so. Superman Returns - Typical Popcorn movie. The guy they got to play Superman fills the shoes well. But overall, I was watching it while working on other things so I got distracted pretty easy. Kate Bosworth looks like Natalie Portman when her hair is dark. Little Miss Sunshine - Favorite Movie I've seen this year. Hilarious, I was laughing so hard. A lot of what these people go through I can relate to, and what makes it so funny is you can picture these things actually happening to people. Loved it, would recommend it to anybody who Avatar, the Last Airbender, Season One - This is a kid's show on Nickelodeon. And it's excellent. We've gotten around to collecting Season One and now I'm looking at finding a way to see season two without having to wait to buy it on DVD. Being an animation major, I've been watching a lot of kids shows lately. Green Street Hooligans - I heard about this through word of mouth and wanted to rent it. Its kind of along the lines of Boondock Saints and similar movies, but about Brits who follow Football as if it was the mafia. Devil Wears Prada - Meryl Streep is awesome. I've seen more, can't think of them all off the top of my head right now. Because I'm also lazy. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 2:48 PM - |

11.22.2006

Work and Movies You know what I discovered? I'm too nice. Yesterday, I got a call from my boss asking if I would come into work today. I said "sure" So I worked from 11 to 7 today. On my birthday. I'm just too nice I tell you. Al Gore's an Inconveniant Truth came out yesterday. I haven't seen it, and I don't think I will. What cracks me up about the title is it is supposedly about the truth of global warming. I might be wrong about this and all, but as far as anybody can tell, Global Warming is still theory. So it should by all rights be called an Inconveniant Theory. I was also considering seeing Happy Feet (being an animation major) until I learned that the UN comes and saves the day at the very end. Huh? The UN comes and saves the day? Having worked closely with the UN last year and seeing the fine job that has been done in Kosovo, yeah, the UN has the answer to EVERYTHING. I got some movie tickets for my birthday, I think I'll see something else, like Borat, instead. Labels: Movies, Work -Risawn: # 10:58 PM - |

11.08.2006

Movie Reviews - College Style For my Critical and Creative Thinking class, we had to write a movie review for a movie we saw recently. The point of this assignment was to use language in a way to give the reader a clear idea of what the movie is about and how we formed our opinion on it. We were to avoid a review such as : "This Movie is really neat. I liked the characters and the story was really fascinating. . . blah blah blah." Neat, interesting, nice and the like are vague descriptions, you're definition of what makes something 'neat' or 'nice' may be different then somebody else's, right? So I tackled the review with this in mind. I chose "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an engaging and clever film. The main premise involves a mild mannered man named Joel (played by Jim Carrey), who realizes that his eccentric girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has recently gone through a revolutionary procedure to have him and their entire relationship erased from her memory. Confused and angry, Joel decides to do the same, only to realize as the memories fade that he doesn't want to forget her. The movie takes an unusual twist by showing events out of chronological order, as Joel's relationship with Clementine is revealed in reverse, from the last argument they had to the moment they met. The casting director also did something rather unorthodox by casting Winslet in the eccentric role instead of Jim Carrey, and both actors perform their parts brilliantly. I found this particular film fascinating as it engages your mind and makes you wonder about what you would do if presented with a similar situation. It also mixes humor with drama and presents itself in a light manner while remaining deep and thought provoking. I felt I covered the assignment and I posted my answer. Of course, I have to read other people's reviews and post in reply. One struck me as particularly, well, bad. I get the impression that she didn't read the instructions and only saw 'Write a Movie Review'. The movie I saw a couple of weeks ago was about a man who became a cop so he could get the down low on his mob friends. The other guy was a cop how was sent to the mob to be under cover. In this movie the main mob boss was trying to find out who was the snitch or undercover cop in his mob. He was giving the other cop information about all of the guys under him to see who was a cop. The movie starts out with this bad cop handing out with the mob boss as a child. He is taken in like an orphan. Then it catches up to this day in age. I liked the movie and I just can't give a way the end it would ruin the whole movie. I came to this conclusion based on my perception of the movie. My reply: . . . Huh? Ok, two questions. One, what is the title of your movie, and two, Huh? You lost me, as this appears to be a rambling mess and I have no idea what I just read. Ok, so I didn't particularly say that (though I want to) but I'll probably write something similar (and toned down for proper netiquette) but still, what in the world? I would say, and this is just me, that this is below standard for a 400 level college class. I feel compelled to reply to this girl. I mean, seriously, can I critique something like this without coming across as an ass? It kind of makes me a bit weary about continuing with my education at this institution. We shall see, eh? Labels: Movies, School -Risawn: # 9:35 PM - |

10.26.2006

Movie Reviews So, in the last few months, I've seen exactly one movie in the theaters. Out of pure boredom, I also rented three. Jet Li's Hero edit:Fearless was the movie of choice when I went out on a date a couple of weeks back. I won't go into details about the date (let's just say he was a nice guy, but I doubt there will be a repeat in the near future) and because there was nothing else that really perked our interest, we saw Fearless. We didn't know it was subtitled. But I don't care, I still liked it! I think it was all the fancy effects and fight scenes. Pretty wicked! Actually, I take that back. I've seen two movies in the theaters lately. Can't forget Open Season. Oh wait, yes I can. Funny sight gags, but overall I thought the plot was a little lame. Did anybody forget that bears eat deer? And all of the other assortment of cute critters in the flick? And coming fresh out of a summer in Yellowstone, I kept thinking 'HAH! Yeah, like THAT would ever happen!' I don't know, if I see a movie that contradicts my own experiences (war movies are notorious) I tend to get annoyed by them. Although I do have to keep in mind that this is a cartoon about talking animals. I doubt I'll ever get into watching Barnyard, for the very reason that a bunch of characters that are supposed to be Male Cows have Utters (and I have a problem with watching feminized male characters that aren't actually gay. If they are gay, I can laugh, if they are supposed to be straight, I'll cringe) Tonight, out of the blue, I stopped at the local Hastings and picked up a few movies and watched them back to back to back while the Ferrets ran loose. (I've never let the ferrets run loose that long before). Click was the first one I saw. I've kind of been wanting to see this movie for a while now because I like the premise behind it, a guy who has a universal remote of his life. Plus its an Adam Sandler flick and I'm easily amused and wanted a few laughs. However, I didn't expect to cry in an Adam Sandler movie, and I did on this one. I mean, I really liked this movie! I think I'll probably even buy it! My Sister In Law really looks a lot like Kate Beckinsale. Nacho Libre was weird, and I think I'll have to watch it again to see if it will grow on me like Napoleon Dynamite did. I had a few laughs, but I also admit I was distracted and didn't pay attention to it. Its kind of got that pacing that if you're focused on something else, you'll miss some points. But hey, I was kind of 'eh' on Napoleon Dynamite the first time I saw it too so. . . Thank You For Smoking, I don't know, I've heard a lot about this movie and it perked my curiosity so I decided to go see it. My brother and I agreed that the Gun Lobbyist probably wouldn't be so foolish about his gun, but I really liked how the main character thought. And furthermore, I love the final outcome of Katie Holmes' character, because for some reason, lately I haven't been able to stomach her. Maybe it has something to do with her shacking up with Tom Cruise (can we say double yak?) But overall, maybe its got liberal undertones and it drops the F-bomb more times then I would have liked, but I still liked it. There's a few other movies that have come out recently as well that I'm interested in picking up, but I think I'll take a break from movies for a bit and get everything caught up in life. Otherwise, I've been watching a lot of animation. Maybe its that whole being an Animation major, but after watching the first Season, The Tick is perhaps one of the funniest cartoons from the 90's that i never got into. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 12:53 AM - |

10.05.2006

Movie Review - Mazes and Monsters I was going through the discount bin when I picked up this little gem for a measly $5. I had never heard of it and it had Tom Hanks on the cover and usually you're pretty solid with Tom Hanks. Usually. I was wondering if it was an independent venture he helped out in and tried to find a date and the back cover only had 2005. Which was the copyright for the cover art. Well, the coverart has a contemporary image of Tom Hanks and fails to mention really what this movie is about. By all accounts you think its going to be some kind of cheap fantasy as there is a dragon and a maze on the cover, so it is catering to the sci-fi fantasy type crowd. The coverart is very misleading. Mazes and Monsters is actually a made for CBS movie that came out in 1982 about how evil Role-Playing Games are. Agahst, the horror! Do not play or you may literally lose your mind! Four college students gather around a home made role playing area with their candles lit as they become deeply involved in a RPG that is a wee bit like D&D, and when they decide to take their RPing to a slightly more advanced level, the infamous LARP (that's live action role playing for those who don't know) Robbie suddenly becomes consumed by his character and *gasp* gets so involved in the game that he no longer is Robbie but becomes Pardeux, the Holy Man! He swears off sex, goes on a quest and sees muggers as Gorvils. He snaps out of his little trance for a brief moment, giving performances that you would never guess would be from a future academy award winner. His holy quest takes him to the 'Two Towers' (very tolkeinesque) in New York, and it takes his three friends a while to figure out what the two towers could possibly be in New York City in 1982. They are able to save their friend from trying to 'fly' off of the One of the Towers by LARPing with him some more, and he snaps to for a moment to give off another one of those classic meltdowns only to find out that three months later the guy is completely insane. When his three friends come to visit him, they can only endulge in his crazy talk by taking part in one last LARP with him. THe closing scene is worth the entire freakin movie. Its so bad that I'm just waiting for Robbie to say "hah hah, just kidding guys." But no, its so bad because alas, he has completely gone bonkers and thinks he is Pardeux, and so his friends endulge on his lunacy one last time. Mazes and Monsters is a far out game! Beware, don't let your children play or they will be consumed by the fiery depths of their imaginations and you will never know them again! If I had to summarize this movie in one sentance, it would be: "Tom Hanks, what were you thinking?" Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 5:20 PM - |

4.22.2006

Movie Reviews, so you don't have to see 'em I made a mistake not long ago of renting a couple of movies. I have not been really all that impressed with the crap that Hollywood has been releasing lately, and so I haven't seen or rented a movie in a while. Just because, well, nothing perked my interest. Well, I take that back, one movie did perk my interest, not because of the subject matter or what not, but because of the whole spiel that everyone was saying how great it was. Actually, I just wanted to see it for myself. And let me tell you, going into this movie, I wasn't all that impressed. The characters were self serving and a bit shallow. The one character has no sense of responsibility as he throws aside his work and family to have a forbidden affair. This movie didn't teach anything about morals, values or what not. Both of the characters mess up their lives trying to fulfill these hidden desires and neither one ends the better for it. Liberals will watch this movie and point out that this is the problem with society, that people have to live in secret and aren't allowed to be themselves, thus ruining their lives. Conservatives will watch this movie and point out how the actions of both characters involved only stress that much more about how they ruin their own lives. They say they're in love, but there is a definite 'lust' thing going on here. The movie has no real life lessons applied, other then do what you want to do and let your family and work be damned. Both these characters live a big freakin' lie. All in the name of 'love'. Its bull- in my opinion. The movie makers thoughts on the matter? "This will show that we need to accept people so that they don't have to live in the closet like this and their lives won't be ruined." Brokeback Mountain, folks. Seriously, cut and dry definition of this movie? A movie about Two Gay Cowboys. And the tear jerker scene that is supposed to be emotionally gutwrenching? I went 'eh.' For its artistic merit, it's not a bad movie, but it isn't by any means a great movie that all the reviewers are saying it is. Sure, it will make you think, if you can stay awake watching it. I haven't heard of to many guys who had any desire to see this film, my dad mentioned that one guy admitted to watching it and everyone else gave him crap for weeks about it. My mom watched the first thirty minutes out of morbid curiousity, and then shut it off when she kept fast forwarding through different scenes and finally got to the sex scene. I can tell you one thing, its a movie I will never see again. The Other movie I saw? A Sound of Thunder. Two Words of Advice on this little gem. Don't bother. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 9:40 PM - |

3.01.2006

Consumer Brilliance Ok, I've got a biff about a current item on the market presently. Its called the PlayStation Portable. Perhaps you have heard of it? Well, the PSP, for all intensive purposes, like, for playing video games, seems like a pretty cool little gadget. We sell them in my store and all and I've become quite familiar with them. Much like a Nintendo Game Boy, it has games that are created specifically for it. Ok, fairs fair, but what is with the miniature movies? You can buy a movie for a PSP to watch on its tiny little screen. Movies for the PSP cost the same amount as if you were to buy a regular DVD. Heck, sometimes they can be more. But the kicker to it is the only place you can watch this movie is on that tiny little screen of a PSP. I can see the benefits of watching a movie on the go, like on a long car ride or some other type of trip, where you can watch it in peace. But, well, you can only watch a movie in that format on a PSP. At least, as far as I know. Question: what is up with all of these people that think that spending $20.00 on a 2 hour movie to watch on a tiny screen is a good idea? Answer: I don't know, but I'm seeing sucker written all over the place. In the meanwhile, if I want to see a movie, I think I'll stick to DVDs. Thanks. Labels: Movies, Rant, Toys -Risawn: # 2:04 AM - |

2.25.2006

Movies Now that I'll be watching movies a lot more *rentals more then anything, I don't think I can go into the previous DVD buying binges I was once known for* I decided to maybe do some reviews on what I thought. Bare in mind, my opinions in regards to movies don't mean a whole hill of beans because I'm easy to please and I rarely look into the deeper meaning of movies. I'm just in it purely for the entertainment value. Red Eye - I don't really watch thriller type movies, but for some reason this one peaked my interest. I actually saw previews to it while in Kosovo. I liked it, and it was a clean thriller. Very little cussing, some implied situations, but overall it does what its supposed to do, get you at the edge of your seat. It did me. And that's saying something, like I said, I don't generally watch thriller type movies. Or rather, horror movies for that reason. Wallance and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - I've been a fan of Wallace and Gromit since the mid '90's, and was rather pleased to hear that they came out with a full length feature film. Somebody had recommended in Kosovo to watch it, unfortunately I never got around to it. This falls right in line with the shorts. It's good clean fun, made me laugh out loud more then a couple of times, and I sincerely enjoyed the film. Just good clean fun the whole family can enjoy. For that reason I usually enjoy family flicks. hehe. Sad to say, this is all I've really seen lately. My current TV Show is Firefly, like I mentioned before, I haven't quite gotten into it, but I started watching it while I was distracted. Um, if anybody has any movies that have come out on DVD in the last ten or so months that are enjoyable popcorn fodder, please by all means send them my way. To save you the time, here is a short list of what I have seen. Million Dollar Baby - Good flick, tear jerker. Just Like Heaven - Great date movie, clean, Reese Witherspoon = I have to see it. Corpse's Bride - Typical Tim Burton Animation, quirky and a bit morbid. I wish the theater had a better sound system. Domino - Any movie which makes jokes at the expense of actors from Beverly Hills, 90210 is all right with me. + Kiera Knightly = I have to see it, for different reasons then Reese. Walk the Line - I'm a Johnny Cash fan. Plus, as mentioned before, Reese Witherspoon. King's Ransom - I think the only reason why I saw it is because we were bored and had to do something with our time. And in Kosovo, movies are free. In other words, yeah, funny, but not laugh out loud and sometimes uncomfortable humor. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I'm a Potter Fan. This is a given, I have to see this movie. Underworld: Evolution - I was disappointed. Especially since I've recently acquired a Werewolf/Vampire fascination (not to the point of disturbance with me going all goth however). Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Quirky humor. I think this one is geared to the fans, but I do admit I enjoyed it. Mr and Mrs. Smith - This has a lot of guns in it. But can I say I think these two have become seriously overhyped? I'm done. Saints and Soldiers - I don't care what Murray says, past the historical innacuracies I liked it. I may have missed a couple. But actually, my movie watching compared to years past has been limited. Maybe every couple of weeks i'll post a couple more reviews. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 12:10 AM - |

2.22.2006

Entertainment News I'm still horribly behind the times with the entertainment industry. Spending a year on a peace keeping mission in a third world country can do that to you. In an attempt to catch up, I've been listening to the radio a lot while driving. I caught a few songs that I thought were pretty sweet, and already I've heard them so much I'm sick of them. Why does radio do that? Today, I was driving and listening to one station when "Wake me when September Ends" starts playing. Look, I think this is a good song and all (yes, I'm a Green Day fan, to the shock of many) but since I've been home I seem to hear it at least twice daily while driving around, which has grated my teeth to the point that I bolt for my channel surfing button the moment I start hearing it (along with at least four other songs that have reached this level of repetativeness) and switch to another station that plays similar type of music. They are just coming out of a commercial break, and I breath a sigh of contentment, when low and behold, they start playing THE SAME BLOODY SONG!!! GARRR! What is wrong with these radio stations, is it a conspiracy with competetive radio stations to play the exact same song at the same time to drive their demographic mad? Still, for the most part, a lot of what I'm hearing on the radio is fresh and new to me, and I've even broken down and bought a couple (used) CDs from my work. One was Gorillaz' new CD Demon Days, which is somewhat ironic from my earlier rant. I first heard of Gorillaz while I was in Bulgaria, we had German MTV on and (unlike American MTV) they actually had music videos, albight the same ones over and over again. I saw one of their music videos and the first time I saw it, I thought it was weird, the second time it started to grow on me, and by the sixth time I heard it in two days, I started getting annoyed by it. But I never saw the music video again, seeing I was back in Kosovo after three days. But the video stuck with me. I saw a used copy of Demon Days so I picked it up to check out the rest of their sound. So far I need to listen to the CD a bit more so that the sound can grow on me. And of course, my latest find happens to be Alanis Morrisette, Jagged Little Pill. Ok, so this is an old album and all, but I love Alanis Morrisette and this happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time (seeing as I know the entire thing by heart). Well, she redid it completely in Acoustic and I fell in love, as it is the same album done completely differently. I enjoyed muchly. In other Entertainmnet News, well, what can I say? By the evidence that I have mentioned it once or twice, I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and Angel) fan. I knew buying that Introductory DVD to the series was a really really bad idea. Because I knew I would be hooked if I saw it. Curse my foresight and not listening to it and heeding its warning! I haven't seen hardly any movies since I've been back however. Ok, I've seen Underworld Evolution (don't waste the time or money), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (IMAX), and the 40 Year Old Virgin. To name a couple. Only two in the theater, I've only purchased a couple of movies and watched them while working on other things (like sorting through my stuff in my room) which has caused me to not really pay attention to some movies. I've found that throwing on an episode of Buffy keeps me occupied enough that I have something in the background but it is still relatively fresh in my mind that I can step away from it for a moment and work on something and glance up now and again to see what's going on. I started watching Firefly as well, but as it is a new series, I haven't quite gotten hooked on it yet, unfortunately I tried to play it as background toward me working on other things (like sorting through my piles of crap and eBay) and I have come to discover that this is causing me to lose the flow of the series. That, and other then Star Trek and Star Wars, I never really got into the Sci Fi picture much. I've always been more of a fantasy geek. So I haven't managed to grow and addiction to this series like I did Joss Whedon's other cult hits preceeding it. And after being hooked on Buffy and going back to Sliders, I can't get into the story arc like the Buffy series. I still like the concept behind Sliders, but in a lot of ways it gets really preachy and cheesey. I hate that. Not to say that the forementioned series doesn't have plenty of its moments of velveeta as well. Sometimes I want Buffy to shut the hell up. In book news, I haven't read much of anything over the last few months. In fact, I'm selling a ton of my books. To think that I used to be such a bookworm in the past? Hmm. Labels: Movies, Rant, TV Shows -Risawn: # 12:15 AM - |

10.23.2005

Saints and Soldiers Apparently my agent Murray over on Silent Running put up a criptic movie review on one such movie known as Saints and Soldiers. It was a movie I had in my inventory that I had picked up via word of mouth but hadn't ever gotten around to watching. When he mentioned it, I was wondering what this was all about because it didn't sound like the movie I had heard about. So this morning I actually watched it, and thought it was Excellent. And I also didn't see how it could be concieved in the way Murray portrayed it as. What it was in a nutshell? A movie about four American Soldiers caught behind enemy lines who run across a British Soldier with valuable information and together they must make their way to allied territory. One of the Soldiers known as 'Deacon' is a former Mormon Missionary who served in Berlin and therefore speaks German and is a bit torn about fighting the people he once taught, who is also fighting his own personal demons from an incident that happened to him the previous week. However, it never mentions in the film what religion he belongs to, so I wouldn't call this film a 'mormon' film. And I don't see it as being derogatory toward Americans or for that matter Germans. I think the lesson it teaches is that in the chaos that is war, we are all still human. I wouldn't call it anti-war either, though truthfully every graphic war film that portrays war accurately is in a sense an Anti War film, by the very nature of what war entails. The lesson the Medic is taught in the end is a good one, it is a decent film that has a strong message at the end, with a slight religious undertone. Hey Murray, I recommend giving this one another shot. Get past the first ten minutes and watch it all the way through. It really is a good flick. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 4:43 AM - |

5.27.2005

Episode III Everyone is talking about Star Wars right now. Why not? Supposedly the final episode is better then the last two combined, not that I would know, I'm deployed in a combat zone with the nearest theater playing it (in english) is many many miles away. Unless you count piracy. Which is prevalent here. Becuase Kosovo has no copyright laws. And we have to get our fixes in some how. Well, one of the good Specialists in my unit had managed to acquire a copy of Episode III and has been playing snibbits of it out of order, mainly dueling lightsaber scenes, and now I know who kills Count Dooku. He tells me that he'll ruin it for me further after lunch. We even had the unit Psychologist come in asking if he needed to seperate us (or confiscate the movie) to which the good Specialist said no and he whispered "darn". I just want to borrow it so I can see it in full. Unfortunately, in that regard, rank has no privelege. Especially concerning this specific Specialist. Guess I'll be watching Episode III on a laptop. Not that it really matters, I'll likely watch it again when it makes it to the post theater (with the crappy sound system) that I get to watch it for free on anyway. So regardless, George Lucas won't be making money off of me anyway. So I feel less guilty about the pirated stuff. Labels: Movies -Risawn: # 2:23 AM - |

5.15.2005

Infamous Lists Alright, after my last post, BNCOC got canceled for me and suddenly I feel loads better. Its not that I didn't think I could do BNCOC, its just that the timing was really, really bad. And I would rather have more then 48 hours notice in the future. Besides, if it was something like PLDC, which is required at my rank, then I would just buck it up and drive on, however I do not require BNCOC to be a Buck Sergeant. Besides, I'm not sure I'm ready for that rocker yet. But that's a whole 'nother post. Meanwhile, now that I will indeed be spending quality time back at the ranch 'aka Bondsteel', I've got a whole bunch of things I need to do in my spare time and I need to make time to do them. I like lists. So I'm going to make me a list and cross things off as I accomplish them. Sometimes, I don't get everything crossed off, which is alright, but being able to cross things off feels really good. Empty out remaining 35 emails out of inbox. Answer all remaining snail mail. Mail care packages home (I got some goodies for my family that I've accumulated since Germany, and I still haven't mailed it. What's wrong with me?) Post info about Greece. Write a handy dandy post about today's Vetcap, complete with Pictures! Its up on my neglected Milblog. The 3 fronts of the webcomic (er, that's something involved with my Webcomic) Spread the love with the Lit concert to the various members of the task force that were there. Upload Blackmailable file of me singing Karaoke online. Keep track of Devils Arithmatic (Davison), Red Vs Blue Seasons One and Two (Nate), Freaks and Geeks (White), PS2 complete with FFX and FFX-2 (Wong), and any other wandering DVDs I might have out there. Oh, like Sin City-bootlegged edition (Shull) This list can be edited, added too, or taken away from. I shall go about marking things off as I accomplish them, which always feels oh so good! Now I get to go see Ring 2 at the post theater. Movies take a few months to get here, yes I shall be missing Star Wars this week, unless I want to get a bootlegged copy but I've been told that I'll ruin it for me if I do so. Those generally consist of somebody sitting in a theater with a camera. Its kind of funny because sometimes you can see the heads of the people sitting toward the front. But Ring 2 will be authentic. I probably should go get a shower first however,