well i thought about doing a poll that had nothing to do with new year's, since as a Christian i celebrated the new year with the first Sunday of advent (who's with me?!). but when i picked up my newest edition of Newsweek and remembered some of these, i had to share them with you. if you haven't seen any of them, check em out before you vote. i'm not gonna vote yet so i won't guide the results or anything, but there's really only one correct answer.
30 December 2007
28 December 2007
movie reviews
i've often thought that if i failed at everything else (which isn't out of the question yet) i could still make a living reviewing movies. i'm opinionated beyond belief, and i've seen most movies in existence - some many, many times. i've actually thought so much about this i've developed my own rating system. if someone rips this off i hope this blog holds up in court.
see it in the theater - the best level. the system is mostly based on how much money you have to spend, and since seeing a movie in the theater is like $20, this is about as good as it gets. the movie either has to be exceptional or it has to be a movie that really must be seen in the theater to be fully appreciated. this can be hard given the impressive home theaters so many people have.
rent it - the movie is definitely worth seeing, but don't spend all your money on it. it can be fully appreciated at home and if seen with the right setup might be just as good.
watch it on tv - i generally don't like watching movies on tv. they cut stuff out, and of course you have to deal with commercials. but for movies i don't care that much about - i don't really care. maybe it's unfair to judge a movie based on a lackluster presentation, but chances are i've seen it in all its glory and i'm saving you the disappointment and expense.
don't bother - sadly most movies will get this rating. blame my persona if you will, but given the number of movies that come out in a year it's just in the numbers that most of them will be junk. and it's pretty clear that we ran out of good ideas years ago and we're just regurgitating stuff onto the screen.
so with the system in mind, here are a few movies i've seen recently. "i am legend" - my family sees a movie for Christmas every year. last year my family listened to my older brother and ditched "the pursuit of happyness" to see "the good shepherd." it's a decision that will never be forgiven as long as we all live. "pursuit of happyness" - rent it/"good shepherd" - don't bother. so this year we gave him a shot at redemption and forced "i am legend" on him. well, it was worlds better than "good shepherd" if only because it wasted about one third less of my life. i'm thinking it would have been better overall if i'd been able to go in totally clean - i hate knowing anything about a movie i see. in this case i had heard too much. so if you want to see it like i would want to - stop reading now. i liked the setup of a cure for cancer that had horrible consequences, but the convenience of smith's character being immune was a bit much. his acting was for the most part quite good. he especially handled the madness of being all alone really well. the dog - i just wish they'd left all of that undone. the effects were pretty great, but i could have done without the movie being an extended Ford ad. the zombies were worlds more annoying than scary or anything else. all in all, "rent it" but watch it at your friend's house with the big plasma screen and bose surround sound.
"national treasure: book of secrets" - i took my youth group to see it when "fred claus" was eliminated. i still haven't seen the first movie, but i recently learned of a deep love one of my friends (cat) for the "national treasure" genre. i was at first horrified, but i guess i've come to understand her position. i mean, you know it's not gonna win any oscars, but it succeeds at its mission. it's entertaining and generally wholesome. you get to see some pretty cool places and learn some useful trivia. if you have at least a tenth grader's knowledge of american history this movie will make you feel pretty smart. like i knew about the plot to kill lincoln and the people involved and what the Resolute Desk was and a few other things i've forgotten. my main gripes involve disney's obsession with vindicating even the villian (which if the things i've heard about disney being a nazi sympathizer are true i guess shouldn't surprise me) and the fact that several beautiful people are in the movie and the only ones that kiss are jon voigt and the aged woman playing his ex-wife. i truly don't need or want to see that. so yeah, if you've got a family or a youth group or want to hang out with someone else's family - see it in the theater. if not, watch it on tv.
i was pretty excited about seeing "charlie wilson's war." i like tom hanks and philip seymour hoffman - julia roberts i can tolerate. i generally love anything aaron sorkin touches. well, it was good and moments of it were pretty great, but again, i think i went in knowing too much. i didn't even know a lot about the real charlie wilson - but i know plenty about the cold war. put those things together and there weren't really any surprises. everyone did a fine job - but special mention goes to hoffman and julia roberts' dogs. rent it - but mainly because the funniest parts wouldn't make it on tv.
by way of a preview - i'm declaring "the dark knight" to be amazing based solely on the trailer. i can't believe i'm writing this, but by the few seconds i've seen heath ledger looks incredible as the joker. come soon june.
see it in the theater - the best level. the system is mostly based on how much money you have to spend, and since seeing a movie in the theater is like $20, this is about as good as it gets. the movie either has to be exceptional or it has to be a movie that really must be seen in the theater to be fully appreciated. this can be hard given the impressive home theaters so many people have.
rent it - the movie is definitely worth seeing, but don't spend all your money on it. it can be fully appreciated at home and if seen with the right setup might be just as good.
watch it on tv - i generally don't like watching movies on tv. they cut stuff out, and of course you have to deal with commercials. but for movies i don't care that much about - i don't really care. maybe it's unfair to judge a movie based on a lackluster presentation, but chances are i've seen it in all its glory and i'm saving you the disappointment and expense.
don't bother - sadly most movies will get this rating. blame my persona if you will, but given the number of movies that come out in a year it's just in the numbers that most of them will be junk. and it's pretty clear that we ran out of good ideas years ago and we're just regurgitating stuff onto the screen.
so with the system in mind, here are a few movies i've seen recently. "i am legend" - my family sees a movie for Christmas every year. last year my family listened to my older brother and ditched "the pursuit of happyness" to see "the good shepherd." it's a decision that will never be forgiven as long as we all live. "pursuit of happyness" - rent it/"good shepherd" - don't bother. so this year we gave him a shot at redemption and forced "i am legend" on him. well, it was worlds better than "good shepherd" if only because it wasted about one third less of my life. i'm thinking it would have been better overall if i'd been able to go in totally clean - i hate knowing anything about a movie i see. in this case i had heard too much. so if you want to see it like i would want to - stop reading now. i liked the setup of a cure for cancer that had horrible consequences, but the convenience of smith's character being immune was a bit much. his acting was for the most part quite good. he especially handled the madness of being all alone really well. the dog - i just wish they'd left all of that undone. the effects were pretty great, but i could have done without the movie being an extended Ford ad. the zombies were worlds more annoying than scary or anything else. all in all, "rent it" but watch it at your friend's house with the big plasma screen and bose surround sound.
"national treasure: book of secrets" - i took my youth group to see it when "fred claus" was eliminated. i still haven't seen the first movie, but i recently learned of a deep love one of my friends (cat) for the "national treasure" genre. i was at first horrified, but i guess i've come to understand her position. i mean, you know it's not gonna win any oscars, but it succeeds at its mission. it's entertaining and generally wholesome. you get to see some pretty cool places and learn some useful trivia. if you have at least a tenth grader's knowledge of american history this movie will make you feel pretty smart. like i knew about the plot to kill lincoln and the people involved and what the Resolute Desk was and a few other things i've forgotten. my main gripes involve disney's obsession with vindicating even the villian (which if the things i've heard about disney being a nazi sympathizer are true i guess shouldn't surprise me) and the fact that several beautiful people are in the movie and the only ones that kiss are jon voigt and the aged woman playing his ex-wife. i truly don't need or want to see that. so yeah, if you've got a family or a youth group or want to hang out with someone else's family - see it in the theater. if not, watch it on tv.
i was pretty excited about seeing "charlie wilson's war." i like tom hanks and philip seymour hoffman - julia roberts i can tolerate. i generally love anything aaron sorkin touches. well, it was good and moments of it were pretty great, but again, i think i went in knowing too much. i didn't even know a lot about the real charlie wilson - but i know plenty about the cold war. put those things together and there weren't really any surprises. everyone did a fine job - but special mention goes to hoffman and julia roberts' dogs. rent it - but mainly because the funniest parts wouldn't make it on tv.
by way of a preview - i'm declaring "the dark knight" to be amazing based solely on the trailer. i can't believe i'm writing this, but by the few seconds i've seen heath ledger looks incredible as the joker. come soon june.
16 December 2007
i have a comment for everything
so this person i know named casey commented on my last post about how i should discuss the winner of the recent Christmas movie poll. i don't really know how to take this. i'm second only to God in making casey who she is today. when i first met her i thought, "this girl...this is not my kinda girl." but now she's totally amazing, and i rightfully take most of the credit. the thing is, i've shaped her so much, i can't even tell who she really is anymore. so when she mentioned me commenting on the poll, i don't know if she was being sarcastic or that she expected me to do that - like the time she elbowed me at an ash wednesday service when i saw a pregnant woman nearing the front of the line because she could tell what i was thinking before it happened. anyway, it doesn't really matter. i was always planning on commenting, and so here it is.
i gotta say i'm not all that surprised Christmas Vacation won. it's rich on so many levels. i think maybe the greatest thing about it is it seems that every time i watch it i catch something new - or there are things other people point out to me. only like a year or so ago my friend jana pointed out to me that in one part randy quaid (eddie) is wearing a green dickie (sp?) under a white sweater. i had never seen that, and i lost it when it happened. then there are those little things that i never stop laughing at - like when his hands are all sappy and his wife's hair sticks to one hand and the lamp the other. or when eddie (i think) touches the windmill and all the blades fall off. it has really timeless lines: "can't see the line can you russ?" "that's pretty low mister. if i had a rubber hose i would beat..." "well why is the carpet all wet todd?! i don't know margot!!!" there's such animosity between practically every character in the movie. to me that rings true during the holidays. pretty much all the national lampoon movies before and after sucked - but for one great moment, they got it all right.
so i guess that's it. i'll be thinking about a new poll. and you, keep doing what you do.
i gotta say i'm not all that surprised Christmas Vacation won. it's rich on so many levels. i think maybe the greatest thing about it is it seems that every time i watch it i catch something new - or there are things other people point out to me. only like a year or so ago my friend jana pointed out to me that in one part randy quaid (eddie) is wearing a green dickie (sp?) under a white sweater. i had never seen that, and i lost it when it happened. then there are those little things that i never stop laughing at - like when his hands are all sappy and his wife's hair sticks to one hand and the lamp the other. or when eddie (i think) touches the windmill and all the blades fall off. it has really timeless lines: "can't see the line can you russ?" "that's pretty low mister. if i had a rubber hose i would beat..." "well why is the carpet all wet todd?! i don't know margot!!!" there's such animosity between practically every character in the movie. to me that rings true during the holidays. pretty much all the national lampoon movies before and after sucked - but for one great moment, they got it all right.
so i guess that's it. i'll be thinking about a new poll. and you, keep doing what you do.
04 December 2007
bloglift
i've added a couple things to the blog today. the first is a link to other blogs i find insightful or witty or appropriate. i'm hoping it will grow as i find new ones or think of ones i've forgotten. the second is a poll. i really like polls, and i saw there was the new option to have one, so i went for it. polls are fun. i like voting for stuff - especially when the stuff you vote for doesn't have the ability to lie the country you live in into an endless war and rape the environment for oil. wow, sorry. that was heavy. i'm just talking about polls. i flatter myself to think enough people actually check my blog that the voting will be significant. but perhaps now that i have a poll untold masses will flock here. after all, everyone wants democracy. in conclusion, i like polls (and good blogs), and i hope you do too.
p.s. in this poll you can vote for your favorite two!
p.s. in this poll you can vote for your favorite two!
01 December 2007
what luck
drat, i was really hoping to get one more post in while it was still november. maybe i'll be less lazy next year. this post is just to recount a horrible phenomenon that has plagued me lately.
i don't know anyone who writes checks anymore, except maybe to pay a bill or two that you can't access online. so it's safe to say that in my universe checks are all but extinct. well, in the past week i've been stuck in line behind four separate people writing checks. they do this with all the speed of cold syrup. one lady had to produce her driver's license twice. it's really just awful for everyone involved. so if you are one of these people, get a debit card for everyone's sake. i'm sure your bank offers free cards with your account. they aren't hard to use - not nearly as much trouble as writing a check. you won't even have to ask anyone for the date. that can be your gift to humanity this year.
i don't know anyone who writes checks anymore, except maybe to pay a bill or two that you can't access online. so it's safe to say that in my universe checks are all but extinct. well, in the past week i've been stuck in line behind four separate people writing checks. they do this with all the speed of cold syrup. one lady had to produce her driver's license twice. it's really just awful for everyone involved. so if you are one of these people, get a debit card for everyone's sake. i'm sure your bank offers free cards with your account. they aren't hard to use - not nearly as much trouble as writing a check. you won't even have to ask anyone for the date. that can be your gift to humanity this year.
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