The Thirty-Eighth One

It's been just about a year, and I am avoiding both housework and actual work, so it must be time for a blog update. Changed the address, but I figure that's fine since I don't have any followers!

This year has been terribly exciting. I moved all the way across the country and as I approach the big 3-0 in the next couple years, I find myself contemplating adult things like purchasing my very own property. Of course in filling out the paperwork, I find I am worth a negative amount of dollars (thank you student loans). So there's that.

But more importantly, I think, is what's going on in movies right now.

There's this one...

... which looks like a delightful cross between Die Hard and Air Force One. (Come to think of it, Air Force One is sort of like Die Hard on a plane.) Plus it stars Gerard Butler (the handsome devil) and Morgan Freeman (the talented devil). PLUS it's set in Washington, D.C. More specifically, it's set in the White House. This automatically makes it patriotic, and since I am a patriot this totally sounds like the movie for me. Mostly it just sounds like good fun, and I'm always game for good fun.

But more importantly, there's this one coming out this weekend...

... for which I have been waiting months. I was sitting in the theater, about to watch the adorable little gem Trouble With the Curve, when the preview for 42 came on the screen. I got serious chills just from a teeny-tiny blurb of a trailer that showed hardly anything of the main character or of the plot. (Great trailer, truly.) I often say that there are three types of movies that make me cry: 1) movies with animals, 2) war movies, and 3) sports movies. 42 is obviously of the third category and I will be sure to bring tissues with me. The super-serious draw for me, however, is the starring role of Harrison Ford, who I think has been making appropriate and interesting acting choices since the debacle of Hollywood Homicide (which, since I have surprisingly low standards for a lot of movies, I would probably enjoy if I could bring myself to watch it).

I haven't seen either movie yet, but I'll be sure to report back once I do. In like a year or so...

The Thirty-Seventh One

Today is the second day of exams. I have piles of papers to grade, but I am looking forward to summer as much as my students, and so I am here. Apparently the only time I can be enticed to post on my blog is when I am either dying of boredom or procrastinating to the nth degree. It's alright. No one reads it but me...

So let's check in with how I've been doing this year. If you take a gander down below at my 2012 manifesto, you will see some of my goals for this year. I have been making good on some of them (laugh, play, sing) but not so much on others (budget, read, piano). I have made a mediocre showing on some of the others (write, snail mail, pictures, run [signed up for 5K! It's in two weeks! I'm not ready!!]).

As the reality of SUMMER VACATION (totally deserving of all-caps) draws nearer and nearer, here's a little preview of what I'm looking forward to. Rather than bother with people and events, I thought I'd do movies instead. So...

At some point this summer I will see:

I know, I'm a little late in the game. I mean, it's been out for TWO weeks already. I've heard that it's wonderful, and with someone awesome like Joss Whedon on the behind-the-scenes team (Buffy! Angel! Firefly! the-most-excellent-run-of The Amazing X-Men!) it's bound to be snarky as all get out. And I fully enjoy snark. I also fully enjoy Chris Evans as Captain America. Yes, I know it's probably weird that Cap, old-fashioned as he is, would be my favorite, but as attractive and funny as "bad-boys" can be, it's nice to have a character with morals who can get the job done who doesn't constantly feel the need to be disrespectful to everyone around him/her. So yes, "boring" but beautiful Captain America is my choice. Along with Agent Phil Coulson. Delightful every time.

I am perhaps the only person in America with this movie on my to-see list, but here it is. Let's be real: Taylor Kitsch is terribly good-looking. I have seen terrible movies (The Covenant, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) just so I can see Taylor Kitsch shine. And really, he was the best thing in both those other movies. I know he can act, and he is obviously gorgeous, so I will continue to watch his films (John Carter is on my Netflix queue). Plus, I am a huge fan of movies with lots of explosions and little-to-no plot, so I'm pretty sure this one is right up my alley. I'll probably see it this weekend...

I actually don't know anything about this one, but it comes out while I'm at home and it seems like something my dad will want to see, so I'll probably see it with him! It'll probably be better than any other movie I will choose to watch myself.

This is the one I'm most excited about. I think that Christopher Nolan has done the most amazing job capturing the mood and character of Batman. You can't fit decades of comics and story lines into three two-hour movies, the most you can do is focus on the character, build a solid story with recognizable characters and elements from the comics, and go from there. Nolan's Batman, in my opinion, is better than the Iron Man and Wolverine we have all come to know and love. Even if the other two movies hadn't been awesome (and think we can all agree they were), I would trust Nolan with my money any day. He got me to enjoy a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time since What's Eating Gilbert Grape (that's not entirely accurate. I liked Catch Me If You Can, and the most of The Departed was good). Inception was amazing, and The Dark Knight Rises has half of that cast in it, so yay!

I didn't bother with the first one. It did not interest me at all. Special suits? Marlon Wayans? the guy from Step Up? I don't think so. Honestly, I doubt I will ever see it (Channing Tatum not my thing). So when I found out there was a sequel coming out I was annoyed. That was, until I found out that they kill almost the entire original cast in the first few minutes and that my man Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson was going to be in it along with my other man Bruce Willis. Now THAT sounds (and, according to the trailer, looks) like a G.I. Joe movie. I'm going to pretend the first one never happened.

 It doesn't come out until September, but I'm going to count it anyway. The plot sounds interesting, but I would see this if it had the plot of, well, Battleship. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (amazing that I now consider the dreamy geek from 10 Things I Hate About You an appropriate candidate for an action star) AND Bruce Willis (I don't think I will ever get tired of his movies).

So, those are my summer plans so far! I will also be reading, teaching swim lessons, visiting the fam, hanging out at the beach (hopefully) and so on and so forth. Here's to a great summer vacation! Cheers!

The Thirty-Sixth One

I posted exactly three times last year. If I beat that by one this year, that means I'm at least posting quarterly! Here goes nothing.

In honor of this being the first post of 2012, AND since it's still January, I thought I'd post, not my resolutions, but my "manifesto." You read that right, I have a manifesto.

I cannot take credit for the idea, I found a post on Pinterest and simply made my own. I had a lot of fun writing it. It's specific enough that I'll know whether or not I've accomplished anything in twelve months, but it's vague enough that it's not just a checklist of achievement (something I've never been great at long term...).

When it comes to design of any kind, I am hardly a professional (or even an accomplished amateur). If you would like to see a great one, here is the original that inspired mine.

Happy 2012 everyone!! Have fun, and God bless.

The Thirty-Fifth One

or, Everything's Coming Up Hawaii!

Everything in my life is pointing to Hawaii.

1.  My cousin and his beautiful family moved there a couple years ago.
2. My mother and grandmother went to visit them.
3. The parents of a good friend moved there.
4. The new Hawaii 5-0 came out this year.
5. There was a faculty luau.
6. The baccalaureate was luau-themed
7. Multiple facebook friends have visited Hawaii in the last few months.

Because of all this, I have decided that my mother and I should visit Hawaii ourselves. So now I'm planning one for next year. And by planning I mean I am now saving my money. In honor of this decision I give you the following list:

Things that make me think of Hawaii (other than the people I know that live there)

1. This episode from Adventures in Odyssey. I listened to this radio program almost every night growing up. I would watch the time waiting for. The whole family (sometimes) would sit around the radio listening to it. It was wonderful, and the episodes when the Barclays and the Rathbones went on vacation to Hawaii together are some of my favorites of all time.

2. The Tick is another remnant of my childhood. You can trace this show (as with almost any cartoon I watched as a kid) to my father. He was a HUGE Tick fan ("SPOOOON!"). And this is a family-favorite episode featuring guest-stars: The American Maid, Yank the Space-Monkey, and Pineapple Pokopo.

3. The new Hawaii 5-0 series. Gratuitous violence, lots of explosions, and a complete ignorance and disdain for the US legal system and criminal rights. It surprised me how much I liked this show considering the similarities with another CBS show that I despise with the depths of my soul: CSI: Miami. I figure it's probably because of the cast. Scott Caan and company are delightful and know when to take themselves not-so-seriously. David Caruso and his people, however, are more than a little ridiculous. Freaking Horatio Caine.

4. Lilo and Stitch



5. When I was a kid, my family had certain tapes that we would listen to every Christmas. One of these tapes had this song on it. Isn't it just so charming?





the end

The Thirty-Fourth One

Netflix has deepened my addiction to movies. And so I offer up a few reviews of movies I have recently seen. As I look over this list, I realize that there is nothing particularly deep or enlightening about any of them. Really, these movies could be labeled "just-for-the-heck-of-it."

I am a self-proclaimed M. Night Shyamalan (if only I could learn to spell his name without looking it up) fan. But until recently I had never seen Lady in the Water or The Happening. Netflix was able to provide with both.

Before I had ever seen Lady in the Water, starring Bryce Dallas Howard from M. Night's The Village and Paul Giamatti, I had been told that it just wasn't very good. I was used to this when it came to movies by Shyamalan. In fact, just a few days ago I was openly ridiculed for liking any of his movies other than The Sixth Sense. But with Lady even other fans were shaking their heads in disappointment. This is probably why it took me five years to get around to watching it. And frankly, I don't understand what everyone's problem is.

Alright, it's not as good as his other stuff, not by a long shot, but I thought the plot, if not completely compelling, had a lot going for it. It was a sweet story centered around finding your place in the world and discovering who are. If anything, the worst part was that the movie had way too much exposition (show, don't tell!) which is a little ironic considering the main character used literary analysis to figure things out.

So, not his best, but certainly not terrible. Will I watch it again? Probably. Will I buy it? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Only to certain people.

The Happening had a lot going for it, not the least of which were its stars Zooey Deschanel, Mark (say "hi" to your mother for me) Wahlberg, and John Leguizamo. The story was at times genuinely disturbing and other times absolutely terrifying. [possible SPOILERS ahead] It turned out to be a natural disaster film that went an alternate route. Instead of following the scientists and professionals that would save the world from whatever was happening, it followed ordinary people just trying to survive what was happening. Perhaps the most terrifying part of the movie was the fact that no one really had any idea what was going on for most of it, they just knew they had to get away.

Alright, the acting wasn't the greatest (despite the big names) and the dialogue was a little sketchy at times, but I think overall M. Night has a pretty good grasp on human nature and human reactions.

The worst part was probably that it turned out to be a pretty heavy-handed message about the evils humanity is inflicting on the world.

Creepy fact: according to a friend of mine, there are actually trees that can emit some sort of scent or pollon or something that makes giraffes not want to eat them. Or something like that.

Conclusion: Will I watch it again? If the opportunity presents itself without me having to pay for it? definitely. Will I buy it? Doubtful. Will I graciously accept it as a gift from someone? Absolutely. Again, not a great movie, but I don't know why everyone was so down on it. Lighten up.

I am a ridiculously huge fan of gratuitous action flicks, and The Transporter did not disappoint. I would own this and watch it to death. One of my new action favorites. Thank you Jason Statham.

Despite its producer's assurance that the supporting characters were much better developed in this film, they apparently sacrificed plot for character development. Not nearly as good or as fun as the first one. But that kid: adorable. And Jason Statham, it is always a pleasure.

Except in this movie. I can't believe there are sequels to this. What a terrible movie.

The Thirty-Third One

... or "things that make me wish I did more cooking/baking." Seriously, these are the things that make me think "if I had that, I WOULD cook more." I know myself well enough to know THAT'S not true, but it doesn't make these little gems any less delightful or fun.

Seriously. If I owned these things I would cook more.

The Thirty-Second One

Too fun.