Everybody has those songs that remind you of movies. And no I'm not talking about musicals. Like You're the One That I Want reminding you of Grease. I'm talking about regular movies that everybody thinks about when a certain song plays.
For example, Old Time Rock N Roll by Bob Seger brings back images of a young Tom Cruise in a pink dress shirt, tighty whities, and socks sliding across a hard wood floor singing into a candle stick like a microphone. And speaking of TC, who doesn't think of Top Gun when they hear Danger Zone, right?
And everybody knows Ghostbusters.
Just like (I've Had) The Time of My Life always brings back memories of that final dance scene in Dirty Dancing. Those are the kinds of things I'm talking about. But, let's go a little less iconic in the film department, shall we?
For me, whenever Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix plays on the radio, I always want to run home and pop in Wayne's World. Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, dancing along and acting out that song just makes my life every time. And I keep hearing it on the radio, seriously. It's kind of epic. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Tia Carrere's cover of Ballroom Blitz, though the original version is what I hear on the radio all the time. And while I'm talking about a Mike Myers vehicle here, let's not forget Do You Think I'm Sexy by Rod Stewart bringing back memories of So I Married an Axe Murderer. That is one of my most favorite scenes ever. And There She Goes by The La's also reminds me of that movie.
Back in Black by ACDC makes me want to watch Iron Man every single time I hear it. That and, well, Iron Man by Black Sabbath. But then I don't really need an excuse to watch a movie with Robert Downey Jr in it.
She's a Lady by Tom Jones brings back thoughts of Miss Congeniality. Which brings me to To Make You Feel My Love (I could only find the Adele cover of the song) originally performed by Garth Brooks makes me remember watching Hope Floats and wishing I hadn't. And Proud Mary brings back memories of a lot of movies, but also Miss Congeniality: Armed and Fabulous.
The Garth Brooks song When You Come Back to Me Again makes me want to watch Frequency again. Though it's my understanding that the song was written specifically for that movie so that would make total sense.
Songs also remind me of various episodes of TV shows. Or sometimes, of the TV shows themselves. The various CSIs using songs by The Who as their themes means I think about them every time I hear those songs on the radio. Who Are You, We Won't Get Fooled Again, and Baba O'Reilly. You Can't Always Get What You Want (Band From TV cover) by The Rolling Stones reminds me of House, M.D. Though Hugh Laurie covering the song with Band From TV does help.
Minnie The Moocher by Cab Calloway reminds me of a particularly hilarious episode of Jeeves and Wooster, from back in the early days of Laurie and Fry. Or I guess I should say Fry and Laurie.
And both Twist and Shout by The Beatles, and Danke Schoen by Wayne Newton remind me of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
I'm not going to mention Glee other than to say, it counts in the musical category.
Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones reminds me of a short lived TV show called Viva Laughlin. The song was sung by Hugh Jackman, over the original track. And, in that same manner, One Way or Another by Blondie makes me think of the English version of the same variety (it came first of course) called Blackpool in which David Tennant sings over the original track to a man he's trying to put away for murder.
You're My First, My Last, My Everything (I wish I could find the clip from the episode) by Barry White makes me think of the 4th season of Ally McBeal episode titled In Search of Barry White in which Taye Diggs, Robert Downey Jr, and Peter McNichol do a rather interesting dance routine in the unisex bathroom to this song. For giggles, Just Dance 4 has that song on it including some of the dance moves from that episode.
Ben by Michael Jackson reminds me of an episode of Queer as Folk: US in which Hal Sparks sings the song to a man named Ben played by Robert Gant, in an attempt to keep him from leaving Woody's. Hal did a very good job with the song.
And now I'm at a point where I am sitting here trying to actively remember songs that remind me of TV shows or movies which kind of defeats the whole purpose. It's supposed to be effortless. So I guess this is the point where I wrap it up.
It's amazing to me how music brings back memories like that. It even triggers things you can't really reach out and grasp. I've heard several songs on the radio that I think "That was in a commercial but I can't remember which one." And things like that. Like Too Close by Alex Clare reminding me of an Internet Explorer commercial. There are several car commercials that I hear the songs on the radio but I can't remember which car it was advertising.
It all comes down to music bringing back memories that aren't all that bad and making me want to rewatch the various TV shows or movies of which they remind me.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
The Snowmen @bbcdoctorwho
Okay, this was one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever. I loved the whole episode and I loved Clara. I'm not going to go much into the details because it will be spoiler rich and I'm staying away from that for now.
I was a little iffy about Clara because I love Amy and Rory, but Clara is AWESOME! She's hilarious and perverted and curious and wonderful. She's not in love with the Doctor, but she obviously wouldn't mind a shag if he offered it, though she knows he never would.
The Snowmen were pretty amazing, and the whole concept was great. I do love that The Doctor's go to way to admit that someone is right is to tell them to shut up. I also love the reference of Conan Doyle. That was pretty great.
Over all, I loved the episode, I loved Clara, and I am VERY looking forward to the next season.
I was a little iffy about Clara because I love Amy and Rory, but Clara is AWESOME! She's hilarious and perverted and curious and wonderful. She's not in love with the Doctor, but she obviously wouldn't mind a shag if he offered it, though she knows he never would.
The Snowmen were pretty amazing, and the whole concept was great. I do love that The Doctor's go to way to admit that someone is right is to tell them to shut up. I also love the reference of Conan Doyle. That was pretty great.
Over all, I loved the episode, I loved Clara, and I am VERY looking forward to the next season.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
This was a good but sad movie. Steve Carrell (I know I spelled that wrong) continues to amaze me. He's not just funny. He's sweet and adorable and an amazing actor. Keira Knightly is just as wonderful in this film. I can't really say much more than that. It's a beautifully tragic love story that makes you wish somehow the world didn't have to end.
I highly recommend this movie.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
I do have a Texas temper, I admit that.
I wasn't going to say anything about this but I'm starting to get seriously annoyed by it so I am going to rant for a bit. I see all these comments about "Texas wants to secede" and "please let Texas go" and snide remarks about "Good riddance." and things like that.
My biggest problem with this is that they are talking about THE ENTIRE STATE when it's actually just SOME of the people that want to secede. And the last time I checked, it was less than 1/4 the population of the city of Arlington, which is not the biggest city in the state.
Yes, I understand that Texas has a lot of stupid, redneck morons that would make America a better place if they were not a part of it, but that does not mean that the entire state is populated thusly. You're grouping all of us into a stereotype that does not actually apply.
I am a native Texan. I was born and raised right here in this state. Of my 34 years on this planet I have spent a total of 2 years outside of this state, not including trips to other locations. I can not eat spicy food. I can barely tolerate black pepper and I can't eat Taco Bell tacos without sour cream because they are too spicy. I have never actually seen a horse in person unless you count the pony with which I had a picture taken when I was three or four years old. The only farm that I have ever set foot on was my Uncle's farm in Ohio. I do not like football and I don't understand it. The only reason I pay attention to the Cowboys' schedule is because it effects my route to work. The only oil derrick I have ever seen is the one at Six Flags over Texas. And I do not want to secede from the United States.
Part of the reason is completely selfish. I really like my rather large income tax refund every year. I currently pay no withholding tax and because I make less than $36000 a year, I still end up getting nearly $5000 back each year. That wouldn't happen if we weren't part of the United States of America. Also, I don't want to have to get a passport to go to San Diego which is my current plan for 2014. It'd be nice to be able to just drive from Arlington to San Diego for Comic Con without having to pass through border patrol.
My parents are already having a hard enough time paying their bills. If Texas secedes, they lose nearly $1000 a month in income from Social Security. They lose their medicare which means they have to pay for doctor visits as well as already having to pay for all of their prescriptions. So that's even less money that they would have coming in. I would have to get two more jobs in order to help support them and would end up working myself into an early grave because of it.
Yes, all of the reasons I have for NOT seceding are selfish and all about me. But when you think about it, that's exactly what this request to secede is all about. It has nothing to do with the wishes of the entire state. It has to do with the selfish, annoyingly stupid, ridiculous desires of 0.3% of the population of the state.
So please, do NOT generalize the entire state because of the wishes of the few. Understand that there are people that are nothing like the idiot rednecks that want to leave the US.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
RED DAWN Spoilers ahead
Okay, so I never saw the first Red Dawn but I know that it had Patrick Swayze in it and I know that it had to do with Soviet Russia invading the US. This Red Dawn is a bit different but completely awesome. In this one, North Korea takes over using an advanced EMP device. Then baddassery ensues.
First of all, let me say that Josh Peck has totally pulled a Jerry O'Connell. He was an adorable little fat kid that grew up and got really freaking hot. Though I could take Josh a little more seriously if he hadn't been doing intense face throughout the whole movie. He did a really good job in this movie, though, and his deliverance of the final speech, one which had been previously given by Chris Hemsworth toward the beginning of the movie, was awesome. Though Josh playing a high school kid seemed a little extreme, he did a very good job.
Speaking of Hemsworth, he was very good in this movie. His American accent is pretty awesome. He had good chemistry with Peck, who played his younger brother, and the whole thing was done really well. Him being a marine that rallies the troops was awesome. Sometimes he was a dick, but that's because he had to be a dick. And he got to be the one to drop the single F bomb in the whole movie. It was completely appropriate though. "You fucked with the wrong family." God that was amazing. I am still wondering, though, why in the scene when the truck was stuck in the mud, Thor was letting all the weak humans try to push the truck out of the muddy spot while he stepped on the gas. And yes, I just made that joke.
Now, on to Josh Hutcherson. Let me just say, Peeta got bad ass. At first he was this adorable little nerd that threw up when he saw a dead guy and couldn't even handle shooting a deer. By the end of the movie, he was wielding that gun like Rambo and inspiring the citizens to rise up. If The Hunger Games had guns, Peeta would have won in about 2 seconds flat. That's all there is to it. He did a really good job.
And let me tell you, NOTHING screams America like a Mustang with a 50cal strapped to the top and followed by a HMMWV. Now, why did I spell out HMMWV rather than just saying Hummer? Well my friends, that's because a Hummer is a pretentious asshole "I have a tiny penis and a lot of money" luxury vehicle that is driven around every day streets. A HMMWV is the military version, called a hum-v. High Mobility Multi Wheeled Vehicle. There you go. Those were not Hummers in that movie. They were HMMWVs. Just saying.
Now on to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He made an awesome retired Marine. And I loved the accuracy of their M16 rifles only firing one shot at a time, unlike some movies that have M16's going off like AK47s. Also, THEY HAD SILENCERS! I never got a silencer for my M16. It made me seriously jealous. Can you tell I like weapons? I know, it's kind of sad but at least I don't go on murderous rampages with the weapons I so adore. I just like them. Anyway. JDM was good at rallying the troops as well, very good at getting things done and just all around awesome.
I was a little happy to see Kenneth Choi too. He didn't have a very big part, but he was also in Captain America so there you have 2 Marvel movies represented. I was trying to see who else from Marvel would pop up. Just saying.
The only other Asian face I recognized was Will Yun Lee and that made me happy. I'm glad that they didn't round up every recognizable Korean face for this movie. He played Captain Lo, the prefect for that area or something like that. Basically he was in charge of the bad guys in the city. He's the one that fucked with the wrong family.
Let me tell you a little bit about Connor Cruise too. He did a great job. Very good actor. Not as bad ass as his daddy TC, but still good nonetheless. Very emotional.
Over all I give this movie my seal of approval. It was very well done. It wasn't overly effects driven and it wasn't horribly ridiculous. There were a lot of funny moments in it. A lot of warm moments. There is blood and death and violence but that's what happens in war. And that is exactly what this movie is all about.
MAJOR BIG ASS SPOILER AHEAD DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU PLAN TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!! And I do recommend you go see this movie.
I was extremely disappointed when they killed off Hemsworth's character. I said "Why'd they kill the pretty?" But, he wasn't the only pretty. But I realized something. They had to get rid of his character because he was stealing all the badassery and they needed the Joshes to have some of that. He needed to share and when you're Thor, sharing the badassery is just impossible. So he had to die. It was very sad, though. Very sad.
First of all, let me say that Josh Peck has totally pulled a Jerry O'Connell. He was an adorable little fat kid that grew up and got really freaking hot. Though I could take Josh a little more seriously if he hadn't been doing intense face throughout the whole movie. He did a really good job in this movie, though, and his deliverance of the final speech, one which had been previously given by Chris Hemsworth toward the beginning of the movie, was awesome. Though Josh playing a high school kid seemed a little extreme, he did a very good job.
Speaking of Hemsworth, he was very good in this movie. His American accent is pretty awesome. He had good chemistry with Peck, who played his younger brother, and the whole thing was done really well. Him being a marine that rallies the troops was awesome. Sometimes he was a dick, but that's because he had to be a dick. And he got to be the one to drop the single F bomb in the whole movie. It was completely appropriate though. "You fucked with the wrong family." God that was amazing. I am still wondering, though, why in the scene when the truck was stuck in the mud, Thor was letting all the weak humans try to push the truck out of the muddy spot while he stepped on the gas. And yes, I just made that joke.
Now, on to Josh Hutcherson. Let me just say, Peeta got bad ass. At first he was this adorable little nerd that threw up when he saw a dead guy and couldn't even handle shooting a deer. By the end of the movie, he was wielding that gun like Rambo and inspiring the citizens to rise up. If The Hunger Games had guns, Peeta would have won in about 2 seconds flat. That's all there is to it. He did a really good job.
And let me tell you, NOTHING screams America like a Mustang with a 50cal strapped to the top and followed by a HMMWV. Now, why did I spell out HMMWV rather than just saying Hummer? Well my friends, that's because a Hummer is a pretentious asshole "I have a tiny penis and a lot of money" luxury vehicle that is driven around every day streets. A HMMWV is the military version, called a hum-v. High Mobility Multi Wheeled Vehicle. There you go. Those were not Hummers in that movie. They were HMMWVs. Just saying.
Now on to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He made an awesome retired Marine. And I loved the accuracy of their M16 rifles only firing one shot at a time, unlike some movies that have M16's going off like AK47s. Also, THEY HAD SILENCERS! I never got a silencer for my M16. It made me seriously jealous. Can you tell I like weapons? I know, it's kind of sad but at least I don't go on murderous rampages with the weapons I so adore. I just like them. Anyway. JDM was good at rallying the troops as well, very good at getting things done and just all around awesome.
I was a little happy to see Kenneth Choi too. He didn't have a very big part, but he was also in Captain America so there you have 2 Marvel movies represented. I was trying to see who else from Marvel would pop up. Just saying.
The only other Asian face I recognized was Will Yun Lee and that made me happy. I'm glad that they didn't round up every recognizable Korean face for this movie. He played Captain Lo, the prefect for that area or something like that. Basically he was in charge of the bad guys in the city. He's the one that fucked with the wrong family.
Let me tell you a little bit about Connor Cruise too. He did a great job. Very good actor. Not as bad ass as his daddy TC, but still good nonetheless. Very emotional.
Over all I give this movie my seal of approval. It was very well done. It wasn't overly effects driven and it wasn't horribly ridiculous. There were a lot of funny moments in it. A lot of warm moments. There is blood and death and violence but that's what happens in war. And that is exactly what this movie is all about.
MAJOR BIG ASS SPOILER AHEAD DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU PLAN TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!! And I do recommend you go see this movie.
I was extremely disappointed when they killed off Hemsworth's character. I said "Why'd they kill the pretty?" But, he wasn't the only pretty. But I realized something. They had to get rid of his character because he was stealing all the badassery and they needed the Joshes to have some of that. He needed to share and when you're Thor, sharing the badassery is just impossible. So he had to die. It was very sad, though. Very sad.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Disney Logic
So my daughter showed me this picture that said "if Cinderella's shoe fit perfectly, why did it fall off?". That got my brain thinking.
When you run in high heels, they slip a bit even if they fit perfectly. And that's leather shoes. Now you've got a girl in glass shoes. Glass is already a slippery substance. Add to that the fact that she had been in them all night. Most people don't like to think about it but feet sweat. And she was all giddy and heart racy from meeting her true love. So there she is, sweaty feet, slippery shoes, and then she starts running. It's amazing she only lost one shoe.
Just saying.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
@rattyburvil @karengillan2 @bbcdoctorwho
This is going to be a short blog entry because I have just one thing to say.
Whoever created the My Little Pony named Dr. Whooves NEEDS TO BE SEVERELY DAMAGED! That's all there is to it. Although I will give Kudos for having this abomination patterned after the 10th Doctor as he is one of my favorites. And now, the proof.
Though the image says "Dr Hooves" the t-shirt at Hot Topic says Dr. Whooves. SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT IS OVER!
Though the image says "Dr Hooves" the t-shirt at Hot Topic says Dr. Whooves. SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT IS OVER!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
#Once #OUAT
Okay, so let me see if I get this straight.
Spoiler alert.
So, we go back to the original story of Rumpelstiltskin. He spun straw into gold for the promise of the first born of a woman who would end up marrying a king. So then we find out that said first born was actually Regina? And Cora was the woman for whom Rumple spun straw into gold?
Now, last season we find out that Regina is Snow White's evil step mother. Snow White is Emma's mother and Emma is Henry's mother. Henry is adopted and raised by Regina. So, if you take into account the fact that step mother is still mother, to an extent, that means that Regina was raising her own great grandson.
I get that they're throwing in all of the Disney animated movies ever made. I'm waiting for Aladdin and Jasmine to show up at some point, maybe Quasimodo and Esmeralda show up too? We haven't gotten to Ariel and Eric yet either. Let's see who they've done so far.
There was, obviously, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, they tackled Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland. They technically covered Aladdin with the presence of the genie. This season they've gotten into Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, and The Sword and the Stone.
The non movies that they handled were Rumpelstiltskin, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel.
There are movies that were covered in the upcoming episodes so I am going to leave those alone for now. We can wait and see what happens. The ones they have yet to do, as far as I can tell, are Peter Pan, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Pocahontas, Hercules, Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, or Thumbelina. Of course I'm only listing the movies that could possibly be thrown into this amazing world they've created.
I love all the back stories. I love how they changed everything. How they made Gipetto a little bit selfish. They had Snow White stealing and taking care of herself in the forest instead of being helpless and ridiculous. I like how Rumpelstiltskin turns up in all kinds of stories. It's really cool how they have managed to connect the various fairy tale worlds together and I really can't wait to see what happens next.
Spoiler alert.
So, we go back to the original story of Rumpelstiltskin. He spun straw into gold for the promise of the first born of a woman who would end up marrying a king. So then we find out that said first born was actually Regina? And Cora was the woman for whom Rumple spun straw into gold?
Now, last season we find out that Regina is Snow White's evil step mother. Snow White is Emma's mother and Emma is Henry's mother. Henry is adopted and raised by Regina. So, if you take into account the fact that step mother is still mother, to an extent, that means that Regina was raising her own great grandson.
I get that they're throwing in all of the Disney animated movies ever made. I'm waiting for Aladdin and Jasmine to show up at some point, maybe Quasimodo and Esmeralda show up too? We haven't gotten to Ariel and Eric yet either. Let's see who they've done so far.
There was, obviously, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, they tackled Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland. They technically covered Aladdin with the presence of the genie. This season they've gotten into Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, and The Sword and the Stone.
The non movies that they handled were Rumpelstiltskin, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel.
There are movies that were covered in the upcoming episodes so I am going to leave those alone for now. We can wait and see what happens. The ones they have yet to do, as far as I can tell, are Peter Pan, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Pocahontas, Hercules, Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, or Thumbelina. Of course I'm only listing the movies that could possibly be thrown into this amazing world they've created.
I love all the back stories. I love how they changed everything. How they made Gipetto a little bit selfish. They had Snow White stealing and taking care of herself in the forest instead of being helpless and ridiculous. I like how Rumpelstiltskin turns up in all kinds of stories. It's really cool how they have managed to connect the various fairy tale worlds together and I really can't wait to see what happens next.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Calling All Celebrities.
When I was 10 years old I started writing letters. I wrote to any and all celebrities I had an interest in. I sent letters to every single member of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I sent letters to every cast member of Star Wars, Fresh Prince of Bel Air....and on and on through the years. I have autographs from people like Arsenio Hall, Christian Slater, Gary Sinise, and Cary Elwes as well as many others. I wrote letters to everybody I even remotely liked. I made sure to learn each actor's name and I never called them by their character's names ever. I continue to write letters to celebrities to this day, though now with access to twitter, it's not as necessary.
Why am I posting about this? My 12 year old daughter told me tonight that she would very much like to put a book together like the one I have with the various autographed pictures from celebrities of whom she is a fan. It started with a request for Matt Smith's autograph for Christmas, which I did everything I could to make sure came true. Granted, the autograph didn't arrive in the mail until the following February, but I still got it for her.
And knowing that twitter is out there now makes things so much easier.
So here I am, asking for a little help. I'm asking for anyone and everyone that is willing to please email me so that I can give the address at which to send the autographed pictures to my daughter. She's an extremely intelligent, very healthy girl. I work a minimum wage job and would like to give her whatever I can, which isn't very much. So if you would please help me out, that would be great.
Thank you all in advance.
email: bkinney71@gmail.com subject: autographs
Why am I posting about this? My 12 year old daughter told me tonight that she would very much like to put a book together like the one I have with the various autographed pictures from celebrities of whom she is a fan. It started with a request for Matt Smith's autograph for Christmas, which I did everything I could to make sure came true. Granted, the autograph didn't arrive in the mail until the following February, but I still got it for her.
And knowing that twitter is out there now makes things so much easier.
So here I am, asking for a little help. I'm asking for anyone and everyone that is willing to please email me so that I can give the address at which to send the autographed pictures to my daughter. She's an extremely intelligent, very healthy girl. I work a minimum wage job and would like to give her whatever I can, which isn't very much. So if you would please help me out, that would be great.
Thank you all in advance.
email: bkinney71@gmail.com subject: autographs
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
A brief twitter discussion with @randamusprime made me realize exactly what I was saying when I responded to her.
She said that she's against gun control and I said that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That's what makes this country (supposedly) so great.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of things I love about living in America. I love the fact that I can disagree with the government and not get thrown in jail or shot. I love that I can have any religious beliefs (or lack there of) that I choose. There are a great many things that I do love about this country.
And given the fact that the supposed gun control that's in place clearly doesn't work I can understand why someone might be against it, even though I am for it.
I realized that what I was saying had nothing to do with the country itself but the people living in said country. There are a lot of people that live here in America that are of the mindset "everyone is entitled to their own opinion as long as it's the same as mine."
America was founded on a difference of opinion, essentially. We are supposed to be a nation of free thinkers. We're supposed to be able to say what we want, when we want (to an extent) without fear of persecution. This is supposed to be a place where you can say "I don't agree with you" and it's perfectly okay. You can have open and honest discussions and the only consequence should be a broadening of one's horizons.
That is not the case, however. Rather than embracing differing opinions, we belittle and demean those who don't agree with us. We tell people who don't have the same faith that they are wrong and going to hell because they don't believe what we do. We bash those who dare stand out in a crowd. If you're different than there must be something wrong with you.
I don't think like that. Of course, if I believe that I am right I will fight you tooth and nail if you tell me I'm wrong. That is, unless you show me proof that I am wrong. Then I apologize and accept that I made a mistake. There are a lot of people in this country that will continue to fight you even if you can definitively prove that they are wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt. That is the kind of idiocy that made me add that (supposedly) in there.
I love having discussions with people that don't necessarily believe the same way I do. I like it even more when people can support their opinions. There are too many people in this country that the only answer to "Well, why do you think that?" is because their parents thought that. Or their grandparents thought that. They're afraid to be different because it's hard. There was a man that I knew that was once asked "Why are you a Democrat?" and his response was "Because my Daddy was a Democrat." "Well, why was he a Democrat?" "Because his Daddy was a Democrat." And that was his only answer.
We need to stop the nonsense. We need to embrace open and honest discussion of ideas. We need to accept that not everyone believes the same way we do. When I was in high school, I thought at the time that I was a Christian. I had some Christian friends, but there was one girl that I used to eat lunch with that was raised on the Native American beliefs. One day, I asked her about them and sat there, listening intently as she told me them. It was very fascinating. I don't remember most of it, to be honest, but that was 15+ years ago. After lunch, one of my "Christian" friends pulled me aside and asked me why I listened to this girl about her non Christian beliefs. He then basically told me that I was going to go to hell because I didn't try to convert her to Christianity. That I was wrong in actually listening to her about her religion. I asked him "Which is more effective, telling her about my beliefs and listening to her about hers, or simply telling her about my beliefs and refusing to discuss anything else?" He didn't have an answer for that.
I have always been of the mind to tell someone what I think and say "If you have any questions, you know where to find me" and leave it at that. If they want to talk about what they believe, even if I don't agree with them, I am willing to listen, as long as they were willing to listen to me. It's a fair trade off. You listen to me, I listen to you and we talk.
There are too many people that only want to talk, they don't want to listen. They're so afraid that they might actually be talked into changing their mind that they're not willing to discuss anything other than what they believe. There are people that would call @randamusprime an idiot and actually stop following her simply because of her thoughts. They would tell her she's wrong and leave it at that. There would be no discussion of why she feels the way she does. No sharing of "this is why I believe in it" or anything like that. Just a simple "you're stupid" and "unfollow" and no more listening.
I don't usually go on and on about stuff like this, especially here, but I just felt the need to clarify myself. I do believe that America is a great nation for many reasons, but I believe that there are a lot of people in this country that seem to have forgotten a lot about why this country even exists. Freedom of Speech doesn't just apply to people who have the same thoughts and opinions you do. It applies to everyone. Freedom of Religion doesn't just talk about Christianity. It means EVERY religion. Whether you agree with their beliefs or not.
And that is the end of this rant. Now that I've gotten it all out, maybe my brain will let me go to sleep.
She said that she's against gun control and I said that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That's what makes this country (supposedly) so great.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of things I love about living in America. I love the fact that I can disagree with the government and not get thrown in jail or shot. I love that I can have any religious beliefs (or lack there of) that I choose. There are a great many things that I do love about this country.
And given the fact that the supposed gun control that's in place clearly doesn't work I can understand why someone might be against it, even though I am for it.
I realized that what I was saying had nothing to do with the country itself but the people living in said country. There are a lot of people that live here in America that are of the mindset "everyone is entitled to their own opinion as long as it's the same as mine."
America was founded on a difference of opinion, essentially. We are supposed to be a nation of free thinkers. We're supposed to be able to say what we want, when we want (to an extent) without fear of persecution. This is supposed to be a place where you can say "I don't agree with you" and it's perfectly okay. You can have open and honest discussions and the only consequence should be a broadening of one's horizons.
That is not the case, however. Rather than embracing differing opinions, we belittle and demean those who don't agree with us. We tell people who don't have the same faith that they are wrong and going to hell because they don't believe what we do. We bash those who dare stand out in a crowd. If you're different than there must be something wrong with you.
I don't think like that. Of course, if I believe that I am right I will fight you tooth and nail if you tell me I'm wrong. That is, unless you show me proof that I am wrong. Then I apologize and accept that I made a mistake. There are a lot of people in this country that will continue to fight you even if you can definitively prove that they are wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt. That is the kind of idiocy that made me add that (supposedly) in there.
I love having discussions with people that don't necessarily believe the same way I do. I like it even more when people can support their opinions. There are too many people in this country that the only answer to "Well, why do you think that?" is because their parents thought that. Or their grandparents thought that. They're afraid to be different because it's hard. There was a man that I knew that was once asked "Why are you a Democrat?" and his response was "Because my Daddy was a Democrat." "Well, why was he a Democrat?" "Because his Daddy was a Democrat." And that was his only answer.
We need to stop the nonsense. We need to embrace open and honest discussion of ideas. We need to accept that not everyone believes the same way we do. When I was in high school, I thought at the time that I was a Christian. I had some Christian friends, but there was one girl that I used to eat lunch with that was raised on the Native American beliefs. One day, I asked her about them and sat there, listening intently as she told me them. It was very fascinating. I don't remember most of it, to be honest, but that was 15+ years ago. After lunch, one of my "Christian" friends pulled me aside and asked me why I listened to this girl about her non Christian beliefs. He then basically told me that I was going to go to hell because I didn't try to convert her to Christianity. That I was wrong in actually listening to her about her religion. I asked him "Which is more effective, telling her about my beliefs and listening to her about hers, or simply telling her about my beliefs and refusing to discuss anything else?" He didn't have an answer for that.
I have always been of the mind to tell someone what I think and say "If you have any questions, you know where to find me" and leave it at that. If they want to talk about what they believe, even if I don't agree with them, I am willing to listen, as long as they were willing to listen to me. It's a fair trade off. You listen to me, I listen to you and we talk.
There are too many people that only want to talk, they don't want to listen. They're so afraid that they might actually be talked into changing their mind that they're not willing to discuss anything other than what they believe. There are people that would call @randamusprime an idiot and actually stop following her simply because of her thoughts. They would tell her she's wrong and leave it at that. There would be no discussion of why she feels the way she does. No sharing of "this is why I believe in it" or anything like that. Just a simple "you're stupid" and "unfollow" and no more listening.
I don't usually go on and on about stuff like this, especially here, but I just felt the need to clarify myself. I do believe that America is a great nation for many reasons, but I believe that there are a lot of people in this country that seem to have forgotten a lot about why this country even exists. Freedom of Speech doesn't just apply to people who have the same thoughts and opinions you do. It applies to everyone. Freedom of Religion doesn't just talk about Christianity. It means EVERY religion. Whether you agree with their beliefs or not.
And that is the end of this rant. Now that I've gotten it all out, maybe my brain will let me go to sleep.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Bourne Legacy: SPOILER ALERT
Now, I have to admit that I went into this movie with absolutely no knowledge about the Bourne storyline other than what can be found in trailers for the first three Bourne movies. That being said, I will continue on with my review.
Pretty much the first thing you see in this movie is a shirtless Jeremy Renner which automatically makes it awesome. I would really like to sit here and take the movie apart minute by minute but there's so much going on that I just can't do that so this is really just going to be an overview. I put the spoiler alert up there just in case there's something I mention that could be considered a spoiler.
Edward Norton continues to be seriously awesome. His character in this movie is cold and precise and knows exactly what needs to be done regardless of the moral issues involved and he will not let anything stand in the way of getting it done. He delivers his lines beautifully, as always, and he manages to keep a pretty straight face throughout everything. I think my favorite moment though was "It's up and running, consider yourself notified." That was a great moment and only Edward could really handle that, in my personal opinion.
There are so many actors in this movie that I have loved for a long time. David Strathairn being one of them. Of course I have loved him since Sneakers all those years ago, and he continues to make me love him more. Especially in Alphas on SyFy but that's not what I'm talking about right now. He has a minor appearance in this movie but he did very well.
Stacy Keach is a nice addition to this movie as well. He did a wonderful job and he's very good at the irritation and righteous indignation required for this movie.
My brain is kind of frazzled when I try to describe it, in all honesty. The action was really cool and the movie was done very well. Although I find it very amusing that on a motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic wasn't too dangerous to be actually Jeremy and Rachel, but riding said motorcycle up a flight of stairs was. I guess that's part of why I'm not involved in the movie business. Only a small part, of course.
The ending of the movie makes it very obvious that there is going to be another one. I could have done without the corny, James Bond type spy song at the end, but I guess Hollywood decided it was necessary.
Onto the fangirling. I think this is the most time shirtless that I have seen Jeremy Renner. It makes me all kinds of happy. Especially because of those gorgeous arms of his. They're just.......afkjvbaufhg;ahv. That's all I can say.
Now the fangirling is over. Based on my limited knowledge of the franchise, I can't really do the storyline justice, but this was done well. Although there are a couple of the stunts that I would really like for Mythbusters to tackle.
So, over all, go see the movie. Even if you haven't seen the others, you will definitely like it. That's all I can say. :-)
Pretty much the first thing you see in this movie is a shirtless Jeremy Renner which automatically makes it awesome. I would really like to sit here and take the movie apart minute by minute but there's so much going on that I just can't do that so this is really just going to be an overview. I put the spoiler alert up there just in case there's something I mention that could be considered a spoiler.
Edward Norton continues to be seriously awesome. His character in this movie is cold and precise and knows exactly what needs to be done regardless of the moral issues involved and he will not let anything stand in the way of getting it done. He delivers his lines beautifully, as always, and he manages to keep a pretty straight face throughout everything. I think my favorite moment though was "It's up and running, consider yourself notified." That was a great moment and only Edward could really handle that, in my personal opinion.
There are so many actors in this movie that I have loved for a long time. David Strathairn being one of them. Of course I have loved him since Sneakers all those years ago, and he continues to make me love him more. Especially in Alphas on SyFy but that's not what I'm talking about right now. He has a minor appearance in this movie but he did very well.
Stacy Keach is a nice addition to this movie as well. He did a wonderful job and he's very good at the irritation and righteous indignation required for this movie.
My brain is kind of frazzled when I try to describe it, in all honesty. The action was really cool and the movie was done very well. Although I find it very amusing that on a motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic wasn't too dangerous to be actually Jeremy and Rachel, but riding said motorcycle up a flight of stairs was. I guess that's part of why I'm not involved in the movie business. Only a small part, of course.
The ending of the movie makes it very obvious that there is going to be another one. I could have done without the corny, James Bond type spy song at the end, but I guess Hollywood decided it was necessary.
Onto the fangirling. I think this is the most time shirtless that I have seen Jeremy Renner. It makes me all kinds of happy. Especially because of those gorgeous arms of his. They're just.......afkjvbaufhg;ahv. That's all I can say.
Now the fangirling is over. Based on my limited knowledge of the franchise, I can't really do the storyline justice, but this was done well. Although there are a couple of the stunts that I would really like for Mythbusters to tackle.
So, over all, go see the movie. Even if you haven't seen the others, you will definitely like it. That's all I can say. :-)
Friday, August 10, 2012
Droid RAZR Maxx
Let me tell you about the awesomness that is this phone. Yesterday I exchanged 90 emails with on friend, 30 text messages with another, 15 texts with my mom, and 20 with my daughter. I took 2 short phone calls and all of that only used up half the battery. That is without charging it at all. Today I have done the same number of emails and texts as well as several sessions of playing Temple Run and only used about 65% of the battery. This phone lives up to the battery hype for sure. I've only had the phone since Wed (8/8) so I still have a lot of features to try put but so far I love it. Although I am finding this phone does not like this website. I'm having issues with cursor placement. I am more willing to believe that's a problem with the site and not the phone. More to come later buy I doubt it will be bad.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Kitten in need of a home
An update on Mewsie. Our inability to find her a home and further inability to care for her, led to us having to take her to the local animal shelter.
Friday, May 4, 2012
MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS!
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!!!!!
Okay, I just have to say first off that this movie is FREAKING AWESOME! From beginning to end the movie just rocks hard core. There's no other way to describe it. Joss Whedon continues to show that he is a genius, plain and simple.
First of all, everybody knew that Samuel L Jackson was going to be awesome as Nick Fury. There was never any doubt in my mind at all. I was VERY glad to see that there was a lot more of Nick in this movie, which makes for part of the awesomeness.
Cobie Smulders did such a wonderful job as Maria Hill. She's not the hard core bitch I remember from the comics, but that's because Miss Smulders made Maria Hill her own and I am looking forward to much more of her in the future. Especially if they get to the part of the storyline where Tony is director of SHIELD and she has to answer to him. I think that will be amazing.
Clark Gregg is the next shining star in this flick. He had some of the funniest lines even if they didn't come across as funny. The vintage Captain America trading card collection was priceless. He totally had a man crush on Cap and it was completely adorable. Now I know I warned about spoilers but there is one spoiler I am NOT going to give simply because I like to pretend it didn't happen. Agent Coulson and Pepper seeming to be friends was pretty amazing and adorable. Especially when Tony gets a little bit jealous.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki was perfectly brilliant. He's just the right amount of evil genius but he also is smart enough to know when he's defeated. Favorite scene ever, though, is the confrontation between Loki and Tony. That whole conversation is amazing but when Loki tries to control him and only ends up hitting the reactor....that was hilarious. And let's not forget Loki getting thrown around like a rag doll by Hulk. So perfect.
I really never thought I'd be able to say this at any point but I now, officially, actually like Chris Evans. I used to hate him. Then Captain America: The First Avenger made me not hate him anymore. Now, I like him. That's as far as I'll go. I like him. I really can't picture anybody else playing Steve Rogers. My brain just won't allow it. He has embodied the character that much. And this movie just showed off his acting skills even more. He took charge when necessary and beat the living shit out of people when needed. It was just an over all fantastic performance. And it was so freaking adorable when Cap finally understood one of the pop culture references that was made. Too cute for words.
There really aren't enough words in my vocabulary to describe this movie so I might end up using the same ones over and over again because it was just that damn good.
Okay, so where was I.
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. I was a little skeptical at first, to be quite honest, based solely on pretty much everything else I've seen Mark Ruffalo in. Now, my knowledge of his work is nowhere near the full body of his work. I've only seen a smattering of the projects Ruffalo has done and at least one of those have actually involved Robert Downey Jr, so I can just add this one to the list. Anyway. Mark Ruffalo did a wonderful job as Bruce Banner. He had some of the good lines too. And when he said "That's my secret, I'm always angry." That just made my life right there. And Cap's order for Hulk to smash was just too perfect. Now, I know that the Hulk stuff wasn't really Ruffalo but still, I am going to give him credit. I did love him pulling up on the little motorcycle when everybody is standing down town and looking at the mess. He did a very wonderful job playing Bruce. He really did.
ALEXIS DENISOF IS IN THIS MOVIE AND I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU WHERE!!!!!!! If you don't know who Alexis Denisof is then you didn't go see this movie for Joss Whedon's involvement. Just saying. When I reminded my daughter of who Alexis is in other projects her response was "So Robin had to work with Sandy again." and that made me giggle
I am slightly disappointed in Mr. Whedon that there was no random Nathan Fillion casting. Nathan is to Joss as Bruce Campbell is to the Raimi brothers. WHY IS THERE NO NATHAN MR. WHEDON?! HUH?!?!?! You know, I bet this is all Castle's fault. But again I digress.
And now we come to the other Chris. Mr. Hemsworth. I was not even remotely surprised or disappointed when I found out that Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor. I thought "He's absolutely freaking perfect!" and he really is. No one could play the Norse god of Thunder any better than he does, and he looks the part as well. He's just the right amount of funny while maintaining that godlike attitude. He will help the humans to protect Earth at any cost and it's so amazing that he is like that. Thor's arrival in the movie is grandiose and perfect for a god. Loki being nervous by the thunder and saying "I'm not particularly fond of what follows it" was just wonderful. And the fight between Thor and Iron Man was beautifully done. And, let me just say, Mjolnir + Vibranium = BIG BOOM!
Yet another person that I was not that fond of before taking on a comic book character would be the lovely Miss Scarlet Johansson. When I first heard she was cast I was a little upset. I figure, who better to play a red headed Russian than a red headed Russian. (If you don't know who I'm talking about you are not a true geek.) But she has truly shone as the Black Widow and done a wonderful job. She was very good in Iron Man 2 but she was exquisite in The Avengers. "A very specific skill set" indeed. Is there something between Barton and Romanoff? I don't know. I think that they have the kind of relationship that is built on the battle field. The kind of thing that soldiers who have fought together have with each other. Is it romance? I'll let the story figure that one out. I do know that they have seen and done things together that make them closer than any two people could ever think to be.
And speaking of Clint Barton, gotta love Jeremy Renner. I loved his work in The Hurt Locker and I was so excited when he was cast as Hawkeye. His performance in this movie actually has my daughter wanting to take archery lessons. And let's talk about that archery, shall we? That quiver was FREAKING AWESOME!!! (wanted to use another F word but trying to keep it clean.) And the arrows with the interchangeable heads were so cool, Let's not forget that bow that all he has to do is shake it a bit to get it to engage. So awesome. There are no words to describe his archery skills. Being able to shoot behind him without even looking. But that's Hawkeye more than it is Jeremy Renner. He was very good, though. He did the role justice.
I'm not going to say very much about Stellan Skarsgård because there's not much more to say other than he did a great job. Unfortunately they didn't give him much in the way of screen time, but what he did get was wonderfully done. And even though he was controlled by Loki, he still managed to help beat the bad guy so all is good there. Just great job over all.
And I was saving the best (in my mind) for last. Mr. Robert Downey Jr. I can't lie. I am so in love with this man. I envy Susan Downey like you wouldn't believe. But that's where I am ending that bit of gushing. Okay. TONY HAD THE BEST LINES IN THE WHOLE DAMN MOVIE! And the best references ever. Calling Thor Pointe Break was funny but calling Hawkeye "Legolas" was geektastic. I have always know that Tony Stark was a geek to his core. Deep down inside that swaggering hunk of sexy arrogant man is a little kid with glasses and braces sitting in his parents' basement in a Star Trek uniform playing Dungeons and Dragons. It can NOT be denied. And Tony is swagger and sexy and arrogant, there's no denying that either. Now, the whole Tony/Pepper relationship thing is adorable. Especially the look on his face when she's whispering in his ear. Priceless. Again, I gotta go to the confrontation between Tony and Loki. If JARVIS had a testosterone detector it would have been going off like crazy. That was one hell of a pissing contest. And the Mark 7 armor. OMG! This is just the precursor to EXTREMIS. I'm telling you. I think one of my favorite moments is toward the end when Tony gets done saving the world and then he's going on and on about this shawarma place and how he wants to find out what it is. It's like, you just nearly died and you're going on about shawarma? What the hell, man? But that's Tony for you. Completely insane. And when he comes to the realization that Loki is going after Stark Tower, the way he delivered that "son of a bitch" was too good for words, really. But one of the very best scenes was the scene between Cap and Tony that was talking about the thing I would like to pretend didn't happen. The level of emotion coming from both of them. Tony actually teary eyed.....it was beautiful, it really was. And the "Please tell me nobody kissed me." was absolutely freaking hilarious. And I am so thankful every day that somebody decided to give Robert Downey Jr. A chance as Tony Stark all those years ago because there is no one on this planet better suited to play him. NO ONE! And if Kevin Feige thinks he can recast Tony if Robert decides to quit, he's got another thing coming. Robert isn't the only one that doesn't want to see Iron Man played by someone else. Now, does anybody get the reference on why Tony wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt is hilarious? If you don't, I'm not explaining it to you. There was an interview with Robert in which he admitted that he'd stolen one of the Black Sabbath t-shirts and then lost it. $20 says Indio has it. Just a thought.
Now, the first after credits scene that reveals who will be the villain in the next movie, priceless and I will not spoil that one for you. I will, however, say that there is a SECOND after the credits sequence that has them all sitting in he damaged shawarma place quietly eating their food. Thor and Banner seem to be the only ones enjoying it but everybody is eating. In the background you see one of the employees sweeping up glass. It's hilarious, really. Especially because there is no dialogue, there's just them sitting there. Absolutely wonderful and a great addition.
Over all, I say GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It deserves as many awards as anybody can give it. I am most definitely going to go see it again sometime this weekend. There is no avoiding that at all. Even if you don't know anything about the comic books, go see it. You will NOT regret it, believe me.
And go buy the sound track. Right now you can get it from amazon.com for $5 as a digital download and that's for this month only. DO IT! Live to Rise by Soundgarden is a kick ass song and the rest of the album is just as good. Especially A New Way to Bleed by Evanescence. It's great. This is my longest review to date. After a little bit of editing it’s at 2063 words and I might need to edit more later.
Okay, I just have to say first off that this movie is FREAKING AWESOME! From beginning to end the movie just rocks hard core. There's no other way to describe it. Joss Whedon continues to show that he is a genius, plain and simple.
First of all, everybody knew that Samuel L Jackson was going to be awesome as Nick Fury. There was never any doubt in my mind at all. I was VERY glad to see that there was a lot more of Nick in this movie, which makes for part of the awesomeness.
Cobie Smulders did such a wonderful job as Maria Hill. She's not the hard core bitch I remember from the comics, but that's because Miss Smulders made Maria Hill her own and I am looking forward to much more of her in the future. Especially if they get to the part of the storyline where Tony is director of SHIELD and she has to answer to him. I think that will be amazing.
Clark Gregg is the next shining star in this flick. He had some of the funniest lines even if they didn't come across as funny. The vintage Captain America trading card collection was priceless. He totally had a man crush on Cap and it was completely adorable. Now I know I warned about spoilers but there is one spoiler I am NOT going to give simply because I like to pretend it didn't happen. Agent Coulson and Pepper seeming to be friends was pretty amazing and adorable. Especially when Tony gets a little bit jealous.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki was perfectly brilliant. He's just the right amount of evil genius but he also is smart enough to know when he's defeated. Favorite scene ever, though, is the confrontation between Loki and Tony. That whole conversation is amazing but when Loki tries to control him and only ends up hitting the reactor....that was hilarious. And let's not forget Loki getting thrown around like a rag doll by Hulk. So perfect.
I really never thought I'd be able to say this at any point but I now, officially, actually like Chris Evans. I used to hate him. Then Captain America: The First Avenger made me not hate him anymore. Now, I like him. That's as far as I'll go. I like him. I really can't picture anybody else playing Steve Rogers. My brain just won't allow it. He has embodied the character that much. And this movie just showed off his acting skills even more. He took charge when necessary and beat the living shit out of people when needed. It was just an over all fantastic performance. And it was so freaking adorable when Cap finally understood one of the pop culture references that was made. Too cute for words.
There really aren't enough words in my vocabulary to describe this movie so I might end up using the same ones over and over again because it was just that damn good.
Okay, so where was I.
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. I was a little skeptical at first, to be quite honest, based solely on pretty much everything else I've seen Mark Ruffalo in. Now, my knowledge of his work is nowhere near the full body of his work. I've only seen a smattering of the projects Ruffalo has done and at least one of those have actually involved Robert Downey Jr, so I can just add this one to the list. Anyway. Mark Ruffalo did a wonderful job as Bruce Banner. He had some of the good lines too. And when he said "That's my secret, I'm always angry." That just made my life right there. And Cap's order for Hulk to smash was just too perfect. Now, I know that the Hulk stuff wasn't really Ruffalo but still, I am going to give him credit. I did love him pulling up on the little motorcycle when everybody is standing down town and looking at the mess. He did a very wonderful job playing Bruce. He really did.
ALEXIS DENISOF IS IN THIS MOVIE AND I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU WHERE!!!!!!! If you don't know who Alexis Denisof is then you didn't go see this movie for Joss Whedon's involvement. Just saying. When I reminded my daughter of who Alexis is in other projects her response was "So Robin had to work with Sandy again." and that made me giggle
I am slightly disappointed in Mr. Whedon that there was no random Nathan Fillion casting. Nathan is to Joss as Bruce Campbell is to the Raimi brothers. WHY IS THERE NO NATHAN MR. WHEDON?! HUH?!?!?! You know, I bet this is all Castle's fault. But again I digress.
And now we come to the other Chris. Mr. Hemsworth. I was not even remotely surprised or disappointed when I found out that Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor. I thought "He's absolutely freaking perfect!" and he really is. No one could play the Norse god of Thunder any better than he does, and he looks the part as well. He's just the right amount of funny while maintaining that godlike attitude. He will help the humans to protect Earth at any cost and it's so amazing that he is like that. Thor's arrival in the movie is grandiose and perfect for a god. Loki being nervous by the thunder and saying "I'm not particularly fond of what follows it" was just wonderful. And the fight between Thor and Iron Man was beautifully done. And, let me just say, Mjolnir + Vibranium = BIG BOOM!
Yet another person that I was not that fond of before taking on a comic book character would be the lovely Miss Scarlet Johansson. When I first heard she was cast I was a little upset. I figure, who better to play a red headed Russian than a red headed Russian. (If you don't know who I'm talking about you are not a true geek.) But she has truly shone as the Black Widow and done a wonderful job. She was very good in Iron Man 2 but she was exquisite in The Avengers. "A very specific skill set" indeed. Is there something between Barton and Romanoff? I don't know. I think that they have the kind of relationship that is built on the battle field. The kind of thing that soldiers who have fought together have with each other. Is it romance? I'll let the story figure that one out. I do know that they have seen and done things together that make them closer than any two people could ever think to be.
And speaking of Clint Barton, gotta love Jeremy Renner. I loved his work in The Hurt Locker and I was so excited when he was cast as Hawkeye. His performance in this movie actually has my daughter wanting to take archery lessons. And let's talk about that archery, shall we? That quiver was FREAKING AWESOME!!! (wanted to use another F word but trying to keep it clean.) And the arrows with the interchangeable heads were so cool, Let's not forget that bow that all he has to do is shake it a bit to get it to engage. So awesome. There are no words to describe his archery skills. Being able to shoot behind him without even looking. But that's Hawkeye more than it is Jeremy Renner. He was very good, though. He did the role justice.
I'm not going to say very much about Stellan Skarsgård because there's not much more to say other than he did a great job. Unfortunately they didn't give him much in the way of screen time, but what he did get was wonderfully done. And even though he was controlled by Loki, he still managed to help beat the bad guy so all is good there. Just great job over all.
And I was saving the best (in my mind) for last. Mr. Robert Downey Jr. I can't lie. I am so in love with this man. I envy Susan Downey like you wouldn't believe. But that's where I am ending that bit of gushing. Okay. TONY HAD THE BEST LINES IN THE WHOLE DAMN MOVIE! And the best references ever. Calling Thor Pointe Break was funny but calling Hawkeye "Legolas" was geektastic. I have always know that Tony Stark was a geek to his core. Deep down inside that swaggering hunk of sexy arrogant man is a little kid with glasses and braces sitting in his parents' basement in a Star Trek uniform playing Dungeons and Dragons. It can NOT be denied. And Tony is swagger and sexy and arrogant, there's no denying that either. Now, the whole Tony/Pepper relationship thing is adorable. Especially the look on his face when she's whispering in his ear. Priceless. Again, I gotta go to the confrontation between Tony and Loki. If JARVIS had a testosterone detector it would have been going off like crazy. That was one hell of a pissing contest. And the Mark 7 armor. OMG! This is just the precursor to EXTREMIS. I'm telling you. I think one of my favorite moments is toward the end when Tony gets done saving the world and then he's going on and on about this shawarma place and how he wants to find out what it is. It's like, you just nearly died and you're going on about shawarma? What the hell, man? But that's Tony for you. Completely insane. And when he comes to the realization that Loki is going after Stark Tower, the way he delivered that "son of a bitch" was too good for words, really. But one of the very best scenes was the scene between Cap and Tony that was talking about the thing I would like to pretend didn't happen. The level of emotion coming from both of them. Tony actually teary eyed.....it was beautiful, it really was. And the "Please tell me nobody kissed me." was absolutely freaking hilarious. And I am so thankful every day that somebody decided to give Robert Downey Jr. A chance as Tony Stark all those years ago because there is no one on this planet better suited to play him. NO ONE! And if Kevin Feige thinks he can recast Tony if Robert decides to quit, he's got another thing coming. Robert isn't the only one that doesn't want to see Iron Man played by someone else. Now, does anybody get the reference on why Tony wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt is hilarious? If you don't, I'm not explaining it to you. There was an interview with Robert in which he admitted that he'd stolen one of the Black Sabbath t-shirts and then lost it. $20 says Indio has it. Just a thought.
Now, the first after credits scene that reveals who will be the villain in the next movie, priceless and I will not spoil that one for you. I will, however, say that there is a SECOND after the credits sequence that has them all sitting in he damaged shawarma place quietly eating their food. Thor and Banner seem to be the only ones enjoying it but everybody is eating. In the background you see one of the employees sweeping up glass. It's hilarious, really. Especially because there is no dialogue, there's just them sitting there. Absolutely wonderful and a great addition.
Over all, I say GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It deserves as many awards as anybody can give it. I am most definitely going to go see it again sometime this weekend. There is no avoiding that at all. Even if you don't know anything about the comic books, go see it. You will NOT regret it, believe me.
And go buy the sound track. Right now you can get it from amazon.com for $5 as a digital download and that's for this month only. DO IT! Live to Rise by Soundgarden is a kick ass song and the rest of the album is just as good. Especially A New Way to Bleed by Evanescence. It's great. This is my longest review to date. After a little bit of editing it’s at 2063 words and I might need to edit more later.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Gale Harold Movies
If you like Gale Harold and are interested in his movies Particles of Truth, The Unseen, and Wake but haven't had a chance to see them, or would like to own them, now is your chance.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270958309444
I am selling my copies. They're in good condition and are only missing the cases, so if you want them, feel free to bid.
My next blog post will be a review of The Avengers and very possibly reviewing the movies leading up to The Avengers. Starting on April 29th my daughter and I will be watching one Marvel movie a night, beginning with Iron Man and watching them in story arch order.
What is the story arch order you ask?
Iron Man Iron Man 2 Thor The Incredible Hulk Captain America The Avengers
Now, if you want to watch them in release date order it goes like this.
Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Iron Man 2 Thor Captain America The Avengers
Watching them in story arch order is so much better, though. If you don't want the movies but know someone who does, let them know. I'd really like to get them out of my collection as I haven't watched any of them since I bought them many years ago. And by that I mean that I think the most recent one is 7 years old.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270958309444
I am selling my copies. They're in good condition and are only missing the cases, so if you want them, feel free to bid.
My next blog post will be a review of The Avengers and very possibly reviewing the movies leading up to The Avengers. Starting on April 29th my daughter and I will be watching one Marvel movie a night, beginning with Iron Man and watching them in story arch order.
What is the story arch order you ask?
Iron Man Iron Man 2 Thor The Incredible Hulk Captain America The Avengers
Now, if you want to watch them in release date order it goes like this.
Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Iron Man 2 Thor Captain America The Avengers
Watching them in story arch order is so much better, though. If you don't want the movies but know someone who does, let them know. I'd really like to get them out of my collection as I haven't watched any of them since I bought them many years ago. And by that I mean that I think the most recent one is 7 years old.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Papa John's killed my imagination
I used to be very prolific, in the literary sense. I used to write and write and write. I had an imagination that could create the most wonderful of situations. I wrote so much fan fiction it's not even funny. Star Wars and Queer as Folk mostly. I created cross over fics combining two completely different series into one great story. I wrote pages and pages and pages. I actually complete three different Star Wars novels. None of what I wrote could ever get published, but I wrote it anyway. My fingers would itch if I went more than a day or so without writing something. My imagination would drive me insane if I came up with an idea and didn't write it down, or type it out. Before computers became so widely available and inexpensive, I used to hand write everything. I used to have a callous on my right middle finger from holding the pen as much as I did. I never got a cramp in my hand from writing too much because as far as my fingers were concerned there was no such thing as writing too much. And computers only made it a million times easier to write. I could store my stories and even post them on the Internet when the time came available. I did so much writing and kept my imagination muscle flexed on an almost regular basis. (Yes I know there's no actual imagination muscle.)
Then I started working at Papa John's. I was working almost all the time. I would go in at 9am and end up working until 9pm. I had a set list of things I had to do each day and there was very little room for imagination in those tasks. I was always so tired when I get home from work that I rarely had the time to write. I still kept trying, though. I wrote and wrote and wrote as much as I could. Now, I really only blame Papa John's for starting the death of my imagination. That was the beginning. I was working on a screen play when I was working for Papa John's and I was very excited about it. I worked on it non stop for so long and got a lot of it done. I started to turn it into a novel when I first joined NaNoWriMo. I was so determined that everything was going to be great with this idea.
Then I met the man that inspired the story in the first place. I'm not going to name him because meeting him was one of the worst celebrity experiences I've had and I don't want my personal experience with this man to taint the way others might feel about him, or the good experiences some have had. I've been told that just because he was a douche when I met him doesn't make him a douche all the time and I do understand that. But this experience with him totally killed my love of this man and my desire to continue to be a fan of his work. I started to see him objectively and realized that when it comes down to it, he's not really all that great an actor and I was really just drawn to his pretty face and beautiful body. And that killed my desire to continue that one particular story.
The problem was, it didn't just end with that one story. I stopped being able to write anything involving anything he'd done. All of my fan fiction just petered out and slowly went away. I have actually lost a lot of the stories I was working on because they were works in progress and nobody wanted to be stuck with a story that was never going to have an end. So only my completed stories live on in Internet land. I've actually lost all of my Star Wars fiction because I deleted my website. I haven't written anything in the realm of fiction in a while. Well, that's not entirely true. I've tried starting stuff. But I rarely come up with my own ideas anymore. I usually end up leaching onto the ideas of my friends and helping them move them along. I tell them ways that I personally think their idea would be better and more sellable. I haven't worked on anything that was really mine in a while.
I haven't come up with an original idea except for the one that has died a slow and horrible death. Everything I've written has been fan fiction, though there has been a lot of it. I used other people's characters and put them in my own situations. You'd think I'd be able to come up with my own characters for those situations but it's always hard. And I usually end up giving them completely ridiculous names and stuff like that. I found it easier to use other peoples' characters with existing backgrounds than trying to come up with my own. So my imagination was great with the situations, but lazy with the characters. Guess that means it wasn't all that great after all. I don't know. I just know that this is the most I've written in a long time and this is not even remotely fiction. This is just me sitting here letting my brain say whatever it has the need to say right now. My fingers were yelling at me for not letting them really do some lengthy typing and I decided to let them shut up.
So you see, the need to write is still there. The itchy fingers and the frustrated mind and all of that. My body is physically in need of me to be able to write something. But my imagination is dead and buried and has been for a long time. So how do I go about feeding my writing addiction when my dealer no longer exists? I certainly have no idea.
Then I started working at Papa John's. I was working almost all the time. I would go in at 9am and end up working until 9pm. I had a set list of things I had to do each day and there was very little room for imagination in those tasks. I was always so tired when I get home from work that I rarely had the time to write. I still kept trying, though. I wrote and wrote and wrote as much as I could. Now, I really only blame Papa John's for starting the death of my imagination. That was the beginning. I was working on a screen play when I was working for Papa John's and I was very excited about it. I worked on it non stop for so long and got a lot of it done. I started to turn it into a novel when I first joined NaNoWriMo. I was so determined that everything was going to be great with this idea.
Then I met the man that inspired the story in the first place. I'm not going to name him because meeting him was one of the worst celebrity experiences I've had and I don't want my personal experience with this man to taint the way others might feel about him, or the good experiences some have had. I've been told that just because he was a douche when I met him doesn't make him a douche all the time and I do understand that. But this experience with him totally killed my love of this man and my desire to continue to be a fan of his work. I started to see him objectively and realized that when it comes down to it, he's not really all that great an actor and I was really just drawn to his pretty face and beautiful body. And that killed my desire to continue that one particular story.
The problem was, it didn't just end with that one story. I stopped being able to write anything involving anything he'd done. All of my fan fiction just petered out and slowly went away. I have actually lost a lot of the stories I was working on because they were works in progress and nobody wanted to be stuck with a story that was never going to have an end. So only my completed stories live on in Internet land. I've actually lost all of my Star Wars fiction because I deleted my website. I haven't written anything in the realm of fiction in a while. Well, that's not entirely true. I've tried starting stuff. But I rarely come up with my own ideas anymore. I usually end up leaching onto the ideas of my friends and helping them move them along. I tell them ways that I personally think their idea would be better and more sellable. I haven't worked on anything that was really mine in a while.
I haven't come up with an original idea except for the one that has died a slow and horrible death. Everything I've written has been fan fiction, though there has been a lot of it. I used other people's characters and put them in my own situations. You'd think I'd be able to come up with my own characters for those situations but it's always hard. And I usually end up giving them completely ridiculous names and stuff like that. I found it easier to use other peoples' characters with existing backgrounds than trying to come up with my own. So my imagination was great with the situations, but lazy with the characters. Guess that means it wasn't all that great after all. I don't know. I just know that this is the most I've written in a long time and this is not even remotely fiction. This is just me sitting here letting my brain say whatever it has the need to say right now. My fingers were yelling at me for not letting them really do some lengthy typing and I decided to let them shut up.
So you see, the need to write is still there. The itchy fingers and the frustrated mind and all of that. My body is physically in need of me to be able to write something. But my imagination is dead and buried and has been for a long time. So how do I go about feeding my writing addiction when my dealer no longer exists? I certainly have no idea.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2 Broke Girls
I know that I haven't reviewed anything in a while and that's a real shame because I've watched a lot of really good things, though I haven't had a chance to go to the movies very much. There's a lot of really good material on TV worth talking about though, so I'm going to do that.
My new favorite show on Earth is 2 Broke Girls. The first reason I started watching this show is because I love Kat Dennings so much it's kind of ridiculous. She was awesome in Charlie Bartlett and she was fantastically hysterical in Thor. She was also very wonderful in Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. She delivers her lines with such ease. She has perfect comedic timing. She's got the kind of voice that conveys emotion very easily, although sarcasm seems to be her strong suit. That is perfect for Max, though. She says things to her customers that I really wish I could get away with at work and not get fired. I deal with a lot of people like the customers that have been seen on that TV show and I have to just bite my tongue and deal with it. But she goes off on them in creative and intelligent ways and I do love it. She's smart and funny and completely wonderful. That's all I can say about that. Kat Dennings makes my life and I pray every day that this show gets a second season, because it definitely deserves it.
I had never really heard of Beth Behrs before 2 Broke Girls came along, but I have to say that I definitely like her. She brings Caroline to life in a great way. She manages to still be snobby and uptight even in a situation where it's completely unwarranted, which is hard to pull off sometimes. Last night's episode, with all of the Hebrew and trying to fit in with the Jewish family was absolutely hilarious. And that's just one example. She pulls off her lines just as seemlessly as the rest of the cast and it's great watching the chemistry between Kat and Beth. They work very well together.
My second reason for watching this show didn't come to light until I actually watched the first episode but I have to say that Garrett Morris is it. I have loved that man since I watched old Saturday Night Live reruns when I was a kid. He was one of the funniest cast members of the early years and has made me laugh in everything I've seen him in. I loved him as Stan on Martin, even though the character was a horrible, unlikeable man. And while I do know that I've seen him in many, many things throughout my TV and movie watching life, those are the ones that stand out the most. And now he plays Earl on 2 Broke Girls. His little "love affair" with Max is completely adorable and very sweet. Garrett is just an all around great actor and comedian and you should watch the show for him, if for no other reason.
Now, while I do love the previous actors on this show, and the characters they portray, I have to say that they do not represent my favorite character. My absolute favorite character on this show is Oleg. He is so disgusting and dirty and perverted that you can't help but love him. He can turn literally anything into a perverted joke, which is a difficult feat sometimes. He reminds me of a guy I used to go to Junior High with and a manager with whom I currently work. He's funny and wonderful an and Johnathan Kite brings him to life beautifully. I really do love Oleg. There's no other way to describe it. Would I date him? No. Would I sleep with him? Absolutely not. But I would happily be his friend and trade perverted comments with him on a regular basis.
And of course I have to mention Matthew Moy. He's so cute and funny. You just want to pick Han up and carry him around like a teddy bear. I love how he gets embarrassed when they're talking about "women things" and how he tries to be authoritative when nobody really listens to him. Even though they call him names and treat him like a child, you can tell there's a little bit of respect deep down in the very bottom of all of their souls for the little guy. Matthew does a wonderful job with Han. I think one of my favorite moments was in the pilot when he picked a new name for himself and became Bryce Lee. That was great. And I really wish that would be brought up again at some point in the show. I will say that there's really not enough Han. There's so much more the writers could do with him.
As if the show wasn't awesome enough, they went and added Jennifer Coolidge to the mix. I love the interaction between Sofi and Oleg. Especially the first episode in which she appeared when she hit him in the crotch with the rolled up newspaper. She's always been a brilliant actress. And they've given her this great character with which she can do SOOO much. And she has. She's taken Sofi and just had a ball with her. She's a little campy but not over the top. She's hilarious and amazing and I love her. I also love watching the interactions between Sofi and Earl. His advances are far more appreciated than Oleg's, for sure. Jennifer Coolidge is the icing on an already wonderfully put together cake.
Over all, I really love this show, if you couldn't tell already. I love the dirty jokes that skate just under FCC rules. The entire cast works together like a well oiled machine and I hope to see it going for a couple more seasons at least.
My new favorite show on Earth is 2 Broke Girls. The first reason I started watching this show is because I love Kat Dennings so much it's kind of ridiculous. She was awesome in Charlie Bartlett and she was fantastically hysterical in Thor. She was also very wonderful in Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. She delivers her lines with such ease. She has perfect comedic timing. She's got the kind of voice that conveys emotion very easily, although sarcasm seems to be her strong suit. That is perfect for Max, though. She says things to her customers that I really wish I could get away with at work and not get fired. I deal with a lot of people like the customers that have been seen on that TV show and I have to just bite my tongue and deal with it. But she goes off on them in creative and intelligent ways and I do love it. She's smart and funny and completely wonderful. That's all I can say about that. Kat Dennings makes my life and I pray every day that this show gets a second season, because it definitely deserves it.
I had never really heard of Beth Behrs before 2 Broke Girls came along, but I have to say that I definitely like her. She brings Caroline to life in a great way. She manages to still be snobby and uptight even in a situation where it's completely unwarranted, which is hard to pull off sometimes. Last night's episode, with all of the Hebrew and trying to fit in with the Jewish family was absolutely hilarious. And that's just one example. She pulls off her lines just as seemlessly as the rest of the cast and it's great watching the chemistry between Kat and Beth. They work very well together.
My second reason for watching this show didn't come to light until I actually watched the first episode but I have to say that Garrett Morris is it. I have loved that man since I watched old Saturday Night Live reruns when I was a kid. He was one of the funniest cast members of the early years and has made me laugh in everything I've seen him in. I loved him as Stan on Martin, even though the character was a horrible, unlikeable man. And while I do know that I've seen him in many, many things throughout my TV and movie watching life, those are the ones that stand out the most. And now he plays Earl on 2 Broke Girls. His little "love affair" with Max is completely adorable and very sweet. Garrett is just an all around great actor and comedian and you should watch the show for him, if for no other reason.
Now, while I do love the previous actors on this show, and the characters they portray, I have to say that they do not represent my favorite character. My absolute favorite character on this show is Oleg. He is so disgusting and dirty and perverted that you can't help but love him. He can turn literally anything into a perverted joke, which is a difficult feat sometimes. He reminds me of a guy I used to go to Junior High with and a manager with whom I currently work. He's funny and wonderful an and Johnathan Kite brings him to life beautifully. I really do love Oleg. There's no other way to describe it. Would I date him? No. Would I sleep with him? Absolutely not. But I would happily be his friend and trade perverted comments with him on a regular basis.
And of course I have to mention Matthew Moy. He's so cute and funny. You just want to pick Han up and carry him around like a teddy bear. I love how he gets embarrassed when they're talking about "women things" and how he tries to be authoritative when nobody really listens to him. Even though they call him names and treat him like a child, you can tell there's a little bit of respect deep down in the very bottom of all of their souls for the little guy. Matthew does a wonderful job with Han. I think one of my favorite moments was in the pilot when he picked a new name for himself and became Bryce Lee. That was great. And I really wish that would be brought up again at some point in the show. I will say that there's really not enough Han. There's so much more the writers could do with him.
As if the show wasn't awesome enough, they went and added Jennifer Coolidge to the mix. I love the interaction between Sofi and Oleg. Especially the first episode in which she appeared when she hit him in the crotch with the rolled up newspaper. She's always been a brilliant actress. And they've given her this great character with which she can do SOOO much. And she has. She's taken Sofi and just had a ball with her. She's a little campy but not over the top. She's hilarious and amazing and I love her. I also love watching the interactions between Sofi and Earl. His advances are far more appreciated than Oleg's, for sure. Jennifer Coolidge is the icing on an already wonderfully put together cake.
Over all, I really love this show, if you couldn't tell already. I love the dirty jokes that skate just under FCC rules. The entire cast works together like a well oiled machine and I hope to see it going for a couple more seasons at least.
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