Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Hanna

Hanna

Director - Joe Wright
Writers - Seth Lochhead and David Farr

Starring - Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana


A teenage girl trained to hunt, fight, evade, and seek revenge by her ex-CIA father in the wilderness of Finland.
The young Ronan does an outstanding job playing the part of an outsider encountering an entirely new world. She's weird and different, awkward enough...and yet plausible.
The story is new and different, an excellent twist on an old genre.
Cate Blanchett never fails to impress, both in her abilities, and her choice of roles in excellent (if different) films. I'd like to note that I usually love different in this context.
This is no exception.

Hanna is a nonstop thrill ride, with short but excellently crafted fight scenes and chases interspersed with strange situations and great character development scenes.

Rent it, watch it, love it.
I made it my number 2 for the year.


-just missed your heart

Monday, June 27, 2011

Your Highness

Your Highness

Director - David Gordon Green
Writers – Danny McBride and Ben Best

Starring - Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco


What to say, what to say…
Danny McBride, that’s really all I can put forth here.
Critics have referenced The Princess Bride but outside of the fact that this is a medieval adventure comedy…yeah I don’t see it.

So yes, Danny McBride.
If you don’t like him or his humor, you won’t like this film.
And I’d like to be original, but I can’t come up with anything better than the general consensus that this is what The Princess Bride would have been if William Goldman had been a 14 year old who was high as a kite when he wrote it.
That’s right…awkward dick jokes, and more swearing than most sailors would approve of.
It’s more like a bunch of freshmen hanging out telling ludicrously inappropriate jokes while some dragon adventure takes place in the background than it is a fantastic adventure.

That’s not to say it isn’t funny or quotable…just…yeah.
Watch it on cable, either drunk, high, or with a bunch of friends who are all looking for something stupid and immature…nothing highbrow.
Anti-highbrow actually.
Possible funny time had laughing with friends…but definitely not worth the price of admission.

For those of you who did spend money at the theatre, I apologize for taking so long to write this and warn you.

Sitting squarely at number 8 for the year.


-can do magic

Sunday, June 26, 2011

dreaming big

Motivation from webcomics:
"When even the smallest dream seems impossible, there is little motive to dream any larger. Work towards the small, and the larger will clarify."

That should be a mantra.

So much of what I wanted seemed impossible or completely out of reach. But here lately I've just ignored all the naysayers and the whatifs and decided to just do it.
Kind of like the cult of done.
Or perhaps Nike.
Damn you giant corporations and your catchy slogans.
Still though...yes...
Just do it.

Also, Sam and Fuzzy is pretty funny and a good way to pass a 16 hour shift.
When things are slow.
So not yesterday...yesterday everything was crazy nonstop crazy.
Did I mention crazy?

Back to the point...little dreams, a bunch of them make big dreams. I think they build up like a train gaining steam. With every little project I become more confident that I can do whatever I want.
In fact...
Talking to SweetD a few weeks ago, we were discussing my dream to build a house from scratch by myself...this is so ingrained in what I want, something I've thought about for so long that her question took me a bit by surprise...
"Do you even know how to build a house? I mean...have you ever built one before?"
Have I what now?
Of course I haven't...but that doesn't faze me anymore. I have read, researched, listened, discussed, and learned so much over the past, wow, 8 years...that (coupled with my recent confidence from all of these projects) I KNOW in my heart, there is no doubt, that I am fully capable of building a house.
Sure, I'll need help with the few plumbing and electrical measures I plan on including...but the building? I've got this.
I'm on it.

I think she was equally shocked that I was so certain...that I AM so certain, that I can do it.
Looking back at it, I think I'm shocked that it takes questions like that...and comments here from good friends about the assumed inevitability of these things...to make me truly face my future.
Weird times.

So yes...end of ranting ramble...hope you're having a lovely weekend.


-capable hands

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch

Director – Zach Snyder
Writer – Zach Snyder
Starring – Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jena Malone

I should warn you that the critics didn’t like this movie at all. They felt suckered possibly…or punched. Neither leaves you happy and those folks definitely weren’t jovial.

Having said that…I very much enjoyed the film.
A bunch even.

The difference is that I didn’t expect any far reaching plot or in depth discoveries about myself as a human being. Let’s look at the constituent parts…

Zach Snyder brought us 300 and Watchmen. Two visually stunning movies…but in both cases the story is already written. 300 is a brutal and heroic tale from history while Watchmen is a morality play of the best sort…but a comic book that left little need for interpretation.
Perhaps Mr Snyder needs to work on his writing, but as for directing he has a talent for the grand and the beautiful. This movie is definitely both of those things, with overwhelming fight scenes that the critics will tell you were unbelievable and over the top.

The story is about an abused girl sent to a mental institution by her greedy stepfather. She escapes to a fantasy world to deal with the horrors of her situation. There is plenty in that setup to allow a viewer to ask for something…anything deep and meaningful. So I can’t really blame the critics when they are disappointed…but honestly…

Emily Browning is a newcomer. I can’t tell you that she did a poor job, but she won’t be nominated for an Oscar either.
Vanessa Hudgens is here not because she’s an action star…but because she’s a pretty face that some of you will recognize.

So what exactly is this film?

This movie is hot chicks battling dragons, robots, orcs, and Nazis…
Nazis!
With crazy explosions, guns, weapons, and lap dances…
Sexy sexy lap dances.
And let me tell you folks…that’s all I expected. Hot chicks, crazy battles, and explosions.
I was not disappointed in the slightest.

I can tell you that I really liked the way they bounced between imagination and reality, that at times it was a little bit confusing but not enough for me to mind. I appreciated that they grabbed you right at the very beginning and threw you straight into the movie. I didn’t like the gimmick they used to actually begin the crazy fight scenes…but eh…I don’t have a good alternative to offer so eh…

Whatever…you know what to expect now. I’m ranking it fairly high, number 4 for the year…but you also know what I was looking for. Keep that in mind.


- fierce as any dragon

Friday, June 24, 2011

part vampire?

Am I invisible? Honestly folks...you'd tell me wouldn't you?
Not that I think I'm always invisible, or even ever completely invisible. It's more like I'm slightly opaque...kinda like frosted glass.
Only I'm not supposed to be, right? That isn't normal.
And you would tell me wouldn't you?
I mean, say we're having a conversation over dinner and you look up at me over that forkfull of delicious pasta you're eating only to find that my entire left arm has disappeared.
You'd say something right?

I ask because I've been having trouble lately remaining substantial enough to be seen.
I mean...I never can catch myself...well...lacking...but I've begun to think that I'll casually look up into the mirror and just not be there...like someone out of a vampire movie.
Weird huh?

Take today for instance...
I'm in the bathroom stall doing my thing.
I know, but bare with me. (couldn't resist)
Really now, we have automatic flushers on the toilets triggered by a motion sensor that sees when you are in the stall and flushes when you leave.
When you leave...this is key.
Just now, it flushed once every 5 or 6 seconds...as if it just couldn't make up it's mind. Is someone standing there peeing? Maybe not. Yes, no, yes, no. The hell? I haven't moved...I'm not rocking back and forth...not bopping to a song, I don't suffer from parkinsons...at least not yet...knock on THAT wood will ya?
So what the hell?
And this isn't the first time dear readers...no. I've had strange run ins with mechanical molesters in the past. There was a door at the old job rigged to recognize when someone walked nearby and unlock so you could push it and leave. The number of times I hit that door like a brick wall and had to back off and wave at the sensor so that it'd see me...I can't even say.
In fact, one time, I stood and waved and nothing...just ignored me. Imagine looking up from your desk to see the funny guy with the pointy hair walking backwards and forwards in front of a door as if he's practicing for the moment he actually wants to leave.
The hell?
Then there are the motion sensors that go off on their own...the office light switch that kicks on before I'm even in the room, or at a spot where it can even register my movement.
How, in the name of all that is holy, does it know I'm going to enter the room before I'm actually in there? How?
Crazy bastard machines making me crazy.

Or maybe I'm just part vampire. Not full vampire mind you...just part, like my mom and dad had some twisted threesome with Count Dracula. Man...that's an image I won't get rid of for a few weeks.
Eew.

Really though...what's the deal? Any of you have this happen?


-type o negative

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Rango

Rango

Director – Gore Verbinski
Writer – John Logan

Starring – Johnny Depp and Isla Fisher
An animated comedy poking fun at the Spaghetti Westerns of old, this movie packs a ton of references into a funny little package.

We start with a thespian lizard playing Shakespeare to an audience of none, but his fortunes change and a bit of quick thinking lands him a role as Sheriff of the town of Dirt.
That’s right, Dirt.
Dirt is in the middle of the desert, and as such, water is power.
Power isn’t really what our hero is good at…he’s much better at being self deprecating and afraid…but he does this with excellent comedic timing. Heh.
The real push for me as an adult though…was all of the other references that have been thrown in. Don Quixote, Planet of the Apes, Fear and Loathing, Pirates of the Caribbean…there’s even a cameo by a certain western star, though it’d have been far better if he’d actually done the voice.

On top of the quotes and references…the movie is beautifully animated and hilarious in its own right. Playing the fourth wall is well done here, it doesn't take itself too seriously. I don’t think you’d have been disappointed in spending the price for a ticket…so now that I’ve posted this months late…don’t feel bad about a rental. It is definitely worth the time.

Came in at number 5 for now…though I think it’s kind of a tie with Battle: Los Angeles…really just depends on what you want to see, explosions and aliens or comedic lizard western?


-enjoys a hearty puttanesca

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

4 glasses of wine

And I'm a bit drunk.
I'd say tipsy...but I'm past that stage. Tnough I seem to be typing somewhat decently, so go figure.
Anyway, yes...4 glasses of some sort of Top Chef Pinot Noir, it was delicious by the way, and I'm seeing more than one stove in the kitchen.
There's onlly supposed to be one.
Exactly.

Man I'm hitting the delete key alot. You dont' even know.
Hahaha.

Anyway...so I'm in Austin Texas visiting Monkey and her lovely family. I drove up here this afternoon, had a lovely dinner cooked by Monkey and too many glasses of whine to accompany said dinner. Yes, wine...it was delish...did I mention that? perhaps I did...I don't know.
Byt here's the thing...family...especially for little kids...
Do they need it? Grandparents and cousins and whatnot...how important are they? Because I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a child, but I don't know that the village needs be all family and blood relations. In fact, I'd venture to say that those folks hand picked by the parents as good enough to set positive examples for the little ones are far better than blood relations.
Perhaps I'm biased, as Little A (Hotflashin's daughter) is a prime example, and I'm known as Uncle in that family...but honestly...blood relations you have no cchoice with, you take the good with the bad...everyone else...
Everyone else just has to be a badass or else you dump them and refuse to let them around your kid.
But that's just me.

Part of why I want littlesub here is that H has neither family nor an extensive network of friends...it's pretty much just the two of them. I want him to know that there are plenty of people out there that he can depend on, rely on, look up to...

Meh.
I'm drunk and headed to bed.
Hope you've allhad a fabulous Tuesday night...I know I did. :) hehehe


-lightweight

Friday, June 10, 2011

long weekends

Yesterday was my first day back from a five day weekend.
Five days...no joke.
Then I had what they call a short turn, and it's a double today and tomorrow.
Forty hours in just 3 days. It's a bit insane I know...but by doing the doubles I've managed to whittle myself down to a meager 12 days of work this month. My next weekend is six days long. I don't have a clue what to do with myself.

No, that's not entirely true.
I'll be hanging out with the niece again at the neighborhood pool. Once again the climbing and dunking toy of little kids everywhere. Ha...that was Tuesday...and we had a ton of fun. But yes, a repeat is in my future.
Also, I moved my current homebrew (a Scottish Ale) into the secondary. I'm guessing that I had a stuck fermentation because it started bubbling away again not six hours after being transferred.
Anyway, so this next batch of days will contain soap making as well as sausage making, and possibly...hopefully...a trip to Austin. I am very much looking forward to it.

When I think about the next year and what it has in store, I freak out a little.
All of these projects make me happy, my goal is to by property and do those projects full time...but sometimes the prospect is a little overwhelming. Right now I need to confirm status of littlesub and his visit here this summer. Then I'll be looking into what kind of property is available.
Baby steps.


-freakin' out man

Friday, June 03, 2011

on work and joy

Yesterday as I walked out of the building I passed a coworker on their way in to the office.
She was smiling.
This may seem like no big deal...a happy person...calm down Sub, it's okay if she's happy.
But what struck me is that she isn't the first, that this seems to be a theme. Certainly for those of us who moved over from the other joint, the current gig is so much easier and less stress.
We didn't used to be happy. One of my main focuses as a supervisor previously was to manage expectations and attitudes...to keep people as happy as I could in a stressful crazy overwhelming environment. It was so easy to lose that fight, to watch a scheduler sit with tears in their eyes angrily working as those drops rolled down red cheeks. To listen as expletives suddenly poored forth regarding a change in situation or the unprofessional manner of coworker.
Expletives were just part of life at that place.

Here...here it is quiet, professional, easy...and we get paid more to boot.

It's normal to pass people who are smiling...actually smiling on their way into work. I guess it's kind of like me with my past relationships. I mean, once you've had the worst, everything else is so simple.

Everyone should be happy on their way to work. At the very least, they should not have a frown...or be hanging their heads like a beaten dog on their way in the doors.
That's part of the reason that I'm pursuing the farm thing so fervently. Why it is such a huge part of my thoughts now. You see...I really can't imagine how happy and content I'll be when I finally wake up one morning and all I have to do for the day is take care of my animals, my garden, and do something creative with food or one of my mad scientist experiments. I might actually be too happy the day that happens.
I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime...free advice to my friends...
Work shouldn't beat you down and make you miserable. Granted...it may not bring you joy on a daily basis (though this should be the goal) but if you wake up dreading it...find something new. Life is too damned short to be unhappy and miserable 5 days a week.
Now...I have some research to do for that farm...and you should be hunting down your dreams too. Get on it!


-dream hunter