Gene Simmons Military Tribute

Movie Rating: Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda ($) – Funny with a “believe in yourself” message.

Lately, every time I watch an animated/CGI film, I spend the first quarter of the movie trying to figure out which actor is voicing each character…

Movie Ratings: Fantastic Mr. Fox & Where the Wild Things Are

Fantastic Mr. Fox (meh) – It had good moments, just not a great many of them.
Where the Wild Things Are (meh) – It did take me near tears a couple of times, but it was too slow in between those times.

Netflix and Movie Ratings

In May I broke down and took advantage of the free trial offer from Netflix. I reasoned that paying the monthly fee would still be less than renting a comparable amount of movies from Dish Network. So far I’m really enjoying it. I decided that it might be fun to rate them as I watch. I had thought about doing the whole “movie critic” thing, but I’ve found that for some of the movies, I just don’t have that much to say. So mostly I’m just going to rate them and if I have a little something-something to say about that particular movie I will add it. Here is my rating system:

1. AFI – The movie should be on AFI’s list.
2. DVD – I will be purchasing this DVD.
3. $ – The movie was not a waste of money.
4. Meh – Just a movie.
5. Ouch – I would rather have a dry socket than sit through this movie again.

So to catch up with what I’ve seen so far:

• Up in the Air (Meh) – George Clooney at his George Clooney-ist.
• Avatar (DVD-already have) – Sigourney Weaver was a very nice surprise in this film.
• Extraordinary Measures (Meh) – Sad, heartwarming, but seemed to drag on.
• The Princess and the Frog ($) – I like the fact that this was “old-school” animation in the modern world of CGI, and it has the usual Walt Disney themes.
• Inglourious Basterds ($) – A bit darker and more thought provoking than the trailers might lead one to believe.
• Valkyrie ($) – I had seen a special on the assassination attempt and the movie seemed to hold pretty close to that. Filled with good actors.
• The Invention of Lying ($) – Not only funny, but made me think as well.
• To Have and Have Not (DVD 1/2) – The movie where Bogie and Bacall fell in love. That really shows through on the screen. Wonderful, wonderful movie.
• The Secret Life of Bees ($ 1/2) – Another solid Dakota Fanning performance. Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson join a really great cast. Tear-jerker.
• It’s Complicated ($) – Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin play off of each other really well. Throw in Steve Martin and it becomes a great funny/thoughtful movie.
• Lawrence of Arabia (AFI) – I was told by a friend that the score makes this movie and it certainly does. It’s a long one, so don’t plan on popping it for a quick watch. It’s hard to believe that this was Peter O’Toole’s first starring role.
• To Hell and Back ($ 1/2) – Audie Murphy plays himself in this movie recreating his days in WWII, for which he was the most decorated American Soldier. Another example of how much our troops give to keep us safe and free.
• The Blind Side ($ 1/2) – Incredibly uplifting story. Sandra Bullock deserves every award she won for her performance.
• Alice in Wonderland ($) – Loved the colors and somewhat new spin on this classic. It’s easy to tell it’s a Tim Burton movie.

And that’s it so far.

John Wooden Quotes via Tom Venuto

http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2010/06/john_woodens_success_advice.php

• There is no substitute for hard work.
• Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.
• Hard work is the difference. Very hard work.
• There is a price to be paid for achieving anything.
• Being average means you’re as close to the bottom as you are to the top.
• You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react.

Cinematic Titanic - Danger on Tiki Island

The Past, Present and Future

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2010/05/some-of-us-are-looking-at-the-stars.html

My mom met me at the bus in our driveway that afternoon. As young students, we didn’t get to watch it in our tiny library with the older kids. Being younger, we also didn’t usually get in on the older student body’s conversations, so we didn’t hear them talking about it. One of the reasons we were so excited about it was the inclusion of Christa McAuliffe, who was a teacher. Not an astronaut, a teacher just like our teachers. I remember crying when my mom broke the news and I still get emotional each time I watch a launch. I’m always torn about whether I should tune in or not. Like Wil, I’m always holding my breath until the shuttle is miles and miles away from Earth, like there’s less chance of disaster there. And it’s always there, in the back of my mind, until I hear the report that the shuttle touched down safely once more.

It is amazing that we have sent so many humans to outer space and brought them safely home again. I’m from a generation that has always had space travel. It’s hard for me to even consider a time when there wasn’t people going up and coming down. I imagine it’s a lot like my sister’s age group (she’s nineteen years younger than I am). She was only four when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon was hit. I’ve never asked her, but I bet she has a hard time remembering when terrorism wasn’t mentioned daily.

Life marches on, whether we want it to or not. But every once in a while, it’s good to go back and remember how it was and those people who went before. The people that paved the way; did the difficult things, so that our way might be smoother and allow us to go to places and do things that was once thought impossible.

Related post: http://mandis-station.blogspot.com/2008/01/challenger-explosion-anniversary.html