9.23.2010

Movie Review: The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer: 2.5/4 stars.
The Ghost Writer is about a writer who is tasked with taking someone's memoirs and write a book about their life. Ewan McGregor plays the part of the ghost writer writing an "autobiography" of the former prime minister of England (Pierce Brosnan).
I didn't realize until the credits rolled that The Ghost Writer was a Roman Polanski film. I'm not afraid to say that kind of put a twist into my perspective of the movie. Although, I'm going to try to avoid spinning this into a moral argument, I do think that Roman is a waste of talent. If he would (or would have) faced his accusers, paid his time and gotten his (really effed up) mistake behind him, he could get back to making films without having to worry about where.
Moving along.
Great acting on the parts of Ewan McGregor and even Pierce Brosnan(!). I had a difficult time understanding the dialogue however, likely due to the poor sound system I was watching on, and the thick accents of the 'brits.' I had to review some scenes to make sure that I could understand what was going on.
I was glad to view a movie that didn't treat the viewer like an idiot, because it really kept me guessing. In fact, there were a few times that I felt downright lost (perhaps because the accents?). But, in the end, the suspense created when you found out the main character was in trouble was very intense, but I was confused because I didn't really know why he was in trouble.
The cinematography was artful, and the location where the movie was shot was beautiful. I am confused though, it was supposed to have taken place on an island off of Maine. But, I don't know how it's possible that it was shot there, at least with Roman directing.
Overall, it was a good film, one worth seeing at least once.
at 2:04 AM 1 comments
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9.19.2010

Movie Review: The American

Well, I haven't really established my preference for a scale when rating movies, so I'll stick to the standard 4-Star system...

The American 2/4 Stars

The American showed a lot of promise to me before I saw it. All I had heard about it was that it was a quasi-action suspense drama film starring George Clooney. That was a half truth. It was a quasi-suspense drama film with little action starring George Clooney.
The film starts out building reasonable suspense and questions in the mind of the viewer, and at times, that suspense is re-captured, but I found myself bored for most of the movie. The picturesque village in which the movie takes place was second only to the acting job of George. He, and the scenery, however, were the only shining stars of the film. There were far too many shots of George staring off into the picturesque distance wishing for a life different than his own. You could put a camera on most people in America and get similar shots, and perhaps that's why the film is called 'The American.'
One common theme in the film was the amount of nudity. There was quite a bit, and some lengthy sex scenes. I don't know how to comment about the directors choice in this except two things: he picked his female leads very well, and he has an unhealthy obsession with showing their asses. Like seriously... A lot of ass in this film.
In the end, there was not enough story development as to who certain characters were, nor their motivations. The story also ended abruptly with no followup as to what happened after the climax. I assume that this was an artistic nod, but, therein lies the problem. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this was a major studio release, but it felt much more like an independent film and as a result, I was left wanting. It's not that I don't enjoy independent films, I just think I was mislead.
I would be surprised if George Clooney didn't get a best actor nod at the Oscars, which might be deserved, but as for the rest of the movie, I hope against seeing any nominations.
at 8:27 PM 0 comments
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7.19.2010

7/18/10


    • 7/18/10

      • Slept in!!!

        • Don't get to sleep in often enough

        • Thanks to Trisha for watching Ryan while I slept.

      • Had to tidy up again for another potential home buyer

        • Took longer than expected

        • Always more to do when you're looking for it.

        • Ryan was much more cooperative about cleaning today

      • Dinner to celebrate Trisha's birthday at my parents

        • Chicken Enchiladas

          • YUM! One of my favorites

          • I had an "alternate" version with no tortillas

      • Played Canasta

        • Haven't played in ages

        • Different rules than I remember

        • Ryan was horrible during while we were trying to play games

          • Teething?

          • Wouldn't go down for a nap even though he was exhausted

          • Wouldn't sit in the high chair

          • Wanted to be held

      • Drove home and put Ryan to bed

      • Watched an episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman

        • Included some theories that I was previously unaware of

          • Mind blowing

      • Went to bed too late for my own good

      • Didn't have time for journal update

        • Because I stayed up too late watching TV
    • at 11:28 AM 2 comments
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    7/17/10

  • 7/17/10

      • Got to sleep in a little bit

      • Got a call from potential home buyers who said that they wanted to come see the house today

        • Had to get the house cleaned up

          • Difficult to clean when Ryan is crawling around getting into everything

      • Nielsen Family Reunion in Salem

        • Didn't make it because we had to get house presentable for potential home buyers

        • It sounded like a lot of fun.

      • Got in a nap in the afternoon while waiting for home buyers

        • Difficult to sleep when it's so hot.

          • Even with the swamp cooler on high cool all night and day, the condo still gets up to 78 during the day

          • Can't wait until we live in a house with central air

      • Trisha's Grandma's pool party

        • Missed because the potential home buyers still hadn't arrived

      • Potential home buyers finally showed

      • Chilled at home with Trisha during the evening

        • Played COD:MW2 while Trisha was napping

        • Watched some movies/TV
        • Goodnight
    • at 11:26 AM 0 comments
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    7/16/10

  • 7/16/10

      • Car problems in the morning

        • Altima has been having a tough time starting occassionally

        • Had to get it towed to the shop

        • Starter replaced

      • Lunch while waiting for car to be fixed.

      • Got to work in the early afternoon

        • Got a few tasks done that I needed

      • Picked Trisha and Adam up for the surprise birthday party for Trisha's Grandma

      • Dropped Ryan off at my parents for babysitting

        • Thanks Mom!

      • Surprise party catered by Magleby's.

        • Tenderloin, Halibut, Salad

          • Delicious

        • Lots that I couldn't have

          • Fruit

          • Rolls

            • Magleby's rolls are epic. :(

          • Dessert

            • Magleby's chocolate cake is also epic. Looked so yummy


      • Drove golf carts around the course

        • Way too dark to really see the course

        • Sprinklers were on

          • Got soaked

          • Still fun

      • Went to go see Inception

        • Full review to come

        • Amazing movie... Definitely in Top 5. Needs further review

      • Picked up Ryan from my parents.

        • Got there at 1:00 AM

      • Bedtime

        • Too tired for journal update

          • Completed later

        • Goodnight
    • at 11:22 AM 0 comments
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    7/15/10

  • Journal
    • at 11:15 AM 0 comments
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    7.15.2010

    Happy Birthday Cameron!

    My oldest nephew on my side of the family, Cameron, turned 12 today. Holy macaroni.

    Congratulations on the achievement, Cam-dawg...

    I'm glad that everyone in the family had the opportunity to test their broken parenting methods on you before their kids came along (including mine)...

    How did you turn out to be such a good kid?!

    Now... For a little birthday embarrassment. That's Cameron on the right.

    at 5:19 PM 1 comments
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    7/14/10





    • Journal

      • 7/14/10


        • Snoozed too many times.


          • Again.

          • I am a snooze button whore.

        • Had to hustle and get ready for work.

        • No Breakfast


          • No surprise

        • Traffic was tolerable

        • Work in the morning was hecktic.


          • Didn't get everything done that I wanted to.

        • Went to lunch at Thai Drift


          • Got my "usual"


            • Green Curry, Beef, no rice

          • Delicious

          • Thanks to Ryan Higgins for paying me back from when I paid for him a couple months ago.

        • Tons of work to do in the afternoon as well.


          • Didn't get everything done that I wanted to.

        • Investigated a few other free options to use for mind mapping on my PC other than Freeside


          • Tried Novamind, which was promising, but from what I could tell, you could not draw arrows.


            • Lame.

          • Settled on Freeplane, which is an offshoot of the freemind project.

        • Drive home was tolerable. Was able to stay awake with no problems.

        • Trisha prepared a DELICIOUS dinner


          • Baked chicken


            • AMAZING

          • Green beans


            • Good. Had to add tons of cheese and some butter. The brand I bought is kind of bland.


              • Too bad I still have 4 more pounds of beans in the bag I bought


                • Curse you Costco.

        • Watched some TV


          • So you think you can dance

          • Should have been cleaning

        • Played an addictive little game on my iPhone until bedtime


          • Angry Birds


            • Simple.

            • Pretty fun.
        • Goodnight
    at 10:40 AM 1 comments
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    7.14.2010

    7/13/10




    at 11:22 AM 2 comments
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    7/12/10

    at 10:16 AM 0 comments
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    7.13.2010

    New Format

    So I have come across (thanks to Ryan Werner) a note taking tool called mind mapping. I use an app on my phone which syncs with an app on my computer. So, no matter where I am, I can create or edit a mind map.

    After thinking about it for a little bit, I figured that it could work as a good format for a blog/journal. My biggest concern is how do I convert an image with bubbles and thoughts branching off of each other into a blog post. Worst case scenario, it will be a good outlining tool for my daily activities that may be memorable.

    This is a potentially bad thing, however. This means that I may include mundane tasks in my blog posts, simply because I was thinking about it at the time, or because it was somehow noteworthy to me, albeit not important overall...

    I'll give it a shot in a little bit here and see how it translates.
    at 12:49 PM 0 comments

    Holy Absentia

    If you have not noticed, I have been absent for 10 months. I'm gunna give this blog thing another swing. I have a new idea on how to organize my posts.. Probably going to include more posts, but shorter ones.

    Wanna make a bet on how consistent I'll be? I don't...

    Here goes nothing...
    at 10:03 AM 0 comments
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