I must say ...

I am a little dismayed that Bones didn't get the recognition I think it deserves in the Golden globe Nominations today.

Enchanted (2007)

Enchanted(2007) is a pretty amazing movie in that it blends many components so well. It takes animation and blends it with live action. It takes what could be very campy humor and blends well with a certain amount of skepticism and wit and the mixture comes out refreshing and witty. It takes some of the basics for elderly Disney story lines and blends it quite nicely with a new version.

This is definitely not my favorite type of movie. It was romantic and a bit childish, definitely no blood and guts, and a borderline musical. Not my usual cup of tea at all. But I liked it. It kinda took me back to the old Disney cartoons, and it was nice.

I gave it an 8 out of 10. The direction was good, nice special effects and some pretty darn good acting. I can surely recommend this movie, especially for kids.

Movie: Enchanted(2007)

Director: Kevin Lima

Writer: Bill Kelly

Actors:
Amy Adams ... Giselle
James Marsden ... Prince Edward
Idina Menzel ... Nancy Tremaine
Susan Sarandon ... Queen Narissa
Patrick Dempsey ... Robert Philip

Pandora

Pandora Radio (as it likes to call it self) Is, for me, a rather remarkable spot on the web which I can't say enough good things about. This provides one with music as you cruise the web. It also gives you the chance to create "stations" which, uhm, is al little hard to explain, but provides the chance to listen to styles of music. I love it.

I have heard songs played on here which I have not heard from in years. (So many fond memories) It gives detailed bios on the Artists you are listening to (very good resource actually). There are numerous features about this Pandora which I shant go into here.
All I can say is check it out if you like music. I would give it a very high 9 out of 10.

Beowulf (2007)

This is a very unusual Film. It is completely CG (computer Generated), but yet it tries very hard to look as though it is not CG. At first, you wondering "Just exactly What am I looking at?"

Once you get beyond that, and every now and then you forget this was all created in a computer (It gets that lifelike), the movie itself was interesting. It wasn't great, but it has an interesting story, and I would love to comment on the lighting and the direction, but , uhm, it was done in a computer.

The acting, again, done in a computer.

I gave it a 7 out of 10.

One problem I had with this movie was the rating. They gave it a pg 13, but it is VERY gory and bloody in spots and I was wondering what the governing board was thinking when they handed down that rating. I mean, the blood and gore is one thing, but to have the incredible sound effects this does, just adds to the realism, even though, again, it was just made up in a computer. I knew I was going to have trouble reviewing this one.

Movie : Beowolf (2007)


Director : Robert Zemeckis
Writers : Neil Gaiman (screenplay) & Roger Avary (screenplay)

Cast : Ray Winstone ... Beowulf / Golden Man / Dragon
Robin Wright Penn ... Wealthow
Anthony Hopkins ... Hrothgar

Mr. Brooks (2007)

You know, one would think that a movie starring Demi Moore and Kevin Costner, along with William Hurt couldn't be all that bad. I thought the previews to this "thriller" looked pretty promising. Why even IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) gives it a 7.6 out of ten in their voting. I mean the director, a Mr. Bruce Evans, had me going along with this movie most of the way through.

I can definitely say, avoid this movie! Avoid it like the Plague.

I could write a much longer dissertation than usual here on the plot holes a truck could drive through, the plot lines that was never even explained as to the whys and reasons behind them in the movie, the fact there was no ending ...

Wow, a train wreck, pure and simple, that was 2 hours long.

Oh yeah, for some reason, I gave it a 4 out of 10.

The IMDB Pages ...

This isn't up and running yet, but it ties in with this blog so I thought I would get a heads up in here so when the IMDB Pages are ready, you'll be the first to know. Aren't you lucky?

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

I thought this fourth movie in the sequel worked out pretty darn good. There is definitely plenty of action and a fair amount of shooting. This one differed from the others in that it has a very high tech approach to the master mind criminal and luckily there is some one help John McClane (Bruce Wills) with explaining all that is going on. I sat through the whole movie trying my darnedest to figure who John's Helper was and I finally had to read on the Actor's (Justin Long) bio on IMDB to figure out he is the guy on the PC and Mac Commercials who plays Mac (Apple) computer. It was driving me nuts to know I knew I had seen him in something before, but could not figure out where.

I liked the writing and the Directing. I thought Bruce Willis did an excellent job again as the rough and tumble John McClaine. I gave Live Free or Die Hard (2007) a good solid 8 out of 10.

Movie: Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Directing: Len Wiseman

Writing : Mark Bomback

Actors: Bruce Willis ... Det. John McClane
Timothy Olyphant ... Thomas Gabriel
Justin Long ... Matthew Farrell
Maggie Q ... Mai Lihn

Amazing Grace (2006)

A real surprise I had never heard anything about before I watched it. My son rented this and I found myself totally enthralled in the plot and twists and the pretty good writing in this true historical tale about a rather strange time in England when owning slaves was absolutely the only way to go.

I never really though about the slave trade in England before, but I am very glad they finally came to see when they were blind. The song and the movie title are tied in together and you get a pretty good understanding what the song is all about.

I gave it 8 out of 10. Can highly recommend this movie for the writing, directing, and the acting.

Movie: Amazing Grace (2006)

Director: Michael Apted

Writer: Steven Knight

Actors: Ioan Gruffudd ... William Wilberforce
Romola Garai ... Barbara Wilberforce
Benedict Cumberbatch ... Pitt the Younger

Ratatouille (2007)

I finally got a chance to check this computer animated movie out. I thought it was pretty good. I especially like the kitchen environment, being a former cook. I never worked in a kitchen with that many cooks working at once, but I still found it interesting.

I thought the first part of the movie tended to drag along, then the last half was doing about 80 miles an hour in parts. I rented the movie and didn't get a chance to watch it again, which is what I was wanting to do.

I gave it a good 7 stars out of 10.

Movie: Ratatouille (2007)

Director: Brad Bird
Jan Pinkava (co-director)

Writer: Brad Bird - Story and screenplay

Voices - Lou Romano ... Linguini
Brian Dennehy ... Django
Peter O'Toole ... Anton Ego
Brad Garrett ... Gusteau

Back in the fray : Blade Runner - Directors Cut

Blade Runner Is an excellent Movie in my eyes. It has great atmosphere, fantastic special effects, and some pretty darn good acting and directing. The camera work is brilliant, as well as the lighting, which at times is almost like another character in the scenes of the movie.

I highly recommend this movie. 9 out of 10.

Movie: Blade Runner

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring:

Harrison Ford ........ Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer ......... Roy Batty
Sean Young ........... Rachael
Edward James Olmos ... Gaff

Lately ...

I just haven't had the time to check out anything of intrest for here. I have seen parts of some royal duds, but I'm waiting for some good stuff to write about,

Bones (TV Show - Fox)

I love this show on the Fox network except for when the uhm, body parts pieces start to uhm, erp ... look too damn realistic after being in acid for a week or, uhm, something else really really bad. CSI has the same problem for me at times - just a tad bit to real for dinner time watching.

Crazy, but it seems to have an effect on my eating habits. I can't quite figure out why - Not.

Other that that I love the show, the realtionships, the writing, the pacing, pretty much all of it. If you haven't watched this yet I highly reccomend this fine TV show.

A double feature which blew me away ...

I just finished watching the second of two films which were absolutely extraordinary. I don't think I have ever seen two films one after another which had such an amazing, profound, effect on me. Both films deal with amazing father / son relationships, both films the father and son were of african descent, and both films out and out made me cry. The one Film I have already written about, The pursuit of Happiness.

The second movie is Blood Diamond. The movie is bloody, fast paced, a little long, but tells an amazing story. There is greed, back stabbing underhanded manipulation, and deceit, but also a great amount of love and tenderness. The body count is amazing as well. War is hell and this certainly portrays that fact very well.

I highly recommend this movie, especially if you get a chance to see both of these movies back to back. I gave it a good solid 9 out of 10.

Movie : Blood Diamond (2006)

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Writing credits (WGA)
Charles Leavitt : screenplay and story

Starring :

Leonardo DiCaprio ... Danny Archer

Djimon Hounsou ....... Solomon Vandy

Jennifer Connelly ..... Maddy Bowen

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

I found this to be an excellent movie, with some very touchy feely scenes. The stupid thing made me cry, and it wasn't because of the tequilla this time. Will Smith and his son do an excellent job in this movie.

I gave this movie and 8 out of 10.

Movie: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Directed By: Gabriele Muccino

Starring:

Will Smith ...... Chris Gardner
Jaden Smith ... Christopher (as Jaden Christopher Syre Smith)
Thandie Newton ... Linda

Keeping Mum (2005)

A very "British" Movie which I found very amusing, with a rather surprising ending. This is definetly a Dark comedy. Dealing with some rather disturbing social behavior in a most offhanded and cavalier approach.

I thought the acting was pretty good and loved the directing. It has some wonderful English countryside landscaping and architecture for scenery.

I can recommend this movie. I'd give it a rather solid 7 out of 10.

Movie: Keeping Mum (2005)

Directed by: Niall Johnsohn

Starring:

Rowan Atkinson .......... Reverend Walter Goodfellow

Kristin Scott Thomas .... Gloria Goodfellow

Maggie Smith ............ Grace Hawkins

Patrick Swayze .......... Lance

American Idol ...

Well, I was very dissappointed to find Sundance removed from the males. He was one of the strongest singers they had, I thought, at least on the male side. I still think the women are going to be the clear cut favorites when all is said and done though.
It should be interesting to see what happens next with this show.

The Endless Summer 2 (1994)

I found this to be an excellent movie. It has some superb camera work above and below the water. The water is important here for this is what this movie is about 75% of the Time. The oceans, many of them and the waves they produce and the some of the great riders of these waves. Surfers.

Surfers are the main stars of this fine movie. Two of these surfers are placed in many different and far reaching places on the Earth and the amazing sceenery and some of the amazing animals in these remote places.

Awsome slow motion work is abundant, which helps a lot it you see it in letterbox format. Great camera angels, good narration, and a decent soundtrack help this movie along.

This is a sequel to the original made 30 years earlier. I can highly recommnd this movie.
Good solid 7 out of 10, almost a 7.5.

Directed by Bruce Brown

Robert 'Wingnut' Weaver ..... Principle Surfer
Patrick O'Connell ................... Principle Surfer

The Oster Inspired Toaster ...

There are toasters and then there are toasters. This Toaster from Oster is a great Toaster. I can't say enough about how well this product works. I have yet to utilize all the features of this great appliance, just been basically making toast, but I find it a very impressive unit.

Just thought I'd pass that along.

The American Idol ...

Yes, I am guilty of watching this show. I have been for the last five years, off and on for the first two, but I have been hooked the last three years.

Being a musician myself, a guitarist with about 33 years experience, I have a very good ear for music and beat and pitch and all that good stuff. I am always so glad when they get past the rough start with the wannabes and get into the meat of the program where the actual talent begin to shine.

This year so far, They have left the two sexes seperate, bringing the men out one night and the ladies the next. Then they are knocking off 2 from each sex each week. In my book, the ladies are kicking some serious behind on the guys, but there are a few guys that are catching on.

As for the guys, I liked Sundance Head's version of "Mustang Sally". It was rich and powerful, although I think he is going to need to dig even deeper to stay on the show when it comes to competeing head to head with the ladies, especially with the likes of Lakeesha Jones. Wow, she is amazing, in my book. She so far is my pick to win this thing.

The first week, she choose "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going". I was blown away by the sheer power this lady possess. It was a little pitchy in spots, but my God, the volume she was able to achieve far outweighed any problems the song may have had. Then this last week she came back with "Midnight Train to Georgia". It was again a very good display of her amazing ability and talent, not to mention sheer power. Lakeesha says in her bio she has formal training in Opera and Clasical Music. I believe she could easily hit the back row in any Opera house with out a Micrphone easily.

Beetle Juice (1988)

Yes, its campy. Yes, its bizzare and strange and deviated way from the norm.

Yes yes yes ...
Over the years, I have had a love / hate relationship with this movie. Right now, I be in a rather forgiving mood. Michael Keaton is amazingly weird. The special effects are quite the trip and the sound was awesome. The editing is first rate, but the plot ... Sorry.What is strange about it is I sort of like the writing, the script at times very original and very funny. But that plot ... that basic story line ... I don't know. Maybe that is why I have teeter tottered about this film: So much good, yet an underlying strange badness to it.

If your into bizarre horror flicks, then you might want to give it a try. There are positively some very bizarre scenes from this movie that you are going to take with you. Right now I gave this a barely 8 / 10. A couple of years ago, maybe a solid 6. Who knows next year or the year after.


Movie: Beetle Juice (1988)

Directed by: Tim Burton



Starring:

Michael Keaton ... Beetlejuice

Alec Baldwin ....... Adam

Geena Davis ....... Barbara

The Guardian (2006)

I'll be damned, the stupid movie made me cry, allright. Maybe it was the tequilla I had consumed, but I don't think so.

It had some amazing special effects. It had some pretty good acting. But what got to me was the story line. The writing was top notch. I learned a lot about the Coast Guard, especially the swimmers, the one's that risk their lives to save other folks in great need. Some pretty special individuals for sure.

I would give the movie a good solid 8 out of 10. It was a bit lame in spots, but I didn't see the ending coming. Again, maybe the tequilla. (What can I say, its been a hell of a week, and Kevin Harvick won the Daytona 500. Thats a good thing for me.)

I can recommend this movie, especially for the brave souls who work the Nations Coast Guard. ORRAAH!


Movie:
The Guardian /2006


Director:
Andrew Davis
Writing credits:
WGA
Ron L. Brinkerhoff



Starring:

Kevin Costner ...... Ben Randall
Ashton Kutcher .... Jake Fischer

Taxi Driver (1976)

I finally got to see the entire movie last Night on VHS. I was hoping to be able to record it to DVD, but no such luck since the Tape was protected. That's cool. Apparently on Feb. 24 and 25th, AMC will be showing this wonderfully strange, yet at times, very violent movie. Showtimes will be on the 24th, 7:30 PM and on the 25th at 6:30 am. These times are PST, west coast USA.

This movie definitely isn't for everyone. Its dark, disturbing at times, and As I mentioned very violent in places.

I liked the Movie. Probably would have liked it better had I seen the movie all at one sitting instead of broken up over a 10 hour period. It has some very slow moments, some might think it boring, but these moments are brief and very few in number. All in all, I'd give it a good solid 8.5 out of 10.

I'd recommend this movie.

Movie: Taxi Driver (1976)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring:
Robert De Niro ...... Travis Bickle

Cybill Shepherd .... Betsy
Peter Boyle ........... Wizard
Jodie Foster .......... Iris Steensma
Harvey Keitel ....... 'Sport' Matthew