Another Opinion Among Many

I watched I am Legend tonight. I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all, a zombie movie with Will Smith in it? But, I suppose that its not going to be quite the same as watching War of the Worlds, which didn’t quite have the “punch” that I thought it should have had.

This movie entertained me from beginning to end. It was far less grotesque than 28 Days Later but it had a similar plot line.

Based on the book, I am Legend, by Richard Matheson, written in 1954, this movie centers around a single surviving character who is determined to find a way out.

In the same way that you liked Will Smith in movies like Wild Wild West and the wildly successful Men in Black, you will be kept at attention until he lets you go…at the end of the movie. I think that Mr. Smith is coming into his own and we are just beginning to see what he can do. After seeing him play his role in The Pursuit of Happyness, I think that we are going to see even a few more surprises from Mr. Will Smith.

Synopsis:

Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague — The Infected — lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time.

This movie gets my approval. If you want so entertainment and you like zombie movies, this one will keep your zombie craving satisfied. Along the zombie lines, I’ll be watching another one soon. Look for a review of Planet Terror next.

Well, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis, and Bias all start with the letter “B”, but I’m not going to say nice things about The Astronaut Farmer because of that. Its true that I am a big Bruce Willis fan (but you already knew that - or else you’re new around these parts…the search box is on the right). But, I’ve not been impressed with the movies that Billy Bob Thornton has starred in until now. I didn’t find Friday Night Lights to be much fun to watch, although I did try to. But, the only football movies that I liked were The Waterboy and Varsity Blues.

I’ve always been a sucker for stories of hope, though, and The Astronaut Farmer falls into that category without confusion at all. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton, the delectable Virginia Madsen, Max Thierot, and a slew of others. This movie was pretty good. It was not on par with Pay it Forward, but it definitely is a must see if you like stories of hope about the human spirit.

Plot Summary fron IMDB:

A NASA astronaut (Thornton), forced to retire years earlier so he could save his family farm, has never give up his dream of space travel and looks to build his own rocket, despite the government’s threats to stop him.

This movie touches on a big topic and a sore spot for many Americans which is NASA and its role.  I don’t know how this issue of private space flight versus government agency space flight will play out in the future, but it is a hot topic.  The sad thing is that this is not a fantasy.  A private individual cannot get his spacecraft in flight due to the stranglehold that the Space Agency has on the “market.”  Is this good? Is it right? The film hints at this isue, but doesn’t go into too much depth, as that would cause too negative of a feeling towards this issue, in my opinion.  It will be visitied int he fure, though, I am sure.

Watch this movie for the entertainment.  You will be entertained.

Angela and I watched the movie Notes on a Scandal, starring the versatile Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. This movie was originally a book by Zoë Heller. I hadn’t heard of the book before encountering the film and I don’t know if I would have read it. This is a strange story that develops a few twists as it goes along.

I’m thinking that its good that we watched this as a movie.  Dench plays a wonderfully twisted Barbara Covett, who uses a mistake that Blanchett’s character, Sheba Hart, has made, to solidify her position as the only voice of “reason” in poor Hart’s life.  This is the beginning of a manipulation she masterminds in order to fill her loneliness.  The film shows a romantic interest on the part of Covett for Hart.  There are a few allusions to a former “love interest” that had gone bad.  I won’t say too much on this whole thing, as it would be a spoiler.

The IMDB synopsis:

 Barbara Covett is a veteran and cynical schoolteacher who is close to retirement. She is barely tolerated by her less brilliant and acerbic colleagues who know nothing about her private life which consists mainly of taking care of Portia, her aging cat, and spending countless hours alone. The only means she has found to take the edge off her desperate loneliness is writing in her journal. When Sheba Hart, a younger, attractive woman, joins the faculty as an art teacher, Barbara watches her from afar and has nothing but caustic things to say in her diary about her clothing and her care-free manner. Despite her disdain for this woman, Barbara finds herself reaching out to her. Sheba responds by inviting her to dinner at her house to meet Sheba’s lecturer husband, who is twenty years her senior, and their two children, a sexy and rebellious 16-year-old daughter and a younger boy with Downs Syndrome. Instead of opening herself to these people, Barbara immediately sees them as competition to be beaten in the battle for Sheba’s attention. Later, when Barbara discovers her new friend in a classroom having sex with Steven, a 15-year-old from the school who has artistic talent; she realizes that knowledge of this secret gives her power over Sheba which she can use for her own purposes. Barbara promises to not tell anyone but insists that the affair must end immediately. Sheba says she will but finds herself drawn back to the boy again and again. Sheba seems uneasy with Barbara’s friendship and is appalled when she discovers the older woman might have a sexual interest in her. The tenuous relationship between the two women reaches a crisis point when Barbara’s cat is dying and she asks Sheba to go with her to the vet. She chooses to go with her family to see their son in a play instead. In revenge, Barbara sets in motion the scandal that will rock both their lives in ways they never imagined.

Ange and I both enjoyed this film.  Despite the territory it treads, its an entertaining watch.

And now, live and in person…

I’ve got internet access again. In fact, I’ve had it longer than telephone, since the cable company installed everything on July 2nd. The phone was supposed to be installed on July 1st. That didn’t happen. I called and got the repair department on the morning of July 2nd and they said that the reason that the phone install (which was a simple circuit connection at the CO - no visit required) didn’t happen is because “Customer Service” didn’t complete the order, and that they could do nothing until they finished (sound familiar, John?) the order. That shouldn’t have happened. I ordered the move on 12 June and even got our new number on that date. The order went on hold as the current phone was still connected (what those in the business call a WLI - ‘working left in’). I was informed that I’d have to call later to get the order off hold. Tis is standard. Seems that the previous tenants (before the ones who moved out for us) had not paid their phone bill - which resulted in a disconnect for non-pay on 21 June. So, I could have ordered it then. I didn’t know that, so I waited until 29 June to finalize the transfer of service (T and F). I was informed by a bouncy rep that I could have that done in 1 July. The order was put in but not completed, resulting in me having no phone until Tuesday, 3 July. Why? Because July 1 was Canada Day and monday was the leiu day for that holiday. The call center was closed. If I’d known that Aliant would screw us like that, then I would have made other plans - which I did after I got connected (another call from a payphone to a barely responsive and reasonably INEPT rep, who didn’t seem to want to work that early in the morning) by telling the agent that I was getting phone service that day or I was going to make other plans.

I made other plans anyways. I’m taking my business to the cable company. There are a lot of things that I don’t like about the way my cable company does things (it’s Rogers, the only choice around here), especially if you’re a tad behind on the bill. But, they deliver the product. Sure, they throttle P2P traffic because their network is inferior and needs an upgrade, but they deliver fast internet speeds at an OK price. They provide more for the money than the sattelite companies as far as TV goes (a switch from our American neighbors), and now they provide home phone service. What’s more, they’re in when you call.I haven’t not gotten my questions answered by a Rogers rep. Sure, they may have transferred me around a few times. Sure, they may not have had the answer that I wanted to hear, but they always had the answer - and not only before 6pm (which is actually 5pm in Aliant time, because they don’t actually take calls for the last hour - or the first, for that matter).

that was the rant part

So, Caleb is still loving life in Nova Scotia with his grandparents (and they’re loving it too). He gets to play with his cousin Alyssa (my sister’s little girl) and they’re getting along famously. Alone, they can be a bit trying, although Caleb really likes the attentionhe’s getting from Grampy. I think that my dad’s a bit regretful about not spending more time with us when we were younger, and Caleb’s getting the benefit of that.

Abby seems to like our new place, which is definitely a good thing! She’s already got her room all messy. I wonder how they are going to get along together in there. He likes a night light. She’s used to none. He wants the fan on (even in the winter) and she hates it. I guess that there will have to be a compromise. We’ll see when he gets back in about 10 days.

Our washer died before we left, so we were faced with replacing it. Turns out that our landlord has one that he is willing to loan us until we leave. That’s one down - a big one. Thanks, Jeff. So, now we have to finish decorating, etc. We just got a magnetic curtain rod for the steel door, as it has a nice big window. That little device was $23!!! Talk about niche pricing. There are still boxes to go through and the grout on the tiles in our new “room” that the previous tenant said he’d finish, but didn’t. That’s par for the course when you don’t like apartments that have it already done for you (AKA unnecessarily expensive to rent).

Otherwise, Ange and I caught Click and Salvage, which I may get around to reviewing sometime. But, for now, we are taking it easy between unpacking tasks. Moving’s for the birds, I must say. I don’t recommend it, unless you have no stuff.

Sorry for the away time, but I hope that my sporadic thoughts over the last week were a near substitute.

…and MrCorey has left the building, folks. You can all go home…

I watched Bloodrayne , starring Kristianna Loken, today. It was an entertaining bloodfest! I’ve not played the video game, but, if its like the movie, it might be a good play. There are those who don’t seem to be able to let go and be entertained by mindless short stories, as this “reviewer” at the IMDB seems to think. Nothing good to say at all. Well, I was entertained. Perhaps this wasn’t the social statement of the year. Perhaps it isn’t worthy to stand beside a Speilburg work, but Bloodrayne is watchable. The colors are vivid. The action is fairly tense. The gore happens often, but not too much. The cast is good looking. And, the story’s not too “heavy”, which many sci-fantasy or vampire movies can be.

A synopsis:

In eighteenth century Romania, Rayne, a dhampir (half-human, half-vampire), prone to fits of blind blood rage but saddled with a compunction for humans, strives to avenge her mother’s rape by her father, Kagan, King of Vampires. Two vampire hunters, Sebastian and Vladimir, from the Brimstone Society persuade her to join their cause

I’d recommend this movie if you didn’t want to have to think and if you want to see lots of swords and stabbing.

Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber was a fluffy, light film that should have appealed to the same crowd that likes movies such as Clueless, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, or Legally Blond, but it wasn’t that good. This movie, I guess is another paycheque for the shallow acting of Jennifer Love Hewett, who’s only talent, it seems, is to show lots of cleavage via a seriously tough and augmented pushup bra (complete with gel falsies). I guess that she thinks that this is the only type of work she can do at the present time. So, I guess that since I don’t really have anything nice to say about the movie, I should stop now. By the way, it sucked.

Ange and I watched Date Movie.  It seems that this movie is getting not so good reviews.  I thought that it wasn’t a total waste of time, but I have to agree with some of the sentiment that this movie was a bit juvenile.  I still don’t know if Alyson Hanigan is a good actrice or whether she’s gotten lucky with movies.  I have to agree with John.  This movie isn’t great, but it does have a few chuckles.