Tropic Thunder
This movie stars Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, with Tom Cruise, and directed by Ben Stiller. Tropic Thunder is a comedy about 5 actors that go to vietnam to film a movie in a gorilla style, but when the director gets killed the actors think it is just all part of the film and continue on. I liked this movie, the humor worked well with the story and the characters have got to be the most complex mulilayered characters I have ever seen in a comedy. The action sequences were top notch and rivaled some of the action movies out there.
Robert Downey Jr. plays an australian actor that changes his skin color so that he can play an african american. I found the idea of this very funny and he pulls it off very well. The one thing I was concerned about was that they would take it to far and cross over into racisim. But, I was very pleased to see that they kept it funny without crossing that line. They come close to the line but hold back just enough to keep it funny with out being offensive.
The middle of the movie moves a little to slow for my taste. I understand that they needed that time for character development and to setup the next part of the story. but, it felt to slow and changed the pace of the movie to drastically. That being said, I was never bored, lots of laughs, good action, great characters.
I give this movie 4 out 5 stars.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Single Again.
Single Again.
My girlfriend, of 2 years, and I decided to break up last week. It was a mutual decision and we are both still really good friends. We just had to realize that although we have a lot in common we are not made for each other. Our lives are going in two different directions and in some ways we are TOO similar, which gets in the way and causes some issues that we can't resolve.
I am glad that I didn't totally loose her and was able to keep her friendship. We still have fun hanging out and have a lot of interests in common, but we are not able to live together. So, this makes me single again, man is that scary. I wasn't very good at dating when my ex-girlfriend found me, so I am just as bad at it now as I was then. She did give me self-confidence and I believe I will be alright. I am just not excited in the fact that I am gonna have to start asking out women again.
Wish me luck, I am gonna need it!
My girlfriend, of 2 years, and I decided to break up last week. It was a mutual decision and we are both still really good friends. We just had to realize that although we have a lot in common we are not made for each other. Our lives are going in two different directions and in some ways we are TOO similar, which gets in the way and causes some issues that we can't resolve.
I am glad that I didn't totally loose her and was able to keep her friendship. We still have fun hanging out and have a lot of interests in common, but we are not able to live together. So, this makes me single again, man is that scary. I wasn't very good at dating when my ex-girlfriend found me, so I am just as bad at it now as I was then. She did give me self-confidence and I believe I will be alright. I am just not excited in the fact that I am gonna have to start asking out women again.
Wish me luck, I am gonna need it!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wall-E
Wall-E
Pixar has again created another classic. This company has the midas touch when it comes to story. When I first saw the preview for Wall-E I was concerned that the lack of human characters would hurt the film, man was I wrong. As the story moves along you tend to forget that they don't speak much because the character for each robot is so strong that you get emotionally involved with the story even though they only say a couple of words.
Pixar proved with this movie that they can take anything and make it interesting. I would watch a movie on grass growing if they wrote the story.
The only negative I noticed was that humans that lived in space for 700 years would not be able to walk on earth. But, this didn't take away from the story or effect the tone of the movie any. so, I can't say that it is a big negative.
as a side note, the short film before the movie is hilarious. I love their shorts as much as the films themselves. This is a must see.
I give this movie 4.5 stars out of 5
Pixar has again created another classic. This company has the midas touch when it comes to story. When I first saw the preview for Wall-E I was concerned that the lack of human characters would hurt the film, man was I wrong. As the story moves along you tend to forget that they don't speak much because the character for each robot is so strong that you get emotionally involved with the story even though they only say a couple of words.
Pixar proved with this movie that they can take anything and make it interesting. I would watch a movie on grass growing if they wrote the story.
The only negative I noticed was that humans that lived in space for 700 years would not be able to walk on earth. But, this didn't take away from the story or effect the tone of the movie any. so, I can't say that it is a big negative.
as a side note, the short film before the movie is hilarious. I love their shorts as much as the films themselves. This is a must see.
I give this movie 4.5 stars out of 5
Saturday, August 16, 2008
In Bruges
In Bruges
This movies stars Collin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh. This movie is great, Farrell and Gleeson do a great job of showing the relationship of their characters. So well in fact that right off the bat you can tell that these 2 guys have been working together for a long time and act as if they are brothers. I loved the bickering and banter between these 2 characters and their relationship is very important to the movie because it is what the whole movie is based on.
I have to give credit to where it is due, Martin McDonagh wrote a great script which made it easier for our three characters to thrive in. Fiennes comes into the movie half way through and I was worried that his introduction would change the feel of the movie to much, but instead he blended in very well. Like throwing a third ball to a juggler, Fiennes came into the movie and his character moved flawlessly into place.
The movie was filmed in Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. I loved the look of the old buildings and stone streets. This gave the movie a great old Eastern European city feel and added a nice look to the film, the eye candy was just as interesting as the character development.
Spoiler alert:
The only bad I will say about the movie is that Gleeson's death was hard to believe. He falls a couple of stories from a tower after being shot and survived long enough to talk to Farrell before finally dieing. The fall would have killed him. But it didn't distract me from the moment and it was more of an after thought so I can't say that it was that bad.
I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars
This movies stars Collin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh. This movie is great, Farrell and Gleeson do a great job of showing the relationship of their characters. So well in fact that right off the bat you can tell that these 2 guys have been working together for a long time and act as if they are brothers. I loved the bickering and banter between these 2 characters and their relationship is very important to the movie because it is what the whole movie is based on.
I have to give credit to where it is due, Martin McDonagh wrote a great script which made it easier for our three characters to thrive in. Fiennes comes into the movie half way through and I was worried that his introduction would change the feel of the movie to much, but instead he blended in very well. Like throwing a third ball to a juggler, Fiennes came into the movie and his character moved flawlessly into place.
The movie was filmed in Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. I loved the look of the old buildings and stone streets. This gave the movie a great old Eastern European city feel and added a nice look to the film, the eye candy was just as interesting as the character development.
Spoiler alert:
The only bad I will say about the movie is that Gleeson's death was hard to believe. He falls a couple of stories from a tower after being shot and survived long enough to talk to Farrell before finally dieing. The fall would have killed him. But it didn't distract me from the moment and it was more of an after thought so I can't say that it was that bad.
I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The new Mummy movie stars Brendon Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh, John Hannah, and Luke Ford. In the movie Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), Rick and Evelyn's son, is in China looking for the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li). First problem I have with this movie is that Alex is in his early 20's but his parents Rick and Evelyn (Brendon Fraser and Maria Bello) look like they are in their 30's. they tried to explain this by setting the movie in 1946, but his parents still look like they must of gave birth to him when they were 10 years old. I understand that the director (Rob Cohen) didn't want to have a 16 year old running around with a gun, but if your going to make that decision then age his parents to match the son's age. Put some grey in Rick and Evelyn's hair, use less makeup to age them some.
After Alex discovers the Emperor we go back to his parents. They are asked to deliver the eye of shangri-la to the Chinese government and it is immediately stolen by a militant group that wants to awaken the Dragon Emperor. Although this gets them to China where the story takes place, I found it to be to convenient. But it isn't that bad.
Then the militant group awakens the Dragon Emperor with the eye of shangri-la and our adventure starts. Normal Mummy stuff from this point on.
My next 2 problems with this movie:
1) You have Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in a movie and you build up to a fight scene with them, but after you see it you will be disappointed. I hate American style of filming fight scene's, they cut a lot (close up of face, close up of fist, close up of foot). This makes it hard to tell what is going on. Pull the camera back and use the Hong Kong style of filming. Allow the audience to see the fight, keep the cuts as few as possible. They have Jet Li and Micelle Yeoh in a movie fighting, they have been fighting on screen for decades and can do it well, let them do their job.
2) What I call Chaos Shoots. When they want to make a scene exciting they will slap the side of the camera or not stabilize it so that it shakes around. This is very annoying. I understand if the director wants to do some Chaos Shoots to allow the audience to feel that they are in an action sequence, but I would prefer if they minimize it. If they do it to often I just get motion sickness and then I am not enjoying the movie.
To wrap up...
The Good - I liked the fact they went to China and got a new mummy to fight, the look of the film was great and the story was good.
The Bad - Maria Bello was awful, horrible accent, bad acting, and no chemistry with Fraser. The camera moved around to much, KEEP THE CAMERA STABLE! Rick and Evelyn look to young to have a son in their 20's, age the actors some to compensate. And last but most important to me, if you going to get Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in a movie together then film the fight scene's correctly and get a good choreographer.
I give the movie 2 out of 5 stars
The new Mummy movie stars Brendon Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh, John Hannah, and Luke Ford. In the movie Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), Rick and Evelyn's son, is in China looking for the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li). First problem I have with this movie is that Alex is in his early 20's but his parents Rick and Evelyn (Brendon Fraser and Maria Bello) look like they are in their 30's. they tried to explain this by setting the movie in 1946, but his parents still look like they must of gave birth to him when they were 10 years old. I understand that the director (Rob Cohen) didn't want to have a 16 year old running around with a gun, but if your going to make that decision then age his parents to match the son's age. Put some grey in Rick and Evelyn's hair, use less makeup to age them some.
After Alex discovers the Emperor we go back to his parents. They are asked to deliver the eye of shangri-la to the Chinese government and it is immediately stolen by a militant group that wants to awaken the Dragon Emperor. Although this gets them to China where the story takes place, I found it to be to convenient. But it isn't that bad.
Then the militant group awakens the Dragon Emperor with the eye of shangri-la and our adventure starts. Normal Mummy stuff from this point on.
My next 2 problems with this movie:
1) You have Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in a movie and you build up to a fight scene with them, but after you see it you will be disappointed. I hate American style of filming fight scene's, they cut a lot (close up of face, close up of fist, close up of foot). This makes it hard to tell what is going on. Pull the camera back and use the Hong Kong style of filming. Allow the audience to see the fight, keep the cuts as few as possible. They have Jet Li and Micelle Yeoh in a movie fighting, they have been fighting on screen for decades and can do it well, let them do their job.
2) What I call Chaos Shoots. When they want to make a scene exciting they will slap the side of the camera or not stabilize it so that it shakes around. This is very annoying. I understand if the director wants to do some Chaos Shoots to allow the audience to feel that they are in an action sequence, but I would prefer if they minimize it. If they do it to often I just get motion sickness and then I am not enjoying the movie.
To wrap up...
The Good - I liked the fact they went to China and got a new mummy to fight, the look of the film was great and the story was good.
The Bad - Maria Bello was awful, horrible accent, bad acting, and no chemistry with Fraser. The camera moved around to much, KEEP THE CAMERA STABLE! Rick and Evelyn look to young to have a son in their 20's, age the actors some to compensate. And last but most important to me, if you going to get Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in a movie together then film the fight scene's correctly and get a good choreographer.
I give the movie 2 out of 5 stars
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Po' Boy Alfredo
Po' Boy Alfredo
Ingredients:
1 packet of Ramen
1 tbsp of Cream Cheese
1 tsp of Garlic Powder
1 tsp of Olive Oil
2 slices of Deli Meat of your choice
Directions:
- Put Ramen in a bowl with water and Olive Oil
- Microwave for 5 mins or until Ramen is tender
- Drain the water
- Mix in spice packet that comes with Ramen
- Mix in Deli Meat of your choice
- Mix in the Cream Cheese and Garlic Powder
- Microwave for 1 min to help melt the Cream Cheese
- Let cool and Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 packet of Ramen
1 tbsp of Cream Cheese
1 tsp of Garlic Powder
1 tsp of Olive Oil
2 slices of Deli Meat of your choice
Directions:
- Put Ramen in a bowl with water and Olive Oil
- Microwave for 5 mins or until Ramen is tender
- Drain the water
- Mix in spice packet that comes with Ramen
- Mix in Deli Meat of your choice
- Mix in the Cream Cheese and Garlic Powder
- Microwave for 1 min to help melt the Cream Cheese
- Let cool and Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Cillian Murphy (returning for a cameo with Scarecrow). This is a great movie, I saw it 3 times already. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was amazing. I hope he gets nominated for an Oscar for his performance. There was so much about this movie I enjoyed, directing, writing, acting, cinematography, production, and pace.
I loved the dynamic between The Joker and Batman. Nolan is a genius and finally gave us 2 Batman movies that the fans of the graphic novels can enjoy.
There is only one small thing that I didn't like. Christian Bale uses a deeper voice when he is Batman which was great in Batman Begins, but in The Dark Knight his voice got even deeper and sounded more of a growl then I would have liked.
I give this movie 5 stars out of 5!
Here are some numbers for you guys:
as of Aug 12, 2008
$180,000,000 - Cost to make
$445,370,695 - Domestic Gross
$263,100,000 - International Gross
$708,470,695 - Total World Wide Gross
Records broken so far:
as of Aug 12, 2008
01) Biggest Theatrical Release - 4,366
02) Biggest Midnight Debut - $18.4 mil
03) Biggest Opening Day - $67.2 mil
04) Biggest Friday Opening - $67.2 mil
05) Biggest Sunday Performance - $43.5 mil
06) Biggest PG-13 Opening Weekend - $158.4 mil
07) Biggest Opening Weekend - $158.4 mil
08) Biggest July Opener - $158.4 mil
09) Biggest Summer Opening - $158.4 mil
10) Biggest IMAX Debut - $6.2 mil
11) Fastest to $100 Million - 2 Days
12) Fastest to $200 Million - 5 days
13) Fastest to $400 Million - 18 days
I loved the dynamic between The Joker and Batman. Nolan is a genius and finally gave us 2 Batman movies that the fans of the graphic novels can enjoy.
There is only one small thing that I didn't like. Christian Bale uses a deeper voice when he is Batman which was great in Batman Begins, but in The Dark Knight his voice got even deeper and sounded more of a growl then I would have liked.
I give this movie 5 stars out of 5!
Here are some numbers for you guys:
as of Aug 12, 2008
$180,000,000 - Cost to make
$445,370,695 - Domestic Gross
$263,100,000 - International Gross
$708,470,695 - Total World Wide Gross
Records broken so far:
as of Aug 12, 2008
01) Biggest Theatrical Release - 4,366
02) Biggest Midnight Debut - $18.4 mil
03) Biggest Opening Day - $67.2 mil
04) Biggest Friday Opening - $67.2 mil
05) Biggest Sunday Performance - $43.5 mil
06) Biggest PG-13 Opening Weekend - $158.4 mil
07) Biggest Opening Weekend - $158.4 mil
08) Biggest July Opener - $158.4 mil
09) Biggest Summer Opening - $158.4 mil
10) Biggest IMAX Debut - $6.2 mil
11) Fastest to $100 Million - 2 Days
12) Fastest to $200 Million - 5 days
13) Fastest to $400 Million - 18 days
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup of Peanut Butter
1/2 cup of Butter
1/2 cup of White Sugar
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
1 Egg
3 tbsp of Milk
1 tsp of Vanilla
1 1/4 cups of Flour
3/4 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 tsp of Salt
1 tsp of Cinnamon
1 tsp of Cloves (crushed or powder)
Directions:
- Mix dry ingredients
- Mix in wet ingredients
- Put tsp size of cookie dough on a baking sheet
- Use a fork and dip in white sugar and press down on cookie to make a criss cross pattern.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 mins or untill golden brown
- Let cool and serve, Enjoy!
1 cup of Peanut Butter
1/2 cup of Butter
1/2 cup of White Sugar
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
1 Egg
3 tbsp of Milk
1 tsp of Vanilla
1 1/4 cups of Flour
3/4 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 tsp of Salt
1 tsp of Cinnamon
1 tsp of Cloves (crushed or powder)
Directions:
- Mix dry ingredients
- Mix in wet ingredients
- Put tsp size of cookie dough on a baking sheet
- Use a fork and dip in white sugar and press down on cookie to make a criss cross pattern.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 mins or untill golden brown
- Let cool and serve, Enjoy!
Rasberry Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups of Flour
1/2 cup of Sugar
2 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 cup of Butter (melted)
3/4 cup of Milk
1 Egg
1/4 tsp of Vanilla
1 1/2 cups of Rasberries
Directions:
- Mix ingredients in a bowl, dry ingredients first then wet ingredients
- Pour into greased muffin pan
- Bake at 400 degrees for 17 to 20 mins or until golden brown.
- Let cool and Enjoy!!!
2 cups of Flour
1/2 cup of Sugar
2 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 cup of Butter (melted)
3/4 cup of Milk
1 Egg
1/4 tsp of Vanilla
1 1/2 cups of Rasberries
Directions:
- Mix ingredients in a bowl, dry ingredients first then wet ingredients
- Pour into greased muffin pan
- Bake at 400 degrees for 17 to 20 mins or until golden brown.
- Let cool and Enjoy!!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A Week Alone
Looks like I am going to be alone this week. My girlfriend, Dolly, is going up to Oregon for a week to visit family and pick black berries. We have been together for 2 years and only time we have been apart was for a week earlier this year. She is my best friend and I have gotten very use to her being around.
It's strange how use you get to having someone around, I miss you baby! You never know how much your going to miss someone until they are gone. But I am also kinda enjoying my time alone, I feel like I am rebooting myself. This down time is alowing me to do some internal discovery and concentrate on myself some.
Dolly being gone is part of the reason I decided to start this blog....BOREDOM!
But now that I started it I can see why my brother enjoy's it and I am getting into it, I like it. I just hope other people can find it, would be nice to get some feed back. I've been having fun playing with the gadgets like the radio, youtube, and more.
Well, I gotta go. Time to go play raquetball. Talk to you later!
It's strange how use you get to having someone around, I miss you baby! You never know how much your going to miss someone until they are gone. But I am also kinda enjoying my time alone, I feel like I am rebooting myself. This down time is alowing me to do some internal discovery and concentrate on myself some.
Dolly being gone is part of the reason I decided to start this blog....BOREDOM!
But now that I started it I can see why my brother enjoy's it and I am getting into it, I like it. I just hope other people can find it, would be nice to get some feed back. I've been having fun playing with the gadgets like the radio, youtube, and more.
Well, I gotta go. Time to go play raquetball. Talk to you later!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients:
8 oz Block of Cream cheese, cut into small cubes
2 cups of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 stick of Butter or margarine
2 cups of Milk
1/4 clove of crushed Garlic
2 tbsp of minced Parsley
1 tbsp of minced Oregano
1 tbsp of minced Basil
Directions:
- Bring Milk and Butter to a simmer
- Add Garlic, Parsley, Oregano, and Basil
- Slowly add Cream Cheese, put in a couple of cubes and stir until melted, continue to add Cream Cheese until all of it is melted.
- Slowly add Paresan and stir until all of it is melted
- Pour over noodles and enjoy!
8 oz Block of Cream cheese, cut into small cubes
2 cups of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 stick of Butter or margarine
2 cups of Milk
1/4 clove of crushed Garlic
2 tbsp of minced Parsley
1 tbsp of minced Oregano
1 tbsp of minced Basil
Directions:
- Bring Milk and Butter to a simmer
- Add Garlic, Parsley, Oregano, and Basil
- Slowly add Cream Cheese, put in a couple of cubes and stir until melted, continue to add Cream Cheese until all of it is melted.
- Slowly add Paresan and stir until all of it is melted
- Pour over noodles and enjoy!
Stuffing Mac
Ingredients:
Easy Mac-n-Cheese
Hot dog or Sausage
Stuffing Mix
Parmesan or Romano Cheese
Directions:
- Cut hot dog or sausage into bit size pieces and put into a bowl with water and Mac noodles.
- Microwave on high for 4 to 5 mins or until noodles are tender.
- Drain most of the water but keep some for the Mac cheese powder.
- Mix in the Mac cheese powder and mix thoroughly
- Heat up 1 cup of water in microwave and mix in Stuffing mix
- Mix Stuffing with Mac-n-Cheese
- Top with Parmesan or Romano Cheese
- Microwave for 30 seconds on high
- Enjoy!!!
Easy Mac-n-Cheese
Hot dog or Sausage
Stuffing Mix
Parmesan or Romano Cheese
Directions:
- Cut hot dog or sausage into bit size pieces and put into a bowl with water and Mac noodles.
- Microwave on high for 4 to 5 mins or until noodles are tender.
- Drain most of the water but keep some for the Mac cheese powder.
- Mix in the Mac cheese powder and mix thoroughly
- Heat up 1 cup of water in microwave and mix in Stuffing mix
- Mix Stuffing with Mac-n-Cheese
- Top with Parmesan or Romano Cheese
- Microwave for 30 seconds on high
- Enjoy!!!
Blogging!
Hey everyone, my brother has a blog and it sounds like fun so I thought I would give it a try.
I want this blog to be a place where people can come and feel free to give their opinions. I woulld like to see discussion and ideas from everyone.
Also, I will be posting some of my recipes... my friends call it "Matt Feed"... they are recipes of cheap food made a certain way so that it tastes good, good info if your a student. I am also going to post some of my "Normal Recipes" that are made with good quality foods.
So, welcome and enjoy!
I want this blog to be a place where people can come and feel free to give their opinions. I woulld like to see discussion and ideas from everyone.
Also, I will be posting some of my recipes... my friends call it "Matt Feed"... they are recipes of cheap food made a certain way so that it tastes good, good info if your a student. I am also going to post some of my "Normal Recipes" that are made with good quality foods.
So, welcome and enjoy!
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