One thing I look forward to on my trips is the time to catch up on some movies. Here are a few I fit in these past few trips, with some brief thoughts (plus my rating, using my arbitrary 64-point scale).

The Grey, 2011. Fairly typical Liam Neeson fare, without many likeable characters (and of course this time the villains are the weather and ( Read more... )

I recently posted my review of Tarantino's Django Unchained, and from there I went back to Inglourious Basterds, which I also hadn't seen, and regarded that fact as something of a crime since I consider myself a fan of QT's work. So I actually started it a couple weeks back, but just finally got the chance to finish it during my quiet time at home ( Read more... )

The LEGO MovieI took the older two girls to see this last Friday evening, since we're all big LEGO fans. It was even enough to interest Hermione, who generally says she would rather wait for a movie to be available to watch at home rather than go to the theater to see it. At least Hallie enjoys going to the theater! Anyway, I'd heard really good ( Read more... )

Watched/read a few things lately that I wanted to note and review, but maybe not so in-depth. So:

Leon: The ProfessionalThis has been on my to-watch list for ages--actually I'm sort of amazed I never watched it since it dates back to 1994! It's a Luc Besson film about Leon, a somewhat enigmatic and solitary hitman in New York City. He finds ( Read more... )

Oh look, another review from me! I should say upfront that I've long been a fan of Quentin Tarantino's work. Maybe not the man himself--he sorta strikes me as an obnoxious and self-absorbed man-child, but the guy is clearly a savant when it comes to absorbing film and synthesizing it into his own stuff. Reservoir Dogs was a revelation. Pulp ( Read more... )

It's a REALLY foggy morning here, which reminds me that I'd meant to jot down another movie review: The Mist, from 2007 ( Read more... )

Next up in my very-infrequent series of media reviews is 2003's Oldeuboi (Oldboy). Let me say, first off, that (as Count Rugen berated Inigo Montoya) I have an overdeveloped sense of vengeance, so revenge/justice flicks tend to go over well with me. I'm sure that's a big part of the reason why my all-time favorite film remains The Shawshank ( Read more... )

So I've mentioned the Great PC Relocation Project for the girls and all that lately. The PC that's now Hallie's used to be Heather's, and it's also long served as our media server--all our movies and music were on it, for streaming to the tv and elsewhere. We'd typically leave it on all day for that purpose, and since Heather tends to check her e ( Read more... )

Since I have a couple Australian friends on here, allow me to be among the first to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

And maybe hit you up for a favor. :)

See, the wife and I rather enjoy watching well-done period mystery/detective television shows, and you Aussies have a really good one in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on ABC. I've ( Read more... )

It's amazing how something as silly and ultimately meaningless as this GQ interview with Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson and its aftermath can bring the idiocy out in people. I've seen a number of FB posts on it today, all of which have made me really want to reach for the Unfriend button. One is my cousin, so I guess I have to keep her. But ( Read more... )