This will be a first in just another one of the types of blogs I'll be writing - part book report, part movie review.
Murder on the Orient Express is a classic who-dun-it tail from Agatha Christie. A strange choice for me but when you are at the library and a book catches your eye, it is always a good choice to give it a try. The movie is where I was first introduced to the story though. As you know I am a huge James Bond fan and from that stems a love for Sean Connery (as you might guess Sir Sean is in the movie). The funniest part of this review is that I watched the movie first and it really didn't even make sense to me, which actually turned me off from the story all together. It turns out the things that made the movie tough to follow were the amazing amount of plot twists, which of course are much easier to follow through the book.
Hercule Poirot is a world famous detective who gets into a murder mystery on route back home from the middle east. Poirot I believe is in many of Agatha's novels, this possibly being the most popular. There is a little pre-text about a murder that occurs in America that kind of shocked the world, it involved the kidnapping of a little girl, family pays the ransom and then the girl is found dead. Most of the story revolves around that murder because the man that is murdered is in fact the same man responsible for the kidnapping. That is about all of the plot I will give away, I do encourage you to read the book, it is a fairly easy read not too long and has some good plot twists.
The battle begins!
The book starts off with a left hook of detail and scandal, but is quickly blocked by the movie's visuals. A bob and a weave and boom the book is right back with nicely broken down chapters that flow well, making the movie stumble over some awkward story telling at the beginning. Just when you think the movie is going to come around with a big hook with the acting, the book ducks and dodges with better character development and comes back with an uppercut which hits the movie square in the jaw for the way Hercule Poirot is portrayed (more as a parody of a French detective) the book comes forward again with a Poirot who is methodical and a master of criminal psychology. It is looking grim for the movie...1...it is...2...having...3...trouble getting...4...up, tries...5...to pull itself...6...up on...7...the ropes...8...but slips...9...it looks...10...like the movie has been knocked out! The book wins hands down! If you are interested, I would say read the book then watch the movie, it makes much more sense.
On a side note, Sean Connery plays a very small roll and as a fan I enjoyed him!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Video Game Review - Boom Blox
In an attempt to save some money and keep ourselves entertained, every so often we decide to sell back some of our Wii games and get a new one or 2. This past weekend we sold back a couple of games and got $48 of credit for Game Stop. With that we picked up a used version of a game called Boom Blox.
Boom Blox is a party style game that is great for 2 - 4 people. There is a one player mode but the real fun is playing with some friends! As we have no other friends here yet, we had a blast playing 2 player cooperative and once we got a handle on it we went head to head. The game is simple yet challenging, you need steady hands and good aim as it uses the motion control (pretty damn well). It is basically a puzzle game but encourages competition and excitement. You use your Wii remote to grab blocks (like Jenga), throw different types of balls to knock blocks over and shoot blocks as well. There is also a level creator which we haven't dabbled much in, but as you play you get ideas you think would be so much fun, so I look forward to flexing my creativity!
I highly recommend this game, there is a second one out as well, I would guess it would be good too, but the original could be cheaper if you find it used ($20 for us).
Boom Blox is a party style game that is great for 2 - 4 people. There is a one player mode but the real fun is playing with some friends! As we have no other friends here yet, we had a blast playing 2 player cooperative and once we got a handle on it we went head to head. The game is simple yet challenging, you need steady hands and good aim as it uses the motion control (pretty damn well). It is basically a puzzle game but encourages competition and excitement. You use your Wii remote to grab blocks (like Jenga), throw different types of balls to knock blocks over and shoot blocks as well. There is also a level creator which we haven't dabbled much in, but as you play you get ideas you think would be so much fun, so I look forward to flexing my creativity!
I highly recommend this game, there is a second one out as well, I would guess it would be good too, but the original could be cheaper if you find it used ($20 for us).
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Movie Review - 17 Again
This was a surprising movie to me. Going in I am expecting a Freaky Friday sort of knock off, kind of cheesey and for the little kids, and I was mistaken. I really like some of the people starring in the movie including Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann and Thomas Lennon (Reno 911). I was most surprised that I really liked Zac Efron, only knowing him from High School Musical which I think is horrible, I was very pleasantly surprised. Matthew Perry plays the guy who is turned young into Zac Efron. Mike O'Donnell is the main character played by Perry and Efron, who as Lennon (Ned in the movie) puts it is on a spirit journey. Some of the funniest parts come between Efron and Mann when she can't get over how much like her husband he looks and it gets a little inappropriate which made it hilarious for me. Over all it has a nice flow and is very comical but not raunchy, so it is a good family film but not cheese-ball.
The other thing that took me by surprise is Lennon, who I have loved for a long time from being in Reno 911 and The State. He plays a former super nerd, dungeons and dragons and everything, who turns out to be very rich from creating software. He is still a huge nerd and that is the best part. His house is full of movie memorabilia from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and more. He also plays young Mike's dad when the switch happens as a disguise for the unbelievable situation. Ned meets the principal and falls in love (Jan from The Office) who turns out to be a super nerd too. It is just a nice exciting side story that really helped fill in a slow spot or 2.
I recommend checking it out, its not the best overall but it is good and has some laughs in it.
The other thing that took me by surprise is Lennon, who I have loved for a long time from being in Reno 911 and The State. He plays a former super nerd, dungeons and dragons and everything, who turns out to be very rich from creating software. He is still a huge nerd and that is the best part. His house is full of movie memorabilia from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and more. He also plays young Mike's dad when the switch happens as a disguise for the unbelievable situation. Ned meets the principal and falls in love (Jan from The Office) who turns out to be a super nerd too. It is just a nice exciting side story that really helped fill in a slow spot or 2.
I recommend checking it out, its not the best overall but it is good and has some laughs in it.
Movie Review - Watchmen
I sat myself down to enjoy this gem the other day. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews while this movie was out in theaters, some people said you had to read the graphic novel to understand it, some really enjoyed it and some thought it was just plain boring and way too long. I really enjoyed it and I have not read the graphic novel (although it is on my list now).
Watchmen is a story about the status of super heroes (in a fictional America) throughout the 1900's. It begins with a nice montage of credits and old timey super hero pictures/events. These are not your marvel or DC comic super heroes, they are something different (which the movie didn't dive deep enough in to for me), the "powers" are not clearly defined either but you kind of get the gist throughout the movie. It appears that the fictional time perioid the movie takes place in is cold warish with Richard Nixon on his 3rd or 4th term as president (again it is fictional). The super hereo's have since "retired" sort of like in The Incredibles, where it seems they were cast out in favor of more traditional methods of law enforcement.
As the movie unfolds it appears that someone is trying to kill these last remaining super heroes and the cold war is escalating "5 minutes til midnight" on the doomsday clock and not to my surprise the killing of the heroes and the escalation are intertwined. The killings re-unite some of the old gang and it is neat to see them take back to their hero days through out the movie.
The main story is told through the voice of one of the heroes, Rorschach, and the reading of a journal he has written. I don't want to spoil anymore of the story for you though. The plot unfolds in a nice way and it doesn't do it quickly (which I enjoyed). There is a surprising amount of sex and nudity (mostly of Dr. Manhattan and his glowing blue penis), which I found more funny than gross and the sex was well done. There also is a FANTASTIC sound track that really sets the mood throughout the movie, and it is nice that it is mostly older songs and not just cheesy movie music.
I really recommend seeing this movie, especially if you Redbox it for a $1. But I would say that I am way more into this type of story than a normal person, so if sci-fi/action/super hero isn't your cup of tea, you might not be able to get into it. I think I had an easier time understanding it because I am of that "type" but I will be trying to get my hands on the graphic novel to learn more. Hope you enjoy!
Watchmen is a story about the status of super heroes (in a fictional America) throughout the 1900's. It begins with a nice montage of credits and old timey super hero pictures/events. These are not your marvel or DC comic super heroes, they are something different (which the movie didn't dive deep enough in to for me), the "powers" are not clearly defined either but you kind of get the gist throughout the movie. It appears that the fictional time perioid the movie takes place in is cold warish with Richard Nixon on his 3rd or 4th term as president (again it is fictional). The super hereo's have since "retired" sort of like in The Incredibles, where it seems they were cast out in favor of more traditional methods of law enforcement.
As the movie unfolds it appears that someone is trying to kill these last remaining super heroes and the cold war is escalating "5 minutes til midnight" on the doomsday clock and not to my surprise the killing of the heroes and the escalation are intertwined. The killings re-unite some of the old gang and it is neat to see them take back to their hero days through out the movie.
The main story is told through the voice of one of the heroes, Rorschach, and the reading of a journal he has written. I don't want to spoil anymore of the story for you though. The plot unfolds in a nice way and it doesn't do it quickly (which I enjoyed). There is a surprising amount of sex and nudity (mostly of Dr. Manhattan and his glowing blue penis), which I found more funny than gross and the sex was well done. There also is a FANTASTIC sound track that really sets the mood throughout the movie, and it is nice that it is mostly older songs and not just cheesy movie music.
I really recommend seeing this movie, especially if you Redbox it for a $1. But I would say that I am way more into this type of story than a normal person, so if sci-fi/action/super hero isn't your cup of tea, you might not be able to get into it. I think I had an easier time understanding it because I am of that "type" but I will be trying to get my hands on the graphic novel to learn more. Hope you enjoy!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Pants of Destiny
Quick little story:
Right around June of 2009 we went to Dick's to look for a swim suit for my wife for the gym we had joined. As we are looking around, I venture off to the outdoors/hiking apparel area (not being very helpful in the swim suit search). After some perusing I find these pants from The North Face, and being an instinctual frugalista I go price first ($50). I am not a fan of paying much for clothes no matter how "good" they are, but as I inspect the pair of pants I start to think that I really can't live without them. There isn't anything incredibly special about the pants, no utility belt, no water proofing, nothing. They are just this really nice feeling material, and we are just clicking on what seems to quickly becoming a date with how much feeling I am doing... :-) . They are basically cargo pants made from some really light weight material and they are green (a nice dark green, my favorite). End of the day I decide I can't afford to pay $50 for pants right now, and try to find them online at maybe REI or somewhere to see if they are cheaper. I forgot to look at the style or name of the pants so I check out Dick's website and they aren't there...it was like they disappeared (even on The North Face website - nothing).
Last night we were out and stopped by Dick's to look around (as well as Best Buy) and I instantly go back to look for the pants (maybe they are on sale) and like on the websites they are gone. I am honestly kind of sad at this point, I was hoping after this many months they would be on sale, instead they were alllllllllll gone. Feeling like they had escaped me we decide to leave. As we walk towards the exit Angela sees a CLEARANCE rack on some men's clothing racks. Appearing to be all golf gear I make a turn to approach and BOOM THE PANTS! There are 2 pairs of pants left on the clearance rack so what are the chances one will be my size (pretty common 32 x 32). We look at the first pair, turning the waist out to see the tag and right there 32's! and the even better part, they are only $30 now! After all of this I can't say no, the price is right and everything. So that is the story of the pants of destiny...it will go down in history and be told for generations I am sure.
Right around June of 2009 we went to Dick's to look for a swim suit for my wife for the gym we had joined. As we are looking around, I venture off to the outdoors/hiking apparel area (not being very helpful in the swim suit search). After some perusing I find these pants from The North Face, and being an instinctual frugalista I go price first ($50). I am not a fan of paying much for clothes no matter how "good" they are, but as I inspect the pair of pants I start to think that I really can't live without them. There isn't anything incredibly special about the pants, no utility belt, no water proofing, nothing. They are just this really nice feeling material, and we are just clicking on what seems to quickly becoming a date with how much feeling I am doing... :-) . They are basically cargo pants made from some really light weight material and they are green (a nice dark green, my favorite). End of the day I decide I can't afford to pay $50 for pants right now, and try to find them online at maybe REI or somewhere to see if they are cheaper. I forgot to look at the style or name of the pants so I check out Dick's website and they aren't there...it was like they disappeared (even on The North Face website - nothing).
Last night we were out and stopped by Dick's to look around (as well as Best Buy) and I instantly go back to look for the pants (maybe they are on sale) and like on the websites they are gone. I am honestly kind of sad at this point, I was hoping after this many months they would be on sale, instead they were alllllllllll gone. Feeling like they had escaped me we decide to leave. As we walk towards the exit Angela sees a CLEARANCE rack on some men's clothing racks. Appearing to be all golf gear I make a turn to approach and BOOM THE PANTS! There are 2 pairs of pants left on the clearance rack so what are the chances one will be my size (pretty common 32 x 32). We look at the first pair, turning the waist out to see the tag and right there 32's! and the even better part, they are only $30 now! After all of this I can't say no, the price is right and everything. So that is the story of the pants of destiny...it will go down in history and be told for generations I am sure.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Worst Waiter Ever
So we get back in to town after our trip and we have no food in the house (pretty common). Instead of doing the grocery store and all that good stuff we just wanted to eat some damn food, trying to avoid fast food we decide on Chez Elena Wu (what we expected to be a sit down chinese food restaurant similar to Hong Kong Ruby in Harrisburg). We get seated and look at the menu, it was a very odd assortment of different Asian cuisine and incredibly over priced. As we are looking through the menu deciding maybe we will try something (the food is not the point of the story). So we are looking through and a waitress comes up and asks how we are doing (assuming this would be our waitress, it was not), we tell her we are still looking.
It was at that point we encountered him. Now I know not everyone who comes into this country adapts to our social norms but this guy wasn't even trying. It reminds me of the Friends episode where Mike Hannigan (aka Crap Bag played by Paul Rudd) is hanging out at Ross' apartment and it is super awkward. He then is asked to intercept all phone calls, where Ross states Mike was playing with the boundaries of social conduct.
This guy didn't even come up to us at first but was doing the "I am going to get uncomfortably close, within normal conversation range" in order for you to notice that I am here. He stood about 3 feet away from me over my left shoulder and hovered there not saying a word and not leaving. He was in this waiter limbo where he wasn't taking orders but yet he was so close it was uncomfortable to talk to each other. I knew as soon as he heard us say the name of a food he was going to pounce. This went on for probably 10 minutes, just kept hovering right by us not suggesting anything, not asking if we needed more time just standing there and kind of started pacing after awhile (like CMON AND ORDER ALREADY). We ended up ordering 2 rolls of sushi because it was actually the cheapest thing on the menu (and it tasted like it) and tipping him a minimal amount. This guy was kind of the exclamation point on the suckiness of the restaurant.
It was at that point we encountered him. Now I know not everyone who comes into this country adapts to our social norms but this guy wasn't even trying. It reminds me of the Friends episode where Mike Hannigan (aka Crap Bag played by Paul Rudd) is hanging out at Ross' apartment and it is super awkward. He then is asked to intercept all phone calls, where Ross states Mike was playing with the boundaries of social conduct.
This guy didn't even come up to us at first but was doing the "I am going to get uncomfortably close, within normal conversation range" in order for you to notice that I am here. He stood about 3 feet away from me over my left shoulder and hovered there not saying a word and not leaving. He was in this waiter limbo where he wasn't taking orders but yet he was so close it was uncomfortable to talk to each other. I knew as soon as he heard us say the name of a food he was going to pounce. This went on for probably 10 minutes, just kept hovering right by us not suggesting anything, not asking if we needed more time just standing there and kind of started pacing after awhile (like CMON AND ORDER ALREADY). We ended up ordering 2 rolls of sushi because it was actually the cheapest thing on the menu (and it tasted like it) and tipping him a minimal amount. This guy was kind of the exclamation point on the suckiness of the restaurant.
Annapolis
We celebrated our 1 year anniversary this past weekend by going to Annapolis, MD. We stayed in our first B&B, which for me was a little weird (staying in a stranger's house) but all in all it was very nice. We enjoyed some of our favorite Annapolis treats like sushi at Joss, gelato at Aromi D'Italia, pain killers at Pusser's and a new favorite fudge at Kilwin's. We went on a self guided tour of the Naval Academy, walked around the cute little streets, enjoyed the architecture, went on a sunset sailing cruise (same boat as used in Wedding Crashers) and did some shopping. Joss is still a 10, gelato is a 10, fudge is at least a 9. Next time we would like to check out Cantler's Crab House and possibly some more water activities!
Check out some more pics on my webshots: http://community.webshots.com/user/rw2839
Check out some more pics on my webshots: http://community.webshots.com/user/rw2839
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