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This past summer I feel like I tried creating this blog and making it much too specific. As such, I failed when my schedule got tough and I no longer cared to devote the time to reviewing movies. So I figured I'd simplify it some. This blog is now where I can talk about my projects, my job endeavors, things I've found, movies I've seen, etc.

So the job hunt has not been going well. During the month of March, I will be expanding my search to Grand Rapids as well as Kalamazoo, and also be looking into being a cameraman for one of the news channels. For those of you who know me, you know I despise news production. So this is quite a reach for me to do so.

My Projects
The fraternity's national headquarters has asked me (and several others) to make some short videos to drum up interest in going to national convention this summer. I of course can't make a simple video, so I have a few ideas on how to spice up the simple demand.

I've had this idea on the backburner for a while. In the fraternity, we have a long, meaningful discussion that we call "To me to be a Sinfonian...", and I've been thinking for a while about turning it into a documentary. It would chronicle what being in this fraternity means to its members of different ages, backgrounds, walks of life, career paths, all the things that separate us; and all the things that bring us together.

I haven't delved into it yet, but I'm also hoping to practice my screenwriting skills by writing feature-length screenplays for the books in both the Dragonriders of Pern series, and the Sword of Truth series. This of course means I need to re-read the books a few times, which of course means a LOT of time.

I had an interesting idea to stir up my original feature-length screenplay I wrote last summer. It would make it more exciting, interesting, and structured. Its very... different. I'm sure I'll reveal the idea soon enough, but if you want to know, contact me personally.

What I'm Watching
I've really been into streaming stuff on Netflix for the past week or so. Some TV shows I've been into include NCIS, which is simply brilliant, and Moonlight, which is one of the best written vampire shows I've ever seen. It brings you into this very different world of vampires, and keeps hold of you by focusing on good story and not vamp shenanigans. Moonlight was cancelled last spring from CBS after 16 episodes, another fallen gem in the aftermath of the writers strike. Also seen the first two episodes of Dollhouse, and feel thusfar a bit letdown by our friend Joss Whedon.

In movies this week, I've watched Smart People, very entertaining. A few awful movies not worth mentioning. Saw Deja Vu which, other than having Val Kilmer in it, was very well done. Favorite movie for this week though has to be The Man from Earth. I never thought I'd sit through a movie that takes place in one room, not even any flashbacks. Purely dialogue, it keeps you interested for its entire hour and a half run. Here's to you, The Man from Earth!

Sorry about the tardiness...

Caught a few movies this week, some good. P.S. I Love You and The Count of Monte Cristo both came on Netflix and were both amazingly good.

I bought Stargate: Continuum, the Stargate movie thats supposed to end the series. It was kind of a let down... no big battles, no real big twists... they just kind of re-hashed several television episodes.

Saw The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Hated it. It looked like it was rushed through post-production, as the digital effects were not good. Thumbs down.

And for the movie of the week:
Cashback. Neat little British film. Warning: do not watch if you're put off by female nudity. It was all relatively artistic, but still abundant. The main character is in love with the female body, and sketches nude women often. The interesting thing is he learns, through insomnia, how to stop time. So he stops time and wanders around people. Its a neat idea, and all of this are just aspects wrapping around a central traditional love story. Definitely a movie worth checking out.

Until next week! (or hopefully Thursday)

Greetings all!

So this week, in fact, I have seen very few movies, as I've picked up the 'Sword of Truth' series of books which has absorbed my time and my life.

In television, the highly anticipated season finale of Dr. Who is this Friday on Sci-Fi, and any who love the series should definitely check it out. Its the 2nd half of a 2 part episode, so be sure to watch the first somewhere. http://watchdoctorwho.com is a site with occasional problems, but overall seems to work the best. It also displays shows ahead of time, so I can personally tell you that this season finale is outstanding.

Also, Sam Raimi has signed on as the director for a mini-series/ possible TV series of the Sword of Truth series, currently slated to air sometime this November/December.

In movies, many trailers have come forth in the past two weeks that I feel are of particular interest. The first being for the new Terminator movie staring Christian Bale, not starring Arnold. (YAY! Maybe he can focus on taking care of his state now.) Another is for Watchmen, based on a critically acclaimed graphic novel by the same name. Those I know who have read Watchmen seem extremely exited. Finally, the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine aired at the Comic-con recently, and has been met with great excitement. Personally, I don't know how I feel about it, with X-Men Origins: Magneto already slated into pre-production, and following the atrocious failure of X-Men III. Also, with the huge line-up of movies in preparation for the Avengers film slated to premier summer of '11, I simply wonder how many super-heroes the audiences will be able to stand in the coming years. Speaking of the Avengers, John Sena? Captain America? Really? I guess they could do worse.

One extra movie I did catch this week and thoroughly did not enjoy was Babel. I'm ok with long, slow movies that easily get you personally involved, such as Contact, but this was a long, slow movie that I just couldn't seem to care about. It never really maintained my interest and left me wishing I had gone to bed earlier. Which leads me to my pick of the week:

*drumroll please*

The first Movie of the Week is...

of course, The Dark Knight. Many have said this is one of the greatest movies ever. I firmly disagree. With a run-on storyline and A.D.D. (or is everything now supposed to be declared A.D.H.D? I don't remember) scene lengths, you walk out of the theatre with a re-aligned attention span of an 8 year-old. Christian Bale's performance was a let-down compared to Batman Begins, and would have been greatly saved had he stopped gasping for breathe so often and not constantly spoken through his teeth. So you may ask then, why is the the pick of the week? Perfect performances by Aaron Eckhartand of course, Heath Ledger. Its in true Batman fashion of old that the saving grace for this movie was, in fact, the villains. Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey Dent left you understanding what could make a person be pushed to such lengths as to turn into the villain. And Ledger came through in the greatest performance of his career, making your blood crawl as the Joker. I'm a firm believer that he should be awarded and Oscar Posthumously, just as he certainly should have won it were he still alive.

Thats all for this week, stay tuned for the next installment of 'Movie of the Week'

Story - 2.0
Beautiful, brutal, heartfelt. It pushed you to personally understand post-traumatic stress disorder and gain appreciation for our soldiers in the Middle-East.
Cinematography - 1.6
Only superb cinematography is found in the honest realism of battle and the memories of the soldiers. The realism of battle isn't strictly found in 'shaky-cam' style so much as just the quality and speed of action as well as the following of specific characters. Long, slow, 40% opacity shots while soldiers recount their experiences are insightful and impacting.
Acting - 1.8
All actors seemed to really grasp the gravity of what was going on. The main talent, including Samuel Jackson, Jessica Biel, and 50 Cent, all had me worried in the beginning. They all pulled through and gave what I perceived as some of the most meaningful performances of their life
Overall Effect - 3.5
Probably one of the most deeply moving movies I've seen in a long time. Truly leaves you wanting to reach out to all of our soldiers more than ever.

Total Score:
8.9 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Military, War on Terror, Post-traumatic stress.

Story - 1.9
Complex, multi-leveled. Just like a good fantasy book.
Cinematography - 1.9
Simply Beautiful. Stunning CGI works, especially for a smaller-budget film. Great shots, great coloring. Final army battle is akin to Helm's Deep from LoTR:TT.
Acting - 1.8
HUGE list of actors, mostly 'B' actors, a few 'A' list. Throughout the talent, the weak point is played by Matthew Lillard, who still maintains a mediocre quality of acting.
Overall Effect - 3.9
Great movie. Fun, exciting. If you love fantasy or LoTR, its on that scale without being a knock-off. Story follows Jason Stathom, but he is far from the only lead character.

Total Score:
9.5 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Fantasy, Action, Epic Battles, LoTR-style movies.

Story - 1.8
Enjoyable coming of age story. Hard to tell where it was going at times, which furthered the enjoyment.
Cinematography - 1.8
Nothing out of the ordinary. Static wide shots that are traditionally overused in indy films found a good home here and added well to the overall effect.
Acting - 1.7
A lack of depth in the baby's father was the only acting flaw in the entire piece that bothered me.
Overall Effect - 3.8
Very enjoyable. Highly non-traditional feel-good movie.

Total Score:
9.1 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Coming of age, pregnancy, independant film

I will rarely say this, but do not see this movie. The poor quality of writing, cinematography, acting, and overall effect make it unbearable to sit through in its entirety. Sci-Fi's weekend movies are heads and tails above this. (unless maybe this started as a sci-fi movie?!?!)

Recommendations: Do not see.

Story - 1.8
Normal post-apocalyptic telling of mood calming drugs and the rebels who don't take them. Some interesting twists towards the end which are very exciting and entertaining.
Cinematography - 1.8
Very interesting and stylized throughout. Very exciting.
Acting - 1.8
Some of Christian Bale's best work. Sean Bean and Taye Diggs offer great support in their roles.
Overall Effect - 3.7
Very enjoyable movie. Story twists offer some degree of replay ability.

Total Score:
9.1 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Action, Post-apocalyptic, sylized sci-fi.

Story - 2.0
Story was brilliant. Lots of twists throughout. Never ever lost any interest.
Cinematography - 2.0
Whole movie is beautiful. Every shot composition and coloring felt inspiring to the heart of the story.
Acting - 1.8
Lots of unknowns (other than from the first movie). Did very well. My least favorite talent was actually Caspian's uncle, the main bad guy in the movie. He did fine, his role just didn't thrill me.
Overall Effect - 3.7
Loved it. Something I could see again and again. Better than the first, although I've heard people having issues with it being overly violent, but I felt it a great part of the whole of the film.

Total Score:
9.5 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Fantasy, Epic Stories

Story - 1.6
Normal post-apocalyptic telling of mood calming drugs and the rebels who don't take them. No real twists throughout.
Cinematography - 1.8
Reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Real slow pacing. Shots were interesting but tended to linger too long.
Acting - 1.6
Characters didn't really feel very strong in definition. Robert Duvall does well, but it feels like many others could have done the part as well.
Overall Effect - 3.2
Felt overly long. Special effects are simply amazing, especially considering when it was made. Overall entertaining and definitely worth seeing at least once.

Final Score:
8.2 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Trippy, Post-apocalyptic society