Thursday, April 30, 2009

Amos And Andrew


This movie was made in 1993. I had never heard of it but Katherine and Scott brought it by this evening. Samuel L Jackson and Nicholas Cage star in this quirky comedy about a police screw-up. I figure if you don't expect much, you'll enjoy the movie. You know how it is, if you expect a lot, you're dissappointed. This is the Nick Cage of Raising Arizona and Peggy Sue Got married, not the action hero of today. It's funny as a mix-up escalates.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Day The Earth Stood Still

We watched it this evening. I thought it was pretty good update on the original black and white movie. The original was an okay 50's sf story. And now it's an okay 2008 movie. The story line is still a little lame but the effects are better and it is a stronger story.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Heroes - Series 4 Ends

When the first season of "Heroes" was airing, I was so into it, that I DVR'ed every episode and then burned them to DVD without the commercials. That activity took many hours.

Then when they released the DVD set so quickly, I realized I didn't need to spend all that time. So during season 2 I just watched episodes and then got the DVD's when they came out. But season three is just now coming out at the end of season four, quite a wait and I've forgotten much of what transpired during the third season. I could have watched on line but I haven't enjoyed internet viewing.

So, each season has had its own strengths and weaknesses. Of course the first season was the best since everything was new and fresh. It's just a great science fiction/fantasy series.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Direct TV

My grandson Nickolas was over today and he was asking me about the TV. "How many channels does it have, is it like 1000 channels?" We found that that was about right and decided he must have the same system at home. The same insideous system where there are thousands of channels and nothing to watch. Except with the DVR that's no longer true. Nick says his favorite channel is HBO. (I shudder)

Then we had a nice talk about books. He's really been reading some fun ones. When they were gone, I reflected about TV versus Books and then resumed watching the saved "Storm Of The Century" that the SciFi channel broadcast last week.

Ovation TV

It's not like I need another channel to take up my time. I swear I have a love hate relationship with my DVR. I love that it can record two programs at the same time..how many times in the past have we had to choose between one program or another.

But now that I have Direct TV, I'm faced with a quandary. I have the "Ovation TV" channel. And it's so good! Filled with many documentaries and shows about art, photography, the environment. It's just such a resource and wealth of inspiration and knowledge.

Like I needed another channel that demands my attention. The DVR really has ruined my life! As a junkie, I have to watch a certain amount of TV. But, with a DVR, it's just too easy!

Seven Pounds

I really respect Will Smith's ability to choose wisely. He picks the movies that he's involved in very well. Almost everything is thought provoking and smart.

Tonight we finally goy around to watching "Seven Pounds." A very good, well constructed story line. I guessed what was going on and several things that would happen within the first five minutes of the show. But it was great to follow the story and enjoy the way it unfolded. There were several things I was wrong about, but for the most part it was pretty fun to figure it out.

Katherine said she thought it was confusing and I think Jeanne found herself a little lost from time to time, but for me it was well done. A non-linear story that used flashbacks well to carry the story forward.

The title refers to some Shakespearian reference about paying a debt with a pound of flesh. I'm not really up on which play it came from, but I think it's a reference that has passed down through time. I remember hearing or reading about seven pounds of flesh at some time.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

This Old House

On Saturdays, I try to watch "This Old House." I think I watch more projects being done than I do myself. But the show is full of good ideas and techniques that can come in handy. I was waiting at the bank yesterday and saw a clip on the discovery channel and the old host of TOH, Steve Thomas was featured on a video. But I missed what show it was. It was on the discovery channel, but when I checked their schedule, the only thing iy might have been was "How Is It Made."

Friday, April 24, 2009

New Babylon 5 Episodes

So the other day, I must have been watching an old video that had an ad for "Babylon 5: The Lost Episodes." It was made back in 2007, but I'd never heard of it. So I jumped on Netflix and here it is.

Jeanne and I both watched the entire series of B5 when we were living with my sister and brother-in-law about 9 years ago. We all enjoyed the series and now I'm happy to have found this new DVD.

When I wrote reviews


Years Ago, I started writing a weekly column for our local newspaper in Missouri. I don't have a copy of a single reveiw that I wrote. I would go to the local movie theatre (they had 5 screens), watch a movie and write a review and send it in to the newspaper. I paid for the show and wrote the reviews for no charge. My hope was that as I gained experience and popularity, I might be able to syndicate my column and get published in many papers and along the way somehow I would make a living. It was fun. The manager of the thetre got to know me and began to invite me to come to the theatre at 110pm or midnight when the shows were over and he would run them for me and a guest for no charge. My daughter, Amy was prgnant at the time and didn't like to be seen in public, so she would go with me and watch the movie we'd both eat pocorn and I would write notes for my article. I tried to go to movies that I felt would get a good review and I wanted to go to all family (not R) movies first so that my family audience would get to read reviews they would be interested in. There was a time that I had reviewed all the non R movies excpt for one, "Spice World." I really didn't want to review it because it looked sostupid. But it turned out to be fairly entertaining, I was able to say that Spice Girls fans would love it and even those who weren't fans might find it enjoyable.

How we found Hamish Macbeth

We loved both series, "Monarch Of The Glen" and "Ballykissangel", so when I stumbled on "Hamish Macbeth" on Netflix, I couldn't resist trying out the series and we like it.