Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?

....that has got to be one of my favorite lines from Aliens!


Over the weekend we saw the movie Avatar...I had mixed feelings about this movie from the get go, but being a scifi junkie I felt it was my duty to see this film. Let me start by saying James Cameron is a innovative film maker...stories just aren't his strong suit. Sometime the stars align and you get something like Titanic but that happens once in a blue moon.

This is a beautiful movie. We saw it in 3-D, which I recommend you do. It is a waste of money to see this movie in regular 2-D because it is meant to be experienced.The world of Pandora is shockingly beautiful and fanciful. It is a place that many of us dream of with it's lighted paths and iridescent wildlife. For all the beauty...don't expect much in the way of storyline.


This movie starts out with a narrative from the twin brother of the scientist trained for the Avatar mission on Pandora. Because of his twins untimely death, Jake Sully, is sent in his place. Jake is a wounded marine with no scientific training. He is sent on this mission armed only with his DNA, which is identical to his twin so he is the only person in the world able to use this avatar. This mission is one supposedly of peace. They have something we want and we want to strip mine their forest to get it. But...we want to ask nicely before we destroy their homes for a mineral that it's never clear what it's uses are. Plus it has a really ignorant name...Unobtainium...yeah that's right I really just said that. Unobtainium sells for a ridiculous amount of money on Earth and so the corporate sponsors of this trip are willing to employ the big bad US Military to get what it wants. See told you the storyline was weak...and predictable. I guess we know what side of the fence that James Cameron comes down on where environmental issues are concerned. He is about as subtle as a nail gun.


Now it wasn't all bad....the personal story is pretty well thought out. It is believable love story and the connection the Na'vi have with their planet is pretty cool I must admit. Cameron takes the concept of "Jacking in" to a whole new level. The Na'vi people have a long braid and in that braid is a USB cable of sorts. They are able to connect with the world...plants, wildlife etc..just by "plugging in". They literally become one with the world around them, which is pretty cool in a scifi way and very creative I must say. 


Don't get me wrong...I'm not in favor of strip mining and destroying the rainforest. I'm just tired of there never being an argument in movies like this....the capitalist society is always bad and the US military is there for the sole purpose to due the bidding of big business and destroy the beauty around them. 


I know this sounds like I didn't like the movie, but I did. I liked it for what it was...a scifi movie, not a social commentary......

You do know what you're drinking is meant for eye surgery?

Hi ya sports fans----vacation is over and now it is time to get back to work! Did ya miss me? All three of ya??

As is tradition on Christmas day in my family (those that didn't have beautiful children to take home and put down for a nap anyway), after the presents are opened and the goose is cooked (or Honey Baked Ham in this case), we head off to the movies...and this year was no exception. Like many Christmas thrill seekers (those that didn't see Avatar) we saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie. 

Let me start out by saying that I have never really been a fan of Doyle's work. Don't get me wrong, I love intrigue and mystery, but I get lost in the technicalities. Much like Crichton and Clancy, I get lost in the why and wherefores of the detailed stories. That being said....like much of the ADD nation I LOVE the movies that come from the books!

Sherlock Holmes is no exception. This is not really your dad's Holmes... as evidenced by the fact that MY father was not that knocked out by it. I, however, thought it was great. I enjoyed the banter, the wit, the minor love story coursing just under the surface, and I loved the buddy-movie chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law! In my opinion, they were the most believable pals. Law's Watson truly shows the passion for problem solving that I think a lot of past movies leave out. Watson wasn't just a spectator or a babysitter... he was a genuine HELP to Holmes. This Holmes couldn’t survive without Watson, and that’s something the older film versions have not captured. Downey's Holmes shows the true friendship and respect that Holmes had for Watson. I completely enjoyed their relationship. 

Rachel McAdams is beautiful and intriguing as Holmes’ one and only "love", Irene Adler. Holmes had very little use for the “gentler” sex in general; he would help them only as a means to an end or a problem to solve. He found most women boring and silly with very little true sense about them. (What do you expect from a character written by a Victorian man, anyway?) Irene, however, was a different sort. She thought, in Holmes’ words, "like a man" and that delighted him. She was a thief... a con (wo)man… the only kind of profitable "criminal" a women could be at that time (politics and multi-national corporations being unavailable at the time). Homes didn't trust her, but I think he loved the puzzle she presented. McAdams adds just enough heart to this woman to make you want them together.

The story, like most Holmes stories, starts out seeming supernatural. It is a tale of demons and ghosts and rising from the grave to take over the world (taking a subtextual poke at Christianity? Perhaps… that too would be in step with Doyle’s writing). However, by the end, the simplicity of the plan is strangely obvious once it is expounded in true Holmesian fashion. The ride is fun, the story is strong, and the characters are delightful. I highly recommend this movie -- it was well worth the wait! (And yes, for you true Holmes aficionados… the good Prof. appears just long enough to tantalize!)

Well, dear reader(s)... that is all that is fit to print! Until next time...

If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around.

FRIDAY FAVE FLICKS

 It is time again for my personal favorite time of the week.....Friday Fave Flicks. Now I know that everyone is stuffed with stuffing and all plans for weight loss is pretty much scrapped but the best part of today is that the holiday movies are in full swing. In honor of such a time I thought that we should kick off the season with your five favorite holiday romances.....

As always I'll start...

1. Love Actually - Everything great Britain has to offer. If you haven't seen this movie I recommend it highly!!

2. Shop Around the Corner - The original "You've got Mail". James Stewart - nuff said.

3. Christmas in Connecticut - Old school sweet. I love cases of mistaken identity. 

4. White Christmas - Well.....there you are.

5. It's a Wonderful Life - Can't be a holiday list without it.












Well, this is the first of many holiday lists......have fun, and pass it on.

Well, it's not good, but it's a reason.

I can't give you a good reason why I went to see Surrogates. Bruce Willis maybe, I, Robot-esque maybe, I don't know. All are reasons, they just aren't good....

This had the potential to be a pretty neat movie. Had it been written correctly, it might have been interesting instead of convoluted.

Bruce Willis plays a FBI agent in a world that doesn't seem to need agents. He and his partner are sent out to investigate a murder... the first murder in close to ten years. The reason there haven't been any murders is because close to 98% of the world's population is living life through a life-like robot that is controlled remotely by their minds. The "surrogates" allow humans to do and act however they please with no consequences. If your surri gets shot, you repair it. Hit by a car, replace it. You spend your day in bed and send your surri out into the world to live your life. There is no sickness or disease because robots don't get sick, and you are hermetically sealed in your apartment/house where nothing can touch you.

I know what you are thinking... all you germophobes and hand sanitizer junkies out there. Gee, that sounds like a really great plan! No more flu.... no more people in the office hacking on me, "forgetting" to wash their hands after they potty... etc etc. But one interesting point that is raised in the movie is... how do you know who anyone really is? See, your "surri" doesn't have to look like you; in fact, Willis' partner is actually stunned to find out that he looks a lot like his surrogate. How do you know that your new best girlfriend to whom you are confiding all your secrets, isn't a teenage boy? Or that the man that you met in the bar is a butch gal looking for a good time? You think it's bad that you don't know who you are talking to on the internet? Imagine if you couldn't even trust your eyes.

There is also a small population that is fighting back. These people live on reservations and are called dregs. These people are violent, angry and hide behind religion (like a lot of so-called "religious" zealots). The dregs have been given a weapon that kills the surrogates AND the user.

So you see, no one is really right in this movie and it boils down to just a combination of Die Hard, The Matrix, I,Robot and Demolition Man all rolled into one movie. Sit down and watch all these movies in any particular order and you will know about as much as I do after watching just this one movie... and probably have more fun!

Thank you for making me a part of this!

This is my first Music Monday so....

Because all the really great and cheesy Christmas movies are on these next few weeks here is a song from one of my favorite. The Muppet's Christmas Carol is one of the finest Dickens re-tellings out there and as a child of the 80's I just can't get enough of the Muppets. I submit to you my favorite song from this movie....




Now that everyone is full of Christmas cheer (and perhaps wants to slit their wrists. :>) Join in the fun and visit  Keeping up with the Kellys to post your own Music Monday.

Great balls of fire. Don't bother me anymore, and don't call me sugar.

FRIDAY'S FAVE FLICKS

In honor of the 70th anniversary DVD release of Gone with the Wind, this weeks Friday's Fave Flicks presents your top five classic romances. Now to clarify, these don't have to be CLASSIC necessarily just romantic movies you can't get enough of. As always, I'll start us off...

1. An Affair to Remember - I will always love this movie. The chemistry between Grant and Kerr is just dreamy. It has been redone several times but this one is still the best in my book.

2. Out of Africa - Two words, Redford & Streep...nuff said

3. The Way We Were - This movie always make me cry...it is a sad commentary of what our world is coming to....

4. Casablanca - no explanation needed......

5. Titanic - I know this is over done and most people are tired of it but I just love it when he says "Want to go to a real party...."

Once again guys, I've showed you mine....now you show me yours. Let the games begin

You know, your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link on Kailani's blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

I actually have 2 question....

While teaching Passover to 2nd and 3rd grades I mention God told the Israelites to kill the lamb at twilight. I then asked if they knew what "twilight" meant. "It's a book" one said....."I've seen that movie" another said.

Does this seem wrong to anyone else?

And in a recent radio interview Miley Cyrus was asked if she was going to see "Twilight". Her answer..."No, I have never read the books and have never seen nor will ever see the movie. I believe that Vampires are evil."

Way to take a stand there Miley....dancing on stage with a stripper pole and posing nude with Dad for Vanity Fair...OK. Vampires? Not OK.

Wrong?.....Anyone? ....Bueller?