Transformers was sick! In a good way, of course. The special effects and the nostalgia were through the roof. I loved it (8/10).

There are whiners. Fanboys and ignorant moviegoers scoff at the cheesy dialogue, over-the-top, oozing drama, and the melodramatic music. Hey, get this: it's TRANSFORMERS. This isn't about the holocaust. It's about DNA-based robots from space who wage a war on Earth. It's good versus evil of the flavor of the 1980s. If you never watched the cartoon, I can see how you might roll your eyes, but still. Get with it.

I felt a sweet rush when Peter Cullen's inimitable voice first boomed from Optimus Prime (he also provided the voice for the cartoon in the 1980s). I need to go dig my old toys out of the attic.

I remember watching the first episode as a kid in 1989. I was hooked. The show was stellar for the first seven or eight years, then things changed. This is the complaint of the "old skool" fans, and I guess I find myself similar. Whatever the case presently, The Simpsons remain significant in pop culture.

I hope the movie isn't as disappointing as everyone thinks it probably will be. I'm looking forward to it.

This is me as a Simpsons character. Create your own here. C'mon, everyone's doing it.

Lindsey's parents left us this afternoon following a two-day visit. We had a nice time fishing, showing them more of the sites, and devoting a lot of time simply talking. One of the last things we did was gather for a cookout at my uncle James' house. Many of my days and nights were spent in that house—it almost makes me sad that things have changed so much. I still look forward to our get-togethers there.

One of my favorite and most remembered times there happened when I was fourteen. Justin and I stayed up late to watch the end of a Rocky marathon on television. Rocky IV was the last to be shown. I had always liked boxing even though I knew hardly anything about it (just like today). It's simple, but being up late in that living room—the curtains hiding the dark, everyone else asleep upstairs—seeing Rocky avenge his best friend was "awesome." It made me want to box even more.

Watching Rocky Balboa (Rocky VI) was like revisiting memories, much more than just the one above. Plus, I like characters, plain and simple. Rocky movies are full of cheesy, dramatic ones, but characters none the less. I grew attached to them over the years and it was great to see them again. (At one point I thought Clubber Lang said something and I gasped.) I enjoy listening to Rocky's blubbering logic that always turns out to be something greatly philosophical and solid. A sentimental, nostalgic, very biased score: 10/10. A more reasonable view: 8/10.

Little Miss Sunshine is downright perfect. I mean, what bad thing can I say about it? I'm sure there was something, but its assets hide any faults. I thought the cast was great, the characters wonderfully flawed and ingeniously matched. The visuals were things of beauty. It is a movie of bright white and yellow. I think the light and color played a bigger role than most may observe. Particularly, if you look at the scenes at the hotel and the pageant. There was contrast of good and bad, or maybe enlightened versus stuck-up, to be blunt. The humor was also something to be adored because of its goofy simplicity. This isn't a crude laughathon but a smart ride of crude, poignant moments. When you laugh, you also think. Thank God for a comedy that doesn't patronize through an attempt to be broad enough for everybody.

Of course, as you could guess, the selling point for me was the story. It is one of analysis, criticism, humor, the challenge of perceptions and absolutes, and redemption. Yeah, it's all that, but more simply it's a movie about one's place in life. And what's the best way to go about things. Loosen up. Go through the shitty times to chisel away at your bulk and shape your character—lose the things the world has handed that aren't needed.

The phrase "Little Miss Sunshine" refers to the ridiculous child pageant, yes, but, of course, it's also Olive. She holds the family together. Whenever there is a problem with one of the members, she brings them back to the group and keeps them going. And it's Olive at the end of the movie who finally pulls them in collectively, and that's where the final redemption happens. Dwayne and Frank help each other come to terms with the unfortunate realities of those things they can't change. Richard understands that there is so much more beyond the impeding black and white concept of winners vs. losers. And for Olive, she sees that beauty and talent as well as winning and losing aren't so easily definable. Just being herself is a much greater reward than winning the contest by which she would've conformed to the standards of others. Her youth and kindness more than qualify her as a beautiful and talented human being. The other girls weren't talented, or at least had nothing on Olive. They were flat, boring, fake products without character. Olive was alive, thinking, caring. We are shown that standards and certitudes aren't always right and in some cases are harmful to society. We see this not solely with the pageant, but throughout the story. The whole movie thoughtfully fought against the norm.

It's fun, quiet, and very weird. It's wonderful. (10/10)

P.S. It would've been great to see Bill Murray as Frank, but it was just as well, I suppose.

In 2000 I chose Al Gore. I didn't know as much about him as I do now, and I didn't agree with everything he supposedly stood for, but I wanted him instead of George W. Bush. Even though Gore lost, I was very glad that I had chosen him. Two years later, I was still glad I had. I didn't think that Bush was a very good Commander in Chief—he didn't seem qualified to represent or lead America. Four years later, I was even more happy that my first choice in a presidential election had been for Al Gore. I don't like George W. Bush for lots of reasons, and not simply because the "liberal media" emphasizes his stupidity in their portraits of our president.

As I watched An Inconvenient Truth, I was reminded that Al Gore is skilled, smart, and very capable. Why couldn't this guy have won the presidency as he did the popular vote? Some conservatives would say that God did it. Maybe you're right, maybe all of the things Bush and his horrible administration have done was meant to be in order to serve a broader plan. Maybe a political savior is to bounce on the scene in January 2009 and fix the world. All right, that's fine. However, let's look at what we know for certain: Bush has made many bad decisions. Dick Cheney is a bad vice president. The administration under Bush is not a good administration. I think they and the rest of the administration have their hands in lots of other things and are dedicated to and influenced heavily by many other interests. An Inconvenient Truth glances at this. I know lots of you don't believe in Heaven, but if we all make it there, it will be great when all of the things presently undiscovered or questioned are made known. It takes a lot for me to cry during a movie—it has to be something truly profound and touching. When a segment about the 2000 election was shown, I teared up. I did so because I thought about the terrible mistake the voters made in November and the even worse Supreme Court decision on December 12, 2000. What would the country be like today if Gore had been president? Would we have all of these problems and bad feelings? The interests that distract offices of our government from doing the right things and instead lead them to concentrate on money ('the global warming "theory" isn't important enough for us to disrupt our economy with attempts to fix our environment') causes me to believe the answer to be negative. I hope we don't hear our children and grandchildren giving an emphatic "No!" while they look back from the future, trying to fix our damaged planet, wishing the people who preceded them had done something. "I mean, the signs were right there!"

In October 2005, Gore was asked how the United States would've been different if he had been elected president. He responded, "We would not have invaded a country that didn't attack us. We would not have taken money from the working families and given it to the most wealthy families. We would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media. We would not be routinely torturing people."

If only that had happened.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.

This quote from Upton Sinclair is used in the movie. It can be applied to more things than salary, and that's why I included it here. Apathy is a very bad and very avoidable plague that is widespread among people.

Please see this movie.

It is great and has its facts straight, I think, according to what I've read. If they are correct, then this is a very scary film. It points out the shortcomings of the politicians of our generation to see this problem even as the evidence is clearly displayed in front of them. This appears to be no "theory," but a legitimate happening. Something needs to be done, apparently. Why does it seem like no one cares? Why are we not connecting the dots now, instead of when it's too late. Gore uses this metaphor in relation to tobacco. We received the warning in 1964 that tobacco is bad, very bad. Not much was done until millions were already doomed with cancer. We shouldn't make that mistake this time—it will affect everyone. The information we have is a clear indication that something is happening, something should be done, and that we have the ability to do that something. Let's connect the dots now instead of later. Let's kill the Manbearpig.

I've heard and read great criticism of this movie, one of the most pronounced being an attack on Gore's personal narrative being patched into it. There are two reasons why I don't have a problem with this. The first is that the glimpses of Al's life we see are relevant to the film. The part about his son explains Gore's devotion to his cause and serves as an example to the rest of us as to why we should care about the problem. Global warming will affect us all because our children will have to deal with it—it could literally be the death of them. When Gore speaks about his family growing tobacco and his sister dying from lung cancer, he uses it to demonstrate the metaphor of "connecting the dots" in time to defeat a problem before it beats you. His sister died of cancer as did millions of others because cigarettes and other tobacco products continued to be produced and sold to a public that had been warned of their awful affects.

The second reason I don't mind Gore talking about himself is that he's a politician. Stick with me here. This movie can act as a persuasive documentary—it can help get Al Gore votes. Wait for it. My hope is that he is doing this because he wants to win election so that he can work on this problem and others and confront the issues he cares about. I hope that he truly believes in these causes, and that's why he wants to be elected, and that's why he campaigned a little through the movie. If this is the case, then I don't mind the campaigning. Let's all hope that this man is as smart and sincere as he seems, and that he wins the next election if he contends. Heck, let's hope for more moderate officials in all branches and seats of government who do what's right and fair. The preceding was the deluded portion of the post where I get all dreamy-eyed and hope that goodness will someday overcome corruption and greed. I have a lot of faith sometimes.

When asked if he would see the movie, Bush replied, "Doubt it."

Good Lord.

This is a huge problem on which I always harp about—we have to always look at both all sides. Go see the movie. Even if you dislike Al Gore, go see it for yourself to decide how you feel about the issue and whether it's real, and if you feel like doing anything about it.

One thing I love about summer is the ever-present blockbuster. Even though disappointment comes easy, I still look forward to the big movies of summer. Superman Returns is an attempt to be that main blockbuster. It is successful.

I fall into a conundrum whenever I speak my mind about movies, usually. On one hand, I'm very critical, but part of me wants to be very forgiving. It's difficult because I want films to be good in every way. For movies like Superman, X-Men, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, I remind myself that these are action movies, BIG action movies that were made to be blockbusters. That means that any creativity was checked by money driven motives of studios and all the guys upstairs. They're made to appeal to the mass of moviegoers—the least common denominator effect—and that means that none of them will stray very far from the "proper" lines that define what these types of movies are supposed to deliver. Movies like The Deer Hunter or Lost in Translation are some of the best you'll see, but they're not nearly as popular or "successful" because a majority presume to judge those as slow and boring. So although it makes me mad that Superman and other movies will never live up to their potential, I try hard to forgive and forget the reasons why.

Superman is good, not quite as good as my wife thinks, but it is still a movie worth watching more than once. The animation and effects are great, but the sad thing is that they overrule the story and the execution thereof with the special effects, which is the way it should be. Kevin Spacey is usually great, and he was this time, too. Kate Bosworth shouldn't be Lois Lane. The movie is overly sentimental in parts, and I didn't really enjoy the Richard White slant to the story. Other than these criticisms, I really enjoyed Superman Returns and recommend all to see it (8/10). The special effects, despite what I said, are wonderful; it's simply nice to see Superman flying around again; and hearing the music from the 1978 Superman might just give you chills if you enjoyed Christopher Reeve's stint as the Man of Steel.

Kottke just posted an entry about Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, giving it a five-star rating. First, this is great because I was going to include in a soon-to-be post the very superior sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. This is one of a very select group of movies I watched during our honeymoon last week. I was supremely fortunate to find this movie on HBO one morning—the uppermost nonheinous of events during our impulsive honeymoon addendum.

Second, I have a very quick and simple answer to Jason's question, "How on earth is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure over anyone's head?" Unfortunately, most people tend to look at a thing no further than its skin, taking no effort to peel back anything. 'Bogus Journey' and its predecessor offer much more than the crazy, fluorescent 1980s teenage pop culture. They are literary marvels—mavericks of cinema whose only crime was trying too hard. "White Ninja Comics Bill & Ted are not for the weak of mind. They are a brilliant satirical commentary on controversial worldly issues." The brilliant use of subtlety left most of the public omitted in grasping the true essence, and particularly the proposed graduated revelations throughout (these movies address the core of human concern). They are underrated, overlooked, and only remembered by those fortunate enough to've seen the real value of Bill & Ted. Sure, they're also at the top of the list for comedy, but that takes a backseat to their humane features. I advise everyone to watch these movies. Station.

Justin called me today. He asked if Lindsey and I would like to see Underworld: Evolution. I never saw Underworld, but Lindsey did and said that it was OK. I liked 'Evolution' (6/10). When younger, I would dismiss movies like this as useless and unworthy of attention. But, I've come to realize that everything is valid in some way. Even if completely stupid and seemingly worthless, such as Kevin Federline, St. Valentine's Day, and astrology, things still have value as social evidence or device, even if they'll eventually remain to posterity only as unwanted oddities—leftovers of societal evolution. A bit harsh. Every movie has a story that was deemed worthy by someone, even if written only to count box office numbers. They still affect all viewers through emotional, cognitive, and sensory experience. So, even though I'd like to erase lots of things, I can't, so I have to add them into this crazy equation of which we're all variables. I guess it depends on the constants with which you set yourself. I'm such a weirdo.

I need to stop analyzing my thoughts for you with these entries and just tell that I thought the movie wasn't bad. ...If you need some good old-fashioned sex and violence.

Lindsey and I saw Crash earlier today at Eastgate. I enjoyed Crash but found it very improbable and pitifully false—pitiful in that the characters were far from reality in their actions and racial epiphanies. If we're discussing an issue as "real" as racism, then let's treat it in terms of reality. Some scenes were bloated beyond repair, too full of ego. Don't patronize or talk down to your audience, especially, again, when treating something so important, delicate, and complicated. I think the point about race is a good one to tackle, but entirely overdone in the film. I’ve always been one for the power of subtlety, which I think would have made this a much better, more levelheaded movie.

A metaphor doesn't have to be explained, and shouldn't need to be; it lives its purpose alone. Don't present to me a metaphor and then proceed to define it with overflowing examples. I think we've lost a certain touch in movies. The public receives things in preassembled allusions and whitewashed similes. Why give an implicit gift when you can explicitly hammer something home? Please, someone out there create a trend of film with self-interpretive substance. Lost in Translation didn't have the characters spoiling their thoughts for us in an attempt to make our feeble minds understand that two people have formed a unique bond. And even some movies, such as American Beauty, can elaborate their meanings for the viewer in ways that avoid waste.

Anyway.

I’m usually too hard on movies (only because I love them), so let me retract my thumping judgments for a moment and reiterate that I did enjoy Crash in the theater; race is a great issue that should be hit hard by every media. I just think it could’ve been done so much better than what we see here. Clip its wings a bit, tone down the overstatement, and switch some of the actors and you've got a superb film. It's still a good one, though.

I've been a fan of Star Wars since I was very small. It's one of the first movies I actually remember seeing. My parents and uncle James and aunt Cynthia went to see Return of the Jedi in theaters and if their memories serve them appropriately, I was there also. I'm sure this is not what I remember, though. One of my earliest memories is of the one-eyed snakelike creature visited by Luke and company in the trash compactor in A New Hope. Coincidentally, this was first viewed at James' house. Anyway, I like Star Wars. I rented the movies from JB Video when I was little; bought the figures when they were released in 1995; I saw the special editions in theaters in 1997; and sorted mixed emotions after seeing The Phantom Menace in 1999.

I enjoyed Attack of the Clones more than 'Phantom Menace', but I still rolled my eyes more than I wanted (mainly at C3PO's mishaps). Neither seem to have the feel or appeal of the originial trilogy to me. This is easily interpreted: I grew up with Han and Chewie. If six years ago I was expecting a new movie to have the same impact upon me as those which intertwined through all my growths, then I hoped too much. I did. When Jason and I went to see The Phantom Menace, I wanted Hoth battles and Vader versus Luke—emotional, explosive ladders I climbed at times throughout my early youth. I hear Star Wars fans who knew the original trilogy before Episode I speak with hateful voices of how George Lucas thwarted their return to boyhood with horrible writing, directing, casting, and so on. I sort of felt this way in 1999, but now I realize why we don't feel the same about the first three Episodes. If Episodes VII, VIII, and IX are made (with the original actors, dear Lord, please allow) a few years from now, the children of today who are growing up with Episodes I, II, and III may look with the same feelings upon those. Even if they were to be superior in plot and character, they would not be as magical to those in favor of the original trilogy. Revenge of the Sith was pretty good (7/10), but even if it had been better than Episodes IV, V, and VI combined, it would still mean less to me, or "us."

Introspections aside, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is pleasing in that it ties together the remaining five. I disallowed myself from knowing very much about this new movie; I had only seen the first trailer and one picture on the Internet. Justin spoiled Darth Maul's death in Episode I, and I wanted nothing like that to occur for this final film, which is likely the last. Still, I had a pretty good idea of what might happen and I was right with a lot of my guesses.

The dialogue was cruddy in many spots and certain actors were subpar. Chewbacca's appearance was questionable and perhaps unnecessary. Boba Fett was absent. The Jedi's apparent selective "force consciousness" (id est, their ability to feel a person's sadness when they're 1,500,000 miles away but not sensing a mammoth conspiracy) was disappointing. Palpatine's makeup and 'No's should've been redone. The plot was twisted around all over the place in such a way that it was unbelievable; there was no way the actors in this movie could hold it together, either. I'm mad at Hayden Christensen because of his horrible acting. I'm mad at George Lucas for writing such a weak script. This movie thrived on character development at its core, yet the characters were horribly portrayed. Believe it or not, I tried to be lenient and forgiving while watching. It's difficult because Star Wars was part of my childhood. I just tried to remember the things above and enjoy the movie. I know I've been harsh, but I did enjoy it. Overall though, regardless of what I said in the preceding paragraphs, I'm disappoited with the newest movies. The excitement and anticipation I had six or seven years ago was not fulfilled.

For me the best scene in the movie was near the beginning, when Anakin fought Dooku. I liked this part the most because it reminded me of when Luke fought Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi (the music that plays during that scene is great). It gave me a feeling similar to what the old movies produce. I'm sure the similarities were intentional: Palpatine sitting in a large chair in the same manner with Anakin in all black, looking a lot like Luke, and through large windows we see in the distance ships battling. Well, I let it work for me.

If only I could've seen A New Hope when it was released in 1977. I can't imagine how that must've been. I was able to see the original movies in their reformulated Special Edition forms in theaters in 1997, but I know it's not the same. Still, it was pretty exciting. Before Revenge of the Sith began I had an incredible feeling much like that. It was a combination of simply seeing a Star Wars movie and knowing that millions of others, old and young alike, were having the same experience. It's only a movie, I told myself, as if that would work. Lindsey and I were first in line. People were trying to cut in front of us, but when it was apparent that tickets were about to be torn I made sure no one pushed ahead of us. We took our seats quickly as people flooded in. The room was electric for twenty minutes in darkness with two lone lightsabers waving in the front. I felt like a kid and I couldn't be still. It was a new Star Wars, perhaps the last, and I was about to see it. It felt like Christmas Eve and Halloween rolled into one. It was a great feeling.

After the movie I found myself sad. It's over (probably) and it didn't get the ending it needed. That's it. But, I think the real reason I'm sad is that I'm no longer a child. Yeah, that old, universal problem. These are children's movies, and I'm not a child. Perhaps the newest movies aren't as bad as I think; if I were thirteen again I might like them as much as I liked the old ones. Anyway, it's not 1995 and I'm not thirteen. Age isn't actually the problem. I'm twenty-three now, but physically and otherwise I feel young, say around fifteen. The trouble is that circumstances have changed. When I was younger, so was everyone else. I still had four grandparents. I still had few responsibilities that held any real significance for myself or others. I still had many friends, and we still did things. Now, I've been out of high school for almost exactly five years. Everyone is gone except a few. The children of my youth are getting married. I have one grandparent and my parents are older. My brother is no longer five-years-old. He no longer watches and mimics what I do; I'm lucky if he cares. In short, obviously, I miss the past. I haven't changed all that much, but my environment has. I miss family cookouts from the late 1980s. I miss my friends. I miss talking about Star Wars and X-men with KoRn-shirt-wearing Taylor and a chubby, shy Justin. I miss Andrew and the crazy mental connection we had for such a long time, and all the silly jokes and insights we held. I miss Keri nearly more than any of them for some reason. I've known my cousins and Taylor for my whole life, literally, but I've only known Keri for about nine or ten years. She's a very special person to me. I hope things are all right in her life.

I have faith in Morgan Freeman. I have faith in Clint Eastwood. I haven't faith in Hilary Swank. Yet, I was led to the theater by my curiosity to see if the rave for "Million Dollar Baby" was appropriate. My affection for boxing movies probably helped.

This is not a boxing movie. I won't detail my thoughts for fear of spoilage, but simply say this movie is pretty good. It was very dark and while normally I would feel it overdone, for some reason I didn't. I liked it a lot.

One of the smartest things the director, Mr. Eastwood, did was to keep the actual amount of money Maggie had saved a mystery. If we knew that Maggie had collected $3,465,000, it would have shattered the emotional effect for some viewers. Because the amount was not revealed, it left the figure to each person's imagination; all we know is that it's a lot of money ("a lot" of money means different amounts to different people). This way, no matter how rich or poor, every single person that sees the movie will imagine, once to this part of the movie, a sum that is large in their own perception. Everyone will take in the scenes involving the money the same way. A millionaire and a poor college student will see these scenes and be affected equally.

Of course, I could have completely missed something and my entire above point is flawed like a New England senator.

That's about all I can say about the plot without ruining the movie for you. It was one of the best from the past year—emotional, darkly detailed, blatantly metaphorical, and full of spirit. Some are bashing the movie because of ethical concerns or claiming a lack of true substance. That's fine, but I decided what to take away from this movie.

I think it would've been even better without the Danger character, though, or perhaps a modified version. Still, great movie: 9/10.

I've always had a thing for boxing movies. I liked the Rocky movies as a kid and Raging Bull when I found it. I'm looking forward to Cinderella Man, now.

Jason and I saw Anchorman (7/10) today. I had not seen him since we went to see Dawn of the Dead in March. So, I called him, he was home, and I drove over. He had no money, so I offered to pay and we were off to Albemarle. It wasn't bad. A bad movie would be worth seeing Jason and catching up on things anyway. He and Sommer are moving in together—apartment in Charlotte. Hearing that and seeing the movie just made me think of Lindsey even more. I think about her most times.

Not familiar with Tobey Maguire's face? YOU WILL BE! Half of the movie was a steady shot of Peter Parker's face. Can we back the camera up, please? Another thing: what was with some of those voice-overs? The screams from some of the women were badly done, as were a few other yells that were so unnatural I laughed. There were a lot of comedians cast in this movie. I even saw Phil Lamar. I knew Stan Lee would be in it, but only for about 2.5 seconds this time. This movie was flawed and very cheesy, but I forgive because it is based on a comic, after all. I know I've been harsh, but it's not really all that bad (7/10). I guess sometimes I just hope for more serious effort, plot, costumes, characters, drama, development, dialogue, etc. Sometimes, not all the time, I want something that doesn't appeal so much to the lowest common denominator.

P.S.  You can skip the first hour because this is all they throw at you: Peter Parker's life sucks.

Carlyn and I went to see The Day After Tomorrow. It was pretty exciting and I enjoyed watching it. It's nice to turn your brain off for a while and just watch pretty special effects and their supplementary loud noises. I still found myself questioning whether this could really happen or that could really happen. You can read this for a tiny insight on that area.

I was outside for about 3 hours today. This is the first time I've been sunburned in a long while. It has made me miss Pensacola again. I find myself missing that wonderful place about two or three times a year.

Jason called me this afternoon asking if I wanted to see Dawn of the Dead with him. I hadn't seen him a very long time so I went to pick him up. He's doing well. My CD player barely works, so during the ride we discussed Greg Graffin, religion, Jason's Johnny Cash tattoo, his car troubles, and all sorts of other things. We hadn't seen each other in person since June, I think, so we had plenty to talk about. He always has to play one of the arcade machines at our crappy little theater. This time it was Crazy Taxi. I had that game at one point. Anyway, the movie was pretty good (8/10), better than I thought it might be at least. After the movie we went back to his house and hung around for a while, talking about anything and everything. His room is still decorated with MxPx and Marilyn Monroe posters. He's still the same ol' Jason.

It's been really busy lately. Christmas stuff has been going on the past couple days so I haven't had time to sit at my computer. I saw Return of the King tonight. I didn't really like it much. Talk about over dramatic. I rolled my eyes many times. I liked Fellowship of the Ring a lot, but the last two just didn't do it for me. This one was filled with unnecessary pauses and redundancies. I couldn't wait for it to end, and I thought it never would. The battle sequences were nice, but they didn't make up for the rest of the movie. All but about one percent of the Internet community is proclaiming this the best movie ever. I don't see why. It seemed like a fourth of the movie was in slow motion. Another fourth was simply shouting to the audience, "HEY! I'm a big, important movie!" Special effects do not necessarily equal a good movie, just as excessive slow motion sequences do not necessarily make art. Overall, Return of the King was an average movie. It's ego brought it down a notch. I think it was all the cheese...made it bloated. Cheesy and bloated it certainly was, accounting for another fourth. That leaves twenty-five percent of tolerability. I'm probably being too hard on it, but that's okay because everyone else is going overboard with the praise. I did like, though, when they went into that cave and met the pirates of the Caribbean.

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean (9/10) today. It was good, I really enjoyed it.

That's about it. Rained again.

It's 12:27am and I just got back from seeing Terminator 3 (6/10). I didn't expect it to be as good as T2, which is one of my favorite movies, and I was correct. There were several flaws, but I won't go into that here. I'm not saying it was bad, though. I enjoyed it.

Well, maybe it was bad.

Finally saw The Hulk (5/10) today. Carlyn and I went to the 12:30 show. It was alright, it didn't suck as bad as people had said. The Hulk was never the greatest comic character, so I wasn't expecting the greatest movie either. Just as the movie started, a lady walked in with a couple kids behind her. Nothing unusual. But, then another kid came, and then a parade of them, I'd say almost 30. All little black children. They were surprisingly quiet up until near the end of the movie when a couple of them got into a fight. It was funny.

I went to see Bruce Almighty (6/10) last night. It was okay, I suppose. Many stale areas, but there were several funny parts that made up for it. Just to have Jim doing a comedy again is pleasing in itself for nostalgic purposes. Hopefully he and Jeff Daniels will do a third Dumb and Dumber. I'm hoping New Line hasn't made a mistake with this prequel. (Update: Have they ever!)

This is probably going to be a long one. I woke up around 10:30am and went straight into doing the yard. I push-mowed for about an hour. I was starving by this point and went in and ate. Soon after, around 1:30, Jason called me. It didn't surprise me, considering X-Men started today. I took a shower and everything and went over there about 2:10. We didn't stay at his place very long before we headed toward Albemarle. The movie was to start at 4, so we had some time to kill, which we did by going to Blockbuster and Sam Goody. As we were leaving Sam Goody, Jason thought he saw Taylor in the Wendy's parking lot. So I drove over there and stopped beside him in the drive-through line. He rolled down his window, said the movie was awesome, and then explained that he had gotten Kenzie out of school early to see the 1:00 showing. We left ol' Biff and made our way to Eastgate. Josh was there so we didn't have to pay. Jason played some turkey shooting game for a while as Josh and I stood around him talking about everything. We eventually went in. Jason and I were sitting on the back row when two teenagers walked in, both wearing red shirts. As they walked past the isle, one of them looked at me and said, "Stephen!" a couple times before we let them know neither of us was Stephen. They went down a few rows and sat down. A minute later the same guy turns around and calls out, "Stephen!" again. Jason and I just looked at each other and kind of laughed. Just a minute later I feel my hat fly off and those two idiots were right behind us. I reached back and said, "Give my damn hat back." These morons still thought I was some guy named Stephen, because a couple minutes later, back at their seats, they turn around saying, "Stephen!" again. I'm angry at this point. He's already knocked my hat off and bothered the mess out of me. I turn to Jason and jokingly say, "Let's beat 'em up." Jason was fed up and yelled, "Hey! We're not Steven! So shut the fuck up!" We couldn't help laughing at this point. I'd never seen him just yell at someone like that, with our without bad language. We noticed a short time later the two kids moved down several rows.

The preview for The Hulk looked pretty good, I guess. X-Men was really good (8/10), way better than the first. Josh came in and watched it with us every now and then. I'm not sure how good this movie would seem to someone who isn't familiar with X-Men, but for long time fans like Jason, Josh, and myself, it was really great. When I got home I got out some of my old comics just to reminisce. I remember all the great nights, many years ago, at James' house. Jeremy, Justin, Josh, Taylor, and myself spent the night there all together so many times. I really loved that time in my life.

Saw Identity (6/10) today. Alone. The only one in the theater, which was great.

My brother and I went up to Eastgate to see Anger Management (5/10). Josh was at the ticket counter with his girlfriend Jodi. We talked for a second about Jeremy getting married on October 4th. We're growing up and it sucks. Anyway, he let us in for free.

The movie wasn't good. Every Sandler flick ends with a group of people, a speech, and celebration.

I saw this movie the other day. I usually give some sort of rating, but on this one I'm not.

First of all, Michael Moore is a tad annoying. I can't stand his nasal passage; he shouldn't narrate. He also seems too closed-minded and displays an ego, which he doesn't mind stoking on camera.

As for the messages in his movie, they're very interesting, valid or not. The whole concept of fear and consumerism particularly held my attention. I think some of that is true. I also think, however, that these things are untrue: 1) Eric and Dylan went bowling that morning, 2) the splicing of Charlton Heston's speeches was fair, 3) Michael Moore made a clear point and defines himself well, and 4) he hid or altered nothing. Number 3 may not be very arguable, though, because he apparently claims this film is also satire and comedy. I guess when you say that, things become easier to defend when inaccuracies are discovered.

I don't really know what else to say about this film, other than it was very entertaining and thought-provoking.

I saw both Austin Powers in Goldmember (4/10) and Signs (7/10) today with Carlyn.  Austin Powers wasn't good at all, even with Michael Caine.  I was embarrassed for all involved.  Signs wasn't that great, but I enjoyed it.  The acting was bad and the plot was unbelievable, but I still liked it for some reason.  It scared my little brother to death.  That's probably why.

The highlight of the evening came between movies.  A man was sitting about 5 rows in front of us.  He turned around and said something similar to, "This is the part I hate--waiting."  He said something else, but I can't recall.  As he turned back around, he kicked his drink, which was apparently the size of a minivan.  Carlyn and I tried to laugh silently, but couldn't stop. Carlyn went to the bathroom just before Signs started to get a grip and try to cease our giggling.  While he was there, a little kid walked in.  He was probably 11 or so.  He just came strolling in and slipped on some pee on the floor.  His legs flew out from under him and his back hit the ground.  He looked surprised, of course, and got up, saying, "Oh crap."  Then he simply walked back out.  Naturally, Carlyn busted out in laughter.  We were laughing for the next 5 minutes in the theater after he told me.  Everyone was turning around and I was trying to stop laughing but just couldn't.  Finally we composed ourselves, wiped the tears from our eyes, and watched the movie.

Here is an artist's rendition of the event.

Thanks, Kyle.