Rainy Holiday Weekend Movie Reviews

It rained all weekend. On Saturday, I did an hour of the Wii EA Sports Active More Workouts and therefore could barely move the rest of the weekend. I was taken by surprise because I have been running 5 days per week for about two months but I guess the Wii workout targeted different muscle groups because my legs were super sore.

So the rain, combined with being immobile, meant that we spent most of the weekend at home. I finished Steve’s quilt and made Wilbur a little quilt from the scraps (pictures later). We also watched a lot of Netflix. If you haven’t heard, the Netflix instant play is the greatest thing EVER! We had a couple Netflix DVDs to watch as well. Here’s a wrap-up.

The Blind Side – I really liked this movie. I know a lot of critics didn’t like it, but I thought it was a good combination of drama, some laughs, and a basically heartwarming story.

The Great Debaters – Another biopic. Stars Denzel Washington as a debate team teacher of an African American university in the 1930s. I thought it was a decent movie. Denzel Washington is always good in his movies.

No Impact Man – A documentary about a NYC family who try to live for one year without making any impact on the environment. I found this movie really interesting. One of my favorite things about Netflix instant watch is the documentaries (as you’ll see because I watched three of them). Even though I don’t think I could ever go as far as this family did with their no impact life, it did point out a lot of things I don’t think about with packaging waste and the transportation costs involved in the goods that you buy. I think I will try to buy more food at a farmers market.

Art & Copy – A documentary about the advertising industry. This was kind of a boring movie, but it was interesting to watch some commercials that I remember and hear the stories about how the creators came up with the ideas.

Beer Wars – A documentary about the craft beer industry. Despite the fact that I do not drink beer, this was an interesting movie. I think that the story would be the same in any industry: little guys trying to get a foot in the door with the big guys. The laws surrounding the distribution of beer perhaps makes it harder for start-ups in that industry, but it’s probably about the same in any industry. I’ve watched some other documentaries in the past about Wal-Mart, etc and all of these types of movies make me want to only shop at local businesses and buy local products, but then I fall into the catch-22 with the cost of doing that. I’m sure that it’s true for all Americans.

That’s all I watched this weekend, but while I’m on the topic of documentaries, the best one I have watched on Netflix is The King of Kong. I thought it was going to be a totally stupid documentary about a guy who is obsessed with breaking the world record for a Donkey Kong score. However, it was really great! If you get a chance to watch it, you definitely should.

Party like it is 2007

Editor’s Note: My goal is to revive this blog. I’m tinkering with a new layout and I’ll try to actually write because I notice it’s been six months since my last entry!

LOST and I have had a rocky relationship. When LOST first premiered, in 2004, I religiously watched each episode. I followed the trials and tribulations of the Losties as they came to grips with the fact that they weren’t getting rescued and they figured out how to live together or die alone. I sat on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the meaning of the smoke monster and was boggled when Locke finally opened the hatch in the season finale.

Then Season Two started and I missed a couple episodes. My previous relationship with LOST gave way to my relationship with future-Other Half. LOST didn’t take too kindly to being ignored and decided to run amok and make it so I could not just stop in for a visit and understand what was happening. LOST wanted my full attention if I was going to understand it’s mysteries and I neglected it. Eventually we broke up.

Fast forward to the fall of 2008. Other Half and I have a newly established Netflix subscription. Other Half was eagerly watching movie after movie. Awkwardly, I brought up my old relationship with LOST. Other Half and LOST had never met, but Other Half was open to inviting it into our relationship. I added Season One to the Netflix Queue and the DVDs started arriving. Quickly I fell right back into my old obsession and this time, Other Half fell with me. It took us practically no time to watch all four seasons, especially since we watched three or four episodes per night. When Season Five started in early 2009, we were ready.

Now it’s Season Six and, as ABC loves to remind me, it’s the final season of LOST. In fact, there are only nine more episodes. I approach the final LOST episode with mixed feelings. Of course, I want answers to the questions that have my brain spinning, but once it’s over, it’s over. There will not be anything new to look forward to each week.

In order to feed my LOST obsession, I listen to a couple LOST podcasts. One is the LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack. They are having a big LOST finale party in Los Angeles for the finale. It sounds awesome. The two hour finale, played on a big screen and they are planning to have a panel discussion with some of the actors attending. Tickets go on sale next Thursday. They are going to announce the actors next week as well. I’m considering going. Other Half said he’s down with the idea, now that he’s been drawn into a relationship with LOST too.

I’m going to do some more research over the next week and then decide if we will go. It might be a good one last fun thing before school starts as well. I’ll keep you posted.