The Ink-Competent Writer

2011

2011-03-16T10:52:00.002-06:00

Okay....I really need to get my act together. I've been so busy keeping up with 2011 goals, I've neglected to finish up a 2010 goal. I need to make one more post for my A Year of Movies challenge-but not right now (the info is on a different computer and not handy at the moment). I will tell you that I did succeed in finishing at least one movie every day for all of 2010 and I also watched over 500 movies in total for the year.

This year, I'm focusing more on being creative and exercising. I started another round of edits on my novel, The Penitent Assassin (when these edits are done, I'll be submitting to agents again). I've helped get a rough cut of our Indie movie, The Victim, edited. I've begun working on the second half of the script for The Victim so we can turn it into a feature length movie. And, I've logged in nearly 1000 miles on my exercise bike since 1/1/11 and have lost just over 20 pounds.

Overall, I've been successful at maintaining my goals.

Next goal--an agent.

The hunt will begin soon. Wish me luck...

PS: Perhaps a new goal should be to keep this blog more up to date...(okay, I'll try).

Have a great day, All.

A Year of Movies

2010-10-22T18:06:00.003-05:00

Catching Up:

Yep. That's right. I'm going to catch up tonight. Well, I'm going to try. Instead of doing an short overview of all the movies over the past few months, I just want to get the numbers down. If I feel like writing something about the movie I will...but bottom line, trying to keep up with this insane movie a day quest, and keeping up with the kids, and keeping up with sleep, and trying to keep up with my writing, doesn't leave a lot of time to write about the movies. Sooooooooo....instead of trying and worrying about falling behind all the time, I'm just going to catch up as simply as I can and hope I can maintain at least the rest of the blog for this year for the last two months or so....

So --- from Week 30 starting July 23, 2010 and ending with Week 42, October 21, 2010:

287. The Object of Beauty -- John Malkovich is so fun to watch in this.

288. Insomnia -- Great Christopher Nolan movie.

289. It's Complicated -- A trio of amazing actors.

290. Pitch Black -- Interesting sci-fi/horror film.

291. The Chronicles of Riddick -- a good sequel.

292. The Warlords -- with Jet Li

293. Clash of the Titans (original) -- love the cheesy F/X

294. Clash of the Titans (remake) -- a different kind of cheese.

295. The Amateurs -- a nice low-budget comedy

296. Very Bad Things -- a dark, dark comedy.

297. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- my kids liked this. Nice actions, not much of a story.

298. Who's Harry Crumb? -- I miss John Candy and his kind of comedies.

299. Joy Ride -- Candy Cane....? Candy Cane....?

300. 300 -- 300th movie for the year. Watched on 8/2/2010. Solid action movie.

301. Julie & Julia -- watched with my wife. Both liked it.

302. The Hobbit -- animated. Can't wait for the Peter Jackson version. Even so, I love this old animated movie. One of my favorites from when I was a kid.

303. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring -- the extended version. One of my all-time favorite movies.

304. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers -- the extended version. Again, one of my all-time favorite movies. So many noble characters...

305. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -- the extended version. Ummm....do I really have to say it's one of my all-time favorite movies? I just loved these three movies--and I love the extended versions just a tiny bit more. Can't get enough of these movies--and I can't wait for the two-part Hobbit movie. Oh....how fun it would be to be involved in those movies! An extra perhaps? Even some ugly goblin standing way in the back.......ahhhhh....to dream.

306. A Good Night to Die -- Okay low-budget movie. Probably shouldn't have followed up some of my all-time favorite movies with this....

307. Blown Away -- Jeff Daniels in another good role.

308. Once Upon a Time in Mexico -- A fun sequel to Desperado. Loved Depp as the corrupt CIA agent Sands...

309. Once Upon a Time in the West -- At first, I thought--What the hell? Then, I kept watching and I really enjoyed the movie. Great western.

310. Kick-Ass -- I liked this different take on 'real' superheroes.

311. Watchmen -- director's cut with an extra 24 minutes. I just thought this was a slick movie. I didn't mind the violence--but then, I didn't watch this movie with my kids (unlike the parents who brought their two young kids to the movie theater when it first came out and sat behind me in the theater and I had to listen to the kids crying and the parents bickering about who was to blame for bringing the kids....It's rated 'R' for a reason, people!) Duh.

312. King of California -- quirky movie. I like this role and Michael Douglas's role in Wonder Boys quite a bit -- that's a movie I've got to track down again....hopefully before the end of the year.

313. Over the Hedge -- a movie I DID watch with my kids. My little guy liked it quite a bit. He thought it was very funny.

314. National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation -- We were on vacation--seemed fitting.

315. National Lampoon's Vacation -- We were still on vacation. I love this movie. It's just SOOOO funny. (it has some great music in it too).

316. National Lampoon's European Vacation -- Yep...on vacation.

317. Thirty Day Princess -- the first of five old Cary Grant movies from the 30s. Entertaining

318. Kiss and Make Up -- another good Cary Grant movie.

319. Wings in the Dark -- an unusual romance. Good movie.

320. Big Brown Eyes -- A good mystery. Lots of fun banter. Cary Grant as a detective. Perhaps my favorite of these five.

321. Wedding Present -- a good comedy about a silly couple.

322. From Paris with Love -- Travolta looked like he was having fun making this.

323. Shaun of the Dead -- I just find Simon Pegg to be very funny, even when he's not doing anything. Just his blank expression is funny....

324. Hot Fuzz -- Ditto. Also, some good action at the end.

325. Tropic Thunder -- Yep, after watching some classy 30s black and white Cary Grant movies, I followed it up with an assortment of oddball comedies.

326. The Three Musketeers -- the Disney version. Decent. It's being remade again, isn't it? Looking forward to that...

327. Hot Tub Time Machine -- Parts of this were pretty funny.

328. The Patriot -- Mel Gibson kicking lots of British ass. Still can't believe Heath Ledger is gone.

329. City Slickers -- Gotta find that one thing...

330. When Harry Met Sally -- Classic romantic comedy. Smart movie. Good banter. And of course....I'll have what she's having....

331. What's the Worst That Could Happen? -- based on Donald Westlake's book. Funny. I'd like to see more of Donald Westlake/Richard Stark's books made into movies.

332. Percy Jackson and the Olympiads: The Lightning Thief -- decent action/kids movie. The kids liked it. At the time, I hadn't read the books. I'm currently about midway through the book. So far, I like the book better.

333. Jurassic Park -- Excellent movie. Love the dinosaurs. Great F/X, story and cast.

Moving into September....

334. The Lost World: Jurassic Park -- A thrilling sequel. More dinosaurs. More people getting killed by dinosaurs....

335. Jurassic Park 3 -- bigger dinosaurs. Lesser story.

336. The Wolfman -- Part brutal. Part gentle. A noir monster movie that wasn't simply about the gore.

337. The Way of the Gun -- a dark, violent movie with some good gun play and banter.

338. The Bounty Hunter -- a decent action rom-com. The wife liked it too.

339. Two Can Play That Game -- a good rom-com about the 'rules' of dating. Made me glad I'm married.

340. Cold Souls -- friend recommended this. Good indie movie with a solid performance by Paul Giamatti.

341. Predator -- I've always liked this sci-fi/action movie. Good alien creature. Perfect role for Arnold.

342. Predator 2 -- A bunch of cliched characters getting killed by an alien in LA. Decent sequel.

343. AVP: Alien vs Predator -- I decided to watch these in what I considered real-time chronology--not in their release dates, but rather in the order they would occur if they happened in the real world. I actually liked this alien mash up.

344. AVP: Aliens vs Predator Requiem -- watched the 'unrated' version. It was just okay.

345. Alien -- An excellent sci-fi/horror movie. Still a scary movie after all these years.

346. Aliens -- Perhaps the best of the series. Need the first to appreciate the second (don't people say that about the Godfather series? Hmmm, another series I should track down before the end of the year...)

347. Aliens3 -- Good...but when watched immediately following Aliens, I felt really bad about everyone but Ripley dying...

348. Alien Resurrection -- Good banter. Good way to revive Ripley. A fitting end to her character--finally.

349. A Perfect Murder -- Slick remake of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. A great cast of actors/characters.

350. Fargo -- A unique dark thriller-comedy.

351. The Ghost Writer -- Another great cast. Good story. Impressive ending.

352. Labyrinth -- Watched this with my little guy. Loved this movie when I was a kid. My little guy thought it was pretty cool too.

353. Rock N Rolla -- A bunch of quirky characters doing quirky things in a Guy Ritchie movie. Enjoyable.

354. High Noon -- classic western. Good 'morals' story. Done mostly in real time.

355. To Catch a Thief -- one of my favorite Hitchcock, Grant and Kelly movies. Great story. Great dialogue. Just an amazing movie. Beautifully shot movie too. If you haven't seen this classic movie, you should!

356. North by Northwest -- okay, this is another of my favorite Hitchcock / Grant movies. This is another must-see.

357. That Touch of Mink -- Cute rom-com starring Cary Grant and Doris Day.

358. The Girl Next Door -- I didn't know what to expect with this comedy--but I liked it (and not just because of all the hot women in it).

359. First Blood -- Decided to watch all four Rambo movies in a row. Hadn't done that before. This first one is quite good.

360. Rambo: First Blood Part 2 -- Good sequel. Lots of action. Higher body count.

361. Rambo 3 -- I don't think I've ever watched this movie from the very beginning to the very end. Another good action sequel.

362. Rambo -- After twenty years, Rambo returns and this might be the best of the four. A really good movie, loads of action and a nice ending to the series.

363. Shallow Hal -- cute rom-com with Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow.

364. There's Something About Mary -- A perfect role for Cameron Diaz. Funny movie.

365. Beetlejuice -- I didn't realize until this viewing just how little Michael Keaton actually is in this movie.....good comedy.

366. Gladiator -- a stunning epic.

367. The Book of Eli -- A thought-provoking story. Denzel is good. Gary Oldman gives another over-the-top crazy-dangerous performance.

Moving into October:

368. The Replacement Killers -- Slick movie. Slick gun-play. I kinda wish the relationship between the two main characters had developed a bit more....but the action side of this movie worked.

369. Manhunter -- the Hannibal Lecter movie without Anthony Hopkins. Actually, this is a really good movie.

370. Silence of the Lambs -- Intense, dark, thrilling. Anthony Hopkins of course gives an amazing performance as did Jodie Foster. A great, great movie.

371. Arlington Road -- a twisted movie. Quite scary too since the story seems like something that could just maybe happen...

372. Swordfish -- Slick caper movie. Travolta having more fun here. And if you're a Halle Barry fan.....well..... if you're a fan, you already know about this movie.

373. Suicide Kings -- Christopher Walken is in this movie. He plays a mobster. What more do you need to say?

374. The Glass House -- a decent thriller. Quite eerie at times.

375. Christine -- I like this movie, but I love the book. When I was younger I thought it would be sooooo cool to have a vintage car like this. Now, with gas prices being what they are.....well, who could afford to drive these cars anywhere?

376. The Road -- Beautiful in its starkness. Sad. Poignant. This movie lingers. Viggo gave just an impressive, impressive performance in this. I have the book sitting on my shelf upstairs. At some point I will read it--but it will not be an easy read.

377. The Dark Crystal -- another movie I loved when I was a kid. Watched it with my little guy. He loved it.

378. Leap Year -- cute rom-com. Wife liked it too.

379. A History of Violence -- Can Viggo pick a bad role? Perhaps, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll have to check on imdb. Parts of this movie remind me of Ernest Hemingway's 'The Killers'.

380. Blade -- An enjoyable antihero/superhero vampire action movie.

381. Blade 2 -- A different feel to this one, but still a good vampire action movie.

382. Blade Trinity -- I liked the added humor. Overall, I like this trilogy.

383. Constantine -- I thought Keanu Reeves was good as John Constantine and I really liked Rachel Weisz in her dual role. Interesting story.

384. Rob Zombie's Halloween -- watched the unrated director's cut of this remake. I liked it. I think I've seen the original, but it's been quite a few years, and I don't remember much about it. (though what more do you need to know? Psycho killer in a mask kills people....)

385. Two if by Sea -- thought I'd lighten things up with a Denis Leary/Sandra Bullock rom-com/heist movie. Okay movie.

386. The Mask -- Jim Carrey was perfect in both roles and if I remember correctly this was Cameron Diaz's first big role. She was stunning in this.

387. She's the One -- Ed Burns wrote/directed/acted in this interesting rom-com. My wife had watched it before and gave it mixed reviews. I thought it was pretty good.

388. Nine -- An impressive musical. Daniel Day-Lewis and 'his' seven women. Lots of talent. Good singing. Nice story.

389. Bedtime Stories -- watched this with the kids. They liked it. Little guy thought it was pretty funny.

390. Underworld -- Kate Beckinsale is quite good as the icy-cold Death Dealer/Vampire. Bill Nighy is impressive as the vampire ruler. Good story. Slick noir feel to this movie.

391. Underworld Evolution -- I liked the evolution of the story and the characters. Good F/X.

392. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans -- a Romeo and Juliet story with Vampires and Werewolves (Lycans). An enjoyable prequel story. It's hard to believe that the same actor who played the British Prime Minister in The Queen and Frost in Frost/Nixon was the Lycan leader Lucias. This was another good vampire trilogy.

393. Penelope -- A sweet rom-com starring Chistina Ricci sporting a pig's nose.

394. Journey to the Center of the Earth -- Brenden Fraser's version. Watched it with the kids. They liked it.

And that's it folks. I'm caught up as of yesterday. Yes, I've already watched today's movie but I'll include that in my next blog post for Week 43 to include Oct. 22 to Oct 28, 2010. For a while, I thought 500 movies viewed during the year was an easy deal--but as I'm drawing near the end of the year, (well, the end of Oct) and I'm just now nearing the 400 mark, I'm not so sure. I've been busy editing a couple of projects and researching material for a new project so I haven't had as much movie-watching time.

Ahhhhhhhh....though getting caught up feels good!

Have a great weekend, All.

A Year of Movies

2010-09-29T05:24:00.003-05:00

Week 29: July 16, 2010 to July 22, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

Can't sleep so I might as well make an attempt to get caught up. Ha ha. No really. I'd love to get caught up. I'd love to post these comments closer to when I've actually watched the movies. It would allow me to write more about each of these movies--so...for now, I'll toss out a couple short and sweet (and hopefully not too sour) comments and make an honest attempt to get these next few months caught up over the next few weeks.

279. South Park, Bigger, Longer & Uncut -- Either you love the series and this movie, or you don't. Okay, maybe it's not quite that cut and dried--I haven't really watched the series much lately--it's not exactly kid-friendly, but I was able to slip away and watch this without too many interruptions and I found myself laughing out loud from time to time. It felt good.

280. Nurse Betty -- What an odd, odd movie. While I liked the strange performance by Morgan Freeman, I didn't like Renee Zellwegger's character much. Oh wells, can't like everything...

281. The X-Files: Fight the Future -- For people who know me well, they're shocked when I tell them I didn't watch The X-Files TV series. I'm shocked too. I know I'd like it. Someday I'll have to just watch in on DVD. Maybe next year. So, without really knowing the characters as well as 'fans'--I'll just say I enjoyed the movie and someday after watching the series, I'll watch it again.

282. The X-Files: I Want to Believe -- Entertaining, but I didn't like it quite as much as the first one.

283. Aeon Flux -- I only saw a few of the original animated shows so I have no idea how true to the source material this movie was--but as for the movie itself, I rather liked it. I know many critics didn't seem to like this movie, but I guess I'm a sucker for attractive women who know how to take care of themselves.

284. Shutter Island -- Brilliant movie. I'd figured out parts of the ending as the movie played out but I was still impressed by the story and the actors' performances. I'd like to watch this movie again (in 2011 when I have more time).

285. Office Space -- A favorite. Funny, and so real. I think it's funny because everyone has had to work with people / bosses like this in their past.

286. Idiocracy -- A funny and enjoyable movie. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll have to wait 500 years before the population devolves to this level. Wait, I didn't say that out loud, did I? Ha ha. 'I love money.'

Favorite for the week. Probably Shutter Island -- though for a laugh, I'd go with Office Space.

Okay, I know, I know -- this was short and mostly sweet -- but hey, it's not even 6am yet and I'm functioning on three hours of sleep. Yeah, yeah--I hear you--excuses excuses.

A Year of Movies

2010-09-20T12:13:00.004-05:00

Week 28: July 9, 2010 to July 15, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

Aside for the sequel, this is perhaps one of those rare weeks where none of the rest of the movies really relate to any of the others--at least not in any way I notice offhand. Let me know if you find one...

271. Shelter Island (2003) -- No, this is not a typo--I did not mean Shutter Island (Shutter Island will appear in next weeks batch). I really didn't like this movie. The acting seemed forced, the story didn't thrill, I didn't much like any of the characters, and by the end, I really didn't care who lived or died. Probably the only good thing about the movie was that it was short--roughly 82 minutes.

272. Godzilla (1998) -- Not a great movie, but after the last one, this one seemed like a masterpiece! Actually, I kinda like this movie. I thought the CGI of the Godzilla monster was good. I liked a lot of the actors in this--Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria--and while it had a lot of cheese--it was at least decent cheese. At least it was entertaining.

273. Jackie Brown (1997) -- I really like this movie mostly because I like the uniqueness of so many of its characters. Robert Forster's bail bondsman, Max Cherry--Pam Greer's Jackie Brown--Samuel L. Jackson's Ordell Robbie....and don't forget Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda, even Chris Tucker has a small role in this slick caper-type crime drama. Though it is a long movie, I didn't realize the length until it was over and I realized 2 1/2 hours had gone by. Great dialogue in this movie too.

274. Dick (1999) -- Cute comedy. Some funny lines. If I knew that time period better, perhaps I'd appreciate even more of the humor. Decent 'buddy' film.

275. Get Shorty (1995) -- I love just sitting back and watching this great cast of actors playing a great cast of characters. John Travolta was absolutely perfect as Chili Palmer. Every time I watch this movie, I find myself smiling. Just a fun, fun movie.

276. Be Cool (2005) -- Good, but not nearly as good as Get Shorty. While I still enjoyed watching Travolta as Palmer--some of the originality of the story/characters just didn't seem to be there. Still, compared to other movies I've seen this week (271) this is a fairly decent and entertaining movie.

277. Legion (2010) -- When I first saw previews of this movie, I thought it looked sooooo cool. I really wanted to see this movie in the theaters--but hey, life sometimes gets in the way. Anyway, I finally got to see this movie and...well...parts of it was really good and parts were just so-so. I liked Paul Bettany in this role--don't normally see him in an action role--and I liked the idea of the movie--and I liked the battle between the angels Michael and Gabriel (played by Kevin Durand) but I guess I wanted more angels and less....zombie-like creatures. Also, (since I'm writing this two months after viewing and I've seen dozens of movies since) I don't remember being all that impressed with the ending--in fact, if memory serves, I found the ending to be a bit unimpressive.

278. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) -- Classic western. Okay, I'll admit it, before this viewing, I'd never watched this movie from the very beginning to the very end. Overall, I was hugely impressed with this movie. I loved the friendship between the characters Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I enjoyed the story, the dialogue, the banter--basically I liked everything about the movie except...Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head? I like the song separate from the movie--I just didn't get how it fit with this movie--or even how exactly it fit with that scene. If you know--please, drop me a comment and explain. Thanks.

Favorite Movie for the week: Hmmm....well, I'll tell you it's NOT Shelter Island. Big surprise, I know. Okay....seriously though, I'd probably go with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--though Get Shorty and Jackie Brown are tied for a very close second.

Writing, Acting and Life

2010-09-13T12:07:00.003-05:00

Hello Friends,

In addition to keeping up with my quest to finish a movie a day for the entire year, I've pursued a few other more...worthy...goals this year. If you've read some of my previous posts, you already know that I've worked on an independent short film this summer entitled The Victim. (Our website is nearly finished--I think--and when it is I'll include the link). I wrote the initial script for this years ago and finally with the help of some really talented friends we finished the primary filming last week. (We still have a couple of shots we'd like to get but they are a simple matter of getting the right people together at the same time--it will happen!)

Emotionally, I'm torn about the filming part being done. I loved acting again. I loved playing the part of Michael Jones--a wandering serial killer on the hunt for his next victim--however, he really was a dark and twisted character to play.....and well, I'm actually a pretty nice guy. In a few scenes I had to become quite vicious (with actors who are my friends) and after one long filming session I got home, took a shower and puked. Yes, it was after one of the hottest days of the summer, and yes, I was probably a bit dehydrated, but still, the combination of immersing myself into that role and doing what I did was not an easy task. While I'm glad that part of the filming is over, I find myself wishing our next project was ready to shoot--(I suppose a part of me forgot just how much I love acting)--but we still have the editing to complete now and I still need to polish the next script. Still, I'm hopeful that my acting skills (whatever they may or may not be) will come in handy the next time I'm writing a truly dreadful villain because I think I may have glimpsed a new way into getting into the heads of these types of characters.

I'll just make sure to write those scenes on an empty stomach.

In addition to the short film, I've returned to novel writing--my first creative love. After spending much of the last year rewriting large sections of my latest novel, I'm back to submitting to agents again. Both exciting and terrifying and often times a whole lot of waiting. Understandable waiting--but still, waiting. And wondering. And yes, on occasion, daydreaming. But only for a little while, because too much daydreaming leads to not enough writing. And I have been writing--however, I think it's time for me to choose ONE project and focus my attention fully on it. The lead contender is a futuristic fantasy with some comedic characters and a lot of action. I think after all this darkness it would be nice to work on something...lighter.

I'll keep you all up to date (and yes, I promise I will catch up on my Year of Movies posts soon--and hopefully with a bit more detail on each movie) on The Victim and on my search for an agent.

Have a great day, All.

A Year of Movies

2010-09-09T10:38:00.003-05:00

Week 27: July 2, 2010 to July 8, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

Okay, let's get to it.

261. The Prestige -- An incredible movie (based on the book, The Prestige, by Christopher Priest) which only further demonstrates Christopher Nolan's amazing talents as a director. Without giving too much away, I'll say that I did figure out most of what was going on as the movie was playing--but I didn't solve the final bit until near the end. A great cast too--Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, Andy Serkis. Even after multiple viewings, I still enjoy this movie quite a bit.

262. Whiteout -- Take away the setting (Antarctica) and Kate Beckinsale and this movie would have blended in with a lot of other law enforcement vs brutal killer movies. Since I enjoy watching Kate Beckinsale in movies--I enjoyed this movie. It's just that simple sometimes.

263. I Am Legend -- I have mixed feelings about this movie. Some parts of this movie, I really loved. Some parts, I did not. I loved the relationship between Will Smith's character, Neville, and his dog. That was perhaps the best part of this movie (and I watched both the theatrical version and the extended/alternate version w/alternate ending). I did not like the CGI remake of the....plague victims. They looked fake--and I didn't see the point of the CGI. I loved the flashback scenes--and Will Smith quoting Shrek--and the feeling of a desolate NY. I didn't care for either ending though I think the theatrical ending was the better of the two.

264. Independence Day -- I had to watch this for the 4th of July. Well, I suppose I could have gone with Born on the 4th of July, but honestly, I just love this cheesy sci-fi action movie. Sure, it has a lot of one-dimensional characters saying a lot of one-liners, but it's just a fun, summer movie. Still love Bill Pullman's rallying speech about the 4th of July no longer being just an American holiday.

265. Ordinary Decent Criminal -- Kevin Spacey as a master criminal in Ireland seemingly always a step or two ahead of the law. An entertaining caper movie.

266. The Men Who Stare At Goats -- With a cast consisting of George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges I was expecting A LOT! I didn't quite get what I wanted. Parts of this movie were very funny--and most of those parts were put in the trailer.

267. Ocean's 11 -- With a cast consisting of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, etc....I was expecting A LOT--and this time, I got what I wanted and much, much more. Slick dialogue. Great caper. Great locations--Vegas just looks good on screen. One of my favorite movies.

268. Ocean's 12 -- Thought I'd watch the Ocean's movies back-to-back-to-back. While I still like this movie well enough, (it's fun just to watch this group of actors/actresses having fun) it is the weakest of the three. Having watched this movie before, I understood the story this time around--but I remember watching it the first time and wondering--what just happened here? The story seemed like it was trying TOO hard to be slick and misleading.

269. Ocean's 13 -- Back to Vegas and back to being really good. Loved the addition of Al Pacino and Eddie Izzard (yes, he was briefly in 12 but I liked him better here) and Ellen Barkin. And now that I've watched all three in a row, I wonder how Brad Pitt doesn't gain any weight--he was ALWAYS eating in these movies! I wish they'd make an Ocean's 14....but I'm not holding my breath.

270. Orange County -- I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this movie but I was pleasantly surprised. Starring Colin Hanks, Jack Black and Schuyler Fisk, this is not just another teen movie. Instead, it was actually a fairly funny and entertaining coming-of-age comedy. What ever happened to Schuyler Fisk? After watching this, I thought she would have had more roles.

Favorite movie this week....probably The Prestige--though I'd put Ocean's 11 and 13 as close seconds.

A Year of Movies

2010-08-31T19:15:00.004-05:00

Week 26: June 25, 2010 to July 1, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

I will catch up on this blog. I will catch up on this blog. I will catch up on this blog.

Okay--that said, let's get to it.

251. Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning -- After watching the first one, I had no idea what to expect with this 'sequel', but sequel isn't right. Prequel isn't right either. Different characters, different time period -- the only thing that remains the same is the god, Ong-Bak, and the spectacular stunts performed by Tony Jaa. Incredible fight sequences. Decent story. Better over-dubs on the English. Overall, I enjoyed this movie more than the first one.

252. Ninja (2009) -- After a week plus of some rather good, and in some cases great, martial arts movies, this one just didn't stack up. It had a made-for-TV feel about it, the plot was nothing special and while some of the fight scenes were nice, it overall just seemed like a rather bland movie. Might be more enjoyable if you haven't watched better martial movies recently.

253. The Informant! -- While this movie was funny, at times I found myself wondering, 'what the hell is going on here?' When the narrator of the movie is a liar, well, you have to work a bit to pick out the fact from fiction -- and in some cases, I'm not sure if I did. Still, an enjoyable and funny movie.

254. Batman -- Great super-hero movie. I remember when it first came out, I didn't think Michael Keaton was a good choice for Batman -- but it worked. Jack Nicholson was impressive as the Joker. Yes, some of the effects were a bit cheesy, but the movie had a nice balance between cheese and menace. Plus, I really liked the Batmobile in this one. A fun movie to watch again.

255. Batman Returns -- Almost as good as the first. While I like Danny DeVito, I didn't like the Penguin version he played in this movie--making him 'penguin-like'. Aside from that silliness, I did like the Batman/Catwoman relationship both in and out of their costumes. Nicely dark and beautiful with haunting music. Another fun movie to watch.

256. Batman Forever -- I thought Val Kilmer was an okay replacement, but the movie was just too over-the-top campy. I didn't like the way Robin was written or the relationship between Batman and Robin, I wasn't particularly fond of the way Gotham was changed into a neon, glow-in-the-dark, black-lit, mess, and the villains seemed for the most part, one-dimensional (Jim Carrey seemed like he was playing a silly version of Jim Carrey rather than the villain, The Riddler). I like the movie in part, but as a whole, it was just a bunch of cliches thrown together. It's a shame, because I think it could have been a really good movie.

257. Batman and Robin -- The weakest of these first four. I like George Clooney as an actor, but the script was just....well....let's put it nicely....the script could have been better. Much better. Again, certain elements would have been cool (ha ha, this movie had Mr. Freeze in it), could have been cool but ultimately, it seemed like a big mess. Oh, and the Batmobile in this one and the last one looked horrible. If I were a drinker, this could be a good drinking game movie--every time Batman and Robin bicker, take a drink. Every time Schwarzennegger's Mr. Freeze says a lame one-liner, take a drink. Every time...well, you'd be drunk long before the movie ended--and you'd probably enjoy it more too.

258. Batman Begins -- A great reinvention of the Batman franchise. This is one of my favorite movies. Christian Bale is a perfect choice for both the Bruce Wayne and the Batman character. The rest of the cast is well-chosen -- loved Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Loved Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon. Loved Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow/Dr. Crane, Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard....even Katie Holmes was fine as Rachel Dawes. I loved that parts of the movie were filmed in Chicago -- gave Gotham a realness to it that was missing from the other four movies. I also loved the new Batmobile. Okay, I'll stop gushing now....

So ends June. 33 movies this month. Also, we've reached the mid-way point of the year at 258 movies. For a while I thought 500 movies in one year would be a cinch -- now, it's not looking so easy. Still, it is my goal -- 500 movies -- one year.

259. The Dark Knight -- Oh wait, the gushing will have to start up again....no, I'll try to control myself. See above for all the actors/characters who returned in this one--now add Heath Ledger as the Joker (wow, just wow!) and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey "Two-Face" Dent and Maggie Gyllenhal as Rachel Dawes. This is a powerful movie with an impressive, impressive cast and an excellent and detailed script/story. (Also, one of my friends--and the guy who is filming our Indie Movie--had a small role in this. He's only on screen for a few seconds during the scene where Mr. Reese is being attacked at the TV studio building--but he had a chance to talk with Christopher Nolan during the shoot and that is just very cool). I cannot wait for the next Christopher Nolan Batman movie.

260. Memento -- I end this week with a continuation of Christopher Nolan directed movies with this unique film with the backwards narrative. I've watched this movie a handful of times over the years and I'm still stunned by its intricate nature and unusual lead character. If you have not seen this movie yet, watch it--but make sure you leave yourself time to watch it twice back-to-back. Now, I've heard there is a way to watch this movie in reverse in chronological order on DVD--but I've yet to confirm this. Please, drop me a comment if you know how to do this. Thanks!

Favorite movie? Ha. The two Christopher Nolan Batman movies....and yet, I also really liked Memento, so I'll go with all three C.N. movies.

....I will catch up on this blog.....

A Year of Movies

2010-08-20T16:02:00.003-05:00

Week 25: June 18, 2010 to June 24, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 7

A thunderstorm is moving in and I'd rather not be online when it fully hits so this blog post might be a little on the short side...

The movies this week continue along the theme of martial art movies I started near the end of last week. Two of the movies this week I'd seen before--and loved--and the rest were all new to me. Most of them really impressed me.

244. Legend of the Black Scorpion (DVD title) aka: The Banquet (2006) -- This movie draws inspiration from Shakespeare's Hamlet and while it does contain martial arts fighting, I think it tends to be more of a dramatic film rather than pure action. I have no problem with that. While I like action, I was drawn in by the dramatic performances--especially of Ziyi Zhang (of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). And like so many of the movies I watched this week, it was visually stunning with impressive costumes and attention to detail. I really love this movie.

245. House of Flying Daggers (2004) -- I've seen this movie a number of times, and I just love it. Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau and Ziyi Zhang -- this romantic, action-packed, visually stunning, achingly beautiful movie also has a intricate story with crosses, double-crosses and true heroism. If you haven't seen this movie, you've really missed out on an incredibly beautiful film.

246. Battle of the Warriors (DVD title) aka: Battle of Wits (2006) -- Stars Andy Lau as a clever warrior, Ge Li, who uses his wits to win but despite his superior tactics would rather talk about peace and prefers that over war. A bleak look at war. Occasionally the 'special effects' didn't quite work in this movie, but still a good, solid movie with an anti-war message (without being too preachy).

247. An Empress and the Warriors (2008) -- When her father dies, a young woman becomes the Empress of a kingdom constantly at war, but even her ascension is not without peril. Others want control and will do nearly anything to gain it. Amidst all of this trouble, the Empress is injured and tended to by a former warrior with whom she falls in love with. An enjoyable movie overall.

248. Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008) -- Stars Andy Lau, Maggie Q, and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. Parts of this movie I did like, but overall, it just felt disjointed--as if this was the edited down version of a truly epic movie. Just as I was starting to get into the movie, the movie's timeline jumps ahead thirty years and it took me a while to reconnect with the characters/storyline again. After watching other movies earlier this week which I truly love, this one ended up being a little of a disappointment.

249. Hero (2002) -- Stars Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang. I love this movie. I love the use of color to aid in the storytelling. Some scenes look as if they are gorgeous paintings come to life. The action is impressive, but it is the story that I found intriguing. I didn't quite 'get' all of the story the first time I watched this movie, but upon further viewings, I now believe I've pieced it all together. Still, from first viewing to last, I've loved this movie.

250. Ong-bak (2003) -- Stars Tony Jaa. The story and acting are not all that impressive, but the stunts, performed by Tony Jaa (and others) are. No wirework. No stunt doubles. Perhaps because one takes these things for granted (that the stunts aren't 'real' in most of the other movies) it took me a bit before I fully appreciated what Tony Jaa was doing on the screen. He really IS doing all the stunts himself--and the multiple camera angles capture it all for you. (And while that editing style is cool at first, after a while it got a little annoying to see so many of the stunts shown over and over and over again from slightly varied angles). Still, an impressive movie if you like martial arts.

So. 250 movies done as of June 24th. I'm on pace to watch over 500 movies this year. Whew. A couple more martial arts movies will finish up my theme next week.

A lone favorite? In this list? Not happening! Hero and House of Flying Daggers still are among my favorites, but I'd add Legend of the Black Scorpion to those two. All three of these films were just beautiful to watch. If you get a chance, watch them too.

Writing...

2010-08-13T12:01:00.003-05:00

Ahhh, the query letter. The writer's bane. I don't know (yet) if I've conquered the letter writing process, but I did manage to write another one over the past few weeks and now--with just a bit of trepidation--I am on the verge of submitting it. I've read hundreds of sample query letters online and in the writing books resting on the shelf above my desk. I've seen all sorts of variances and suggestions. Some say the pitch paragraph(s) should come first, others say put the nuts and bolts of the letter first (title, genre, word count etc), while still others like to be told why you're submitting to them (a little bit of schmooze perhaps?)....but the bottom line is, and while this may seem like a -DUH- moment, what all the agents are really looking for is 'great' writing. Some might even be willing to settle for 'good' writing. And all of them are looking for something they can fall in love with AND SELL. Shocking news, I know. And yes, I know -DUH!

And while I never did do any of the following, I've noted that agents also state all the things they DON'T want in query letters -- photos, candy, gimmicks, chocolates....Really? Are you seriously saying that a query letter attached to a box of chocolates wouldn't get at least a second glance? Okay....right. (And no, I did not try that approach though personally, if someone sent me a box of chocolates I wouldn't mind so much! Neither would my wife. She LOVES chocolate.)

Anyways....instead of turning the query letter writing process into a dreaded task (I know, it really is) I tried to look at it as a new kind of challenge. While it is a business letter at heart, it also needs to woo. It needs to entice. It needs to sell your writing. It needs to lift those drooping eyelids, brighten those blurry red-rimmed eyes--it needs to grab that agent's attention and make him or her eager to read more, more, more....

Did I achieve that? I don't know. Yet. I hope so. We'll see.

The writing adventure continues...I'll keep you posted on the results.

Have a great weekend, All.

A Year of Movies

2010-08-13T11:26:00.004-05:00

Week 24: June 11, 2010 to June 17, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 7

Yep, one movie for each day. Summer viewing has been a little slower compared to winter--more to do outside, kids keeping me busy, yard work etc. Last week I had a Kevin Costner baseball trilogy, this week I decided to have a classic Tom Cruise trilogy and later in the week I started a string of martial art movies that will extend into next week (and if I recall, the week after that t00). Let's begin...

237. Top Gun -- Just pure fun action in the sky! Great 80s music. I remember when this first came out all the guys my age wanted to learn how to fly jets! Hell, I still wouldn't mind learning how to fly--though perhaps not jets...I'd be fine with single engines to start. Hmmm....maybe someday... As for the movie, what more do I need to say? You've all seen this movie, haven't you? And if you haven't, rent it (or buy it--movies this old are usually in the cheap bin), pop it in the DVD or Blu-ray player, turn your TV up and enjoy!

238. Days of Thunder -- Just pure fun action on the ground! I remember when this first came out all the guys my age wanted to learn how to drive race cars....wait, this is sounding a bit like my last comments. Well, perhaps because this movie is a lot like the last movie, only set on the race track. Who cares? Nicole looked great in this. The banter between Robert Duvall and Tom Cruise was funny and this was another loud movie. Turn your TV up and enjoy!

239. Risky Business -- Just pure fun action in the suburbs! I remember when this first came out all the guys my age wanted to say 'WTF' and learn how to become pimps.....no wait, that's not right at all! We all wanted to drive around in Porsches...yeah, that's it. And maybe have someone who looked a lot like Rebecca show up at our door and....no wait....where am I going with this? Ha ha.... Am I a little slap happy from lack of sleep or what? C'mon, you've all seen this movie too - and if you haven't, you should. This is another movie you can find in the cheap bin.

240. Crazy Heart -- Just pure fun action with a guitar! Okay, okay....not exactly, though Jeff Bridges does an amazing job as the aging country singer/songwriter. While I truly enjoyed this movie, and was a little surprised by the ending, after the movie was done and I had a chance to reflect on it, I realized that the actual story (plot) was--relative to other movies about singers (Walk the Line, Ray)--a little on the thin side. Sure he's an alcoholic and his life is relatively shitty, but really, besides getting into an accident and temporarily losing his girlfriend's kid, what real trouble happened to him? Not much. Still, I enjoyed this movie a lot and loved the music and like I said, Jeff Bridges did an amazing job bringing this character to life.

241. Edge of Darkness -- Obviously, I watched this movie in June prior to all the latest about Mel Gibson. Setting aside his personal life (as best as one can), and trying to focus on just the movie, I thought the movie was intense. Gibson obviously has the anger side down cold in this and he's always seemed to be able to convey that simmering anger/sadness in his characters (when needed). I recently purchased the DVDs of the British TV series that this movie was based on--and whenever I get a chance (though it will probably be in 2011 when I think I'll turn from watching movies to catching up on TV series) I look forward to seeing the source material.

242. Curse of the Golden Flower -- This is the first of many martial art films I decided to watch all in a row. I'd never seen this one before and I was stunned by the film's beauty and cinematography. While the story is a family intrigue set in the Tang Dynasty, it's not all just political maneuverings--there's plenty of action too with the courtyard fight scene near the end of the movie as impressive as any I've seen before. A stunning movie starring Chow Yun Fat.

243. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- Chow Yun Fat did a wonderful job in this one too. What I find amazing about so many of these movies is the attention to detail--the costumes, the settings, the weapons, everything looks SOOOOO good and the action is SOOOOO impressive. It's like watching living, dancing, fighting artwork that is simply a feast for the eyes. And the music.....so haunting and beautiful. I loved these last two movies, and I think they were a good start for my string of martial arts viewing pleasure.

Well, that's it for this week. It was for me a great week of movies. My favorite(s).....probably the last two. While I really enjoyed the classic Tom Cruise movies, and was impressed by Crazy Heart and Edge of Darkness, the last two were simply gorgeous movies that were a delight to my eyes, ears and mind. Watch them, if you get a chance...

A Year of Movies

2010-08-11T15:21:00.003-05:00

Week 23: June 4, 2010 to June 10, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

229. From Hell -- I've always been fascinated by the Jack the Ripper tales, and this was an interesting take on that story. Johnny Depp again creates a very rich character with his tortured investigator. A dark movie, but exceptionally well done.

230. Stargate -- I watched the extended cut version of this movie, and the extra material naturally made the movie seem fuller with more detail and the plot seemed to make more sense. While I've always loved this movie, I never had the opportunity to get into the TV series spin-offs. I don't know why. Perhaps next year, I'll try to catch up on the TV series I've neglected this year during my quest to watch a movie every day.

231. Scoop -- I'm not usually a huge fan of Woody Allen movies, but I did like this one. It was a funny murder mystery and I wasn't sure exactly how it was going to turn out in the end. An enjoyable cast with Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johannson.

232. Up In The Air -- A unique romantic comedy / character study about a man who is most at home while on the road. George Clooney does another amazing job with this role and I was completely drawn into this movie. It has become one of my new favorite movies.

233. Bull Durham -- I decided to watch the three Kevin Costner baseball movies back-t0-back-to-back starting with his first. It is obvious that Kevin Costner loves baseball and of all the various movies I've seen him in, he sees most natural in baseball movies. A great romantic comedy combining sex and baseball --two great past-times.

234. Field of Dreams -- While a good baseball movie, it is more about the relationships between fathers and sons. I love baseball. I love having a catch with my sons. This movie really hit home with me.

235. For Love of the Game -- Another good baseball movie which focuses more on relationships than on the game. While pitching a perfect game, a man reflects on his imperfect life--and I found it interesting that the only time he could be 'perfect', was at the end of his professional career and perhaps despite that perfection, he realizes there is something more perfect waiting for him after baseball. A trilogy of good movies.

236. Smart People -- A funny movie involving smart people who act stupidly. What a dysfunctional family! While I did like this movie, I found the ending to be a little out of line with the rest of the movie. I didn't entirely buy the idea that the addition of twins to the dysfunctional family would somehow make the family LESS dysfunctional. Still, some really funny moments in this movie.

My favorite for the week? While I do like the baseball trilogy quite a bit, and Stargate would seem that natural pick, since I'm such a huge sci-fi/fantasy genre fan, I'm going to go with George Clooney's Up In The Air.

A Year of Movies

2010-08-02T11:42:00.004-05:00

Week 22: May 28, 2010 to June 3, 2010

First, I apologize for the delay in updating my year long movie quest. Summer with the family has been keeping me busy. Second, as I've blogged about briefly, in addition to pursuing this odd quest, and keeping up with the kids, I've worked on my own low-budget, short Indie Movie. Primary filming is done and we only need to capture a couple of extra shots at a train station in order to get the flashback scene finished. Hopefully, we'll be able to schedule that by the end of this month and start editing the movie next month. It also sounds like we will be getting our website up and running soon--when it is, I'll include a link here.

And now, back to our regular program...

Total number of movies watched: 10

219. Criminal Ways (aka The Wannabes (2003)) -- a small caper movie with a young Isla Fisher and starring Nick Giannopoulos. This was an odd movie, funny at times, with some songs which stuck in my head. It reminded me a little of Death to Smoochie -- but perhaps that's just because of the silly animal character and an oddball cast of 'criminals'. Since I have heard my share of kid's show songs, I'd actually welcome some of these silly (and crude) songs from time to time...

220. Night at the Museum -- I'd seen this at the theater when it first came out with my oldest son, and now that my little guy was old enough to watch it, I thought I'd share this movie with him too. He's a fan of real museums and he has a vivid imagination, so he really enjoyed watching all the various exhibits come to life in this movie. Overall, the whole family enjoyed it and the kids of course thought the monkey was hilarious.

221. As Good As It Gets -- I watched this one with my wife. I remember the first time I watched this movie not really enjoying it--the same goes for my wife, but as we watched it this time around, we both found ourselves drawn into the story, and laughing, and truly enjoying the viewing experience. This is really a great and unusual romantic comedy.

222. I Love You, Man -- What a bromance! A silly and enjoyable movie.

223. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -- I took the boys to the theater to see this. While it's not a 'great' movie--it was definitely a fun summer movie and frankly if that's all you're going to a theater to see, a 'fun' movie, then you'd probably be satisfied by this. Lots of action. Lots of fighting. Lots of fun.

224. The Blind Side -- Another movie I watched with my wife. I thought it was a good movie. I liked the real life story behind the movie. Sandra Bullock was quite good in this--but then, I like her in most of her movies. An inspirational movie.

225. A Night at the Roxbury -- Every so often, you just need to watch a silly movie, you know? And this one has some really fun music too.

This ends May -- with a total of 38 movies watched during that month.

226. Big -- A great movie. Funny, touching, this is a movie I've loved for many years.

227. 13 Going on 30 -- I know this movie was often compared to Big when it first came out -- obviously it has a similar premise -- but after watching them back-to-back I realized that while the comparison has some merit, I enjoyed this movie on its own. Jennifer Garner just lights up the screen and she was perfectly cast in this role as the teen-turned-30 year old.

228. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian -- Watched this with my little guy. He liked it, but we both agreed that we liked the first one better. Still, it was a fun movie and if they made a third one, we'd both probably want to see it.

Well, that's it for this week. My favorite -- well, Big has long been a favorite, and 13 Going on 30 was truly enjoyable, and The Blind Side was a great, inspiration movie, but my favorite has to be A Night at the Roxbury....okay, just kidding....(though, I really do enjoy that movie). As Good As It Gets earns this week's nod as my favorite.

I'll try to get caught up on these posts very soon!

Indie Movie

2010-07-15T15:56:00.003-05:00

I just thought I'd drop a quick note that I will be getting back to the Year of Movies posts soon--and yes, I've been able to still finish at least one movie every day so far this year--but in addition to keeping up with that goal, I've been working on a very low budget Indie film--a short film--which we (myself and two of my friends) started shooting last week based on a script I wrote about a serial killer and his intended victim.

While we did some test shots a few weeks earlier of the rural location and of my costume and a few of the scenes, the actual shoot began last Saturday and with the exception of a bit of rain which fell during what then became our lunch break (the weatherman claimed there would be NO RAIN on Saturday), the day was fairly successful. Sunday was even better--except for the stunt plane flying overhead during a couple of crucial scenes. We waited the pilot out and eventually got the scenes shot.

Oh...and the cars....

Don't get me started on the cars! (LOL) When I was scouting out locations, I found this beautiful, 'deserted', stretch of country road which basically connects nothing to nothing...quiet, peaceful, desolate...except when we turned on our camera! Then it was.... car....car....car....truck....farm vehicle.....motorcycle....car.....scooter....bicyclist.....inline skater.....jogger...dog-walker..... it became....comical....after a while. We had a few people stop and ask us what we were doing. That was cool. And despite the various interruptions, it was a blast to be out there working on this project and I'm looking forward to finishing it up (perhaps this weekend if the weather holds--the weatherman 'claims' Saturday will have no rain...again. We'll see, Mr. Weatherman. We'll see!).

The three of us had a chance to watch the raw footage on Tuesday, and overall, I'm really pleased with what we got, and I think we need just one more day of shooting to get the final bits done. My co-star in the Indie film is looking into setting up a website for our short movie and when he's done with it, I'll let you know (and include a link!).

Hopefully, as this little project moves toward completion, we'll start getting an interested following and at least a few fans--but hey, if we can entertain you with our movie, what more can we ask for, right?

Thanks...

A Year of Movies

2010-06-14T18:37:00.003-05:00

Week 21: May 21, 2010 to May 27, 2010
Total number of movies watched this week: 8

Free time has been in short supply as of late so this blog entry will be short and sweet.

211. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc -- The Milla Jovovich marathon continues. I don't know how fact-based this movie is, however, I did like the story, the characters, and how the internal debate was portrayed using Dustin Hoffman.

212. Ultraviolet -- Milla kicks a lot of ass in this, but the story seemed thin. Is this based on a comic book? If so, does knowing the back story of this character make this movie more....enjoyable? An okay movie with some over-the-top fight scenes.

213. Love Happens -- The wife wanted to watch a rom-com so I took a mini-break from the Milla (and Bruce Willis) marathon. In general, I liked this rom-com...but despite really liking Jennifer Aniston, I felt like I'd seen this character from her before. Or perhaps I felt like I was watching Jennifer being Jennifer....I don't know. I'd love to see her in a role that makes me forget that she's Jennifer Aniston.

214. Madagascar -- Somehow, despite having kids, I'd never seen this relatively funny animated movie. I think the penguins were my favorite characters. Is that wrong? Now I have to track down the sequel for the kids...

215. The Fifth Element -- Ah...the Milla / Bruce marathon finally reaches its pinnacle with one of my favorite movies. I absolutely love this movie. I can watch it over and over... A great cast. A great story. A perfect, fun, entertaining sci-fi movie mixed with just a bit of rom-com. Each actor was absolutely perfect for his/her role. Have I mentioned that I love this movie?

216. The Hitcher (the original) -- While I've seen and enjoyed the remake of this thriller, I think the original is still the best by far. Rutger Hauer is so absolutely frightening in this movie. I remember the very first time I watched this movie and actually feeling terrified by him.

217. Sherlock Holmes -- I liked this re-imagining quite a bit. I thought Robert Downey Jr. truly brought the Holmes character to life and I liked Jude Law as a capable Dr. Watson. Admittedly, I haven't seen many of the other, older Sherlock Holmes movies, so perhaps I have less of a bias coming into this movie--but I was entertained by it from start-to-finish and I'm looking forward to what I presume will soon be a sequel.

218. Ivanhoe -- This was the 1982 made-for-TV movie starring Anthony Andrews as Wilfred of Ivanhoe. I loved this movie when I was a kid, remembering basically the jousting and the sword-fighting. Sadly, it didn't quite hold up as well as I remembered, now that I'm an adult, but still, it was a decent movie and I enjoyed seeing it again after so many years. I'd love to see this story (as well as another Anthony Andrews movie, The Scarlet Pimpernel) made into a new movie someday. I wonder, what are the chances of that ever happening....?

So ends another week of movies. Obviously, I love The Fifth Element and it is one of my favorite movies but I'd also add Sherlock Holmes as another movie on my list of...'I'd like to watch that movie again someday' list...

A Year of Movies

2010-06-04T13:05:00.002-05:00

Week 20: May 14, 2010 to May 20, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

The Bruce Willis marathon continues...

203. 12 Monkeys -- Another interesting Terry Gilliam movie. While I enjoyed Bruce Willis's performance in this, Brad Pitt's insane character, Jeffrey, steals the show. An intelligent script which requires you to really pay attention to the movie. I love how the story comes full circle at the airport. Great movie.

204. Last Man Standing -- A dark movie. Bruce Willis' John Smith drives into town and plays the two rival gangs against each other while trying to make money off both in the process. The shoot-out scenes are impressive--if not entirely realistic--but then, are you watching these kinds of action movies for their realism? No. Entertaining, yet at times....hauntingly sad.

205. Hostage -- Bruce Willis as another hang-dog, weight of the world is on his shoulders police officer--and yet he still is able to pull it off and make it seem almost original despite the similarities to his Die Hard character (his marriage is on the rocks, and his daughter doesn't get along with him in this one too). The story is entertaining and I found myself wondering how Willis was going to be able to work his way free of his troubles and make everything right by the time the movie ended. Good movie.

206. Lucky # Slevin -- One of my favorite movies. It has a great twisting story line that spans twenty years--a number of great villainous characters each unique in their own way--and Lucy Liu in perhaps her best role ever. Lots of witty banter between her character and Josh Hartnett's Slevin. Also, take note of all the wild wallpaper in this movie. Wow. (And no, I didn't notice the wallpaper because the movie was bad!) Just a great, great entertaining movie.

207. The Long Kiss Goodnight -- I thought I'd shift gears and watch a capable and heroic kick-ass female as the assassin-in-charge of this movie. I'd forgotten just how funny the banter between Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson was in this movie. Lots of over-the-top action in this movie. And I have to remember to add this to my list of "Non-traditional Christmas movie Christmas movies" (I like watching non-traditional Christmas movies while I wrap Christmas presents).

208. Resident Evil -- I'd seen parts of this movie on TV over the years, but I'd never seen it (or either of its sequels) from beginning to end so I broke out this Milla Jovovich trilogy and watched them back-to-back-to-back. I know it's based off a video game, but I never really played the game much so I don't know how the movie truly compares to the game--but in general, I liked the first movie (of the three) the best. Some of the CGI seemed dated already but as zombie movies go--this one wasn't too bad. Milla was fun to watch but I've seen her in better movies (and worse).

209. Resident Evil: Apocalypse -- Okay movie. Some decent action scenes. Some added background for Alice.

210. Resident Evil: Extinction -- Of the two sequels, I liked this one a little better. It was a nice change of pace moving the story out into the sunshine--I liked the juxtaposition of the noir movie in the sunshine. More background on the Alice character--more Milla kicking butt. Another okay movie.

Favorite movie this week? Lucky # Slevin....followed closely by 12 Monkeys and The Long Kiss Goodnight.

A Year of Movies

2010-05-27T10:43:00.002-05:00

Week 19: May 7, 2010 to May 13, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

195. Navy Seals -- I hadn't watched this movie in years. A good action movie with Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn in it. If you primarily are looking for a movie with action and little character development, this one is for you. Nothing wrong with the occasional fun purely action driven movie but I wouldn't have minded a little more of the personal sides of some of the characters.

196. Iron Man 2 -- I watched this in the theater with my boys and my dad opening weekend. I'd gone over to my dad's house earlier in the week with the first Iron Man on DVD so he'd have a chance to see it. He really liked the first movie--he tends to like action movies. Shocking, I know. Anyway, the four of us got to the theater early so we could get some good seats. We did despite the theater being sold out (I'd bought our tickets early and online--that was cool). I hadn't been to a movie theater with my dad in over twenty years (My parents would rather watch movies at home on DVD). Honestly, the movie could have sucked and I would have enjoyed the experience of just being at the movies with my dad and my boys. Fortunately though, the movie didn't suck--we all liked it very much. I liked it almost as much as the first Iron Man. Overall, it was a great action movie--nice mixture of action and character development--but by the end, I found myself wanting just a bit more Iron Man action. I felt the end battle between Iron Man and Whiplash was just WAY too short. Considering all the fighting that had occurred prior to their encounter, their very short battle seemed anti-climactic. And if you don't know this already--stay for the short scene after the end credits finish rolling. Hopefully, my boys, my dad and I will be able to see more movies at the theater over the summer.

197. Tombstone -- An excellent western. Kurt Russell did a fine job as Wyatt Earp--"You gonna do something? Or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?" -- as did Sam Elliot as his brother, Virgil, but Val Kilmer stole the show as Doc. Holliday -- "I'm your Huckleberry". "Maybe poker's just not your game, Ike. I know; let's have a spelling contest." "You're no daisy. You're no daisy at all. Poor soul, you were just too high strung." Oh, there are just too many good lines in this movie...even Michael Biehn had some good ones too as Johnny Ringo. "Smell that, Bill? Smells like someone died." Every time I watch this movie, I find something else in it that I like.

198. The 13th Warrior -- A friend recommended this movie to me. I'd heard it was a box office flop--but aside from that knew very little about the movie. In general, I liked the story--a loose retelling of the Beowulf epic poem. I also liked the interactions between the Scandinavian characters and the Arab ambassador (played by Antonio Banderas).

199. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus -- I think I'll have to watch this movie again to understand it more fully, but what I did understand, I enjoyed. What an oddly imaginative movie--and a bittersweet experience watching Heath Ledger in his last role. I couldn't help but wonder what the movie would have been like had he not died--I mean, parts were obviously rewritten to accommodate the other three actors in the role. His passing was such a shame--I'd always thought he was an incredibly talented actor.

200. The Invention of Lying -- I'm undecided about this movie. While not overly religious, I was mildly disturbed by the direction this movie took about 45-50 minutes into the movie when the humorous set-up about no one in the world being able to lie revealed itself as a means to make a mockery of organized religions. No where on the DVD cover is the 'real' story discussed, nor in any of the previews is the real nature of the movie revealed--and perhaps that is what disturbed me the most. If the intent was to poke fun at organized religion and by extension of that 'faith' -- fine -- but at least have the guts to state that up front in your advertisement. Instead, it seemed as if the movie was sold as something it wasn't. In addition to this, I felt like the excursion into the mockery of religion really didn't have anything much to do with the romantic-comedy side of the story--except that it worked as filler for the middle half of the rather thin romantic story line. Parts of this movie were brilliant and I would have liked it more had it developed the romantic comedy angle better.

201. The Jackal -- This is the first of many Bruce Willis movies I'll watch over the next week or so. While some might gripe about Richard Gere's accent, I wasn't distracted by it at all. I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the way Willis created his cool and methodical assassin. And while Bruce Willis seems to gravitate toward (but not always) the three "C"s of character types -- Cops, Criminals and Crazies -- he always seems to find a way to make each just a little bit different while always keeping his 'cool'. A great suspenseful thriller (with a nice cameo of Jack Black too).

202. Mercury Rising -- This one has Willis as a former undercover FBI agent trying to protect an autistic boy from the government men who are trying to kill him. Even while playing tough guys, Willis is able to reveal just enough heart to make him a sympathetic hero. Miko Hughes played the young autistic boy, Simon, and he did an impressive job.

Tombstone as long been one of my favorite movies and so it is high on my list of movies to watch from this week. To that list, I'll add Iron Man 2. I'll also add The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus--a sentimental choice. I've also long liked the cat-and-mouse thriller The Jackal--all very good and very different movies.

A Year of Movies

2010-05-14T16:57:00.002-05:00

Week 18: April 30, 2010 to May 6, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

187. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- Overall, I liked this movie (based on real events) directed by Clint Eastwood, but it's not one of my favorites by him. I loved the scenery--and eventually someday, I'd love to visit Savannah Georgia. As for the movie, I felt that John Cusack's character was there primarily for the purpose of having someone the camera could follow around while he visited the locations and met with the characters involved in the 'real' story. Because of this, I felt his character was a bit bland especially when compared with some of the real-life characters with some of the characters played by themselves.

Note: This was April's last movie. Total number of movies watched in April: 46.

188. The Missing -- Another fine performance by Cate Blanchett--and by Tommie Lee Jones. This is another western I missed when it came out, but it is a fine movie. Cate plays a tough, single mother/doctor of two daughters living alone in New Mexico. Tommie plays her father--who disappeared years earlier to live with the Indians. When her oldest daughter is kidnapped by Indians, she reluctantly reconnects with her father and together they hunt down the incredibly vicious villain who took her. At times, dark and disturbing but an excellent movie.

189. Return to Me -- A sweet and heart-warming (pardon the pun) movie. Some might think it is too sweet and the events too coincidental, but I've always enjoyed watching this gentle, sweet and well-written/acted romantic comedy. I wish Bonnie Hunt would write more movies like this.

190. 2012 -- Incredible special effects. An interesting premise. I have some mixed feelings about this movie. While at times, I was entertained by the spectacular images, I was also depressed by the overall destruction. It's one of those movies where once I finished it, I was fine with watching it, but I didn't feel the overwhelming need to either watch it again any time soon, or to rush out and buy it on DVD.

191. Citizen Kane -- After watching RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane, I felt like I had to watch the actual classic again. The last time I'd seen this movie was probably twenty years ago--and at the time, I really didn't appreciate the greatness of this movie. Perhaps with age does come wisdom...well, at least a little...

192. Much Ado About Nothing -- Kenneth Branagh's 1993 version staring a whole slew of famous actors and actresses, all of whom looked like they were having way too much fun--especially Michael Keaton as the idiot Dogberry. I love the banter between Branagh's Benedick and Emma Thompson's Beatrice. A fun movie beautifully shot in Tuscany.

193. The Art of War -- An enjoyable action movie with some good fight sequences and a decent storyline. Wesley Snipes's UN agent Shaw seems similar to other character's he's played, but I really liked Anne Archer's villain Eleanor Hooks.

194. Confidence -- I really liked this cool confidence movie. It had a good cast, Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamanti and Dustin Hoffman as the ADHD mobster (and he makes a point of emphasizing the 'H') who thinks he's the one in control. Just enough twists and turns to make the story interesting.

While Citizen Kane is a classic, and often called the greatest American movie ever--and I do agree it is a great movie--I won't declare it my favorite for the week. I'll submit that The Missing, Return to Me and Much Ado About Nothing are among the top movies this week (along with Citizen Kane). Yeah, I know--I just picked half the movies this week and put them in the top shelf. Oh wells.

Have a great weekend, all.

A Year of Movies

2010-05-11T16:30:00.002-05:00

Just when I was catching up....

Week 17: April 23, 2010 to April 29, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 13

174. The Time Traveler's Wife -- I had finished reading the 500 plus page book a week or so before watching the movie. I enjoyed the book--I thought the writing was impressive as was the unique situation of the main characters--trying to maintain a love affair while one half of the pair time travels unwittingly back and forth through time (and space). I wondered how the movie would work with such a seemingly difficult narrative. Well, it worked, mostly, because the filmmakers removed most of the extra subplots and characters and focused primarily on the love affair. On the merits of whether or not I was entertained by the movie--I was--but on the other hand, was the book a richer experience because of the added material. Of course. I liked both the book and the movie on different levels.

175. The Hurt Locker -- A great, but very intense movie. I could not relax while watching it. Riveting performances. Excellent story. And while I thought this was an excellent movie--I don't feel the desire to watch it again any time soon. As you'll see with the majority of the rest of this week's choices, I felt the need to watch movies that were lighter and more humorous after finishing this film.

176. America's Sweethearts -- That's right. I followed up The Hurt Locker with a heavy dose of cheese and ham. This movie has a lot of my favorite actors/actresses in it--it's funny, witty and just what I needed to relax after a stressful movie.

177. Avatar -- I was probably one of only a few movie-lovers to not actually see this movie in the theaters. I'd heard mixed reviews about the actual story of the movie--and while the plot was not unique, the visual effects and beauty of the movie more than made up for the lack of material. The boys and I enjoyed watching this movie--just the regular 2D DVD version--I'll have to check out my Blu-ray copy another time. I'd be interested in seeing a sequel to this--either set on this moon or perhaps on another location in James Cameron's 'galaxy'.

178. The Last Shot -- Matthew Broderick as a man desperate to shoot his own movie and Alec Baldwin as an FBI agent who uses him and his film making desires to help take down the mob. A funny movie and as I found out later, actually based on real events. A decent comedy.

179. The Hangover -- Wow. I'd heard a lot about this movie but like Avatar, I was probably one of only a few adults to not have seen it in the theaters. Yes, it had crude humor, but you know, sometimes that's exactly what you need after a long day. Mindless, silly humor. My wife and I watched this together and we both liked it quite a bit. Could there be a sequel to this?

180. Love Stinks -- Love, if you can even call it that, goes so wrong in this silly movie. Not a great movie--but there are some funny parts here and there in it.

181. Point of No Return -- A good retelling of the Pygmalion Legend and of Luc Besson's Nikita. While I like this movie, I wish there was just a bit more action in it.

182. RKO 281: The Battle over "Citizen Kane" -- A friend recommended this movie to me. After watching it, I wanted to re-watch Citizen Kane (which you'll see in later posts, I did). I had no idea what Orson Welles had to do in order to make his masterpiece. An interesting movie.

183. Miyazaki's Spirited Away -- Another movie recommended to me by a friend. I had no idea what to expect with this animated movie. The kids wanted to watch it with me and I wasn't sure if they would like it. We all ended up liking it--and the kids ended up wanting to watch it again...and again....and again. This was such an interesting, imaginative and creative movie!

184. The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day -- A good sequel and a really good movie, but not quite as tight as the original. This one did have more action, and more of the history of the characters, but I missed the Willem Defoe character. I'm hoping that the director makes a third in this series considering how this one ended (and I won't put any spoilers here). A very entertaining movie.

185. Romeo Must Die -- Jet Li shows off his fighting skills here in his first English-language leading role. Lots of action and just enough humor in this to make it a decently entertaining movie.

186. Red Dawn -- I'd seen this a number of times over the years on TV, but I think this was the first time I'd watched it on DVD. There were a couple of scenes in it I didn't remember. The acting at the beginning of the movie seemed a little 'so-so', but by the end of the movie, I thought everyone was doing a really good job. Wolverines!

Okay--as usual, I don't have a single 'favorite'. The Hurt Locker was an excellent, excellent movie and if I had to declare a single 'intense' movie of not only this week, but so far for the entire year, I'd probably pick it. Avatar was an impressive movie considering all the time and energy that was so obviously put into making it.

That's it for now (the dog is begging for me to let her out, and if I don't, well....).

Have a great week, all.

A Year of Movies

2010-05-03T13:27:00.003-05:00

Week 16: April 16, 2010 to April 22, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 9

165. The Firm -- I read the book years ago and enjoyed the story, and I like this film version too. Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn all did great jobs, but Holly Hunter really stole the scenes she was in. And who can forget the short fight scene at the end of the movie when Tom Cruise beats the hell out of Wilford Brimley? It just wasn't fair!

166. Solaris -- This is a challenging movie--akin to The Fountain--in that I don't think I quite understood ALL of the movie with just one viewing, and perhaps like aspects of the movie, it just can't be 'understood' fully, period. There are just some things that can't be explained and/or understood. There seemed to be multiple levels of storytelling going on throughout the film and I'm looking forward to watching it again (and perhaps understanding at least a bit more of this thought-provoking movie). I liked the chemistry between George Clooney and Natascha McElhone. Jeremy Davies performance was incredibly creepy. Good, but creepy.

167. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial -- After what, 28 years or so, I still love this very sweet and very moving and very loving story about the bonds of friendship. I watched this with my little guy and he enjoyed the movie quite a bit too. I noticed that the DVD I watched had the updated version--the gun-less version. I'm not sure I understand (hmmm...is this a trend?) the reason for editing out the guns--I felt like the point of the story was, in part, that as long as only the kids were involved with the alien, all was fine--it wasn't until the adults showed up that problems surfaced--but, then, the change wasn't all that dramatic, I suppose. The magic of the movie remained even after all these years.

168. How To Train Your Dragon -- I FINALLY see a movie at the theater this year! Yea! I watched this with my little guy too. He loved this movie. I thought it was rather good too. We decided after the movie was over that we'd probably have to get the DVD when it comes out. He wants the DVD for his birthday or Christmas. Is it too early to get him hooked on movies? Actually, I think he's already hooked. He's such a fan of so many of the super-hero and action movies that have come out over the past year or so--and I've started showing him some of my favorite movies. (I was hesitant to show him the Lord of the Ring trilogy last year, but he really wanted to watch it--and when I warned him about the 'scary' parts he gave me a look and said, "Dad...it's not real. It's JUST a movie.") As for this movie, I was impressed with the animation and the story--both were quite good.

169. Trapped -- A thriller starring Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon. I liked certain aspects of this movie--primarily, the mother played by Charlize refusing to become the 'victim' that Kevin's character was hoping she'd become, and overall I was generally entertained, but the entertainment was solely on the surface. Dig below the surface of this movie, and parts of it just didn't add up. The young doctor (husband/father character) was obviously successful, had a seemingly happy marriage, was apparently active in helping to raise their little girl, did extensive lab work in developing a new drug AND was also an accomplished pilot. It just seemed a bit much for one person to achieve. Perhaps I'm being overly picky--I'd be interested in reading the book the movie was based on though -- 24 Hours.

170. Silverado -- Somehow over the past 25 years, I entirely missed watching this tremendously entertaining western. A great ensemble cast--Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover and an incredibly funny Kevin Costner make up the four 'heroes' of this film, but there's also Jeff Goldblum, Jeff Fahey, Linda Hunt, John Cleese, Brian Dennehy...just to name a few more in the cast. They are all so watchable and entertaining that by the end, I was hoping for more. Clever writing and a beautiful movie filmed primarily (if I recall correctly) in New Mexico.

171. American Beauty -- The first time I watched this movie was about ten years ago when it came out, and I don't remember appreciating it very much--now, however, I think it is a beautiful and stunningly honest movie about life and families and growing older and a peek into the dark side of some suburban life and marriage. Excellent performances by all of the actors--and though we're told at the beginning how the movie ends, when it does end, it's still a shock. Also--who knew a plastic bag floating in the wind could be beautiful?

172. True Lies -- Wild action mashed up with romantic comedy and both are done well. The two Arnolds in this really looked like they were having fun with the action and the one-liners. And after watching Jamie Lee Curtis 'dance' in the hotel room, I'm thinking....why hasn't she been on Dancing With the Stars yet....? Also, I thought the 'Simon' character played by Bill Paxton was utterly hilarious. For a movie that runs over two hours, it sure didn't seem that long. I wish James Cameron had done a sequel on this one.

173. The Ninth Gate -- A friend recommended this dark thriller to me--and no surprise, I liked it. Johnny Depp manages to play a guy we're not supposed to like in a way we end up liking anyway. While I did enjoy this movie, there were a couple of sticking points--would people who deal in rare books handle their rare and expensive books so carelessly (without gloves, while smoking/drinking) and for a movie involving the devil, I thought the end was a bit on the tame side. Or perhaps, to keep with the 'lack of understanding on my part' theme going in this blog post--I just didn't 'get' the entire ending and it actually was darker and more sinister than it seems on the surface. Hmmm....possible.

A favorite this week? I suppose the sentimental favorite would go to E.T. BUT, I was really impressed by How To Train Your Dragon too. Also, for laughs, there's True Lies...for epic western, Silverado, and for an amazing overall movie, American Beauty. Geee...can I work in the others somehow too?

Have a great day, all.

A Year of Movies

2010-04-25T09:56:00.003-05:00

Week 15: April 9, 2010 to April 15, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

155. Mission: Impossible 2 -- I'm perhaps one of the few people who liked the sequel better than the original. I thought the story was an interesting one--I liked the action sequences (of course, with John Woo as the director, the action sequences all seemed liked well-choreographed dances with guns or knives). I also liked how the villain in this one used some of the same technology as Ethan Hunt (primarily the fake faces).

156. Mission: Impossible 3 -- And of the three movies in the series so far, this one is probably my favorite. We got a glimpse into Ethan Hunt's personal life and into the 'offices' of IMF and being a fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman, I thought he did a great job as the villain in this one. I liked how J. J. Abrams started the story with a scene which occurs near the middle/end of the movie (he did this with his Alias TV show at times too), and then went back to the beginning leaving us all hanging...and wondering what the hell was happening...good movie.

157. Signs -- Yet another movie the critics didn't really like, but I did. War of the Worlds--but told only through the eyes of a single family in a single location. I liked the story idea. I liked the thought-provoking aspect of the 'faith' question raised in this--and I liked the line 'tell Merril to swing away'... It was as if all their lives were separate pieces of a puzzle that all came together to reveal the full picture when they were all each needed the most: the little girl's practice of leaving water glasses half-full all over the house, the boy's asthma, Merril's ability to swing hard over and over again--Yes, I too wondered why aliens who were able to travel across the galaxy were unable to open a doorknob but....maybe they had really greasy palms or really bad carpal tunnel....or something....

158. Moon -- Thanks to Twitter, I found out about this movie. I follow Kevin Spacey on Twitter and when this movie came out he posted about it--and I was intrigued, so when I was able to get it from my local library, I did. A really great indie film starring Sam Rockwell (and Kevin Spacey as the voice of the computer). Rockwell did an amazing job carrying this film (since he's primarily the only person you see on the screen for the bulk of the movie). I don't want to give away any spoilers because I came to this movie without any knowledge about it and I think that's actually the best way to watch this movie. See it if you get the chance.

159. The Breakfast Club -- A classic 80s movie. Do they make movies like this anymore? I think some of the reality shows 'try' to capture the feeling of this show, but they fail miserably. A great movie.

160. The Contender -- A political thriller starring Joan Allen as a senator chosen to become VP(with 'the Dude', Jeff Bridges, playing a very un-Dude like President of the US). Gary Oldman was impressive as the congressman who opposes Joan Allen's appointment. Interesting story about political power plays. Good movie.

161. The Corruptor -- A dark and deceptive police-action thriller set in Chinatown NY starring Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg. The movie was filled with twists and turns, violence, betrayal and overall, was a fairly entertaining movie. Has a good car chase in it too.

162. The Boondock Saints -- Somehow, I missed this movie when it first came out, but I'm glad I found it now. This was an edgy vigilante movie with some very odd, twisted and interesting characters and I'm looking forward to watching it again (especially now that I've picked up the sequel).

163. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog -- Not exactly a 'full-length' movie, (about 43 minutes long) but I watched it on DVD the same day I watched 'The Boondock Saints' so it didn't exactly count as my 'finished' movie for that day, but since I watched it, and it was a movie (of sorts), I included it here. I also included it because it was incredibly funny, incredibly well written (no surprise since Joss Whedon was involved) and thoroughly enjoyable. Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. If you haven't seen this, you must find a way to watch it. It's hilarious.

164. Titanic -- On the 98th Anniversary of Titanic actually sinking, I watched 'Titanic'. It seemed only fitting. I know some people claim they don't like the 'love story' and were shocked that some people were so upset by the ending; uhhhh, the ship is going to sink, but, I'll admit, I like this movie. I don't mind the love story--it served (in my opinion) it's purposes of 1) having someone to follow around while showing off the ship and 2) filling in the time between the historically 'accurate' events which occurred on the ship before, during and after its sinking. I saw this movie four times when it first came out and the last time was at one of those older theaters with an enormous screen and a theater big enough to seat hundreds. Unfortunately, like most theaters that size, it was torn down and replaced with a multiplex of smaller theaters with screens barely larger than the big-screens in some houses. I miss those old fashioned monster-sized theaters with their massive screens....

That's it for this week, folks. A single winner--not hardly. How could I pick just one? I've got a huge-budget epic disaster film and a tiny indie film in this list. I have a classic 80s hit....and a new favorite (The Boondock Saints) in this week. I even have Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.....so, I guess I'll just say, this was a pretty good week for me. Hopefully, you're having some fun watching the movies you love too. Tell me what you've seen and loved lately.

Have a great day, all.

A Year of Movies

2010-04-20T16:25:00.002-05:00

Week 14: April 2, 2010 to April 8, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 11

144. The Passion of the Christ -- It's Easter weekend, so I thought it was fitting to watch this incredibly moving film again. I thought it was visually stunning with an impressive performance by Jim Caviezel.

145. U. S. Marshals -- A great sequel to The Fugitive--and a good movie on its own merits. I wish they'd made another sequel of this movie--I wonder why they didn't. Every year I watch this movie on the anniversary of my friend's death. He was murdered seven years ago--I can hardly believe its been seven years--and its the last movie we watched together. He liked the movie, so in honor of him, I watch it again every year. RIP Joe. We all miss you.

146. Law Abiding Citizen -- It seems like most critics hated this movie--I guess it's a good thing I'm not a 'critic'. I didn't 'love' this movie, but I found it to be darkly entertaining. They say revenge is a dish best served cold--I'd say this movie served it up cold and nasty.

147. Surrogates -- An intriguing story idea with an always (well, almost always) fun to watch Bruce Willis as the cop/surrogate cop investigating a series of homicides. With modern technology advancing so quickly, how long before we all plug in and start living our lives through surrogates? In a way, aren't we already doing something akin to this when we go online? A though-provoking idea....I liked this movie.

148. Raising Arizona -- Just a bizarre movie. The Coen Brothers sure do write their share of oddball characters, don't they? This is another of those movies I had seen over the years piecemeal so it was nice to finally watch this from start to finish. Holly Hunter is so much fun to watch in this. Nicolas Cage and John Goodman are good in this too.

149. Dead Poets Society -- Carpe Diem. Seize the day and make your life extraordinary. This is one of my favorite movies and it has one of the best messages contained within a movie. I don't know why this movie didn't end up bigger than it did--what a truly inspiring movie with truly inspiring performances by Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard. Looking it up on imdb.com it looks like it won an Oscar in 1990 for writing, but not for acting/director or picture. Now I'm curious--I'll have to see which picture(s) did win that year.

150. 3:10 to Yuma -- I watched the Christian Bale / Russell Crowe remake of this earlier this year--but a friend of mine suggested I watch the original with Glenn Ford as Ben Wade, so I did. This version was an even tighter plotted movie than the remake and the ending was different (for those who haven't watched both I won't ruin either ending), but overall, I liked both films quite a bit. Growing up, I really didn't watch a lot of westerns, but I'm really enjoying that genre lately and I'm looking to include even more westerns into my list of movies to-be-watched this year (and in the future).

151. The Sixth Sense -- M. Night Shyamalan's great thriller and one of my favorite movies of all time (with a great performance by Bruce Willis -- again). A couple of weeks back I watched a bunch of Baz Luhrmann's films back-to-back and I enjoyed the experience, so I thought I'd do it again with another director (and I'll probably do it again throughout the rest of this year--probably with Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron...just to name a few). Just an impressive movie from start to finish.

152. Unbreakable -- I know some people didn't like this movie as much as The Sixth Sense, but I've always been fascinated by the idea of....the spectrum of people. What I mean is, at one end of the spectrum, like in the movie, there probably is someone who is 'unbreakable' in the sense that they are incredibly strong, or healthy, or good, or some other quality of the human condition--while at the same time, there is an opposite person at the other end of the spectrum. I know a lot of these qualities are subjective--and yet, there are world record holders who are the world's fastest runner, highest jumper, quickest reader etc. Anyway, since I'm also a super-hero fan--I just thought this was an interesting, thought-provoking story, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

153. The Village -- I was impressed with the story of this movie, and like a lot of Night's movies, it makes me think 'what if'. What if a group of people decided to go off into a nature preserve and start a new society without any outside influence....could they make it work/seem real to the next generation and beyond? How would the next generation know about the real world without experiencing it for themselves? I know this movie wasn't as well liked by the critics either--but I really enjoyed this movie and Bryce Dallas Howard's performance.

154. Mission: Impossible -- I wasn't able to get the last Night movie I wanted (Signs) until a few days later, so I decided to watch the Mission Impossible trilogy back-to-back-to-back for the first time ever. I'll talk about the other two movies in the next blog post since they ended up being seen by me in Week 15 -- but of the three movies, I think I liked this one the least. It had some really good action in it, an intricate plot, but I suppose what I disliked about it was (and since this movie has been out for many years now, I don't think I'll spoil this ending) the film-makers took the original TV 'hero' (as far as I can tell--I didn't watch many of the original TV episodes) of Mission Impossible, and turned him into the villain and tried to explain it as Jim Phelps woke up one day and realized he wasn't appreciated for his work, he wasn't compensated well enough, and he disliked his boss. If another villain had been used, I think I would have liked the movie better.

Favorites for the week? Dead Poets Society, The Sixth Sense, U.S. Marshals and The Passion of the Christ are up near the top this week, but overall, another good week of movies. Next weeks movies have some favorites too. Yeah, I know, I really should try to watch some movies I hate from time to time!

A Year of Movies

2010-04-16T10:42:00.004-05:00

Week 13: March 26, 2010 to April 1, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 11

133. St Elmo's Fire -- This is one of those movies I've seen over the years on TV piecemeal. I've seen the middle and the end, but rarely (if ever?) the very beginning. So, finally, thanks to this years movie quest, I watched this movie, not on TV, from the very beginning to the very end. It makes a little more sense that way! Go figure. I liked the story even if some of the characters were a bit cliched. A decent coming-of-age movie.

134. The Game -- Michael Douglas and Sean Penn star in this mind-twisting thriller. The very first time I saw this movie I really enjoyed all the twists and turns and even now, after I know what to expect, I still enjoy watching this one. A great thriller all the way to the end.

135. Dangerous Liaisons -- Another of those movies I just love to watch from time to time. John Malkovich is incredibly good in this movie, as is Glenn Close. It is a fascinating story with a host of deeply intense and passionate characters and I am never bored watching this movie.

136. Synecdoche New York -- An ambitious movie unlike anything I've ever seen before. Memorable. Haunting. Moving. Darkly real. Philip Seymour Hoffman again proves what an amazing actor he is. I knew nothing about this movie going into watching it--and I was just blown away by the intricate plotting and attention to detail and the oddly bizarre cast of characters.

137. State and Main -- While I truly enjoyed watching Synecdoche New York, I had to follow it up with something a little lighter and funnier and this one is a witty movie with Philip Seymour Hoffman also in it. Boy can he act. Have I said that before? I'll say it again. He's just a very talented man. Alec Baldwin, William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker...this movie is just filled with great actors and snappy dialogue.

138. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark -- My little guy recently got the Lego Indiana Jones game for Playstation, and he had only seen the most recent (4th) Indiana movie, so we decided that we should sit down and watch the first three together. I love this movie--and so did he. I was a little worried about a couple of the scenes--especially near the end--but as he has told me so many times in the past, it's okay dad, I know it's not 'real'--it's just a movie. This is a great action adventure movie, and one of my all-time favorites.

139. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- Of the four, this is the one I think is the weakest. So did my little guy. He thought they added a lot of 'gross stuff' just for the sake of having 'gross stuff' in the movie (such as the dinner scene and the insects). He liked the coal-car chase scene near the end of the movie though (as did I). For a 'prequel' (this movie is set in 1935 while Raiders is set in 1936), it's not bad.

140. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -- A great movie and a great sequel. The addition of Sean Connery to this movie was genius. I loved the whole father-son relationship they developed in this movie. My little guy loved this movie too. Another of my all-time favorite movies.

141. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- After almost twenty years, Harrison Ford proves he still can wear the fedora and crack the whip. I know the critics didn't like this one as much, but I truly enjoyed this movie. It had most of the fun of the action adventure of the original trilogy that I liked, plus it had the father-son relationship banter I liked in the last movie (though it wasn't quite as good as the Ford-Connery banter). While not quite as good as Raiders or Crusade, I liked it better than Temple. The little guy liked it too.

NOTE: This was the last movie I watched in March 2010. 'Only' watched 41 movies this month. A little less than the previous months, but I also got more writing and reading done in March. Okay, back to the list...

142. 3 Days of the Condor -- This is one of those good spy thrillers I've heard about over the years, but I'd never seen it--until now. I thought it was pretty good. Robert Redford wasn't just the typical spy--he worked for the government by reading and analyzing books. And maybe it's just me, but Jessica Biel looks a lot like a young Fave Dunaway. Maybe it's the cheekbones....

143. The Fugitive -- Harrison Ford in another great movie. No big surprise there. Tommy Lee Jones is quite good in this too. Every year around this time, I watch U.S. Marshals (and I'll explain why in my next blog post), and this time since I'm on this crazy movie-watching quest, I figured I might as well watch the first movie of this 'series' too. Why weren't more movies made with the 'U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard' character?

Favorite movie? Ha. How can I pick just one from five Harrison Ford movies, two Philip Seymour Hoffman movies and a John Malkovich movie? Impossible. Now, if they were to make a fifth Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford, Philip Seymour Hoffman AND John Malkovich in it.....well, that would probably be the one....

Plans...

2010-04-13T13:09:00.002-05:00

What's the saying, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray?

I was hoping to have the next couple of weeks of movies up by this past weekend--and then I woke up Saturday morning sick as a dog...

And then, I started thinking about that saying 'sick as a dog' and I thought, how sick is being sick as a dog? Honestly, my dog is rarely if ever sick. So, then I wondered, maybe I'm sicker than a dog...

And on top of me being sick, my little girl is sick which makes the whole being sick even worse because I can't just lie around and be sick--I have to make sure she's comfortable, and not throwing up on everything....while not throwing up myself. And since she basically eats off and on all day long, she's right now wanting to eat...again...and so, I must go and try to convince her--without upsetting her too much--that she needs to wait a bit before she eats anymore.

All while I have a splitting sinus headache and only a couple of hours of sleep.

So--I will post those lists someday soon.

Take care all -

A Year of Movies

2010-04-07T13:42:00.002-05:00

Week 12: March 19, 2010 to March 25, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

Yes, that's right. Just eight movies this week. One more than the minimum required to fulfill my self-imposed goals--but some weeks are feasts, others are famines. And while the number is low, I actually enjoyed all eight movies this week quite a bit. I decided to try something a little different this week (and I've continued this on as you'll see in future weeks), and I watched a series of movies by one director all in a row. This week's director of choice was: Baz Luhrmann.

125. William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (dir. Luhrmann) -- An interesting mix of Shakespeare's words with a 'fantasy-modern' gun-slinging gangster setting. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked this version of Romeo and Juliet -- I suppose I was more accustomed to the typical traditional ways of telling this story -- but once I really got into the language again, I found myself enjoying this unique vision of the movie. Luhrmann's use of color in this (and as I found when watching all the rest of his movies) is impressive--and he creates lush, visual masterpieces for your eyes to feast upon. The set piece at the end (the death scene) was just beautiful.

126. Strictly Ballroom (dir. Luhrmann) -- I'd never seen this movie before, and I'm very glad that this 'movie-a-day' goal has broadened my viewing horizon and I took the time to watch this film. It was a sweet movie, touching, romantic, funny with a good message too -- a life lived in fear-is a life half-lived. That message resonated with me which is partially why I liked the movie so much.

127. Moulin Rouge! (dir. Luhrmann) -- I'll admit, this is one of my favorite movies. The very first time I watched it, the music hooked me--and then I started paying attention to more of the story, and then the little details, and then the silly tiny details -- "Frank is living in my foot" (if you've seen this movie often enough, you'll know what this means). I suppose another reason I love this movie is again, the message(s): This story is about Truth. This story is about Beauty. This story is about Freedom. Above all things, this story is about Love. How can you go wrong if you have all four of those in your life? "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."--another great message for life.

128. Australia (dir. Luhrmann) -- I know the critics generally didn't like this movie, but I thought it was a beautiful epic movie with some touching characters and an intriguing story. The little boy who played Nullah, Brandon Walters, did an impressive job carrying is portion of the film along side Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

129. Napoleon Dynamite -- I'd never seen this before. I didn't really know what it was about--except for the fact that the main character looked really odd. It ended up being a really good, quirky romantic comedy about a truly unique and yet easily identifiable individual.

130. The Astronaut Farmer -- A heart-warming movie with another great message about basically never giving up and to keep chasing after your dreams.

131. Red Eye -- I don't even remember this movie coming out -- but this thriller by Wes Craven ended up being pretty good. Starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, it's about a woman kidnapped on a plane and forced to assist in an assassination. Cillian plays charmingly evil so very well, but what I particularly liked was the strength exhibited by McAdams' character. She simply refused to quit or to play the role of a 'victim'--unlike so many other female leads in traditional thriller/horrors.

132. Rapid Fire -- Brandon Lee really showed off his fighting talents in this movie. It's a decent movie, lots of good action, excellent fighting (no surprise there) -- Brandon Lee was able to pretty much pull off being both bitter and charming at the same time. It's a shame he died so young. Love the movie, The Crow. I'll have to make sure to watch that movie again (perhaps closer to Halloween since it takes place on 'Devil's Night') this year.

Moulin Rouge! is one of my favorite movies so if I had to pick just one this week, I'd most likely choose it--however, there really were a lot of movies in this bunch I enjoyed. I've been fortunate lately in picking some really good 'new to me' movies (yes, I've seen some of these movies, but not ALL of them).

Well, I'm almost caught up. Only a couple of weeks behind now. If all goes well, perhaps I'll be caught up by the weekend.

A Year of Movies

2010-04-07T13:04:00.002-05:00

Week 11: March 12, 2010 to March 18, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 9

I'm catching up...really, I am. I'm also trying to get some writing done in between all the movies. I managed to write and polish one script, polish a second short script I wrote years ago, and I'm editing a novel while starting a new one. Perhaps I'm working on too many projects all at once!?

Oh...and I'm still trying to do that thing you're supposed to do every night....what's it called....oh yeah, sleep. I'm managing to find a few hours of sleep every night. I probably should try to find a few more hours here and there...but they hide from me so very well! Perhaps this weekend I'll have a chance to catch up on some missing zzzzzs.

Okay -- enough chit-chat (at least for now). Let's get to the movies.

116. Three to Tango -- A cute, funny rom-com with some really funny actors--Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell, Oliver Platt. It has perhaps one of the better lines about a woman's posterior in it too. Perry's character is talking about Campbell's character and he says: "And she has an ass that is so sexy that I struggle to even understand it." What a line!

117. The Exorcist -- I don't know how I managed to live this long without seeing this movie before, but I finally saw the original (with added scenes not originally in the theatrical version). A disturbing movie at times, often dark and scary, and though so many other horrors have borrowed from it, or parodied it, I felt the movie held up fairly well. I'd put it up there with the original Omen movie as far as being a disturbingly creepy movie.

118. Payback -- This is the Mel Gibson theatrical version. I have the Director's Cut version on my pile of 'to be watched' (again) for this year. Gibson was great as the tough and mean Porter. Smart plot, sharp dialogue, and I think this was Lucy Lu's first big Hollywood movie too (she plays a sadistic hooker named Pearl in this). Based on the book, The Hunter by Richard Stark -- his main character, called Parker, is an excellent dark, tough, won't take shit from anyone type of anti-hero, and I'd love to see more of Richard Stark's "Parker" books made into movies. If I recall, the Director's Cut is actually darker and more in tone with the book series. I really enjoyed this movie.

119. Blood Work -- Another great Clint Eastwood movie. He plays a former FBI agent who has a heart attack in the middle of a foot chase and two years later, he's retired and recovering from a heart transplant. The source of his heart was a murder victim, and the victim's sister convinces him to come out of retirement to find her sister's killer. The tension builds every time he does something physical and he reaches for his heart. Good thriller.

120. The Time Machine -- An enjoyable sci-fi adventure with some incredible graphics and an interesting story. I read the book by H.G. Wells last year--and while they differ on many things, the basics of both were entertaining.

121. Speed -- Just a crazy ride. Sandra Bullock really shines in this movie. Even though the Mythbusters busted the bus-jumping stunt on their show (not a big shocker!), I still love this movie. Maybe someday I'll watch the sequel (though I've heard it wasn't really all that good).

122. Virtuosity -- Another sci-fi adventure--this time with a sadistic, dangerous, and very young looking Russell Crowe battling an equally young looking Denzel Washington in both cyberspace and in real life.

123. Snatch -- I guess I was just on a roll with the high-energy movies this week. Great caper movie. Funny characters. Funny plot. Lots of actors looking like they were having too much fun making this movie. And Brad Pitt--what the hell was he saying most of the time?! Actually, since I've seen this movie quite a few times, I've figured most of it out now--what a unique character. One of the few movies with Jason Statham in it where he actually doesn't fight--or take off his shirt (and it's still a good movie! LOL)

124. Pushing Tin -- A quirky comedy about two rival air traffic controllers (John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton) bent on one-upping each other. Also had Cate Blanchett and Angelina Jolie in it. Good movie overall.

Favorites this week include Payback, Blood Work and Snatch.

A Year of Movies

2010-04-01T07:39:00.004-06:00

Week 10: March 5, 2010 to March 11, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

Darn spring break. I was hoping to get current with my weeks before the end of March but spring break happened and the kids have been keeping me busy. The little guy recently got PS2 Lego Indiana Jones so at least he wanted to watch the early Indy trilogy and that helped with my Year of Movies quest.

Also--a belated Happy Birthday to Quentin Tarantino. I'm a fan (as you'll note from this weeks movies) of his movies and his storytelling style. I'll be adding even more of his films to this years quest since I'm eager to watch Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bills (among others) again soon.

Let's get to the list.

106. Inglourious Basterds -- Revisionist history made fun. I really enjoyed this wild ride of a movie. Great performances by Brad Pitt and especially by Christoph Waltz. No wonder he won so many awards for this role. He played that part to perfection. And when he orders milk for Shoshana....(I know, if you haven't seen the movie you'll probably think, what? What's so scary about ordering milk?). This is one of those movies where I'll have to try and find the time to watch it again this year. A great movie--and one of my new all-time favorites.

107. Death Proof -- I watched Quentin Taratino's extended and unrated half of the Grindhouse movie. I've seen both it and Planet Terror before (separately, I didn't get a chance to see them while they were in the theater) and each time I've seen this one, I'm still stunned by the car stunts. Some of the dialogue scenes with the girls just sitting around chatting seems as if QT is just showing off his ability to write snappy dialogue, but since he's so capable of it, I don't find anything wrong with it. For what the movie was supposed to be--it works for me.

108. The Shadow -- A good, early super-hero movie. I wish they would make a sequel to this. I've heard rumors and read old stories online claiming a sequel is in the works, but I haven't seen or heard anything serious as of yet. While I really liked this movie, I think it came out just a few years too early. If it came out now, with all the other superhero movies doing well, I think more people would have noticed it. Bad timing.

109. Wall-E -- The kids wanted to see this so the whole family sat down and watched it. I'd tried to watch it last year one day when I was really tired and fell asleep. I chalked it up as just being tired and came to this viewing less tired, and hopeful that the movie was good and not the reason I fell asleep before. The movie was good. I'm still amazed that a movie with so little dialogue from its main character could still make you care so much for him. The kids loved the movie too.

110. Flawless -- This was the Demi Moore and Michael Caine British heist movie that came out a couple of years ago. I'd never heard of it before, knew nothing about it prior to watching it, but was impressed with the story and the acting. I'm a fan of heist movies and this was an enjoyable one to watch.

111. Unforgiven -- Superb movie. One of my favorites of all time. Clint Eastwood's character's turn near the end of the movie was quite the payoff. But prior to that, just great, great performances by him, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman--but then, that's not surprising either. I remember the first time I watched this movie, shortly after it came out, and I was just stunned by what Eastwood had done with this movie. One of only a few westerns I've watched over and over through the years.

112. Big Trouble -- A goofy, humorous movie with oddball characters and a silly story set in Miami. Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Jason Lee....only a few of the actors in this comedy. A fun movie.

113. Fanboys -- A friend recommended this movie to me. Good recommendation. If you love Star Wars, you'll probably love this movie too. And if you love Star Trek....well....if you have a sense of humor, you'll probably still love this movie. It was just a funny movie with a lot of good cameos.

114. Enemy of the State -- I'll have to add this one to my list of non-traditional Christmas movies since it's set during the Christmas season. I've always liked this movie--I thought Will Smith and Gene Hackman both do a great job in it. And hey, as long as you don't think too hard on the actual story--at least the part about how the govt can follow you etc....but then, as long as you're good, and don't do anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about, right? Right. Good action movie.

115. Cape Fear -- A taut Scorsese suspense thriller. De Niro was flat out scary (and scary good) in this movie. I remember vaguely watching this years ago and if I recall, I didn't like it very much. I'm trying to remember why. I thought it was a good movie now. Perhaps I didn't like the scene with De Niro at the school--if I recall, I think he won over the girl rather easily and I felt it wasn't very realistic. Sadly, I understand now from reading various reports in the newspaper, online or watching stories on the news that this kind of behavior does happen all the time, so perhaps my previous naivety has given way to a darker cynicism and understanding of this movie.

A single favorite--c'mon! I've got Unforgiven AND Inglourious Basterds in the same week. How could I pick a single favorite?

Have a great week, all, and keep watching movies!

A Year of Movies

2010-03-25T15:06:00.004-06:00

Week 9: Feb 26, 2010 to March 4, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 9

97. The Fountain -- When I watched this movie for the first time last year, I wasn't sure what to make of it. It is an incredibly beautiful and moving movie and Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz are both excellent in it. I watched it again and I think I understood more of the movie--and my appreciation of it grew. At times sad, joyful, stunning, tender, loving and at all times quite emotional. This is a haunting and yet very touching love story.

98. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves -- Costner's accent was hit and miss, but I guess that didn't bother me as much as it did the real 'critics'. I loved Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham ("I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!") and most of the rest of the cast as well. It was a decent action movie but I am looking forward to seeing Russell Crowe's Robin Hood coming out....(Hmmm...let me check...)....May 14th. I just watched a TV teaser for the movie -- looks like one I'll want to watch.

99. The Reader -- A quiet and amazing movie. Kate Winslett just disappears into her roles. I came to this movie not knowing much about it so I was just riveted by the story and her ability.

100. Revolutionary Road -- Another amazing performance by Kate Winslett. Back-to-back movies starring her--and in both, she just disappears into the role. For some reason I thought this movie was supposed to be a romance -- perhaps because people were excited by the Kate and Leo reunion and I mistook their excitement to mean it was another romantic type movie. Regardless, I was still impressed by this movie about quiet desperation.

Note: I finished up movie #100 on Feb 28. Two months. 100 movies. A heavy load--and not a pace I really wanted to try to maintain for another ten months. March, as you will see, has a slower pace.

101. My Cousin Vinny -- After two rather heavy and deep movies, I had to lighten things up. I'd seen bits and pieces of this movie off and on over the years on TV, but obviously the TV version is just not the same as the DVD version! Finally, I got a chance to watch it from beginning to end. Joe Pesci was good. Marisa Tomei was awesome. I know she won the award for her role--I won't debate whether she deserved it or not--but I thought she did an incredible job on a role that could have frankly been forgettable in the wrong hands.

102. The Saint -- Though it has a meandering plot, I still like this movie and I wish there had been more movies made with this character. Will there be? (I'll have to check on that). I've found some articles online talking about a possible movie and/or new TV show, but nothing very recent (though I really didn't dig very deep).

103. Bangkok Dangerous -- I like quite a few of Nicolas Cage's movies but I had mixed feelings about this one. There were some good action scenes in it and I liked the scenery behind the story--but the movie just seemed so dark (and usually I like those kinds of movie).

104. The Princess Bride -- One of my all-time favorite movies. I absolutely love this movie. I've watched it dozens and dozens of times. I missed seeing it in the theater when it first came out, but years ago I did get a chance to see it at a special midnight showing. Just a wonderful experience. Great, great movie.

105. The Man Who Knew Too Much -- Alfred Hitchcock. Black and white. A little slow to start, but it picked up as it went along and by the end, there was quite a shoot-out. A decent Hitchcock movie, but not my favorite of his.

A single favorite? Well, how can I not say, The Princess Bride? It has been one of my favorites for....over twenty years? Has it been out that long! Wow.

Okay, aside from The Princess Bride, I really can't pick a single movie again. I loved The Fountain, but was impressed by both The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Obviously for laughs this week, My Cousin Vinny (if you don't count The Princess Bride) ranks up there...

Have a great week, all.

A Year of Movies

2010-03-21T13:24:00.003-06:00

Week 8: Feb 19, 2010 to Feb 25, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 11

86. All the Pretty Horses -- A beautiful movie at times. Reminded me quite a bit of No Country For Old Men (or rather, since NCFOM came out afterwards perhaps it's the other way around). Obviously, since both were based on novels written by Cormac McCarthy, I might have picked up on the similar language used in both.

87. Glengarry GlenRoss -- An excellent movie with some brilliant performances. I was completely sucked into this movie and now that I've seen it, I wonder why I hadn't seen it before.

88. Secret Window -- A Stephen King story turned into a good, eerie movie starring Johnny Depp (as a writer!). Gotta love movies with writers as main characters! I've seen this one before, and have always liked it. Did you notice the camera seemingly passing through the mirror on the wall at the beginning of the film? Are we watching him or his mirror image?

89. Casablanca -- A classic. I've only seen it once before, but I truly enjoyed all the performances. A good romance. What more is there to be said that hasn't already been said before?

90. The Birds -- Another Hitchcock, and one I hadn't seen before. In general, I liked it well enough, but it's not one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. I think I was expecting more--and the ending really didn't do much for me.

91. Possession -- A charming romantic movie starring Paltrow and Eckheart (I really should make sure I'm spelling their names right!) and based on the novel by A.S. Byatt. It was a quiet movie, very sweet and I particularly liked the ending. One of those movies I probably wouldn't have watched if not for my attempt to broaden my horizons during this "Year of Movies", but I'm glad I did.

92. Public Enemies -- While Johnny Depp and Christian Bale both did excellent jobs in their roles, I felt the movie was just a bit too long.

93. Mr. Brooks -- I was impressed by this enthralling, intense movie. Costner and Hurt did a wonderful job working together. I love the scene where they're both in Costner's car, it's raining, and they're waiting for Dane Cook's (who did a great job in this too) character to join them. He needs to cross the street and he almost gets hit by a passing car, (which is what they hoped would happen just seconds earlier) and the way they both laughed.....very funny. Demi Moore's detective had sooooo much going on in her part of the story, but it all tied in nicely with the rest of the movie by the end. I'd like to see a sequel to this--but since it didn't do very well at the box office.....it probably won't happen. That's too bad. I'd love to see more of these characters.

94. Blue Thunder -- Remember when there seemed to be a helicopter in every movie / TV series? Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Riptide, Magnum PI.... Now, I'm missing all of those and wondering when these all will be made into movies a la Charlie's Angels, The A Team etc.

95. From Dusk Till Dawn -- The first time I saw this movie, I didn't know what it was! Action? Vampire? It was like two halves of different movies mashed into each other with a beautiful Selma Hayak very nicely stitching the two parts together.... I like this funny, gory movie. It's just a good time movie. (And now that I've seen it again, I'm curious about the cop at the beginning of the movie--isn't he the same cop character who appears in Kill Bill 1/2, and Death Proof and Planet Terror..?)

96. Shooter -- I really liked this action movie. If memory serves it's based on a novel by Stephen Hunter...(if this is wrong I'll have to come back and edit the name). In watching this with the director's commentary on, I was surprised by his attention to detail.

A single favorite? No, sorry, not this week. I'd put Glengarry GlenRoss, Secret Window and Mr. Brooks near the top of the list.

Whew. I'm almost caught up. Just a few more weeks and I'll be able to finish these posts shortly after I finish each week--and hopefully be able to include just a bit more on each entry. I've slowed down a bit too on my movie watching--I was at a 50/month pace in Jan/Feb, but I'm running closer to a low 40 total this month (March).

So, have I watched any of your favorites? Drop me a comment and let me know.

A Year of Movies

2010-03-16T10:01:00.003-06:00

Week 7: Feb 12, 2010 to Feb 18, 2010
Total Number of Movies Watched: 17

Yes, a crazy amount this week. I wasn't feeling well, so I spent a chunk of time vegging in front of the TV watching a lot of really great movies. I'll tell you right now, I don't have a single favorite this week either--though there are a few of my all-time favorites in this week's addition. Let's get to it.

69. Inside Man -- Great heist movie. Great story. Intricately plotted. Clive Owen and Denzel Washington give some great performances in this one. Can I say 'great' one more time? Okay, great music in this one too. Yeah, I know, I made a comment about music in another movie, but I loved the background music during the opening sequence. This is one of my all-time favorite movies.

70. Night of the Living Dead (the original) -- While I wasn't impressed with the beginning of the movie, by the end, I overall liked this movie. I found a couple of the main characters annoying--the main female character and the husband who comes up from the basement (their names escape me at the moment). I've never seen this movie before, and I don't believe I've seen any of the remakes (well, I've seen Shaun of the Dead and a couple of other zombie movies, including Zombieland, but I don't think I've seen and of the 'Night of the Living Dead' remakes. Are they worth watching?)

71. Hollywoodland -- Ben Affleck was impressive in this one. I know he gets criticized for his leading man roles a bit, but I really liked him in this one. He really seemed to grasp the character's desperation well. Because of this film, I went out and watched the film that will be #83 on this weeks list. I'll talk about that later.

72. Maverick -- Mel Gibson really does comedic, action roles well. He does dark, scary action roles well too but he was quite the charmer in this one. I liked James Garner in this too. Funny movie.

73. Iron Man -- Another of my all-time favorite movies. Now, admittedly, before this movie came out, I really didn't know much about Iron Man, so I didn't know what to expect but I was blown away by how good this movie was when I first saw it in the theaters (and I can't wait to see Iron Man 2 in May). The CGI didn't overwhelm the story--it enhanced the story (and I'm hoping that element remains with the sequel). I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Tony Stark better than Robert Downey Jr. It's good to see him get his act together--I've always been impressed by his skill. I anxiously await the other Marvel Superhero movies and look forward to hopefully seeing a movie someday which combines a number of the superheroes into one.

74. Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- Years ago, I watched this movie so many times I think I had most of the lines memorized. Still, after all these years, a very funny movie.

75. Gone in 60 Seconds (The Original) -- A much better car chase scene than the one in 'The Chase'....or even in the remake with Nicholas Cage. I mean, the last 40 minutes or so of this movie is primarily one long chase scene, with no CGI cars, no special effects, just pure driving fast and crashing hard fun. Once you get past the weak beginning of this movie, the rest is really good.

76. No Country For Old Men -- The very first time I watched this movie, I didn't like it. Then, I read the book by Cormac McCarthy, and I didn't like it. Then, I thought about the movie and the book and decided to try them both again. The second time through, I liked the movie, and the book. Now that I've seen the movie a few more times, it has become one of my favorites. It's not your traditional Hollywood movie with a tidy ending, but then, this is a Cohen Brothers movie. Excellent, dark movie.

77. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter books and in general I like the Harry Potter movies, but I've found you can't really compare the two. Too much has been cut out of the books in order to make the movies and while this was another good installment in the movie series, admittedly, I'm anxious for the last book to be filmed (into two movies), so I can just watch the movies in order one after the other because too much of gap exists between my viewing of each movie, and there's just too much info and too many little details that exist in the books that don't exist in the movies, but it helps if you've read the books to fill in those missing details in the movie....does that make sense? Aside from money, is there a good reason to make the last book into two movies? If I recall, the last book had roughly 300 pages or so of Harry and friends camping out and basically doing very little right smack in the middle of the book. I can't imagine the filmmakers having to make a big deal about that part of the book. Or course, perhaps a good chunk of the last film will be 'the ending' a la the last thirty minutes of so of the LOTR trilogy where each character basically had their 'good bye' scene(s).

78. Mutant Chronicles -- Very dark, very bloody movie starring Ron Perlman and Thomas Jane. While not a great movie, I think it worked for what it meant to be--a dark and bloody action movie.

79. Runaway Jury -- This is one where I liked both the book and the movie even though the movie doesn't really follow the book all that closely. Lots of good actors in this--Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, John Cusack, Rachel Weisz...all doing a really great job. I loved the Hoffman-Hackman scene where they confront each other in the bathroom. Reminded me a bit of the De Niro-Pacino scene in Heat.

80. Defiance -- An incredibly moving movie based on the real story of Jewish brothers who fought back against the Nazis in WWII and survived in the eastern European woods for a couple of years with hundreds of other Jewish families whom they rescued. Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber were both great in this.

81. Lakeview Terrace -- Samuel L. Jackson is so good in this. He plays a conflicted father and cop suffering the loss of his wife, trying to raise his kids on his own, while dealing with his own prejudices (which were tied into the loss of his wife). While he was the 'bad' guy in this movie, he wasn't just your typical bad guy. At times, he really came off as being a sympathetic man--at other times....not so much.

82. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective -- Vintage Jim Carrey. Goofy. Silly. Crazy. Wacky. As I've said before, sometimes you just need to watch these mindless, entertaining movies.

83. Gone With The Wind -- As I mentioned earlier, when I watched Hollywoodland, Ben Affleck's character George Reeves makes a big deal about the fact that he was in Gone With The Wind. I've never seen GWTW so I thought, now is the time to finally break down and watch this movie. Reeves character was only in the first few minutes of the movie (which only added another level of enjoyment to the previous viewing of Hollywoodland). Anyway. Nearly 4 hours later, I was finally done with GWTW. I know this is supposed to be one of the most beloved movies of all times. I know Scarlett O'Hara is supposed to be one of the most beloved characters in movies of all times, but to quote Rhett Butler: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. I did not like this movie and I did not like Scarlett O'Hara. I've enjoyed other 'classic' movies. I've liked other 'epic' movies. This is not one of them. I could not stand Scarlett's constant selfishness and the way she used people all the time. Some say midway through she changes with the line about how she will never starve again. I don't see the change. She didn't say 'we will never starve again (including her family) just 'I will never starve again'. And then, what did she do to make sure she never starves again? She goes out and marries a rich guy whom she doesn't love. The only 'change' this time is the last time she got married, she married a guy she didn't love to make her 'love' jealous. (And the only reason she loved the man she 'loved' was because he was in love with someone else and wasn't going to marry her.) I know, it would be easier to understand this if I included all the character's names, but I dislike the movie so much I really don't care to spend more time than I already have talking about it. And the ending--with Scarlett in tears saying 'tomorrow is another day'..... Okay. Enough. I really didn't want to be a film 'critic' here so I'll just stop.

Moving on....

84. Smokin' Aces -- Well, I had to purge myself of the previous movie, and what better way to do that then to watch something with lots of guns and lots of action. Now, I don't 'need' lots of guns and action to enjoy a movie--that's NOT why I dislike GWTW so much, but anyway, as for Smokin' Aces, it is just a wild, crazy action movie with a good twist at the end.

85. Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball -- Well, since I had this one too and I still felt the need to purge....(LOL). Not quite as good as the first movie but still a lot of action and a lot of guns and...well...some very politically incorrect action too. Considering what some of the characters do with a canon they acquire from a circus, I'm surprised some members of society didn't object to this movie....(Or did they and I didn't hear about it? Or, has this movie escaped the attention of many?)

Well, that's finally it. As I said earlier, lots of favorites this week- Inside Man, Iron Man, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, No Country For Old Men, Defiance...and of course, I don't think I need to mention the movie I liked the least this week, do I?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not looking to become a film critic here--I generally love movies too much to really criticize them (well, usually!) -- so I'm only giving a quick overview of my thoughts here about each of these movies. I have a few friends who are equally into movies where I can talk to them for hours about characters, plots, directors, camera angles, actors etc. but those types of conversations are difficult to reproduce in this type of setting.

However, if you'd like to share your own thoughts about these movies, or want to suggest some additional movies for me to watch, I'll likely add them to my 'to-be-watched' list.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your own pile of 'to-be-watched' movies.

A Year of Movies

2010-03-15T08:16:00.003-06:00

Week 6: Feb 5, 2010 to Feb 11, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

59. Rope -- Another Hitchcock movie. A friend suggested this one to me. Hitchcock filmed this one to look as if the movie was done in one continuous shot. If you watch closely, you do see the 'cuts', however, it still is impressive what he (and the actors) did here. The story was an interesting one too--a couple of men kill a third man, stuff his body in a chest out in the open, and invite his family and friends over for a dinner party--with the food served off the chest.

60. Notorious -- Can you tell I enjoy Hitchcock? What is this, my sixth this year? I think so. A suspenseful movie starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Snappy dialogue between those two. You just don't get a lot of that in movies nowadays. I'd seen the ending of this movie a number of times on TV, but this was a first seeing the entire movie from start-to-finish. Great movie.

61. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou -- A friend suggested this movie to me. I didn't know what to expect--I didn't know what the movie was about. What a truly bizarre and funny movie. I told my friend after watching it that I thought I got all the humor--maybe--but that it was just an odd, funny movie. Bill Murray does those roles so well. (Actually, I like his more serious roles too--so maybe he's just a good actor. Hmmm.....)

62. L.A. Confidential -- What a great, great movie. Excellent cast. Entertaining story line. Just a great viewing pleasure. I'll have to check out the book sometime.

63. Valkyrie -- I know the critics didn't particularly like this movie, but I really didn't have that much of a problem with it. I think the biggest complaint was Cruise (an American) was playing the main German character and a whole slew of great British actors played the secondary German characters and they weren't trying to do a German accent (at least, I don't really remember accents being used or not). Perhaps some people are picky when it comes to actors and accents. I appreciate an actor trying, and succeeding when he/she does an accent, but I'm not (generally) put off too much if an actor doesn't use an accent or if the accent isn't 'perfect'. I'd rather focus my attention on the story and primarily if I'm being entertained (or not). For this movie, I was entertained.

64. The Musketeer -- I'm kinda split on this movie. The action junkie in me enjoyed the swordplay (even though it seemed misplaced in this kind of 'time-period' movie) and the action sequences--but the rest of the movie seemed only so-so. I'm a big fan of Tim Roth--he plays bad guys so well, but it almost seemed like he was TOO good at being bad in this movie while the rest of the characters seemed rather bland in comparison.

65. Zombieland -- Was it a horror movie looking for laughs? Was it a comedy looking for frights? Who cares? It was just a fun, fun movie with some funny lines-- 'It's time to nut up, or shut up.' As I've said before, (I think even on this blog somewhere...right?) sometimes you just need a good, silly movie--pure entertainment. I'd love to see a sequel to this.

66. Training Day -- A dark, action-packed, intense movie with Denzel Washington as the bad guy. Prior to this movie, I don't think he played the villain before...at least, I don't remember him in such a role. (I know he's played the villain in at least one other movie since...). Anyway, I liked this movie a lot.

67. Entrapment -- Sean Connery is just so smooth in this movie. And Catherine Zeta-Jones looked so good while she was trying so hard to be 'bad'. A good heist movie overall.

68. The Chase -- Who knew a car chase could make for an entire movie? There's a song that plays near the end of the movie that I want to track down--it plays at the point when he's deciding whether to get out of the car or not. Hmmm...I don't know what that says about a movie when I'm more interested in the music....Hey, the movie was okay.

A short list this week. Don't worry, I make up for it next week! A single favorite? Well...I'd say it's a toss-up between Zombieland and L.A. Confidential. Two very different movies, liked for two very different reasons. L.A. Confidential is the better movie overall but Zombieland was just loads of fun to watch. Training Day is up near the top too.

A Year of Movies

2010-03-12T20:01:00.002-06:00

Week 5: Jan 29, 2010 to Feb 4, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 11

48. A Scanner Darkly -- A friend recommended this to me. I didn't know what to expect with this movie-though since it was based on a Philip K. Dick story, I assumed it was going to be strange. I was not disappointed. What a bizarre, bizarre movie--dark, twisted (I tend to like these kinds of movies!). An interesting story with some nice twists.

49. Strangers on a Train -- After hearing about this movie for years, I finally watched it. This was my fourth Hitchcock movie in the past week and a half. I like his style quite a bit (shocking, huh?). A good story, quirky characters, and honestly, I wasn't sure how it was going to end.

50. The American President -- An idealistic portrayal of a noble president. Does such a politician exist? Did such a politician ever exist? I don't want to get into politics here--too much discussion about politics exist elsewhere. In general, I like this movie.

51. Father of the Bride -- Funny movie with heart. I really like Steve Martin in this movie and I can't imagine anyone else playing this part. He makes making movies look so easy.

So ended the month of January. 51 movies in one month. At this rate, I'll end up watching 600 movies in 2010. Crazy! I don't think I can keep this pace up all year...

52. On the Waterfront -- Brilliant movie. I watched this for the first time about twenty years ago, but I didn't really appreciate how good it was back then. The scene with Brando in the back of the cab with his brother -- the 'I could've been a contender' scene was spectacular. What an incredible scene--what an incredible actor. This movie also introduced us to Eva Marie Saint--I'd forgotten about that. I love her in North by Northwest (another movie I'll have to watch again this year).

53. 30 Days of Night -- I really enjoyed this movie. Vampires in Alaska. What a cool idea. Or would that be 'cold'? I haven't read the graphic novel that this movie was based on, but a friend suggested this movie to me a while back. Watched it last year, had to watch it again. A good scary movie.

54. Groundhog Day -- I had to watch this movie on Groundhog Day. I love this movie. I've watched this movie dozens of times. I love the city where this movie was filmed. Woodstock, IL is a beautiful city with a beautiful Town Square. I'll stop myself now before I start to gush.

55. Twister -- This is the last movie I saw at a Drive-In and if memory serves, the weather wasn't all that great that night which made the whole drive-in getting destroyed by the tornado scene within the movie just a tiny bit scarier. I've always liked this movie--nothing like having a mile-wide tornado as your villain...

56. Hancock -- When I first saw this movie I thought it was two halves of two different movies mashed together somewhere in the middle, but now that I've seen if a few times, I think it works. I like the attempt the filmmakers made to make up their own superhero mythology. Will Smith looked like he was having a lot of fun making this movie.

57. The Omen (the original) -- This movie scared the hell out of me when I was young and it still creeps me out now. A great, scary movie.

58. The Omen (the remake) -- I hadn't seen the remake before, but since I was able to get both DVD copies from the local library at the same time I thought I'd watch the two movies back-to-back. The remake had a few changes in it--but what I liked is that the filmmakers didn't add a lot of CGI work to the remake--they just relied on the creepy story and for me at least, it worked.

Another week down. Only 47 more weeks to go!

I can't decide on a single favorite film this week either (I should really try to watch some bad movies with just one good movie some week--though, on second thought, that doesn't sound like a fun week of movie watching to me....!) There's just too much variety--some really good horror movies in there, a couple of excellent classics, and of course my sentimental favorite, Groundhog Day.

A Year of Movies

2010-03-10T12:39:00.003-06:00

Week 4: Jan 22, 2010 to Jan 28, 2010
Number of movies watched: 12

36. Shakespeare in Love -- Every time I watch this movie, I feel the need to write better. A pity it doesn't happen. Ha ha. Ah, that's just me being hard on myself. Seriously, I've always liked this movie a lot. There's quite a few named actors in this, and I think this was the first movie I saw with Ben Affleck playing a secondary character--and I think I like him just a bit more as a secondary character rather than as the lead. He plays quirky oddballs better, I think. As for the movie on a whole, it's a great rom-com.

37. Vertigo -- I'd never seen this Hitchcock movie before, and now that I've seen it, I really like it a lot. I like the twist midway through and like other good movies with good twists, I want to watch it again. It was interesting to watch the female character go through the changes she had to go through for Stewart's character. I liked the original ending (on the DVD bonus section they had an alternate ending required for overseas viewers--it was not as good as the original ending).

38. Desperado -- Excellent action movie. Salma Hayek looks amazing in this. Lots of poetic gun play. Just a fun flick to watch.

39. He's Just Not That Into You -- Cute movie. The wife liked it. Decent enough rom-com.

40. Marley & Me -- Another Jennifer Aniston movie that my wife wanted to see. I did too. We both love dogs and as the movie neared the end, we both knew what to expect, but it still was hard to watch. We have an aging dog (she's 11 1/2), and young children, and it will be difficult on all of us when she goes. For so many years, she acted like puppy--always so full of energy, but the last couple of years she's started to slow down and just this past winter she's really started to show her age. Selfishly, I hope she holds out for a few more years. She's been a great dog for all of us (not the terror that Marley was in this movie!)

41. Miss Congeniality -- Some weekends just end up being rom-com weekends--and if they must be rom-com weekends, one should at least try to find good rom-coms. I've been a fan of Sandra Bullocks since Speed so I enjoyed this movie. So did my wife.

42. Ghost Rider -- I know this movie didn't do so well with the critics, but I liked it. I like most super-hero movies though, so perhaps I'm a bit biased when it comes to these. Sure, some superhero movies are better than others, but after a weekend of rom-coms I was ready for something with a little more action. And of course, Eva Mendes is in this...

43. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels -- Michael Caine. Steve Martin. Being scoundrels. What's not to like? I love this movie and can watch it over and over.

44. The Stranger -- A dark Orson Welles movie. Welles plays a cold, calculating Nazi trying to escape notice in a small New England town. I didn't know what to expect with this movie--in general I liked the sinister mood and feel of it.

45. Kingpin -- Woody is so funny in this movie. Bill Murray. Randy Quaid. Both equally funny. After a dark movie, it was nice to follow it up with something light and humorous.

46. The Maltese Falcon -- Bogart was Sam Spade. Another classic. Excellent movie. What more can I say. It's one of those movies you just have to watch.

47. Slumdog Millionaire -- I'd never seen this movie before. I really didn't know much about it either. I didn't even read the outside cover when I got it from the library. I came to this movie without knowing what to expect. Visually shocking. Great story. Interesting love story. At times, a very dark movie--at other times, very uplifting.

Overall, some very extremely different movies this week, and because of these wild differences, I can't pick one winner overall. I really enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire, but I also enjoyed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels for completely different reasons. However, of all the rom-coms, while the weekend rom-com fest was fun and I enjoy watching movies with my wife, I still liked Shakespeare in Love just a bit more.

I'm slowly catching up with myself here. By the end of March, I'm hoping I'll have all the weeks entered. January and February were some busy months. I've slowed down the pace just a bit this month. I've stubbornly finished at least one movie every day so far, despite some days thinking -- why the hell am I doing this? Am I learning anything at all? Is that the goal? I don't know. Maybe. I'd like to think there is something more to all this movie-watching than simply escapism. Isn't that why so many people watch movies though? To escape real life? For two hours, give or take, the viewer can slip the bonds of the real world and enter a new world with different troubles and different outcomes and take a break from life knowing that in two hours, give or take, at least some answers will be found. Some resolutions will be discovered. Some new knowledge will be revealed. Maybe that's what I'm looking for...some answers. Some resolutions. Some knowledge...

Or, maybe it's just that I love movies.

Something to consider...

A Year of Movies

2010-03-04T15:55:00.002-06:00

Week 3: Jan 15, 2010 to Jan 21, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

26. 3:10 to Yuma -- An excellent western starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Probably one of the top western movies--I'd rank it up there with Unforgiven as one of my favorites in that genre. I'll have to read the Elmore Leonard short story someday. Wonderfully rich, three-dimensional, not all good-not all bad characters in this movie. Intense action and ending.

27. Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion -- Hey, sometimes you just have to watch a light, funny movie from time to time, and you might as well watch one with some eye candy. Like, you know?

28. Blue Velvet -- And then you follow that up with a dark, twisted, odd, odd movie with a scary Dennis Hopper and some scenes that frankly were rather disturbing. I had never seen this before, a friend recommended it, and while I did like it overall, parts were just....as I said, disturbing.

29. My Best Friend's Wedding -- Hey, sometimes you got to watch movies the wife likes. I like this rom-com too. Julia Roberts as the 'bad' guy in this. And what a 'villain' she turned out to be. Cameron Diaz looked SO young in this movie.

30. Runaway Bride -- Another Julia Roberts movie. Another wedding....or rather multiple weddings. Another pairing of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. While I don't think this one tops Pretty Woman, it still is an enjoyable rom-com (and Julia does this thing with her mouth--makes it look like she's a duck).

31. HeartBreakers -- It was a weekend of rom-coms. Funny movie. More eye-candy.

32. Mulholland Dr. -- Another truly bizarre and twisted David Lynch movie. I liked this one slightly better than Blue Velvet, but that might be because I've seen this one a few times before and I wasn't as shocked by it this time around.

33. Rear Window -- As you'll see in future posts, I'm working my way through Alfred Hitchcock's movies. A little dated perhaps (primarily with the ending effects), but still a very, very good movie. Impressive use of one set. I liked the chemistry between James Stewart and Grace Kelly. She just glows on the screen and you can't take your eyes off her.

34. Dave -- This 'political' movie makes one wish it were possible for something good to truly come out of Washington. Sweet movie.

35. Psycho -- What more can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said so many times before. A classic noir film.

I guess this was the week of primarily twisted movies and eye candy. Hmmm...perhaps I should try to find some movies that combines both those qualities. Probably something by Quentin Tarantino. I'm working toward getting to some of his films in the very near future. And while I am a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's works and I enjoy Lynch's twisted movies and all the various eye-candy films, I think my favorite for this past week was 3:10 to Yuma.

A Year of Movies

2010-03-03T11:15:00.003-06:00

Week 2: Jan. 8, 2010 to Jan. 14, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 13

13. District 9 -- I absolutely LOVED this movie! I'll have to find a time this year to watch it again, and soon. I loved the characters, the story, the setting -- I loved how the special effects didn't take over the movie. They were only a part of the movie. Too many movies nowadays rely too heavily on effects and don't worry as much about story, or character. This one was a perfect mix. If you haven't seen this movie, watch it.

14. Cashback -- I really enjoyed this small budget indie film. It was charming and funny and I had no idea what to expect when I started watching it and when it was done, I was truly impressed. A really good movie.

15. Edward Scissorhands -- An old favorite. After what, 20 years, this movie still gets to me. And the music...

16. The Fog -- This remake was 'okay'. The idea of the movie was kinda cool, but I'm not sure if the ending worked for me. I haven't seen the original so I don't know if that was the original ending or not. For a horror movie, I wasn't really 'scared'...

17. Sleepless in Seattle -- A great romantic comedy. What more is there to say? Though, I have to add, there is quite a difference watching this when you have no kids vs having kids. Now that I have kids, the scene where Tom Hanks' son flies off to NY on his own (at age 8) now really bothers me. I can only imagine (and hopefully that's all it will ever be) the horror of a parent in losing a child like that, even if only for a few hours. In real life, that flight from Seattle to NY in hopes of finding your missing son would have seemed like an eternity. A horrible eternity... That aside though, I love this rom-com. Great movie.

18. Breaking and Entering -- An interesting and thoughtful movie staring Jude Law. Each character in this small movie was flawed, and the 'victim' of the actual crime was perhaps the most flawed of all. Another movie I started with no idea what to expect. In general, I liked it.

19. The Blair Witch Project -- Oddly enough, I had never seen this movie before. I know, I couldn't believe it either. My friend suggested it to me so I gave it a try. Perhaps after all these years of hearing how scary this movie was, I went into it with high expectations, and they weren't entirely met. For a low budget film, it was good, but for much of the movie, I just wasn't that scared. And as the movie went on, I began to like the main characters less and less, until finally, I got to the point (and this has happened in many horror movies for me), where I couldn't wait for the characters to get bumped off. And the ending. I 'get' the ending. But...again, I guess I was expecting more. If, as this movie was trying to pretend, these tapes were 'real' the cameras would have continued filming even after they were dropped (at least until the batteries died, the cameras ran out of film, or they were switched off), and yet, as edited, the movie just stops. So...again, going on the premise that the footage was supposed to be real (I realize they were not), there should have been more footage of the carnage after what 'we' saw--and yet the people who edited the "real" film footage together didn't include it? Why not? It's supposed to be a 'horror'. If there was 'real' horror footage afterwards, it should have been included. Long story short, I felt the ending short-changed the viewers.

20. Leon, The Professional -- This was the director's cut of The Professional. I love this movie. Sharp action. Deeply emotional. Dark at times. Excellent performances by all the lead actors. Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman. Wow.

21. Splinter -- An intense 'monster' movie. Thrilling. Fun and at times, actually scary. I liked this 'monster' movie.

22. Hang 'Em High -- Clint Eastwood's first American western, according to the outside cover. Good movie. I like most of Clint's movies. Will have to watch 'Unforgiven' again soon.

23. Con Air -- An enjoyable movie with lots of great actors having fun. Cage, Cusack, Malkovich...the list goes on and on with this movie. Wild action. I really like this movie.

24. City of Ember -- A fun adventure story set in a unique world. The kids will probably like this movie in a few years (they're just a little too young to truly enjoy it now). I went out and found the book that this movie was based on and read it afterwards. A good read, too.

25. Fallen -- A great paranormal/cop film starring Denzel Washington. Excellent story. Nice twists. Dark, eerie movie. Watch this movie if you get the chance....'time is on your side, yes it is...' (the song sticks after watching this!)

A week of excellent movies! Again, too many to pick out one favorite, though District 9 would be near the top of my list for not only this week, but of all movies I've seen. And I'm glad I took a chance on a few of the smaller budget films--Cashback, Breaking and Entering and Splinter. Sometimes those little-known movies really do work out well.

About Movies and Exercising and Cleaning...oh my.

2010-03-03T10:56:00.004-06:00

In regards to watching a movie every day, some days are easier than others. I know, compared to many people, watching a movie a day is a luxury. I'm not complaining. I usually attempt to watch the day's movie while exercising, or cleaning the house. (My wife is a fan of either--though I think she prefers the house cleaning more--no big surprise!) In an effort to get into better shape before I get too much older, I have been trying nearly every day to exercise to some extent--riding the exercise bike, lifting free weights, or simply a doing a variety of stretching exercises. Writing can become such a sedentary job--and often while I'm writing or editing, I have to remind myself to get up and walk around. Something just to get out of the chair!

Cleaning can be quite a physical work out too. Sometimes I'm able to get quite a bit done while the movie is playing--and other days, I use the movie as my reward. Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of house cleaning. I'm reminded of a scene in 'The Break-up' where Jennifer Aniston's character and Vince Vaughn's character are discussing cleaning and she basically says something along the lines of: I want you to want to clean...and he replies: why would I want to clean? I don't know about you, but I think that's true for many people. I clean...but it's not like it's something I 'want' to do. The movie treat after is my "spoonful of the sugar to help the medicine go down".

So, the moral of the story, if there needs to be one, is: don't complain about something you enjoy doing, even if you don't feel like doing it every so often, 'cause you could be doing something a whole lot less fun all the time instead.

Wait, is that kinda like 'the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence'?

Hmmmm...

Yeah, I suppose that's the 'deep thought' for the day. I know, it's not impressive. But on only a couple of hours of sleep and one can of Mt Dew, it's not bad.

Watch out if I ever sleep eight hours in a row!

A Year of Movies

2010-03-02T10:23:00.003-06:00

Week 1: Jan 1, 2010 to Jan 7, 2010.
Total number of movies watched: 12

1. The Usual Suspects -- I love this movie. I've watched it a number of times and I think Kevin Spacey is impressive as Verbal Kint. A great way to start off the new year.

2. Four Christmases -- My wife wanted this movie for Christmas (she likes movies just not as much as me). In general, I liked this movie, though I thought Vince Vaughn was basically playing another Vince Vaughn character. Has he ever played a character that wasn't a smooth-fast-talking funny guy? I'll have to check imdb... Anyway, it was a decent enough movie with some funny parts.

3. Jennifer's Body -- Okay movie. I'm a big fan of Juno, and was probably expecting a bit more from this movie, but it was what it was--a movie to show off Megan Fox. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to be scared...or laugh...or...?

4. The Wrestler -- Great movie even if mildly depressing. Mickey Rourke did an amazing job. I won't spoil the ending, but it totally fit with the rest of the movie. It's good to see Mickey again. I liked him in Sin City and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (will have to watch both of them again this year sometime), but in this movie, he was the star.

5. Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past -- Another movie my wife wanted for Christmas. Matthew being his normal charming self and Jennifer Garner being someone I can't help but watch. She lights up the screen--big or small. Loved her in Alias, and 13 Going on 30. Was surprised by the scene between Matthew's character and his brother. I wasn't expecting the emotional bond between the two of them in this film.

6. Frost/Nixon -- Excellent movie. It was like watching a verbal boxing match. Really great performances by the two main lead actors.

7. Ed Wood -- A friend suggested this movie to me. I've seen quite a few Johnny Depp movies, but I'd never seen this one. So many times, Depp disappears into his roles. He's an amazing actor. Good film.

8. Mars Attacks! -- A nice homage to cheesy '50s sci-fi (or is it SYFY now?) movies. I'd seen this on TV off and on over the years but I think this was the first time I saw it on DVD. Better on DVD.

9. The Ring -- Another suggestion by a friend. I'd never seen it before. Had watched Paranormal Activity at the end of December and thought it was pretty good (though I didn't think it was the scariest movie ever). This movie was scarier. (Yes, I know, it also had a budget!) Creepy movie. Eerie from start to finish.

10. 1408 -- Another good horror movie. John Cusack is really great in this movie (he's really good in so many movies...Grosse Pointe Blank, Identity, High Fidelity, American Sweethearts). Dark. Depressing. Entertaining.

11. Star Trek -- I had wanted to see the Star Trek movie when it came out in the theater last year, but I never had the chance. And though I am typically a fantasy/sci-fi (SYFY) fan, I never really got into the original Star Trek series (it came out before my time). Perhaps it is blasphemy to say this, but I actually tend to like both Star Wars and Star Trek fairly equally...(hmmm...will this be the beginning of 'the hate'?). As for this movie, I generally liked it quite a bit. It had lots of good action, a good story, and with one simple twist at the beginning, a way for J.J. Abrams to completely reboot the original characters' history.

12. Touch of Evil -- Another friend's suggestion. I hadn't watched many Orson Welles movies, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I was able to watch a director's cut or at least a version that was supposed to be closer to what Welles intended. I liked the movie. Welles and Heston were really good in this.

Overall, a pretty good week. I can't really pick a single favorite out of these twelve. The Usual Suspects, The Wrestler, and Star Trek would be near the top.

A YEAR OF MOVIES

2010-03-02T09:57:00.004-06:00

If you follow me at all on Twitter, you might have noticed that lately I've talked about watching movies this year. I love movies. I've loved them ever since I was a kid. I started collecting VHS copies of movies years ago, and as time and technology advanced, I switched over to DVDs. I haven't gone over to Blu-ray (yet), but perhaps someday...

Anyways, back to "A Year of Movies".

My goal: to FINISH at least one movie every day for the entire year.

I say 'finish' because due to my odd work and sleep cycles, and my day-job as a Stay-at-Home Dad, it's hard to watch an entire movie start-to-finish in one day. However, I'm usually able to start a movie before I head off to bed for my first 'nap' before work, and finish the movie (the following day) after I'm home from work and awake from my second 'nap'. Occasionally, as you'll see, I am able to watch a second (or third) movie while I'm exercising or cleaning the house during the day (with DVD and VHS players in multiple rooms of the house it's quite easy to movie either the DVD or VHS movie around with me), but as I've said, I want to finish at least one movie every day from 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2010.

What's the point of watching all these movies? Besides the fact I love movies...?

Well, as I said, I own a lot of movies, and my wife suggested to me near the end of last year that if I were going to own a lot of movies, perhaps I should actually watch them. Good point!

Second, there are some movies I've meant to watch but for one reason or another I haven't and so I'm trying on a number of new directors, genres, etc in this pursuit of a Year of Movies. Also, my friends have from time to time suggested certain movies to me, and this year, I'm intent on trying to watch most of them.

Third, I don't watch a lot of general TV. I'm usually trying to sleep while prime-time TV is on and I don't watch much daytime TV--I'm not into daytime talk shows or soap operas--so having a movie on while I work around the house is my little entertainment.

Fourth, I'd love to write spec scripts and watching movies, lots of good movies, I think, is a good way to study movies. I have the rough draft of a low-budget indie script done for myself and a few of my friends who want to help me to make a movie later this year. As that develops, I'll discuss it here.

Finally, I just want to know if I can do it. There are some days when I really don't feel like watching another movie, but I stubbornly search out for a movie that changes my mind. After watching these movies, I make little notes about each--I'm not a film critic--rather, I generally look at whether the movie worked for me in the way it was intended. Was the comedy funny? Did the drama make me stop and think, then or later? Was I wowed by the action or scared by the horror? Also, I like being entertained.

In my next post, I'll start with the first week of 2010. As the year progresses, I'll attempt to catch up my posts to the current week. As of today, 3/2/2010, the 61st day of this year, I've watched 102 movies, finishing at least one per day.

Whew.

Welcome Back

2010-01-22T19:36:00.003-06:00

Hey, I'm back.

I'm going to try and use this blog more often this year. Last year really got away from me. A combination of health issues and a new computer kept me offline and away from this blog since my last post (almost eight months ago).

I'm feeling much, much better now. Over last summer, I injured the tendons in the bottom of my feet. Suffice it to say, that hurt.

And then, just when I was starting to feel better, I started to get a pain in my right side, just under the ribcage. Initially, I thought I'd banged into something, but the pain never seemed to completely go away. Finally, when the pain got so bad I couldn't lie on that side any more (and with some prodding from my wife who had had enough of seeing me suffer), I went to see a doctor.

Turns out, my gall bladder needed to come out.

October 30th, I had it taken out.

I feel SOOOOOO much better now.

I began eating a healthier diet and in the process, I lost 25 pounds. I started exercising every day (since 12/31/09) , and I'm looking better now than I have in years. I have more energy (despite getting less sleep), and I'm a happier person living with much less pain.

And I'm writing again.

Last year, I edited The Legend and the Fall again--and in the process, I found out that it still needs a bit more tweaking. Not much more--but there are still a few chapters that need work.

However, before tackling another round of edits on that book, I'm taking a mini-break to work on a very low budget indi movie with a couple of my friends. I've always loved movies, have always wanted to work on movies, and now, I have the time and the opportunity to follow a dream. Hopefully, something good will happen when we begin filming it later this year.

Also--since I'm such an avid collector of movies, I've decided to watch at least one movie every day for the entire year. So far, three weeks into the new year, I've kept up with that goal. In fact, I'm averaging slightly better than one a day. It's during my movie watching that I also keep to my other goal -- (the exercising every day). I do a variety of stretching and strength-training exercises while the movies play out. Last weekend, I impressed my wife with some house cleaning while watching a movie. (She has stated that she doesn't mind if I watch all these movies as long as I keep up my share of the house cleaning. That's only fair!)

Ahhh. I just checked the time. I need to get a little writing done on the movie script before heading off to bed.

Have a great weekend, all.

A Quick Update

2009-05-08T07:20:00.004-05:00

I'm still alive.

Not that anyone thought I was dead...right...?

Life suddenly got busy, or perhaps I suddenly forgot how to manage my 'free' time, or perhaps I just needed more sleep--regardless the reason, I've not found time to keep this blog updated. Sorry about that. I will try to be better. Really.

How are my year-long goals coming along, you ask. Don't ask. While others were catching the swine flu, I caught a bad case of procrastination. Or maybe it was cabin fever. Whatever it was, is, hopefully, I'm getting better soon. I miss my bike, and my computer, and 'free' time...

Yes, I think it is a time management problem. I'll have to talk to management about that.

I hear my wife and little girl coming in from walking my little guy to the bus stop. Time to get to work on cleaning the house and getting it in shape for a combined Mother's Day/Birthday Party for tomorrow afternoon.

Quick writing note. Have considered and taken some notes on a new beginning for The Legend and the Dark. Many readers have commented that though the book starts out fine it really gets going in later chapters and perhaps I need to make the main character more relate-able and heroic earlier on. Good advice (thank you). Will hopefully find (make) time to work on a first draft for that new beginning in the next few weeks.

Must go. Have a great weekend all - and Happy Mother's Day.

Welcome Back...

2009-02-16T08:51:00.003-06:00

Hey. Welcome to 2009. A bit late, I know. Sorry about that. I don't know what happened to the time. Where does it go? Can we get it back? No? Huh...

I really don't have a great excuse for being gone for so long. Life happened. I guess that sums it up fairly well. Too vague? Ummm...okay. Specifically, I spent a lot of time with the family and they got used to hanging out with me more. They're spoiled! After spending most of my free time last November working on the Nano book, (and thank you wonderful wife for allowing me to use all that free time for writing) I thought it only fair to spend time (especially around the holidays) with the family. I love my family, so I've enjoyed the extra time with them as well.

But now...I'm looking to find a happy medium. Time with the family AND time for writing.

Yeah....we'll see how well that turns out!

In addition to hanging out with the family, I've also worked to reorganize our unfinished 'basement.' My office is now nicely tucked into one corner and I'm surrounded by my books, both fiction and non-fiction. I like my new digs - and I'm looking forward to spending more time here writing. With my office moved out of the family room, it opens up that space and makes for more play space for the kids. I've learned something about their toys--the two-year-old's toys are big, the five-year-old's toys has many pieces. In short, all their stuff takes up a lot of room (and rather than having toys scattered all over the house, I'm working towards locating their toys in two rooms - the family room and their bedroom. We'll see if that 'plan' works!)

As for the writing front, I have worked towards improving my writing by reading. I've read Stephen King's book, "On Writing", Donald Maass's book, "Writing the Breakout Novel", Les Edgerton's book, "Hooked: write fiction that grabs readers at page one and never lets them go", and I'm currently reading Jessica Page Morrell's "Between the Lines: master the subtle elements of fiction writing" and Nancy Kress's "Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint." I've picked up a lot of great ideas along the way--ideas hopefully that will improve my writing and reduce the number of rejections I receive this year.

Ahhh, the children are demanding my attention now. Must go.

Have a great day, all.

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays

2008-12-23T15:15:00.003-06:00

Like the title says: Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays everyone.

This has been a strange month. Normally, I'm much more organized about the holidays. I usually have all the Christmas shopping done by late Oct/early Nov and all of it wrapped by Thanksgiving or early Dec--this year, I bought my last present this morning and just finished wrapping it now. My wife still has my presents to wrap. She thinks she'll wrap them tonight while I'm sleeping. Hopefully she and I will get more sleep tonight -- we found out last night the little girl has an ear infection. She did not sleep well. We did not sleep well. Two hours max for all of us. At least my wife is off now until next Monday. I'm not so lucky -- but at least I'm off Christmas day.

As I mentioned in the previous blog post - time flies. I honestly don't know what happened to this month. November I spent every day writing. December--I've been on the computer and online maybe six or seven times. Hopefully, I strike some sort of compromise or balance come 2009. I have begun to read the NaNo book -- so far, it's not quite as crappy as I thought, but it does need loads of work.

Must run now. Need to help my wife get ready for tomorrow. Christmas Eve we spend the day with my extended family celebrating Christmas -- Christmas day we spend with her family. The day after Christmas is the day we usually spend in our pajamas (unless we head out to brave the cold and snow and look for after-Christmas specials). I'm really looking forward to all three days.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very prosperous, safe and Happy New Year!

General Ramblings

2008-12-14T07:55:00.003-06:00

Time flies.

I can't believe that

a: we're 11 days away from Christmas

b: we're 17 days away from the New Year

c: NaNoWriMo ended two weeks ago.

I've been trying to catch up on missed sleep--sleep I missed while working on the NaNo book--but I really don't think one can 'catch up' on sleep. At least, I can't. I might have a day where I actually sleep 8-9 hours in any given 24 hour period, but it just doesn't feel like 'catching-up'.

Oh wells. What's that saying....I'll sleep when I'm dead?

I've just started reading the NaNo book. I took a couple of weeks off, to put a little distance between myself and the book. Also, I've missed reading...and watching movies...and hanging out with the family. My little guy-the five year old-has discovered PlayStation and loves Super Heroes. With so many super hero movies out over the past few years--the Spider-Man trilogy, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk etc he loves playing the super hero type games for PlayStation. Most recently, he and I have been playing Ultimate Alliance (a game that allows the players to pick a 4 man (or woman) super hero team from twenty or so Marvel super hero characters). My little guy's favorites are Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Captain America. I like Thor and Thing.

Anyway--over the past couple of weeks, I've played video games with my little guy, played dollies with my little girl, and tried to convince my oldest (he's 15) the importance of getting good grades in school (especially in high school) and how he really needs to study for his finals. Hopefully, I've succeeded.

Also over these past two weeks, I've worked on reading a few books. I'm almost done with Stephen King's Cujo (somehow I've lived this long without reading the book or seeing the movie). I've also started Peter David's Sir Apropos of Nothing. I own the entire trilogy so I thought it was probably a good idea to actually read them. I have a few series like that--bought because I like the writer, like the story idea, liked what I read on the outside cover, but never seemingly having the time to actually read the book(s). Early new year's resolution - to read more of the books sitting in my personal library!

Another early new year's resolution - to finish editing my NaNo book by summer.

Another -- to ride 1000 miles on my bike--summer 2009. I used to ride 1-2k miles on my bike every summer when I was younger. I'd ride at least 10 miles every day, often times logging closer to 20-30 miles a night. I was in great shape then--and I'd like to get back into shape for 2009. I've already lost twenty pounds this past summer by exercising more and watching what I eat and I'm only about 5-10 pounds away from my ideal so I'd like to use my bike to achieve that goal. Another benefit of riding--it usually frees my creative mind. When I was younger, I'd jump on my bike whenever I'd need to plot or think about advancing my storyline. The blood would start flowing. The brain would start working, and by the time I was done with my ride, I was ready to write again.

I really am rambling today!

I should finish this up -- I have some Christmas presents to wrap yet today.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas--Happy Holidays--Season's Greetings and a very healthy, prosperous and Happy New Year.

NaNoWriMo

2008-11-30T12:13:00.003-06:00

Today marks the end of NaNoWriMo.

I finished my latest book's first draft a couple of days ago, but I added a few scenes and ideas and padded the word count with an exercise to reveal another side of my main character. Doing this allowed me to reach my monthly goal of 60k.

My official NaNoWriMo-2008 word count was: 60, 086.

I've enjoyed this fast-paced writing exercise. I will likely try this again--perhaps before next November. I'm tossing around the idea of doing another attempt on my own in May 2009. We'll see...

For the time being, I'm going to let this draft rest for a few days, catch up on some reading and sleep, and then start editing/rewriting on Draft #2.

Oh -- and I have a tentative working title for this latest book.

...Test of Will...or maybe...A Test of Will...or...A Test of Wills.....or something...I figure it will come to me before I get the final draft done.

Thanks for joining me on this month-long journey.

Take care all -

NaNoWriMo

2008-11-25T06:27:00.002-06:00

It's offical.

I copy/pasted the NaNo manuscript into the NaNo's word count computer--they have me at:

54,520.

Just a few hundred shy of what I had on my computer, but what does that matter (though it's odd how different computers count differently, isn't it?)

I'm only about 5k shy of 'the end'. It would be nice to get it done before the big Turkey day, but I've got a lot of projects I need to finish around the house before Thursday....so, I might not reach 'the end' until this weekend.

Either way, I'm amazed I (will) finished the rough draft in approximately one month. I've never written this way before. I'm usually a careful, cautious writer. A plotter. A tweaker. An edit-as-I-go type of writer--but this way of writing has shown me that I 'can' write fast, I 'can' write a couple of thousand words each day for multiple days/weeks in a row even while working and being home with the kids---and even if the first draft is crap (I'm sure most of it is), I at least have the story out of my head and now I have something I can work on.

Time to celebrate a little (with breakfast-I'm hungry). The kids are waking up--gotta run.

Take care all (and to those participating in NaNo - good luck reaching the 50k by Nov 3o. I wish you all the best!).

NaNoWriMo

2008-11-22T09:20:00.003-06:00

NaNo Update:

Day 22:

Word count (unofficial count--official word count will come sometime after Nov 25): 51,102.

I did it.

Actually, I passed the 50,000 word mark yesterday, Friday, Nov 21 at about 5:30pm.

Yea!

But, the book's first draft isn't complete yet. I'm near the end. I can see it. I know how it needs to end. I'm just still working out how to actually get to that end point.

I can't wait to write, "The End".

I also can't wait to start rewriting it. Parts are mildly good. Some parts are okay. Large chunks---really, really bad! First draft bad. Don't want anyone else to read it bad. So bad, sometimes I'm afraid to read it because I know it will be cringe-worthy bad.

Did I mention, some of it is bad?

Overall, I like the story. I like the characters. I like the world the book is set in. I know, I know--I'm being vague, but I don't want to talk the book to death here. I want to get a second draft maybe a third draft done before I start talking specifics (or let anyone read it!). I don't even have a title for it yet. I've had a few ideas, but nothing I've fallen in love with yet. When I do think of something, I'll post it here.

I'm tired.

50,000 words in three weeks while working part-time at night and being a stay-at-home dad with two small and wildly energetic children and only getting 3-5 hours of sleep each night has been challenging to say the least. I'll probably still try to keep up with a similar writing routine now that the NaNo challenge is basically done with only a few modifications to allow me an extra hour of sleep each night. (Falling asleep at the computer while writing really doesn't accomplish anything!)

Speaking of children--mine are running around demanding my attention now. Gotta go.

Take care all -

NaNoWriMo Update

2008-11-16T12:59:00.002-06:00

Update: Day 16.

To be on schedule with NaNo you should be at 26,667 words. I am currently at 33,724. Yea!

Just past the midway point of writing this month and I'm still doing pretty well. I really like this story--the characters, the wacky storyline and now, I have a fairly good idea how it's all going to end. It came to me in the shower. Most of my better story ideas come to me while I'm standing under the hot water. Hot water on my brain seems to loosen up the thoughts.

Now, if only they had waterproof computers/laptops...

Of course, if they did, my water bill would be astronomically high, and I'd look like a prune, but I just know those stories would sell!

The thing is, by the time I get out of the shower and dry off enough so as to not get water all over the floor and the computer, the best bits of story--especially dialogue--just don't seem to hold up. The dialogue that sparkled in my head when hot water is running all over me seems a little drier when I'm a little drier.

I wonder if it's like singing in the shower. Songs always sound better when they're sung in the shower...

Anyway. I'm rambling. I should be writing. I need some food. Something to drink. And eventually a nap--running on too few hours of sleep these past two weeks (also fighting off a lingering cold - bad cold, go away!).

To all of you working on a NaNo book - good luck! I wish you all the best on this amazing endeavor.

Take care -

NaNoWriMo Update

2008-11-09T12:25:00.003-06:00

The first week of NaNo ended yesterday.

I've heard the second week is the 'hard' one. Well, I've reached a bit of a tight spot on my NaNo novel, but I wouldn't consider it 'hard' to get through - it just requires a bit more thinking/plotting/planning to make sure the details all fit. Perhaps that's why 'they' say that week two is the hard one. Week one is a lot of set-up, introducing new characters, getting the story moving, throwing a lot of balls in the air - but by week two, you have to start making connections with the story, you have to have some sort of reveal, some sort of revelation, something to hook the reader again to get them moving into the 'middle' of the book, something 'big' to get you into week three...and beyond...

I have a fairly good 'a-ha' moment coming--and since I don't want to make a complete mess of it, I've found myself slowed from my earlier speedy pace. Last week I was averaging between 800-1500 words an hour. Now -- not quite that.

Current Word Count: 18,421.

Well - since I don't want to fall behind, and this upcoming week is filling up fast (I have two writer's meetings this week - Wednesday and Thursday evening), I'd better get back to writing.

(Just Say NO to Procrastination!....today, not tomorrow!)

Take care all -

NaNoWriMo

2008-11-04T13:41:00.003-06:00

NaNoWriMo Update
Day 4:

Still writing ahead of schedule, but sleep is suffering. Word Count: 7705.

I might be able to break the 8k mark before the end of the day, but I almost fell asleep on the computer after lunch. (No, no drool landed on the keyboard!)

And in keeping with the title of this blog, I have actually composed a good one third of this NaNo book with an ink pen and paper. Someday I hope to have an actual notebook (computer), but right now, I'm carrying around a green 70-sheet, 1 subject, college rule (paper) notebook and whenever I have any free time, even if it's only five or ten minutes, I'm scribbling away.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post (I think--it's funny the tricks the mind plays on you when you're tired), I've noticed that this NaNo book is surprising me. I only had a rough idea what I was going to do with it and at the last moment, I decided to write it in first person rather than third. I knew I wanted to write some sort of fantasy -- perhaps urban fantasy -- and have some sort of bizarre murder investigation -- and I knew the main character fairly well and some of the secondary characters but only a shadow of the villain(s). I'd have to say that this is the least planned I've ever approached writing a book, and while at times I wonder if I'm crazy to write this way--it's quite a freeing experience. Large chunks of it may be complete and utter crap--but then I've always enjoyed the rewriting process. Soooo, I'm going to keep charging forward this month...keep pushing toward 50k by Nov 30th...and with any luck, I'll have a good chunk (if not all) of the crappy first draft done so I can start rewriting it in December.

Good luck to all you fellow Wrimos (I believe this is right)!

NaNoWriMo

2008-11-02T14:55:00.003-06:00

NaNo Update: Day 2.

Things are going well, relatively speaking. Most of yesterday I spent in a writer's meeting (which I thoroughly enjoyed), but obviously it limited the time I could write. Today, I spent the morning hanging out with the family, but got to the computer around lunch time. Hmmm...now that I'm done writing, I realize I'm hungry. Must get something to eat soon. Stomach isn't feeling well from yesterday's diet coke incident. Long story mildly shortened - artificial sweeteners and me do not agree, at all! I get very sick if I ingest any of it. Diet sodas, sugar-free gum, a lot of energy drinks....I just can't have any of them. Anyway, yesterday, on accident, a waitress gave me the wrong drink at lunch. After a couple of swallows I realized the coke didn't taste right. It was diet.

Sooooo....though I'm not feeling 100% today, I did manage to write for a couple of hours and my NaNo word total is now:

3254.

Okay, okay. I know it's not 'impressive!' but at least it's on target. One must average about 1667 words a day, every day to reach 50k by Nov 30. I'm a little shy of that daily average goal, but I'll reach it later before I go to bed.

To those of you doing NaNoWriMo-2008 -- good luck! Keep at it! From what I hear, it's week 2 that's going to be the hard one! Don't quit!

Take care (and keep writing!)

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-31T07:35:00.005-06:00

It's official. I actually signed up on the NaNoWriMo.org website. I added the Nano badge to my blog as proof. I'm actually going to attempt it this year. I'm so crazy busy in November, but I thought, what the hell, I'll give it a shot. It's only 50,000 words...right?

LOL.

I talked a fellow writing friend into doing NaNoWriMo this year too. He's crazy busy as well, but perhaps this will be a good way for both of us to kick start our writing habits (again?). I tend to want to edit too much as I write, so I'm hoping Nano will free me of that desire--at least for a little while. I also used to write EVERY day, and lately, with work, and the kids, I've started to miss days here and there. I don't like missing writing days -- so hopefully with Nano in mind, I'll get back into the habit of writing daily.

To all of you who may be participating in NaNoWriMo 2008, good luck!! I wish you all the best.

Please...wish me luck too! I'm sure I'm going to need it.

Take care all -- and of course, Happy Halloween!!!

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-29T05:35:00.003-06:00

I think I'm going to work my new writing project idea into an attempt at NaNoWriMo this year. I have been working on a new book these past few months, but it just wasn't coming out right. Something seemed missing. I think I may have figured out what it was...I believe I was trying to tell too much story for one book. Or at least, I had perhaps two fairly good ideas for a book, whereas what I really needed was one very good idea. (or at least something resembling a very good idea).

Or maybe I'm just an idiot and I like to torture myself with my writing...

LOL.

Anyway - now that I've sorted out my writing problem (hopefully), and because November is amazingly almost upon us (where the hell did 2008 go? It wasn't a great year, but geez, it seems like we just celebrated New Years--(this is a sign I'm getting old, isn't it?) ), I thought it might be a good way to really stretch the writing muscle by attempting 50,000 words in Nov. Now, the problem with Novemeber is....both my little ones' birthdays are in Nov, TurkeyDay is HUGE with both my family and my wife's family, I've planned a date with my wife on one of the Saturdays, and the weekend after Turkey Day my extended family all gathers together for our traditional Christmas Tree-cutting down event/another family member's birthday party. Soooooo....basically at least some part of every weekend in November is devoted to some sort of family event/outing, which means I need to push a lot of those 50k words into Mon-Fri.

Now, the thing with that is....my wife is going back to work next Monday. She was laid off early in the year (along with hundreds of thousands of other people in 2008). Fortunately, she was able to find another job after an extensive search. I've been working nights mostly the entire time she's been off. So, when she goes back to work, I'll be returning to my Stay-At-Home Dad role (which I love)--then sleeping when she gets home, and working part-time at night.

Long story made not entirely any shorter...(LOL)...I'm going to really have to cram my writing into some brief periods of time. Speed writing. Stream of conscious writing perhaps....

I'm planning on posting updates on this mad-dash writing attempt here. Hopefully, I won't fail tooooooo miserably! Maybe, with some luck, I'll actually succeed! Here's hoping.

:)

Take care all - have a great day!

The Legend and the Dark

2008-10-21T06:29:00.003-05:00

I took a mini-break from working on my current project and did some minor edits on The Legend and the Dark recently. I've shared this book with both of my writer's groups. One has finished it already, and the other is nearing the end. Obviously, sharing only a chapter or two with them each month meant they've been 'reading' this book over the span of a couple of years (pretty much the entire time I've been writing it). The edits received on these chapters were mostly of the smaller kind - the occasional typo, perhaps a grammatical suggestion, and sometimes a request for more details in certain sections. A few of my writer friends have read it straight through and were able to give me suggestions and comments about the entire story arc, character growth and critiques pertaining to the bulk of the story. For me, both types of comments were helpful. It allowed me to focus not only on the big picture, but also on some of the tiny details. I have a few readers/fellow writers still in the process of reading the book, and I look forward to their comments as well. One I've been told has an extremely keen editor's eye, so I'm curious to hear/read her comments/critique. I've been warned already about her 'red pen'.

Thank you all who have read The Legend and the Dark and have helped me to improve this manuscript.

Take care all -

Sleeping and writing

2008-10-14T00:32:00.004-05:00

For most of the summer I've been working nights. Basically 9 to 5 overnight. I try to sleep during the day, but it's not easy. Neighbors mow their yards. Or play music. Or kids are in their yards playing... I don't fault them for their normal routines, but obviously, it makes sleeping difficult. Also, it's just hard to sleep during those wonderful summer days when the temps in the 70s or low 80s and there's a nice breeze. It's easier to sleep on those dark, rainy days -- except that means my little kids are in the house. To my wife's credit, she was wonderful in keeping them as quiet as she did all summer long. I know that wasn't easy!

The other thing I've noticed about sleeping during the day is -- people just assume that your sleep schedule is 'flexible'. Just sleep in the morning and do this or that in the afternoon. Or, stay up after work and do this or that in the morning and sleep in the afternoon or evening before going back to work. Now I ask you - do most people do that when they work during the day and sleep at night? How often have you gone straight to bed after work (say 6pm) and woke up at 1 or 2am to attend some function and then stayed up until the following night?

No, I'm not ranting. In fact, I did that to myself many times too. I enjoy walking with my little guy to the bus stop in the morning. I enjoy having dinner with my family. I've rarely slept the same exact hours during the day multiple days in a row. Sometimes, I'd take two or three two-or-three hour naps in a day. Of course, those nights at work, I'd be hurting.

What's the point of all this? Well, lately I've felt like a zombie. If I'm not at work, it feels like I'm trying to sleep. Or write. And as I mentioned in a comment to another post, writing while feeling like a zombie only makes that first rough draft even crappier. And then, inevitably, when I go back to look at what I've written on those rare days when I'm less zombie-like, I am discouraged by what I read. My wife tells me I'm just being overly critical of my writing (and she's usually right, I often am), but that doesn't make it any less crappy.

Or maybe I'm just overly tired, and cranky and truly being overly critical...

Perhaps it would be better (and wiser) to simply write the first draft and worry about making it better in rewrites. I know, it sounds so simple, and I have done that before on my other books, but I have a hard time putting that critical, perfectionist-driven editing voice aside at times (especially when I'm tired). If you're a writer, you probably know about this little voice, right? You shouldn't listen to that voice when you're working on the first draft. I know this, you know this--but as I've said, it's so much harder to push that voice aside and quiet it when you're tired.

Fortunately, it looks as if life might be returning to some sort of normalcy soon. A routine of sorts may be returning to our lives here and hopefully with that routine will come a set sleeping cycle for me-which in turn will provide me with a set (relatively speaking) writing schedule.

At least, despite all the turmoil of the summer, I have managed to add significantly to my current WIP, I've done some minor edits to both of my novels, I've polished off my query letter for The Legend and the Dark (again) and I have written the first drafts of a couple of short stories--probably not much compared to some, and perhaps more than others.

Oh - and I started this blog and dabbled into learning a bit about twitter.

Thanks for listening. It's almost time for me to get ready for work now. Take care.

Writing

2008-10-05T00:52:00.002-05:00

Well...with no more baseball to watch--okay, okay, I'll probably still catch some of the World Series, I do love baseball even if the Cubs aren't playing--I 'should' have more time for writing now. Ah. There it is. The silver lining. I knew I could find it if I looked for it.

Okay - no more procrastination! Back to writing!

The Chicago Cubs

2008-10-05T00:46:00.003-05:00

It's over. Finished. Swept..again. 8 straight playoff losses...

I really was hoping I wouldn't have to say...'wait 'til next year' again this year.

.....'wait 'til next year'....

The Chicago Cubs

2008-10-04T23:15:00.005-05:00

Ouch! It's not looking good for the Cubs! Down two games to none. Down 3-0 and entering the 7th inning of the do-or-die Game 3 in LA....unless the team wakes up and plays like they did when they won 97 in the regular season, tonight is going to be the end of the line for 2008.

I'd hate to think we'll have to say 'wait 'til next year' again...

This was supposed to be their year.

100 years...and waiting.

I'm not giving up, yet. They still have 9 outs to work with...they've come from behind and won so many games over the season...

DeRosa out...8 outs left.

Theriot singles. Let's get something going!

Fukudome at the plate. I hope he finds his swing--if not at the plate tonight--hopefully over the off season. He's a great defensive player, has a great arm. I'd love to see him return next year and hit like he did in the early part of the season. Lately, he looks lost at the plate.

Oh my! Fukudome just got a hit! Yes!!

Soriano at the plate now. 2 on. Only 1 out. Pitching change. The Dodger fans are giving their pitcher a standing ovation. Gotta give it to him--he had some good stuff tonight. Hopefully the Cubs can jump all over the bullpen and score 4...5...runs or more. If I recall correctly, they led the league this year with scoring 5 or more runs in an inning...

Soriano is the tying run now....no double play. No double play. No double play....

Soriano pops out to right field on the first pitch. 0-4 for the day...

2 outs.

Fontenot is up now. For a little guy he sure has some power. A home run would be awesome, but a hit would be nice...

Wild pitch. Theriot advances to 3rd. Fukudome stayed at 1st.

3-2 on Fontenot. 2 outs. 2 on. D-Lee on deck...

Line drive to center field......caught.

6 outs left.

I'll suffer the rest of this alone now....

Take care all -

The Legend and the Dark

2008-09-26T05:25:00.003-05:00

The Legend and the Dark is the novel I'm currently submitting to agents. It is a fantasy novel of approximately 125,000 words and while it is a completely stand alone novel, it has the potential to become the first book of a series.

Mallandor is dead. At least, that's what the king hopes. He masterminded a genocidal massacre that wiped out all the Fallerians thirty years ago, but the Overlord's youngest son was never found. For years, the king searched for the missing heir, but to no avail. Finally, he decides--Mallandor is dead.

He was wrong.

Infiltrating the new society using a number of aliases, Mallandor, now 'Mallor' becomes a legendary thief while pursuing his revenge. He learns that the insurgent king did not act alone and thus his list of targets and his retaliatory plan grows. However, thirty-six hours before the culmination of his life-long quest, Mallor learns from his lover that he has a daughter, and that she is being held hostage by a sadistic, magic-abusing sorcerer. The price for her release is the Armilleae, a cursed holy relic desired by everyone for its restorative powers, including the ailing goddess to whom it belongs.

If Mallor recovers the missing Armilleae and uses it to buy Zoelle’s freedom, his goddess will die, the souls of the dead Fallerians will remain unredeemed, and his home city of Sepeccare and all of its inhabitants including Zoelle will be dragged into a watery hell. If he returns the relic to his goddess, she will survive, but his daughter will die. With Zoelle doomed regardless of his decision, Mallor searches for a third option while being hunted by three people: an officer in the insurgent king's secret police who claims to have killed him once before, his own deadly duplicate, created by the cursed holy relic and loyal to the ruler of hell, and his ex-wife, a manipulative, shape-changing sorceress, and keeper of a secret darker than Mallor's own history.

It is during this search that Mallor confronts his destiny and realizes the true purpose of his existence.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of this book.

Take care, my friends...

Writing Life

2008-09-21T04:45:00.004-05:00

Work on the current WIP has been slowed due to illness (both my little ones got sick last week and I inevitably caught a bad cold too), but, I have continued to push forward on it. My oldest son is anxiously waiting to read more, and I made a deal with him--improve your grades and lower your cross-country running times and I'll let you read more. He liked that idea. I'm taking him out to the city park in a couple of hours when the sun comes up so he can get some training in. I'll be on my bike. He'll run. Then, it's off to bed for me. Working the midnight shift has been an adjustment for me, my family and my creativity.

I finished a short story, Confined Transgressions, for one of my writer's groups. A couple of times a year we work on creative pieces based on random themes. The latest theme is 'Boundaries.' For those of you who belong to writer's groups - do you do similar writing exercises?

Be well, my friends (because being sick is just darn miserable!)

The Chicago Cubs

2008-09-21T04:40:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am a die-hard Cubs fan. Yes, I have been disappointed by them many times over the years. Yes, they may disappoint again this year, but maybe, just maybe, this will be their year, and we won't have to say, 'wait 'til next year'. After 100 years, I think it's time.

'Go Cubs, Go....'

Writing

2008-09-08T06:28:00.003-05:00

What's that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men? They often go a stray...

My lofty (okay, they really aren't that lofty) writing goals this past week were not exactly met. However, I did manage to add more words to my current untitled WIP, I did write the first draft of my children's picture book, and I did some editing on my first novel, The Rush of Betrayal, for my upcoming writer's group meeting, so I am moving forward on multiple fronts. I know, I know, I mentioned how I dislike working on many projects simultaneously, but...but...what can I say--I'm human. I change my mind from time to time. Besides, the muse decided to nudge me into writing the children's book and now I have to polish that a bit more so I can bring it to my other writer's group meeting next week.

Yes, I belong to two different writer's groups. I'll talk about them more in an upcoming entry.

My oldest son is anxious to read more of my current WIP. He'll turn 15 later this month, and over the weekend he was pestering me to let him read the new pages. I must say, it's very strange listening to him talk about my characters and the problems they're facing. We spent a good hour in the car just discussing various aspects of the story. I got a kick out of seeing how enthusiastic he was--and that alone is quite a writing boost. I have a fan. (And considering how picky he is about what he likes to read, I'm happy).

My youngest son (he'll turn 5 in November) listened to the rough draft of my picture book (obviously, it had no illustrations). After I was done reading, he bluntly said, "Daddy, I liked the story, this much." He spread his index finger and thumb open almost as far as they would go. "And I didn't like it, this much." He held those same fingers about a half an inch a part.

"I'm glad you liked it, but what didn't you like about the story?"

"It didn't have any pictures..."

So there you go.

My little girl (she'll turn 2 in November) waited until he was done talking, and then walked over and gave me a hug. I don't know if that meant she liked the story, or that she felt sorry for me for the harsh criticism I'd just received from her brother, but honestly the reason really didn't matter. Hugs from her are just sweet.

Take care, my friends. Be well, and write often.

Writer Friends

2008-09-02T06:13:00.002-05:00

I just added a few links to some of my writer friends' websites. Check them out. I'll continue to add more links once my brain is fully functioning, and I've had a chance to sleep.

Writing update: I added a few hundred words to my WIP (work-in-progress) last night before work, and I hope to write more later this afternoon when I'm awake again.

Sleep beckons. Be well, my friends. :)

Writing Update

2008-09-01T04:09:00.002-05:00

This entry will be short and sweet--and a way for me to track my forward movement on my current work-in-progress.

I added just over 1000 words to my (still untitled) novel tonight. I would have liked to have written more, but such is life. I'll take it. I'd like to continue adding between 500-1000 words everyday, and between 1000-2000 on my one day off each week. At that pace, I 'should' be able to finish the first draft some time in early November (ahead of my 'end of the year' goal).

Sleep beckons. Goodnight.

Writing Query Letters

2008-08-31T02:04:00.005-05:00

Writing a good query letter is a necessary evil in the writing business. It's not enough to write a novel (hopefully, a good novel), you have to also be able to condense that novel into a couple of sentences, a paragraph at most, and you have to write those few lines in such a way as to peak the interest of very busy agents and/or editors so that they want to read more of your work. Thousands of hours, months, years even of your time spent hunched over a computer composing and editing your novel--and its fate typically rests in those few sentences and perhaps at most 30 seconds of an agent's/editor's time.

Talk about pressure, eh?

You know, it might just be easier to write a query letter first, and then write the book to match it afterwards...(though I don't recommend submitting any query letter without having written and polished your book--and no, I honestly did not learn that from first-hand experience).

I wonder how many good books have never been published because an author has difficulties writing a good query letter. I know some people will say, "If you can't write a good query letter, then you obviously can't write a good novel..."

"I disagree."

"You would, you're not very good at writing query letters."

"Wow. You're being harsh tonight."

"Get used to it. You need thick skin to be a writer."

"I know, but writing a novel and writing a query letter are two very different beasts."

"No, no, no! They both are made up of words. Words are your tools. Either you know how to use them properly or not."

"But, for me, when I write a novel, I am creating a new world, new people, revealing their story, their problems, the words I use are put together in such a way as to evoke feelings, to entertain, and a query letter..."

"Yeah?"

"A query letter is all about selling that book and me. It's a sales pitch. It's an entirely different style of writing."

"So?"

"Well, it's not that I'm incapable of writing creatively--I'm just not certain that I'm very talented at selling myself."

"That's too bad. You'll probably continue to fail until you overcome that problem and learn how to write in that style too."

"Yeah..."

So, that's the bottom line, I think. There's more to writing than just writing. You have to be able to sell yourself too. You need to be able to put that artistic hat aside and wear the salesman (salesperson) hat equally well. Because if you cannot be that multi-faceted writer, agents and editors will pass you by and spend their limited time on writers who can.

Additional writing goal: become a better salesman...write better queries.

Take care all -

Writing

2008-08-29T14:32:00.005-05:00

I'm definitely not the first writer to debate the - to blog or not to blog - issue and I won't be the last. On one hand, blogging is writing, but on the other, these words don't get me any closer to 'the end' on my current work-in-progress. To justify the time I spend here, and not on my current writing project (or with my family) I feel the need to use this blog (in part) as a motivational tool. By declaring my writing goals here for any and all to see, I hope to be reminded in the months and years to come of them, and to push myself onward to achieve these goals.

In the past four years or so, I have finished two and a half novels. I have also written a handful of poems, and at least a half-dozen short stories. Prior to 2004, I began many novels but rarely finished any of them because 1) life intruded on my writing time, 2) I hadn't done any plotting up front and I didn't know how to finish the novel, or 3) I'd lose interest in the story and start up something new only to repeat that cycle midway through the next project.

In regards to those numbered issues:
1) As of 2004, I promised myself that I wouldn't accept that excuse any more and for the most part I've kept that promise. Certainly, there have been events in my life that have been difficult and I have taken brief periods of time away from writing, but I've always returned and have pushed ever onward toward 'the end'. I have realized that if I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer, I first had to take writing seriously. To that end, I feel like I have succeeded (and hope to continue to succeed in the years to come).

2) Some writers write without plots. For now, I'm not one of them. At least, not yet. Perhaps never. I like having an idea where I'm going. I don't need a detailed plot written in stone, but I at least need to have an end destination in mind. I look at it like taking a driving trip across the country. The map is spread out before me and I have a handful of pushpins. I know where I'm starting. I figure out roughly where I'd like to go and then I start picking out places along the way I'd like to visit. I may not know the EXACT road I'll follow to get from one location to the next, that's all part of the fun of discovery, but at least I don't get stuck heading in the wrong direction. So far, it's worked for me.

3) I try to work on only one project at a time--or at least one novel at a time. I might occasionally dabble with a short story, poem or even lately a picture book idea while working on a novel, but I simply cannot write two different novels at the same time. I can edit one novel while writing another, but as of right now, I'll refrain from attempting the crazy stunt of composing two (or more) novels simultaneously.

My goals:

1) To finish the first draft of my third novel (a still untitled future fantasy) by the end of the year. Currently, I have 45k words done with a final goal of 90k in mind.

2) To continue submitting my second novel - The Legend and the Dark (a stand-alone fantasy novel about a man seeking revenge and redemption) to agents. I'll talk about this book and the submitting process for it in later blog entries.

3) To read/revise my first novel - The Rush of Betrayal (the first book of a planned trilogy about a man framed for regicide and his fight to regain everything he's lost). I'll talk about this book in later blog entries too.

4) To continue submitting my short stories (all primarily fantasy shorts ranging from 1500-5000 words) to magazines.

5) To explore an idea for a picture book further and to finish that manuscript by the end of the year.

My children beckon-I must go. :)

Take care all -

Welcome

2008-08-27T18:01:00.000-05:00

Hi. Welcome to The Ink-Competent Writer. The pen may indeed be mightier than the sword, but it seems that technology trumps them both. Typing on a wireless keyboard and using Word 2007 has generally replaced the ink pen and legal pad-or in my case the Mead 5-star, 5 subject, college ruled notebook. And while I still love to write with my trusty Pilot G-2 07 'black' with its cushioned finger-grip and silky glide across the page, I've grown accustomed to the ease of composing on my computer. Not that the actual writing of a novel or short story is 'easy'--far from it--but at least it's easier to hit that backspace and correct an error, or press the 'delete' button than it is to break out the old-fashioned white-out (or if you were a perfectionist, you insisted on rewriting that entire page....sometimes twice....three times even if you were having an especially bad spelling day...).

Anyway, before I ramble on much longer about the past, let me simply say, I am an aspiring author and this will be (in part) my record of the journey, the challenge really, to turn the 'aspiring' into 'published'. Since the age of seven, when I first began writing stories (mostly about dogs rescuing the world from alien invaders), I've wanted to be an author. Over the years, I've walked into libraries and local bookstores and savored their smell (strange, I know, but other writers and readers will understand--hopefully) and thought, I want to be a part of this world. I've walked up and down the aisles, searching for new adventures to explore, and thought, I really want to be a part of this world. Silly it may be, but at times I've even found the spot on the shelves where my books would sit, if they existed, and imaged them there. Blame the creative mind, I suppose, but hopefully someday, with a lot of work and determination (and perhaps just a little bit of luck), I won't have to use my imagination for that anymore.

I am the Ink-Competent Writer - welcome to my world.