Sunday, November 18, 2012

Here, there, nowhere

Sorry for the absence. I'm here, just working on other things and making time to blog has not been a priority. I've also been watching very few movies lately. I did go to see the new Bond movie in the theater, Skyfall. I have a review post started on it, but it's just sitting in my drafts unfinished.  Story of my life right now.  But I really loved it.  It's probably my favorite Daniel Craig Bond film, even over Casino Royale, which is a hard Bond film to top. 

Mostly my life has been filled with lots of opera, both watching and listening, at home and at the LA Opera. LOTS of opera, pretty much non-stop.  Whenever I go into an opera mood this intense, the movie-watching tends to fall by the wayside, as watching a movie gets in the way of listening to an opera.

I've also been writing a lot.  I'm not officially doing Nanowrimo this year either, but that apparently didn't stop me from jumping in mid-month anyway, just for the fun of it.  I also have a new short story in an anthology out in bookstores now.  I'll post that info soon.

The rest of the time is work and family... and blogging has slipped to the bottom of the priority totem pole.  Sorry about that.  I am reading and checking in on everybody else's post, though. 

Sunday, November 04, 2012

What's on your shelf?

About this time of year, I get curious as to how many DVDs I rented from Netflix in the previous year, and how many of those I liked so much I had to buy the DVD

From last November until now, it appears I rented exactly 50 DVDs from Netflix. Two of those were re-rents.  On the Instant viewing, only 12 movies.

Five of those viewings turned into DVD purchases for myself.  A sixth movie, my sister bought before I had a chance to, but I still may end up picking up a copy.  Oddly, every one is a modern movie!  Weird!  Particularly considering how selective I am in my DVD buying habits.  In fact the only classic movie I seem to have purchased all year long was "Night Song," with Dana Andrews. I would still like to pick up The Prisoner of Zenda with both versions, I just haven't yet.  I've been quite in the mood for it lately.

The DVDs I bought:

The Big Bang (2011)
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Lockout (2012) - the one my sister snagged ahead of me

The only one of those I ever reviewed here was The Big Bang.  I've been pretty neglectful of this journal this past year, though, and I tend not to review modern films.  Here's the quick rundown on each, and why I had to buy myself a copy.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - I admit, I haven't seen any of the other Mission: Impossible films, though you think because of my love of action they'd be right up my alley.  I'm not a Tom Cruise though, and the films just never appealed to me.  This one, I rented because Jeremy Renner was in it.  If I hadn't already been in love with him, this movie would have done it, and I'm sorry I didn't catch this one on the big screen.  I just really enjoyed this film.  I bought it so I can watch Jeremy Renner's parts over and over, but I found I also didn't mind Tom Cruise in this film, and I love Simon Pegg's character.  And Tom Cruise climbing the building?  Awesome.

13 Going on 30 - This is decidedly not a movie you'd expect me to own.  I don't do well with most chick flicks.  However, Mark Ruffalo was so adorable in this film, and I like Jennifer Garner, and did I mention how adorable Mark Ruffalo is?  So, yeah, bought it for the cute guy.  No regrets.

Tropic Thunder - Okay, I bought this one simply because I haven't laughed outloud that many times in one movie... ever.  This is a movie I wouldn't recommend to most of the people I know from the blog world.  It's most definitely R.  It's rude, it's crude, it's gross... but somehow, that didn't stop it from tickling my funny bone pretty much nonstop.  This is so rare that I had to own it.  I think I watched it about four times in a row before I returned the disc.  There's some parts I can do without (Jack Black, looking at you, buddy), but Robert Downey Jr. is priceless, and the rest of the supporting cast is great.  I've never been a Ben Stiller fan, but I actually liked him a lot in this.  If I need a pick me up, this is now the go-to movie for me.  I can't stay angry or down with this movie on.  I'm laughing just writing about it.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - This one also makes laugh outloud.  Robert Downey Jr. again (not a coincidence, I think.  I can't think of a serious actor who makes me laugh more. He just cracks me up.) with Val Kilmer.  This one has a modern noir feel to it, with Val Kilmer as a genuine private eye, and Downey Jr. as an actor tagging along.  Murder, mystery, mayhem... with Raymond Chandler book titles as chapter headers.  Downey Jr. narrates the whole film, talking directly to the audience.  Whenever he and Val Kilmer are together, it's pure gold.  The rest, well, it's also most definitely an R movie too, and there's some parts that I could do without here too, but the two main stars make up for it.

Lockout - My sister and I watched this one together and both flipped over it.  Sci-fi, action film with Guy Pearce looking extremely hot.  He's also extremely funny.  This movie is pure popcorn fun.  The whole plot falls apart if you apply any logic, but it was so much fun, neither my sister nor I cared.  We loved the characters, the actors, and the action, so it was a win-win.

Common denominators?  Yeah, can you say Avengers?  Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr.  Also -- humor.  I seem to have bought only the movies I found really funny.  Even the Mission Impossible film had me laughing quite a bit, though it would be the least humorous of the group.