Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Manuel on Movies #11

Yeah, it has been a week again since I have posted. Why? Well, I said to myself that my next post had to be more movie reviews as I had a bunch saved up, but as it takes a while to crank out these reviews (my own fault), I have just been putting it off. Sure, I could have saved it for later and posted something else, but that would be much too easy. So, enough talk...

Pineapple Express - I feel like I might have done this one, but can't seem to find it anywhere. Maybe I just imagined it. This is another Judd Apatow produced films. So far, my level of satisfaction with his movies has been varied. He has had some I loved ( Stepbrothers, Knocked Up, Superbad), some that were pretty good (40 year old virgin, Walk Hard) and some that I didn't care for that much (Sarah Marshall, Anchor Man). So how was this one? Eh. I honestly didn't think it was that good. It had a few funny parts, but I felt it went too long and by the end, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I had heard so many good things about it, but it just didn't do it for me. No, I also don't think I "didn't get the humor" because I am not a stoner. I can appreciate good humor and I just didn't find much in it. James Franco did an excellent job, but I felt Rogen was subpar in the film. Just eh. 6 out of 10


Doomsday - I checked this one out based on a couple of good recommendations despite the fact that it looked like action garbage. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a post apocalyptic type film that has a decent story and some great action scenes. Basically, without giving too much away, the back story tells us a virus spread through Great Britain and to contain it, the government evacuates the healthy and puts a giant wall around the infected area, trapping people inside with no hope of getting out. Decades later, the virus returns outside the quarantined zone and a group of people are sent back into the quarantined zone to see if they can find a cure. The film reminded me of a mixture of the Mad Max movies, 28 days later (No zombies though), and No Escape. The film has some great action and some enjoyably violent moments. 7 out of 10


Friday the 13th (2009) - This is the remake of the "classic" horror film. Truth be told, I liked it better than the original. Although they basically have the same elements, I enjoyed this one more simply because the original hasn't aged super well. Granted, this isn't high art, but it had everything I was looking for in a Friday the 13th movie. Violence. Check. Awesome kills. Check. Hot girls. Check. Nudity. Check. That right there pretty much sums up the movie and anyone who watches the movie and is surprised that any of these thins appeared in the film are probably not part of the demographic the movie makers were going for. I got out of it exactly what I wanted. 7.5 out of 10


In Bruges - This was an outstanding movie and much of this has to do with its leads, Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleesen. They are two assassins hiding out in the city of Bruges while things cool down and they await their next orders from their boss. While there, they meet locals, ponder life and death, and engage in a lot of witty banter. It may not seem like a lot, two guys just hanging out in a town they don't want to be in, but this was a wonderful black comedy. This was one of the films that really pulls you in and makes you really care about what happens to the characters. In the end, I just thought to myself, "Wow, now that was a great movie." This comes highly recommended. 9 out of 10.


Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - This should tell you all you need to know - while looking through my list of recently viewed movies on Netflix, I came across this and said, "Oh yeah, I forgot I even saw that." Yes, it was that forgetable. I LOVED the first Mummy movie and felt it had the potential to be the next Indiana Jones type series. The second one was pretty good, but below the second one. Years later, they released this third installment and it looks like it should have remained unmade. Well, it wasn't a bad movie, but it just felt dated, something that a NEW movie should not be. It is mindless family entertainment, but just not that good. 5 out of 10


Untraceable - I love serial killer movies. This one was kind of cool in that all the murders were broadcast for all to see. Although, technically, the "killer" wasn't the one doing the murders. In case you don't know the plot, the killer kidnaps people and then hooks up the person to a contraption that kills the victim faster and faster according to how many people log on to a website to watch the murder happen. Basically, if nobody was on the site, the person wouldn't die, but we know how we are as a society and how we react when people tell us not to look at something. It is somewhat suspenseful and basically, if you like movies where people are trying to find a killer, you should enjoy this one as well. 7 out of 10.





Midnight Meat Train - I also saw this movie based on a few recommendations after it appeared on a few Top Ten horror movies of the year lists. I am glad I checked it out and can recommend it because now that I have seen it, I tell people about it and almost nobody had heard of it. Basically, the movie centers around a guy (the always awesome Vinnie Jones) who murders people on a subway train at night. A photographer gets curious about the murders and sets out to solve the murders. Seems pretty straightforward, but this movie took it to the next level when it comes to gore. This had some BLOODY deaths, some of them with the help of CGI, but bloody nonetheless. Jessica was actually cringing at some points and for the most part, she loves stuff like this. But, when the main weapon of choice is a steel meat tenderizer the size of shotgun, you are in for some gruesome deaths. I especially love the eyes flying out of a victim's head. Great stuff. This has an interesting ending and I don't want to say much else so as to not give anything away, but overall, I really liked this movie. This had some pretty intense scenes and I imagine that if I had seen it in the theaters, it might have been almost too much. 8.5 out of 10.



Kicking It - This is a documentary about the players who participated in the 4th annual Homeless World Cup of soccer. Yes, this exists. Basically, countries put together teams of players who are homeless and take them to compete against countries from around the world. The film focuses on a handful of players, documenting how they got to this point in their life and how being in the tournament affects them. It is interesting to see the homeless issue from different countries. Part sad, part touching, you really don't have to enjoy soccer to enjoy this documentary. But, it is amazing how a game can bring so much hope to people who really don't have much of it. 7.5 out of 10.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Bedroom is DONE!

Ok, we are finally done. We have been displaced from our bedroom for a few weeks, but Sunday, we finally moved back in and today, we put the finishing touches on eveything. It feels good. Pictures and video are better than words so here you go. I'll start with some before and after pictures.































Here are some random shots that don't have before and after comparisons...





Finally, let's finish it off with a video!



Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cayucos pictures

As promised, here are the pictures from our trip! You should be able to click on them to make them bigger.

Doing German Chocolate Cake shots














Walking away




The view from our balcony





I took this with a tripod and set up the automatic timer




Jess enjoying the beach



The waves coming at ya!



Green


Sunset fishing


Dog diving

Have a favorite?

Monday, March 16, 2009

Cayucos Videos

Ok, so we are back from our little weekend getaway. We are back under protest, but we are back. I took a bunch of pictures, but I am not totally done processing them yet and will have them up later this week. Until then, here are some videos I took while we were there so you can see where we go. Enjoy!

Sunset in Cayucos




Jess says hi from our balcony




A look at where we stay in Cayucos - the beautiful Cayucos Pier View Suites




Saying bye to Cayucos

Friday, March 13, 2009

Bleh....

I am supposed to leave for a weekend vacation back to Cayucos this afternoon. This is the place on the beach that blog readers will recognize as our getaway spot. We are hoping to leave around 430 when everyone is off work as it takes roughly 5 hours to get there. However, right now, I am in the jury duty waiting room. Yes, I got called for jury duty today. What sucks, is if I have to stay all day, by the time I get home from downtown and have to go home, we might not get on the road until 6. I REALLY do not want to leave that late. We shall see. I'll be back Monday with pictures. Have a good weekend everybody.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

What Does It Do?

A friend of mine posted this video on our video game clan message board and I laughed my ass off. I hope you get just as much enjoyment out of it as I did. BTW, I actually LIKE Sony, but it was too good to pass up. By the way, with the foul language in it, it is SO not safe for work.



Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work


One of the things that made me laugh is that the guy who says he doesn't know what it does, but he just HAD to have it because he wanted to have the top of the line stuff - yeah, that was my dad right there and it made the video even funnier for me.

In other news, I have 2 friends who have joined the blogging community. My friend Kelly, or Kelly #2 to those of you who keep up on my blog, has just started her own blog which looks like it will be similar to mine, a personal blog with witty insights. Be sure to check her out here!

Another friend of mine, Sal, has started his own blog. He has always enjoyed taking pictures of his food so he finally decided to start a blog. This will be a food blog - recipes, reviews, pictures of food, etc. Basically, all things food. You can check him out here!

These two have been added to my blogroll so go ahead and drop by with a hello and a welcome to this great blogging community we have!

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Saturday Scavenger Hunt #20

Wow, I haven't done one of these since August. I really suck. But, I getting back into this whole blogging thing and really enjoying it, especially because I am enjoying taking so many pictures. So, although this is more about photography, I am going to alter it a little and do a video instead. The word of the week was "change" so here is a video of the changes we have made in our bedroom. You might have to look back at the videos I posted earlier in the week to see how it is different.



As I picked the word, I guess I have to tag also. As I have no idea who has done it lately, I will just throw out a random person. Sorry if this person has done it lately. I tag Churlita.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

The Many Faces of Orko

Three images of Orko for tonight. All are the same picture, but altered in different ways by me. Which one do you like best? Why?




Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Food Update

Wow, one can really eat a lot of burgers when you don't update for a month. It is almost embarrassing. For me anyways. For Jess, well, she was celebrating her birthday so all the ice cream she ate was more than acceptable. As always, we'll start with me.


These two burgers I barbecued a few weeks ago. I smothered them in bleu cheese and bacon and topped it off with Pepper Plant BBQ sauce, a specific sauce we get from the central coast that is to die for! I am going to try to stock up on bottles when we go back to the coast in a couple of weeks.



This burger was also barbecued, but there was nothing special about it. I mean, it was yummy, but it was leftover patty from when I barbecued the above burgers.


This next burger is from the oh so delicious In n Out. Got to love that sauce!





A double western from Carl's!





You are not seeing things, this is ANOTHER double western!



Umm....I THINK this is a burger from Wendy's. Yeah, I am almost certain of it.



Finally, this is a burger that I ate when we went out to Red Robin last weekend. It was AWESOME! I was so sad when it was done. :-(

That brings me to.......17 burgers. Yowza!


Jess had a lot of ice cream as she celebrated her birthday for a while. First, here is the "birthday cake" we had at her birthday party. We had ice cream and a ton of toppings!

With all that ice cream, there was of course leftovers for other nights...


...and leftovers....



...and more leftovers. This had crumbled up wafer cookies. It was so good!


They know she loves ice cream at her work too, so they bought her an ice cream cake.




There was enough for her to have some the following day as well...



Finally, here is some ice cream she had at her mom's house. Her mom always has tubs of ice cream in the house!



This brings Jess up to 15 ice cream treats! Hope your guesses are going well!