you missed it! you could've partaken in some deep insight.



maybe next time.

Spontaneity is the spice of life!

So, check it out...I went to Vegas this weekend. Yeah, yeah...it was a short weekend and I spent WAY too much money, but to tell you the truth, it was my best trip there. Hanging out with good friends can make even the worst week fade away.

I drank VERY expensive vodka, ate caviar for the first time, and gambled until the sun came up! All in one day...hmm....come to think of it, I'm pretty tired still.

Catch y'all on the flipside!

Peace.

I've finally been to the movies...

So you know what that means!

Beowulf:

Story- If you didn't know, this movie is based on a poem that was written somewhere between the 8th and 11th century. Since the poem was written so long ago, the direction and writing were very important to telling the story in a way that would successfully transfer to the big screen. The story stood well on it's own, and pretty much followed the original poem, only straying from he original material slightly regarding Grendel's mother.

Character Development- This movie did a really great job of depicting characters and getting you to develop feelings for them. From the first time we meet the King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), we feel that he is a very self centered and gluttonous. It works this same way with all of the characters.

Visuals- Excellent with one gripe. The excellent part is in regards to the animation. The visuals are amazing. Scars and blemishes adorn the characters, hair and water flow naturally. All very stunning. From what I've read, the 3D version of this movie is even better. As for the gripe, the animation of the horses and horseback riding seemed clunky. Small I know, but it was the one thing that made me realize I was watching animation, not reality.

Direction- Robert Zemeckis has come a long way from Back to the Future. His visual style has changed quite a bit. I've enjoyed a lot of his movies, from Forrest Gump, to Cast Away.

This movie was kind of hard to gauge as far as who the target audience was supposed to be. I guess it's all of us who have read the poem, or those that are a fan of fantasy. Either way, it is a movie to be enjoyed by anyone (both my parents said they liked it). If you get a chance, check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Well, I'm not scheduled for any trips until January, but I'll try and hit more movies up.

Till then,

Peace.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that there is a pretty comical sequence in the first battle of Beowulf against Grendel....if you've seen the movie, you'll know why it reminds me of Austin Powers.

Time's gone by so fast that I didn't even get to blog in October!

Yeah, I know....sorry.

Anywho...I'm in Watertown, NY, just south of Canada. Sounds cool, doesn't it? Too bad I won't be going there.

Nobody from my group brought their passports, so it looks like I'm stuck here. On top of everything, it's supposed to start snowing this weekend. I hope it doesn't snow too hard, I want to be able to get out of here next week.

Unfortunately, NOTHING COOL HAS HAPPENED since I've been here. No one wants to hang out, so thats pretty much why.

As far as my house goes, things went well. I'll be moving in as soon as I get back. I really want to paint it before I post pics because it has this really weird turquoise paint on the trim.

I promise I'll try and do something cool this weekend so I have pics to post.

Until then...


Peace

GOOD NIGHT!!!

It's October already! Man, time flies by when you're traveling a lot.

Well, just so my faithful few know, I'm back home for the next couple of weeks. As I've said before, I'm in the process of buying a house. I'll be back on the road soon, heading back to Kentucky/Tennessee. Once I head that way, the posts should start back up again. If anyone out there sees any good movies, be sure to let me know! I'm curious about The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. If you know the 411, let me know, since it's not showing anywhere near where I live.

Till next time friends...

Peace,

Tony

Here we go!

Get ready for it...the biggest entry yet! I have not one, not two, but THREE movie reviews as well as US Open highlights (and lows), AND my trip to Austin City Limits Music Fest (with PICs!).

I'll get to the movie reviews first, since that's what I'm good for and you all probably don't want to hear about my personal crap. So, if you're a true fan...stay to the end for the awesome pics from ACL.

Movie #1: Superbad

Story- Hilarious. This movie contains all of the humor you can encounter as an "outcast" trying to fit in. A lot of us know how that is, and it wasn't funny when we were going through it, but looking at it now it really was. It contains a lot of crude humor, but only because today's youth is pretty crude (for people sensitive to the F-bomb, stay away!). Not to let too much of the story out, it's really just about three misfits trying to get booze to a high school party, just so they can get laid (or at least they hope to). You can kind of guess where it goes from there.

Character Development- Very strong area. I have respect for movies that do not dilute a story with a background for main characters. A great director can develop a character and make you relate to them by just telling the story. Anyway, the team of Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen is a strong one. We know how funny Seth Rogen can be from 40 Year Old Virgin, and it continues in this movie.

Visuals- Not a whole lot to talk about, but physical humor was a big part of the movie. It was well executed, with no over exaggerations (unless they were needed, of course).

Direction- If Greg Mottola has the ability to direct one of the funniest shows ever (Arrested Development), he'll have no problem with the big screen. Now that I think about it, a few of the movies I've reviewed have had rookie directors. I think this is great! We already know how powerhouses like Steven Spielberg and Tarantino can do, so it's time for a new batch to show us how it's done.


Just so you know, the next two movies are already out on video. If I'm taking the time to review them, you should take that as a hint that I really, really like them.


Movie #2: Knocked Up

Story- This is an example of a great situational comedy. Just about anybody can relate to what happened in this movie. What's also great about it, is that it's not entirely slapstick. There are some emotional lows that make the funny parts funnier. These lows are not in anyway a slowdown to the story, but enhance it.

Character Development- Keeping true to the fact that less is more, we learn each of the characters by how they react to what is thrown at them. Seth Rogen again tears it up with his brand of humor. I'm really looking forward to seeing him take a leading roll in more movies. I just hope we don't get an overdose like we did with Steve Carell.

Visuals- Again, not a whole lot to talk about, but there are some visuals that you'd rather not see (i.e. crowning).

Direction- With not at whole lot of experience directing (he mostly produces movies), Judd Apatow delivers in the funny department. He seems to get the gist of how things need to move in a movie to keep people interested.

Last, but not least movie #3: Mr. Brooks

Story- Unbelievable. This is a very haunting story about someone living on the wrong side of sanity. The story is told really well, and it keeps you questioning what's really going on. It plays on your own sanity and perceptions. All I have to say is that you need to stay on your toes throughout the film.

Character Development- Once again, no background story! We don't know how long Mr. Brooks has been at it, or why he started and that's OK. Kevin Costner acts in his best roll, ever (my opinion, mind you). Dane Cook also strays from his comedic roll, which turns out really well.
Visuals- Not your traditional visuals, but the acting that goes on while Mr. Brooks talks to Marshall is outstanding.

Direction- Another rookie, Bruce A. Evans, does a great job by giving the direction needed to allow the outstanding performance that Kevin Costner delivers. It doesn't have the twists that some other directors use, but it does the job. EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS MOVIE.

Alright, enough with the movies and on to other things. Last weekend I participated in the US Open for skeet shooting. Overall, it wasn't that bad. I shot really well in doubles (where two targets are released at the same time), tying my overall best ever in a round with a 23. My good buddy Garrett did very well, averaging 80+ for all guns. I'm proud of him, as should everyone who reads this blog should be. On a down note, there were a lot of sand-baggers. In case you don't know what a sand-bagger is, let me break it down for you: it is someone who shoots in a lower class in order to achieve a higher placing when in reality they shoot in a much higher class. It really pisses me off that there are people who need to win so badly that they have to take that chance away from guys like me who are working their ass off to be in the class they are. Oh well, at least I know I can go the rest of my life knowing that I participated in the US Open.

As far as ACL goes, it was probably the coolest thing I've ever done, excluding jumping out of a plane. Below are some pics from the show.



Here are the gates into the fest.



This is just a sample of how many people were there.



There is the title band "Muse", who really kicked ass! They rocked hard.

Overall, I had a really great time. All of the bands I saw were outstanding. I recommend it to anyone who comes this way during the fest.

Other than that, nothing new...except that I'm getting my own house! I will take some pics and post them as soon as I can. I'm pretty excited and can't wait until I get to move in.

Until next time friends.

Peace,

Tony

Yes, you're right...

I've been gone a while. I'm going to New Mexico next week. I promise that I'll post something interesting.

Peace,

Tony

Simpsons Movie

Yeah, FINALLY saw it. You know the drill:

Story- Just like every other review out there, it's basically an hour and a half long episode. Most of the slap-stick humor is in there. Things went smoothly for the most part and it didn't seem like a half hour show stretched out. I only had a problem with the crude humor they seemed to have *forced* in there. There were at least three instances where this happens, and if you've seen the movie, you know what I mean. I expect that kind of stuff from a South Park movie, only because they do it all the time on the show. With the Simpsons, it didn't seem right.

Character Development- If you needed any character development, you must have been asleep for the last 18 years. Only a couple of new characters were introduced, but they were pretty well covered.

Visuals- Hmm, not sure what to say here. I think that more could have been done to polish up the final animation. It might just be that I'm finally seeing it on a huge screen, but I could see line imperfections on the characters (mostly Homer). I've seen 2D animation before, and never have I noticed that before. I hope I didn't ruin it for others who are going to watch the movie, because when I first noticed it, I couldn't focus on anything else. =( !

Direction- David Silverman has directed a few episodes of the Simpsons before, and did a pretty decent job. He also did Monsters, Inc. which I really liked. Other than shock-humor, he really pulled it together to not make it into the bomb everyone was expecting.

Well, just so you guys know, I did get my World Beer Tour playing cards. I'm 11 beers into it now. We also went into Nashville the weekend. Nothing too exciting happened, mostly because it's been too hot to do anything. My next big thing that I'm looking forward to is the US Open for skeet shooting. I'll be going back to New Mexico on the 6th of September for that one. As things get closer, I'll let you all know more about it.

That's all I have for now, 'till next time...

Peace,

Tony

Take it away Emril.....

BAM!!!

Yay! I had today off. Since I had the free time, I went to another movie: Hotrod

Story- The idea of a wannabe stunt man has a lot of potential humor in it already. Andy Samberg has a natural charisma as Rod Kimble that fits with this type of character. There are some over-the-top scenes where the joke has nothing to do with the story, but they does add some laughs. The story itself is pretty weak, but it's hard to have a good story and decent comedy at the same time *cough* 40 Year Old Virgin *cough*.

Character Development- Not bad. I say this because they left the character development to the lead, instead of trying to water down the rest of the cast by giving them filler-laden backgrounds that nobody cares about. Even Rod's history is only slightly mentioned, and consequently, less equals more in this department. People who are willing to pay money to see this movie aren't going to care what Rod's childhood was like.

Visuals- Outstanding stunt work. Some of the stunts in the move looked real and looked really painful.

Direction- Pretty good considering this is Akiva Schaffer's first big screen project. As he matures in tinsel town, his work will become more refined. I believe that since he's only really worked with SNL as a director, he feels that every moment needs to be filled with some kind of laughs to keep the audience interested. Since this movie has been a moderate success, I'm sure we'll see more from him.

Incidentally, I happened to be the only person in the theater during the movie. I guess I should have expected that considering that I watched the movie at 1:45pm on a Friday. Kind of a weird experience, especially since I was the only one laughing.

Just so everyone knows, I'm 6 beers into my 110 World Beer Tour at Old Chicago. I'll be getting my deck of cards tonight. Woot!

Peace,

Tony

I'm still here....

in Tennessee, but nothing really cool has happened. I did see The Bourne Ultimatum. You know what that means:

Story- Considering that I've never seen any of the other Bourne series, it stood on its own very well. The actual story itself is quite entertaining and Matt Damon does a really good job as an action "hero." The only bad thing I have to say is that it's predictable, almost frustratingly so. If and when you see the movie, you'll be able to determine what's going to happen waaaay before it does.

Character Development- As I stated earlier, this is the third in a series of movies. Although this is the case, I felt that I knew Jason Bourne pretty well by the third act. He's a mysterious character who's really trying to find himself throughout the film, so you discover everything with Jason Bourne. Other characters, such as Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) and Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) were left by the wayside as far as development goes, but I imagine they had plenty of time to develop themselves in the previous two moives.

Visuals- Mind you this is my personal opinion: TERRIBLE! I can't stand the "shaky camera." This is such a cheap way of adding realism to movies Last I checked, I'm not epileptic nor do I involuntarily shake, so it's not "real" to me, just very frustrating. The amount of camera movement almost got me to the point of giving me a headache. Matt Damon did a very good job with the action scenes, and looks like a natural.

Direction- Most of the beef I have with this movie (see above) stems from mediocre direction. It would seem that Paul Greengrass needs to reevaluate how people see the world.

All in all, it was an entertaining film. It's not one that I would go out and buy, but it was worth the money I spent on the ticket.

Side note: You've all probably noticed that I do not give any kind of rating on the movie (such as 4 of 5 stars). I leave these out because they really have no bearing on what you'll think of the movie. Plus, it's a rather lazy way to review something. These reviews are just my opinion, no more no less.

That's all I have today. I'll be going back to Nashville this weekend...I'll keep you guys posted.


Peace,

Tony

I know, I know...

It's been a while. I got back from my travels on Tuesday.

The trip to Kentucky/Tennessee was successful. It wasn't spectacular, but I did get to see downtown Nashville, which was pretty cool. Believe it or not, I go back on the 6th of August. I'll be teaching some different people this time around.

As you were all aware, I went to Vegas right after I finished up my last TDY. I'm not going to go into detail about everything that happened because I might be breaking some Vegas law about "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

I did drink a lot, but not as much as I have before. I wasn't as lucky on the tables as I have been before either. That was mostly since we didn't gamble too much. I did get to see a Beetles themed show, which was really cool. I also got to see the Wynn hotel and the top of the Eiffel Tower in the Paris hotel. We also went to a couple of clubs; the Tangerine at Treasure Island and Revolution at the Mirage. The Tangerine was horrible, way, way too many people. Assholes and elbows as I always say. No room to dance or even walk around for that matter. Revolution was really cool, they played a very large variety of music, from Journey to Guns 'n Roses.

I spent a lot of money, but had a really great time. We figured that we should make it a yearly trip, even though I needed 3 days to recover fully from it.

If anybody wants to go next year (around July) let me know....we'll hook up!

Peace,

Tony

Alright boys and girls...

Story time. Most of you know this story, but I feel bored so I'm going to tell it anyway.

When I was in the army, I used to be a paratrooper. It really wasn't for me, and here's why: my second jump of airborne school I was the "chalk pusher." This means I was the last to exit the aircraft. Two jumpers ahead of me, the soldier decided to exit very poorly (he sat down on the platform, instead of walking out of the aircraft). This caused me and the person in front of me to exit poorly as well. I hit the side of the door as I left the aircraft. This caused me to spin uncontrollably. When I was finally able to check my chute, I realized that half of the lines that connect me to the canopy were cut. On top of all this, there were two rather large holes in my chute.

I pulled my reserve, and to my dismay, fell lifelessly. In that spit second, my life truly passed before my eyes. I always thought that was just something people put in movies to make it sound more dramatic.

Lucky for me, I failed to realize that it takes a second for the chute to catch air. Next thing I knew, my reserve was open. I was still heading for ground at a rapid pace, so I was wondering what bone I would be breaking once I landed. I ended up landing on my side, mostly on my shoulder (to this day, my shoulder hurts, but nothing was broken).

There was an investigation that concluded that it was my fault for the accident. I exited poorly causing all of the problems. Later that day we had another jump. As I ate my lunch, I was shaking horribly, and the head instructor noticed. He came by and asked if I was good to go for the next jump, and that if I wanted, I could wait until next class to finish up. I told him that I already had two down, I might as well go for the last three. So later that day, I completed my third jump.

Well there you go. The day I almost died, for your reading pleasure. If you have any questions about it, leave a comment.

Oh yeah, two days until I start my vacation.

Peace,

Tony

3D Showing...

Well, that's what I ended up watching last night when I saw Harry Potter in an IMAX theater. It was actually pretty good:

Story- I almost finished the book (about 150 pages left) before I saw the movie. They left out a lot, but most of what needed to stay in was there. The story kept you glued in, since most of the movie you're thinking "it can't get much more worse for Harry, can it?"

Character Development- There was only really one character that needed an introduction, Dolores Umbridge. The character was very well played, and had every annoying mannerism that was in the book. As for the other characters, it would seem that they may be getting a little too old to be playing their respective parts (Daniel Radcliffe is already 17, he'll likely be in his early 20s by the time the series is complete). I guess we'll see how that turns out later.

Visuals- Great! Special effects were a big part of the movie, but you could easily forget they were special effects and just think they were really using magic. This was all punctuated by the 3D battle at the end. If you are a Harry Potter fan, I suggest you find the nearest IMAX theater and see the 3D version, even though there is only about 20 minutes or so of 3D effects.

Direction- Harry's transition into a moody teen has been pretty good. Daniel Radcliffe seems to be such a happy person in real life, that it probably took some good direction from David Yates. He also did a good job of keeping the whole movie pretty dark. The characters rarely were outside, and when they were, it was usually either raining, or they were in the Forbidden Forrest.

All in all, it was a pretty good movie. I still have another week here in KY/TN. I actually start teaching on Monday, so hopefully this week will not take as long to go by. I'll be teaching soldiers how to use a mapping software. Funny thing is, I just learned this particular software a few weeks ago.

That's all for now, if anything cool happens, you all will be the first to know.

Peace,

Tony

Howdy from Tennesee!

No, I'm not really that excited to be here.

I flew in on Sunday, first class even. What's even better is they played that song "Glamorous" by Fergie on the airplane radio before we took off. Coincidence?

I'll be here until the 20th, which is cool since I'll be going to Vegas the day I get back. I'm really looking forward to going. I've been in need of a vacation for some time now. We'll be staying at the Hooters hotel while we're down there.

Speaking of Hooters, I found a Hooters energy drink yesterday. It was actually pretty good, but really sweet. Kind of like a liquid pixie stick. We even ate at the local Hooters for dinner today.

Another thing I've noticed are the girls (especially in Nashville). Man, oh man, am I a sucker for blonds.

The guy I'm here TDY with is a big Harry Potter fan, so he asked if I wanted to see an IMAX screening when it debuts this Friday. I've seen all of the Harry Potter movies so far, at first so I could see the previews (which were the Star Wars trailers for the first two). I'll be sure to give another review once I see it on the (really) big screen.

Thats all for now....catch ya on the flip side.

Peace,

Tony P.

Still in Jersey, but...

I went to New York City today. For those of you who know me well, I don't really like spontaneous things, and I kind of went against that today. I did have SOME planning, but only to get to NYC, not what I was going to be doing up there.

I left today around 9am, and took a train to Penn Station in NYC. When I got there, it was almost overwhelming since I come from a small town (especially in comparison). I've been to Seoul, South Korea before, and it kind of reminded me of that. Really, the only difference between the two cities is that in Seoul, the buildings are newer.

It was outrageously busy. Cars honking and people rushing around to who knows what. When I left the train station, I just started walking. I ended up a few blocks down at the bus station, where there were people selling double-decker bus tours. I went ahead and got one for downtown Manhattan. The tour was really nice. I got to see things that I'd only seen on TV, like the Macy's department store, Empire State Building, and Central Park. I mostly stayed on the bus, but I did get off at the WTC site and the park where you catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I took some pics of both areas, but I don't have a digital camera (I got this laptop that I'm typing on instead). Once I get these pics developed, I'll be sure to post some.

Ground Zero at the WTC was a humbling experience. Lots of construction is still going on, but to see and stand where so many people lost their lives is pretty moving. I'm looking forward to the memorial they put there. As for the Statue of Liberty, I ended up staying at the park instead of going to the island. There was an hour and a half wait to get on the ferry, and I didn't have the time for that. I took some pics of Ellis Island and the Statue, and walked around a bit. I ended up at Times Square, which was awesome.

I even had some good 'ole NY pizza. It was from a small shop near the WTC site, and was actually pretty good. Next I have to go to Chicago and try theirs.

It was a great time. I've always wanted to go to NYC, and now that I have, I want to come again and actually spend some time doing things. One of these days I'll come back.

Funny side note: I decided to eat at the Olive Garden when I got back into Jersey. When I was finishing up my meal I noticed that I had dropped some sauce from my meal onto my shorts, but I also noticed that my fly was down. Man, I felt like a dope. I walked all around NYC with my fly down, D'OH! Oh well, hopefully no one noticed.

That's all for now, tomorrow I fly to Kentucky. I just checked my itinerary and saw that I'll be flying first class, whoo hoo!

Peace,

Tony P.

This isn't the first, nor will it be the last...

Greetings readers,

Today I'm in New Jersey, living it up. I got in on the 4th of July, just in time to watch the fireworks display from Manhattan on TV. The day didn't start off that well, I missed my flight. It's alright though because they had me on such a long layover in Phoenix that I was able to take the next flight (1h30mins later) and still make the original connecting flight. The rest of the day was uneventful, with me getting in roughly around 7:30pm.

With the formalities out of the way, I'll give my very first review: Transformers.

I wanted to give some sort of substance to my reviews since I hate looking at Yahoo reviews that say "THAT MOVIES SUX!!!1 IHATE MICHALE BAY! In that, I have developed a couple of categories: Story, Character Development, Visuals, and Direction. There are other categories that may influence such as Soundtrack.

On to the review:

Story- Almost non-existent, but not missed. More will be discussed in the visuals section

Character Development- Mostly strong. The main characters Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes were pretty well developed, except the "past" of Mikaela. It seemed thrown in, to add depth to a character that was pretty much the eye candy for dominantly male audience. The whole sub story of the "signals analysts AKA hackers" could have been left out of the movie, since they also seemed to be squeezed in as filler. The Transformers themselves got plenty of (expensive) screen time. The pace of the movie added to the need to leave out the backgrounds of the robots.

Visuals- The moneymaker, by far! Every special effect, every transformation, every 200mph fight, taxes your senses. It's almost overwhelming. At several points during the movie, I truly felt like a kid again. The lack of story was completely a non-factor here, since the visuals truly told the story.

Direction- Michael Bay. That's all I have to say about that. If you've seen Armageddon, Independence Day, or any other BOOM movie by Michael Bay, you know what I'm talking about. If not, see above.


That's all for now. If any thing cool happens, you all will be the first to know.

Peace,

Tony