Movie Review: WALL-E (2008)

I love Pixar. Toy Story was a solid start, with Toy Story 2 being even better. While I really enjoyed that pair of movies, they followed with the much weaker Monsters, Inc., which continues to be their weakest effort of all the films they’ve done. So, they didn’t really have the benefit of the doubt from me when they put out Finding Nemo, and for a long time I skipped it. As it turned out, once I eventually watched it on DVD, it became my favorite that they’ve done. After really good efforts with The Incredibles and Ratatouille, I basically became ready to watch anything they put out…which sort of makes them an animated Coen Brothers, I guess.

With the overall track record of Pixar, and director Andrew Stanton (who directed Nemo), I had high hopes for WALL-E. Unfortunately, they simply were not met. Not at all, really. While I’m not about to put it down at the Monsters, Inc. level, it was certainly below their established high standard.

Roadtrip/Concert Report (Part 3)

Saturday, June 21st (the concert)

The Sleep Train Amphitheatre is a little bit out of the way, in the sticks…nothing like The Gorge in Washington, but it was definitely taking up its own little area out in the country. We arrived a little past 5:00, knowing that will call opened up a couple of hours before the show. We parked and headed over there to pick up our tickets. We were very happy to receive tickets that put us in the 8th row in the center section of the floor. The Brad Paisley fan club certainly does hook you up. I’ve done the pre-sales through other fan clubs, and they didn’t nearly do this well for me.

Back to our car, we started trying to scope out whether or not the silly “public alcohol consumption” laws were being enforced here or not. Thankfully, unlike the nonsense that goes on in Seattle, these laws were being entirely ignored. People were all drinking out of beer bottles with the labels showing, and cops were walking by and smiling and waving at them. All was just as it should be. So, we comfortably enjoyed a few drinks (hiding inside of the air-conditioned vehicle, it was just too hot to hang outside) before heading into the venue. The venue was nice, pretty comparable to the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA. The 8th row seats were even better than we expected. There was a center platform that reached out into the middle of the venue, just a few feet from us, and the performers would all come down this aisle once every two or three songs to sing. These were officially the best seats I’ve ever had at anything.

Roadtrip/Concert Report (Part 2)

Thursday, June 19th

This was an incredibly long day at work…time always feels like it’s going in reverse on Thursdays (and Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays) at my job, but this took it to new levels as I was incredibly anxious to take off and enjoy a long-awaited trip. It had been a couple of years since I had bedded down in another state for even another day or two, and I was getting stir-crazy to break up the monotony a bit. After a 10 hour work day that felt more like 20, I headed home. Aaron and I met up at my place, threw a few things in the car, and headed down I-5. We had hotel reservations in Vancouver, WA, for the night. We liked the idea of hacking some hours out of the trip on Thursday, making the whole thing a pretty leisurely drive from Thursday through Saturday before having a very long return trip to make on Sunday.

Upon hitting the road, I successfully pitched the idea of trying to get to Vancouver in time to catch a late showing of Iron Man at one of the theaters there. We made good time and got into our seats in the theater with about two minutes to spare. In short, I think this is the best movie I’ve seen this summer, much better than The Incredible Hulk and even a bit better than Prince Caspian. Great acting, enjoyable characters, cool action scenes…one of the best superhero flicks that I’ve seen. I scoffed at the idea of this movie before it came out, as the trailers looked simply horrible to me…but I was dead wrong about my initial feelings toward this one. I’ll be purchasing this one as soon as I can on Blu-ray.

Roadtrip/Concert Report (Part 1)

How it came together

On my birthday in 2006, my friend Aaron popped in with an odd but thoughtful care package of a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft, a plastic apple juice bottle, and a pack of Swedish Fish. That was about as good as presents come for less than $5. So, when he called ahead to ask if he could pop in on me during my 2007 birthday, visions of random cheap treats danced through my head. When he came through the door empty-handed, I admit to mild disappointment. Then he said, “So, I figured out a birthday present for you this year.” After I said, “Yeah?”, he said, “I’ll pick up the tab at Cracker Barrel.”

Naturally this confused me, as there are no Cracker Barrel locations in this state or even immediately adjacent states. Finally, bewildered, I said, “We’re going to Montana?” He proudly said, “Yep.” We had taken a roadtrip in 2003 that took us through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and Nevada…he knew from that trip how much I enjoyed Cracker Barrel. Anyway, I was duly impressed that his wife had happily signed off on him taking another roadtrip, and we tentatively planned to make a weekend trip at least to Montana sometime. As time passed, though…it didn’t happen. We would periodically bring it up, but never made firm plans.

Leaving for the weekend.

The blog will be quiet for a few days, as I’ll be making the trip down I-5 to the Sacramento area this weekend to take in a Brad Paisley concert with my good friend Aaron. Yes, Paisley is that amazingly good in concert, but beyond that, the roadtrip itself should be great. The California sun actually sounds good right now.

We leave right after work tomorrow, and get back late on Sunday. I’ll probably post a trip report afterward…while the idea of such a thing sounds as boring as looking at somebody’s vacation slides, I actually find that I really enjoy reading some other trip reports I’ve read. So, as long as I’m confident that I won’t bore you, I’ll put something together upon my return.

Debunking silly, overused complaints.

“That’s your opinion.”

I will say something like, “The Godfather is much better than Star Wars.” Some idiot will interject, “that’s your opinion.” Yes, it’s my opinion. What the HELL is your point? Every time I state an opinion, I have to stick that addendum into the sentence somehow? Can I not go through life assuming that I’m dealing with people intelligent enough to know when I’m stating a fact and when I’m stating an opinion? Am I expected to constantly hedge every subjective sentence I speak, in order to show that I’m aware that I’m not speaking in concrete facts? This is maddening. Sometimes the distinction needs to be made for clarity, but not nearly as often as some people (namely, the people who commonly use this throw-away line) want to believe.

“<insert name here> thinks he’s always right.”

Well, I made the Blu-ray plunge.

Last week, I ordered and received the Panasonic DMP-BD 30 Blu-ray player. I waited for the format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD to subside before investing in either one, but upon HD-DVD’s recent death I became anxious to grab onto Blu-ray. I bought an HDMI-X cable as well; so far I hadn’t been utilizing the HDMI slot in my television, but upon researching I could see that it would go a long way toward seeing optimal performance out of these high-def discs. I figured I’d get some thoughts down for people who were interested in going the Blu-ray route also (and for existing owners, some thoughts on specific discs later in the post).

Although I don’t have much of a frame of reference to compare to, this Panasonic machine is making me happy so far. My television and speaker systems are both of the Panasonic brand as well, and the company seems to be solidifying itself as one of the industry leaders in most new technology. This player got high marks, and being perfectly happy with my TV set, I was happy to trust the consumer ratings on Panasonic’s venture into Blu-ray.

Charges against Seahawks’ Rocky Bernard to potentially be dismissed.

A domestic violence charge will be dismissed against Seattle Seahawk defensive tackle rock Bernard in two years, if Bernard complies with several conditions.

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Rocky Bernard was in a Seattle courtroom Monday morning, when the judge ordered the continuance.

Under the order, the case will be dismissed after two years if Bernard complies a no-contact order with the victim, domestic violence treatment and no violations of law for a 24-month period. The case stemmed from an April incident involving an ex-girlfriend who is the mother of his child. Bernard could be subject to an NFL suspension, but that case will be reviewed at a later date.

“This represents his taking responsibility for what happened, and taking steps to make sure it never happens again,” said defense attorney John Scott. “He really wants to put this behind him at this time.”

Link

Hit the bricks, Bill Bavasi.

The Mariners fired Bill Bavasi today, at long last. Bavasi was a terrible general manager who did very little right along the way. His last big move, the trade of Adam Jones, really might haunt us in years to come. He has left the club in a position where they probably won’t come around to be particularly competitive again for at least a couple of years, especially if Erik Bedard skips town when his contract comes to an end.

R.I.P. Tim Russert (1950-2008)

Earlier today, we lost one of the best members of the mainstream news media, as Meet the Press host Tim Russert has died of an apparent heart attack at too young of an age.

Movie Review: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

I can’t say that I bothered with Ang Lee’s version of The Incredible Hulk a few years back. The reviews were overwhelmingly negative and I never heard a single good thing about it…but when Edward Norton signed on to star in what basically amounts to a do-over, I knew I’d need to see it at the first possible chance. This was Norton’s first effort to be released since The Painted Veil hit theaters a couple of years ago. He’s proven to be quite incredible not only at acting, but at picking great scripts, so he doesn’t seem to star in quite as many movies as a lot of high profile actors. While I was more than a little bit surprised to see him sign on for a superhero flick, considering his propensity for deeper roles, I was more than happy to get on board to watch it.

Movie Review: Donnie Brasco (1997)

Al Pacino and Johnny Depp as the co-headliners of a movie…shouldn’t that have sold me immediately? I come out of this past weekend’s first-time viewing of Donnie Brasco wondering how the heck I let a decade go by before seeing this film. Based on a true story (probably a more genuine true story than most, as it was based on an autobiography of Donnie Brasco himself), this film tells the story of FBI agent Joseph Pistone (Depp), who infiltrates a mafia family for undercover work under the name of Donnie Brasco. He befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino), a mid-level member of the family run by Sonny Black (Michael Madsen), and gets on the inside when Lefty vouches for him.

Michael Strahan retires after 14 NFL seasons.

New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, one of the great pass rushers I’ve seen in 15+ years of watching NFL football, has decided to hang it up. He quits as a reigning Super Bowl champion and the current holder of the NFL single-season sack record. Seven pro bowls, 2001 NFL defensive player of the year…the resume is an impressive one.

Strahan was a great player to watch over the years, and had a pretty enjoyable personality as well…though the sordid details of his personal life that came out during his divorce made it a lot harder to like him.

Still, like with Steve McNair earlier this offseason, I tip my cap to a player I rarely rooted for but always respected for his on-field efforts. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him as a broadcaster in years to come.

I suck at not getting in car crashes.

Tuesday morning. 6:05 or so. Regular morning heading to work, I just took my side streets and merged onto Bakerview Rd. en route to heading up I-5. After driving a couple of blocks in the right lane, I see a car getting ready to merge onto Bakerview also…but not until after he stops at the stop sign, of course. Right? Well, that’s where the system went awry. This guy doesn’t stop, he doesn’t slow down, he just speeds right on into the lane I’m in when I’m probably 30 feet away (driving 35 mph). He seems to realize once his car is taking up 3/4 of the lane that he has made a big mistake, and stops. I slam on my brakes and jerk my car left, but don’t succeed in avoiding impact. I’m fairly certain that there was no real chance of me avoiding impact, short of going around assuming that nobody is going to stop at stop signs when readying to merge onto one of the busiest roads in Bellingham. I did localize the damage to the front passenger side corner of my car, and thankfully there was no injury to me or to the guy who made the bonehead move.

Turn the other cheek?

One part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has always been baffling to me. Matthew 5:38-42…

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Seriously, Jesus? I mean, I know it’s right. Everything Christ said is right, and we should all heed and follow His word to the best of our ability every single day. But as far as the New Testament is concerned, I don’t know of a more counterintuitive idea that was taught to us.

When we give in to greed, lust, pride, or any other part of our sinful nature, it feels wrong. Either while we’re doing it, or looking back on it later, it feels wrong. Does revenge feel wrong? Heck, not to me. Not at all.