Slowly Learning...

If you haven't seen Waking Life you've probably at least heard about it. And if you haven't then look it up. And from what I had heard going in I was almost exxpecting another Waking Life here. Thankfully I didn't find that. Not to say that Waking Life wasn't good, it was just a bit much. The animation effect was great, but a lot of the stories and rants just got to me. And if I was going to see another film with the animation over film twist I wanted a little bit more. And I got it!

True, while the story is there, and at times interesting (if not underdeveloped), the real charm of this movie are the supporting jobs of Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. (especially the latter). Downey does a hell of a job playing a parnoid drugged out asshole (go figure!). And the interactions between him and nearly every other cast member are fantastic and funny as hell.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't go too much deeper than that in the beginning and then seems to zip ahead into another gear so fast at the end that the twists and turns seem out of place and pointless. I've never read the original novel, but it almost seemed that they decided to draw out the first quarter of the book into an hour, and then jam the last three quarters into 30 minutes. And while Keanu Reeves does a good job as a wasted loser, he delivers yet another wooden performance that we've all come to expect from him. It does seem to fit into a lot of roles, but how long can we actually consider what he does to be acting?

Still, it was visually very well done, and what little story was developed does make me interested in checking out the book (if for nothing else than to see if more is explained/developed/etc.). And if nothing else Doweny's performance along with the semi-unique visual experience make it a worthwhile experience.

Finally a movie worth my time and money!

RATING: Worth a full price ticket (but try for the student/senior discount if you can), Worth a real rental.

Posted by Thom at 1:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So this was the second half of my theatre hopping matinee the other day (two movies for the price of a cheap one! woo!), and I can't say I was all that impressed here either. I was slow to jump on the original Priates bandwagon. In fact I didn't see it until I rented it (or my roommate rented it, can't remember which even). But I did take to it. I've always been a Depp fan (especially now that I know that he has a French wife that the American press apparently hates). Also, Keira Kinghtley is hot.

But, this is a sequel, so I didn't get my hopes too high (good thing). Much like Clerks II, Pirates II lost all of the charm that made the first one so good. It's almost like it's the same story over again, except more over the top, and more dependent on special effects. There's nothing new here that really drew me in. Sure Depp's performance was great, but he was better in the first. And so was the writing. The story here just seemed haphazardly thrown together and not hashed together too nicely. The script needed trimming, the scenes needed trimming, the whole thing needed to be edited and trimmed down.

And a word to directors, just because the first movie was a hit doesn't mean you can make a second film that drags out to two and a half hours long, and still doesn't end! That's right, there's no real end. This movie falls prey to all the pitfalls of a sophore film when a thrid one is already being planned and worked on. It makes it almost impossible to follow most of it without having seen the first (and how can you go 2.5 hours with almost no character development?), and leaves you hanging at the end with almost no resolution to the whole thing. Very few films can pull that off. The first would the be Star Wars trilogy (the real one, the good one), and second would be Lord of the Rings (which was three to begin with, and came out in the course of only three years). Why did it work with those? Because they were epic trilogies that were dramas at their heart and soul and told a story that people wanted to follow. You can't do the same with a comedic action film. It doesn't work that way. People come to movies like this to laugh and see action, not to be left hanging for a third installment who knows when in the future.

So basically this movie was an even bigger disappointment than Clerks II. At least there was still something to enjoy in Clerks II. About halfway into Pirates (maybe even only 1/3 of the way in) I lost most of my interest in the story. It's a lot like the Matrix Reloaded. It is more of the same thing as the original, but without the novelty and charm of the original, and it leaves you hanging requiring a third film to make any sense out of anything. But Reloaded at least had more of a story to make you want to watch the thrid (sort of).

RATING: Worth the dollar theatre (if you've got three hours to kill), Worth a Netflix rental (if the thrid one actually pans out and you need the filler in between the two to figure out what's making sense).

Posted by Thom at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This movie can pretty much be summed up by Silent Bob's line in the movie: "I've got nothing." Kevin Smith really seems to have nothing. He's been downhill ever since Mallrats (some would argue he's been downhill since the original Clerks even, but I'm willing to give him two quality realeses before his decline). So what's a man to do? Well the typical Hollywood thing of course, bring back an old proven winner and make a sequel/remake. What do we get? Well it's not Clerks, it's not Mallrats, it's not even Chasing Amy. It's more of a Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. By that I mean it's a movie with plenty of (dorky) references, a very crude sense of humor (not always a bad thing), and plenty of minor cameos (Jason Lee, Ben Afleck, Wanda Sykes, etc.). But in a lot of ways this movie doesn't even compare to Strike Back. At least that one had both Luke and Leia.

Actually, it all got me thinking. Is Kevin Smith really that great a writer/director? Or are we all giving him way too much credit based on one great indi film? I'm almost willing to take that route. True, he's not nearly as over-hyped as M. Night (who can be? M. Night only managed about 2/3 of a good movie), but still... How many duds are you allowed before your name is tarnished? But enough on Kevin Smith, let's move onto the actual movie.

What's the same? Two guys working deadend jobs (this time at a fast food joint), Jay and Silent Bob (but not quite the same or as humorous), a great performance by Jeff Anderson, a crude sense of humor. Oh yeah, and Brian O'Halloran still can't act.

What's different? It's in color, Dante likes his job (what?!), nerdy sidekick (Elias), Rosario Dawson (quite possibly the only upgrade), and a completely out of place song and dance number.

Basically it boils down to this: Kevin Smith managed to keep most of the poor things from Clerks, lose the good ones, and drain the charm and soul out of a classic cult film.

RATING: Was worth my half-price matinee price (but not much more), maybe a netflix if you want something stupidly funny.

Posted by Thom at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So the days are winding down, and I'm feeling the urge. It's not enough that I'd stray in the final hours, but it's enough that I'd have to reconsider and re-weigh my options if I was going to do this vegetarian thing long-term. Rob (chef at work) hasn't made it any easier the past week either. With him cooking a mere 5 feet away, and the aromas wafting over into the deli, it can be a bit distracting. I can't say that the deli meats themselves are all that tempting though (other than the roast beef, but how can I not miss bloody beef?). Maybe it's because I work with them all day longm and therefore am tired of them all. Or maybe I'm just not much of a deli meats type of man (which is really true).

All in all I don't see any major complications in the next three days (having dinner with Katie, a vegetarian, one of those days, so that only leaves two days). It's been a fun experience though. I've learned some things about me and vegetarianism, which I plan to share in a full write-up on August 1st. I don't expect any real veggie updates before then though.

In other news:

- After thoughtful consideration I have decided to give up TV for the month of August. I'm not sure if this will be hard or easy. I don't watch a whole lot of TV now, but it is always there, and I do surf through it on many bored occasions. On the other hand, I did go almost six months without TV in China (I don't really count Chinese TV since I couldn't understand 50 of the channels, and the other channel was just constant news that was more biased than Fox). But, then again, not having a TV around, and having 80< DVDs available, did make it easier. Plus without a woman around my sporadic insomnia does tend to pop up more often, and I usually try and cure that with dull background TV. Guess I'll have to look for another cure (perhaps I'll find a woman! One can only hope). Also, does watching Movies-on-Demand count as TV? I'm leaning towards no...

- I'm still considering other things to give-up/try-out for month long stints. And while I do appreciate the suggestion of a month without pants, I just don't think it's really doable at this point in my life. Even if I am still allowed to wear shorts (which I don't know if I would be allowed to) it would conflict a lot with the whole work dress code. I think "no pants" is something more appropriate for say a month-long honeymoon. So maybe when I get married I'll give that one a try. Or maybe if I'm unemployed for a month I'll give it a shot. Whichever comes first. Until then I'll have to brainstorm about other options. And perhaps I'll just take September off and try to focus on getting back into the swing of school. But that's really just a cop out excuse in case I can't think of anything worth trying.

- I have three movies (Priates, Clerks 2, and Scanner Darkly) awaiting reveiw. Well not really awaiting reveiw. I've already seen them and made my mind up about them, now I just need to officially write it out so the rest of you know it too. But I'm too lazy, and tired, to write them up tonight. Hopefully with some motivation I'll do them tomorrow night, or at the very latest I'll have them done by Sunday night.

- I also need to clean. Not sure why I feel the need to share this with everyone, but it is true. I should do some minor housecleaning before my dad returns back from Minn. with Pat. It's not that the house is dirty (thanks to my mother I can't live like that, for better or worse), but a little straightening up is in order.

Well that's all for tonight. Just thought I'd let you all know that I am still alive, still vegetarian, and still seeing movies every chance I get.

Posted by Thom at 1:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So it hasn't gotten harder to stay vegetarian, per se, but almost tedious. With my work schedule and lack of single home, I haven't been able to cook big meals for myself. That has led to having the same things over and over again. However, with most of the constraints I've had I doubt I'd be able to get too much variety even if there was meat in my diet. So I guess that's not a knock against vegetarianism. I did try some soy burgers the other night (Garden Burger variety I believe) and they were greatly disappointing. In fact most of the homemade veggie burgers I've had have been disappointments. I did have one in a dinner that was good, and I've had one before in NYC that was great too, but the homemade stuff just doesn't seem to work out at all. Maybe I'm just cooking them wrong, but my beef burgers at home always come out fine. I am heading to Ithaca for dinner tonight, so maybe I'll be able to get something good there again. My last visit to Ithaca was my best vegetarian dining experience to date.

And in other news and notes:

- Congrats to Landis! Way to keep the Tour de France championship in American hands. I'm sure that pisses off a lot of Frenchmen that yet another American won their championship. I guess we just know how to ride bicycles. Although, with all the biking in China, I'm surprised we don't have more Chinese cyclists. Guess they just don't have the competitive cycling spirit (can't say that I blame them).

- Keep the American titles coming! Congrats also to Tiger Woods (barring a complete colapse on the final holes) in winning the British Open. I guess Americans just love playing (and winning) in Europe (assuming you consider England to be European). Any sporting events coming up in Spain or Germany?

- I'm not moving to Connecticut. From my time driving through there, and my time driving behind Connecticut people on the Mass Pike, I've found that they just cannot drive. And as much as I have calmed down as a driver, that's still a deal breaker for me. So I'm sorry Connecticut but you won't be getting my teaching skills in the future. Then again, they do have Foxwoods. Tough call, but maybe there still is hope.

- Some people shouldn't be on bikes. I was driving down Ridge Road (the slowest 2-lane 40 mph zone EVER), and noticed a guy on a motorcycle wearing a collared shirt, which was tucked into his slacks. He was also nice and clean shaven with trendy sunglasses on. A man like this should not own a motorcycle. It's a classic sign on a middle-aged crisis. I'm just not sure if the large cigar in his mouth was another sign of the crisis, or a semi-saving grace to the whole picture.

- White trash alert! Yes, at work yesterday were the two biggest white trash people I've seen yet (which is saying a lot at that place). The outfit, the attitude, the speach, the whole appearance, the making out and nearly undressing each other at the deli counter... The only way they could have been bigger white trash is if they were brother and sister (which I'm not ruling out).

- In other driving news... The Mass Pike is not an expressway. True it's got a 65 mph speed limit, but the mentality there is not one of an expressway. On an expressway you do not cruise at 65 in the passing lane. On an expressway you can cruise, with the occasional braking to wait for the car ahead of you to get out of your way. On the Mass Pike you can't cruise, you have to actually drive. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It means you actually have something to keep you busy. Sure, if you're a boring driving who's willing to just cruise along at the speed limit (god help your soul) you can cruise along with no problem. But if you actually want to get somewhere you have to really drive. I really got to use my skills there, which was nice, but it did get a little tiring when you're on the Pike for like 2-3 hours. Sometimes you just want to cruise and enjoy the scenery. Oh well. That's Mass for you.

- I may move to Boston, but I'm not bringing a car. As I drove through Brighton (which isn't even really in the city), I came to the conclusion that I would not want a car there. For not even being in the city there is still no parking really (some meters, but that's it). Also, they seem to not understand the concept of intersections. I'm not sure if I saw an actual intersection. Most of the time the roads sort of veered off onto another road, or better yet they just sort of all intersected at one area of mass confusion. For anyone familiar with Ithaca, it was sort of like the mass intersection up past North Campus by the mall, except with more roads and less direction of who goes where. It was sort of like a "go for it and hope for the best" mentality in Brighton.

- And finally, Summer is ending. As July comes to a close, and August will soon be over too, my summer time is fading fast. Will this mean much in the way of change? I doubt it. I'll still be living at home, working at Wegmans, etc. All it means is I'll also be back in classes (finally) and on my way towards finally being a membe of working society (don't worry that's still almost 3 years off). And just like I outgrew my dislike of veggies as a kid, I've also outgrown my dislike of returning to school. I'm actually looking forward to this. And with only three courses in the Fall (all of which should probably be a breeze), it'll be a nice and easy transition back into the academic world too.

Posted by Thom at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Still going strong. I made it through the wedding without many problems at all. In fact it was almost too easy. Vegetarianism has become so mainstream that most weddings and receptions and such have a vegetarian option readily available. At both the rehersal dinner and the wedding dinner I had more great food available to eat than I ever thought would be possible. I was even full and satisfied before it was even gone. I guess that's just another thing to thank Neil and Rachel for.

So since there isn't too much food progress to report, let's jump right into the other bullets:

- Great thanks to Neil, Rachel, and their families. It was a beautiful wedding and fantastic weekend. I'm just so happy that I was able to be a part of it all. Even if it did mean standing out in the sweltering heat in a heavy, black tux. At least it was a short ceremony. Still didn't quite feel clean and dry for almost two days later. It was also great seeing all the old roommates (except Nidhi who was busy with her own wedding/engagement things). I even got to see Sabra again (Finally!). It only took about two months of nagging and begging to get her to finally agree to come to the wedding with me. Even if it did mean that I had to pick her up and bring her back to Boston, and shave for the ceremony. It was all worth it.

- Driving 12 hours alone makes you think about a lot of things. I wrote most of them down, but don't have the paper with me. So for now I'll just have to leave it at that.

- 20 Down, 11 to Go. And I think after this month is up I'll continue the trend for another month. Not the vegetarian trend though, something new. I'm thinking of trying the month without TV path. I think it would be interesting to see how it works out, and would also be much more of a challenge than my veggie diet. I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign of the times though. Giving up TV is harder than giving up a whole food group? At least it's only for August too. I don't think I'd want to go a month without TV when there's actually football back on. I know, preseason in August, but that doesn't mean anything. Give me the regular season games! I'm also thinking of making a habit out of this. Giving something else up every month. Or maybe every other month or something. Sort of like having a bunch of mini-non-religious lents. However I'm not sure what else to get rid of after TV. Any suggestions?

Posted by Thom at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So true fans of movies dress up on opening night. Be you a Star Wars fan, a Lord of the Rings fan, an X-men fan, or even a Pirates of the Caribbean fan. It's pretty much a must to show your film loyalty. So I now present all you out there with the appropriate attire for the opening of Snakes on a Plane. I mean can there possibly be a better way to rock the opening than to go as a plane being flown by snakes? I think not.

Posted by Thom at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was my first real craving in the veggie-test, which is even further proof that I need to keep this going for at least a month. If I give in to my original timeline and stop this weekend it's like I'm just giving in to that craving, and I don't want that. Plus, after this first real craving is when the true challenge begins. Anyone can go without meat when they don't have any real desire for it. The true vegetarian test comes when you actually want that meat, and have to be strong enough to resist it and all the temptations and taunts of the people around you. Cause I must say, that seasoned roast beef at work looked (and smelled) mighty tasty. It hurt a little inside to have to shrink-out so much without being able to "taste" any of it. However, I haven't gotten to the point where I'm actually craving the waffer turkey at work. God help me if that day ever comes. That stuff is quite possiblly the third most disgusting meat we have (right behind the boiled ham and the head cheese). Just as ham should never come in a block, turkey should not come in a gelatinous white gooey blob. It says something about the quality when the waffer turkey is regularly over $2 per pound cheaper than the next cheapest turkey. Seriously folks stay away from it. And if waffer turkey is all you can afford to buy, go hungry instead.

So as my experiment kicks into high gear I'll be departing for NYC tomorrow morning (well Boston first to pick up my date, then onto NYC). Resisting meaty NYC/wedding cuisine for three whole days... Here goes nothing!

Posted by Thom at 1:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've sort of lost track of where the days on my meat-fast go. But I think it's about aligned with the dates in July. At least that's where I'm going with it now! And speaking of July, I'm very strongly considering making a go of it for the entire month of July. I mean to quote Fear and Loathing, "If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing right!" And a paltry two weeks with no real challenges in there, that's not a vegetarian try-out. That's the easy way out. Now, going a whole month, while working in a deli, and while attending a wedding in NYC, there's a challenge! And I think I'm up for it. Plus, if we've learned anything from Morgan Spurlock it's that any quest must be undertaken for at least 30 days. So barring some major complications, or my own colapse, I'll be meat-free for another couple weeks. Wish me luck.

In other news, I've find my father's stash of fantastically bad CDs to expand on the Foreigner find. Right now I'm enjoying the sounds of Journey, and later I may try on some Air Supply or even better yet the "Rock & Pop Classics Sampler." Because nothing says quality quite like a sampler containing Foreigner, Robert Palmer, REO Speedwagon, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Kool & the Gang, the B-52's, and Pat Benatar. Oh, and there's even a Cars Greatest Hits album. But can't get ahead of myself just yet. I have to bask in the glory that is Journey.

- Have I told you all how much I love old black grandmothers? The other day I was over at Karen's place to hang out and we met her new neighbors moving in. It was this really nice black woman and her kids (maybe a man too, didn't see one at the time). Well as we're leaving to go to dinner the grandmother comes out form inside. Karen introduces herself and me, her friend. To which to grandmother gives us a look and says, "grandma's no fool, he's too handsome to be just a friend." And I must say, that is one of the nicest compliments I've received in a while.

- At work I've received a promotion of sorts. Nothing within the company. I have no desire for that. The less power and athority I hold the better for me. It's only a part-time job, I'm not looking for any real responsiblity. No, this has come from other co-workers. There are these two guys in the produce department, and apparently they have noticed me (not in that way), and have decided that I look quite like both of them. And I must say that I've come to agree with them. In fact I did see both of them and think that they looked very familiar, which I have now chalked up to me possibly recognizing myself in them? Who knows. In any case they decided that I have been brought into their lives for a very important purpose. Seeing as how I am the semi-bastard love child of the two of them (I use that term loosely as I do have two parents already, could not be spawned from two men, and am probably older than both of them), I have been delegated the role as mediator between the two of them whenever there is a problem/quarel/disagreement/etc. Seeing as how this is all very odd, they approached me through a co-deli worker that they both knew and asked me what my thoughts on the idea were. Naturally I had to agree. I mean how could I not? It's not too often that an opportunity like this comes around. But seeing as how they are both rather level-headed looking guys I don't know how often (or if ever) I'll be called upon to envoke my wisdom. But it's at least nice to be thought of.

- World Cup Thoughts: Zidane, you may have done what we all want to do (head-butt an Italian in the chest), and I applaud you for that (plus it was a quality headbutt), but couldn't you have at least waited until after you had beaten Italy in penalty kicks? Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of the match, which I deem as the reason why the French lost in the end, so next time I will try harder to watch it all!

- And now a brief interuption in the sports year. Yes, sports are dead for another month and a half now. Both hockey and basketball are officially over (even the drafts are completed, as are a majority of the major offseason moves), the World Cup is done (for another 4 years; and who came up with 4 years for international events anyway?), and football doesn't start up until Sept. 7th (or Aug. 6th if you count preseason, which at his low point in sports I do). So all we're left with is baseball, and the occasional golf/tennis highlight. Not a whole lot to look forward to.

And in a final note, I will be heading down to NYC Friday morning for Neil's wedding weekend, so I doubt I'll be able to do too much posting or updating on my meat-free month. I will try to get one more update posted before I leave, but I can't promise anything. However, seeing as how the majority of my half-dozen readers will also be around for the wedding, you won't be missing out on much. In fact you'll get to experience my new diet first hand. And for the rest of you (all two of you?) I will be sure to follow up as soon as I get back on Monday night (or possibly Tuesday).

Posted by Thom at 2:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So it's not too often that my dad has music that I don't have but want. Most of the time my collection encompasses everything of his I'sd consider listening to, but every now and then I find something in there. Like today...

I was going through his cds, looking for something to listen to in the shower, and found what I've been looking for: Foreigners Greatest Hits. Now I do have a bunch of them on vynal already, but to have them all on one CD? Fantastic. I will have to rip this onto my iPod, and soon.

Posted by Thom at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So Ithaca went very well. Got to catch up with Bri again, and we even had lunch at ABC Cafe (mmm, broc and scallion omlette; but weird place to go with Bri of all people). We did a lot of walking and talking too. Spent some time on the slope on top of the library. Walked the gorge trail. And of course finished the afternoon with a trip to the used book/record store. Bri found some good books, and I found five fantastic albums. I got the Go-Gos, Supertramp Live in Paris, Supertramp's Breakfast in America, Queen Live, and a 45 with Zorba the Greek and Tijuana Taxi by Herb Alpert and the Tijauna Brass. All fantastic finds in my book. And finished the great day off with a fabulous smothered burito at Viva (that one by myself as Bri had previous dinner plans).

So the day went well, and the vegetarian thing is still going strong.

In other news...

- Go France! I want to so badly see France kick Italy's ass. And this isn't just a recent personal pro-France swing for me. True there are certain factors that have made France a little more appealing to me, but I've always liked the country. In fact, back when Dave and I used to play Fifa on SegaCD I always played as France. Plus I've always had something against Italy. Not the team, the country. Not sure why. Just there.

- Coming Soon: WEDDING! Not mine of course (that's quite a ways off I think, might need to find a woman first). But this coming weekend will be Neil and Rachel's wedding celebration down near the NYC area. Still haven't decided whether that will mark the end of my veg-trial, or maybe I'll extend it until the end of July. Either way it will be a grand weekend, and I finally will get to see Sabra again.

- There is no third thing, but I thought I'd put another bullet here anyway. Things just seem better in threes. I guess I could mention that both of my road trips for next summer (Veags with the Brits and Seatle with Bri) have been reaffirmed/confirmed. So I guess I'm going to have a busy summer next year. And yes, for those of you that know me/Bri the idea of a road trip would seem improbable (impossible?), but it will happen. If for no other reason than to prove you doubters wrong. Go spite!

Posted by Thom at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Almost a week in and still no meat. Still no real cooking either, but I did however dine out again with great success. My mother and I went out to Aladdin's (the Pittsford one) for dinner and I had a very good lentil soup and eggplant pita. At this point I really think I'm starting to get the hang of this vegetarian eatting thing.

It hasn't been without its drawbacks though. This morning I had a hard time slicing up the wafer section at the deli. The problem is that the honey ham and bavarian ham look very similar when sliced up, and I couldn't tell which was which. Normally I'd just taste them and it'd be rather obvious (one's smoked, the other tastes kind of like honey), but that would be a big no-no on my diet. However I employed my other senses of smell (rather useless as they both smelled like the container they had been in), touch (not much help either as most hams feel the same), and hearing (most succesful of all as I listened as someone else told me which was which) and solved the mystery.

And in other deli news I was proud that I helped a recent sufferer of lactose intolerance by showing her the lactose free swiss we had, as well as guiding her to the soy cheeses in the Nature's Marketplace (not quite the same, but better than nothing). Always good to help out recent converties.

And as a final note, tomorrow I am off to Ithaca to meet up with Bri and see how her Italian trip turned out (still trying to figure out why she would choose Italy of all European countries...). However I don't know how I shall be able to survive on my vegetarian diet in a place like Ithaca. How will I possibly find something to eat there?

Posted by Thom at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, I did go see this one on my own without anyone else's reccomendation. Sometimes I just get the urge to do things like that. And it wasn't half bad. My mom called it a "chick-flick", but I don't think there's enough romance for that. It's more of a semi-drama with lots of women and fashion in it.

I wish I could say that the story was unique, but it really wasn't. Woman takes a job, slowly becomes what she hates, alienates her friends/family/etc., learns her lesson, and lives happily ever after. I guess the twist in this one is that the boss (played fabulously by Meryl Streep) is an evil bitch of a woman, and people can relate to having overbearing bosses that they hate.

I really don't have too much to say about the movie though. It was nothing all that special, but not terrible at the same time. It was sort of in that middle ground. There are a few observations that I did have:

1 - High fashion is still rediculous to me. Personally I think that Anne Hathaway looked better overall in her "unfashionable" ways. Sure there were some outfits/looks that really worked for her, but for the most part I'd say that all that work wasn't worth it. As I've found in real life, most women look better with less (or even no) makeup. Less really is more sometimes.

2 - Adrian Grenier was there on screen, looking sruffy as usual, and I hear the women behind me:
Lady1: He's cute, but he needs a shave.
Lady2: No, that's the way they do it now. The scruffy look.
It's nice to know that in being lazy I've now managed to slip into what is now apparently "in". Next thing I know someone will be telling me I'm fashionable too (HA!).

3 - NYC may be a real city, but Paris is a real city and so much more. New York has all the tall buildings, the hoards of people, etc. But from my experiences there it just doesn't seem to have that allure and charm that a city like Paris does. In anything I've ever seen set in Paris I've always thought "I want to be there." It always looks so beautiful and glorious. New York, on the other hand, always just looks like a city. Sure it sometimes has its moments, but it just doesn't have the charm.

4 - Why does one of the Wilsons have to be in every other movie released? They were the stars in 2 out of the 6 previews I saw. And while You, Me, and Dupree just looks terrible, I would almost want to see My Super Ex-Girlfriend if I wasn't so burnt out on the Wilsons. Replace Luke Wilson with almost anyone else and I'd probably be willing to see it at matinee prices (maybe even full price admission), but with him there I don't know if I can even stomache the dollar-theatre.

So in summation: Less is more, I'm hip, Paris over NYC, and get rid of the Wilsons.

RATING: Worth a matinee, Worth a netflix/rental (maybe?)

Posted by Thom at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I was planning on renting the first four Superman movies and watching them before seeing the new one, but I never got around to it. I just don't have the funds and/or motivation/time at this point. I have however heard that the first two are fantastic, and the second two are equally terrible, so I look forward to it. But enough about what will be, more about what was.

We've all come to expect quite a lot from Bryan Singer and comic movies, and he once again did a very good job. But I didn't think it was quite as great as some people are making it out to be. But a good portion of that could be my distaste for Superman as a hero. How can you really get behind and root for the hero that has every power conceivable and almost no weakness? I mean if the man flew around in a lead suit all the time he'd be invincible. Now Batman, there's a hero. A man with no real powers who scares the hell out of people and kicks ass.

But personal superhero tastes aside, Brandon Routh did a fine job playing the tool who is Superman (although if you're going to have James Marsden in the movie why not have him play the tool? I mean he did it so well in X-men and X2). He looked eriely like Reeves a lot of the time too. And I did love Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. He can play those insane roles so well. And a fantastic job by Sam Huntington as Jimmy. It's like he was born to play the part. All around a good job with casting I'd say.

Story-wise it was respectable, as a comic book movie. I didn't feel like I had missed too much from not seeing the earlier films, although I'm sure there are some things that would have been better understood if I had. But thankfully it did stand on it's own. And while I appreciate not over doing the Lois/Clark/Superman love triangle, making Lois married (sort of) and with a kid just didn't seem right to me. It was almost like the Bond movie where Bond gets married. Bond's not supposed to be married! Neither is Lois. At least not to someone else.

Which now brings me to my nit-picking. There isn't too much I found here. The biggest was the bank robbery that Superman foils. The crooks plan to escape on the rooftop via helecopter. Nice plan. So why do you need the massive mini-gun? Do you really need to shoot up all the police cars in order for an arieal escape? Isn't it just a little cumbersome to have brought it in the first place? Also, with the building surrounded by real cops, who tries to stop the crooks? Well two elderly security gaurds of course! What? Are you serious? There is a massive heist and two rent-a-cops are gonna stop the people with the mini-gun? That was a little far fetched, even for a comic book action movie. And in Superman fashion, he arrives to save the day. And after taking hundreds of rounds of ammo at point blank range (without a scratch), the crook decides to try shooting him with his pistol. Yeah, that's gonna work genius.

Anyway, the movie was solid. The story was clever enough that it wasn't completely obvious. The acting and casting were fantastic. It just seemed to miss a little something that I can't put my finger on. It just didn't have that little umph that I get from watching Batman, Spiderman, or the X-men (well the first two films of them). But you do have to give the movie props for having Kumar kick Superman's ass.

RATING: Worth a matinee (Full price if you really love Superman), Worth a rental/netflix

Posted by Thom at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So today was my first real craving, but it was easily satisfied by a combination of ignoring it and eating a veggie burger at dinner. So the first test has been passed. Now I just have to wait and see how tomorrow (and the rest of the week) progresses. I still haven't really cooked though. I got too lazy this morning (went to Superman Returns instead) and then had a dinner date with Karen later in the day. Followed by a screening of Clue at her place. It had been quite a while since I've watched that movie all the way through. I tend to put it on as I go to bed and only make it like 15-20 minutes in before I fall asleep.

So more to come on the vegetarian diet, as well as my review of Superman Returns, coming tomorrow (or maybe Wednesday after work).

Posted by Thom at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I almost wish I had something new to report, but everything seems to be going so well that it's almost like I'm not a vegetarian at all. I've only had to turn down meat once so far (free sample of a redhot at work). Still mainly been feeding on the leftover mac and cheese, but tomorrow I'm gonna do some more real cooking and go out for dinner even. That will be the first real test for me (the going out, cause most of my cooking has no meat anyway since I'm too poor/lazy).

So maybe I'll have a little more to talk about after that. For now, giving up meat isn't too hard. And if everyone did it work would be a lot easier for me. Then again if everyone did it I doubt I'd have a job anymore, so scratch that idea. However I am still toying with the idea of extending this trial another couple weeks (all of July maybe?). I've been told there are some vegetarian options at the wedding, but do I really want/need to go that long? Will I gain anymore insight out of it? Do I really want to pass up good meat? Any thoughts from anyone out there? Anyone actually out there reading this?

Posted by Thom at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First day completed and no problems so far. Not too surprising though. Anyone can easily go one day without meat. I stuck to my normal diet even. Had a nice helping of mac and cheese, and even have enough leftovers (made almost three times more normal ammount) to last me a couple days. I also got some shopping in for fresh fruits and veggies for pasta or salads. So now I'm all set up for most of this first week. I guess the big test comes during work hours where I can't eat any more of the deli meats. But I guess I can still do my normal lunches of bagels/danishes.

So not too much to report for the first 24 hours. Let's see how the next 24 go...

Posted by Thom at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)