Inglourious Basterds

So I went to see the movie Inglourious Basterds last night. I had heard some not so glowing reviews about the movie from The New Yorker and The Atlantic via Chris and Tim on our trip. I am always wary of reviews by "experts" though, because while art does have some objectivity to it I believe that a lot of it is subjective. Plus, I do enjoy Quentin Tarantino films, so I did give this movie a chance.

I will start by saying that, like many movies by Tarantino, this flick is not for the faint of heart. It does have quite a bit of violence, which is obvious if you've seen any the trailers or know anything about the movie.

The movie itself is (I'm assuming) just loosely based on World War II and Hitler and his top officials. The story takes bits and pieces from history but is mostly a work of fiction. I enjoyed the way the movie's first half introduced a bunch of different storylines and characters and the way they came together in the second half. The music, especially at the beginning of the movie, reminded me a lot of the soundtrack to the Kill Bill movie(s). Much of the dialogue was in languages other than English, and most of it is subtitled. I think this did add a lot to story itself. I was also quite happy that the storyline/conflict was not exactly what I imagined when I saw the trailers.

Overall I enjoyed the movie, and it was worth the money spent on the ticket.

Wine for the Confused

After work last night I fired up Hulu and watched one of the videos in my queue. I got home at 11:45pm, so I didn't want to watch a full 2-hour movie, and I'm caught up on all my shows, so I found the shortest video in my queue. Wine for the Confused narrated by comedian John Cleese.

I don't consider myself a completely unaware about wine, as I've been wine tasting a number of times throughout California and even in Washington, but I'm by no means at the top of my game. The two things that have been the most helpful in enjoy wine are the wine tasting class I took at Fresno State University, and the numerous wine tasting trips I've taken where you can just chat with the people at the winery/tasting room and sometimes even the wine makers. I do enjoy wine and I am ever increasingly learning about wine and finding out what I enjoy and what goes well with what.

When I saw this show/film on Hulu I thought I might enjoy it because it is about wine and is narrated by a great comedian.

I was not disappointed. If you have about 43 minutes, I strongly recommend watching it. Cleese goes through such topics as wine tasting basics (flavors, smells, etc.), 3 red grapes/wines, 3 white grapes/wines, choosing a wine, price of a wine, and serving wine.

Skills

As the conversation between two great philosophers Pedro and Napoleon went:

Napoleon Dynamite: Well, nobody's going to go out with *me*!
Pedro: Have you asked anybody yet?
Napoleon Dynamite: No, but who would? I don't even have any good skills.
Pedro: What do you mean?
Napoleon Dynamite: You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.
Pedro: Aren't you pretty good at drawing, like animals and warriors and stuff?
Napoleon Dynamite: Yes... probably the best that I know of.
Pedro: Just draw a picture of the girl you want to take out... and give it to her for like a gift or something.
Napoleon Dynamite: That's a pretty good idea.
(Via imdb.com)

Skills are very important. Skills often define who we are because they determine what we are capable of doing. I've noticed a rash of websites and blogs recently that cater to this niche of skills. Here are a few that I've found related to skills men should have (as this is what I normally pay attention to because I am one).

1001 rules for my unborn son
100 skills every man should know
The Art of Manliness

As well, I just came across this one for women.

30 Skills Every Woman Should Have Before Turning 30

Movie Review - Wall-E

I went to see Wall-E last night, and here is a few quick thoughts on the movie.

• It is the first Disney-Pixar movie to feature live action sequences.
• It is probably one of the most adorable movies I've seen in a while.
• Disney-Pixar did a wonderful job giving inanimate objects (robots) personification, and were great characters in the movie.
• While watching the movie you realize how much can be conveyed without speaking/words.
• A number of social/cultural commentaries on our society are evident in the movie.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this movie.

The Incredible Hulk

I went to see The Incredible Hulk last night. I was much happier with this version than the one a few years ago.

I liked the fact that they got the transformation into the Hulk out of the way early, and kind of alluded to it and described it throughout the movie. I also really like Ed Norton as an actor, so that was a plus. I also enjoyed all of the location backdrops, as that added a lot to the movie.

AFI 10 Top 10

On Tuesday night, Andrew and I were watching the AFI 10 Top 10 movie list. It was interesting for two reasons.

1. Trying to guess which 10 categories they would use, and
2. Which movies would be placed in each category

Overall, I was satisfied, but there were a few things I thought were pretty ridiculous.

• In the sports category, they left out Rudy.
• In the western category, they left out Tombstone.
• No Comedy category, they only had a Romantic Comedy category.
• No Horror category.
• No War category.
• They did have a Courtroom Drama category, I don't think there are enough courtroom drama movies, let alone good courtroom drama movies to have a whole category dedicated to it. Sure the #1 movie (To Kill a Mockingbird) deserved that spot, but come on.
• The Epic category was too broad to have any good comparisons.

That's my review of the show.

Movies

I think I might start "reviewing" movies that I see here on my blog. I may only give a review if the movie was extraordinary though (either good or bad). I am a little hesitant to do this because the last thing people need is another person giving their opinion on movies, which can be a very personal thing. There are many movies that some people love and some people hate, so my feelings on a movie will probably do little for anyone.

Some of the movies I have seen recently are:

• Ironman - Great action and visual effects, although a few more fight scenes with the Ironman utilizing all of his technology would have been nice.
• Speed Racer - Eye candy that can put you in a pretty good mood, no matter what is happening in the movie. The bright colors and fast movement leave you feeling happy even if the story was a little strange and random at times.
• No Country For Old Men - The Coen brothers did an excellent job keeping me in suspense and trying to guess what was happening and going to happen. The movie consisted of a few different parallel (and somewhat intertwined) story lines, and the ending of a couple of these stories left me wanting more.
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Classic Indiana Jones with a few added computer visual effects for good measure. Usually not too cheesy, and while the ending might seem a little strange, I can see how it can be viewed just as "out there" as endings to some of the other movies in the original trilogy.

What really has me worried is this summer's line up of new release movies. There are a few movies that I am really looking forward to seeing, including Get Smart and Wanted, as well as some that look pretty good and I may just end up going to see them in the theater as well, including The Incredible Hulk, The Love Guru, Hancock, and The Dark Knight. I will probably spend too much money going to see these movies in the theater this summer.