I went and saw this movie Friday night. Up until Friday I was pumped to see this movie. The previews made it look so good (the point of previews, I know). It just seemed like it had a really good story and I thought Jim Carrey would be good in this type of thriller. I woke up Friday morning to see review after review bashing it. I was disappointed that the press was bashing the movie this much, especially since I was going to see it that night. So, on to what I thought of the movie…
The story wasn’t a bad story. It kept you interested and wondering what was really going on. The ending I think could have been better, but overall, the story wasn’t pretty decent. I think that if this was a book, it would have been a lot better. It reminds me of a Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) story that could have been developed so much more in print than it was on screen. Palahniuk would have made it a deeper story as well, showing how the main character was really just unhappy with his commercialized life, which is a common theme in Palahniuk’s writings. Jim Carrey was not bad in a thriller role. Though I use the term thriller loosely because there weren’t very many parts that made you jump or that genuinely surprised you. For those who have seen the movie, I didn’t buy his detective character. That just didn’t seem like a character he could pull off. The dog catcher/loving husband and father he pulled of very well. He just seemed a bit cheesy as the dark film noir detective. Speaking of darkness, this movie could have been a bit darker. It was directed by Joel Schumacher who I really don’t think of as a dark director. I mean, he directed Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. That’s not dark. That’s just stupid. Christopher Nolan or David Fincher would have been better directors for a story that is dark like this one is, but Schumacher didn’t do a terrible job. It was no Momento, but it was not Batman and Robin either. Overall I’d say this movie was just average, which is why many reviewers have been giving it a C grade. If I were you, I’d wait for it to come on DVD or cable/satellite.
The Number 23
The story wasn’t a bad story. It kept you interested and wondering what was really going on. The ending I think could have been better, but overall, the story wasn’t pretty decent. I think that if this was a book, it would have been a lot better. It reminds me of a Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) story that could have been developed so much more in print than it was on screen. Palahniuk would have made it a deeper story as well, showing how the main character was really just unhappy with his commercialized life, which is a common theme in Palahniuk’s writings. Jim Carrey was not bad in a thriller role. Though I use the term thriller loosely because there weren’t very many parts that made you jump or that genuinely surprised you. For those who have seen the movie, I didn’t buy his detective character. That just didn’t seem like a character he could pull off. The dog catcher/loving husband and father he pulled of very well. He just seemed a bit cheesy as the dark film noir detective. Speaking of darkness, this movie could have been a bit darker. It was directed by Joel Schumacher who I really don’t think of as a dark director. I mean, he directed Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. That’s not dark. That’s just stupid. Christopher Nolan or David Fincher would have been better directors for a story that is dark like this one is, but Schumacher didn’t do a terrible job. It was no Momento, but it was not Batman and Robin either. Overall I’d say this movie was just average, which is why many reviewers have been giving it a C grade. If I were you, I’d wait for it to come on DVD or cable/satellite.
CunninLynguists-Caved In
The song for this week is a song by CunninLynguists. The song was their first single of their brilliant album A Piece of Strange. For those who don’t know much about CunninLynguists, they have two previous albums out, Will Rap for Food and Southernunderground. Producer Kno is a genius on the APOS album. The beats he creates are more than just beats, they are great compositions of drums, samples, and melodies. This is not a typical hip hop album. The album is one giant story from the first track to the last. Don’t let that fool you though, the songs hold their own by themselves, but for a great adventure in storytelling, listen to the album from start to finish. Once you buy the album, which I highly suggest you do, head on over to whatisapos.com to read up on what fans think, input from the artists themselves, and general news about the album. Without further ado, here is the great song by CunninLyinguists featuring Cee-Lo (of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley fame).
[audio:http://pieceofshep.com/audio/04-CunninLynguists-Caved-In.mp3]Drinking by Discipline
It is no secret that teachers consume alcohol and sometime in large quantities. Sometimes it is just socializing after the football game or parent-teacher conference, but most of the time it is a way to forget the spoiled kids they deal with for 8 hours a day, 185 days a year.
Below is how the average subject teacher probably drinks.
English:
Females will drink wine or martinis. Generally is a slow drinker and will only have a few before going home.
Males go after Scotch or something on the high end of the market. May drink beer but mostly Guinness, Bass, or Stella. Usually English teachers are the last ones to the bar and the first ones to leave. Read more
New JFK film: 90 seconds to assassination
There is a new film of JFK right before his assassination that has just surfaced. According to the website JFK.org:
Click here to view the video footage.
Daniel Petru Corogeanu Jailed
I wrote about this story when it happened and now Corogeanu has been given 14 years in jail.
Read more