Defiance - Trailer #1

Someone decided to put Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber in a movie together.

I love you, whoever you are. I really, really do.

Review: Pride and Glory

I am an unapologetic, unflinching, shameless Colin Farrell fan. That's what you need to know before reading anything else. So, jump off the train here if that is a problem. I'm also a crazy Noah Emmerich fan, and wow was he outstanding.

Great. So, once again, I am at odds with Metacritic. I don't think there were trite and worn plot points. Well, okay, the ending was a telegraphed punch, I'll grant that one. But some things were not spelled out in great detail. In some ways, it was your typical cop/family drama. If you have watched tv or seen movies over the past 15 to 20, you know how these things go. There is a formula. What sets them apart is how they move within that formula.

The acting was spectacular. You'll hear all about Ed and Colin, of course. They were really good. Jon Voight reminded people that he was Jon Voight, and not just Angelina's daddy. But, Noah and Jennifer Ehle really stole this movie away from the bigger named stars. Truly. You will come away from this movie remembering their performances, especially Ehle. She was beautiful and haunting and heartbreaking. I'm sure this film isn't "artistic" enough to be nominated for anything come Oscar time, but she should definitely get a supporting actress nod. Yeah, she was that good. And I can't say enough about Noah's performance. I don't know why he isn't used more. Maybe it is his choice. If so, he's a selfish bastard! He needs to work more. This movie is set up as Ed vs. Colin, but Noah is the heart of both the family part of this drama, and the cop part.

It is "just another cop movie" and it isn't. I think this might be one of those movies where people will be thinking about it long after they leave the theater.

Media-ocrity

I haven't really been neglecting my blog, really......okay, I have. I admit it. I've been spending more time over on Unpaged because, really, I love books. There, I said it.



Anyway, back to music cd and movie reviews.

Jennifer Hudson





LOVE this CD. I wasn't a big J-Hud fan when she was on American Idol. It wasn't that I disliked her singing, I thought she was incredible. I just liked others more. All that said, this is a really great CD. It reminds me a lot of an Angie Stone cd. Very much R&B and not the crap that has tried to pass itself off as R&B over the last decade few years. I hope it does well just so others will follow in her footsteps and get back to what sounds good.

The Block

I was a huge fan and I'm probably still a huge fan. I didn't love this CD. If I were grading it, I would give it a solid B. It was a little too overproduced for me. Now, I know a lot of people say things like "overproduced" and no one ever knows what the hell that means. For me, it means that instead of listening to a group, I'm hearing all the slick bells and whistles of the studio, and if I can hear it with my novice ears, it is overproduced. Probably one of my favorite CDs over the past few years has been Gavin DeGraw's debut cd. I know I've mentioned it on here a few times. That is my concept of the opposite of overproduction. It's just music. That's what I think is missing from this CD.

Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford

I can, in no way, shape or form, be objective about Everlast. Ya'll know that already though, right? I have loved everything he's done. This CD is pretty good. I was already familiar with the Letters Home from the Garden of Stone song, and I still love it. The rest of the cd is pretty dark, but that should come as no surprise to anyone who has listened to him post House of Pain. This is not a CD you want to listen to if you're wanting to be cheered up.

Eagle Eye

You know, the critics really didn't like this movie. I thought it was fun. Was it plausible? Who knows. Probably not, but then who (in 1960) thought we would have been walking on the moon by the end of the decade? I wasn't crazy about Shia before I saw this movie. I liked him a lot more afterward. I'm a huge Michelle Monaghan fan after watching Gone, Baby Gone. I think the critics should have been nicer to this film. It was better than most of the schlock passing for movies these days.

The Police - Message In A Bottle

Seriously. Word Association is a dangerous thing.

I was just looking up Nicholas Sparks books....and this is what happened.

Kathleen Parker attacked by Right wing over Palin

Negative Attack Ads

I am not minimally competent

Which is a bummer. I spent a lot of money on that stupid bar exam. But, since I wasn't altogether sure I wanted to actually "practice law" in that most traditional sense, I suppose it isn't a life shattering event that I didn't pass. Still, I can't wait to get everything back and see where I screwed up. And no, I'm probably not going to retake it here in Indiana. I think every job I've applied for has been outside of the state, so I guess I'll see what kind of job I get, and then see if I need to take the bar exam in THAT state.


Still, everyone wants to pass the damn thing.