Summer Movies I Hope Don't Suck - 2013

I'm going to try and keep this to just one post this time, unlike last year's two-parter.  It'll be tough, as there are a lot of films coming up this summer that could be said to qualify as "summer movies."  Heck, there were a few things I skipped that might have squeaked in if it was a slow year, like Hangover 3 (not even remotely interested), Kick-Ass 2 (ditto) or Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (Hmmm... I don't even know what to do with that). 

And then, of course, there are the animated films, which more and more fit the idea of a "summer movie," but which I have so far excluded from this summer preview series.  To be honest, this may have to change in the future.  For one thing, if Despicable Me 2 is anywhere near as good as the first one (doubtful, given the sequel curse), it will be one of the better flicks coming in the hot months ahead.

Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Another movie review in such quick succession, you ask?  Yes, I thought I'd get this one out there fairly quick.  If I'm lucky, this is a sign that the end of spring 2013 semester is showing a sign of a return to normalcy around this blog.  I wish I could say the same for life at Casa-de-Wong, but that is a different story.  Ask me about it, and I'll tell you sometime.


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)



A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug. Short synopsis of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey taken from IMDB.com  

I dragged my heels a bit when it comes to this movie. I must confess, part of it was because I did see some of the film online while it was still in the theaters. Funny story: one night, I happened to flip on the TV and was scanning the channels when I came upon an old show I hadn't seen in years. I don't even recall what show it was. Well when the advertisements came on, there was one for this USB thing-a-ma-bob that you plug into your computer and it gets you like, I don't know, 50,000 TV channels via the internet. All for just $14.95! What a steal, I thought.

Movie Review: Oz, the Great and Powerful

Here's that review of the last date night flick my wife and I caught at the local SuperUltraMegaplex-o-matic.

Oz, The Great and Powerful (2013)



A small-time magician is swept away to an enchanted land and is forced into a power struggle between three witches. Short synopsis of Oz the Great and Powerful taken from IMDb.com  

What can I say?  I suppose I liked Oz, The Great and Powerful well enough, but at the same time, it was kinda clunky. 

By way of explanation, I am, as an adult, definitely not a rabid fan of The Wizard of Oz (of the Judy Garland stable, nor have I read the books, which I am told are far superior to the movies), but I did like Oz well enough as a kid.  Heck, even today if it is on the TV, I will sit and watch a minute or two without getting up and walking away with a feeling that my time was wasted. It's an "old" movie, but the mechanics employed just scream "BIG SHOW." And yet it feels so solid.  Oz, The Great and Powerful just did not. 

With this prequel, what we as an audience get is a film that seems to be playing for dollar signs in a most unashamed way. Yes, there are the little touches that come from the books (my wife pointed out a couple) and The Wizard of Oz movie, but they seem thrown together in a rather haphazard way.

Envisaged Thoughts from the White Board - April 22

"Envisaged" - as in dreamt up.  I had an interesting (and for once, lately, not disturbing) dream this morning.

Of course, dreams are fleeting, so I can't recall all of it.  From the earliest part I can recall, I was in the church foyer of the building I attended services in while growing up.  But in the dream it wasn't a church, but more like a school.  And of course, as always, the architecture was not spot on.  It is rare in my dreams that anything is exact.  My head pulls different things together, some real, some only imagined.

In this foyer, there were lots of people.  And I was trying to get through the crowd to a class or a meeting or something.  But along the way,  I met a friend (nobody I know in real life) who was in the air force.  He stopped me and we chatted.  He said he and a friend who could get me into the room where the air force pilot simulator was.  I was excited, because I was tired from my everyday chores of life and wanted some excitement.  Yes, gentle reader, I know exactly where some parts of this dream came from.

Anyway, he and I went into what would be the office parts of the church, right off the foyer.  I think we were in there for a little while, just chatting.  Then his other friend arrived, and this new guy took me to a small storage room in an entirely different building.  It was supposed to be behind the church.  And inside this room was a small CRT screen hooked up to a cord that came out of a rather puny looking computer.  I thought to myself that this couldn't be the flight simulator I had heard such great things about and therefore was so anxious to try a hand at.  No way.

The F-16 is the military aircraft I have probably seen most in real life.  I grew up within sight of the outbound flight path of the local air base.  But it isn't my favorite plane.  That'd be the F-14 Tomcat. / Source: asian-wallpapers-pk.blogspot.com

But yes, it was.  I sat down, and he left the room and then a moment later, the machine started up.  It seemed kind of primitive at first, but when I started manipulating the keyboard, the experience seemed - in my dream - to get better.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Math 1010 Final (third attempt) = 80%

That's passing, and for a fool like me, it's the best I can ask for.  Given the circumstances, that is.

In a situation like this, I wish I had a shirt like the one in the following video clip:

,,,

Yup.  I'd be blasting the Imperial March too, right now.  I too am feeling awesome, and to be feared.  By math problems, that is.