The Three Musketeers (2011)

broderic on October 23, 2011

All you need to know about The Three Musketeers (2011) is that Milla Jovovich stars as Mlle de Winter. She’s the muse to Paul WS Anderson as she has starred in lots of his movies mostly Resident Evil. You could’ve told me that this was directed by Pitof or even Kurt Wimmer of Ultraviolet infamy as the movie progressed it had that campy feel of the worst of the worst films of this past decade. Yet, it didn’t sink towards Uwe Boll infamy because it was campy enough to entertain, and that’s all we want from a movie — entertainment.

The movie had structural similarities to the Dumas book. Besides Milady de Winter, you had the cardinal, the 3 musketeers, the Buckingham and d’Artagnan. De Winter schemes with the Cardinal. The 3 musketeers befriend d’Artagnan. Those are the similarities. The rest of the plot could’ve, but could not be from the book. Sky ships! De Winter as a ninja?! The fat guy? Was this in the book?

Yet it was all fun. Pure entertainment. Like a resident evil, but better as things weren’t as hokie. Campy but never dumb. Stupid but never retarded. Almost, almost straight from the mind of Dumas, but twisted into a steam punk novel. Ridiculous, but entertaining.

So the changes got me thinking about the original novel. I bet you the original serializations were treated as campy fun as well. Pure entertainment. Now we have to wait for the next installment.

3 of 5 stars

Paranormal Activity 3

broderic on October 22, 2011

There are some harrowing moments in Paranormal Activity 3, but the advertised last 15 minutes sinks the movie. I think we all left the theatre feeling slightly ripped off.

I didn’t see the second one. At least with the first one the motivational scare felt organic, part of the story. With the final 15 minutes of this one, it felt tacked on. Something to explain it all. You don’t need to do that! It’s all paranormal — beyond normal. Nothing will make any sense.

Also, if you show it in the trailer, it’s gotta be in the movie. It some kind of rip off if you ask me. And that’s how I felt. Ripped off. That’s not to say I wasn’t frightened at times. Bloody Mary! The ghost in a sheet! The clean kitchen! Yeah, I was averting my eyes. That’s just me.

Overall, it was not like the first one because that one was scary. The static camera shots just make me nervous. The lack of a musical soundtrack even more so. Without a musical cue, you don’t know when to be scared. They did attempt to have a rumbling bass noise to help, but it wasn’t enough to signify a scary moment.

If you watch it in the theatre, watch the cheapest showing. It’s really short.

2 of 5 stars.

I like Pie

broderic on October 21, 2011

felix_pie_2010_topps_national_chicle

Sadly, no longer with the organization, Felix had his worst year as an Oriole. This is a 2010 Topps National Chicle. I like these cards and I like the way this one looks. If only Felix could’ve been as great as he looks on this card.

The Cloud

broderic on October 21, 2011

The CloudThe Cloud
Originally uploaded by browsermetrics

What? This looks like summer time! Miami

PE. S. Space I spoke this!

UPDATED: Because it needed rotating plus I really didn’t know what my “post to flickr email” was

Candy Candy Candy oh!

broderic on October 17, 2011

No idea if this is supposed to be funny. It must’ve occurred after the news and the 1st song by the musical guest because I’m not laughing and neither is the audience.

50/50

broderic on October 16, 2011

While my reaction to 50/50 wasn’t about my father’s passing in the past, it was about my own future. It had me dwelling on my own health status. Even before, I was apprehensive about seeing this movie. I know I don’t like to think about my health because it scares me.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is confronted with his mortality in the form of cancer. It frightens everyone around him. His girlfriend can’t handle it and bails from the relationship. His best friend, Seth Rogen, can’t handle it, but sticks with him through thick and thin. He even gets him laid although the scene is as sexy as blue balls. All’s said and done it is his family who handles it well. His mother already dealing with dementia in his dad is solid as a rock. Eventually, he turns to her for the strength to battle and you know she is there.

The movie is standard Hollywood uplifting fight story. Lots of the story beats you’ll already know – the girlfriend and best buddy being just one of them. I wondered though if we were going to get the happy ending or the sad. I don’t want to spoil it, but you won’t be crying at the end.

Then there is the Anna Kendrick problem, or rather, patient-doctor problem. I don’t know, but rather feeling good about this couple, I was a little creeped out. They had to make her young to make it seem as it was above her station to know that perhaps having feelings for your patient is too much. It was perhaps misguided even though the story line of a blossoming relationship added a touch of warmth.

But the take away for me in this movie is that death is there. It will kill you without regard to how healthy you are. Young. Old. It don’t matter. We will all eventually pay the ferryman. And this was the most horrific aspect of the movie. Death is near. I can not get away.

3 of 5 stars.

Spinach Mushroom Tortilla

broderic on October 16, 2011

Untitled

Since I had plenty of spinach and mushroom left over from the spinach mushroom barley soup, I figured to throw the leftovers into another Spanish Tortilla.

I tried a couple of different things this time around.

Untitled

This time I also fried the potatoes with the spinach and mushrooms before throwing everything together in the pan. I was hoping that this would make the potatoes tastier, but since I didn’t put enough salt, they still ended up being bland. I wonder what types of spices to use to make the potatoes tastier. Or maybe I should be using another potato? These are white potatoes. Would the others taste any better?

I also arranged the potatoes better in the pan. The presentation after flipping it out looks more appetizing.

I should’ve left the temperature the same from last time (325F) but increased it to 375. It came out overcooked as you can tell from the color of the egg.

One day I will find a more flavorful combination for my tortilla.

Blogger Testing

broderic on October 14, 2011

Emailing something from google reader. You can ignore this or you can think that this is another Link of the Day.

 
 

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via ThinkProgress » Yglesias by Matthew Yglesias on 10/13/11


Prior to the Carter administration, the Civil Aeronautics Board basically set airfares throughout the country. This sharply diminished price competition and induced airlines to compete on the basis of offering high-quality service. Then came deregulation, and both prices and quality fell sharply. It turns out that what tourists really want is to get where they’re going, and what firms want is to pay less money to send their workers around the world. Glen Whitman cites the decline of the young attractive flight attendant as an example of this dynamic in action, but I think Megan McArdle is right to say that anti-discrimination laws and union protections are the bigger story here. One way to look at this kind of issue is just to look at long-haul first class service. Even though it turns out that most travelers prefer cheaper flights to better flights, that’s not a universal preference and airlines do offer the option of paying more money for better service. People flying first class generally get much nicer seats, better food, shorter lines, and more attention from flight attendants, but they’re subject to the same labor market regulations, contract provisions, and norms as everyone else.

 
 

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