I don't know why, but a pop-up window comes up every time my recent entries page is loaded. I know you guys are seeing it, too. At first, I thought it was because one of my images was being password protected. I cut out all the images in my journal, and the pop-up is still there. Can someone give me a lil help?

After taking a break from movies for two days, I watched both "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "12 Monkeys". I love both of these films, but for completely different reasons. I like Hitchhiker's Guide because it's intelligent fun mixed with a lot of creativity. I like "12 Monkeys" because it's a shocking and powerful piece of sci-fi. Not shocking as in grisly, but shocking as in it's like a horrible dream. You feel frustrated and trapped while you're watching it because Bruce Willis' character is put through hell while he tried to piece together what's happening around him.

Wow, I was expecting less. That number is about jump much higher very soon.

Thanks, Sai!

Hmmm.....what to watch...what to watch.....

"John Carpenter's Vampires"?

OK!

:)

Tonight I watched "The Devil's Backbone". It's a foreign horror film set during the Spanish Civil War by director Guillermo del Toro. The story revolves around an orphanage which is sheltering young boys from the war. A new boy shows up, and is drawn towards the ghost story about a boy who disappeared not too long before. It's a beautiful period piece. Del Toro really know how to direct a film. He has a new movie coming out, "Pan's Labyrinth", and it promises to be visually groundbreaking.

My day rocked.

I had a great day at work, then I stopped and got a double cheeseburger, fries, fried onion chips and a strawberry malt from this place called SuperDawg. I ate the malt on the drive home, and now I'm going to kick back, chow down, and watch "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" that came from Netflix today.

Life is good. :)

"The Hitcher"

I discovered this movie on AMC late one night. I started watching it, and got sucked into the story immediately. It's about this kid from Chicago who's delivering a car to San Diego. Along the way, he picks up a hitchhiker in the middle of the desert. The hitchhiker turns out to be a psychopath, and he torments and pushes the kid to the breaking point. This is the kind of movie with no set up...it just starts and keeps pounding away until the very end. It's like a bad dream that just keeps getting worse and what's most difficult is the fact that, on the surface, there's no motive....no reason.....no purpose. The mystery man is relentless, and we don't know why. I loved watching it, and went out and bought it immediately.

As some have noted (I'm lookin' at you, Sarah :P ) I haven't been posting on Livejournal. I barely have enough time/energy to post on MySpace, and copying and pasting my posts got annoying due to the difference in the interfaces. Livejournal is just too clunky, and trying to add pictures to my posts is like pulling teeth. Say what you will about MySpace, but I might as well design my own web page with all the code I have to put in manually on LJ.

You guys aren't missing much, anyway. I'm on day 38 of my DVD project, work is going well, and Sophie and I are counting down the days 'til I'm back in England. :)

Oh, and I'm still looking for someone to go with me to Snakes on a Plane. :D

Thanks, Sai. :P

Wow, who would have thought?

Thanks, blankbadge!

It's been a while since I've posted a real blog entry. It's been all about the dvd project for the last week or so. That's basically because I haven't taken the time to sit down and write what's on my mind.

There hasn't been a whole lot going on on my end. I mentioned my computer troubles in an earlier blog, but everything is back to normal. In fact, my computer is running a lot faster and is a lot less cluttered than it used to be. :)

Work is still going well. I enjoy my job as much as before. I recently switched to second shift (2pm-10:30pm Tues. thru Sat.) and it's working out just fine. Also, just the other day, I finally became AC certified, which means I can act as Area Coordinator for a work zone on the track. Each night, there's track work done to keep the trains running safely. An AC is in charge of having the area locked out (breakers and switches are opened so that electricity can't go to the power rails) and making sure that all safety devices are in place to keep trains from running through the work area. They'll never use me as an AC (I guess I'm too green), but I aced the exam and have done all the practical training.

A big plus of being on second shift is that I get to see Sophie twice a day and am awake to spend time with her during the daytime on my off days. I can't wait until November when I get to go back to her. We're going to have a mini-Christmas, one just for us, while I'm there. I've already got her presents picked out and am really excited about seeing her reaction when she gets them. :D

I've also been out to the theater more than usual. I saw the two big summer blockbusters that're out there; "Superman Returns" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". They were both excellent, even though I had my share of gripes with each. There's a bunch of movies coming out soon that I want to see, too. Movies like "Monster House", "Lady in the Water" and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend". I doubt I'll be able to catch all three, but we'll see.

So that's what's been going on in my world.

I had quite a bit of free time today, so I was able to watch not one...but TWO DVDs from my personal collection, along with one I rented.

First was "S.W.A.T." It's a very solid action movie about an L.A. S.W.A.T. team who are assigned to escort an international criminal who offers the public $100 million dollars if they break him out of custody. It has Sam Jackson being cool as usual, and well choreographed action sequences. Also, I was able to see the actual characters instead of being stuck seeing Colin Farrell or LL Cool J playing those characters.


Second, I watched "The Chronicals of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." It's about four siblings who are evacuated from WWII England to live with a professor while their father is fighting the war. They stumble across an enchanted wardrobe chest during a game of hide and seek, and that's when the magic begins. It starts off as a charming children's film, then once the children enter Narnia it becomes a beautiful fantasy piece. There's all sorts of mythological creatures and gorgeous landscapes. The kids perform well, too.

Finally, I watched "Shrek". It still holds up after several years. It's much funnier than the sequel. in my opinion. Sure, Puss in Boots was hilarious, but the filmmakers took away a lot of the edge from the first one. My favorite sequence from "Shrek" is Princess Fiona's rescue. It's funny, exciting, and perfectly animated. The purples and reds of the castle and the lava are so rich.

After watching "Pitch Black" yesterday, I figured I might as well watch "The Chronicles of Riddick" today. It's a completely different film from the first film. It's more of a sci-fi fantasy epic than a horror flick. I think Twohy took full advantage of the resources presented to him after the success of Black, and he builds on the mythology of not only Riddick himself, but the universe he lives in. We go from planet to planet seeing different races and meeting different groups of characters. It's a huge film. I can definitely see this becomming a franchise if audiences are willing to watch it.

I have "Pitch Black" playing right now. It's the unrated cut. I'm watching it with audio commentary by director David Twohy and actors Cole Hauser and Vin Diesel. Most people don't know this, but Vin Diesel is a very smart guy, and a real actor....not just a wrestler-turned-actor. Also, David Twohy is very easy to listen to. He's easy going, and well spoken.

The movie itself is very well done, especially considering it's Twohy's second film. I think the best parts, visually, come during the beginning. The bleached look and the desert landscape make for great shots.

I worked a little overtime tonight, so not only did I get in late, I'm also on the verge of passing out.

Tonight I picked "Titan A.E."

I probably won't make it throught the whole film, but I'm still enjoying it. The animation, though a little dirty, is very impressive. It also plays with the conventions of the typical cartoon adventure. It's a shame this movie almost single handedly destroyed Fox's animation studio. They bounced back with "Ice Age", though.

Oh, and last night I watched "Videodrome" for the first time (I rented it). What a trip!

I have a massive headache tonight, so I've decided to watch something mellow.

"The Royal Tenenbaums"

I bought the Criterion Collection for $10 a year or two ago. The first time I watched this was at a friend's house, and I was transfixed by it. To a greater extent, the same happened with Wes Anderson's other film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", which I also have and will watch somewhere down the line.

I finally have a computer again!

My computer crashed this week (first crash in the 10 years I've had a computer ain't too shabby) and I was without internet for several days. Everything is relatively back to normal now, though, so it's time to post a couple more DVDs from my collection.

Yesterday, while a friend of mine and I worked to restore my computer, we watched "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" to prepare for seeing Dead Man's Chest.



Tonight I'm watching "The Day The Earth Stood Still", which is a Cold War era sci-fi film about an alien being who comes to Earth with an ultimatum: either abandon nuclear weaponry or his race will vaporized the planet. The title comes from a sort of "show of force" where the alien disables practically every electronic device on Earth. The way they show the world coming to a halt is incredible.

The project was put on hold yesterday because of the holiday celebrations (I went to an excellent BBQ and saw Superman Returns) but tonight I'm back in business.

I thought about putting in "Saving Private Ryan" because it fits today's theme, but it's too long and I'm pretty tired, so I'm watching the original "War of the Worlds" which is just as appropriate and only 85 minutes.

Since I've already seen the film plenty of times, I'm going to watch it with commentary by Joe Dante, Bob Burns and Bill Warren.

I've decided, with the help of Sophie , to watch a James Bond film today. I'm watching the very first Bond film, as a matter of fact.

"Dr. No"

I think "Goldfinger" is the best of the series, but this one is very very good.

I'm watching "DodgeBall" right before bed tonight.

There's some really great wit in this film. Vince Vaughn is so damn quick.

What's really funny is, the chapter list on the inside of the DVD case has an advertisement for a White Goodman Signature Series dodge ball on one side of it, and in fine print under the list is written "ADAA signature balls not really available. Santa isn't real, either. You're gonna have to deal." :D

"You're in a Chinese opium den, Timmy!"