At The Movies

THE DARK KNIGHT - Wow! This movie was flat out great. The franchise is obviously headed in the right direction. Here we follow Batman as he battles the Joker, the mob, and a never-ending supply of goons. We even get a surprise visit from the Scarecrow again. Very cool. Christian Bale is great as Batman/Bruce Wayne, but Heath Ledger steals the show here. It's almost sad watching his performance because you know we'll never see him repeat it. Yes, this film is dark. But the movie works because it feels more like a crime drama than a comic book movie. The bar has now officially been raised for comic book movies. I used to think SUPERMAN II was the best superhero movie ever made, but now I'd have to strongly consider moving this one in its place. Great movie. Definately worth all the hype it's getting.


RAMBO - I've always been a fan of the very first Rambo movie, FIRST BLOOD. Great movie, great scenery, great lines. It's a classic. But similar to the Die Hard franchise, the central character has slowly abandoned his "normalcy" from the first installment, and morphed into some kind of comic-book superhero over time. So here we are with the 4th installment of the Rambo series...cleverly titled "Rambo." There's nothing to review here. There's only one idea behind this movie: how many ways can we dismember the human body. I swear, everyone who gets shot in this movie has something that falls off or blows apart. It's no surprise here that I didn't care for this movie. I guess the only surprise that's worth mentioning is how big Stallone is these days. I mean...have you seen the guy recently? I thought the Incredible Hulk was playing Rambo. Men don't naturally age over time and have their head and muscles grow twice their original size. The guy is obviously juicing.


NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS - I have to admit that I thought the first National Treasure movie was fun and entertaining. Was it great? Of course not, but I was entertained. The story is the same here. In this installment Nicholas Cage and his gang of code breakers travel the world in a race to find the book of secrets, the lost city of gold, and to clear his great great grandfather's name. These movies are like the "diet" version of the Indiana Jones franchise. There's enough thrills and twists here to keep you entertained, but there's very little substance. Like the first film I would say this one is worth renting, but don't expect great cinema.


IN BRUGES - I have some breaking news to report. Colin Farrell has finally made a good movie. After years and years of bad movies and forgettable roles Farrell has finally made a winner. Here we have the story of a group of hitmen double-crossing one another on the streets of Bruges in Belgium. The twists and turns are fun and keep you guessing, the characters are cool, and the scenery is gorgeous. But best of all...there are so many great lines here. Let me just say that this film is violent and bloody in some parts, but it's also very funny. Great movie!


RUSH HOUR 3 - Don't get me wrong, I didn't rent this and I didn't see it in the theater. It was on cable one night, so I managed to catch it. There's really no point in reviewing this thing. You know what it is, and you don't really care what it's about. This is more of the same jokes and gags that we've seen in the first two. I admit, I laughed a few times. But this franchise has run out of steam. The first one is great, the second one is okay, and the third one is forgettable. Do you hear the words that are coming out of my mouth?


BE KIND REWIND - I was really looking forward to this one, and I guess I wasn't overly disappointed. However, this movie isn't as funny as I thought it would be. Jack Black and Mos Def work in a fledgling VHS rental store in New York City. Through a freak accident all the VHS movies in the store get erased. So to fix the problem the two begin to make their own versions of the movies to replace the lost footage. The first act moves rather slow with a few laughs, the second act picks up the pace as the two begin to make their movie parodies, but then the third act slows down again and the laughs slowly disappear. Don't get me wrong, there are some funny scenes here. Jack Black's parody of Driving Miss Daisy is almost worth the rental by itself. But still though...the trailer is funnier than the actual movie. Overall, the movie has a warm feeling to it, but it's not the laugh-out-loud flick I was expecting.


PERSEPOLIS - Another surprise here. An interesting animated movie about a young girl's maturity into womanhood during the Iranian revolution. When we first meet the girl and her family they all want political reform. But once the dust clears and the political waves of change settle the girl and her family resent the new regime and eventually rebel against it. The story here is interesting by itself, but the animated look to the film adds a sense of mood to the story that I'm not sure you would get otherwise. Surprisingly, this movie is not anti-American. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The film is based on a true story, and worthy of a rental.


INTERVIEW - This was a nice surprise. An independent, character-driven, dialouge movie about two characters playing a game of truth or dare. Steve Buscemi wrote and directed this interesting movie about a Hollywood reporter interviewing a starlet (Sienna Miller) over the course of a late night. After several drinks the two banter back and forth in Miller's apartment and both discover skeletons in each other's closets. Or do they really? The movie works great. You feel like you're watching a stage-play instead of a film. The twists and turns throughout keep you from getting bored and keep you involved. Nice surprise.

Great Lakes Loons - All Star Video

Recently the Great Lakes Loons hosted the Midwest League All-Star Game here in Midland. It was a 3 day event, complete with a festival, a home run derby, and the official game. I was fortunate enough to produce some videos and commercials to help promote the 3 day event.
Here's one piece I'm especially proud of. This was the opening video to the official game. It played out in right field on the big screen and on local TV. The plan was to highlight past Midwest League all-stars who are now in the big leagues, and also showcase some of this year's participants. Kind of a "past and present" thing.

Ben loves Rascal Flatts

Recently, Ben has become infatuated with one of the songs from the CARS movie..."Life Is A Highway" by Rascal Flatts. He loves listening to it, and he sings the chorus all day long.
I have to admit I do have mixed feelings about this. I am not a fan of country music, and here is my son singing a country song both night and day.
I guess it's okay though...for now. I can remember when I was 11 I listened to the "Dukes of Hazzard" soundtrack over-and-over again until I wore out the tape. Waylon Jennings was the man...at least in the early 80's.
Anyway...here's Ben singing "Life Is A Highway" by Rascal Flatts...garbled lyrics and all. This was when he first started to sing it last week...complete with a western accent. Since then we've worked on it and he sings it much better now.

Volkswagen snubs Detroit

As a follow up to the post below, I came across this story recently. Volkswagen recently decided to build a new auto plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with Detroit missing out once again.

I heard on the radio that Governor Granholm (Michigan) came up with an incentive plan for Volkswagen that was "too good to pass up," and "she wouldn't take no for an answer."

Well...once again the answer was no. The main reason being union labor costs according to Volkswagen.

I also heard recently that General Motors is working on laser technology for its new cars. The premise being that lasers will be used to help elderly drivers see the road better at night and in bad weather.

Interesting concept. But maybe General Motors and the big 3 should spend their time making cars that get 30 miles to the gallon, instead of all the bells and whistles. That might help you think?

When 8.5 is bad

When we lived in New Orleans years ago I heard a lot of criticisms and putdowns about the city and the state of Louisiana. The job market is terrible, the economy is one of the worst in the country, it's a welfare state and nothing more...etc. Make no mistake, New Orleans and Louisiana have their fair share of problems. But guess what state has the highest unemployment in the country?

The answer is Michigan...at a whopping 8.5%. To compare the national average is 5.5%.

Here's an article that appeared in the Detroit News. Job cuts in manufacturing and workers leaving the state are among the reasons for the high percentage. No one seems to have an answer up here about what to do. The governor spouts out incentive plans time after time to attract small businesses to the state but there's little she can do when the big three auto manufacturers continue job cuts month after month. Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors all collectively decide Michigan's fate, not the governor.

What happens with the big three and the city of Detroit affects the entire state, and we'll see what the future holds for all. But as of right now things will continue to get worse before they get any better.

Swim Class

Ben just completed a pre-school swim class. The 6 week class (one class a week) introduced him to jumping in, diving, basic swimming strokes, and even swimming on his back. He really impressed us with how fast he picked things up. Tonight he and the other kids swam the length of the pool on their backs. That was amazing to me. They used small floaties that wrap around their shoulders, not the typical inflatable floaties everyone uses. That allows them more flexibility with their arms and upper bodies.
He's quickly becoming a little swimmer. He still doesn't have the strength to support himself in the water without somekind of floatation device. But when he's in the water he's very comfortable and very confident. He's almost too brave at times. He's always the first one in and the last one out.
Tonight was the last class of the session, and as a reward all the kids got to go down the water slide (pictured below). Ben got to go down the slide three times by himself...a first for him. He was stoked.

Loons Fantasy Camp

Every year the Great Lakes Loons put on a "fantasy camp" for the employees of Dow Chemical and their families. Basically, they open the doors for the day and offer everyone free access to the playground, activities, and food. There's no official game involved, but several Dow softball teams play throughout the day against each other. Anyway, the kids and I went up there and met our friends the Manchesters. Ben got to play around with Nicholas and William, and we all got to snack on hot dogs and other baseball snacks. It was a fun way to spend the day.

The Children's Museum in Saginaw

A new museum just opened up recently in Saginaw - the Children's Museum. It's a building full of science-related displays intended for small children. We heard about it for a few months now, but wasn't able to get over to see it until last Saturday. We were very surprised how cool it was. Ben and Megan got to explore around the museum. We saw a water plumbing area, a hospital area, an art area, and of course an automotive area. It was pretty cool. It will definately be on our list of things to do come winter time.

Water Day at Dow Gardens

Ben, Miles, and Quentin all had fun at Dow Gardens last Friday. It was "Water Day," and the entire area was decked out with sprinklers, small swimming pools, and water toys. So after storytime all the kids put on their swimsuits and splashed around. It was fun to see the kids go crazy.

Fun At The Park

We try to get to the park as much as possible. For one...the weather is usually favorable, and two...time at the park, walks, and riding bikes are all time-well-spent away from the TV.
Megan loves to swing, and Ben likes it as well. Ben shuffles back and forth from the baby swings to the big boy swings, and then back again. He's getting better at swinging by himself, but he still needs a push to get started...and he quickly loses interest if he has to swing by himself.
Another funny thing is we've started to play games of "Hide-And-Seek" at the park. Ben loves to play the game, but he's terrible at it. He constantly yells out "Daddy...here I am!" He still doesn't understand fully the concept of the game...but it's fun.

Tunes By The Tridge

"Tunes By The Tridge" is a weekly event held in downtown Midland. Each week live music is played outside by the tridge. People bring their lawn chairs and blankets and sit outside and listen to all kinds of music. Some nights it's worth checking out, and then other nights it's not that great...like when it's Jimmy Buffet night or something. (Oh...how I dislike Jimmy Buffet.) Anyway, on this night it was "Jazz Night," so we enjoyed it. We also managed to stop by Pizza Sam's for some good pizza. It was fun...and the kids had a fun time.

What's Ben Up To?

We just recently signed Ben up for soccer...which will start up in September. He's going to be on a 4-5 year old team (I believe). We coordinated with our friend Erin who signed her son Parker to be on the same team. Should be fun. We'll see how it goes. He likes to kick the soccer ball in the backyard so we thought we'd give it a try. And I think having a friend on the team with him will help him stay interested long enough to give it a try.

Also, I just recently cleaned out Ben's sandbox in the backyard. It was filled with leaves and sticks, so he never went in it. But one day last week he mentioned he wanted to play in it so I cleaned it out for him. Now everyday he's playing in it. He loves making mountains and roads for his hot wheel cars to drive on.

What's Megan Up To?

Megan is still crawling around...each day at a faster pace than before. She's also just starting to pull herself up against things. Sometimes she can and other times she can't, but she always at least tries. Below is a picture of some curls that are beginning to form on the back of her head. (Jenny made sure I pointed those out.)

Also, Megan is starting to get used to her bike helmet. She still constantly fiddles with it and tries to take it off, but at least she doesn't cry anymore when I put it on. Ben also helps her out in the trailer when the helmet falls down over her eyes. He lifts it up for her and tries to help her out.

Best Places To Live

Money magazine came out with another "Top 10" list of best small towns to live in...Best Places To Live 2008. Once again Fort Collins is on the list, this time at number 2.
Jenny and I would love to get back there someday. Great size for a town...not too big, not too small. Great quality of life, great outdoor scenery, and even pro-bicycle (many of the city streets have designated bike lanes along the shoulders.)
While the town is great it does have some drawbacks. It's over an hour away from Denver, so when you need a big city fix you have to drive a little bit. Also, the airport is over an hour and a half away, which can be annoying when you have to travel. Lastly, the cost of living is a little high compared to the job market. Unless you work at the Hewlett-Packard site, or at Colorado State University it might be a little challenging to find the right job to support your lifestyle.
Still though...Jenny and I would move back there in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.
No surprise to see it on the list year after year.

Dana Carvey on Dads

Dana Carvey is so great...

At The Movies

INTO THE WILD - I have been anticipating this movie ever since I read the production report years ago announcing the film was being made. I read the book (by John Krakauer) back in the late 90's and I absolutely loved it. In fact, ever since then I have either bought it for, or recommended it to friends and family. Here we have the true story of Chris McCandless, who graduated from college, left all his family and friends, abandoned his money, and hiked all over the country on his way to Alaska. The book has always appealed to me in many ways. How many times have we all thought about the idea of leaving our troubles behind and heading off somewhere? Well...here is a guy who actually did it. The movie is almost as great as the book. Almost. The scenery acts as a central character that we follow almost as much as McCandless. The acting here is first rate, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the music (Eddie Vedder) is an absolutely perfect fit. I highly recommend this movie. But I would also add that the movie somewhat glamourizes Chris, which really bothered me. The book points out just as many flaws about Chris as his good traits, whereas the movie portrays Chris as a man changing the world one person at a time. The movie also makes us believe that Chris' sole reason for leaving his world behind was to get back at his parents, whereas the book again does not totally imply that. It's a classic example of a movie not being quite as good as the book, but still worth seeing.


WALL*E - If there has been one movie Ben has been anxiously waiting to see for months now...it's this one. We've been reading Wall*E books, watching the commercials, etc. He was so excited to see this movie I can't begin to tell you. So he and I went to see it opening weekend, and we both loved it. Granted, this is not a typical kids movie. The overall theme here is very sci-fi. Plus, the opening scenes seem to be right out of I AM LEGEND, and the main characters have little to no dialouge. But somehow the movie works, and the characters are warm and very kid friendly. Ben wasn't scared watching it, but he's now at that age where he starts to get anxious when the characters are in trouble or peril. In fact, I think he started flailing his arms at one scene and said "Look out Wall*E!" But again...he loved it, and kept raving about it all the way home. This is such a great movie. Ben loved it, and I really enjoyed it too. He's already talking about seeing it again with Jenny. I assume this will be another DVD in our collection very soon.


SEMI-PRO - Well...I answered one question when I watched this movie: "Can Will Ferrell make a bad movie?" The answer is yes...and here it is. Ferrell plays the owner, coach, and player of the Flint Tropics...an ABA basketball team set in the 70's. There are some laughs here, but they are few and far between. Plus, there are some serious storylines here between secondary characters that drag the movie out, and suck the life out of it. Ferrell is the only reason to even watch this movie in my opinion. The scene where he wrestles a bear was very funny, and definately the highlight of the movie. What probably didn't help things here was Jenny and I happened to watch ANCHORMAN a few days before watching this one. ANCHORMAN is a Will Ferrell classic. This is not.


CONTROL - This is the story of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division who died in 1980. It's the story of the rise of the band during the late 70's, and more importantly the rise and fall of Curtis (who eventually committed suicide at the height of the band's success.) The movie is shown entirely in black and white, which was the norm for the band when they were photographed. There are some great concert performances here, but the behind-the-scenes story of the band is paramount here. The performance of Sam Riley as Curtis is dead on and almost eerie at times. What could be an excuse to portray Curtis as a punk God of sorts turns out not to be the case. Curtis is shown as a talented yet deeply troubled individual who battled depression and epilepsy to the very end. Overall I thought this movie was very cool. It's one of the best "rock music" movies I've seen in quite some time. It moves a little slow at times, but overall it's worth checking out.

Backyard Smores

Another highlight of our 4th of July weekend was making smores in the backyard. We made a little campfire, made some smores, and sang some campfire songs. It was fun.

Happy Campers!

One of the highlights of our 4th of July weekend was a backyard camping trip for Ben and I. It was Ben's first time camping, and his first time sleeping outside. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I thought I'd try it. I'd rather find out in the backyard how comfortable Ben is camping as opposed to driving up north and finding out the hard way.
So we set up our two-person tent in the backyard in our woods. It was really great. Our woods are perfect for this kind of thing.
We stayed up and read a bunch of books about camping and the woods, we took a night hike through our woods with our flashlights, and then we went to bed. Ben was having such a great time. He was so wired in fact that I think I fell asleep before he did. He kept waking me up and saying things like, "I'm going to take a nap and then do another night hike." I also remember him asking me one time, "Let's talk about everything in space," and "let's talk about all the places you've camped." It was around 11pm and I was almost begging him to lay down and go to sleep. But I laugh. It was great, and it was almost a perfect introduction for him to the camping experience. He loved it.
So now I'm going to look into finding a state park up north where we can camp for a night. Maybe in a few weeks if it works out.

Swimming with Parker

On Sunday we met our friend Erin and her son Parker at Sanford Lake for some swimming. The boys got to swim around in the lake and run around in the splash park, and the rest of us just caught some rays on the beach. Megan seemed pretty interested in playing with the sand.