Monday, August 01, 2005

August 2005

The year is going by way too quickly.

Today is Irina's half birthday. Halfy Birthday, Baby!!

Two weeks from today is Saren's 8th birthday! Eight! Criminy.

In completely unrelated to birthday news, I just smooshed Shelagorg. (That would be Shelob and Aragog's child. A hugely ginormious spider that was sitting on the wall of my cubicle. Man, that thing was hideous.) Gah. I'm gonna have the heebies for a while now. Stupid ugly looking creature.

The weekend was fun. Sunday was a birthday party for the son of a fellow Las Vegas Life Learner. There were ponies and swimming pools and cake and a pinata. Fun!
The family actually rented a pair of ponies for the children to ride on. Saren and Harper enjoyed that. Irina wasn't too interested, but that's because she's still not a baby. [/paraphrase of a really stupid thing I said yesterday night while in The Pond]
And I should probably explain that:
The Pond is a Stephism. It's her explanation of what my brain is like when I'm overtired or just not thinking clearly. Because in her mind, my vocabulary is a big pond of words, and when I'm in it, I'm just randomly grabbing words to put together, logic be damned.
So. Last night, after the party, I was kinda worn out, and I was in The Pond. And I said that "babies aren't really babies until after at least 9 months."
The reasoning behind that statement was that up until that point, they have more "in-belly experience" than "out in the world experience". It made a kind of sense at the time, but even my underfunctioning brain knew something was off about that.

I had Netflix send us a copy of all the movies we've rented from them so far, and I figured since we've had the service for 8 months now, let's see how we've done. Here's a list of all the movies we've rented from Netflix over the past year, along with any additional comments I felt like adding. A good percentage of these I've mentioned already, but then again, there's nothing new under the sun. So. Movies!

Title
Comments
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
I can't believe that Spider-Man 2 was our first Netflix Movie. It seems like so long ago that we first watched it. [sigh] Those were the days. Anyway, I don't have much to say about Spider-Man 2, like I reported originally, it was a pretty forgettable blockbuster flick. Now Spider-Man 3, on the other hand...well, I read somewhere on the net that it might introduce the Clone Saga storyline. Not following the comics, I don't know specifically what that entails, but it'll be interesting to see if they go that route.
Garden State (2004)
Heh. Zach Braff is funny. I'm glad that we picked up Scrubs for next season.
Ella Enchanted (2004)
We totally own this movie now! "Woo hoo! Nobody knows it!"
Shrek 2 (2004)
Hey! We own this movie, too! And I hear they're making a Shrek 3. Cool.
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Did you guys know that Katie Holmes has a (super brief) cameo in this movie? During one of Tom Cruise's dreams, they do a blipvert type of flash, and one of the magazines that he sees has Katie Holmes on the cover. Coincidence? I think not!
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Mega-effects blockbuster or documentary of the future? Only time will tell.
The Secret of Roan Inish (1993)
[sigh] I wish some fairies would come and straighten up our house.
Amelie (2001)
This movie was fun.
Annie: Special Anniversary Edition (1982)
I didn't watch this.
The School of Rock (2003)
Jack Black was amusing in this. I keep meaning to check out Tenacious D, and keep forgetting to. Maybe this will serve as a reminder to myself to do so.
Love Actually (2003)
Better than I expected!
Lost in Translation (2003)
Worse than I expected!
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
I didn't watch this. (So many movies that are just for the girls)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Run away!!!
Bend it Like Beckham (2002)
Moral of the story: Communicate with your children, or they will sneak out behind your back and become world-class soccer players.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
He's more of a pirate than you'll ever be!
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
We liked this movie so much, we rented it twice! (Actually, the first copy had scratches on it, so we had to get a new one sent to us. Netflix keeps track of EVERYTHING.)
Eddie Izzard: Circle (2000)
"I found me some happiness, now I'm gonna shoot it!" Hee.
Thumblelina (1994)
I didn't watch this.
Month Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Always look on the bright side of life!
The Matrix: Reloaded (2003)
"It's like a video game." ~ Saren, during one of the many, many, many battle scenes. Granted, it looked cool, but monotonous much?
The Matrix: Revolutions (2003)
What. The. Fuck?
Kipper: Pools, Parks & Picnics (1998)
Don't you want a dog, want a dog, want a dog...like Kipper?
The Forgotten (2004)
I'd forgotten we'd watched this.
Heh.
Mulan: Special Edition (1998)
Girl power!!
Mary Poppins (1964)
This movie is hella long. But it is a classic, and for (fairly) good reason.
Kipper: Fun in the Sun (1998)
More Kipper!
Mulan 2 (2004)
I...didn't watch this.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Girl power!
The Village (2004)
I knew the first twist, and saw the second one coming a mile away, but it was still an interesting movie.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie (2004)
Heee!
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Miyazaki is awesome.
Hook (1991)
I can't believe that I saw this in the theaters - four times!
Closer (2004)
CRAP!
The Princess Diaries (Widescreen) (2001)
Um. I really dont' have anything to say about this movie.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
I fell asleep during this one. Not that it was bad - I mean, it seemed to be about the same as the first one, which was enjoyable,  but it just seemed to be exactly like the first one.
Blue's Clues: Bluestock (2004)
I didn't watch this.
I, Robot (2004)
Better than I expected.
Frontier House: Disc 1 (2002)
Interesting.
Frontier House: Disc 2 (2002)
Ditto.
Fairy Tale: A True Story (1997)
I fell asleep during this.
The Phantom of the Opera: Special Edition (2004)
I didn't watch this. Steph did, though, and really enjoyed it.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Mmmm. Miyazaki.
Smoke Signals (1998)
I liked how the flashbacks were incorporated into this movie. And how the symbolism of smoke and fire kept coming into play. Nice little gem.
The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004)
Better than 2.
Spanglish (2004)
I didn't watch (all of) this.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Swashbuckling! I'm looking forward to #2.
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
I didn't watch this.
Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)
I didn't watch this.
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Impressive. Especially since it's based on a true story.
Finding Neverland (2004)
I fell asleep.
Cube Zero (2004)
Not up to par with the original, but certainly a nice addition to the Cubeverse. This was the first DVD that I watched the director's commentary on. (I still find those things highly annoying, but this was pretty cool. It added some insight to the movie.) I liked that this was an examination of authority and following orders blindly. Plus, the director told a great way to keep people hooked on movies/series/whatever that are built around mysteries: Give the viewers answers - but then make them question the answers you've given.
Are you listening, Lost people?
National Treasure (2004)
For a while, when I was younger, Nicolas Cage was one of my favorite actors.
The Incredibles (2004)
I've said it before, I'll say it again: Pixar needs to slow down.
The Ring (2002)
I didn't like this movie. Is The Grudge any better?
Fraggle Rock: Dance Your Cares Away (1983)
I didn't watch this. (But I wanted to. [frown])
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
I should reread this. Scout's awesome.
The Goonies (1985)
Down here it's our time! Heh.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I'd seen it in the theaters.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I'd seen it in the theaters. Also, it will be shown on the WB on September 18th. [/programming geek]
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I woke up during the important parts. The important parts were the parts with Sam, Frodo, and Gollum. The battles? Way too many. Way too not caring.
Oh, and I lost it when [spoiler taggin' it, just in case]everybody bowed at the end. "My friends, you bow to no one"[end spoiler]. Dude, that was incredible.
Super Size Me (2004)
Morgan Spurlock is pretty funny. He seems like a cool guy to hang out with. I think we'll get his FX show, 30 Days, on DVD once it's available.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
I fell asleep during this, but that's okay, because I've seen it in the theaters.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
I fell asleep during parts of this, but I've seen it before. I think this was Saren's favorite of the three.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
I fell asleep during this, because I suck. We either need to start movies earlier, or I need to change my hours at work. Or maybe both.


Whew! Man, that's a lot of movies. At home still waiting to be seen we have King Arthur and Eloise at the Park I think.

In other news, um, I don't think I have anything else right now. Oh! I have a whole Harry Potter ramble to make, but I think I'll save that for another post.

3 comments:

Amy said...

You know, reading has done nothing to convince me that spiders and not evil.

Also, that really is a whole lot of movies!!

Mindi Scott said...

I love your review style!

"I fell asleep, but that's okay..."

Heeee!

Amanda said...

I need to watch Miyazaki's earlier stuff.

Oh, and Spurlock is only in the first episode of the 30 Days series. He does some interviewing in the other episodes, but stars in just the first one. It was still a really interesting series, though. Except the one where they lived in an environmental commune. The people really got on my nerves in that one.