March 5, 2010

March 4, 2010

  • wait a minute, didn't I use to regularly do movie reviews here? The last "official" one I did was back in January. I say "official" because there is at least one more entree of movie reviews that's on this blog that's currently relegated to "private" for quite a while (I changed it to "public" right now). The reason is that there are four movies to review in that entry, and I simply have not bothered to finish writing them. Maybe it's lack of enthusiasm for those movies, but I think it's just plain old laziness. I have been relying on just doing a very short movie review on Twitter / Facebook, and that seems to be enough for me lately. So for the people who are actually looking for a longer movie review from me, I apologize for the lack of them lately. I'm sure I'll get back into that groove sooner than later.

March 3, 2010

March 2, 2010

  • The 2010 Oscar is coming up on March 7, so as I always do every year for fun, I shall share my predictions on the winners. I'm only going to attempt to tackle categories that I actually want to guess, so you're not going to see "short films," " make up," or "foreign language film" here. I think I'm about 50/50 in accuracy in the past, so whatever, but here ya go...

    Best Picture
    - Winner - Avatar
    - Who Else Might Win - The Hurt Locker
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Up In The Air

    Best Director
    - Winner - Kathryn Bigelow
    - Who Else Might Win - James Cameron
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Quentin Tarantino

    Best Actor
    - Winner - Jeff Bridges
    - Who Else Might Win - Colin Firth
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Jeff Bridges

    Best Actress
    - Winner - Sandra Bullock
    - Who Else Might Win - Meryl Streep
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Sandra Bullock

    Best Supporting Actor
    - Winner - Christoph Waltz
    - Who Else Might Win - Woody Harrelson
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Christoph Waltz

    Best Supporting Actress
    - Winner - Mo'Nique
    - Who Else Might Win - Vera Farmiga
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Mo'Nique

    Best Animated Film
    - Winner - Up
    - Who Else Might Win - Fantastic Mr.Fox
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Fantastic Mr.Fox

    Best Adapted Screenplay
    - Winner - Up In The Air
    - Who Else Might Win - Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Up In The Air

    Best Original Screenplay
    - Winner - Inglourious Basterds
    - Who Else Might Win - The Hurt Locker
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Inglourious Basterds

    Best Art Direction
    - Winner - Avatar
    - Who Else Might Win - The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Avatar

    Best Cinematography
    - Winner - Avatar
    - Who Else Might Win - The Hurt Locker
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Avatar

    Best Film Editing
    - Winner - The Hurt Locker
    - Who Else Might Win - Avatar
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - The Hurt Locker

    Best Original Song
    - Winner - Crazy Heart "The Weary Kind"
    - Who Else Might Win - Crazy Heart "The Weary Kind"
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Crazy Heart "The Weary Kind"

    Best Visual Effects
    - Winner - Avatar
    - Who Else Might Win - District 9
    - Who I Would Have Voted For - Avatar

    While this year seems to be the Hurt Locker's chance to beat the big blockbuster that is Avatar, I really think the Academy Awards sold out this year (first sign of that : 10 Best Picture nominees). Call me a cynic, but I believe the Academy is going to award Avatar just for the sake that it made lots of money for the industry, AND that it's the movie that most people saw last year which they might want to please. I on the other hand took a huge gamble by thinking that this might be the year that best director and picture will be awarded to two different films, which will appease fans of both the Hurt Locker and Avatar. Who knows, Inglourious Basterds might make an upset. Either way, this tug of war between The Hurt Locker and Avatar is bound to get people watching the Academy Awards this year, so mission accomplish on the Oscar's part I guess.

March 1, 2010

February 28, 2010

  • So what am i doing for two weeks off? The options seems limited when I'm forced to just stay home.

    Let's see.... TV, Movies (DVD, Netflix streaming), books to read, video games, or just more time on the computer (ex: my blog). Oh right, and possibly some house organizing / cleaning that I'm able to do, that my left leg can put up with.

    I'm actually curious to see what all this free time is going to bring me. Will I be able to do all that above, or will I end up just focusing on one or two of them. This is like a test of what it could be like if I was already retired, but forced to stay at home. It's unfortunate that I can't go out to the movies by myself, since I can't drive my car at the moment (Cop Out, Alice In Wonderland, etc... are going to have to wait).

February 27, 2010

  • My doctor told me that I pretty much sprained a leg muscle in my left leg. So while my leg does feel like it's healing quite nicely, it's far from being 100%. I can stand and walk (limp) around without crutches; but still using the immobilizer, however I can't do that for long periods of time. My right leg is primarily bearing the weight of my body so that can be tiring. My left leg also starts feeling aches and pain when it isn't elevated for an extended period of time. This means that while I can ride along as a passenger in a vehicle or eat at a restaurant, my left leg will eventually reach a point where it's going to want to be elevated again, unless I'm willing to put up with the aches and pain.

    In regards to sitting down, I'm also going to need some room space for my leg as I can't really bend it normally either. I definitely can't sit on bars or in booths, plus I'm most likely going to need to take the outside corner of a table for the leg room. So that Jason Mraz concert that I'm suppose to be at today, I had to skip it, because if the Long Beach Terrace Theater sits are like most theater sits, I'm not going to be able to stretch my leg properly. I WAS considering going to it anyway, but I suppose I should be reasonable (or responsible) about this. Even though I couldn't go to the concert, at least my money for the ticket is going to a worthwhile charity (spinal cord, I believe).

    The doctor did give me two weeks of medical leave from work, which is disappointing to me since I'm concerned about not getting a pay check. State disability is the answer... if I knew how to request for one (I'll research about it afterward). I'm also suppose to still see an Orthopedic doctor, which I have an appointment with several days from now. I still have to wait for "authorization" by my CIGNA-HMO insurance to see the Orthopedic doctor, which I still have to confirm with my personal doctor that he requested for the authorization. This whole insurance thing isn't something I normally use, so wow are there some hoops I have to jump through in order to take advantage of it. I guess it's asking too much for health insurance to be easy.

    So two weeks of primarily staying home.... It's been a LONG time since I've had this kind of time off. People says I'm going to be bored out of my mind, but those who say that clearly does not know me very well.

February 26, 2010

February 25, 2010

  • *edit* Reviews below are clearly not finished. Just copy and pasted what I wrote on Twitter about the movies when I first saw them. Feeling really lazy...

    Movies I've seen recently...

    The Blind Side (2009)  C+

    Sandra Bullock pretty much made the money. However, for a story based in reality, it felt rather fake. It was okay.

    Precious : Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire (2009)  B

    Had some powerful stuff, but right on the edge of being too melodramatic. It was okay.

    Valentine's Day (2010)  C+

    Cheesy romantic film that's more or less forgettable. Had it's moments though. It was okay.

    Whip It (2009)  B

    Good movie, but pretty much by-the-numbers. Has a lot of heart though. Enjoyed it.

February 24, 2010