1.Casino Royale - Fantastic. This and Goldeneye are my two favorite bond movies of all time. This might be better. Daniel Craig is a bad dude, and a great bond. It shows his origins and how he became 007. In that respect, he makes mistakes, is careless, rough around the edges...it's awesome. This movie was a top 5 of the year, no question. My only beef is that they didn't know how to end it. It went on too long, and there were too many twists. But overall, it was great.
2.Apocalypto - I didn't think it was as good as Gibbs did. But it was still excellent. The action and set design/costumes were as good as advertised. The blood didn't really bother me...it was a brutal society! A lot of great typology and just a great all around movie. A top 10 for sure.
3.A Night at the Museum - cute. I laughed a lot, because it was funny in a kid and adult kind of way. Owen Wilson can do a serious monologue and I laugh my ass off. Anyway, this was nothing to write home about, but like Courtney commented, it was a good escape, and very entertaining.
Still wanna see Children of Men, Dreamgirls, and maybe even We are Marshall and Pursuit of Happyness.
Update:
4.Rocky Balboa - Really good. I love sports movies, and I grew up on the Rocky movies, so this was pretty much a given. The fifth was terrible, but this rebounded quite nicely. Good story, good action, human drama, fine performances...and one of the best movie soundtracks of all time. It was a great time at the theater.
5.The Holiday - Predictable, but cute, chick flick. It was definitely a 3 act movie. In the first act, the Kate Winslet plot carries the movie. Cameron Diaz and (I regret to say) Jude Law were both TERRIBLE. But then they settled into it, and the second act was surprisingly excellent. The last third dragged a bit, and settled into your typical weepy cliches, but hey, Jack Black can pull serious off in his own crazy way. And that's never a bad thing. Good movie to score points with your significant other, while being tolerable, yea, enjoyable.
6.The Good Shepherd - Not nearly as bad as you've heard. Even better, it was pretty darn good. Now, if you don't really care about our country or how the CIA came about and things like that, this will probably be a bit dull. And it definitely is sad. But it has great performances (admittedly understated), excellent cinematography, and the intrigue and tension built are first rate. I just think that the subject matter is very interesting. And Deniro handles it very well. Angelina Jolie is a bit miscast, and there are a couple scenes that are unnecessary, but I really enjoyed this film.
Well, Lacey and I are in Monroe for an extended visit, so I haven't had any time to blog. But I"m finding time now, just for Guido, cause he tagged me. Here goes. I ripped the rules straight from Gweeds.
So here's the deal. I have to tell six weird things about me. Then I get to plague six other people who have to state the rules of the game in their own blog post where they compose a list of their own of the selfsame nature. Enjoy.
1.I eat probably 75 wintogreen mints every week. Lacey and I have to include it in the budget - about 10 bucks a month towards mints.
2.I don't eat the ends of my french fries. I eat only the golden brown part in the middle and leave the stems. I don't know why, I just don't like the way they look. Too much like a potato and not enough like a fry.
3.I hate cake. Birthday, cheese, you name it. The only thing I'll eat is Mrs. Rockett's pound cake and Angel Food Cake. Come to think of it, I really don't like dessert. The only pie I'll eat is Mom's apple, brownies can't have nuts, chocolate's too rich, I could go on and on. Just gimme some candy and I'm happy as a clam.
4.My favorite show in the latter years of high school/first couple of college was Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Many of my passwords still include stuff from that show. Not only that, but in college, I also got addicted to not only Beverly Hills 90210 but Melrose Place as well. I'm a TV junkie, through and through.
5.I started out HATING both Dave Matthews Band and Smashing Pumpkins. Now they are two of my favorite bands (even though the latter is just now putting out another album after the breakup).
6.I didn't hit 100 pounds until I was 17 years old. Then I grew 8 inches in one summer. And yes, my legs hurt. I still haven't hit 150, just in case you were wondering.
I tag:
Lacey
Jennifer
Josh McInnis
Christin
Emily
Matt Wilkins
1.As most people that read this blog know, Lacey loves American Idol. I am not a big fan, but I'll watch with her most times. I like seeing the idiots that think they have a voice, and every once in a while they have a good moment (like when an ugly kid with red hair came out of nowhere with a scary powerful voice). But for the most part, it's pretty forgettable to me. However, last season, they did have someone decent in the final few, Chris Daughtry. The guy has a voice, he writes music, he can perform (and play an instrument) and is just cool all over the place. Humble, too, as a married man and a father to her kid. Anyway, he put out an album recently, with a power-pop first single, "It's Not Over". I'm sure most of you have heard it, it's a shameless ripoff of Fuel, which makes me realize why they wanted him to be the new lead singer of the band. I mean, the single is so close to "Hemhorrage in my Hand", it's scary. But you know what? I love it.
2.Saw the new trailer for the Transformers movie today. I had tons of these toys as a kid, was totally into them. And yeah, it's going to be your typical, big-budget/Michael Bay summer action flick. But it looks freaking awesome. Check out the teaser if you get the chance. Another trailer that just hit was that for Ocean's 13. I absolutely loved the first AND the second of these, I don't care what anyone says. So needless to say, I'm super stoked for both of these movies.
3.Watched Little Miss Sunshine last night. Got great reviews, had a great cast, was a well-respected indie comedy. And I'll tell you what, like most indie films I've watched over the years that were well-reviewed by the press, this flick was downright weird. But it was totally hilarious, too. And I really enjoyed it. I absolutely can't recommend it, because of some rough language, but man, did I like it. That little girl is fantastic.
Four Jobs I’ve Had:
1. Paper Route
2. Supermarket Stockboy
3. Teleresearcher
4. Door-to-door salesman
Four Movies I Could Watch Over & Over:
1. Star Wars Trilogy
2. Along Came Polly
3. Zoolander
4. Godfather Trilogy
Four Places I Have Lived (Apart From Where I am Now):
1. Aberdeen, Scotland
2. Moscow, ID
3. Monroe, LA
4. Greencastle, IN
Four TV Shows I Love:
1. 24
2. The O.C.
3. Lost
4. Survivor
Four Places I Have Been For a Vacation:
1. Mayan Riviera, Mexico
2. Chicago, IL
3. Rome, Italy
4. Orlando, FL
Four Websites I Visit Daily (or almost daily):
1. thecedarroom.org
2. espn.go.com
3. xanga.com/mrsmelton
4. hotmail.com
Four Favourite Foods:
1. Chicken Noodle Soup
2. Steak
3. Pizza
4. Ham
Four Places I Would Rather Be With My Wife:
1. Mayan Riviera, Mexico
2. On the couch
3. Monroe, LA
4. Rome, Italy
I got my way this weekend (mostly) and we pretty much just stayed in and watched a few movies. So I figured I'd put my two cents in.
Friday night: Talladega Nights. I had already seen this, and it wasn't as funny the second time, but still hilarious. The problem is, it's mostly just "big" comedy, with a lot less wit than Anchorman, a far superior Will Ferrell comedy. But you gotta love those kids. They make the movie.
Saturday:
Movie 1 - The Devil Wears Prada. This was a compromise from Friday night. This movie was ok, I guess. Typical chick flick. Really predictable. I do like Meryl Streep, but it goes without saying that she is a fantastic actress. But hey, the lead from Entourage is in it, and that's never a bad thing.
Movie 2 - Miami Vice. This movie was good. Really good. It had pretty much nothing to with the TV show, which was a plus. Michael Mann did a great job of making a good-looking movie that was tense, action-packed, emotionally charged, and that sounded great too. Pretty much a flawless movie from the technical aspect. It was fairly depressing and godless, but you expect that in a movie about undercover cops in Miami. Anyway, it was enjoyable, well-acted, and certainly well-crafted.
Sunday: World Trade Center. This went pretty much as expected. It was definitely a tear-jerker. It definitely had some good performances. We all knew the events, what was going to happen, and how it was going to get there, but it still was an excellent film. I expected more conspiracy theories from Oliver Stone, but I guess with this material, his hands were kinda tied. It hit the high and low points, was low key when it needed to be low key, and was very good all around. I preferred United 93, but this was absolutely worth watching.
Update:
The party continued on Monday with the Woody Allen movie Scoop. This is a very small film but has a great cast: Hugh Jackman, Woody, Scarlett Johansson, Ian McShane from Deadwood, etc. Lacey doesn't like Allen films, but this was a great find! It was a terrific comedy mixed with romance and murder, and had that great Allen charm, wit, and weirdness. We loved it!
Everybody likes to do lists near the end of the year, you know, ranking the stuff from the year gone by. Usually, they are top 10 lists. But I am lazy, so I'm just gonna list my favorites from 2006. Enjoy.
Favorite CD: Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers (still in heavy rotation)
Favorite Movie: Drama - The Departed (tough one, but phenomenal)
Comedy - Thank You For Smoking (see previous post)
Honorable Mention - The Prestige (Jackman is so hot right now)
Summer Blockbuster - Talladega Nights (hilarious and unapologetic)
Favorite Going-On: Duh! Lacey's Pregnant!
Favorite Food: Wings (Lacey is the master of hot wings in the deep fryer)
Favorite Beverage: Sam's Choice Cola (for a few years running now)
Favorite Month: September
Favorite Person: Duh! Lacey's Pregnant! (And she's my wife, so you do the math)
Favorite Song: The One I Love - David Gray (Mr. Rockett does a great rendition of this)
Favorite Blog: thecedarroom.org (Notorious is the man)
Favorite Buy: Big Screen TV
Favorite TV Show: 24
Favorite TV on DVD: A tie between Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Scrubs (Thanks Guido)
Favorite Place I Went: Chicago
Favorite Place to Hang Out: My living room (did I mention the big screen?)
Favorite Niece: Jocelyn
Instead of studying for finals, what about just going to the Bahamas and catching some rays? Maybe you'll flunk, but you might have flunked anyway; that's my point.
Lacey had her last appointment with her "high risk" specialist (which just meant there was a small deficiency in progesterone), and has moved on to her second trimester. I think we should throw a party. Anyway, she got to see the baby again yesterday, and taped it, so Dad got to see it too. It has increased in size from 9 mm to 68 mm in only about 8 weeks. That's a 750% increase! I know, I know, I'm a math geek, but if you stop and think about it for a second, it's pretty amazing what a miracle from God this covenant child really is. And for anyone that would even CONSIDER killing one of these precious children, I just wish they could see an ultrasound of the HEARTBEAT, or the baby sucking its thumb (which I got to see, even at only 13 weeks), before they made their horrifying decision. Please continue to pray for Lacey's health, and of course the health of the baby. She'll be having an appointment with her normal OB when we get back from Funroe (we'll be there from December 24th until January 3rd, so get your party hats on!), and then another about 3 weeks after that to determine the sex of the baby!
Lacey and I haven't been watching movies much these days. We were back on the TV on DVD fad for a while. But two movies were "watched" the past couple nights. The quotes on watched is because we shut one of them off about 20 minutes in. It really was a tale of two movies.
1.American Dreamz. From what we saw of this, it was absolutely awful. I got it because of the cast, mostly. Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe, Mandy Moore, among others. Basically, it was disjointed, awkward, and tried (unsuccessfully) to bash the president and American Idol. Horrendous. I rarely shut movies off, but this was screaming to be silenced.
2.Thank You For Smoking. This got good reviews, and again had an excellent cast. It was basically the opposite of AD. It flowed well, had superb performances, was witty, hilarious, made me think, had a great plot/dialogue...just an excellent movie all the way around. Now, it is rated R for a reason, so beware, but sheesh, is this movie funny, while being extremely though provoking! And the good thing is, it doesn't offend you with its liberalness. It certainly has something to say, but it is pretty bipartisan in that something. This is absolutely one of the best movies I've seen this year.
The hope is to go see a movie tonight or tomorrow. We both would like to see The Holiday (regardless of the fact that it is of course a shmaltzy chick flick). And I still want to see Casino Royale. So it will be interesting to see which wins out.