Jurassic Blood

This past Friday I had to get up really early to go on an errand with Mom. When she was done we had some time to kill before we had to be at our next destination. After a fruitless search of looking for a place to eat, we passed by a Gulf Coast Blood Center.

Mom had to talk me into donating for a minute; I didn't want to at first. But then I relented. She brought up the point that I had gotten 34 units of blood during my time in the NICU as a preemie. So, I changed my mind.

After a preliminary test and some questioning, I was allowed to donate. (They wouldn't let Mom donate; her iron was too low.) A technician/nurse got me situated and showed me how to work the TV. Each chair had a TV attached to it, that was pretty neat. I had it turned to the country music station. The nurse then explained what the needle was like. I guess it was a little bigger than your standard "injection"-type needle. I say "guess" because I never really wanted to get a up-close look at it. He said it would hurt for a couple of seconds.

Yeah, it did hurt for a couple of seconds, but then it was over. I had to squeeze the stress ball once a minute or so. The whole thing only took ten minutes. I was donating whole blood; there were a couple other guys who were donating platelets, I think, and that takes longer.

Afterwards, they want you to drink and eat something, so you don't feel quite so woozy. I must say, apple cranberry juice hit the spot for some reason. (I did feel slightly dizzy.)

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Your next meal is supposed to be a hearty one, but I kind of fudged on that. Mom and I went to go see Jurassic World. It was fun, and predictable- but in a good way. It's gratifying to finally see a fully-functioning park, and all of your favorite dinosaurs are back. Once again, people misjudged how frog DNA factors into the dinosaur cloning. One plot hole I thought about was why no one thought of having an override function on the gyrospheres so they could come back to the center automatically.

("How many times did I tell you we needed locking mechanisms on the vehicle doors?"....)

Strange as it may sound, I loved the raptors, probably because one of them was named Blue- ha. It's interesting to think that they could be somewhat trained.

There's a whole ton of nostalgia in this movie, one being the music. I had wanted the old theme to be in the film so bad, and it is. I wish more of the original cast could have been in it, but at least we got BD Wong back. He's in the film more than you would think at first.

The audience knows what the Indominus Rex is made of, so it was kind of surprising that the characters take so long to figure it out. Near the end of the film, it's right in their faces. Like, "Ohhhh... We get it now."

Fun trivia: Bryce and the actress who plays her sister in JW also played sisters in "The Village."

All in all, it was a fun movie. I'd love to see Inside Out, and Terminator Genisys next.

Currently reading: "Life is Short (No Pun Intended)" by Bill Klein and Dr. Jennifer Arnold. 😀

Sent from my iPad 2

Mockingjay Pt. 1 Review

[Sorry this took so long. I started writing this after I saw MJ for the first time.]

I got out of Mockingjay, and I really enjoyed it.  It was very close to the book, and they still kept with different perspectives in addition to Katniss', which I have really enjoyed throughout the whole series.

Mockingjay is really, stylistically speaking, a continuation of Catching Fire. You might think it's just part 1 of 2 of Mockingjay, but it has some similarities with Catching Fire. You get the sense that Katniss is isolated, her against the world, struggling with PTSD.

The sets and special effects are wonderful; to note, the ruins of District 12.  New characters are great. Jennifer is awesome. Love the dynamic between Katniss and Prim. Elizabeth is great. Julianne adds a complexity to Coin. Part of me loved her, and yet kind of hated her at the same time, because, well, I know how part 2 goes.  Plutarch got kind of annoying from all the propos. He's in full gamemaker mode here. 

[I totally missed that the actress who plays Mira on Homeland played Snow's speechwriter, until I took Mom to see it, and she pointed it out.]

The music.... I loved the music. It's basically taken from Catching Fire (someone else mentioned Hunger Games, too), so there's continuity in that respect. The Hanging Tree was really good, I liked it. The way the setting had been described in interviews didn't really make sense, but when you see it in context,  it does. It's pretty and haunting. Can't wait to get the score.

I wish Katniss had taken the time to explain the background of "The Hanging Tree," but that probably would have taken too much screen time, and anyway, you get the gist of it with the scenes of the other districts rioting.

One point I got stuck on was Finnick's story- really, the timing. I wondered at first why they put it during the rescue.  Then I figured it out. It was to distract everyone.

Ending. .. pretty much the way everyone thought it would end.
I loved the little tidbit at the end.

Overall feeling stark, dark, and grand. I can't wait for part 2.


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Into That Good Night: Interstellar

I went to go see Interstellar on Thursday.  It was a good movie.  It's a futuristic space film, where astronauts go very far into space to find humanity a new planet.  I was afraid it would be a bit out of my league, but it was pretty easy to understand, except for one scene near the end. Trust me, I was racking my brain trying to come up with some reasonable explanation.  And, I think I did.  Read on....

Matthew McCaughnahey, as Cooper, is a former engineer who has now been forced to farm for a living.  In the future, there have been serious droughts and dust storms worldwide, and certain crops have failed.  Wheat failed a while ago, there's one crop that's nearly gone, and corn will soon follow.

He and his daughter, Murph, stumble- literally- upon a very big and secret plan to hunt for worlds that might be good for humanity.

First, I am so, so, so sorry that I missed the IMAX boat on this one.  The special effects, especially the galaxy sequences are awesome.  Orchestration was a bit different from a standard film, it was mainly a pipe organ, so I could understand why people were complaining about the sound being too loud and unbalanced.

I loved the father-daughter dynamic between Matthew and Mackensie.  She was so good.  I had flashbacks to the locket scene before the battle between Bella and her daughter Renesmee in Breaking Dawn 2; especially when Cooper is saying goodbye to Murph.

I really loved the robot, believe it or not.  He was funny, and the design was great.  He was truly three-dimensional.

I was a bit worried that the plot would lean a little too much in the direction of  "2001: A Space Odyssey", and it did towards the end, but it wasn't too bad.  I also appreciated, at the beginning, the use of dust bowl testimonials.  You aren't sure at first if it's a cool parallel with history... or something else. If you get my drift.

Matt Damon does have a small but important part in the film that wasn't widely publicized. When you watch the film, you realize why they couldn't say very much.  He does have a sort of HAL-like streak. That's all I'll say about that. 

Going back to the sound issue.... I don't know if it was the actors just getting emotional, but there were a couple of instances where the dialogue got muffled, Anne Hathaway and Matthew, to note. 

The astronauts do visit a couple of planets.  Not really sure who thought they would be good planets in the first place.  The second planet at least has land.  Would days with longer hours really mean a shorter life span? 

About the issue of time...one could think of time as both physical and abstract.  At one point, near the end, you have to believe that time is physical.  And, if something is physical, it can be manipulated.  I'll leave it at that. 

My title, in part, reference a poem recited by Michael Caine: "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night."  It seems to talk about regret.  Perhaps, on another level, it implores the reader to change what you regret, and not going gently. 

That is what this film is about... trying to fight the hardest to change what seems impossible.

The Fault in Our Stars

After "The Fault in Our Stars, " I was sitting in a restaurant trying to process thoughts. I had called mom as I was leaving the auditorium.  She asked, "How was it?" I started bawling. That should tell you something.

 It's a sweet, simple story. Sad, but lovely at the same time.

 Wilem Dafoe plays a jerk, although he somewhat tries to redeem himself at the end. Kevin Bacon is no longer my most "hated" actor.

 I cried during the parent moments, mainly between Hazel and her Mom. Got teary when "All of the Stars" played at the end. (I love several of the songs off the soundtrack.)

 Gus pursues Hazel, and finally, she lets him in. Gus seems kind of pretentious, maybe even forward, but when you think about it, what does he have left? Besides time? And secretly, I think we girls want to be pursued like that.

 There is a moment where Hazel and Gus are in the Anne Frank house, and you hear a snippet of a quote from Anne: "Think of all the beauty left in the world and be happy." That is kind of what Hazel and Gus did, with the little infinity they had.

The Book Thief

Last week, I watched The Book Thief on pay per view. I was looking for something to watch, and I hadn't heard too much about it. I have seen the trailer but it hadn't gotten enough coverage in the States. It should have gotten a lot more than it did frankly . This movie deserves it.

It's about a girl named Liesel who is sent to live with a German foster couple, just before World War II.  She's rather lonely; her brother dies on the trip where she's given up by their mother.  The foster mother is really... quite mean.  The father, however, is very sweet.  To top it all off, she is behind in school because she doesn't know how to read.  The other children give her a bad time, but she does make friends with a boy named Rudy.  

As time passes, the father helps Liesel learn how to read in the basement. 

Let me take a moment to say that this film, as well as the book, is narrated by Death.  Slight spoiler alert.  Also: you will be VERY tempted to write off the foster mother. DO NOT DO IT. Be patient.

Some time passes, and the War starts to heat up.  Neighbors start to be called up for war. One pivotal moment is when Liesel and her father go to a Nazi book burning.  Publicly, the father supports the Nazi Party, but you can tell he really isn't into it.  During the demonstration, Liesel knows that this is wrong.  After the burning, she is around the pile of smoldering books, where she decides to take one, and reads from it. 

More time passes, and Liesel's parents decide to take in a Jewish man named Max.  He becomes ill shortly after, but recovers.  There is a very memorable scene where the foster mom comes to Liesel's school to tell Liesel that Max is well.  

During his time in the basement, Max makes Liesel a gift of a journal from a painted-over Nazi propaganda book.  Also, Liesel helps deliver laundry that the mother takes in.  One of the stops is at the Mayor's house, where she encounters a mysterious woman who lets her read in her library.  Before Liesel meets the woman, however, her second act of book thievery is from this library.  But the woman lets her read as long as she can on her laundry trips.  

Remember how I said the film is narrated by Death? It's for good reason.  But stick with it.  The ending is bittersweet, but so worth it.  

I've been reading the book; I haven't finished it yet.  It's actually quite poetic, for a non-prose book, so to speak.

Catching Fire Review

Okay. I know.  I'm finally getting around to it.  Here it is:

I went to go see catching fire on opening day. I wasn't that bowled over by it. But I couldn't find much to complain about. I thought it was a very solid adaptation, and it is very faithful to the book. Maybe that's why; I knew what was going to happen.

(Unlike that little battle bit in BD2.)

Here's what I really liked...

The world of Panem. We see more of it.  The various districts, etc.

Finnick. Sam C. was good. His character won't be more fully examined until Mockingjay. I just really liked his demeanor.

Johanna.  I loved, loved, loved Johanna. Jena was perfect.  A great mix of (slight) insanity and uncertainty.

I loved the ending sequence with Katniss being told about her district, her last scene.  One unexpected surprise was the morphing of the mockingjay.

The only thing I missed from the book was Plutarch's watch dialogue with Katniss.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to Mockingjay.

PS: a special thanks to The Hob.org for the contest tickets! 

I went to go see it again last week, so here are some additional observations:

-President Snow was very creepy.
-The "documentary" style still kept, in a way (I.e. Caesar's interview)
-same music cues from The Hunger Games were used.
-Haymitch, you can tell, is starting to care about Katniss.

A 2nd thanks to The Hob for the shirt from the contest. :-)

The Host

Today I took Mom with me to go see "The Host." I didn't really have any expectations for it. I wasn't all that interested in it until I saw the trailer. As you may remember, I slogged my way through the book.

But now I'd like to give it another try.

Because I liked this movie.

I had misgivings about Saorise as Melanie when I first heard about it, because she seemed a little young, but she's the right age for this role. Diane is really good as the seemingly nice Seeker, and she plays the villain well near the end.

The story wasn't too hard to follow, and the filmmakers handled Melanie and Wanderer's conversations well.

I guess the aliens really liked Ikea. And chrome cars. And white.

Aspects I really liked were the cave sets and desert scenery. The aliens, in their basic form, are actually really pretty. The special effects were decent, and the closing credits were pretty. (Well, they were.) The ending sets the stage for a sequel, which there may be; at least in novel form, for right now.  Mom liked it, too.

PS: tried the Raising Caine's restaurant today. Another pleasant surprise.

Breaking Dawn Part 2

Today I went to go see Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. My theater had the Breaking Dawn-themed cups; they seemed to be given out at random, or maybe it's by week. I got the one with the Amazon coven.

I arrived there with plenty of time to spare; before the movie started I had to remind myself: "Do not get hyped up... Do not get hyped up," remembering what happened at part 1.

The first thing that surprised me was the opening credits; there haven't been opening credits since "Twilight." Red, white, and black letters against gray, snowy backdrops. I was dressed appropriately. My t-shirt (which I got from Cafe Press) matched, as well as my socks. But you didn't need to know that, did you? Lol.

After that, you just jump right in with Bella as she adjusts to her new vampire life. It didn't go quite as fast as pt. 1. Bella's more confident. We get some sweet moments with Edward, and see Renesmee grow up quickly. Emmett and Jacob provide the humor.

Then... We jump into the nitty-gritty, the meat of this part of the story. There's a slight condensing involving Bella and a minor character, but it works out. We move rather quickly into the confrontation.

Man. Do we jump into it. And get slapped upside our heads with it. The oxygen got sucked out of the room for a minute. Jaws dropped. Even though some part of you believes it'll be okay, there's still that one minute. After, you are just left going.... "Whoah." But, then again, it makes sense.

But... The ending does wrap things up nicely.

I liked aspects of it. And I liked it as a whole. But I need to see it again to appreciate it fully.

Sent from my iPad 2

Food Find

Here is a recent food find....

I am in love with the new breadsticks that Walmart got in.  They are Barvarian Pretzel Breadsticks.

They are insanely good, especially brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with salt and heated in the oven.

Chewy on the outside, and soft on the inside.  I have a couple in the oven right now.

I was telling my coworker about them, and she mentioned trying them with garlic salt or something like that.  Or was it cinnamon sugar?  One of us must have mentioned the latter.  Now that I think about it, I'll definitely have to try the cinnamon option.

I hope Walmart never stops making these.  Or I'll just have to buy them all out. :-D

Ok, the more realistic option is to just find another company that makes them.

Carb and bread lovers, rejoice.

Divergent, Fanfiction, and a Trailer

The other day I forgot my book at home when I was going to work with some time to kill.

[CHORUS: How could you forget your book??]

I know, I know.

So I was looking in the book section of said job, and this book caught my eye: "Divergent," by Veronica Roth.  I flipped through it a little, and it looked interesting.  I bought it.

My goodness, it is really good.  At first glance, it may seem like a Hunger Games rip-off, but I assure you, it's not.  It's like HG with a edge.  A very psychological edge.  And darker.  It is dystopian, so the two have that in common.  Very futuristic with a moral caste system.

It would make a really good movie.  I'm only half-way through it.

I'm not that much into fanfiction.  I've looked on some sites for Twilight fanfiction, and I did find one story in particular that I liked, but now I can't find it.  I guess I'll keep looking.  There was this book that someone, named Jean Rush, wrote called "First Light," about Renesmee, Bella and Edward's daughter.  I thought it was okay.  I didn't really like it when Nessie went with the Volturi, and I know a bunch of people didn't like the ending.  But, really, if you think about the Twilight series as a whole, it kind of makes sense.

Rush wrote a sequel to "First Light," called "First Light: Rising Sun."  It's told from Leah's perspective.  Leah isn't one of my favorite characters, but I thought I'd give it a try.  I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would.  About halfway through it switches to Nessie's perspective.  And more of the central characters get to be involved in this one.  There was this one major plot twist that I left me wondering, "How on earth is this going to get worked out?"  But it does.

Speaking of Twilight, we got the first teaser last month for Breaking Dawn 2!! Yay!  It was really good, and it left me wanting more.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Today I went to go see "Snow White and the Huntsman."  It's really a different film, and certainly a different Snow White and fairy tale.

The special effects were good, and so was the cinematography.  The weather is cloudy with barely a sunny day, adding to the dark mood of the film.  The sequence in the Dark Forest kind of reminded me of when the warrior goes to see this giant creature in "The Neverending Story."  There are cool special effects.  It appears that the guys who did Lord of the Rings also worked on this film, based on two characters.  And did we have a Narnian fan when it came to the stag in the forest??

Now... to the acting.  Charlize Theron will certainly take home the MTV Movie award next year for Best Villain, hands down, and if for some reason she doesn't, then she's robbed.  It's in this way that the title is somewhat misleading, it seems to me.

On to Kristen.... Snow White here seems more like a supporting character.  Her acting seems a bit understated, and she didn't get as much development as the Queen did.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  Maybe it's because we don't know quite everything she's thinking, as we do with the Queen.

Liam Hemsworth did a good job as the Huntsman.

It's an okay movie.

You Sank My Battleship!

Today I went to go see "Battleship."  I know critics have been panning it, but I wanted to give it a try.

Michael Bay got served.  He does not have a monopoly on blowing stuff up any more.  That honor now goes to Peter Berg, formerly an "M.D." from the Chicago-area hospital "Chicago Hope." (Come on... tell me you remember....)

And it's Pop-O-Matic Trouble when the "beings" go after our tracking and defense systems, keeping the ships, etc., at bay with... something.  These beings aren't all bad, they just want to control the satellites, blow up some ships, and phone home.  They're half-Terminator, half-walrus. They sort of go out of their way to not kill humans, for some strange reason.

Maybe they're waiting for the "Independence Day" sequel?

And oh, yes, Eric the Vampire/now commander of a ship (AKA "Alexander Skarsgard") gets killed.

Spoiler Alert.

Was not expecting that.

And yes, there is a little game of "Battleship" played.  It was pretty neat how they snuck it in there.

This movie wasn't really that bad.  The subplot of the Japanese fleets and veterans helping out was cool.  The special effects were awesome.  The script could have been better in some spots.  For everyone dissing Rihanna's acting, she really didn't get that much of a chance to act.

Something was wrong with the theater's sound system.  The music was way too loud out of the left side, so I complained.  "They" turned the music down, but then you couldn't really hear the actors.  So someone else complained.  Then the music was just too loud again.  On a good note, "we" talked to the manager and got free passes.  He was really nice about it.

The Hunger Games

Today Mom and I went to go see "The Hunger Games." My first thought was that it was good. I agree with the general concensus that it is a good adaptation of the novel, and it's not a literal retelling. The editing, script, and camera shots work together to make it almost on the verge of a documentary.

This "documentary" style helps improve the film, giving structure and eliminating the need for a bunch of voice-overs by Katniss, the main character. (other reviews have said this.) Yes, there are shots that are shaky, but they mostly occur during the Games' killings, obscuring some of the violence. The shakiness adds to the documentary feel. There are added elements not included in the book, such as Gamemaker conversations and their control room, and a conversation with the President.

One problem that I had with the book was its' pacing in two parts in particular: the time in the forest after the start of the Games, and the scenes in the cave with Katniss and Peeta. Thankfully, these parts in the movie are shortened.

Set design... I'd need to see the film again to focus more on the Capitol. Regarding District 12, you would almost forget that it is set in the future; it seems like it took place a few generations ago.  I didn't really care for the Conucopia; I thought it looked kind of weird- too angular.  I was kind of glad that the special effects team didn't go for making the "muttations" (wild dogs) as freaky as they were in the book.  "They" also handled the tracker-jacker hallucinations for Katniss in an interesting manner, revisiting her father's death rather than having her "see" orange bubbles and giant butterflies. (Really. Read that section.)

Characters.... Jennifer Lawrence was great as Katniss, especially. Someone did a great job when they cast Prim, Katniss' sister. I really liked Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, the stylist. I had pictured Haymitch differently while reading the novel, but Woody Harrelson is great. Amandla, as Rue, is lovable.  Effie was great, the actress getting the eccentricity just right.

You may need tissues... I started to cry during the reaping, when Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place, and Prim's screaming. Mom cried when Rue died.

The ending definitely lends itself to a sequel, and one more scene (not in the book) hints at what leads to the next movie. It was actually kind of fascinating, how they did it.

I would like to see it again.

"Fun-Da-Middles" Not so Fun / Culinary Cheating

Okay... you may have seen those Betty Crocker (might be wrong on the brand) cupcake mixes where you put the creme in the middle then bake.  Kind of like Twinkies, and they've made other varieties.  I used the vanilla mix / vanilla creme one; they also have chocolate/vanilla, and vanilla/chocolate.

You mix the cake mix, then put 2/3rds or so in the tins, squeeze a dollop of creme in, then put some more batter on top.  Mine weren't so precise, though they came out okay.  There are exact instructions on how to put the creme in (DON'T let the creme touch the sides).  Bake, and you have your own Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, whatever.  They taste good.  They're fine.  They'll cure your sweet tooth.  Honestly, I won't buy these too often. 

If someone from BC ever reads this, try putting a frosting tip mechanism with the creme.  It'll go in easier; the user will have better control. 

Round 2: Me v. Roasted Cauliflower.  I won.  It came out much better this time.  Kept the temp much lower- about 300-325 deg.

So... I was buying stuff at the store today when Another National Brand (who shall remain nameless) came out with their own whoopie pie mix.  Picked up the box, looked at the instructions, and thought, "I could copy this myself." (And I'm sure at least a few dozen other people have.)  So I snapped a picture of the instructions, bought my own cake mix and frosting.  I'll be attempting this in the future.