the fixer

my apologies as always for my long break from blogging.  i may start a new blog more aimed at my life nowadays as an 'adult.'  we'll let that word go as far as it should since hopefully i'll never grow up but my aims have changed a lot as to what i would like out of life and what i get to do with the miniscule amount of free time that i do have and maybe that's all worth putting down for now.  it may have been worth putting down before now.  oh well, again, there's that miniscule amount of free time that gets in the way.

so today's post doesn't cover games, movies, music or anything of the sort.  instead it's a realization of a label that i was subconsciously aware of but that has been brought to my attention recently. 

i am the fixer.  if i were a superhero right now, at this moment, that's the codename they would use.

so what has determined that i am the fixer you say?  many things that i'm not going to list.  some evidence that i will put down.  i never get anything done for myself [i think this is reason # 1 that i am still working on my phd].  don't get me wrong, this isn't some self righteous please help me nonsense, it's just an annoying personality trait that i have.  i feel obligated to make sure everyone else's life/job/school/whatever is running appropriately.  i don't know why.  it's quite detrimental to my own life but again, not complaining, just realization.  i draw lines too so it's not that i'm fixing EVERYTHING just more than i should be fixing.  i don't want to fix things for my child because i don't want him to end up just like one of the many college students i see today who don't even know how to open a pdf file or send themselves an email.  as another undergraduate stated, 'we're the technology generation!'  people in general need to be able to do things on their own and to fix their own problems.  i need to stop worrying about everyone else's work and get my own stuff done.

realization over.  fixer out.

enjoy the silence.

the wolverine

7.5/10 snaps - the wolverine [beware mateys, there may be some spoilers ahead]

so the wolverine was significantly better than its previous counterpart where marvel neutered deadpool at the end of the film into some being that none of us cared to see.  hugh jackman completed a wonderful performance and as a hetero woman i totally enjoyed all his half naked scenes.  i am not quite incredibly versed in wolverine's back story so i'm not sure how much of this actually occurred in the comics.  i know at some point he was in japan [where most of the film takes place] but am not sure for how incredibly long.

my main issue with the film was the main villain.  i get it.  i just don't incredibly like it [the premise, how it was done, etc.].  otherwise i say the film was a great one to watch.  i did keep getting this feeling that i was watching push + wolverine added in but i assume that's due to the semi psychic chick [yukio] who can see folks' deaths before they occur.  a tad bit confused as to why logan fell in love with mariko so incredibly quickly but i suppose in all reality that's typically how comics handle the love situation so why not, right?

*after getting annoyed that i didn't completely know for sure that this story was wolverine in nature i finally did a bit of web surfing and found that the majority of the characters [yukio, mariko, etc.] are from the x-men universe but not entirely sure that venom ever had anything to do with wolverine...just precursory searching so it is perfect plausible and possibly even certain that i missed something.

if you are a wolverine fan, go see the film!  you'll probably like it and if you don't, i hold absolutely no responsibility for sending you there ;)  otherwise wait for dvd but i definitely think it is worth a viewing at some point.

for now as always,

enjoy the silence.

pacific rim

pacific rim - so let's cut to the chase - 8.5/10 snaps.  i pretty much think anyone who likes a good action/monster movie will have a fantastic time with this film.  i, like most, did not give it much credit at all when i saw the previews or heard the premise.  i figured it was a huge transformers/power rangers/godzilla rip-off and would be entirely boring and predictable.  then i saw the reviews [not a big fan of most mainstream movie critics but there's one gentleman in particular that i tend to share views with http://www.youtube.com/user/JeremyJahns?feature=watch and that being said here's some props for sean as he introduced me to jeremy's entertaining movie reviews] and jeremy was loving pacific rim!  then i realized the film was directed by guillermo del toro and felt even better.  then i went to see it [with exceedingly great company might i add - sean, margaret, and bert] and absolutely had a fantastic time.  i have to say my favorite character was the biologist played by charlie day.  folks give the movie a tough time as they say his character was too 'wacky' and 'out there'.  since i am a biologist and work in a building(s) full of biologists i can say with certainty that this portrayal was not far from the actual truth.  especially the bit about the tattoos, the wanting to see an extremely dangerous being alive and in person, and the reaction he provides when presented with anatomical specimens of said organisms [my personal favorite part of the film].  we have the exact same reactions here in the biology department about similarly meaningless to the general public items.  for example i'm sure you are nowhere near as excited to dissect rats to find one that has a heterotaxic spleen or a pristine trachea and esophagus.  eh, i digress.  so all in all go see the film unless you detest sci fi and then i assume you're not reading the blog anywho as we probably don't share the same interests.  pacific rim is going to be one that we actually pick up on blu-ray.  oh and bonus in that my husband is in the film [ron perlman reference - sean and now rob tend to take on a ron perlmanesque appearance at times.  it's fleeting but definitely there.  i think it has to do with the shape of their heads]!

enjoy the silence [maybe i'll get back into blogging more and there won't be nearly as much of it to enjoy]!

mama (just so you know i definitely said the title in that eerie whisper voice)

let's jump in head first on this one, shall we?

mama - 4/10 - while i love horror films and thought this movie had extreme potential, i find myself a bit let down.  the majority of the movie was great!  the acting was excellent, especially that of the kids in the film (the really creepy kids, of course one of them previously played the red queen in a resident evil film so instant creep factor!).  there were a couple of new things that other movies in the same genera haven't used before, some really neat scenes.  there's a couple of jumpy moments but not an excess of them.  in fact the film is also not some sappy, heartwarming "please don't kill annabel so she can raise these poor children that were raised in the woods for five years" film either which i also appreciate.

so where does the movie go wrong then eh?  the worst part of the film is the end.  it completely ruined the film.  while i'm all for an unconventional ending, this one was not a winner.  there's a few more staggering issues with the film as well.  you start seeing way too much of "mama."  i'm the kind of person who likes to peer between my fingers at the really scary parts of horror movies but by the 4th time mama showed up, she had lost her scary mojo and i was able to continue staring at her for the remainder of the movie as she just wasn't frightening anymore.  then there was the inconsistency of the ghost - why even let folks take the kids back to the city in the first place if she wants to be the primary caregiver?  why materialize yourself to kill some folks and then completely disregard others that are threatening the children's well-being or making you jealous.  apparently the ghost was a bit indecisive.

rental worthy.  especially so if there are alternate endings available

eh.  enjoy the silence.