Zenyatta Celebration (and a new movie)

*Sigh* This year the Breeders' Cup threw a Zenyatta Celebration at the Kentucky Derby Museum and it just sounded like loooooads of fun -- not to mention they got favors or some sort that I'm still trying to find pictures of! Here's an article from the NYT of someone who attended: http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/the-zenyatta-experience-one-year-later/

I am quite jealous and with the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA next year...I hope they do it again because even if I can't afford to attend the Breeders' Cup, I'm going to the Zenyatta Celebration! Cost $170 this year to attend all the events from 11:30am to 9:30pm. They also did "packages" for chunks of time in between (lunch was $95 (11:30-3:00), hospitality $75 (3:30-9:30 -- includes a buffet), and after party (7:30-9:30), but you might as well go the whole time, IMO, to enjoy it. Plus, they stream the Breeders' Cup. I REALLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY want to go next year. I will even put on hold going to Florida for Wizarding World of Harry Potter to go. :P

At any rate...I miss Zenny and am wanting her new poster like nothing else (I hope it's cheap....!)! I hope they also make her street signs available and all the other stuff that was made available during the party. Her new web store goes up the end of this week...so...hopefully!!! Oh, yeah, LA Zoo's new carousel has a Zenyatta to ride. :) The Mosses helped fund the carousel so, in addition to the zoo animals, they added Tiago, Giacamo, and Zenyatta to the carousel. Costs $3 to ride, but all the money from the carousel go to conservation efforts for the zoo. Never managed to go to the LA Zoo when I was in Santa Barbara, but now I really want to go. ;)

Anyway, the Breeders' Cup last weekend was good. I can't say I was as disappointed as some people, but it definitely wasn't last year. In some ways that's good because I thought I was going to be ill last year and then cried when Z lost, so I guess in comparison this was just better. :P Of all the scenarios I thought about for the Classic and who won, I didn't factor in Drosselymeyer and Mike Smith winning. In a lot of ways, it was kind of therapeutic for Smith to win this year since he lost last year by such a little amount with Z. It was one of those "See that, world!" moments since he won. It makes up for Zenny's loss by just the smidgen of margins.

Anyway...movie!

Watched Horrible Bosses yesterday. It was funny in a kind of stupid way. The bosses were TRULY horrible, though. And they made it so the bosses were total jerks that they couldn't just "leave" their jobs easily and then they had the dose of reality that they'd have to go into new trades to get new jobs and the job market wasn't favorable. It had its funny moments, its stupid-funny moments, and just its stupid moments. Can't say it was as bad as some people thought, but it also wasn't great either. At least I didn't feel like I wasted 1.5 hours of my life watching it, though. :) My real complaint, though, is I felt the end was a little off. Or perhaps the part right before the conclusion. It was tied up too neatly for where the movie went, but it was okay too, I guess. Anyway, I'd give it a C. It was a good solid C.

Movies & Other Stuff

Movies and a few TV show comments.

Bad Teacher (Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake) - Er...Yeah. I knew it was R-rated, but I so did not think it was this type of R-rated. This movie is somewhere between chick flick and a "guy" comedy (slap-sticky type). I thought it was more chick-flick and it's really not. It's like this movie was supposed to appeal to chicks and to guys (date movie?) and just doesn't quite work for either gender (in my opinion, at least). Diaz's character is a money-grubber and is engaged to this wealthy guy whose mother convinces him to call off the wedding because the mother knows she only wants his money (and spends $16k in a month). So she ends up back at her teaching job (she was there for a year) and talks trash about the guy to make it so she had an excuse to break-up with him (slept with his sister, dog, etc). She decides she needs breast implants to land a rich, cute guy and so she does all these schemes through the whole movie to make the almost $10k to get them. At any rate, I don't recommend it. Also, Timberlake really wasn't that big in the movie. He's her new conquest because his family is rich, but you don't see him a lot. He's also wimpy, kind of "sappy" and everything she's not. Segel is her "equal." Anyway, don't recommend. Grade: D

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil (Animation - Glenn Close, etc) - I saw Hoodwinked so I wanted to see the second one to see how it lived up to it. Other than the interesting nursery and fairy tale scenarios and characters, it's not that great. Maybe for a younger kid (around 10), but it didn't really appeal to me. I think I liked the first one better and I didn't really like the first one either (guess who the bad guy was in the first 30 minutes). Though, it is fun seeing the nursery and fairy tale references, though. I kind of amazed myself with how many nursery rhymes I remembered and different fairy tale stories. Chris kept going, "Huh?" Like...A girl on a "tuffet" eating something in a bowl gets attacked by a spider (I forget for what reason) and he had no clue what that referenced and, suddenly, I start saying, "Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her bowl of whey..." It was kind of funny because it just popped into my head! Anyway, maybe for younger kids (not too young because the evil witch is a little scary with these red eyes (mask) so 8+), but not adults unless you gotta watch it. :) Grade: C-

Something Borrowed (Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield) - On a role for unsatisfactory movies! This is a chick flick (phew), but wow...Hudson's character drinks herself to being drunk FAR too often and then you find out she's slept around and...Goodwin's character ends up getting into an affair with Hudson's fiance and yeah...No good morals in this movie at all. At least if it's a good story you might be able to get away with some of it (SOME, my goodness there was a lot of drinking), but since it wasn't that great of a story...er. Yeah. Maybe the book is better (by Emily Griffin -- and the reason I wanted to see the movie). At any rate, Hudson makes a great semi-deranged (attention seeking) best friend and Goodwin plays a good "good girl" in comparison. Acting was good, story was just not. In comparison to Bad Teacher, though, I'd watch Something Borrowed in a heartbeat (that's how bad Bad Teacher was). Grade: D

So...Fall TV shows have been interesting. So far, my favorite show that I'm watching (I'm by no means watching all the new fall shows like Pan Am and others) is Prime Suspect. It's an interesting show and good acting. It's pretty episodic right now, but I assume at some point an arch might develop after we've gotten to know the characters. I enjoy Revenge far too much. It's definitely a guilty pleasure as I don't think revenge is the answer to anything, but the acting is so good and there's just something about it that draws you in with all the duplicity and fake smiles. Anyway, I'm enjoying it and it's a close 2nd. Just started watching Once Upon a Time since it aired yesterday. So far it's interesting. Some of the acting I felt was a little cheesy, but it's interesting and an interesting concept. I'll really have to see how it is over the next few episodes, but it was interesting seeing all the different fairy tales and then connecting who they were with who they are in "our" world. Grimm starts on Friday, which is another fairy tale based TV show (think crime-drama, but with fairy tale (-like?) characters -- Grimm is named after the Grimm Brothers). We'll see how that goes, but I'll watch it. Fairy tales, of late, has really come into fad. Hoping it might permeate the books so we can get away from paranormal romances, but we'll see. If the two new Snow White movies do well in 2012 (one with Julia Roberts as the evil queen and the other with Kristen Stewart (Snow White) and Charlize Theron (evil queen)), it might just might be a new wave of fairy tale books. We'll see.

With that...I'm off to do some reading! Apple hiring seminar on Thursday.

Born Pretty Store Giveaway

Just wanted to participate and let you all know that Born Pretty Store (beauty and nail stuff) is having a One Year Anniversary party and is giving away and discounting lots of stuff.

Right now, they're doing a giveaway that ends the 31st for nail stuff (mostly). You can check the link out here (hyperlink) to see how to also participate!

Upcoming movie reviews will be Something Borrowed and Bad Teacher (watching Bad Teacher tonight). Watching Hood Winked Too later this week.

In the life of me, applied to random retail jobs recently (Costco, Kohls, and Apple). We'll see how it goes -- that and my aquarium jobs still pending. *sigh* Job hunting...

USA Network Shows

Of late, I have decided I wanted to watch every original show that USA Network airs.  It came after the realization that I watched 4 of their original shows on a regular basis and really liked them (Psych, White Collar, In Plain Sight, and Burn Notice).  If a network has good shows and not too many of them, why not try the others?

Let’s not discuss the amount of hours it takes to watch all these series.  It’d just be embarrassing for both you and me to know how many it took, especially since 5 of the 9 shows I only started watching in the last few months.  Yes, I have put in a great many TV watching hours, but most of the 5 are relatively new and, therefore, low on seasons (and episodes).

I must admit, I wasn’t wrong about USA Network.  USA really does have a stellar group of original shows (excluding Law & Order: CI, WWE Raw, and WWE Tough Enough – I am not interested in watching those and L&O isn’t that original given all the spin-offs).  They’re all enjoyable in their own way and seem to all appeal to me (more-or-less) as a type of show I’d like to watch. I can’t say, originally, I’d watch some of them (e.g., Necessary Roughness), but I found I did enjoy them regardless.

For the sake of comparing all the shows, though, I’m going to write about each one (in no particularly order) and then rank them in some order of preference at the bottom. 

Fairly Legal – A legal drama based on a legal mediator.  I’ve always known what a mediator does, but I don’t think a show has ever been about a mediator before.  The shows are fairly episodic and her personal issues are what carries from episode-to-episode.  My main complaint about this show is that Kate’s life is basically in complete shambles: Her husband is estranged and they’re close to filing for divorce, but keep sleeping with each other; her step-mother and her do not get along at all and she’s the managing partner of the firm, she’s trying to get over the loss of her father, and it goes on. She is very much one of those personally flawed people where they tend to hurt, push, and drag the people they love through the mud while treating everyone she mediates for in a heartfelt and justice seeking manner. So, in ways, she’s just annoying, and the episodicness of the show gets a little boring too. However, I look forward to season 2 because season 1 left it in an interesting place for her personally. Grade: C+

Psych – This is a fantastic show that I have been watching for a while now. I even met the two main actors and the producer/creator. It’s a fun show that is kind of like a comedy crime drama. The main guy, Shawn, is a “psychic” (hence the name psych – which is a plain on words too), but, in truth, he is just hyperaware and quite nosey. So with his hyperawareness, he and Gus (his best friend and co-Psycher) go out to solve crimes for the Santa Barbara police as consultants. It really is a show that is sillier than it is serious, but it still has that police drama system of solving crimes. It just adds a humorous twist to it all. There are a few more “serious” episodes, which are quite good. I do enjoy this show and it doesn’t seem to get old for me. Grade: A

Suits – This is a new USA show and it’s fantastic. It’s interesting from a legal perspective, but the cast has a great chemistry and the characters are fantastically portrayed and acted. It just works. I cannot praise this show enough and look forward to the next season and hope for its continued enjoyment. This one takes place in a big law firm where, Harvey, has been promoted to senior partner and needs to find a junior associate. Mike, through a series of bad events, ends up interviewing and spilling the beans to Harvey and, at the same time, proves he’d be a good candidate. Harvey hires him, but under the knowledge that Mike does NOT have a law degree. And, there’s your “will they find out?” for the show. They solve interesting legal cases and it’s kind of fun learning about some things along with Mike. He’s got the legal knowledge (he remembers everything he reads), but he missed how to do certain things (like filing for a patent). It’s an interesting show and good. Grade: A+

White Collar – This one is a similar situation to Suits, except it deals with white-collar crimes division (hence the name) of the FBI.  I really like the relationship between Peter and Neal. Peter has a lovely and supportive wife and is a good FBI cop who is tenacious and ends up catching Neal twice (three times?). Neal is very personable, charming, and handsome for your thief and conartist. On top of it, Mozzie, Neal’s old time friend and mentor, is a great quirky character. He’s likable in that geeky kind of way and you can’t have Neal without Mozzie, pretty much. The actors work well together and make a great cast. The shows are interesting too as each one basically involves a white collar crime and they have to infiltrate (usually) to get to the bottom of the crime. There is an overarching story too that builds upon each other, but also changes (so one thing gets solved and it brings up a new and different issue). It’s nice having the arches build on each other, but you also (more-or-less) complete an arch too. Grade: A

Burn Notice – Good show, but I started getting tired of it recently because it’s always he’s almost figured out who burned him or getting unburned and then it’s back to square one again or something. It’s the same thing all the time, until…this last season. Whoa! All those people I kind of wrote off before are coming back and now I’m starting to have to try and remember who people are and what happened from before because they just brought it all back to the first season! Crazy! And I kind of love it. It makes it more interesting now. I’ve always loved the episodic scenarios of helping people who are in trouble, but I’d like the big arch moving too and I feel like it’s going new places now. The cast is likable and I enjoy their chemistry too. Grade: B+

In Plain Sight – Show about the Witness Protection program of the US Marshals. It’s an interesting show and I like Mary who is a no-nonsense tough gal with a father who is a wanted man (disappears on the family) and her mother and sister are not quite stable all the time (i.e., Mary ends up picking up after them). I do like their dynamic too and they just aren’t ALWAYS falling apart. Marshall, her partner, is a great stable guy who is understanding, a little soft, but loyal. You can’t not like Marshall. The show will have a short (10 episodes?) last (5^th) season coming up and then it’s going bye-bye, which is a little sad. I do enjoy the show and its ratings aren’t so bad, but USA tends to rotate shows a lot (Psych is the longest running original show for USA and it just started its 6th season). Grade:  B+

Covert Affairs – Covert Affairs is about a CIA operative that goes undercover all over the world for various missions. For some reason, compared to the other shows, this one feels the most like a “fluff” show and hence has some weird appeal to it. I’m not sure why, but it does. It’s not bad and I enjoy the cast (go Auggie!!). I will say that this show has the BEST locations as she ends up somewhere in the world and they tend to shoot there. The scenery is pretty amazing and it’s one of the only shows that gets you outside of a building on a pretty regularly basis. The main character, Annie, basically has to dodge around her older sister who she lives in their guesthouse and there’s an interesting story there. Annie’s supervisor, Joan, is a female head of department and her husband is the CIA Director of the National Clandestine Service, which also makes for an interesting storyline. Grade: B

Necessary Roughness – Interesting new show from USA. Dani is a psychotherapist (finds the true root of the problem and can do hypnotizing) and finds out her husband is cheating so she files for divorce. She’s got two teenage kids and ends up being the therapist for a football team called the New York Hawkes. She’s one of those tough love types of people and the show is about the various “famous” people that come to her for therapy help to solve their problems. Her primary client is a Hawkes player named TK and, of course, the football team’s employees she interacts a lot with. The show is interesting as it touches upon her trying to juggle her two teenagers as well as her work. The show is pretty episodic, but had an interesting end so we’ll see where it goes for its 2^nd season. I enjoyed it, even though I’m not a big football fan and most of it really isn’t about football. It’s more the scene than the story. The show is based off a true story/person, Dr. Donna Dannerfelser, who was a therapist for the New York Jets. I’m not 100% won over, yet, but I’ll watch season 2. Grade: B/B-

Royal Pains – Hank is a concierge doctor for the residents of the Hamptons. He used to be a great doctor in New York, but a high profile guy died after he attended to him and left someone else finish up a “routine” procedure because he went to go keep a young kid from dying. So he basically gets shunned and ends up in the Hamptons with his brother, Evan, to get him out and about (he’d been in his house moping mostly). Long story short, they end up setting up a concierge’s practice so they meet people wherever to attend to them and keep things quiet. The medical stories are kind of interesting because they’re not always “obvious,” but they’re not WAYYY out there into left field like House does too. Sometimes the issue is clear, but he has to be like McGyver to save the person. So it’s interesting. The personal dramas there are a lot of, but they’re not too bad. Grade: B

So, if you were keeping track my grades…They go in this order:

A+: Suits
A: White Collar - Psych
B+: In Plain Sight - Burn Notice
B: Royal Pains - Covert Affairs
B/B-: Necessary Roughness
C+: Fairly Legal

My personal preference is just slightly different, though…

• Suits
• White Collar
• In Plain Sight
• Psych (just the barest of margins splits In Plain Sight and Psych, they’re almost equal)
• Royal Pains
• Burn Notice (just slightly underneath Royal Pains because I got tired of the never ending burn notice thing, but now that’s it’s interesting, could swap with Royal Pains)
• Covert Affairs
• Necessary Roughness
• Fairly Legal

And...there you have it. :) I will watch all next seasons of the shows, though, and none of them are (just yet) canceled. Fairly Legal will have to change a little, though. She's just too irritating and annoying the way she stood in the first season.

Drive and Moneyball

Movies #51 and #52!

Drive (Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan) - At first I thought this was an action film, but, honestly, if I had truly THOUGHT about all I had read and heard about the movie, I'd have realized that it's a drama. Gosling and Mulligan are not action stars. With that said, I can see why the critics love the movie and fans don't. It does set-up in the trailer to be more of an action film (kind of like Transporter) and people tend to like Gosling and Mulligan for their dramas. This is a drama to its core and very much an indie type film. I enjoyed it for what it is, but I don't love it like the critics. It has a sort of sad ending and it is a little dark towards the end, which critics tend to love those nitty-gritty type of films. I will say that it definitely earns its R-rating. I'm glad I watched it and the acting is pretty superb, but I don't think I'll watch it again. It also will appeal to a very specific audience and not the general public for sure. Grade: B

Moneyball (Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill) - It's a good film. I can see why it's getting the rating it has been getting, but it did seem a little drawn out to me. I think the problem for me is it felt like it was your typical sports film and where it would normally end was not where it ended. It ended about 20 minutes past that point and the point was because the movie is about Moneyball. It is also about Billy Beane because Beane used the theory of moneyball, but the movie really is about the reason for moneyball, the way he was going to use moneyball, the way he got moneyball into action (took a little time), the end results, and the furthering of the theory beyond just the Oakland A's. If I understand that, I wouldn't have felt like it kind of dragged on at the end. I do have to say, Pitt-Beane has some anger issues. :P There are some chuckleworthy moments in the movie and I couldn't help but think occasionally, "I wish this was how Secretariat was handled." Secretariat could have been a great sports movie, but they botched it. I think they could have done a much better job, like Moneyball. One that really draws you in whether you're a fan or not. When you watch that gut wrenching 20th game, you are tense as can be because it's got you on the edge of your seat. Pitt does a good acting job too. I can't say I was too fond of the acting because there was something slightly off-putting about Beane so it was, at times, hard to warm up to him as a person, but you get there by the end (and his daughter helps you too). Anyway, it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be because I probably had too high of expectations, but it was still enjoyable. Grade: B/B+

Still waiting to hear back from the Aquarium about the job. Was officially told I did not get the assistant job (no surprise there), but my Seafood Watch app is still in progress. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'm going to say "good" as my assistant app went into "processed" pretty quickly and I didn't get it.

Mid-Sept and I'm at 50 movies for the year!

By no means is 50 movies on DVD or in theater a big deal, but it's the most movies I've seen in a year and the year isn't even finished! Most have been on DVD, but with the price of movie ticket and how most movies are not theater must-sees, it's not a big surprise.

So what was my 50th movie? My 50th movie is the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto in X-Men: First Class). Other noteables are Jamie Bell (St John Rivers -- I recognize him from King Kong) and Judi Dench (Mrs. Fairfax). It's a fair adaptation, though my remembrance of the book is a little hazy as it was my senior year in high school that I read the book (so this fall it makes 8 years), but things came back to me as the movie progressed. The most confusing thing for me was how the movie actually starts in the middle and then flashes back to her childhood and then ending up as a Governess at Thornfield Hall. Once I figured out everything was taking place in flashbacks, it made loads more sense. Wasikowska is an excellent Jane Eyre and I do appreciate the fact she looks the age of Jane Eyre (as intended by the director or producers). Fassbender doesn't look like a Mr. Rochester, but the director or producers knew that and said his spirit reflected Rochester better. He was okay. Once again, having read the book so long ago, it's really hard to say. I think the biggest problem I had with the adaptation is it felt like the romance was obvious after the 3rd meeting, which is much too quick (seems out of the blue); however, it's a 2 hour movie and you can't get everything paced correctly to get in all the other necessities too. Other than that, though, I enjoyed it and I enjoyed how they tried to keep some of the gothic feel of the book in the movie too. I remember being slightly creeped out as Jane walked down the hallway after hearing someone outside her door. So, it works in the movie. It's not overly done and it's not completely omitted either. Rochester and Jane do seem to kiss a lot, but it's nothing that makes it modern or anything. Some reviews say this adaptation of Jane Eyre is the best one ever and I haven't seen enough of them to give a comparison, but this one was enjoyable. It does lack a certain "oomph" for me, but I was never a big fan of Jane Eyre (the book) either. So maybe I just feel the same way towards the movie as the book it's adapted from. Grade: B

It's been a while...!

So...Life...Not much has changed since graduating. Finished my contract position and am job searching/applying. Slow going in the market, but I've got a hopeful job that's seasonal I will be applying for this week (app goes in tomorrow) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's a seasonal job through 2011, but they want to make it a 3-year stint, so...hopefully I get it! It's pretty similar to the contract jobs and when I told my contract contact I was interested in it, she said she was glad to hear I was interested.  Being jobless and having a friend recently get into it, I have gotten into nail art, which has been interesting and fun. Boy is there are a LOT you can do with nail stuff. :P

I also have started to immerse myself into dressage as my goal is to understand the sport and the key players/favorites for the 2012 Olympics. It's been a little brain numbing because a lot of the names are not easy to remember (German, Danish, etc). And then, just like horse racing, you need to know the horse, but also the rider. At least trainers don't really exist as world top riders tend to also be the horse trainer (with maybe a side trainer there too). Farms/breeders/owners are also good to know, but aren't AS key (same in horse racing). So...yeah. Working on that. It's been interesting. I have learned all the movements and can identify them and learned the basic history of modern and classical dressage.

At any rate...MOVIES! I've seen a few movies since my last update.

Cowboys & Aliens (Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde) - If you go into the movie knowing it is NOT a comedy and understand that the movie IS the title, then you'll get through this okay. For some reason people thought it was a comedy and it's not. You also have to realize what the title is and that it MEANS what it is. It was a good movie if you understand the two aforementioned things. Harrison Ford is certainly looking old, but at least his character was supposed to be his age. Daniel Craig I'm sure has it in his contracts that he's not meant to speak a lot because he does more "looks" than speaking. The looks are good, but it is an odd thing. Olivia Wilde is okay and has her own moment of "weirdness" in a movie that is already somewhat "weird". I enjoyed it, but it's nothing near great movie anything. I might buy it when it comes down in price just for the action (and the horses...hahaha). Grade: B/B-

Source Code (Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farminga) - What a predictable and also mind bending movie. It's an interesting movie and once you understand what is going on, it's pretty easy to predict the end. At the same time, you get to the end and you go, what just happened? Course, movies that play with time always end up in headaches, I think. At any rate, it was an enjoyable film. Interesting concept of the Source Code and pretty good acting. In some ways it reminds me of the Adjustment Bureau, but instead of altering our choices by a spilled coffee, trip, or whatever without us knowing, this one is reevaluating a certain time period as many times as it takes to stop tragedies. Grade: B

Conan the Barbarian (Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang) - Does this really need a review? My gosh...I went out of curiosity as I never watched the Schwarzenegger one (I still find it sad I can spell his last name correctly first time around...) and fell asleep through it attempting to watch it. Chris has played the game and read the entire series so he wanted to watch it. It's your typical male movie and it was okay, I suppose. Some of the green screen shots were horrible (could it be more obvious you're in front of a green screen?) and let's not discuss the blood flying everywhere either. Not to mention the sex scene, which goes on just a little too long. So, yes, male movie. Funny enough, almost everyone in the theater seemed like on a "movie date." Males still ruled the theater, but there were more couples than singles. Chris does think Conan is not of our generation, though, as most people in the theater (especially the couples) were all older (40's at least). Anyway, it was okay. Wasn't horrible, but I definitely won't be watching it again. Grade: D

Beastly (Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens) - Surprisingly, it's really not that bad of a movie. It sticks to the story of Beauty and the Beast, has an even more blatant message of not judging people on their looks (as it's set in modern times of high school), and doesn't have any swearing and/or sex in it! Amazing! At any rate, Mary-Kate Olsen plays the witch. Neil Patrick Harris makes an appearance as a blind tutor and Vanessa Hudgens, of course, is the the love interest with Pettyfer as the "prince" or rich, snobby, good looking guy. Can't say it's the most amazing movie feat or anything. It's "sweet" I suppose is the better way to describe the movie as it's not really riveting and not really boring, so it falls somewhere in between there. So, in ways, I suppose it makes the best type of DVD rental movie because I can't see myself buying this film to watch it again, but it was a decent watch that kept me awake too. Grade: B

Sucker Punch (Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, etc) - Wow...Somewhere between Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Anime, and a video game for the movie style. The end, I have to say, is highly unsatisfactory and I still don't get the connection to the rest of the film. I think it was trying to have some sort of "meaning" in it and it just gets lost till the end. You get to the end and I went, "WHAT?!" Really unsatisfying for an ending. The middle of the movie is okay...The little side-scenarios as the girls try to collect these objects to escape (put themselves into an "alternate" world to fight to get the object that they get in the "real world") are interesting to watch and are probably the best thing about the movie, but the movie just felt a little disjointed and I'm still a little confused as to what was real and what was not. So there's that too. Perhaps I'm overthinking or something, but it just baffled me at the end. I'm still baffled at the entire thing. Grade: D (almost an F)

Rio (Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway) - This animation was a good one. I think I liked it better than Rango, but Rango will always be tainted because of my first experience too so I may be slightly biased; however, this was a good movie. The voice cast for the minor characters is a little fun (Jamie Foxx, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, etc). The story itself is good and interesting. You don't feel like you're being bashed over the head with an environmental message (Rango, you can't miss the environmental message, unless you slept through the end), but it is subtly there about exotic birds, poachers, and the Rain Forest. It had its sweet, funny, scary, and adventure moments. It's also a little musical. It starts with a singing number and there are a few throughout it too. They're not bad and somehow seem appropriate in the film that is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (hence the movie name). I enjoyed it a lot and now am kicking myself quite profusely for missing Cars 2 in theaters to compare. However, since Cars 2 comes out November 1, I can see it before the Oscars at least (one good thing about summer movies -- will always be out before the end of the year!). At any rate, it's a good family film and I'd recommend it. Rango is a little on the older end for animations (Rango says words that even make me, as an adult, go, "Whoa...Big word for an animation..."). This will be a movie that I will eventually buy. Grade: B+/A-

Next movies...? Not sure. On the list for high possible theater watching is Three Musketeers, Puss in Boots, Twilight (do I want to? LoL), and Sherlock Holmes. I did want to see Crazy, Stupid, Love in theaters, but just can't find the absolute need to go see it. Almost saw it twice and ended up skipping it. Would eventually like to see The Help (I think...still debating that). I might want to see Contagion and The Debt at some point (DVD probably). There are more than a few upcoming movies movies I might want to see too (most will be DVDs, but some may not): 30 Minutes or Less, Drive, I Don't Know How She Does It, Moneyball, Footloose, In Time (looks interesting...), The Rum Diary, J. Edgar (Eastwood's new one and a friend is an extra in the court scene), Hugo (liked the book), The Muppets (they filmed at Santa Anita for a little AND I saw some of the props for it), Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (will it be as good as the Swedish version?), and The Adventures of TinTin (I'm curious), and maybe War Horse (play is supposed to be good for families and I'm sure Speilberg will do a good job (he wanted to keep it so families could see it together), but...I don't know if I can watch it).

So...yeah...that brings my movies to now and my movie watch list up to the end of the year. Next year is already looking to be an interesting year for super hero/comic movies: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Feb), The Avengers (movie I'm most excited for, so far - May), GI Joe: Retaliation (June), The Amazing Spider-Man (prequel - July), and The Dark Knight Rises (tied runner-up for most excited - July). I suppose we should be lucky Man of Steal (Superman movie) got pushed, once again, to 2013 (was summer 2012, fall 2012, and now 2013). Not to mention, a totally different Bourne Legacy (different character -- Aug), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (tied runner-up for most excited - Dec), Brave (Pixar's next one - June), MIB 3 (10 years since MIB 2 - May), Hunger Games (show for most excited for - March), Wrath of the Titans (sequel to Clash of the Titans - March), Battleship (looks lame, but there's your game movie - May), Madagascar 3 (June), Ice Age 4 (July), and Twilight Sage: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Nov). Phew...And those are just the big named ones!

Anyway, with that, I'm off to water marble my nails (it was that or this cool purple with this cool glitter on top or stamping...so many things!).