Bon chance!

During our brisk walk to the High School, I picked Courtney's mind about the film that we'll be seeing at the auditorium. She mentioned that this was the last film-in a series of films-that the foreign language arts classes puts on. It's free to the public and this one is supposed to be good, but, it's subtitled.

Armed with only that much information from Courtney, we made our way through the brass and glass doors of the auditorium. We made our purchases of Bon Bon candies then staked our claim on a pair of seats two rows back from the projector.

Before long, the screen glitches were ironed out and the room lights dimmed to reveal this tale:

Set in France-of course-we find a recluse in an apartment who maintains a collection of butterflies(hence the title Le Papillon). Recent additions to the tenement building are a mother and daughter who happen to live in the apartment above the semi-hermit. As the days go on, a chance meeting between the young girl and the older gentleman lead to a wonderful story of; self discovery, tolerance, understanding, and love. It's in this relationship that the girl understands what a parental love can be and how opening himself up to others can help him heal his emotional wounds.

Shot in the grand mountain scape of the French Alps, this film is utterly stunning to view. Valleys of tall green grass speckled with yellow and white flowers flanked by magnificent pine forests and the blue cathedral sky vaulted by mountain peaks give a view of grandeur that will have the audience feeling as though they were on location with our storytellers.

This is a great family film that will have everyone thinking about what it means to be part of a nuclear unit. Thank goodness for the translation, because if you know a little French, you may realize that some words aren't translated into their direct mean-Isn't that correct Courtney? :-D

This is a film that shouldn't be missed by any family. If you've enjoyed, Heidi or Frankie Starlight, this on will be another added to that beloved list.

Because the film was propelled by such a great script, I need to rank this feature a 7 out of 10 chrysali. 

Deja vu? Absolutely.

With Friday behind me and Dear Bride off to the Animal Shelter Fundraiser, I had time to round up Max and Courtney for a meal at one of the local restaurants. The food was fair, the atmosphere was enjoyable, but the company was even better. As we feasted on London Broil and endless tureens of Fish and Chips, we mentally gathered our time and reminisced about the days events, caught free Wi-Fi, and perused silly pictures on line as we giggled and spoke loudly of the kids next ski trip. As I peered momentarily out the window, I was thankful for the cold and the looming front on the horizon that'll bring a flurry or two. At least they'll have some fresh snow to blanket the man made stuff.

Once we've gorged our bellies on flaky battered fish and a slab of cow, we waddled to the car to trek across town to our home. There was a fleeting mention of stopping for ice cream, but when a pale drawn look pasted over Max and Courtney's face, I figured that would be out of the question. I think I'm going to have Max and Courtney go to confession because we surely did glutt...In nomine Patris-et Filii-et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

Once we were home, the dogs were shushed out, and shortly there after, returned to the inner warmth of our castle. Max excused himself for more Playstation exploits as Courtney and I settled on watching our Friday night movie in the master bedroom. We decided to view it there because-like a lion after eating a huge portion-we needed to lay down take the weight off of our bellies.

For this night, Courtney had a desire to see:

Now, as you all know from an earlier post, I really don't have a burning in my bosom for Father of the Bride, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't have have burning desire to own this one either. Why you ask? That's easy. It's because Mean Girls didn't get an Oscar Nomination either.

Not unlike other Disney teen angst movies this film doesn't "break the mold". Here we see our characters-young and old-try to resolve their undesirable High School years at a later date. A wedding in the family coordinates the multiple collisions that could leave one laughing...If one's ten years old that is. Aside from the typical sweet moral education about asking for forgiveness and coming to grips with that action, this movie really has no extraordinary merit. There is one redeeming scene was in the film though. It's of Tom(a jilted lover played Kyle Bornheimer). With comedic brilliance,and a fearless execution of acting craft, he storms the wedding rehearsal dinner with his song of love that steals the sequence-It's very reminiscent of Steve Buscemi during the toasting scene of The Wedding Singer.

Though watching Tom spouting a love song won't redeem the whole movie, it is a bitter consellation...Or should I say, concession.

If you feel the need to seek out this movie, be warned. If you like or own; Father of the Bride, Mean Girls, and  Confessions of a Teen Age Drama Queen, you may want to go for this.

As for me, this film gets a 3 out of 10 ant bites.

Sorry folks, the sight of Kristen Bell in a tight running outfit couldn't even save it from that rank...Though it did raise it one point.

It's money time.

Today resolves itself with a fine finish. Bobbie and I made it to the gym together where we proceeded to burn some calories before we would pack a few more in. My cousin Mary was also at the gym and we had a chance to exchange some conversations about the day and how sore she was-Since the previous day she'd been beating herself up with her weight training session. Once the exercise routine was completed, we returned home just in time for me to make spaghetti for dinner. I think we needed-or wanted-the carbs.

With the spaghetti gravy bubbling away happily permeating the house with the fragrant wafting of rosemary and oregano, I finished off the pasta to a nice al dente texture so that it could finish cooking as it sat in the collinder...and no, I didn't rinse the noodles-Just a splash of extra virgin olive oil and some freshly milled sea salt lightly season the spaghetti. 

With the preparation out of the way, we plate a pile of noodles topped with a beautiful red sauce making the plate look like a nuclear Kilimanjaro. Though we were not taking a meal at our dinning room table, we are all together on a cold night enjoying each others company and loving the food.

 For tonight's entertainment, we settled on this:

Set in Charleston Massachusetts, this is an action thriller from the get go. Much like any other heist movie, the robbery team is a group of friend that have had a checkered past. Of course, there is a federal agent who's out to capture this team of bandits. With minimal information, he uses all possible means to build the robbery case that can find the law breakers in a Federal penitentiary. 

Say what you will about Ben Affleck and some of his questionable role choices, but as a director, he's outstanding. Never flashy or over the top, he delivers a great sequence of screen shots that will draw the viewer in from the opening credit to the final fade to black. He does a fantastic job finding the perfect casting agent to enlist some of the best new actors to move this story along. With such strong supporting actors as Rebecca Hall and Jeremy Renner, Affleck's movie was assured to be a blockbuster.

A thrill ride with a great story is what you should expect...and this celluloid delivers.

This film will appeal to fans of movies such as; Gone baby Gone, Heat, and 3000 Miles to Graceland.

Rating for this one calls for a solid 8 out of 10 "Benjamin's".

Nice placenta.

For Wednesday's viewing pleasure, we rented the comedy:

Cameos abound in this bit of comedy. Our two passengers, Peter(Downey) and Ethan(Galifianakis), are tossed together through a course of events that keep them intertwined till their journey's end. From the airport to the hospital, this is a typical script of two fundamentally different people who find compromises in their eccentricity's to come to grips with each other and see things through each other's perspective...with a heavy dose of downward spiraling events.

Though I enjoy much of the works of Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galvani's, I couldn't find the side splitting laughs in this film-Not to say that it isn't funny. It is very humorous. I was really expecting to be in stitches over this one, but unfortunately, the raucous belly laughs were non existent. The more I watched this, the more I reminded of another film. That film being Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

I'd have to consider this a retelling of the afore mentioned John Hughes film, the score is different, the sets are different but the tale remains the same...but without the annoyingly endearing presentation that John Candy donated to the original role of course.

For those who've enjoyed; Road Trip and Planes, Trains and Automobiles this one may be right up your ally.

For lack of creativity and using Hughes' manuscript, this film gets a 4 out of 10 Glaucoma Rx's.

"Awe...How cute!" -Courtney Her

On Tuesday night, with Bobbie and Courtney nestled on the couch and I sprawled out on the chair like a bearskin rug, we took time to see the family classic;

Holy cow!
The cinematography is awful.
The picture can be out of focus at times.
The costumes aren't the correct period.
The lighting is poor.

But hey, what do you get with film work circa 1974.

That aside, the story is as I remembered. It was like seeing an old friend in a grocery store. Though the times may date your relationship-The moment hasn't changed and you pick up where you've left off.

Always a great telling about; perseverance, companionship, determination and love between a boy and his dogs, this is a heart warming tale that'll leave have you giggling over the naive comedy and have your puppy loving family members in tears. This is a great screenplay that captures the feel of Wilson Rawls' book of the same title. Check this one out if you, or anyone in your family, is a dog lover. You'll start for the dogs, but you'll be amazed at the story.

Bobbie would probably say that if you like this film, you should also see; The Sound of Music, Two Brothers and Pollyanna.

This one scores an easy 7 out of 10 raccoon pelts.

Even our dogs Lucy and Mitzi would give this a "thumbs up"...If they had thumbs.

On with the show.

Spring has turned into winter once more. Shovels and snowblowers buzz and scrape outside windows to steal the thunder from alarm clocks in the early hours of daybreak. The only thing to show the slow turn of the earth's rotation is the daylight. Longer days and more minutes will eventually lead to the warmth of summer...and that'll be a welcome release.

The last two weeks have left my work schedule compressed for time and therefore, my movie viewing time with Courtney has been compromised. Though I'm able to see the films piece meal, I have not been able to settle on the couch with her to see our selections. This is not the way we planned things to be, unfortunately, this is the way it has to be for the moment.

Monday night's movie was:

I have never had a chance to watch this Scorsese feature and wanted to give it a go. With many other Scorsese films to my liking, I figured that this was going to be a safe bet. There are many actors that-I believe-the director favors and all are present here as well. De Niro and Pesci utilize their great on screen presence to accentuate the roles played. I was surprised ad how the roles were reversed from other Scorsese movies that involve these two actors. De Niro usually plays the role of the mores soft spoken "wise-guy" and Pesci is the loose cannon. In this switch, I was quite surprised.

Though the film had a campy feel and the look of a black and white 1950s film, I feel that the story could've been better. The plot moved from one angry scene to the next, which may have been what the director wanted, but after a time, the viewer becomes a desensitized to the violent activities and then the story becomes a bit of a "train wreck in slow motion". The story is a bit lean but you can't seem look away since our main subject makes bad choices and spirals out of control.

If you're a boxing movie fanatic, I'd suggest this movie.
If you're looking for boxing movies with more heart felt involvement, I'd suggest; Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby, Rocky, Rocky Balboa and The Fighter.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 10 world championship title belts. 

Be careful where you go.

Max cruised into the master bedroom as I was lounging on the bed tapping away on my iPod's keyboard. He broke into a semi excited sentence and said, "Dad, you've got to see this video game trailer. Courtney cried because it was so sad. She never even made it to the end of the trailer-And that was the best part."

Engrossed in what I was doing at the moment,I half heartily said, "Alright I'll check it out."
Dropping my iPod onto the fluffy down comforter, I began the slow rise out of the bed like an old man creeping his way out of his favorite recliner.

About mid sit up Max said, " What are you doing? You can stay right there and watch the trailer on that new fancy iPod. It has a speaker in it. Did you forget?"

"Yep." I said. "Let's check it out together." I added.

Max made no hesitation to jump onto the comforter right next to me. We then began our short video game trailer journey together. With the iPod doing it loading rotation, we waited intently so that he could share this short trailer with me.


Warning: This trailer is graphic. Viewers be advised.

You all may have been waiting to hear about what Courtney and I have viewed, but, this short explanation of a game seemed to stand out more poignantly in my mind this weekend. I've never had the chance to view such a skillful game teaser such as this. Not only is this emotionally impacting, but it's also visually arresting. One marvels at the state of what is a completely computer generated image such as these. The time, care, observation and love that these designers have for their craft is clearly evident in this body of work. Much can be gleaned of the facial recognition programs that may have been written to cover the subtle facial expressions that couldn't be generated even by the last version of  whatever software was used. When movies like Terminator 2 and Avatar use the surface of the actors who embody the film characters to drive the motion capture devices, the outcome is superb. In stark contrast, this software is a free standing unit and works independently of the human body to create it's own framework. The software even codes correctly how light should radiate through skin to reveal the underlying colors in soft rosy tones. And it's in those facts that-I feel-the C.P.U. driven bodies are an unadulterated-almost artistic-rendering of the human form...and this is where the "art" converges with the "science".

I hope the entire game will be executed with this type fit and finished, but sadly, as most games are, there will be glorious frames unveiling the story line, but the play graphics will be much like any other playtime generated images. Either way, I think I'm going to have to buy another Playstation 3 just for this game. It's either that or commandeer Max's PS3 unit.

Again, keep in mind that this trailer is graphic, so, be advised.

This trailer can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTtv3DyXRow


For a short story, this one gets a 9 out of 10 for shear brilliant execution of the tale , how many hours it must have taken the digital crafters to convey the beautifully rendered details that's made even more compelling with a magnificently tailored score.

This is a glorious piece of C.G.I.. See it if your stomach will let you.