Ello ello, kiddies.

First, a refresher!

And finally Finally FINALLY… number 97.

Many thanks to those of you who keep me on my toes (you SHOULD know who you are).  This has been a long time coming and I cannot thank you all enough.  I have been… experiencing different phases, walking several different paths, and have been visiting different, somewhat darker places (literally and figuratively).  I may not be at the BEST place I can be in my life right now, but now that it is summer and I have time to myself, I certainly am at a better place than I have been the past few months.  Thank you, all of you, for your love and support.

Movies!

I am certainly late to the party on this one.  Heralded by many around me as Pixar’s best (even against their recent efforts), I finally sat down and watched this gem of a movie.  A colorful pallet of creativity, imagination, and heart, it certainly deserves the admiration it tends to receives.  It has not replaced Up as my current favorite Pixar flim, but it ranks up there with the best of them (even if I was, at first, extremely annoyed with Dori’s… character… but even she won out, in the end).

Verdict: Watch

I will be honest: I am chuckling as I start typing for this movie.  This is a movie that does NOT take itself seriously, does NOT make a whole lot of sense; and certainly does NOT apologize for either of these two traits.  What results is a movie experience that screams action, laughs, and FUN.  So many of the components of the movie are there not only to shock the audience but also seem to be there to DARE the audience to be insulted.  If anything, it’s an hour and a half test to see the full extent of your politically correct tolerance.

Verdict: Watch, if you just want to shut your mind off.

Again: I am late to the party, but certainly not as late as I was to Nemo.  The surprise hit of last year.  I will admit there are a few truly memorable scenes and lines from the film (some actually manage to hit somewhat close to home) but overall nothing as “life-altering” or “hysterical” as many have hyped it up to be.  The characters are like-able and their chemistry is genuine.  This is also the first time I have been exposed to “Dr. Ken,” and I am saddened to point out that he is the worst cog in the machine of this film.  Completely unneeded, uninteresting, and borderline insulting (not due to the stereotype he was portraying, but simply because it is an AWFUL effort of a performance).  A lot of fun overall, just not quite the second renaissance of Hollywood comedy.

 

Verdict: Watch without falling into the pitfall of hype.

QUICK HITS!

1.  Summer is HERE and… half the days are in overcast.  NOT that I am complaining, I love overcast weather and am not the biggest fan of heat, but this certainly should be a slap in the face to all of those Global Warming naysayers…

2.  Currently playing I Love Lucy in the background, the world’s perfect background noise.  Current episode: “Country Dance Club,” where Lucy, Ethel, and Betty Ramsey doll themselves up to seduce their husbands to a night of dancing.

3.  I have been consistently running the Rose Bowl as of late.  Operation: “Get Leaner” is going swimmingly.

4.  Spent a week in Kansas City, Missouri/Misery, and though the people were friendly and quite hospitable, I have never been happier to be a Californian.

5.   Proof that I have been artistically productive since the last update, this was a yearbook insert I did for my debate team’s president:

6.  Next on my list to watch: Toy Story 3 and Inception.

7.  Spend less, spend less, spend LESS.

8.  On that note, I splurged on a new Tokidoki watch. -_-

9.  No regrets, no regrets, no regrets…

10.  Family is over visiting.  I am currently the most free I have been in ages.  Put those two elements together and that means I am not so free any longer.  But I promise you this: updates will be coming.

Sooner than later.

*BAMF!*

Michael