James Piper, Author

Sunday, May 31, 2009 ... a modified workout ... S ince Monday is a weights day, I couldn't do weights today and I didn't feel like going swimming or twirling away on some cardio machine, but I wanted to do something and decided on a minimum of stomach crunches and bicep curls. When I got home I realized I had done these same two exercises everyday this week. That's a first. Is it making a difference? I think so but it's hard to tell. I just keep at it knowing there is improvement even it's not immediately noticeable. Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 40 reps x 9 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 9 sets Posted 2009/05/31 at 20h58ET in Exercise.

Movies Watched in May 2009 1. 2009/05/01 New York City Serenade. Drama. (2007, 103 mins.) NR 2. 2009/05/01 Religulous. Documentary. (2008, 101 mins.) NR 3. 2009/05/01 No Reservations. Romantic Comedy. (2007, 104 mins.) NR 4. 2009/05/02 Semi-Pro. Comedy. (2008, 91 mins.) NR 5. 2009/05/02 The Prince and the Pauper. Drama. (1937, 118 mins.) NR 6. 2009/05/03 Spanglish. Comedy. (2004, 131 mins.) NR 7. 2009/05/03 The Gift. Crime. (2000, 112 mins.) NR 8. 2009/05/03 Song of the Thin Man. Comedy. (1947, 86 mins.) NR 9. 2009/05/04 In Bruges. Crime. (2008, 107 mins.) NR 10. 2009/05/04 8½. Drama. (1963, 138 mins.) NR 11. 2009/05/05 New York City Serenade. Drama. (2007, 103 mins.) NR 12. 2009/05/05 Vital Signs. Drama. (1990, 103 mins.) NR 13. 2009/05/05 Man About Town. Drama. (2006, 96 mins.) NR 14. 2009/05/05 Religulous. Documentary. (2008, 101 mins.) NR 15. 2009/05/06 You Kill Me. Comedy. (2007, 93 mins.) NR 16. 2009/05/06 Dead Fish. Comedy. (2004, 98 mins.) NR 17....

Saturday, May 30, 2009 ... cardio and some weights ... T his is the sort of workout I like. A solid 30 minutes on the elliptical machine followed by some weights and stretching. Lots of sweat and no difficulty doing it. Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 40 reps x 9 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 9 sets Posted 2009/05/30 at 20h58ET in Exercise.

Saturday, May 30, 2009 The Treatment. Feature film. (2006, 86 mins) IMDB ... a realistic look at romance ... F or some reason I liked this movie. I liked the actors and I wanted them to get together even though there doesn't appear to be all that many original elements to it. She's a widow, a wealthy widow, living in Manhattan with two young children. One is a young boy going to a private school where our hero works as an English teacher. He's screwed up because his mother died when he was young, his father is distant and his true love left him for someone else and is getting married. The story focuses on how the screwed up English teacher gets together with the widow even though everyone around them says no. It wouldn't be a good move. Ian Holm plays a belligerent shrink for our hero. There are the requisite shrink sessions where our hero is sprawled out on a couch, but here's the twist. Like a ghost, the shrink also appears from closets...

Friday, May 29, 2009 ... a full weights workout ... S ince it was Friday, a part of me wanted to leave early, but I realized there was no point. I might as well put in a long workout and did. I also decided to increase the number of reps I do for stomach crunches. It was becoming too easy. Same for the bench press. Bench Press: 14kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Inclined Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 40 reps x 9 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 9 sets No Tricep Presses. Leg Lunges: 10 reps x 9 sets - Left/Right Squats: 10 reps x 9 sets. Posted 2009/05/29 at 19h59ET in Exercise.

Friday, May 29, 2009 Jumper. Feature film. (2008, 88 mins) IMDB ... oh for the chance at a new screenplay ... A teenaged boy discovers he can jump through space, dematerialize from say New York City and in a flash rematerialize in Egypt next to the Giza pyramids. It's a neat trick and a neat premise, but it doesn't make for much of a story. It's not a story because where's the trouble in being able to jump around the world? There is none. Life is good for our hero. To create a story, Paladins are created. There's regular humans, Jumpers and Paladins. The later two have been fighting a private war for centuries. Paladins are out to track down and kill the Jumpers. Not much is ever explained and therefore the resulting action has little meaning. That's the point of the movie--create action sequence after action sequence. It's effective and good looking, lots of CGI that isn't obvious, but since there's little underlying st...

Thursday, May 28, 2009 ... cardio and some weights ... I t feels great to be able to do a full 30 minutes of cardio and that's what I did today. I followed it up with bicep curls and stomach crunches and stretching. Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 9 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 9 sets Posted 2009/05/28 at 19h06ET in Exercise.

Thursday, May 28, 2009 Good Luck Chuck. Feature film. (2007, 96 mins) IMDB ... what a sad, pathetic movie ... T he film is billed as a romantic comedy. There is nothing romantic or comic about it. It is crude, rude, boorish, lame, stupid, idiotic, pathetic, hideous, gross and a handful of other negative words I can throw into the list. How anyone can think this film was a good idea, that it should be made and people would like it, is beyond me. It's a terrible film. The premise has some interest but it the execution of it is sucked dry with boorish attempts at humour. It's shallow. We don't like the characters and in fact I'd rather see them tortured then gain any sort of romantic resolution. This is particularly true for the hero's sidekick--a fellow medical practitioner who will say anything provided it's crude. I'm sure people like him exist. If you meet them you want to run the other way and putting them in a film, aiming to b...

Thursday, May 28, 2009 Bolt. Feature film. (2008, 96 mins) IMDB ... a fun animation film ... B olt, a puppy, sits in a cage in a pet store when Penny, a young girl, picks him out of the batch. She adores her new puppy. Her father, a scientist, applies his knowledge to the dog to create a superdog whose job is to protect Penny from the evil Green-Eyed man and his henchmen. It's a story within a story where Penny and Bolt and the rest are actors for an action TV series except for one thing. Bolt doesn't know he's a character on a TV show. To stay in character, the production is designed so he doesn't know what is truly happening. He thinks he has a superbark. He thinks he has laser visions and can cut metal with it. He thinks he can ram a speeding car and stop it dead. He believes it because the production team makes him believe it. That's the setup and it was a fun setup because it's filled with animated action as if Ridley Scott was ...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 ... a full weights day ... I love the fact I can do a full weights workout and not be bothered and troubled with breathing problems. The allergy symptoms are pretty much gone. Lateral Back 27 kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Vertical Back 27 kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 9 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 9 sets Tricep Presses on bench: 14kg x 25 reps x 3 sets. Leg Lunges: 10 reps x 6 sets - Left/Right Squats: 10 reps x 6 sets. Posted 2009/05/27 at 20h54ET in Exercise.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Mamma Mia!. Feature film. (2008, 108 mins) IMDB ... I love the colours of the Greek Islands ... I have to admit when I heard the first song of this musical playing, I cringed and pressed fast forward. I hadn't heard it before and I didn't want to. That wasn't the case with the songs that followed. They were oh so familiar and having lived in Sweden, I know it dangerous to attack ABBA--the songwriters for the music. Since it's a musical, it must be about love story and I suppose that's the case. A young woman is getting married to a young man on a Greek island. She lives there with her mother who runs a beat-up vacation hotel. Not much of a story so far until you realize, the mother had flings with three different men some twenty-one years ago and either one these men could be the father. No one knows the entire secret. The daughter secretly invites the three men to her wedding in the hopes of finding out who her fa...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Frost/Nixon. Feature film. (2008, 122 mins) IMDB ... thankfully a 70s-period movie with no avocado appliances ... D isgraced president Nixon lives in seclusion in his West Coast mansion. It's the period after his resignation. Ford pardoned him but he continues to deny any wrongdoing. He wants to be in the action, making the calls and asked his opinion. David Frost, a cad, interviews pop stars and magicians. He's a performer, not a serious journalist. When he sees the worldwide broadcast of Nixon's resignation speech, he sees big numbers and gets an idea. Interview Nixon. He's a schemer and dreamer. His TV producer won't back him, his TV broadcaster won't back him but he won't give up. He negotiates a deal to interview Nixon for the incredible sum of $600,000. It's money he doesn't have, but that's only part of the total cost. The sum total of the investment is over $2 million. Hugh dollars f...

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 ... cardio day with stomach crunches ... T hank you, thank you, thank you. I was able to do a full thirty minutes on the elliptical machine without feeling I was going to die from a lack of oxygen. Relief from the allergies. I haven't reached total relief, but it's a big, big improvement. I had time and followed-up my cardio with stomach crunches and bicep curls. Since I don't use heavy weights, it's possible to do them everyday. Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 6 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 6 sets Posted 2009/05/26 at 19h43ET in Exercise.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 The Eye. Feature film. (2008, 98 mins) IMDB ... at there was an plausible explanation for what happens ... A young woman lives a normal life as a blind person. She has an operation where she receives donor eyes. The operation is a success as far as the doctors are concerned, but to her it becomes a nightmare. Not only can she see the world near as a sighted person, but she begins to see ghosts and the grim reaper and fire and smoke. She's living in a hell. It appears real to her and maybe it is real. THE EYE is not my kind of film. I'm not into horror films, not into films about the paranormal or supernatural. I was intrigued by the concept and decided to give it a try. It's far too bizarre for my liking. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I don't get it and never will. I suppose you have to believe in events that can never possibly happen and that's impossible for me to do. Part of Act II is the battle wi...

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 Swing Vote. Feature film. (2008, 120 mins) IMDB ... a silly that is mildly enjoyable but you won't want to see it a second time ... S WING VOTE takes an impossible plot situation and pokes fun at the US presidential election. Costner plays a single dad who is completely irresponsible. Lives in a trailer. Drinks too much. Can't keep a low-paying job. If it wasn't for his daughter who plays the parent, he'd probably be in jail or dead. He simply wants to have a good time and doesn't care about tomorrow and he certainly doesn't care about anything going on beyond him including the presidential election. If you asked him the names of the candidates, he wouldn't know. Now the unlikely plot. He's not registered to vote because he fears jury duty and besides he believes his vote doesn't count. His daughter registered him to vote. She's the responsible one; she's interested in politics and making a d...

Monday, May 25, 2009 ... full weights workout ... S omehow I managed to miss getting to the gym four of the previous eight days. There's two Sundays in there where I decided to take a day off to rest. There was a Holiday Monday where I managed to miss getting to the gym and on the last Wednesday I had a board meeting to attend and prep for and didn't get in to the gym before hand and it was too late and too nice an evening to go in the evening afterwards. That's four days in total. I have done that since last summer when I was injured and could barely walk. My long-term average is still over six days a week and my average for 2009 is well over that average. I still get in a lot more exercise than most people. Since it was a Monday, that means a weights day so I can get three weights days in during the week. No holding back today and no problems breathing. The allergy symptoms have eased away--thankfully. As I walked around before going to the gym I f...

Monday, May 25, 2009 Prime. Feature film. (2005, 105 mins) IMDB ... enough with Jewish characters in movies ... S he's a Jewish mother and a therapist. Her patient is a successful career woman in NYC, 37, and definitely not Jewish. Then there's the 23 year old son who is finding his way. The son and love interest meet. They hit it off. The problem is the three haven't put it together. The mother hears her patient tell about her son not knowing it's him. The patient doesn't know her therapist is her lover's mother. This coincidence continues until the therapist realizes it has to be her son she's been talking about and eventually they all know what is going on. The film has the usual boy meets girl, they split back together and split again and the last time for good. That's not the happy ending of a romantic comedy we want to see. The film is really an excuse to have all this Jewish non-sense and for the patient to say thin...

Thursday, May 21, 2009 Blindness. Feature film. (2008, 121 mins) IMDB ... adapting a novel is never easy ... A simple premise: what if an entire population of a city all went blind? It formed the basis for a novel by a Portuguese writer, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and eventually this film. I haven't read the novel but the film has inspired me to do so in part because the film, despite lots of talented people involved in the production, is a failure. Adapting a novel is never easy and sometimes impossible. I want to understand why the novel is a success and the film a failure. Why the break? There's no answer unless I read the novel. The film takes place in non-descript large city in a non-descript country. It was purposely meant to be non-descript. A young man sits in the driver seat of his car waiting for the red light to turn green when in a flash he goes blind. Stuck, a stranger offers to drive him home and does and promptly steals ...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 ... oh what's with these allergies ... F or the last two weeks I've been battling allergies. The symptoms are familiar. When they wouldn't go away and seemed to get worse, I decided to buy some medication to treat the problem. It worked except for my breathing. The tablets aren't designed for that. Yesterday I was on the elliptical machine with great difficulty breathing. It was arduous. My pace was slow and I thought about stopping over and over again. Today was a slight improvement, but even doing my weights routine was a struggle. Breathing is obviously crucial to an effective workout. I got in two rotations instead of three and didn't bother with leg squats or lunges. Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 2 sets Inclined Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 2 sets Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 4 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls: 7kg x 25 reps x 4 sets Tricep Presses on bench: 14kg x 25 reps x 3 sets. ...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 My Blueberry Nights. Feature film. (2007, 93 mins) IMDB ... sometimes singers break through as actors, sometimes ... I t's a road movie. It's a love story for several characters. It's about life. Jude Law runs a café in NYC. There's coffee and cakes and pork chops. There's also Norah Jones harassing him in her search for some man who may or may not have been at the café. He's rather obliging with his time with her perhaps because he's got a hard on for her. The opening third of the movie deals with these two characters in his café. She's searching for someone and he's obliging until she gives up on the search and the relationship goes to another level. It's where we learn it's NIGHTS because she has trouble sleeping and BLUEBERRY because at the end of the day, blueberry pie is about all that is left in the café. In fact it's a metaphor on life. People buy the cheese cake and chocolate c...

Saturday, May 16, 2009 ... not a swim day ... I had planned to do some weights followed by a swim. I did the weights but didn't want to go swimming. Not sure why, just the way I felt today. Should I mention stretching as well. I haven't been doing that in my web postings but every time I do weights, I do stretching and sometimes when I do cardio. Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 6 sets with 3KG medicine ball. Because the 2KG ball was being used and the 1KG was too light, I used the 3KG. I may use it going forward. It's not too heavy or too large like the 5KG. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 6 sets Posted 2009/05/16 at 20h10ET in Exercise.

Saturday, May 16, 2009 Mission: Impossible III. Feature film. (2006, 120 mins) IMDB ... action-packed action film--no surprise there ... T he best part of the Mission: Impossible franchise is the theme song but you don't need to see the film to enjoy the music. M:I 3 is an action film structured just for that--to give people lots and lots of action. I suppose you could say it delivers on it except after a while, the film becomes a blur of action and you probably want something more, something different. I'd describe the plot but there'd be no point to it. It's simply a device to create big action set-pieces and the film does that. The film includes a MacGuffin called the rabbit's foot. Both sides want it and as a result it creates conflict between the two sides. It's a MacGuffin because it drives the plot but we never learn what it is or what importance it has because it doesn't matter. It's a plot device. In a number of movie...

Friday, May 15, 2009 ... a solid weights workout ... I felt good today. First day with medication to help with the allergy symptoms. It seems to be working. Because I had a bit of extra time, I did one extra set of the stomach crunches and bicep curls. A few years ago I had an accident where my left leg had to be surgically reconstructed. The result was an inability to use it for many weeks and during that time the muscle weakened. To this day, there is a difference in the size of my muscles on my left leg and right. I'm thinking I should go more leg exercises just on the left and see how long it takes to get to the same size. (Assuming that's possible). Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 7 sets with 2KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 7kg x 25 reps x 7 sets Leg Lunges: 10 reps x 6 sets - Left/Right Squats: 10 reps x 6 sets. Lateral Back 27 kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Vertical Back 27 kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Posted 2009/05/15 at 16...

Friday, May 15, 2009 Factotum. Feature film. (2005, 94 mins) IMDB ... a slice of life movie free of plot complications ... I decided to read a brief bio on the author whose novel serves as the basis for this film. In it, the bio claimed the author disliked plot but provided no reasons for his predilection. In watching this film I can see the filmmakers took it to heart in crafting this film because there isn't much of a plot. We meet a writer living his life and he lives it some more and by the end of the film he's still living his life the same way he had at the beginning. Not much of a plot but instead a slice of life. Matt Dillon plays a writer living in a seedy part of a small mid-west city. He hasn't earned a dime from his writing but he keeps at it just as he keeps at drinking, smoking, losing jobs as quickly as he gets them and screwing women. Everything he owns seems to fit easily into a black carry-on bag. When he's kicked out of his ...

Thursday, May 14, 2009 Home Alone 2. Feature film. (1992, 120 mins) IMDB ... sequels never live up to the first--here's an example ... D umb for the holiday. Dumb for the masses. A predictable sequel with a great number of slow, boring sequences. The best sequence happens when the little bugger lures the two criminals into a brownstone under renovation. He's set all sorts of traps and the result is pratfalls and sight gags that are amusing. That was the movie for me--one reel. The rest is entirely forgettable and lame. Consider this scene. The little bugger is in Central Park where he becomes friendly with the pigeon lady. She appears to be an ogre and doesn't talk to anyone. He manages to get her to talk, to open up and explain her heart was broken and she doesn't want to go through that again. We then get to hear him give her life advice which she buys into it without hesitation. Please. How pathetic. How simplistic. How terrible. If...

Thursday, May 14, 2009 ... another day of relief ... A fter going through what I did on Monday and Tuesday, it was a great relief to be able to get on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and not have trouble breathing and hence be able to complete the workout and feel good about it when it was over. I hate allergies and don't understand how I got them as an adult but never had a problem with them when I was young. Posted 2009/05/14 at 19h56ET in Exercise.

Thursday, May 14, 2009 Bedtime Stories. Feature film. (2008, 99 mins) IMDB ... a tame comedy that results in few laughs ... T here's the young Adam Sandler as a boy living with his sister in a small hotel in LA. His father owns and operates it. Sandler helps out. The dream of father and son is for the son to take over some day except there's a problem. The father isn't a very good manager and the place isn't making enough money. Enter the villain to buy it off him. The villain being a Mr. Hilton type who is able to turn lead into gold. Fast forward twenty years or so. The hotel is a large, thriving business, but for Sandler, instead of owning it or even managing it, he's the custodian who repairs broken dishwashers and replaces burnt-out light bulbs. The promise by the villain to put him in charge was either forgotten or ignored. Enter his estranged sister. She's a health freak with two young children. The father left a long time ag...

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 ... relief at last ... M y workouts on Monday and Tuesday were two of the worst, toughest ones I've ever had. I've been fighting allergies with all the usual symptoms plus difficulty breathing. It made it extremely difficult to workout and perhaps I shouldn't have. Today things turned around and was back to normal. No troubles breathing and hence it didn't limit my ability to exercise. A full weights workout. Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Inclined Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 3 sets Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 6 sets with 2KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls: 9kg x 15 reps x 6 sets Tricep Presses on bench: 14kg x 25 reps x 3 sets. Leg Lunges: 10 reps x 6 sets - Left/Right Squats: 10 reps x 6 sets. Posted 2009/05/13 at 19h54ET in Exercise.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Constantine. Feature film. (2005, 121 mins) IMDB ... the fantasy world of hell ... F rom what I've read, I may have been one of the few people who enjoyed this movie. It happens. What's even more surprising is the fact the film deals with the supernatural, with fantasy, and I was able to suspend my disbelief and follow what was being told. The film is after all a fantasy. There is no heaven and there is no hell. We see hell in this film plus the devil and his son. We see angels (or are they fallen angels), but not heaven. Then there is something called half-breads. They seem to be humans who are possessed with an evil spirit of sorts. I can't explain it beyond that. Then there is John Constantine (Reeves). As a boy something happened to him and he realized he possessed a special power--the power to see hell and hell on earth or these forces that come from hell. He also tried to commit suicide but he survived and lives wi...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 ... one of the toughest workouts ... I 've been battling allergies. The symptoms include difficulty breathing and it greatly affected my exercise today just as it had yesterday. It was a cardio day and I planned to do 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and that's what I did, but it was tough. My breathing was laboured. I had to slow my pace and on several times I thought about stopping but kept going. I'm not sure if I did the right thing, but I'd probably have to pass out to stop. There moments when I thought that might happen. If that wasn't enough, I did stomach crunches and bicep curls afterwards. Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 6 sets with 2KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls on Swiss Ball: 9kg x 15 reps x 6 sets I decided to increase the weight for the bicep curls because 7kg seemed too easy but as I always do I lower the reps until I get used to the increased weight. It's my way of avoiding injury. ...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Slumdog Millionaire. Feature film. (2008, 120 mins) IMDB ... tough to critique after all the hype ... E arlier this year, before the Oscar announcements, someone I know at the gym asked me if I had seen SLUMDOG. "No," was my reply. "What are you waiting for?" "When it comes out on DVD." "Oh, man. You've got to see it now." This dance of questions and answers continued day after day and I started to call him slumdog. If he wasn't from Mumbai he wouldn't have bothered to ask me and boast about it. It got worse when the Oscars happened and the film picked up a bunch of awards. I didn't watch the show so I'm not sure what it won, but I think it was the top-dog, not slumdog. In other years, the producers and distributors would have used the Oscar buzz to put butt into seats at theatres. That's what they want, but this year they took a different course. While it was still in...

Monday, May 11, 2009 ... almost a full weights workout ... T oday was one of the toughest workouts I've had and I realized a few things. I realized I was having trouble breathing because of allergies. The kind of trouble where it's difficult to breathe which means I'm not getting enough oxygen. A lack of oxygen means I feel lethargic and my body doesn't heal as quickly after workouts. That explains why I've been the way I've felt the past few days. Then today, it was a struggle to do the workouts. I probably shouldn't even has tried. My breathing was laboured. I took longer rests between sets just to suck air. Normally I'd do three rotations, but cut it to two. I'm amazed I got through two. Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 2 sets Inclined Bench Press: 11kg x 25 reps x 2 sets Stomach Crunches on Swiss Ball: 30 reps x 4 sets with 2KG medicine ball. Bicep Curls: 7kg x 25 reps x 4 sets Tricep Presses on bench: 14kg x 25 reps x 2...

Monday, May 11, 2009 Bottle Shock. Feature film. (2008, 110 mins) IMDB ... a year of change ... T here was a time when Californian wines were considered worthless. Swill to be drunk by the masses not enjoyed by connoisseurs. That changed in 1976 and the world hasn't been the same since. The film follows the life of a bunch of characters on the Chateau Montelena vineyard in Napa and their pursuit to make the best wine possible. It also follows a Englishman who runs a wine shop in Paris. He visits Napa to collect wine for a blind tasting in France. To everyone's surprise, the Californian wines placed first. The rest is history. When the film was over, I discovered this was a biographical film. I found the film mildly interesting. The most interesting performance is Alan Rickman's. He speaks in a way that always demands attention except when he speaks French. It was painful to hear him speak in French. Otherwise the film is mostly melodramatic...

Monday, May 11, 2009 Rambo. Feature film. (2008, 92 mins) IMDB ... action films won't die, or John Rambo ... I was surprised to see Stallone directed this film and surprised even further how effective it was. RAMBO is another action film, but there's a level of visuals and direction that hasn't been seen before (at least by me). The film works on this principle: create some nasty baddies, so bad we want to see them harmed and stopped. With that in place, enter our hero to make it happen and smile as it happens. Pump a fist into the air in triumph. If you feel those moments, you'll probably like the film. I felt those moments in this film. I can remember watching the film in the theatre that started it all way back when. FIRST BLOOD, based on a novel by David Morrell (we went to the same high school but at different times), changed the lexicon of the public. The word Rambo had meaning. That film was a big hit and I can remember details from wa...

Monday, May 11, 2009 Sleeping Dogs Lie. Feature film. (2006, 97 mins) IMDB ... it's hard to believe this film was made ... C rude. Gross. A young woman wonders if she should tell her fiancée the whole truth about her past. When in university, she, I can't believe this is part of a film, blew her dog. I thought I heard wrong. Nope. This past event plays the central role of the film and the central theme. Should you be totally honest with your lover? Yes or no. The film shows the not surprising negative aspects of her telling him. It tears the relationship apart. To complicate matters, he's not the only one to find out. I like the theme: how honest should you be with your lover, but this test of the case goes too far and doesn't make the film a romantic comedy. Far from romantic and with crude humour. The camera shots and look felt like a cheap porn film. Was it shot with video instead of film? It looks cheap. Having said that, there w...

Sunday, May 10, 2009 ... A day off ... I t wasn't planned this way, but it seemed like right thing to do. I felt soreness in my knees today. I haven't felt that in several months, but it happens more frequently. It's an age thing I suspect. Plus my thigh and gluts felt stiff and store. It's because I was doing leg squats and leg lunges on Friday and haven't been doing them frequently. So the prescription? Take the day off and rest my body. Not a bad idea. Posted 2009/05/10 at 21h17ET in Exercise.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 The Breakfast Club. Feature film. (1985, 97 mins) IMDB ... I'm not sure why, but this film has a cult following, but not by me ... I suppose if I had been born a few years later I would have been in high school when this film came out and might have known about it, but even then that's not entirely likely. It came out when I was in university. I can't say I remember many films from that time. My mind was focused on other things. Why do I mention this? Because this film is probably best viewed by kids, not adults. I said I wouldn't watch another film based on high school students. Somehow I thought this film would be different or more likely I forgot my rule. The film is straightforward. Five students arrive at school on a Saturday for a day-long detention session (I never heard of such a thing.) There's the five students, a teacher, a janitor and, briefly, parents for the kids. The film could be a play with such a ...

Saturday, May 9, 2009 ... I got in my swim ... I made it to the gym for my swim. A typical workout for Saturday. In the pool for 30 minutes and 30 laps. That's what I wanted. Posted 2009/05/09 at 21h12ET in Exercise.

Saturday, May 9, 2009 Wife vs. Secretary. Feature film. (1936, 88 mins) IMDB ... not as good as I expected ... C lark Gable plays a successful businessman in NYC. He's a bon-vivant. What's not to like. Mryna Loy is his fun loving wife. The two have the perfect marriage. Then there's Jean Harlow. The sexpod and his secretary. The film is a play on these relationships. Because Harlow is hot, people assume he's having an affair with her. Her wife doesn't suspect anything until others point it out. The thing is, he isn't having a relationship with her. He's a loving husband and a hardworking businessman. It just happens his desire to buy a business from another businessman puts him into overtime. It means his secretary is working overtime. Hence the misunderstanding. While Harlow is a sexpod, in the film, she's a diligent, hardworking secretary. She doesn't think about sex with our hero and he doesn't think about...

Saturday, May 9, 2009 Miami Vice. Feature film. (2007, 140 mins) IMDB ... a terrible movie despite the budget and talent ... D uring the 5th minute I thought of shutting the DVD player off and say: "Forget this movie". That doesn't happen often and I probably should have. The opening credits are so small with such poor contrast as to be unreadable. Is that what they wanted? Why bother putting up credits if no one can read them? How stupid. The opening sequence is a bunch of big, fast boats racing across the water. It's meaningless and boring because it's done without any context. Who's in the boats? Why? We don't know so we don't care. It gets worse. Shift to a packed nightclub with that pounding music and flashing lights. Who enjoys that type of scene? I hate those types of scenes, yet they persist. This is followed by a meet and great. Drug sellers and drug buyers. The buyers are accused of being informants. Out ...