./janella.com

dvds are cool aren’t they? it’s almost difficult remember a time without dvds. the things i love about dvds are:

• the crisp picture and sound (compared to vhs)
• the commentary tracks (hopefully insightful)
• the deleted scenes
• the director's cut

but does a director’s cut make a better movie?

can a director’s cut of a bad movie make it better?

these questions have been posed in newsgroups and on websites with vehement responses by purists and idiots alike.

my current rant on this is based on two upcoming dvds/films: [underworld] and [exorcist: the beginning] the latter has yet to be released theatrically ( i’ll get into that in bit).

when i saw underworld i though, eh ok vampire/werewolve movie. but the review on the link provided made it seem like a whole new more full movie experience then the previous version. boy, do i feel ripped off. it’s a different feeling then say the lord of the rings triology where you knew longer versions existed. i just wonder why a movie studio would hesitate to put a better version of a movie out there for public consumption.

as for the exorcist: the beginning [paul schrader] originally directed a version of this movie that might/might not see the light of day. the movie studio (so i hear) thinks schrader’s version is too thriller-type scary. i’m sure renny’s version is more in-your-face-it’s-so-obvious scary. man, what if that is a better movie. i mean, he is a better writer (taxi driver, affliction) and director (affliction, auto focus) than renny harlin (die hard 2, cutthroat island). i’ve heard they might release both versions on dvd. i hope so.

dave and i had lunch today at the new [hooters] in dublin. dave had never been to hooters before, and i hadn’t been to one in over 15 years. when the one in the city opened up they guys at my last work wanted to organize a trip to go there for our “every-so-often-dinner” get togethers. i don’t know what they heard the place is like but whatever they heard it didn’t meet up to their expectations.

in any event, today’s lunch was ok. i’ve never been to dublin which seems to be similar to any other east bay city. hooters itself hasn’t change from what i remember. girls in skin tight outfits, food that is decent but not outstanding and more guy patrons then women. worth the trip? eh???

i gotta tell you, i’m really impressed with this wordpress program. i was able to setup this new weblog, import all the data from movabletype, and start posted within half an hour! i was amazing when compared to all the install trouble i went with movabletype. i’m going to test for a few more days, but the way it looks now i just might be a wordpress convert!

rating: **** out of 5

quick shot: continuing the revenge story of the bride from kill bill volume i.

what i liked about the film: slightly different tone from the first movie.  i like the dialog an interaction between bill and the bride towards the end of the movie.

what i didn’t like: the audience members who didn’t realize movie’s contain dialog.  yeah, this volume is more talk-y then the first but give me a break…it’s tarantino!

rating: ***1/2 out of 5

quick shot: smartly written tina fey comedy.  a cut above your average teenager movie.

what i liked about the movie: the way it treated most kids with some intelligence.  i also liked that the adults weren’t totally oblivious either.  smart script all around.

what i didn’t like: the movie bogged down a third of the way through, though it picked up in the end.

rating: *** out of 5

quick shot: men at sea battling a faceless (for most of the movie) enemy, and amongst themselves. you can feel the isolation at sea, and the camaraderie the crew feels. russell crowe leads by example and charisma.

what i liked about the movie: the chemistry between crowe, bettany (who plays the ship’s doctor) and crew was very good. the chase and battle scenes were excellent.

what i didn’t like: the movie felt a little lengthy. i think it could have lost about 15 to 20 minutes and still been effective.

rating: **1/2 out of 5

quick shot: jack and diane try to find love at there age!  overall good story of may-december romance and how it works for both genders.  the writing is good, though gives up in the last ten minutes of the film.

what i liked about the movie: jack and diane have good chemistry in the film.  i like the fact that they bared more than their emotions in the film.

what i didn’t like: keanu is as wooden as ever.  again, the ending is predictable but satisfying i suppose.

rating: **** out of 5

quick shot: a tale of bloody revenge tarantino style.  loved the bloody brutality mixed in with the animation and poppin' tarantino dialog.

what i liked about the movie: the bloody mess.  the fight scene with the cray 88’s was cool.

what i didn’t like: that i didn’t see this movie in the theater.  thank g. for dvd, but still would have been nice to see it on the screen.

just got back from yosemite, where farrah and i spent about three days. i’ll have a few pictures to post from the digital camera later this week. we only took a few film pictures for some reason.

john or lotte, you gotta translate this!

i want to thank everyone for a great birthday weekend! it will be one i will never forget.

the weekend started early with dinner with doug at our old weekly hangout, satsuma’s. it felt like old times sitting, eating, drinking, and talking about everything and anything.

on friday, lotte, john, fina and farrah took me to king of siam for some great thai food. the atmosphere was pretty lively for downtown san jose, and the food was excellent as always. oh, and the tiramisu they brought for my birthday cake was to die for.

saturday morning, farrah and i drove up to have breakfast with tessie. she was in town on a business trip. it was really good to see her and spend time with her, walking to chinatown and such. i wish we could have spent more than the three hours we had together. it was good to see you tess.

saturday night found farrah’s parents, my mom, farrah and i at the fishmarket in santa clara. again, great food, good beer, and good dessert in chocolate covered strawberries.

sunday night the trabers came over and took farrah and i out to chevy’s. i had a nice mohito margarita, with farrah having a cantaloupe margarita. overstuffed with fajitas, but not before having some chocolate mint (i think it was) cake from gale’s.

last but not least, dave took me out to stacks for breakfast on monday. and get this, we were served by cops at the restaurant who were doing their part for the special olympics [please see the south park episode 803]

just picked up the playstation 2 game [james bond 007: everything or nothing] it’s a pretty nifty third person game that has you shooting, driving, flying and firing at enemies all over the place. it has the voices of heidi klum, mya, shannon elizabeth, and of course pierce brosnan among others, so it feels like being in a bond movie.

yeah, i know, i was supposed to start playing final fantasy x-2. i’ll get around to it.

some new photos have been added to the photos pages [of all places]! click the above images for a preview or go straight to the photos page to look at more.

celebrating birthdays for

• kayla
• mom
• rex
• john

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