My Year in Review Plus More or Less List

A belated Happy New Year to all!  Welcome to Twenty-Ten! This is the proper way to say it, right?

Again, I blame the Winter Break for not doing this post earlier.  But here I am, a little late to the party, trying to summarize blog postings and happenings from the last year:

  • Kayla started playing volleyball.  This prompted my sister to get into DSLR photography. She is doing great taking photos, and using the plenty of tips on photography from family and friends.
  • This past Christmas Eve we did our first Skype call with my sister and her family in Nebraska. I think it surprised my mom, who was happy to see them on screen even though she had just seen them in person less than a month earlier. Ah, technology.
  • Two new additions to the extended family this past year: Kaleb and Kaelin.
  • We did a few concerts this year: Paolo Nutini, Dane Cook, Rex Navarette, and Tori Amos.  Farrah also saw No Doubt at Shoreline.
  • We saw the King Tut exhibit and went to the California Academy of Sciences.  I didn’t blog about King Tut, but will probably do so in March.
  • We bought our first LCD TV and took the dive into blu-ray.
  • We, and everyone else bought the iPhone 3GS. It’s been a very good phone for us.
  • Once again, the state of this blog has fluctuated this year.  The blog has bounced from WordPress to WordPress.com to Tumblr to WordPress again. I also pointed the domain (Janella.com) directly to my Smugmug account to start a new site alex-is.com. And once again, with my manic web life, I’ve decided to shut down alex-is.com and blog back at Janella.com. Confusing, huh?  Even though everyone seems to be on Facebook, I believe I will continue to blog here. I want to avoid getting stuck in a walled garden.
  • My uncle passed away last year.  It was tough to take, even though I hadn’t seen him in so long.

Ok, now onto my New Year’s resolution list.  I know, you really don’t need to wait until a new year begins to make a list of goals. You should be able to do this any day of the week. But I suppose New Year’s Day is an apt occasion to think about what you’d like to change. Wait? Wasn’t New Year’s Day about a week ago?  Yes, it was, and I’ve listed “less procrastinating” as one of my goals.

I present here, in this blog post, my “More or Less List.” Should be a straightforward read.

In the coming year, I would like to do more:

  • Reading: I do plenty of online reading. I’d like to read more books. I started two books last year, American Gods and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I got halfway through both books. I need to finish those first, then find other books of interest.
  • Writing: I’ve been trying to write an hour a day, write like a stream of consciousness. I’d like to continue this. I’m hoping this leads to better blog entries or at least more interesting entries.
  • Taking photos: As I’ve said in a previous post, I’d like to take more pictures and to be more creative.  My understand lighting and depth-of-field seem to be growing more, but I don’t think about it often on-the-fly. Also, following some of these resolutions would be good.
  • Watching movies: There was a time when I would devour movies.  But my ability to sit through a film waned a few years ago.  I’ve been able to watch a few movies the last several months.  I hope to continue the trend.
  • Exercising: I took a month or so off for the holidays.  I need to desperately jump back on this horse.
  • Cooking:  I need to bust out the pots and pans more this year.

I probably should do less of the following:

  • Dining out: Too many restaurants too often. But it does help with my Yelp reviews. I should be cooking more though.
  • Playing video games: I’ve already conquered the world (Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution), won 15 Super Bowls (Madden 10), beat Arsenal to a pulp (FIFA 10), and saved the world – for the time being (Call fo Duty: Modern Warfare 2). Time to cut down the hours on the PS3.
  • Giving in to treats: I need to eat less chocolate, drink less soda, and cut down on my Starbucks Mocha consumption. Of course, if we receive a care package with chocolate in it, well, I’ll probably breakdown. I’ve been successful in cutting down on the mochas, so far.
  • Spend less time on Facebook, Tumblr, etc.: I’m thinking of just logging in once a week instead of the multiple times a day, onto these networks.  Just a thought.
  • Procrastinating: Yes, I just need to get things done!

How did I do compared to last year’s list? Considering that I have many repeats on this list, it seems I didn’t do well.   I probably should assess how I’m doing by the middle of the year.

Go Free When Possible

Rethinking

I am rethinking this new blog thing. Yes, it only took me two months to start rethinking this endeavor. What started me thinking was Nick Cernis’ well written post called “Rise of the Tablog”. I discovered this via Merlin Mann on Tubmlr. It got me rethinking why I blog.

The answer is the same: I enjoy writing – when I can. I want to put my thoughts down on a variety of subjects. I never enjoyed using pen and paper because my penmanship is horrible. My tool of choice has either been a typewriter or a computer. Sure, I don’t necessarily need to publish what I write on a blog, but I enjoy it. It’s something I’ve been doing since 1999. Plus I find putting what I write on a blog more liberating, even now more so since I don’t have commenting enabled. If someone reads it, then great. If not, then so be it.

When I started this new blog, I had hoped to write more. I set a low goal of 500 words on any subject, with the hopes of posting once a week. I’ve done ok, posting almost every Thursday. But I really had hoped that I would write more often then I have. I’m sure it will come with more thought, time and effort.

Cost per Post

Since I don’t write often (yet), it is difficult to continually justify having this blog on a web hosting service. There are many reasons why I wanted to use a web hosting service instead of WordPress.com or Tumblr. One reason is having full control of not just my content but the whole website. I have been using Laughing Squid as the web host. I’ve always wanted to try their service and it has been great. I also like that they are local to me. But in this economy even their least expensive plan of $8 a month is difficult to justify for four blog posts a month. After all, I could use that $8 for two Venti Mochas, which can fuel my brain for the day.

Where and Why

And so I have moved the content I generated over to this Tumblr account. Why Tumblr and not WordPress.com?

As part of this rethinking process, I also wanted to decide where would be the best home for what I wanted to do now. It would seem WordPress.com would be a natural choice since I use the WordPress CMS for the hosted website. But when I’m on WordPress.com I realize how much “I can’t do” as far as customization or other tweaks that I can do with a hosted version of WordPress. This annoys me. I’m comfortable with what Tumblr can provide. Clean and simple. But the ‘Tumblarity’ score really bothers me. I need to not pay attention to that sidebar. I’ll hopefully get past this annoyance.

So right now I have two active Tumblr accounts. One is used for reblogged content, the other is for content I (hopefully) actually create. I can envision these merging (Why have two separate accounts?). But at this point, reblogging is an effortless task I prefer to keep separate. I would really like to have an account where I can post a long rant on a subject and not have it seem out of place with the rest of the posts. At this point, it makes sense to me to have two separate accounts for this.

Paolo Nutini at the Fox Theater in Oakland

This past weekend, we attended our first concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland. The theater opened earlier this year. It’s located down the street from The Paramount, a theater we have been too often. There is no dedicated parking for the show, but there are several parking lots listed on their website. We easily parked in a lot just down the street.

We passed by The Den at the Fox, a lounge connected to the theater. They offer drinks and some food, but we didn’t have time to look into there. When we entered the theater, an usher promptly greeted us. Our tickets were for loge seating. But the usher told us we could also access the standing general admissions area on the floor. If we had a Visa Signature card, we could be seated in the limited seating area on the first floor. We opted to take our seats in the lodge. The lodge seating is unusual. The seats are grouped in pairs, with ample space between the next coupled seats. We were in the first row of the lodge, our view partially blocked by the railing, but still a decent view of the performers. The layout of the Fox is very similar to the Warfield in San Francisco, but the Fox is quite larger.

We were seated during the middle of the opening act, Anya Marina. She was roaring through her set, rocking with her electric guitar. She was very crowd friendly, talking and often interacting with the crowd between songs. At one point she asked if the crowd was an “all ages” crowd because she wanted to explain the origin of a song she wrote. The actual meaning of the song could only be described with profanity, which she chose not to utter. Later in her performance, she noticed a Brazilian flag in the standing audience. She asked the pair of Brazilian girls who were holding the flag if it’s true they like anal sex – meaning if Brazilian girls do. (I guess she never got the answer to the “all ages” question.) One of the most interesting songs she did was a cover of T.I.’s “You Can Have Whatever You Like”.

Paolo Nutini came out next. His set was a good mixture of songs from his first album, These Streets, and his latest album, Sunny Side Up. We were very familiar with songs from These Streets and were happy to hear them live. We haven’t listened to his latest album, so they rang as new to our ears and were harder to get into. But Paolo performs with such enthusiasm and passion. It would be difficult not to enjoy his performance.

The big letdown at the Fox was the sound. I don’t have golden ears, and rarely notice bad sound at a concert, but from where we were sitting the vocals sounded muddled for both performers. At times it is hard to make out any lyrics at all, let alone the blend of instruments. I’m not sure if the sound sitting the center lodge or on the floor would be better. I’ll need to go to another concert to find that out.

Overall it was a good first-time experience at the Fox. It looks as if several performances are coming up that we’d be interested in attending.

My Ratings Scale Revisited

A few months back I decided to change the way I rate movies reviews. Previously I used the old standard of assigning a letter grade to a movie. I then moved to a liked it slash didn’t like it scale. I didn’t find much flexibility in that rating system. Now, I’m moving real world scale I use when asked about a movie. The scale, which I am sure is used elsewhere, is based on how much you are will to pay to see a movie. The scale is as follows:

  • Full Admission – Willing to pay for a full price theater ticket, especially on a crowded Friday night.
  • Matinee – Must see the movie in a theater, but do it as cheap as possible.
  • Rental (DVD, Blu-ray, whatever media you choose) – See it right when it hits the retail market.
  • Cable TV – You can wait until it shows up on cable to watch.

I’m sure there are other ratings that can be placed in there (e.g. cheap theaters, broadcast television) but I don’t find those ideal situations to watch most movies. Plus I don’t have a cheap theater near me and broadcast television has too many commercials to suffer through. Here are a few samples of movies I’ve reviewed and how I would rate them on this new scale:

  • Full Admission – 300, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Juno
  • Matinee – Quantum of Solace, Grand Torino, Knocked Up
  • Rental – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Transformers
  • Cable TV – Nights in Rodanthe, Spider-Man 3

Let’s see how this scale works for me.

My Short Review of iPhone 3GS

I’ve had the iPhone 3GS for over a week. Here are a few thoughts on how I feel about the phone.

Background

I bought the iPhone 2G back in September 2007, just after the price drop was announced. I was on Verizon, a carrier I much enjoyed being on. But the last phone I had Verizon was an LG Chocolate, a phone that didn’t live up to expectations. I was hoping it would turn out to be a good music playing phone because I was tired of lugging my iPod and phone around in my pocket. All it ended up being was a frustrating piece of equipment.

I figured a smartphone would be a good choice, but Blackberry phones seemed a bit too much.  The only other phone Verizon offered was the Motorola Q. A friend of mine had the Motorola Q. All she could say is it would crash often, even while on a call. Nice.

Now, I count myself as one of those people who are part of the halo effect. I received an iPod as a gift in 2005. Later that year I bought a 12” PowerBook. After few more iPod upgrades I bought an iMac.  Why not an iPhone?Initially I balked at the price.  It was way too much for a phone.  But when it dropped a couple of hundred dollars, well, I got the go ahead to get it.

My Thoughts on the iPhone 3GS

I was able to use the phone out of the box as it was fully charged.  Compared to the 2G, the phone feels smaller and lighter. The infamous oleophobic polymer screen adds to the experience.  Your finger seems to glide across the screen.

The recent OS upgrade to 3.0 has made the phone even better.  I don’t think I’ve ever owned a phone where the upgrades have made the phone more useful.  Sure, some of the features were available on other phones long ago (e.g. voice commands), but they are now on the iPhone and they are even more useful.  For example, the voice commands can control the music player.

It’s nice to have GPS, and coupled with the compass and Google Maps, for me it’s a killer combination.  I was able to use this in San Francisco this past weekend.  It helped me navigate around the city when I was unsure how to get to several places.  I can’t wait for easier turn-by-turn, such as that to be offered by TomTom.

Video on the iPhone 3GS is fair, better in bright light then in dim.  But it’s pretty neat when you can edit video on the phone and upload it right to YouTube.  They should add direct upload to other services, such as Flickr.

Battery life is good.  I average about a day-and-a-half.  The battery meter is now includes a percentage measurement.  I use the iPhone mostly like this:

  • 40% iPod
  • 30% web surfing (including accessing apps such as Facebook, Yelp, etc.)
  • 20% checking and reading email
  • 5% taking photos or video
  • 5% GPS and maps

My only negatives about the iPhone is with AT&T.  Do I regret the move to AT&T? No, not really.  Coverage is decent where I am at.  Oh, yeah, a few calls are dropped in some areas, but for the most part it’s good.  The only complaint I have about AT&T is the apparent charge for everything under the sun (e.g. text messages, data plan). But it’s part of the package, so it’s part of the pain to put up with.  The data plan for 3G and 3GS is $30. If you want 200 text messages it’s another $5.

Overall, I am happy to still be using an iPhone.

(Considering an iPhone?  You may want to read the Techcrunch article The iPhone 3GS: Should You Get It? It’s a good read.)

My Short Review of Taken

You don’t know what I’m capable of.

Liam Neeson does his best Jason Bourne in this action movie. Neeson is an ex-Preventer who must now use his skills to save his daughter. The movie moves along at a good clip. The violence can get intense at time, but the payoff works.

Rating: Matinee

Half A World Away

The last time I saw my uncle was thirty-three years ago when I went to the Philippines. It was the first and only time I had been to the homeland of my parents. I was young and bratty, traveling without my sisters for the first and only time. I’m not sure why my parents took me, but I went willingly.

At that age, I had two concerns going to the Philippines, (1) the lack of a tv, and (2) the lack of food I was accustomed to eating. I was a child comfortably familiar with fast food, enjoying McDonald’s and KFC more than any Filipino dishes.

To be even more honest, I was afraid that any meat I would eat on this trip would be a dog. I bought into this notion for some reason. Perhaps it was my sisters who sold me on the possibility, I’m not exactly sure, but it was ever present in my thoughts around meal time. I was still young enough to scream and cry if I didn’t get my way. But while in the Philippines I would often not get my way because I just couldn’t. For those occasions, I just did not eat.

But one day my Uncle David gave in. He had two dogs when I first met them. From what I recall the dogs were friendly and full grown. He traded his dogs to another person for chickens, chickens for me to eat. I thanked him, at my mom’s prompting, not fully grateful for his kind gesture. Only days later did it really sink in what he did for me.

I gravitated to my uncle as the days passed. He was the only other person I could talk to since he spoke English, the others talking very little. He would translate for me and talk to me about anything and everything. We spent as much time as we could knowing the days would pass by quickly.

My uncle was always there for me during our time in the Philippines. One day I was a complete idiot and hurt myself while hanging out with the cool adults. I managed to get my foot caught in the back spokes of a motorcycle as it was being pushed forward. He picked me in his arms and rushed me to the local hospital.

He did so much more for me now that I think about it, and I wish I could recall more, but the memories are fading.

I do remember the last day I saw him, the day we left. I hugged him and cried, not wanting to leave him behind. I told him I would write him every day when I got back home. He said, “Of course, you will, but you will forget in time to write.” He was right.

I wrote for the first several months when we got back. The months then turned to a letter once a year. Then it turned to no letters at all. When he would call my mom, and I would answer the phone, there was no longer a sense of connection when we talked. We had grown apart, time and distance creating a wedge I believe he know would exist.

Now he is gone, at rest. But he lived a full life, and I had a brief moment to remember him. I might have never met him if I didn’t go on that trip thirty-three years ago.

And So It Begins Anew

I blame the economy.

The web hosting account for janella.com has come up for renewal. Dotable, where the site is hosted, has been a great web host this past year. Their pricing and support have been great. I have nothing bad to say about their company or service. But money is money.

Granted it only cost “x” amount of dollars a year for the account. But “x,” when factored with “y” and “z,” makes hosting a web site an extra expense I can do without. I must consider alternatives to web hosting.

There are many free platforms to blog out there – WordPress.com, Vox, LiveJournal, MySpace, Facebook, etc. The logical choice would be to go with WordPress.com. I know WordPress well, as my blog ran on WordPress. But I love how Tumblr works. Tumblr is drop dead simple.

Yes, I’ll need to deal with the fears I’ve mentioned in my old blog postings: lack of control of data and loss of data. But I’ll learn to deal with it. I trust in Tumblr. (Now don’t let me down.)

And so it begins anew…here on Tumblr.

Last-minute Las Vegas

Two Sundays ago I received an unexpected phone call from old friends who were traveling to Las Vegas for a vacation they had planned over a year ago. They asked if I could meet them there. It was fairly short notice, but I asked Farrah if I could go to Vegas because I hadn’t seen these friends in over 20 years.  After working out the financial details – after all, have you seen the airfare prices! – I booked a flight on Southwest Airlines, got a hotel room, and made my way out to Las Vegas last Friday.

James (Bubba) and Lisa, my friends from Air Force days long ago, picked me up at McCarran airport.  When Bubba stepped out of their brand new Dodge truck, he didn’t seem to have changed much.  Oh yeah, there were few wrinkles on his face, covered by a scruffy beard that we wouldn’t be allowed to have in the service, but he was the same old Bubba.  I gave him a big hug, then went around the driver’s side to get into the truck.  I greet Lisa, who was driving, with a warm hand to the shoulder as we drove away from the airport.

We first talk about the weather in Vegas – it was about 98 degrees at 10 PM! – and about my flight.  We take care of the things I needed to get done – check into the hotel, dump my stuff in the room, grab a bite to eat – then we head to hit the slots (them) and blackjack (me).

Of course, we talk about the past, about people’s names we can, at times, barely recall.  We talk about things we’ve done together back-in-the-day, the shared memories or how we remember them. We speak of the 20 plus years apart, and the people in our lives now, about family and friends on each side who are unfamiliar to each another.  We convey to each other our individual triumphs and hardships we’ve endured, the journey and battle scars that life inflicted upon us up to this point in time. We spend the next three days sharing all of these memories.

It’s difficult to predict how often we will be in contact with each other after leaving Las Vegas.  We left each other with big hugs and the promise of staying in touch, and I know we’ll try our best to do so. But I recall making such a commitment to my Uncle David in the Philippines when I was eight years old.  I promised I would write.  He said, “You’ll forget me.  You’ll forget to write.  But that’s OK, for we will remember each other until the day we die.  This is just how it is.”

I wrote to him briefly, but I grew up and, as he predicted, forgot to write.  Who knows, with email and the Internet this may change with Bubba and Lisa.  And as they read this, as I hope they read this, I’m sure they are saying, “You’re damn right we’re keeping in touch.”

Will You Upgrade?

Are you going to get the iPhone 2.0?

I have been asked that several times the past few days.  As Friday fast approaches the answer is still the same, no I won’t be upgrading.

My three reasons why I won’t be upgrading:

  1. I don’t want to pay AT&T the $18 for the privilege of changing phones.
  2. The fact that the data plan cost slightly more, though understandably with the 3G speed and GPS included.
  3. The fact that you have to pay so much extra for text messages, which I have been doing more of since getting the iPhone.

The iPhone App Store will still work with my current iPhone when it goes online.  The only applications I won’t be able to take advantage of – that I can foresee – are those using GPS.  I haven’t really played with GPS enough to say I need it.  Goggle Maps have worked very well for my current purposes.

A year from now when my AT&T plan is up I will consider whatever version of the iPhone is available.  I think I’ll consider upgrading then.

New York City Recap

Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal

It has been a week since we came back from our trip to New York City. I thought about writing a day-by-day account of our adventures in The Big Apple, but I think the Twitter postings during our trip suffice.

What I will do is point out some highs, and a few lows, on the trip.

Getting Around

Best Experience: Virgin America and walking.  As expected, Virgin America provided an enjoyable airline experience.  The plane is new, comfortable, and you have slight leg room.  You get as many free drinks as you want, but no free food.

You are going to walk if you are in New York City.  You’d be surprised how far your feet can carry you in the city.  So bring a good pair of shoes, and prepare for a few blisters.

That's one big M&M
That’s one big M&M

Fine Experience: The Subway.  Not as clean and easy to navigate at The Tube, but once we figured out where we wanted to go, the Subway was the best method to get there.

OK Experience: Taxicabs. The only time we took a cab was from JFK to Manhattan and back.  It was a $60 investment each way (including toll and tip).  Nice to know the cost upfront, but it seems a bit steep.  I’m not sure how much it would be if it were not a flat rate (of $45).

Eating

BestGray’s Papaya.  An amazing birthday dinner experience to have two dogs with onions and drink, only for $3.50!  Also, Katz’s Delicatessen provided an amazing dining experience. If you want a corned beef or pastrami sandwich, you better stop by Katz’s in the Lower East Side.

Katz!!! Yum!!!
Katz!!! Yum!!!

FineThe Red Flame. A decent place to grab a quick breakfast.  It was convenient, located just down the street from our hotel.  They get you in and out as fast as possible.  Cafe Habana is a very crowded place in Little Italy.  Try the Cuban sandwich and the corn.  Yum.

BadMaxie’s Delicatessen.  Overpriced awful food.  Also, how can you not make a good cup of coffee?

The Sights

It's the Brooklyn Bridge!
It’s the Brooklyn Bridge!

Best:  There are so many things to see in New York City.  What still stands out in my mind are the Brooklyn Bridge, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Grand Central Terminal.  I love Grand Central Terminal.  The first time seeing it, and having breakfast downstairs on a subsequent morning, will not leave my memory any time soon.  Times Square is amazing, the first time you experience it, both day and night.

Walking down the spiral staircase at the Apple Store. Walking down the spiral staircase at the Apple Store.

Fine: Top of the Rock, the NBC Studio tour, the Apple Store on 5th Avenue, and SoHo in general.

From the Top of the Rock
From the Top of the Rock

Bad: The third time going through Times Square.  All the people just started getting on my nerves.

Other Things to Note

We also saw Young Frankenstein, our first Broadway play.  The play was funny and entertaining even though Megan Mullally wasn’t performing that evening.

The Sofitel was the hotel we stayed at in Manhattan.  Very nice hotel, with a pleasant room and splendid staff. If we were to go back to New York City and wanted to stay in Midtown again, I would want to stay here again.

Overall, the New York City experience was a great experience.  A big thank you to my beautiful wife for giving me a fantastic birthday present, and memories we can share the rest of our lives.

[Note: For photos of our trip to NYC, please see the Photographs section.]

Taking Off To New York City

We’re getting ready to go to New York City! We’re taking Virgin America as our airline. I’m hoping for as a good flight experience as we had when we took Virgin Atlantic to London last year.

I’ll see if I can blog from NYC on the iPhone. I’m not sure if it will happen. At the least, I’ll provide some updates via Twitter – which will, in turn, appear on the blog.

I know, the weather outlook in NYC looks pretty wet. I’m hoping it’s not. Either way, I won’t let it damper the trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR4dxPISegY

Celebrating March Birthdays

Yesterday, we celebrated Rex and my birthday with a small dinner at Nana’s house. The other birthday boy this month, Big Gordon, is in Nebraska. Of course, he couldn’t make the celebration.

We had an early dinner. I tried to BBQ some steaks, but they didn’t turn out their usual juicy selves. I decided to rely on a meat thermometer while BBQ-ing instead of my instinct. Next time I’m going to rely on my gut feeling.

Cake on Fire
Cake on Fire

Rex received a few gifts, the big surprise being the Wii! Me? I got some water pistol underwear and a lovely shirt. Since my bday is later in the month, I think the other presents will be given closer to that time. At least I hope they will.

Of course the big gift this year is a trip to New York City. The reason I bring this up (again) is that I purchased a new camera for the journey, a Canon G9. I’ll write more about my experiences with the G9 later. In the meantime, head on over to photo gallery to check out pictures of last nights celebration, and a video, taken with the G9.

A Review of Juno

The first movie to be reviewed on the “reloaded” web site is Juno. Farrah and I watched Juno about a week ago at the AMC Cupertino Square 16. This theater is becoming our number one place to watch movies. I suppose because it is new, clean, and doesn’t smell like feet yet.

We had only heard good things about the movie, so expectations were slightly high. The only aspect I wasn’t looking forward to was Jennifer Garner’s acting. We bought our Milk Duds and headed into the theater. We were early enough to have our choice of seats. But the place quickly filled up with eager moviegoers. It had been some time since we watched a movie in a crowded theater.

Here is the brief synopsis provided by Netflix:

Facing an unplanned pregnancy, worldly teen Juno (Ellen Page) devises a plan to locate the proverbial perfect parents to adopt her baby. But the seemingly ideal couple Juno chooses appears to still have some growing up to do. Now, everyone in Juno’s world must do a little soul-searching. Michael Cera (Superbad) co-stars while Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner play the pair of affluent yuppies anxious for a child in this offbeat coming-of-age comedy.

What I Liked

The film is a funny and smartly written. Sharing laughter with a large crowd sure makes the movie experience more enjoyable. Juno is one of those movies that has very quotable dialog. You can find yourself quoting lines often throughout the following weeks. The acting is sharp all around, especially from Ellen Page who plays the lead. Yes, I even liked Jennifer Garner.

The film moves at a brisk pace, clocking in at a fast 92 minutes. The seemingly predictable plot points turned out to be refreshingly unpredictable, at least from my standpoint.

 

A scene from Juno

What I Did Not Enjoy

I can’t think of anything I didn’t enjoy about Juno. I could say it was short, but it didn’t feel too short. I was awaiting an unsatisfying ending; you know the endings where each viewer needs to determine for themselves if the characters found happiness or not? Luckily this did not come to pass.

Some may think the dialog is trying to hard to be memorable, trying hard to be cute and hip. But it works in this movie for both the characters in high school and the adults.

Final Thoughts

Strong movie. Smart script. Strong acting by likable actors. A good way to spend a few hours in a warm theater.

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man is not one of my favorite comic book characters. I’m more of a Batman guy, but I have enjoyed the Spider-Man movies. I thought the second movie in the series was better than the first. So my expectation of this third installment was very high, even after hearing of the lousy reviews.

The Sandman versus Spidey

As I always start my reviews, here is the Netflix synopsis of Spider-Man 3:

After defeating eight-armed cyborg Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) faces off against a new crop of villains, including the shape-shifting Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), in the third adventure of the comic book series. While Spidey’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) and gets caught up in a love triangle. Kirsten Dunst and James Franco co-star.

What I Liked

The actors and the characters they inhabit are likable. The special effects involving the Sandman were cool. Also the “Gwen Stacy rescue scene” was done with just the right amount of intensity. The last battle scene at some moments, but in the end left me unfulfilled.

Kirsten and Toby in a Web

What I Didn’t Enjoy

But not all the special effects worked. The first battle slash chase scene looked particularly fake and uninspiring. Subsequent battles were too long and a bit repetitious.

The whiny nice Peter Parker started to get on my nerves. The angry Venom-infected Peter wasn’t menacing to be, but over the top hilarious caricature. My guess – Toby Maguire can’t pull off this duality bit convincingly. Also, the path the Harry Osborn character takes feels a bit forced.

The film also suffers from too many characters in a movie. Let’s see, there’s the old gang (Peter/Spidey, Mary Jane, Aunt May, etc.) and the new characters (Gwen Stacy, Ed Brock Jr., Venom, The Sandman, and a few others). To me this problem caused some of the old Batman franchise films to not reach their full potential.

Final Thoughts

This trilogy hasn’t ended on a strong note. Spider-Man 3 is a watchable film. I just don’t think I’ll care to watch it again.

* 1/2 (out of 5)