Nicholas cage: perfect father figure

Leigh Ann and I went to see Kick-Ass this past weekend and it was...well...okay.

Oh and spoilers below: you have been warned.

I wish I could say that it was kick-ass, but unless we're referring to the title, that would make me a liar.  The movie was more violent than I expected, but that's not why I'm saying it wasn't great.  I simply felt like the movie didn't really know what it was doing for two hours.  It was like somebody looked at the movie and said:
"Here's the general plot, just do whatever feels natural to fill in the spaces so we can get the full length out of it."

I still maintain that the general idea is a good one.  A young man simply decides to become a superhero and turns out to be an average guy in a costume just doing the right thing.  He realizes in the grand scheme of things that he's nothing special, but here's the thing: he is special.  I think so at least.  My favorite part was during a fight with three thugs, one pulls a knife.

Thug: The fuck is wrong with you, man?  You rather die for some piece of shit you don't even fucking know?
Kick-Ass:  Three assholes laying into one guy while everyone else watches?  And you want to know what's wrong with me?  Yeah, I'd rather die...so bring it on!

A great moment that really looks into why some teenager would risk his life, but they never expound upon it.  They never bother to make a point in the movie.  Good guys get the bad guys, and that's all well and good, but that can't be all there is.  If I wanted violence and action, I'd rent a Michael Bay film.  If I wanted vulgar language, I'd watch a Die Hard Movie.  If I wanted to watch silly modern teenage antics, I'd go buy Juno.  But I don't want those things.  I wanted a superhero movie.  I wanted a point.  I wanted all of the above woven together well as opposed to shifting the focus from scene to scene.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the movie.  I was just really disappointed in how it performed.  I do want to look into the comic, to see if it fills in the holes left behind by Hollywood.  If you have huge sums of disposable income, go watch Kick-Ass, it's worth that.  Otherwise wait until you can rent it because there is no point in paying for an incomplete movie.

My rating: 6.8/10

My Second Favorite Quote: "Fuck you Mr. Bitey!"

The return of Soup Boy!

Hey kids,

I'm back.  Mostly.  It's been really busy around here.  Classes and research are both picking up and they are heavy mistresses to bear (bare?).  Anyway, I'll try to get something up according to schedule but I warn you: it may not be pretty.

Any-whojamachalit, Leigh Ann and I went to see HTTYD this weekend.  For those of you who failed your acronymonics midterm that stands for How To Train Your Dragon (not to be confused with Happy Turtles Take Your Drugs).  It is the newest computer animated movie from dreamworks.

The story revolves around a young viking named Hiccup and his encounter with a dragon who he dubs "toothless."  Hiccup does not hiccup and Toothless has teeth which begs the question: Who picked these names?

Answer: Cressidia Cowell (I don't know if that's spelled right and I don't right care at this juncture of my life).

Yes, it is a movie based on a series of books by author Cressidia Cowell.  The movie is absolutely amazing and is going on my list-of-movies-to-buy-when-they-come-out-and-I-have-the-money-list.  Not only is the computer animation very good, but the story and voice actors were great as well.

As with any movie based on a book, it did not follow the story at all.  From what we could determine after watching the movie and looking up information on the book, however, the book sucked and should be thankful that Dreamworks made it awesome.  I didn't actually ever read the book, which means that I am definitely justified in making this wide, sweeping assumption.

Also, while in the movie a mother with two young children was sitting behind us.  Her son decided he would start voicing his opinion about everything on the screen about halfway through the film (when the action started picking up).  This all came to a climax when a really badass dragon came on screen to which he excitedly yelled, "Holy Crap!  That thing's a dinosaur!!!" as if that explained why it was so awesome.   I kid you not, I almost snapped right then.

To this moment I still don't know what's worse: the fact that I wanted to yell at a 5 year old, or the fact that I wanted to yell:
 "DRAGON'S ARE WAY COOLER THAN DINOSAURS YOU STUPID $#!%!!!"

Through Rain, or Sleet or Awesome Riffs...

SHORT PERSONAL STORY TIME!!!

So, I went to the post office the other day to mail some forms, for a thing.  If I said more than that, I wouldn't have to kill you.  I probably would anyway, but I wouldn't have to.

So I enter the university post office and wait in the line.  I look at the posters that plaster the walls as I approach the civil servant at the end of this line.  Usually, this is a cause of much stress for people because if you work for the government you have to HATE EVERYTHING EVER.  Not this man, though, he is a rebel.  He broke the mold with sheer force of will.  My lines will be in red-O-vision while the mailman's lines will be in surround blue

I get to the counter and place the envelope on the counter.  "I need this to get where it's going by the twelfth."  Without missing a beat he hands me a key.  Even my quick wits were taken aback.

" My truck is out front." 

Very witty Mailman.  I get your game.  Well, I bet you weren't prepared for...this!


"No thanks." Bazang!  Take THAT reply!


"What's wrong?  It's a good truck.  It's got a stick up here," he says, so nonchalantly while he motions to the right side of an imaginary steering wheel.  He's good, but I'm better.

"I don't know how to drive stick." I reply.  I'm sure I have him now.

"Why?"  Gasp!  The honesty of his question strikes to my very core.  But I am not beaten yet!  I will fight honesty with honesty!

"Just never learned, I guess"

"Why?"

"I don't know, I guess I should learn."

"You will learn." He corrects me.  

"I will learn." I agree, "My girlfriend drives stick.  I'll have her teach me."  I've definitely recovered from my stumble earlier.  But then he changes the subject on me, trying to throw me of guard.

"Lighthouse."

"Pardon?"
"Eh, you're to young to know this song" The radio!  He's referring to the radio!
"It's sounds familiar." Now he's playing a little air guitar while he talks.
"It's a good song.  You should teach your girlfriend how to play guitar."
"I'll have to learn myself first."  Oh no!  I've left myself open again!  But I have time to recover, my reflexes are quick.
"I will learn how to play guitar." We say at the same time (Hence the Purple-ization).
He smiles.
I smile
"Have a nice day"
"You too"

I leave, having battled to a stalemate against a worthy opponent.  Now I just need to learn how to drive stick and play guitar.