Movie Review: Equilibrium

The Hook: A futuristic setting where emotion is suppressed in an effort
to eliminate extremes of emotion. Or in layman's terms, keeping the
equilibrium...

The Score: B+

The Thoughts:

This one took me off guard. I knew Christian Bale was an excellent
actor, but I didn't expect a dramatic tale of morality to be so
incredibly well-directed, much less chock-full of breathtaking action
sequences. The "gun kata" was nothing short of astounding, and I can
readily understand why Bale was chosen to helm "Batman Begins" next
summer. Although the movie lags at time, and has a few minor plot
points, overall it's an exhausting yet enjoyable movie that I wouldn't
mind seeing again, or possibly owning. I'm not sure, but I think I may
have even liked it more than "The Matrix" (and without a doubt more
than the Matrix crapquels...

Movie Review: Open Water

The Hook: Two people stranded in the ocean after snorkeling. Sharks swimming around. The whole thing takes place in a twenty-four hour time period.

The Score: C+

The Thoughts:

While the actress & actor made a good team, with occasional highlights of genuine talent, it's understandably difficult to carry a movie when you're adlibbing most of it and it's just the two of you. In the water. Thus, you've got little to work with in the way of conveying emotions except your face and over-the-water gestures. Plus, when you're in the water, stranded, your emotions are pretty much limited to anger, depression and despair - all three of which were played to perfection.

Take your Dramamine. Filmed on an independent budget with cheap cameras, the shaking and swaying and dipping is enough to make even the most steel-lined stomach ralph. (Note: if you have a semi-sick college student named Nate with you during this movie, know it's a bad idea to bring him. He'll only get sicker as the movie progresses...)

It was pretty straight-forward, simple story-telling, but as a result of the simplicity it was kinda boring. Really boring. More of a character study than an entertaining movie, to be honest. Still, I was surprised at the ending, and actually dropped my jaw at what happened out of shock. So there's something to be said for surprising a jaded moviegoer who's seen or read it all. :) (Or maybe I just have a short memory, so I'm constantly suprised... again and again... it's like every day is Groundhog Day... I'm constantly suprised... again and again... it's like every day is Groundhog Day... )

Overall, I'm just glad I paid a buck for it, instead of shelling out for full price.

Baking soda, Bubbles and Boo-Boos.

As I wrote earlier, I was suffering horrendously from the inexplicable blisters on my tongue. Well, it turns out I had access to an expert and didn't even know it - our own Nathan Briley!!

For those who don't know, Kim and I kind of consider Nate to be an "adopted son" of sorts. While he DID go to the school we taught at when we were over in Indonesia as missionaries, we didn't actually MEET him until we returned two years later for some fo the students' graduations. It was then, and only then, that we realized Nate's a fun guy.

Next thing you know, he's graduated, in the States, with no future plans and nowhere fun to live. We invite him up to St. Louis, room him with Kim's brother, Greg, and the rest is history. AT ANY RATE, he's here now visiting Kim and I on his way to Boston to see his family again, and it turns out he knows a lot about cold sores, mouth blisters, etc..

So, what did Professor Nate prescribe?

Baking Soda.

That's right. He said if I dab some baking soda on the end of my tongue blisters, they'll "suck out the moisture" and leave the blister virtually empty, helping them heal faster. So, like a blithering idiot, I do it. And screamed in terror as the skin of my tongue burned and bubbled and peeled itself off, all the while with a steady stream of saliva pouring from my open mouth.

Did it hurt? Uh, YEAH!. But then again, I have a notoriously low pain tolerance, so my opinion's kind of biased. But here I am, a week later, and I will admit - my tongue blisters are gone. Would they have healed over in this amount of time anyway? I'm thinking yes. But for what it's worth, I tried something new, and perhaps it helped speed the processs up. Right? Anyone? Anybody have any feedback or thoughts on this stuff? Is anyone reading these things anymore...?

Who cares... I'm gonna keep on writing...

Kevin