Video Game Nerd Stuff

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Cam

I don’t exactly have time for a new hobby but I decided it might be fun to get back into video games (something not on my iPhone). It might be because everyone around me is getting a PS4 or Xbox One. Or maybe it’s because I can’t eat while I play. And possibly it’s because I need some kind of stress outlet now that I have given up binge eating (I will miss you…). I don’t know- but it’s fun.

I kept hearing about Steam so I decided to check it out. Essentially it’s the iTunes of the video game world. I went out and bought a corded Xbox controller and downloaded Flashback and Ducktales Remastered. What a blast! Since I was using a laptop I tried out Flashback in my theater- too big to really keep track of everything, but cool.

My current Sony Vaio laptop is a few years old and not really built for gaming (for reference it scores about 30,000 on the new 3D mark… which is bad). Since I want to play games I decided to get something better suited to the task. Initially I looked at the Razor Blade, but reviews said the screen was really bad and for me 1080p resolution was a must-have. Eventually I came across the Pulse 17 from Maingear. I have a Maingear PC at work and really like it. The Pulse 17 is billed as a super slim gaming laptop and really pushed my buttons (visually and spec-wise). Since I wanted a laptop just for games I decided a 17″ screen couldn’t hurt and jumped in head first. I’m hoping to get it in the next couple of weeks and I’ll post a review.

Dimensions & Weight: 11.3″ x 16.5″ x .85″ & 6 lbs.
Screen: 17.3″ Full HD Matte Anti-Reflective 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 4700HQ 2.4GHz/3.4GHz Turbo 8MB L3 Cache HD 4600 [47W]
Memory: 16GB DDR3-1600 1.5V (2x8GB, SODIMMs)
Graphics and GPGPU Accelerator: NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 765M 2GB GDDR5 with Optimus Technology
Hard Drive Bay One: 512GB SuperRAID -Dual 256GB Plextorl® M5M mSATA] w/ TRIM [1080MB/s Reads]
Hard Drive Bay Two: 1TB 5400rpm 2.5″ HDD
Audio: Creative Sound Blaster Cinema with 2.1 Premium Speakers
Ethernet Adapter: On-board Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 802.11ac + Bluetooth [Up to 867Mbps]

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m enamored with portable gaming. The Game Boy, Lynx, Game Gear and Turbo Express represent hundreds of my childhood hours. Recently I came across the GCW-Zero handheld gaming emulator and I decided I had to try it out. The idea of one system that can play anything (sans physical cartridges) sounds amazing. I have a fair amount of experience with game emulators so I’m excited to try this out. Review forthcoming!

CPU: Ingenic JZ4770 1 GHz MIPS processor
GPU: Vivante GC860, capable of OpenGL ES 2.0
Display: 3.5 inch LCD w/ 320×240 pixels; 4:3 aspect ratio
Operating system: Linux 3.x (OpenDingux)
Memory: 512 MB DDR2
Internal storage: 16 GB, most of which is available for applications and data
External storage: micro SDHC up to 32 GB or micro SDXC of 64 GB
Connectivity: Mini USB 2.0 OTG & Mini HDMI 1.3 out
Audio: Stereo speakers, mono microphone, 3.5mm mini jack
Other: Accelerometer (g-sensor) and vibration motors
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz
Dimensions & Weight: 5.6″ x 2.8″ x .7″ & 8 oz

Movies Watched in 2013

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Cam

I have dedicated this page to movies that I have watched in 2013 (these have to be fairly current movies from this year or last year to make the list). Older years will show up as blog posts (there is a link section at the bottom of this page). Newest movies are at the the top. My goal this year is 50 movies half in theaters.

Results for 2013: 62 Movies, 35 in a theater. That’s it for this year, so it’s time to publish this list as a post and move onto 2014!

Frozen 7.5/10 – Unexpectedly entertaining. You have to love the snowman, Olaf- what a great character!

The Secret Life of Water Mitty 8.5/10 – What a cool movie! Really enjoyed this one. It was refreshing in a way that most movies aren’t. I think we should all take a look inside ourselves – there’s potential to be more than we are.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 8/10 – Some of the action was a little over the top (like jumping the shark silly), but on the whole the movie was an excellent synthesis of action and storytelling.

Smurfs 2 6.5/10 – Sentimental, simplistic but heartfelt enough.

The Lone Ranger 7/10 – Actually a lot of fun to watch. I’m not clear on how $200+ million was sunk into this movie.

Thor: The Dark World 8/10 – I think Thor is a great action franchise. I can’t help but wonder, as the world is about to end, “Where are the other Avengers?”

Planes 7/10 – This movie was blasted by critics but I thought it was really cute. Basically “Turbo” with planes.

Catching Fire 8/10 – A worthy sequel. Some movies like Harry Potter seemed diminished by following the books too closely (especially in the early movies) but the Hunger Games excels.

Ender’s Game 7.5/10 – Well, the book was better, but this was a good try!

Turbo 7/10 – This movie is a about something dear to my heart- speed. In a way it’s almost too happy of a movie- nothing bad ever really happens and the good guys win and win and win. It’s a feel good show- you won’t walk away feeling anything but upbeat.

Monsters University 7.5/10 – This is a cute prequel and a worthy addition to the Pixar film library. Nothing too surprising here, except was a douche Sully was.

Bad Grandpa 6.5/10 – I would have watched this movie even without it’s attempts to connect the hidden camera moments together with a “plot.” When it hit it was hard and funny, but when it missed it was hard to watch.

Escape Plan 7.5/10 – Finally, my two favorite action stars in one movie. I think Escape Plan is a great vehicle to show off these two action heroes of yesteryear.

Gravity 9/10 – Visually breathtaking. The plot isn’t amazing, but the way things unfold is incredible to watch. This is something you should see in IMAX 3D.

Rush 8/10 – “Men love women, but men love cars even more.” I’m a sucker for cars and this movie didn’t disappoint me. Based on the real life rivalry between James Hunt and Nicky Lauder – although embellished to make them seem more like enemies than friends – Rush chronicles their 1970’s Formula One races.

Prisoners 8.5/10 – Wow! This movie really worked for me. At almost three hours long I kept glancing at my phone hoping there was still a long way to go. Loved the plot, excellent acting. Not perfect by any means, but this is a great thriller.

Riddick 7/10 – This is sort of a rehash of Pitch Black. No real surprises here, but it’s a fun action flick.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 6.8/10 – The kids were dying to go see this. It’s good, but it lacks something I can’t put my finger on. Maybe I have a hard time suspending my disbelief for things like this.

Paranoia 5.9/10 – Nothing special run of the mill sub-par thriller. I was hoping there would be more tension in the movie. Or at least something to do with paranoia.

Red 2, 7/10 – Loved the temp and comedy in this movie. I think, overall, the red series is a solid geriatric action series.

Elysium, 7.5/10 – Overall I think this is some good science fiction.

The Wolverine, 7.2/10 – Sort of a hot mess. Jackman looks great, but the story just didn’t do it for me. Frankly I’m surprised there aren’t more people trying to steal Wolverine’s eternal youth.

Argo 8.5/10 – I liked this movie a lot. The storytelling was excellent and the tension was nice and thick. I realize they took some liberties, but they make an excellent movie.

Mud, 6/10 – I guess this movie received a lot of critical acclaim. I thought the themes of “complicated love” were okay, but the movie felt long and often boring.

Bullet to the Head, 6/10 – Not very inspired. Stallone as the “good bad buy” works okay, but it feels tired.

The Conjuring, 7/10 – This wasn’t as scary as I was hoping. I liked the pacing and there were a couple great moments, but overall it wasn’t anything special.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 6.5/10 – This had some really funny moments, but overall the stupidity of the movie hurts a bit.

World War Z, 7/10 – Not half bad. I liked the aggressiveness of the Z Zombies and there was some good atmosphere and action.

Pacific Rim, 8.5/10 – This was just plain old awesome. This is the stuff I watched as a kid brought to life. In some ways it’s almost mindless (and there are some exceptionally large plot problems), but it give you the kind of rush you expect from a blockbuster. Visually breath taking.

Despicable Me 2, 7/10 – This was a fun movie. In a way it’s sad to see Gru get so domesticated but I guess it appeals to a lot of people out there. Love conquers all.

The Call, 5.7/10 – A little over the top. And it’s just too hard to swallow all the stuff that’s going on (or not going on). A miss for me.

The Purge, 6/10 – This started out so good. What a great premise. But the movie slowly degenerated into an almost comical slash fest by the end. Some part of this movie had me slapping my forehead (spoiler alert: seriously, who gives their kids security override codes during the Purge?), rolling my eyes and dry heaving. I’m sure the movie was trying to make a political statement, but it got lost on me.

Warm Bodies, 6.9/10 – Unexpectedly enjoyable! Expectations were pretty low. Some funny moments, some okay action and an interesting plot. (Spoiler Alert!) But love? Love is the cure for the Zombie virus? Hmm.

Jack the Giant Slayer, 7/10 – This tanked in theaters, but I don’t really see why. It’s exciting enough and parts of the movie are captivating. Maybe people just have trouble accepting that a beanstalk can take you to a non-existent world between earth and space.

Oz: The Great and Powerful, 7/10 – Visually I found this movie striking, but at the same time a little off-putting. I like the story of how the wizard came to Oz and the elements incorporated from the previous film (films if you want to acknowledge “Return to Oz”).

Identity Thief, 6.7/10 – It’s got it’s moments (you have to like Melissa McCarthy), but this is not great comedy.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, 6.5/10 – So over the top it’s surreal. Not great as far as action movies go, but there’s enough to keep you interested. Not a fairy tale for kids though.

Snitch, 6.9/10 – The Rock always does it for me. He’s been a bad ass commando, a warrior king, the tooth fairy and now he’s a caring father and truck driver.

Now You See Me, 7.5/10 – It’s got an almost Sixth Sense sort of reveal near the end. It’s clever and very fun to watch, but it doesn’t feel quite right.

Escape From Planet Earth, 6/10 – Somehow Escape managed to lack any of the Pixar & Dreamworks charm. I’m not sure if it was the cast, the idea or execution. A lot of the humor missed the mark for me. Our kids thought it was okay.

Parker, 6/10 – I like the mindless Jason Stathem action movies. This one seemed especially mindless.

After Earth, 7/10 – I don’t really understand why the critics hated this one so much. I confess that I don’t understand what the movie’s title has to do with anything, but I thought the film, overall, was enjoyable. Maybe people like to bash on M. Night. Maybe people are being just a little to hard on Jaden or expecting too much from Will. I’m not sure- but I thought the pacing and the visuals were good. The story, while light and predictable, worked for me too.

Fast and Furious 6, 7/10 – There’s a lot of things to like about this movie- great action, a fun villain and, of course, Vin and the Rock. A lot of it is too over the top for my taste and that makes the movie hard to take seriously. And maybe that’s the point.

Star Trek: Into Darkness, 7.5/10 – Many of the elements of the second Star Trek movie have been incorporated into this almost-remake. But it’s a fun backwards alternate reality version with some good hits and a few misses. An appealing action flick nevertheless.

I’ve sort of fallen behind with my mini-reviews. But come on, did anyone really read them anyway? I don’t think so.

Iron Man 3, 8/10 –

Oblivion, 7.5/10 –

Django, 7/10 –

Olympus Has Fallen, 6.5/10 –

The Host 6.5/10, –

Jurassic Park (3D), 7/10 –

GI Joe: Retaliation (3D), 7/10 –

Life of Pi, 8/10 – With its stunning visuals and moving store line Pi stands out from most other movies. In some instances I found myself totally captivated. This is a movie not to miss and Ang Lee probably deserves his Oscar.

Zero Dark Thirty, 8/10 – In terms of acting, cinematography and storytelling this movie rocks.

Here Comes the Boom, 5.5/10 – Formulaic to the point of irrelevance. Sort of a comic knock-off of Warrior. I like Kevin James but this is not his best.

Les Miserables, 7.5/10 – This was a very moving production. It’s clear that not all the actor’s are good singers, but the performance is emotionally driven so I can appreciate what they did here (can singers act?).

Ice Age: Continental Drift, 6/10 – I have to confess that I’m not a huge fan of this series to begin with- prehistoric animals having social problems just isn’t that appealing to me. It’s entertaining enough to watch, I suppose, but it’s not great.

Last Stand, 7/10 – Arnold is really showing his age. In some ways the title of this movie is ironic. The action is good (over the top, of course), loved the Corvette vs. Camaro showdown but the overall experience was lacking. I saw this in a D-Box seat- never doing that again.

Hotel Transylvania, 6.8/10 – A cute effort, but nothing too special here.

Lincoln, 8/10 – Well acted, beautifully shot. I don’t care much for historical movies, but this was profoundly gripping.

Premium Rush, 6.5/10 – After I watched this movie I had a dream that I was Lance Armstrong. The premise of the movie is okay, but everything about it is kind of so-so.

ParaNorman, 6.8/10 – The stuff they are doing with stop motion these days is pretty impressive. Visually ParaNorman is cool (the odd looking people don’t quite wok for me though), the story is good and it’s fun to watch. I think this movie is supposed to be funny too, but not a lot of it hit home with me. Not quite a Halloween movie, not quite horror and not quite right, but a good effort.

Looper, 8/10 – Time travel is always a messy movie subject. Having your future self sent back to your present self for extermination is extra messy, but Looper pulls is off with a fair amount of finesse. There’s nothing spectacular in terms of special effects, but the ending is both moving and shocking. An excellent effort.

2010 Movies
2011 Movies
2012 Movies

Smith & Wesson 360PD

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Cam

4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

I actually had a silver 360 awhile ago, but sold it to a friend. I regretted it for awhile and decided I wanted a black one.

I finally found one at Gunnies. Gunnie’s experience was okay. They don’t make you feel like they’re very interested in you.

Here’s the gun:

I didn’t like the original handle on the gun so it got swapped.

The gun was painful to shoot. It’s so light that it can’t absord enough recoil and it just wrenches your wrist. Regardless, very fun.

Fun Technology, a Couple Projects and Some Cool Junk

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Cam

There’s been a lot of little projects to do lately and it’s hard to keep up (this doesn’t even include anything my wife wants me to do). So naturally I figured the best thing to do would be take pictures of the stuff I’m doing and then pop it on a blog. Then it’s like I did it twice. I can’t figure out how this can possibly help me, but maybe it can help you.

One of the projects was remounting my TV in the office (still working on that office makeover!) and hooking up a Bluray player. The catch was I didn’t want any visible cords (power, HDMI, etc).

Mounting the TV is was straightforward. If you’re got a medium sized TV then I suggest a low profile mount like the one I got. It will keep the TV close to your wall and you can slide the TV left or right if the centering of your mount has to be off.

We had an electrician come and install a plug behind the TV (I cleverly cut the plug off in the picture below, but you can see a tiny corner to the left of the TV mount). I drilled a hole in the bookcase (I recommend a hole saw and a correspondingly sized furniture hole cover to make it look nice) and then another in the wall by the TV mount. Make sure your hole is clear of any mounting parts! It’s pretty easy to push cables through the walls (even with insulation) but you can run a guide wire (something like a hanger works) and then attach your cables to that and pull them through if you prefer.

Then hook it all up! Voila! Everything works and there are no visible wires. I guarantee it will make you feel fancy.

One of the things I was hooking up was a new Bluray player: The Sony BDP-S390. So far almost everything about this player has been excellent. Picture quality is superb, responsiveness is excellent and the video streaming capabilities all seem to work flawlessly (I use Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video and Netflix). The player feels a little cheap, but aesthetically it’s compact and pleasant to look at. My only gripe is that the S390 seems to have a hard time with wireless signals. One bar from a router that’s about twenty feet away (in general I have been disappointed with wireless features on Sony products). In any event, I feel mighty cool streaming Pandora through my Bluray player to my TV. And also slightly silly.

I have needed a new router for a long time and seeing as how I was having connectivity issues with some devices (not just the new Bluray) I decided to take action and buy a new router: The NetGear R6300-100NAS. I selected this based on my desire for a higher end router and customer reviews. Setup was quick and simple with only a few hiccups (i.e. the router had trouble downloading it’s firmware update). Fran and I instantly noticed that while browsing our pages loaded much faster than before. The router has only been in place for a couple weeks, but so far so good (our old router needed to be reset about once a week so we’re already doing better than before). And the Sony Bluray now has two bars of connectivity (for anyone curious this equates to about 5 mbps while streaming video). I have also enjoyed NetGear’s Genie router program (fake parental controls- yeah!).

For my next trick I replaced the screen on Mike’s iPhone 4. A friend suggested I grab a new screen off eBay and give it a shot. So that’s what I did. The screen was $30 shipped (I can recommend zydisto). To see what the replacement entailed I watched a YouTube tutorial. All told it took a couple of hours, but was pretty straightforward. I turned it on and everything worked, no problem (good screen quality too). I felt like a total stud. It seriously lasted days.

The video I linked to is good, but it’s not perfect. A couple of tips if you’re doing this yourself: 1) Use a magnetized screwdriver (my repair kit included one- priceless). 2) After your remove the iPhone screws lay them out in some way that will help you recall where they go. 3) You can pull the camera out with the CPU. 4) Transfer the mesh from the old iPhone ear speaker to the new one. 5) Make sure you have good lighting while you work. 6) Don’t panic.

And here’s something totally different: For Christmas my wife got us a Vivint security system (we previously used Stone Security but by the end we were underwhelmed with their service). Vivient has some really cool features such as this handy iPhone app (powered by Alarm.com). With the app you can arm and disarm your system, you can see a realtime history (i.e. “Garage door opened/closed 3:30pm”) and – if you’ve shelled out the money – you can see real time video, lock and unlock doors remotely and even control your thermostat. Our kids set off the alarm the other morning and I’m pleased to report their response time and communication also seems to be excellent. Vivint looks like the real deal!

For Christmas I gave myself some new JL Audio amps for my car (“They’re just what I wanted! How did I know?”). I like my Kenwood Excelons okay, but I don’t feel like they are driving my speakers hard enough and the sounds seem colored. There’s no guarantee that these will work better, but they look mighty cool. Later this month I’ll modify my amp rack and try these out (I’m sure there will be a post on that).

I guess that’s about it for this post. The other other project I wanted to mention involves the entire run of 24 (thank you again, Mom & Dad!). Great show. And I’m going to watch it all while I’m on a treadmill. Six thousand five hundred minutes of pulse pounding adrenaline inducing Jack Bauer style action. That’s going to be brutal and awesome at the same time. Just how I like it.

Movies Watched in 2012

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Cam

I have dedicated this post to movies that I watched in 2012 (these had to be fairly current movies from 2012 year or 2011 to make the list). My goal in 2012 was 50 movies and I ended up watching 56. Not to bad. Same goal for 2013 except that I’m going to try and see half of them in the theater.

Rise of the Guardians, 7/10 – This was a fun movie with a nice twist on iconic holiday and childhood fantasy characters (Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Sand Man, Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost). It’s fun to watch, but somehow it’s missing some heart. And it’s not really a Christmas movie, in case you were wondering.

Jack Reacher, 8/10 – I love a good old fashioned action mystery thriller. This is similar is some ways to the Mission Impossible movies, but the believability level is higher. Despite his quirks as a person, Cruise is still exceptional on screen.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 7.5/10 – As with Red Dawn, reviews for the Hobbit almost had me dreading the movie. However, I thought it was excellent. Sure, certain parts of the movie drag on a little bit, but the visuals are breathtaking, the acting is first rate and the story is timeless.

Arthur Christmas, 7/10 – I thought this was a really original take on Santa’s Christmas Eve delivery escapades. I noticed that this mostly bombed in theaters, which is too bad. It’s fast paced, entertaining and is an excellent Christmas movie.

Lawless, 6.6/10 – Sort of like a western, but it’s actually an eastern with moonshine cowboys. Strong cast, good action but the story was a little empty for me.

Ted, 6.75/10 – Almost heart warming and not as crude as it could have been. Very entertaining, but not everything hit home for me.

Red Dawn, 7/10 – After reading reviews of this movie I my expectations were pretty low. But I really enjoyed Red Dawn. There are some questionable plot elements, but I didn’t have any strong issues with them. The bad acting I was expecting didn’t really show up. And I thought the action scenes were intensely enjoyable. Good flick.

Skyfall, 8/10 – This is good action right here. The first ten minutes of this movie will get your adrenaline pumping like nothing else I’ve seen this year (with the possible exception of Dark Knight). This movie is, more so that previous bond films, a thriller. It almost makes some previous Bond efforts seem silly and Craig is, without question, my favorite Bond.

Breaking Dawn, 7/10 – I thought this was a good ending movie to an interesting series. I actually enjoyed it. I don’t know what else to say.

Wreck-It Ralph, 8/10 – Sweet Nostalgia. This movie was a blast. Fun to watch, great plot (with a satisfying twist) with plenty to offer for kids and adults.

The Amazing Spiderman, 7/10 – This one surprised me by being better than I anticipated. Nice action good pacing. I’m still not sold on Garfield (not the cat) as Peter/Spider Man, but he was okay.

Mirror Mirror, 6/10 – Not too bad. Cute and fun, even. There’s sort of a “made for TV” feel to the movie that’s hard to shake. To her credit Julia Roberts is a pretty good villain.

Taken 2, 6.7/10 – I really liked the first one, but the second was definitely not as good. Liam is showing his age (I’m pretty sure they used a body double when he ran down some stairs… for crying out loud). I felt like there were some bad plot issues, but the story was fun and the action was acceptable.

Madagascar 3, 6.5/10 – Ridiculous non-stop in your face animated comedy, with an emphasis on ridiculous. A good watch, some great moments, but unmemorable.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green, 6/10 – I think this was supposed to heartwarming. Sadly, it came off as a little, well… odd (weird odd). All the acting was good, but the story was hard to relate to. Ah well.

Dredd, 7.5/10 – This was just good old fashioned entertainment. I didn’t have any expectations going in, but I felt great coming out. Gritty non-stop action makes my day.

21 Jumpstreet, 7/10 – Lots of funny stuff here. The movie seems to almost take itself seriously at times, and it doesn’t quite work.

The Pirates, 6/10 – Cute and visually appealing, but I didn’t feel like the movie connected with me.

The Bourne Legacy, 7/10 – Renner is a suitable replacement for Damon in the latest installment. I liked the pacing in this movie and I thought that the performances were strong all around. I’m going to need to rewatch Ultimatum now (Legacy and Ultimatum take place concurrently). The ending on this movie was a little disappointing for me and left me with the “huh?” stuck in my mind.

Expendables 2, 7/10 – Could it be that they put too many action stars in this movie (also, where were Vin Diesel and The Rock… maybe they’re saving then for Expendables 3). Part of me feels like this was a movie they should have made 20 years ago. Still, the first fifteen minutes of this movie are so spectacular that I couldn’t help but go along for the ride (it’s almost nostalgic).

Money Ball, 6.5/10 – Maybe it’s just me, but I thought this was a bit on the dull side. Good performances all around. And everyone likes an underdog.

Gone, 6/10 – Not a bad thriller. Sort of predictable, sort of not.

Columbiana, 6/10 – A straightforward action-revenge movie. No real surprises here (as far as plot goes).

Three Stooges, 4/10 – Oh man… this is about as bad as movies get (I think on my rating system you get a “4” if I make it through the movie). Okay, to be fair there are a couple of funny parts, but this is the kind of ridiculous movie that hurts me in my soul. I appreciate the efforts of the new cast to try and act like the old cast, but eh…

Total Recall, 7/10 – The special effects in this movie are stellar. Visually the movie it a treat in every way (a lot like an updated Blade Runner). Plot wise, the movie shares elements of the original, but somehow lacks the twists and turns that made the original great. The updated movie is two hours of in your face action and, while not thought provoking, I rather liked it.

Journey 2, 6/10 – Mediocre family entertainment. Nothing great, nothing horrible and watchable with few regrets but nothing to talk about later.

The Dark Knight Rises, 9/10 – I thought the third installment was exceptional. If I had to pick a favorite director it would be Christopher Nolan. Nothing is perfect, of course, and there are some odd plot elements that I don’t really understand (watching it a second time actually helped). Great action, plot, effects, acting, etc all work together to create another great Batman movie.

Lockout, 6.5/10 – I like Guy Pearce and I thought he made a good action hero. Some bad CG here, but it’s easy enough to forgive.

The Darkest Hour, 6.5/10 – Reviews slammed this movie, but I thought it was okay. The invisible monsters (“cheap special effect”) didn’t bother me. The dialog was pretty bad and the plot of was formulaic, but this is watchable aliens-invade-earth action flick.

Abduction, 5/10 – Taylor doesn’t really come across as much of an action star. And the spies in this movie – if all spies were really this bad then… I don’t even know. Poor writing, so-so acting and kind of a pointless plot. This one must have been for the girls…

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, 5.5/10 – I thought I knew what I was getting into when I watched this. Sometimes you see a movie and it’s clear why it didn’t do well at the box office. I don’t get Ghost Rider as a “hero” but I liked the ending of this movie (that’s not meant to be sarcastic).

The Grey, 7/10 – Dark and depressing. Showcasing some of mankind’s darkest emotions. Good action.

Underworld: Awakening, 6.7/10 – Call me nuts, but I’ve always enjoyed the underworld series. No exception here. Kate is a hot Vampire.

Contraband, 6.7/10 – Overall this is a good action movie. Some parts are a little hard to sallow, but if you can suspend your disbelief for a bit you’ll enjoy it.

Jack &Jill, 5/10 – Oh Adam. What have you done. Seeing Sandler play the female version of himself is exactly how you think it would be. Annnoying and gross. The movie has some sweet undertones and a few good moments of comedy but too much of it doesn’t work.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 6.5/10 – This was a fairly entertaining movie with a fun premise. Some fairly good action w/ a few pulse pounding moments. A couple of plot elements to keep the watcher guessing too. Yes in deed, this historically accurate documentary is thrilling.

Man On a Ledge, 6/10 – The whole premise of the movie is a little silly. And when you watch the movie the whole plot is hard to swallow. Nothing impressive here with regard to visuals, script or acting, but the movie still has it moments.

Snow White and the Huntsman, 6.7/10 – I heard this was a chick flick. No. It’s actually a pretty decent adventure/fantasy movie. I was surprised that Kristen Stewart didn’t reek of Bella . This is an entertaining twist on an old classic.

Prometheus, 7.4 /10 – While not billed as a prequel, it’s pretty prequel-ly. I thought the visuals, pacing and action was great. This is a movie you will think about. The story has some pretty big plot holes (i.e. Human like creates (creators) came to earth and seeded the water with their DNA and then – after millions of years – human life evolved. Periodically these creators visited earth and left obscure road maps to a planet where they were developing weapons (aliens) to kill humans (because now they want their creations dead?). Actually, just read this.

This Means War, 6.7/10 – The premise isn’t really anything new and the execution here is a little over the top. But overall it’s a good time.

Men in Black 3, 8/10 – I had read some negative reviews about MIB3 that had me worried a bit, but I really enjoyed myself. As far as time time travel flicks go I’d say this can hang with the best of them. Tommy Lee Jones is looking a little scary, but Will Smith looks as good as always.

TinTin, 6.5/10 – Visually this was a great looking movie. I loved the animation and the incredible detail that everything had. Even though parts of the movie were incredibly intense, somehow as a whole the film kind of dragged for me.

Battleship, 6.5/10 – Visually very impressive. So many plot holes and unanswered questions that it made my head spin though. We’ve all seen the plot before and the acting here was so-so.

The Avengers, 8.5/10 – This movie was an absolute blast. I saw it in 3D and then 2D (for both experiences). I felt like the 3D made parts of the movie silly and diminished the enjoyment, but the 2D version blew my mind. I enjoyed the way the plot allowed the Avengers to fight each other (mini versus battles). And there were moments of brilliant comedy that entertained both times. Great special effects, great characters, great movie.

The Muppets, 5.5/10 – Ah, it was a musical! Most of the humor didn’t connect with me. I love the muppets, but this movie just sort of dragged on and on.

Wrath of the Titans, 6.5/10 – Visually impressive (almost a rush), but sort of an empty movie.

Hugo – 7/10 – I really enjoyed the film visually and I thought the story arc was excellent.

John Carter 7/10 – I don’t understand why this performed so badly (in terms of generating revenue). I thought the special effects were excellent and the movie (while a little too long) was engaging. I suppose it’s probably a marketing issue more than anything- I really had no idea what to expect going into the movie.

Hunger Games 7.5/10 – This is about what I expected. Good overall cinematography (some shaky cam stuff), decent acting, fairly true to the source material and very enjoyable. Nothing mediocre but nothing spectacular.

Warrior 8.5/10 – Yeah, this is technically from 2011, but near the beginning of the year the lines blur a bit… great movie. I thought it was a great story, well acted and it had a great pace. Sure, it was full of cliches, but it was like a better version of Rocky.

We Bought a Zoo 7/10 – I thought this was a really thoughtful movie. Loved the actors (Maggie Elizabeth Jones was especially endearing) and the story.

Safe House 6/10 – I can’t put my finger on it, but something about this movie didn’t work for me. It wasn’t quite a thriller, it wasn’t quite a mystery, not quite an action flick… I don’t know. Nothing bad, but nothing good. I hope there are some really good movies this year…

Chronicle. 6.5/10 – I’m actually super impressed with what they were able to do with $12 million. I’ve never been a huge fan of the “found footage” type movies (Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, etc) but over all this was well done. In a word: disturbing.

The Debt. 7/10 – I don’t really like spy movies all that much but I enjoyed The Debt. I liked the plot, the acting and the pacing.

Drive. 6.5/10 – I thought this movie had a lot of potential. When you step back and think about it the plot borders on the verge on pointless but there’s something raw and captivating at the same time. Clearly the “drive” referred to to by the title has very little to do with driving, and everything to do with the protagonist’s (but is he a protagonist?) drive to protect. Supposedly the movie has some very graphic violence, but I was able to see a slightly edited version so I can’t comment on that one way or another. In a word: Okay.

Tinker, Taylor, Solider, Spy. 6/10 – Not a bad way to kill a couple of hours. Maybe not the best way to start off the year… It’s kind of like an old fashioned mystery. Some parts move slowly, but by the end everything comes together pretty well. Not a movie I’d own.

A Few Thoughts on Opportunity Cost

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Cam

Right now I’m in the middle of a bunch of projects- car upgrades, garage reorganization, office makeover and a store expansion. There’s no question that these projects are taking time, resources and causing me more than my fair share of headaches. So the question floating around in my head lately is “Why?” Why am I doing all this stuff?

Clearly it’s because I must believe that after finishing these undertakings I will, ultimately, be better off than I was before. And then I started thinking about opportunity cost….

Obviously any money I put into my car (or any project) is unavailable for other uses. But what about intangibles? While my car is being overhauled I can’t drive it. What is the opportunity cost of three months of enjoyment? If a mathematical formula could be created, would it show that there is a net benefit with regard to my endeavors? Or is it possible that, when factoring things like utility, pleasure, peace of mind and finances I am actually running a deficit and I don’t even know it.

I do know this: On several occasions I have thought “I shouldn’t have done this- I should have left good enough alone.” But hope generally carried me through. I believe people are very good at creating the reality they want. Perhaps a mathematical analysis would be insufficient; how do you account for the illusion of desired outcome? Cognitive dissonance always wins in situations like these.

What could have been will always remain unknown.

More Drawings. Another Robot, Car and History.

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Cam

This week I decided to undertake another couple of drawings and, as fate would have it, another car and robot emerged.

First I decided to draw my car (it’s still not back and I miss it… sometimes). Overall I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. My work has sort of an unfinished feel, but I’m okay with that. This is ink, marker & pencil (since I wanted to add some highlights this time).

As always I sketched it out, and inked it. Wheels are my nemesis. I just can’t seem to get the perspective correct. And when I inked it things just got worse. I think the coloring process helped a bit though.

After the car I was thinking about R2-D2 (My brother in law, Doug, is making an epic life sized R2 model) and decided it would be fun to draw him. Now those of you who are die-hard Star Wars buffs will notice something right off the bat. R2 appears to be backwards. but rest assured I drew him exactly the way I wanted (think of this as how R2 sees himself- art within art).

I spent some time looking through old drawings too. Sweet nostalgia. The first one below is a car my uncle, Dex, drew for me what I was much younger (think 1980’s). He would draw a picture for me each time we saw each other. Before anyone decides to judge this picture Dex busted it out in like ten minutes. I must have redrawn it about a dozen times too.

The other drawing looks like a Lamborghini Countach. I couldn’t find a date on it, but from other similar style pieces that are dated I would guess it was done between 1990-1992. Marker, pen, and pencil highlights (in the windows). I guess not much has changed.

Some Creative Stuff

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Cam

The other day Fran said she was taking the kids to Hobby Lobby. Something deep within my soul stirred and I decided I had to go with them. As I walked through the infinite isles of decorations, sewing supplies and weird paper craft things, I came upon a meadow filled with art supplies. “Art.” I thought. “I used to like art. But then I got too busy and we just sort of drifted apart…” Being a man who believes in second chances I decided to look around.

I picked up a sketchbook. Strathmore Bristol 300 series. Heavy, acid free. For finished artwork – pen & ink. I opened the book and stared at the cool white surface. I ran my fingers across the paper and memories flooded back. I tucked the book under my arm and moved further down the isle.

At home on a shelf was a glorious collection of PrismaColor alcohol-based markers. Every color, hundreds of them. But I was going to need a pencil and some ink pens. I knew exactly what brand I wanted- Pigma. Permanent, waterproof with archival quality ink. I had fallen in love with them years ago as a boy. I selected a set that included a sexy black pencil. Adrenaline coursed through my body. I was going to draw something!

I have a tradition. When I get a new sketch pad I draw Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the noble Autobots (No, I don’t know why). From the get-go I knew the Strathmore paper was special. Pencil erased effortlessly, ink and paper fused sharply, colors sank deep into the surface producing vibrancy with no bleeding. My Pigmas and PrismaColors performed perfectly, beautifully. The power of creation coursed through my fingers. The only weak link was me; It had been over four years since I had drawn anything (if you click on that link the blog entry there is a heart breaking betrayal on many levels). Within in the hour Optimus stared back at me. Was that approval on his face? Not great art, but certainly acceptable given my hiatus.

The next day I felt compelled to sketch a Lamborghini Aventador (Michael has been talking about them incessantly these days). As I sketched out the rough shape of the car I felt the presence of destiny. Nothing fancy, I decided. Two hours tops.

First I roughed in the pencil lines. No tracing (as is evident by some distortions). The Strathmore 300 is much to thick for that anyway.

Next I inked over the pencil. What I love about the Pigmas is that after inking you can simply erase the pencil without any smearing.

And then the colors. You are never too old to color. Blendable, bold, beautiful- best markers ever (lost a little detail when I colored, but such is life). I ended up spending closer to three hours on the car. Again, not great art- but I had a blast.

And then I remembered something. When I was younger I had painted a Lamborghini. A Diablo was it? Luckily I happen to have kept all my artwork over the years. I found my drawing and smiled. June 27, 1991. I was thirteen. “Same old perspective issues” I thought as I looked at the two cars. And there- that same green color around the cars twenty one years later. I must like that color. In case you’re curious this Lamborghini Diablo is what I was trying to draw in 1991.

I really hope I get the chance to draw again soon. It’s something that I enjoy and it soothes me in a way that’s hard to explain. And I especially want to draw with my kids- I hope they can experience the same feelings of passion that touched me this past weekend. I don’t want art to become another casualty of our war against time. Fran bought me an architect lamp today. Maybe it’s a sign.

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