Angels and Demons / Sunshine Cleaning

I am noticing that in the three/four weeks I have been writing this blog, I already watched four movies and will be completing their review in this blog entry. I have been told that I am a though and picky critic; for this reason I am setting up a “Miguelaso” ranking system. This system will help compared how I rank one movie against another in a more subjective way. Also, it will assist when comparing different movie genres, Star Trek and Sunshine Cleaning for example. Here is the legend:

• 3 Miguelasos
  • So good I just watched the movie and want to buy the Blu-ray
• 2.5 Miguelasos
  • Good, but only buying the DVD… The line between 2.5 and three can be a bit fuzzy at times, they may be equally good, but one may have better attributes to be in Hi-Def…
• 2 Miguelasos
  • Worth watching in the movies, but not buying.
• 1.5 Miguelasos
  • I have no idea… hove not seen a 1.5 yet, but will define when I experience it.
• 1 Miguelaso
  • Rent it
• 0.5 Miguelasos
  • Forgettable experience… if you happen to be sitting in front of the TV when it is playing, fine, 0therwise it is not worth it. Or, you can rent it from the middle section in the local Block Buster, usually free.
• 0 Miguelasos
  • Did not like it.

That said, the last two reviews:

Angels and Demons – This movie was entertaining, definitely better than the DaVinci Code. Did not excite me as much as other movies I have seen lately, but it is not bad enough to complaint about it… mostly blah, or how Joy would say; it is “Moo".” I’ll give it 2 Miguelasos, because it is entertaining and it doesn’t disappoint.

Sunshine Cleaning – This movie surprised me, I watched it because it was V’s birthday and she has been wanting to watch it for a while. But, it turned out to be funny, entertaining and touching, definitely not The Notebook thou. I sincerely can say that I liked it, but there is no need to go to the movies to watch it, rental yes. I’ll give it 1 Miguelaso.

In order to retrofit my previous two reviews to the new ranking standard here they are again:

Star Trek – 3 Miguelasos, see the review here.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – 1.5 Miguelasos, I think it is worth watching in the movies, because of the especial effects and sound, but I was very disappointed…. I am guessing, X-Man fans like myself will probably buy it, but as a movie it is not really worth buying. You can see the original review here.

Catching Up

It has been about a week and a half since I written any blog post and I have so much material to write about. Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch up with you guys during next couple of days. These are are some of the highlights coming at you soon:

• My top 5 pictures from the visit to the Austin Zoo.
• Monday (5/18/2009) was V’s birthday, but we had guests in town since Wednesday night. Have some funny stories to tell and the top quotes of the weekend. Put these three characters together and you never know what’s going to be said.
• Movie reviews and a new ranking format:
  • Angels and Demons, Watched it Saturday (5/16/2009)
  • Sunshine Cleaning, Watched it Monday (5/18/2009)

Keep posted!!!

Austin Aztecs Soccer

Friday night V, Dima and I went to watch the Austin Aztecs game against the Puerto Rico Islanders. We were so disappointed.

1. They Play in a High School Field. This team calls themselves a professional team and they play in a high school field with predominant American Football lines, I couldn’t  tell where the soccer lines were.
2. $20 Per Seat. Can you believe it? $20 for the cheapest seats in the house. Not that you can really tell the difference from the >$22 seats. Dima had a theory on the Aztecs business model, ‘they know that the people will not comeback, so lets charge as much as we can the first time.’
3. Level of Play. The level of play of both teams was not up to what was advertised.

There was another thing that I was not happy about, but this is not the Aztecs’ fault:

The game ended tied 1 –1. I am not a ‘soccer (or futbol)  person,’ so I do not understand how as a fan someone can watch a 90 minutes game and be happy with a 1 – 1 outcome. No winner, no looser, and then have the audacity of saying that the other team sucks.

There was a couple of points that I did like about the experience. The side of the stadium open to the public was crowded and they had lively followers, most wearing soccer jerseys from their respective countries (Mexico and Brazil) or from professional teams somewhere else. But they had their drums and trumpets and noise makers. It really seemed like a neighborhood activity. If the price wasn’t so steep I would be willing to attend a few more games, but with a $20 per game price tag, I expect more than just a couple of amateur teams having trouble scoring with barely any goalie skills.

Star Trek

Awesome!!!!

End Of Post

 

OK, I guess a few more words would be nice. This has been the best Star Trek movie I have seen, I find it to be a complete movie, with a purpose. Not just, ‘we are lost in space and we stumble upon a new mission.’ As you can tell I am not a Treky, but I think this movie would satisfied both. You would get the most out of it if you are familiar with the original Star Trek series , but if you are not; the action, complete story line and comedic relief will keep you entertain. Well worth watching.

Weekend Preview (05/08/2009 – 05/10/2009)

Coming up this weekend:

1. Star Trek – The movie premiers on May 7, 2009, but my department will have a day outing to go watch it on Friday. This is the first time I am excited to watch a Star Trek movie, I have never been into Star Trek and I don’t know the characters’ names (but I don’t know anyone’s name, fiction or not) or history, but this seems more exciting, modern and young. Wait for my review tomorrow.
2. Austin Aztecs vs. Puerto Rico Islanders – These two teams play in the First Division – United Soccer League and will be playing Friday (05/07/2009) night. Austin is an expansion team in this league which includes teams from Vancouver, Miami, Montreal, Rochester and many others. The league will also be adding a couple of more teams next year from NY and Tampa. Puerto Rico and Austin played already once this season and Austin won in penalty kicks 3 – 0. Will Puerto Rico be looking for payback? I will be there to watch, but if you can’t make it, the game will be televised through Fox Soccer.
3. Austin Zoo – V and I will be taking a little stroll through the Austin Zoo. Originally founded as a goat ranch and later an animal sanctuary; today, the Austin Zoo is home to over 300 animals across more than 100 species. We will be taking some pictures and practicing for our future visit to the San Antonio Zoo.
4. Ikea and Home Work – We have a couple of home projects we want to get done, before our visitors arrive next week. That means extended stays at Ikea and some ‘screwing around’ the house.

Cheap Meals Around Austin

Due to the poor economic situation people are eating in more often, causing a lot of restaurants to be heavily affected and making them compete for our hard earned dollars. Some restaurants have realized that people are looking for a good deal without sacrificing quality.  These are some of the restaurants that have stepped up to the plate:

• Subway – Subway’s $5 foot long has become a classic as well as a catchy jingle.
• Mangia – Has lunch and dinner for $5, options include spaghetti and meatballs or raviolis and soup or salad.
• Applebee’s – Offers a 2 for $20 menu, where a couple can share an appetizer and order two different entrees.
• Cafe Mangu – Offers 2 entrees for $19.95, you would get 2 entrees with sides each and an order of ‘mariquitas’ for appetizer.
• Carino’s – Has $8.99 all you can eat pasta and salad and of course Wednesday’s Wine and Dine (1/2 Price Wine Bottles)

Do you know of any other restaurants offering good deals in the Austin area? What about in your area? Please comment you recommendations.

Hawks turn off the Heat

Everyone who knows me is aware of my loyalty to the Miami area sports teams, including the Miami Heat. Sadly the heat were eliminated yesterday (05/03/2009) in the first round of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks. But, who could decipher that series? A seven game series in which no game was closer than a 10 points differential (26, 15, 29, 10, 15, 26, 13).

Atlanta was the best team, but in my opinion not the strongest. Miami was seen as a one man team, D. Wade, and it is partly true. When Wade is in the game the attitude of the team changes completely, but I believe that this series gave them some definition and a foundation to work on for next year. In the first three games we saw the resurgence of J. O’Neal, sadly he got injured. The support of James Jones, Michael Beasley and at times Cook and Chalmers were also helpful.  They need work in consistency and leadership when Wade is not in the court.

Overall this is a fairly young team in which most contributors are rookies (Chalmers and Beasley), 1 year (Anthony and Cook) or 5 years (Jones, Haslem and Wade) with the exception of 12 years veteran O’Neal, is in a good position for growth and improvement. Let’s not forget their record improvement of 15-67 a year ago to 43-39 this year. Also, realistically speaking what would they have been able to do against Cleveland in the second round?

Thirty Out Of a 100 is Not Bad

Saturday (5/2/2009) Olive-R, V and I participated in the Shiner GASP (Greater Austin Shiner Pedal), a 100 mile cycling event from Austin to the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX, benefiting the American Cancer Foundation. Man, it was a though day. The day was a warm, cloudy and very humid. Keep in mind that I had not touch a bicycle since the 24 miles in the Spoke N Spurs event last March.

The day started with my knee being really tight and turning into a slight pain after a few miles into the event. And what was suppose to be a fairly flat road turn out to be quite hilly. The first rest stop, came 17 miles into the ride and when I got there the stop was already packing up to close. At that point I was ready to get on the van and go to the finish line. Sadly, the van available was the turtle van, which follows the last rider. A bit too slow considering the 83 miles left to go, so I figured continuing to the next rest stop at mile 33 and catching a faster van on the way would be best. Somewhere around mile 29 I saw a van passing by and I waved it down. Turning out to be one my best ideas ever.

About a mile down the road I waved down V and she decided to get in as well, and then convinced the driver, Matt, to go back for Olive-R. At that point we were three out of 4 in the van, but the following 70 miles would proof how valuable our seats were. On the way to Shiner, we stopped to aid a rider that had fallen off his bike, we picked up a number of people and squished in a few more bikes in.

During the van ride we stop countless of times to find people that wanted a ride and there were no vans available to help. That was a common complaint, they only had 3 regular side vans covering the hundred mile stretch; while doing double duty, mechanical help as well as picking up people. The vans didn’t have any bike racks, so the bikes would take valuable space within the van. A fully loaded van could only carry 7 people at a time. Not good!

The stops offered cookies, PowerAde Bars and oranges not much compared to the Spoke N Spurs ride which had PB&J sandwiches, cookies, an assortment of fruits, candies and cakes. The Spoetzl Brewery was cool and we each got an option of Bratwurst or Shiner Sausage, I as most people chose one of each. I found it to be not enough food, specially for someone who just finished a 100 mile ride. We also got to try a number of their beers, but my favorite was their 100 years commemorative beer, a doppelbock called the ‘Shiner 100 Commemorator.’

Overall it was an eventful ride, but one I would not do again. I would also like to thank Olive-R dad’s for waiting for us at the finish line, even if we were too blind to find him when we got there.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Spoiler Alert!!!)

Last night, at midnight, a few friends and I watched ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ and I have mixed opinions. The good news is: Action, Action, Action!!! From beginning to end the movie is  full of it. The bad news is: Action Scene after Action Scene after Action Scene!!! No real character development, no real character associations (even in the romance scenes), nothing different from the other X-Men movies, except it is worst. All you get is Wolverine hacking and slashing away, how is that different from all the other movies? Well, in this one you get to see him slashing as a kid and with bone blades.

There are three main characters in this movie (some may argue 4). Logan – Wolverine, Coronel Stryker (played by Danny Huston), the one responsible for Logan’s adamantium infusion and the creation of Bloodpool. Victor Creed (or is it Viktor? Sabretooth, played by Liev Schreiber). In this case Victor is Logan’s brother, which keeps consistent to the inconsistency in Sabretooth and Wolverine’s relationship. Through time they have been father and son, cousins, etc. Their relationships develops through from their child hood to ‘current times’ through a series of periodical style videos of the different wars they participated together. For no apparent reason Sabretooth grows up to be (believe it or not) more blood thirsty than Wolverine (not by much) that being  the reason of their big split.

The fourth character could be Bloodpool, considering that the majority of the destruction in the movie was caused for  Bloodpool’s creation as an end result, he himself played a very little part in the movie. So the government continues its ridiculous money spending; first the little trip of Air Force One over NYC and then the multi-billion dollar investment in the creation of Bloodpool, who turns around and gets destroyed (decapitated) in his first fight by two Canadians (it could only be worst if they were French).

The other gripes I have against the movie:

• The development of the other mutants was non-existence. I understand that it is supposed to be Wolverine’s story, but why is it important that he was hanging out with these guys?
• I never understood the the other guys’ mutant abilities. Agent Zero (played by Daniel Henney) and Wade Wilson (later to become Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds) seemed to have pretty much the same power, but one uses guns the other swords. And they all seem to have jumping and leaping abilities. WTF?
• Also, all the regular humans seemed to have a power as well… they are all bad shots… not even with a helicopter!
• Gambit… well, he was there.
• If Wolverine and Sabretooth were brothers, how come they didn’t really show this relationship in the first part of the X-Men trilogy. I understand Wolverine looses his mind, but what about Sabretooth?
• I agree with New York Times review by  Joe Neumair, when he complaints about the simplicity of Wolverine’s lab scene. I mean, this is the scene that hunts him throughout the rest of his life (a big deal considering he can’t die), but it wasn’t scary at all. He barely moved, oh yeah he also squinted. Ok, well his heart stopped for a second, but his heart stops in every movie.
• Oh, lets not forget about that stupid after credit scene.

I did liked:

• The cameo by Xavier.
• Is that girl Lady Deathstrike from X-Men 2?

Is it worth seeing? Of course; Wolverine is in it :-) Is it worth getting excited over it? Not really… I would be more excited about the future ‘Origins’ movies featuring Magneto and the young X-Man (‘First Class').

What did you think?