Brie Larson should make "Room" for an Oscar

Since my son Matt and I had today (President's Day) off, we decided to head to the movies. We saw Room, an amazing film based on the book by the same name by Emma Donoghue. The story is a grim one - Joy (played by Brie Larson, who has already won a Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA Award for her powerful, nuanced performance) has been held as a sex slave in a backyard shed by a man she refers to as "Old Nick", who grabbed her at the age of 17. Joy has been in the shed for 7 years, and has given birth to a son, Jack, who is now 5 years old. The story is told from Jack's point of view (played with incredible empathy by 9 year old Jacob Tremblay), who has never left the shed, which he refers to as "room". As far as he knows, the rest of the world is literally a made up story, and his mom shows incredible cleverness and heroism by helping him to handle his captivity by spinning fantasies that enable Jack to make the best of a hellish situation.

I'm not much of a crier, but I must admit that I came very close to blubbering out loud multiple times during this movie. The writing was superb, and the directing and acting were great. From the nail-biting escape sequence to the challenging transition back into the "world" after Joy and Jack's ordeal is finally over, the movie depicts heartbreak and heroism in a way few films are ever honest enough to achieve. Brie Larson had better make "room" for a best actress Oscar on her quickly filling awards shelf. This is the least expensive, but most deserving of the movies up for Best Picture. Let's hope the Academy sees it that way as well.

Tom & Matt's Ratings (out of 10):
Tom's score - 10
Matt's score - 9.25

Age 46 - The Year of the Party

On April 6th, I turned the ripe old age of 46 (i.e. closer to 50 than 40!). I was a little grumpy back when I was 45, so I've decided that THIS year is "the Year of the Party" for me. My goal is to have a more positive outlook on things, and I'm going to try to do that by looking for something positive to tweet about every day.

I've created the Twitter hashtag #yearoftheparty, and I'm going to do my best to tweet SOMETHING that gives me reason to celebrate every day. Those tweets should show up on my Facebook page and here on the blog as well.

I was inspired to do this after spending some time on a really cool blog created by Neil Pasricha titled "1000 Awesome Things", in which the author celebrates the "little things" in life that bring moments of happiness.

Today's #yearoftheparty moment - I just ate my last piece of birthday cake. My wife, Monica, makes the BEST chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I've been working on it since Wednesday, and today I polished off the last piece, and it was awesome!

Why not make this the "Year of the Party" for you too? We can always find reasons to complain and feel sorry for ourselves without even seeming to try. But if we make a specific EFFORT to look for something to celebrate, and share it with others, we're bound to have more smiles and less sighs along the way.

C'mon, join the party!

From Razr to IPhone 4 - Welcome to the 21st Century!

Recently, I made the move into the 21st century by purchasing an IPhone 4. This is the first smartphone I've ever owned (last 2 phones were Motorola Razrs), and it would be tough to ever go back.

Much has been made of the poor quality of the AT&T network. However, here in Minnesota, the network performs quite well. Call quality has been good, though I have dropped a few calls. This seems to happen in one place on my way home from work, where there's clearly some sort of gap in the network. Since I got the free case from Apple, I haven't dropped as many calls.

The fact that this thing is a PHONE, however, is almost an afterthought. Here are a few of my favorite features:

1. Voice Dialing - hold down the home button, then say "dial John's mobile" and the phone will make the call automatically. It usually does a very good job of recognizing my voice, and works well with my bluetooth earpiece to make for a hands free experience that is pleasant and safe.
2. Display - the Retina display is really impressive. Bright and easy to read even outdoors.
3. Performance - the device is responsive and quick, without the hesitation often seen in other devices (i.e. Pocket PC). Movies on the IPhone 4 are truly amazing - no stuttering at all.
4. IPod software - Having been a dedicated Ipod Touch user, I'm very pleased with the Ipod functionality in the IPhone 4. I love listening to podcasts, and really like the fact that, when listening to my earphones, I can take a call by clicking on the earphone remote, have the call, and when I hang up, the podcast resumes from the same spot.
5. Camera - still photos and 720p High Definition video.
6. Apps - truly amazing. There are now nearly 300,000 apps in the Apple App Store. I'll say more about these in my next post (which will come soon - promise!).

While there are many great things about the IPhone 4, there's one thing that is truly bad: the included earbuds - for a company with the reputation for quality that Apple has, it is inconceivable that they include such TERRIBLE earbuds with their product. I've exchanged several earbuds from Apple because they break almost immediately. Truly CRAPPY products!

Overall, however, my experience with the IPhone 4 has been fantastic. I strongly recommend this product for anyone interested in getting into the smartphone world.

Next time, I'll give information on some of my favorite IPhone applications.

Slumdog Millionaire - Big Winner

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big movie fan. I go to movies every other week, and am a consistent Netflix user, watching several films a week.

The reason I go to movies is really about hope. Most movies I see are mediocre at best. I keep going/renting, however, because I HOPE that, every once in a while, I'll see one that truly impacts me in some way. I want it to transport me to another time and place. I want to see heroes that deserve my admiration and support as they make their way through the plot. Speaking of plots, I want one that keeps me intrigued but that is not ridiculous, one that keeps me guessing but doesn't bewilder me until I'm convinced I'm the densest person in the theater. I want a sound track that supports the movie, but doesn't either send me into a coma or make me wish "music" had never been invented. Finally, I want to come away MOVED in some way. I don't always have to be giddy or thirilled. I'm equally moved by films that frighten me (like the really good "Descent"), sadden me ("Sophie's Choice"), stir my imagination (the incomparable "Lord of the Rings" trilogy), inspire me (check out the great "Dirty Pretty Things"), startle me ("Aliens"), or just make me feel SOMETHING, even if I can't explain it ("The Green Mile").

Given that introduction, I'd have to say that Slumdog Millionaire is a great movie. In fact, I'd say it's one of the top ten movies I've ever seen. I was transported, terrified, devastated, thrilled, inspired - in short, I was truly entertained. If you don't see another movie this year, you've got to see this one.

The movie is really well written. The acting is great, especially from the kids. The setting is amazing. Even the soundtrack is fantastic.

The movie follows the lives of three orphans in India into young adulthood. The things experienced by the "three musketeers", as they call themselves, are at times humorous, and at times sobering. Ultimately this story is about evil, goodness, and the power of love. Stop reading this blog and go see this movie.

The Kite Runner

This week, I watched a great movie through my Netflix subscription. The Kite Runner is one of the best DVD's I've rented in a while. Set in Afghanistan, the movie follows the lives of 2 young boys who are childhood friends. One is a rich boy named Hassan, and the other is Hassan's family's servant boy, Ali.

Circumstances (including some really disturbing stuff, where the rise of the Taliban isn't even the worst) separate the boys for many years. Because of their wealth, Hassan and his family are able to get to America, where he becomes a writer.

On the day that his first published book arrives at his home, Hassan receives word that Ali has died, and that Ali's son needs someone to take care of him. This leads Hassan on a harrowing trip to Afghanistan. We see firsthand some of the atrocities of the Taliban. We also see Hassan's journey to redemption from the failures of his past.

This is a terriffic film. You really feel like you've been to Afghanistan. You see both the ugliness of evil, and the heroic power of selflessness. Definitely a must see.

By the way, you may have noticed that I'm maintaining a list of recently read books in the right side of this blog. I'll add a list of the top 5 movies and top 5 dvd's (in my humble opinion) of 2009. Hope you find it interesting!

Branching Out

With Sylvester's permission, I've decided to branch out to talk about some other things here in my blog. By the way, Syl's sleeping out on the deck right now during a "heat wave" here in Minnesota. It is over 40 degrees for the first time since Truman was president (roughly).

Today's our son Matt's 12th birthday. He's really excited that I am going to take him and 2 of his friends to Buck Hill to go tubing this afternoon. If you never see another post in this blog, you'll know I didn't make it.

In the mean time, I hope to share some other things with you that you might find interesting. I really enjoy movies, and watch them a lot (at the theater and through my Netflix subscription). So, I'll throw in a review now and then. I'm also a bit of an "accidental techie" (that's a person who's into technology though he doesn't have formal training as a computer scientist), so I may comment on Web sites or gadgets of interest. Finally, you may just hear some musings about my family from time to time - I'm blessed with one of the best!

OK, so here goes....

HoliCat

Well, let's just say that Sylvester likes to "throw himself" into holiday festivities with enthusiasm. As you can see from the HoliCat slide show that accompanies this post, he found himself at the center of most everything. By the way, none of these are "staged" photos. Syl got himself into each of these spots all by himself. I think he may have read the previous post (The Omnipresent Feline) and wanted to prove me right by being in all places at all times while we were celebrating Christmas and New Years'.

Fortunately, Matt (my son) caught him before he had finished climbing all the way up the ladder into the attic where we keep our Christmas decorations. He had reached the 6th rung when Matt rescued him from his own curiosity, and very likely a cold night or two in the unheated attic. Let's just say that an unheated attic in Minnesota in January is not exactly a place of "comfort and joy!" Rest assured, if he had reached the attic, he would have quickly found a place to hide and would have become the Non-present Feline when I tried to retrieve him.

Well, we've all had a great holiday together. Jess (our 20 year old daughter) has been home from college, and Matt had a good week and a half to enjoy his new Wii. Hope you and yours had a great holiday season!