Six Rules

Recently, I saw the movie 'People Like Us.' The movie is a drama, and has the unfortunate title as one of Summer 2012's biggest box office flops.
That doesn't necessarily mean the movie is bad. I've seen a lot of movies that are classified as "bombs." Two of my favorite movies so far this year have been considered bombs. ("John Carter" and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" for those of you keeping track.)

Make that three of my favorite movies, as "People Like Us" gets added to the list for an entirely different reason. The plot about a man learning about a sister he never knew he had is interesting, and propels the movie forward.
This movie is not a happy-go-lucky movie by any means. This is a serious drama, which works best with the great cast. We see a new side to Chris Pine, who is best known as the new Captain Kirk in 2009's 'Star Trek' reboot. Elizabeth Banks also gives a strong performance, after spending most of her time in supporting roles.
Now for the main reason of the post: About 2/3 of the way through the movie, we learn the six rules of life, at least according to the movie. This is, by far, the most memorable quote from the movie. These rules make perfect sense in today's world.

Rules One and Two have so much truth in them. Growing up, rule One has been proven countless times in my elementary school years (and beyond). And rule Two also is a good philosophy to live by, as we put so much unimportant stuff first.
Rules Three and Six I'm not going to touch on too much. All I'll say is: Rule Three is just common sense, and I'm sure some people agree with rule Six as well.
Rules Four and Five are the inspirational ones. Telling us (in simple terms) to take chances and make an impact in the lives of others.
Six Rules for living. Six Rules we all should try our best to follow.
Here are the six rules again, for your benefit:

Six Rules

1. If you like something because you think other people are going to like it, it’s a sure bet that no one will.
2. Everything that you think is important isn’t. Everything that you think is unimportant is.
3. Don’t shit where you eat.
4. Lean into it. The outcome doesn’t matter. What matters is that you were there for it, whatever ‘it’ is - good or bad.
5. Most doors in the world are closed, so if you find one that you want to get into, you damn well better have an interesting knock.
6. Don’t sleep with people who have more problems than you do.

Until next time...:)
W.

ZERO HOUR

It's finally here!

I've been waiting for 'The Dark Knight Rises' ever since the end of 'The Dark Knight.' Christopher Nolan is an amazing filmmaker, and he has yet to let me down. This movie will be epic. There is no doubt.

Or is there...?

The interent has been full of rumblings for months on whether 'The Dark Knight Rises' would top its predecessor: Both financially and critically. Word on the street is its an excellent movie, but not the best of Nolan's Batman movies.
Although, I had also heard that the first advance screening recieved a standing ovation. Are the critics just wrong again like they have been so many times before?

I have an infograph I thought I'd share with you. The conclusion drawn from the infograph is that the third movie in a franchise almost always dissapoints. A writer over at VideoETA shared this image first.

While this chart does indeed have a point, we forget that we are talking Christopher Nolan here. There's never been a francise conclusion this highly hyped since Star Wars, and really this may be even higher than that.

Only time will tell how high 'The Dark Knight Rises' will fly. Early predictions have its opening weekend coming in anywhere between $190-210 million domestically. If it hits that $210 million, it will surpass the opening weekend record set only months ago with 'The Avengers,' which has since gone on to be one of the highest grossing movies of all time. (Plus, most likely being my top movie of 2012, but its still fairly early to tell what my best of the year list will look like.)

It doesn't matter to me, because in roughly ten hours, I will be sitting in a theater with other fans to see if 'The Dark Knight Rises' rises (haha) to the occasion and lives up its hype.
Until next time...:)
W.

Five Books That Should Be Made Into Movies

Hollywood continues to remake movies left and right, and if you're like me, you're getting sick of it to. It's time for some new stuff to be adapted to film. I've read numerous books that I think would make great movies. Here's my list:

"The Strain" by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Think "Contagion" Meets "Dracula." This is the first book in a trilogy about a virus that turns the population into vampires, and I believe it would make for a very frightening and intense film.
Chances of Being Made: Fairly good actually when one of the authors is a well-known director. The only problem is, Del Toro is busy with numerous projects right now, so it could be years before this gets the big screen treatment.

"Contest" by Matthew Reilly
This book was one of the most exciting books I've ever read. It left me breathless from beginning to end. One man is transported into a New York Library in the middle of the night to compete against other alien species. Last one standing wins. Chances of Being Made: Writer Matthew Reilly has been trying to get a feature film of 'Contest' off the ground for about seven years now. Hopefully, it gets picked up soon.

"The Chase" by Clive Cussler
A late 1800's set mystery from one of my favorite authors. The first in the Issac Bell series, and featuring many train robberies, this would be an epic film.
Chances of Being Made: No chance. After Clive Cussler's "Sahara" was adapted to film a few years ago, he sued the studio over creative differences. He lost the case and swore he wouldn't sell the rights to any of his books again.

"Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein
One of the most famous Science Fiction novels of all time. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. It trult is an interesting read, and would make an excellent film, with possible Oscar buzz if done correctly.
Chances of Being Made: Slim, seeing as the book has been around for over 50 years already. It's hard to believe that a film has never been made, seeing as it is considered one of the 'Books that shaped America' by the Library of Congress. Chances are it will never get adapted.

"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Think "Water for Elephants" meets "The Prestige." The love story between a male and female illusionists, who just happen to be in a competition with each other, held my interest from page one. A great read, and most likely, could be a great movie.
Chances of Being Made: Nothing has been announced yet, but it could, and should, someday get the greenlight.

Well, thats my list. Thanks for reading! Please comment below any books you love that you wish would become movies.
Until next time...:)
W.

RR: Cookies, Green Thumbs. and Rain

Hello all! I decided to do things a little differently this post and actually ramble randomly (for once). I'm called this feature RR (or random rambles) and I may do this ever few posts just to sum up my thoughts on smaller topics.

A Cookie Experiment

I found this image on the great internet. After seeing this amazing piece of culinary artwork, I can't help but want to try to make these awesome looking cookies. Makes me hungry just thinking about them. Someday, maybe I'll attempt to recreate these.

Green Thumbs
What does it mean to have a green thumb? It usually means you have some talent with plants, which i kind've do. My garden is doing well, even though the lack of rain has made growing plants difficult, but more on that in a bit.
Green Thumbs used to be uncool, but I'm not quite sure why. Apparently, gardening is something for the 'older' generation to do, but thats not a good thought to have. Anybody can garden.
And if you think Green Thumbs aren't cool, check out this image, although I really don't see some of these people gardening.

Rain
To sum things up for today, we need rain here. Badly. I should not be able to look out at the lawn in July and see only brown. Although I really don't like mowing lawn, a dead lawn is just not pretty. Plus, the crops are starting to suffer, including our sweet corn, and that's just not cool. So, to all of you out there in cyberspace, pray for rain. Pretty Please. Do a rain dance. Sing any song that you can think of that's about rain.

Well, that's all I have for this edition of RR. Until next time...:)
W.

The Vampire Craze

Ever since Dracula first scared readers in the 1800's, vampires have become an active part of the publics imagination as beings of darkness and evil.
Then came Twilight...
I'll make this short and sweet: I'm not a Twilight fan, but I will not argue with all of you who are Twilight fans. I just think that vampires lost their bite (haha) a little with the Twilight books. For a while, vampires were more sex symbol then fearful monster.
I'm not a die-hard horror fan, but about a year ago, the book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter caught my eye. I picked it up on a whim, it sounded like an interesting premise, and I'll read almost any book you put in my hands, so why not?
The result: I liked it. A lot. It surprised me how historical fact was mixed with vampire fiction into an excellent final product. I recently saw the movie version of the book, and enjoyed it as well! The movie was exciting, and visually arresting.
At this exact moment, I am reading the third (and final) book in The Strain Trilogy, which gives vampires back threir true evil and gruesomeness. There have been many spots in this trilogy where I shiver, and some pages have made me want to turn away, but I find myself drawn right back in. I have literally been unable to put these books down.
In conclusion, if you want a real vampire, read The Strain Trilogy, which really deserves to be read. If you want angst ridden vampires, read Twilight.
Until next time... :)
W.

Squeaky Rocker Bench Kind of Night

Early last summer, we bought a rocker bench for our porch. I'd never really spent much time on said bench, because of my work schedule and what not. However, my evening was free, and I had nothing to do, so I grabbed a book and decided to lounge on it for a while.
I'd just checked out a book from the library earlier today and hadn't yet had a chance to start reading it, so I flipped it open and soon was immersed in the book, rocking back and forth as I flipped through the pages.
Now, I'd heard some complaints from other members of my family that the bench was a little squeaky, but having never spent much time in said bench, I didn't believe them. I do now.
The squeaking didn't really annoy me though. It kind've added to the sheer enjoyment of my book ("Gideon's Sword" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child for those of you who want to know). Also, the sound of the bench blended fairly well with the chirping crickets and the slight breeze. For a short while, it was pure heaven...
Then it got dark and with no light on the porch, I had to stop reading.
But I'm not really disappointed with that anyway. We've been busy with baling hay on the farm right now, and needless to say, it is not my favorite job. However, I now have something to look forward to when the evening rolls around. :)
Until next time :)
W.

May Movie Mania!

Working in a movie theater, I find myself watching A LOT of movies, and I usually have an opinion for all the one's I've seen. In a normal month, I usually see about five movies.
So far this month, I've already seen seven, and have plans to see at least three more before the month is over. Of these seven, six have been on the big screen in the theater.
I started my month off with "Wrath of the Titans" :A fairly unnecessary sequel to 2010's "Clash of the Titans." While "Wrath" was much better than "Clash," I wasn't overly impressed. The 3D was much better than "Clash," as was the plot, but the acting still seemed wooden.
Next up, was the 3D re-release of "Titanic," but since that movie is 15 years old, it doesn't really count. It hasn't changed. SPOILER! The boat still sinks. ;) After three hours and fifteen minutes of Titanic, I decided to see "The Avengers" the next night. To make a long story short, SEE. THIS. MOVIE. NOOOWWW!!"The Avengers is by far the best movie of the year! (so far) Get to your local theater and see it as soon as possible. You can thank me later.
Knowing full well that no movie could live up to "The Avengers" in sheer awesomeness, I went to "Dark Shadows" two days later with an open mind. I had no idea what to expect. The movie wan't too bad, and it kept me entertained. My only nitpick (and its a minor one) was the tone. One minute it was a comedy, the next a serious romantic drama, the next a horror film. It couldn't quite make up its mind what it wanted to be.
Four days later, I watched "The Three Stooges."To make this story short as well, Only see it if you remember the old Three Stooges shorts. If you liked them, you will like this movie. The movie wasn't terrible, it just seemed to drag in places.
Just last night, I saw "The Raven." The reviews have been fairly negative, but this was once again a case of the critics not quite knowing what they're talking about. I found the film quite enjoyable, in a weird sort of way.
Before this month ends, I will be seeing "The Lucky One", "Men in Black 3", and (even though it doesn't count) "The Avengers" for a second time. Until then, thanks for reading, and leave your comments below.
Until next time :)
W.

Hope

What is hope?
According to the dictionary, hope is defined as: A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Everybody has had some hope or desire in their life, but not everybody has actually achieved that desire, whatever it may be.
I think most of society as a whole has grown spoiled, thinking that we should get whatever we want whenever we want wherever we want from whoever we want. (whew!) Also, most of us probably think that we shouldn't have to work too hard for a certain thing, namely because of the reason above.
The fact of the matter is, we can sit around as much as we want hoping something will happen...and it won't. Trust me. If you want something, you have to work for it.
An example, I've been working on writing a novel for three years now. I hope to be published by my five year class reunion, a goal that, with only ten months to go, seems more and more unlikely.
However, I'm acting just like a lot of other people. I'm currently sitting on my manuscript, hoping it will get published, and I haven't even sent it to an editor, let alone a publisher.
The main reason for the lack of activity, is probably the fear of rejection. However, in just sitting and hoping for it to happen, I'm only wasting time, and am not getting any closer to overcoming that fear of rejection.
I know, I'm kind've ranting on and on here about my own problems, and i doubt thats why you're here. Too make a long story short, Stop hoping for something to happen, make it happen.
Until next time :)
W.