So Happy that Hank is Back

Californication is back for season 7, and I couldn't be happier about it.  Besides the chain smoking and binge drinking Hank Moody is my hero, and in my opinion one of the best characters in the history of television.  If you know me at all you know that Californication is one of if not my favorite TV show.  As a writer I can't help but connect with Hank, especially his struggles with staying true to his work in a society that makes it nearly impossible for a writer to succeed.  His character repeatedly tries to do the right thing and tell the truth and somehow it always seems to blow up in his face.  I don't know if this is the last season, I sure hope not because I love the show, but if it is I truly hope that Hank will finally get what he's been looking for throughout the first six seasons and will leave the TV screen as a happy an successful writers.  I know it probably won't happen because even Hank Moody wouldn't script a happy ending for himself.  I imagine that the end will seem sad but will have some kind of silver lining.  But I'm skipping ahead, because there's at least one more season of Hank in his glory before the end of this show, and I advise all of you to take in and enjoy Hank in all of his greatness.  The first season started with a bang (not literally, but it's Hank so you know it's coming), and a shocking revelation, but don't worry I'm not a spoiler (and I despise them). Here's the trailer, enjoy and watch the show!

So Excited that Game of Thrones is Back!

I watched the first episode of season 4 of Game of Thrones, and thuroughly enjoyed it. Sure it wasn't the most action packed episode in the history of the series, but it effectively introduced us to some new characters while also settling some scores.  I couldn't be happier that this show is back. Things are only going to get crazier, and I'm very excited to see how it unfolds on TV compared to the written version. If I have to be critical I'm a little bothered that they changed the actor for Darion Naharis. I know he's a minor character, but I enjoy consistency with actors in long series. For example, in Harry Potter the only character who thy changed was Dumbledore because the original actor died. I just thought with Naharis that it couldn't have been so hard to have the guy come by a few times to shoot his scenes. In any case, I really enjoyed the first episode, and I'm very excited for this season of Game of Thrones. 

300: Rise of an Empire

Last week I saw the much anticipated sequel to 300, 300 Rise on an Empire, and it didn't disappoint. This movie focused more on the intelligence of the Greeks, and how superior tactics and formations allowed them to overcome a far greater enemy. The Athenians provided the brain to the Spartans' brawn and together the two formed a nearly unstoppable fighting force.

The film featured some excellent battle scenes and a number of entertaining new characters.  Eva Green played an excellent villain, and Sullivan Stapelton came up big as the male lead. I'm a big fan of his from his role as Sgt. Damien Scott on the series Strike Back, and in 300 he showed versatility in playing an intelligent and calculating general. In strike back he's more if a go with the flow guy, not really a great tactician, mostly relying on luck and firepower to get him out of a sticky situation, and it was nice to see him succeed at a completely different role. 

This film had some great action sequences, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed its predecessor, but I wouldn't say that it surpassed the original. Still very good and enjoyable, but not better than the original; about the same is say. In any case, go see it.

"Girls" has Really Gone Downhill

I remember watching the first series of the HBO Original Series Girls and being absolutely amazed.  The first season did a great job chronicling the life and difficulties of an American college graduate in today's working world, and nearly everyone I knew really enjoyed the first season.  I recently started watching the second season, and it's like I'm watching a different show.  All of the witty greatness and real life application had been replaced by countless uncomfortable moments and episodes that left me wondering why I wasted 25 minutes of my life watching such a terrible show.  Lena Dunham received a ton of credit and notoriety after the success of the first season of Girls, and I wonder if it went to head and distracted her from putting out another good product.  That or she was a one hit wonder, but in any case the second season of Girls is horrendous.  I think it's in it's third season now, but honestly I don't care enough to investigate.  It's just disappointing to see a show with such potential nose dive.

The Skinny Jeans Takeover

Buying jeans in Israel is a challenge because unlike a lot of other guys out there, my legs aren't the size of twigs.  Thanks to my genetics, history of intense leg workouts, and love of biking I have quite large and muscular thighs which can't possible fit into skinny jeans.  No worries right? Wrong, because now every pair of jeans out there is either skinny or slim which put me shit out of luck when I need to buy a pair of pants. I'm just curious, how to bigger, muscular guys in this country (if there are any) function? Since when did it become cool to be a skinny mini when you're a guy? I just don't get it, what happened to being a man? Look, if you're a skinny dude due to your genes and you want to wear something form fitting, no worries bro rock on.  My problem is that a guy like me with larger thighs has little to no options these days, and I feel like it's fashionable to be super skinny.  How is this the image of what a man should look like (see below):

This is how a man should look (That's right, it's fucking Steve McQueen). Guys take notice, and stand up for your right to be a muscular man and not a skinny little bitch.

The Counselor=Horrendous

I watched a recent release called The Counselor yesterday, and it was terrible.  Just another example of Hollywood honchos loading a movie full of A-list celebrities and completely forgetting about things like a plot that makes sense, powerful scenes and at least some decent acting.  This movie's plot had so many holes and unfinished story lines that by the end of the movie I literally took nothing from it.  Nothing about this movie made sense, you never even saw the "bad guys" who everyone was so scared of, and Cameron Diaz has become a terrible actress.  I remember when she was one of the most highly paid Hollywood actresses and for a good reason.  It's sad to see someone whose career and acting ability have spiraled, but wow was she terrible in this movie.  I can't believe moviefone gave this movie three stars, I'll give it half a star for making it to theaters.  Don't waste your time seeing this horrible drudgery of a movie.  I'm only posting the trailer to further ingrain memories of this movie into your mind, so you won't watch it by mistake.

Must Read Rework

A couple of friends recently recommended the book Rework, and it's been an excellent read thus far.  Rework was written by a couple of guys who have been really successful in a small software company, and have achieved success by going against many of the common beliefs about achieving success in the business world.  Lots of extremely successful business people such as Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks endorse this book as a must read.  I'm personally not a huge fan of the guy when he's court-side, but he's a great businessman.  This book is excellent for anyone involved in business or who's looking to start a business, but it's also applicable to everyday life.  Even if you have no intentions of starting a business, much of the advice in this book can be applied to your personal or professional life to achieve the optimal level of efficiency and success.  I'll just give one example: In Rework, the authors oppose 100 task to-do-lists (TDLs as I like to call them)  but instead to only make lists with 5-10 things, and to tackle each list one at a time.  I employed this strategy over the past couple of days, putting the most high priority things first, and so far I've seen excellent results in my motivation and productivity.  Keep in mind, this is just one example of one piece of advice that was covered on a page and a half, and this is a book full of great pieces of advice.  This is a quick read with about as much useful knowledge as I've seen in a book.  You won't regret reading Rework, trust me.

Image courtesy of Google images

Another Pleasant Surprise at the Cinema

Why don't Americans call movie theaters cinemas? It's one word, concise, and universally recognizable, yet Americans have to do things differently, just like their refusal to adopt the metric system.  Anyway, I was at the cinema last night to see Robocop, and I must say that it exceeded my expectations.  I originally agreed to see this movie as a compromise with my girlfriend (She agreed to go see the second Hobbit movie if I would see Robocop).  Needless to say, my expectations were low, but this movie had a decent story line and some nice action sequences.  The actors played their roles very well, and what I liked most was the thought provoking nature of the movie on the issue of the use of robots and machines in our current military operations and in society as a whole.  Will this movie win an Academy Award? Of course not, but if you want some entertainment at the cinema, and you enjoy action movies that are more than just pretty girls and special effects, go see Robocop, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Wolf of Wall Street was a Big Disappointment

After all the hype that I heard from everyone about The Wolf of Wall Street,  I was quite disappointed.  This movie had no business being three hours long and there were a number of scenes that could have obviously been cut, and really played no part to the overall message of the film.  I'm very surprised because Martin Scorsese usually makes excellent movies, especially when teamed with Leonardo DiCaprio (Who did an excellent job in his role of Jordan Belfort).  Maybe all of the people who saw the movie before me were mesmerized by the beautiful blonde women and all of the naked bodies, which of course are nice, but overall the character development was lacking. I couldn't stand the second male lead's character played by Jonah Hill, and a number of other characters were introduced, some with promise, and some without, and their stories were never expanded.  I couldn't wait for this movie to end, and as a result I wouldn't recommend spending three hours of your time watching it.  I liked the grand message of the film (which I won't divulge publicly, but I'd be glad to discuss it privately; I hate spoilers), but the execution was poor.  I'm only putting up the trailer to see if I had taken a closer look, I would have understood that this movie would be bad before I went to see it.  

Saving Mr. Banks

I recently went to see Saving Mr. Banks at the cinema, and I absolutely loved it.  You'd be hard fought to find a better male and female lead (Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson respectively), and the story, cinematography, and writing were sensational.  Growing up, I must have watched the movie Mary Poppins over ten times, and seeing a film about the creation of Mary Poppins brought me back to my childhood, to relive all of the fantastic memories and great songs.  This film did one of my personally favorite things, in that it mixed a deeply emotional and at time serious story and female lead, with small bits of humor and excellent character's like Hanks' Disney who countered the seriousness of Thompson's Travers.  The director did an excellent job in setting the time period appropriate for the film, and the casting department truly put excellent actors into the appropriate roles.  This isn't a movie for someone looking for a quick laugh, or an action-packed blockbuster, but if you loved Mary Poppins, and if you have any appreciation for a well-made and entertaining move, then I'd find it hard to believe that you wouldn't enjoy Saving Mr. Banks.