Strike Back

It's been a while.  Many ups and downs recently, but I'm glad to report that all is currently well and that I'm back on a positive track.  Enough about me, and more about television goodness. 

Due to my recent recently changing work schedule (full and part-time weeks at work, out of my control) I had a decent amount of down time, which usually means plenty of time for TV marathons.  As with many good things, I discovered a new, excellent show called Strike Back by accident.  Turns out that my premium cable package does include Cinemax, something new for the past three weeks (shhhh! it may be an accident on the cable company's part).  So as I flipped through the channels I caught a clip of a pretty decent fire fight with plenty of explosions and AK-47s.  Naturally I kept watching.  With all of the complete crap out there in the movie and television industry I try to relish the moments when I actually stumble upon something that's slightly entertaining and full of uncertainties. 

Luckily I tuned in right at the beginning of the episode and caught the whole thing, after which I was hooked.  I actually watched episode nine in a ten episode season, so I backtracked over the next three days and caught up with the first season right before the second season aired this past Friday.  Off topic, here we go, synopsis.  So there's this British led special forces/covert ops unit called Section 20.  After one of the operatives is killed in action Section 20 seeks out the help of an ex-delta, American soldier named Damien Scott.  Scott joins a seasoned British operative named Michael Stonebridge, and the two operate in the field while others help them from a command center.  Sector 20 is under the command of Colonel Eleanor Scott, a seasoned and tough authority figure who does what she needs to in the war against terror.

The first season chronicles Section 20's attempt to capture a major Pakistani terrorist named Latif.  Every episode has to do with the team attempting to bring down Latif or someone closely linked to him.  There are constant fights, gun battles, and intense scenes which keep the audience on the edge of their seat every episode.  The refreshing part about this show is that there are no "filler" episodes in the series.  Every episode plays a crucial part in Section 20's hunt for Latif, and in result there are plenty gun battles.  Oh, and let me remind you that the series is on Cinemax so naturally there's plenty of nudity and sex.  And I'm not talking like a boob here and there, I'm talking borderline soft-core porn.  So if you're into that and lots of action definitely catch this show.  The full first season should be one demand along with the first, ninety minute episode of the second season.  Trailers for both below.  Oh, P.S-little bonus: Some of the actors from Game of Thrones appear in Strike Back!!!!!!  Specifically Iain Glen aka Sir Jorah Mormont, and Charles Dance aka Tywin Lannister although not according to IMDB, but the episode just aired so maybe they are a little behind. 

Could only find the Season 2 trailer, but still check out Season 1:

To anyone out there who knows me and has been around me lately it's pretty apparent that I haven't been myself lately. I'm definitely in a funk right now and I'm motivated to bust out of it. Big changes are in order. A wise man once told me if you do what you've always done, you won't end up anywhere new. I'm ready for the new nd exciting possibilities that have always been waiting for me. All my life I've waited for something great to come my way, to just fall into my lap. A couple of years ago I realized that's never goin to happen unless I make it happen. Well friends, I'm about to make it happen. Wish me luck.

Ridiculous Remakes

I've recently seen trailers for two remakes or movies that were released in my lifetime, and let me tell you, neither of them movies should have been remade for two different reasons.  Let's begin with the Total Recall remake starring Colin Farrell.  This remake angers me because the first version Total Recall (1990) starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in his glory days as Hollywood's king of action movies.  The original movie is filled with plenty of classic Arnold lines like "I've never been to Mars!" and plenty of classic Arnold grunting.  I'll never forget the first time I saw the scene with the prostitute who had three boobs.  As a little kid you don't see many boobs at all and when you see three at a time, let me tell you that blew my mind.  The original Total Recall is still one of the classic Arnold action movies, and any attempt at a remake is simply an insult to Arnold's legacy.  View the trailer below:

The second remake that has me fuming is titled Dredd, and is a remake on the 1995 movie Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone.  Haven't heard of it? I'm not surprised.  For those of you who do remember that travesty of a movie, you may also remember that it received the Razzie Award for Worst Movie of the Year.  No joke.  This movie was absolutely horrendous.  The plot, acting,  action, and costumes were all terrible and it would do the film industry justice to just destroy all memory and record of this film.  But no, we're talking about Hollywood here, where some big time studio exec has the crazy idea that he/she could take this terrible movie and remake it into movie gold.  Why even try? Have the script writers become some bad and have they run out of any original ideas for action movies that they must now revert to remaking one of the worst action movies of all time? I'm in complete shock an awe that any studio executive would green light this remake.  Oh, and by the way, the remake looks terrible too.  If choosing to remake terrible movies is all the skill needed to be a studio executive in Hollywood then anyone could do that job.  Still fuming over this one; I hope it crashes and burns in the box office. 

Ventilation

I used to think that I just wanted enough money so that I could sit around and do nothing all day.  I have since realized that doing nothing is quite boring.  After a while I get super antsy and self-conscious about being so unproductive.  It's not so bad; I accomplish at least one productive thing a day (Exercise, cooking, running errands, cleaning, etc.), but I still don't have a summer job and it's getting to me.  I'm glad that I've matured to the point that I'm actually motivated and willing to work full-time, and it's pretty discouraging when I can't find a job that would best suit my talents and qualifications.  Hopefully a good job is on the horizon (interview yesterday and I have a "screening" tomorrow for a different job) because I'm getting sick of sitting around the house.  This seems like a good thing, the fact that I don't like stagnation that is.  Hopefully this means that I'll always be looking for the next challenge in life.  I like to think that's how I live my life, but in periods such as this one where I'm just sitting around the idea of striving for great things seems so distant.  On a positive note, since I'm not working I have plenty of time to watch UEFA and the NBA finals which is nice (And there I go, always putting a positive spin on things).  I just felt like letting you in for a second, and I hope that wasn't too much.  Everyone needs to vent every once in a while. 

Start Watching VEEP Now!

The HBO show VEEP had been recommended to me by a friend and commenter on this blog (thank you JS), and I'm happy to say that I finally got around to checking it out.  The show is hilarious and witty, while also trying to uphold a mild sense of an actual insiders view into the politics of DC.  Of course, I have no idea what it's like to work in politics, but I wouldn't be surprised if the show isn't that far off from how things actually go.  I think it's hilarious how whenever you see politicians on TV they always look squeaky clean, and they always have the exact right thing to say.  Come on, nobody is that smooth unless they already have their responses planned out ahead of time to previously approved questions.  In reality, we have to know that politicians are real people too who drink, curse, and do anything that people wouldn't consider "kosher" behind the scenes.  Honestly, politicians are probably some of the biggest a-holes out there, because let's be honest, a-holes get what they want.  I have a weird sense of humor, and I don't always agree with my peers humorous choices, but I cannot stop laughing when I watch this show.  I highly recommend it.  It's available on HBO on demand now.  If you, like me, are currently unemployed then you have no excuse not to watch the full season in the span of two days; something that I plan on doing.

Chronicle

I'm not usually a special effects guy, but the effects in Chronicle were excellent.  Just to give you a quick rundown, Chronicle is a movie that follows the adventures of three high school seniors who mysteriously stumble into telekinetic powers aka being able to move things with their minds.  Every little boys dream right? Lifting up skirts, messing with people, and oh yeah...how about flying? Sounds like a ton of fun until one person takes it a step too far and all hell breaks loose.  Honestly, the acting is mediocre and the plot is simple, but if you're looking for a short (1 hr. 18 mins) and fun thrill ride that makes you say I want to F-ing do that, then watch Chronicle.  Seriously great effects and cool stuff to see on screen.  Here's the trailer:

Mid-Year Resolutions

This past turn of the year I didn't establish ironclad New Year's resolutions mostly because they would have been very similar to my resolutions from the past two years: stay positive, get in great shape, be respectful to everyone. I couldn't think of anything new so I just kept things the same.  I've finally come up with some new, and pretty simple resolutions for the rest of the year.

Resolution 1: Stop cursing so much.  I've been cursing a lot lately, and I mean a lot.  I just get out of bed or open the car door and for no particular reason at all I just drop an f-bomb, almost because I can.  It's weird, because when I'm teaching I'm fine, but for some reason I've been cursing a lot in my home life.  It's just something that I'd like to change because it's not exactly classy and doesn't reflect well on an educator of young people.  Plus, as a writer and teacher of English I should have an advanced enough vocabulary that I don't have to resort to four letter profanities.  This one has been tougher than I imagined, but it's a work in progress.

Resolution 2: Remember people's named when they introduce themselves.  I am absolutely horrible at this, especially when I go into schools to sub.  So many nice people introduce themselves, and I always immediately forget their names.  One thing I want to start is repeating people's names after they tell them to me.  I think that way I may have an easier time remembering people's names because I'm terrible at this, and I feel even worse when they remember my name and I forget theirs.   Plus, this is super important in job interviews and in future professional settings, so I'll have to put some more effort into this one.

Resolution 3: Eye contact.  I find that I often don't use enough eye contact when I'm speaking to people and this can be construed as disrespectful.  I don't know what it is, but if I'm looking into someone's eyes for long enough I just find it gets awkward and I have to look away.  After a while I realize that I haven't re-established eye contact and then I feel like an idiot.  I think that I just need to get over my feeling that prolonged eye contact is awkward, especially in professional settings, because in this country it's actually considered respectful. 

It seems that all of my resolutions somewhat relate to being a professional.  Maybe that's what this is about.  Maybe I'm subconsciously paranoid about future interviews, and I want to make sure that I'm at the top of my game for the time that they come along.  Who knows, but in any case I think they're solid and achievable mid-year resolutions.  Only issue us that I only have half a year to achieve them, but no worries.  Well that was a change of pace from my usual reviews, thoughts?