Monthly Archives: May 2012

Movie Review: Act of Valor

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A team of Navy SEALs is being dispatched to rescue a kidnapped CIA agent from a jungle camp in Costa Rica. While being successful, this is only the start into a series of missions that will lead the elite team to targets all over the world to uncover a terrorist network.

A short synopsis, but there isn’t that much story to start with, so I could easily spoil the whole movie with a few sentences. I also can’t mention the actors, because the SEALs were played by actual SEALs, meaning that (beside staying anonymous) the acting is mostly poor, the characters are swallow (one of them having a pregnant wife is as deep as it gets) and hard to distinguish (wearing uniforms doesn’t make that easier). So does this movie suck? Well, if you expect story and acting, yes and you can stop reading here. But if you can overlook that, maybe you will enjoy this movie. The photography is really, really nice. Well placed views and angles, making it almost eye-candy, if it wasn’t about shooting people. And of course the action is great and if you love action, you will love this flick. From that point of view, it was a great idea to let SEALs play the SEALs, because it feels natural to them, making the action believable (something you often miss). That also makes it more realistic, since they don’t have to figure out how they would behave in a real life situation, since this is something they do for a living. But of course, there is the obvious downer of it being an very patriotic movie. Not that I hate patriotism, but if it turns into a 110 minute commercial for the armed forces, you can get annoyed a bit. And somehow I do believe this is one of the reasons, why the movie is so successful in the US, beside being a mindless action movie with great pictures. Oh and of course, Tom Clancy had his fingers in this.

Links: IMDB: Act of Valor, IMDB: This review

Recap Week 2012-21

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I should really take notes over the week to remember the stuff I wanted to write here. Seems like my age is taking it’s tolls. Then again, since I’m not that old, I guess I just have bad memory  to start with. It’s like my classic problem that I already forgot on Tuesday, which movie I’ve been watching on Monday’s sneak preview. Just that I got better at that. (But I still suck with names and faces.)

I have to correct myself a bit btw. I said one should destroy racism, but not be like a panda. Well, sometimes, you should be like a panda!

Panda Dance (origin and copyright unknown)

In another, semi-related note, I’m going to asia this fall again. More information about that another time.

I’m now two weeks of movie reviews behind, so better get back to writing! (These long weekends really do kill my flow.) So just as an info what you can look forward to (or not): Act of Valor and Safe

Favourite quote: ”Why do people keep insisting that I join the 21st Century? I *LIVE* in the 21st Century! I just don’t want to be bothered by the shitheads on the internet!” - Harlan Ellison [unsourced]

Fitocracy points: 3,258 – After altering my routine a bit to doing more sets of the more complex movements, my upper body workouts yield more points. Now am I doing this for being the better workout or just for getting more points? Tough question.

Recap Week 2012-20

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According to my original plans, I would’ve had a long weekend, with four days off, only “interrupted” by a bar job at the Kelterplatzfest (Wine Press Square Festival) on Saturday. Buuuuut, of course that didn’t work out. Already on Wednesday evening I got an emergency call for a broken car, which resulted into half a Thursday of driving around and changing tires.

Killing over half of the weekend (instead of the planned few hours) were the computers of my parents. Upgrading their old workstation didn’t work out too well, since the current support of Gnome in Ubuntu is crap. After working around a bit, the best solution was to switch to a fresh install of Xubuntu, which came as an obvious choice, since I’m using Xfce on half of my boxes as well and the project got quite good in the last few years. And then there’s this really old notebook my old man brought back from a flea market several weeks ago. I’ve been avoiding to work on it, since the machine is crap (for some reason I can’t get him let me get him a decent notebook). But now, facing the scenario that the workstation might be off for a few more days, I also got the notebook running. I would’ve preferred to run Xubuntu there as well for consistency, but since the machine is too old, I even had to step even further down (prerequisite-wise) and use Lubuntu, which is running LXDE. Missing some features, but hey, it’s working. Now both machines are running and the workstation already has been “shipped”. Let’s see how that’ll work out. So far, my phone hasn’t been ringing.

And then, there was the Kelterplatzfest. A festival on a day with semi-bad weather forecast and the Champions League Final with a German team. Fat chance! I have to admit, though, I was expecting less people around. The weather wasn’t so bad and the square didn’t clear out at half past eight. But business wasn’t that good. Customers only coming once in a while, no rush demand. A tightrope walk between being an easy and being a boring assignment. My co-workers could spend a lot of time talking and smoking. Maybe I shold work on my bar mixing skills again and add cocktails to the menu next time.

So, in the end, I only had a few hours for myself on Sunday evening, which I spent playing Assassin’s Creed till 4am. Not a good choice for my timetable. Wait, that’s not entirely correct. I could also count cooking and eating as time for myself. Made some real nice pasta with chicken breast and a parsley-ginger sauce. I might do that again and post a recipe with pictures. The sauce also used some mascarpone and I got some good looking strawberries, so I even made dessert for a change, which was also great.

In other news, my knees are quite good so far. Will consider to start the stabilizing training soon.

Favourite quote: America fears the unshaven legs, the unshaven men’s cheeks, the aroma of perspiration, and the limp prick. Above all it fears the limp prick. – Walter Abish

Fitocracy points: 1,751 – Been busy at the end of the week and thus declared it a rest week.

Tackling the knee (problem)

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As I already mentioned, I’ve been a bit worried about my knees lately, since they hurt slightly when using them and creak a bit. It’s not a big deal, but better try to fix this, before it becomes a problem and painful or permanent. Especially since I want to continue picking stuff heavy up and putting it down again. So, after some research (some links at the end), here’s my plan.

Short term

  • For two weeks I’ll suspend my leg training. – That’ll be really hard to do, because I love my squats and deadlifts.
  • So that my core doesn’t feel neglected without squats and deadlifts, I will do some hyperextensions and abs work. Gotta get toned for summer anyway.
  • Say goodbye to my gains (for now).
  • If the knees feel better after that, good!
    If not, time to see a doctor and get his opinion on the rest of my plan. (If he says I shouldn’t squat, I’ll try to find a competent doc.)

Long term

  • After that I’ll start training the knee stabilizers with wall sits, lunges and maybe single leg squats, while also focussing on glutes and hamstrings (I’ve been wanting to try single leg romanian deadlifts for a while now, since I can do them at home with my limited weights).
  • A few weeks later, I’ll try squats again.

General

  • Work on flexibility and stretch more.
  • Pay more attention to not lock my knees. – Of course in exercises, but also in every day life.
  • Add glucosamine and chondroitin to my supplements.
  • Review my diet. – Wanted to do this anyway. More omega 3, selenium, anti-inflammatory, anti oxidants.
  • Finally get a foam roller.
  • Consider getting knee sleeves. But only if I can’t go without them and not without a doc.
  • Leg extensions: Never again!

Already doing

Of course, I am already doing other stuff for quite some time and will just state that here for the interested reader, that might have similar worries or problems.

  • Train the legs. – While I can also search the cause for my worries here, this is also the way to help the knees. Stronger leg muscles will support the knees. I hope I’ll just need to add a few exercises.
  • Maintain good form when training. – Again, while I can also search the cause for my “problems” here and there’s often room for improvement, I’m quite confident my form doesn’t suck. I also often get compliments on it from more experienced lifters and novices ask me to coach them.
  • Warm-up! – On Leg days, I’m running a few minutes as well as 2-3 warm-up sets. But I should pay attention to no cool out and if I do, warm-up again.
  • Stop if it hurts. – Duh!
  • Maintain a balanced diet and drink a lot. – Well, I mostly do that, but I have to admit, that I’ve been cheating a bit more lately.

Links

I’ve read several articles on the topic and here are the most relevant and/or comprehensive links about it.

Movie Review: The Sitter

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Noah Griffith (Jonah Hill) is a college dropout, who doesn’t do sh*t and lives with his mother. She wants to go on a date, but a problem occurs; her double date partners don’t have a baby sitter. A problem that can be solved with the reluctant Noah. Arriving at the scene, he’s confronted with the timid, but handsome Slater (Max Records), the wannabe it-girl Blithe (Landry Bender) and Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez), an adoptee with a fell streak. The kids haven’t even started to ruin Noah’s evening, when he gets a call from his “girlfriend”, who’s at a party and needs some coke. Baited with the chance for intercourse, he loads the kids into the family minivan to meet up with Karl (Sam Rockwell), an artistic individual in the narcotics industry.

Mediocre at best. Not a complete waste of time, but still hardly worth it. Let’s have a look at some details, though. My first thought of the movie was: Jonah Hill is getting too old for these roles. Not that those deadbeat character comedies rely on credibility or have an age limit, but still, it’s getting hard to believe. The kids are okay, well they’re kids. And each of them has a small little problem, which gets solved during the course of the movie, to give them reason to be there, aside being part of the main story. But that’s it, every time a small conversation and it’s over. Most of the characters are semi-entertaining, with Sam Rockwell being the one that sticks out the most, even more than Jonah Hill, which is bad for a leading character. Which brings us to the main question of a comedy review: Is it entertaining? Yes, somewhat. You don’t find yourself laughing all the time, but it does mostly have a slightly funny feeling. Then again, it’s lacking originality and you might just smirk, because you knew what was coming.

Deutscher Titel: Bad Sitter
Links: IMDB: The Sitter, IMDB: This Review

Recap Week 2012-19

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Not much to report. I’m a bit worried about my knees, though. Not really painful, but slightly hurting and creaking. Maybe I messed up somewhere with the squatting or the leg extensions I did for a few weeks hurt them and heavy squatting didn’t make it better. (I assume the later.) I’ll see what I can do about that. For starters I will rest the legs a bit, till they are okay again. Maybe I’m a bit too careful, but I don’t want to damage them, since I think I need my legs. I’ll post my recovery plan, once I wrote it down. But for some reason I guess it will include saying goodbye to my gains for a while.

And I’m a bit in a dilemma about my movie reviews. I write them in English for a wider readership (as if) and for practice. But the movies I review are usually already long out in the English speaking countries and are just about to be released in Germany. So I actually should write them in German, so they are not as out-dated and more suitable for the appropriate target group. Okay, I shouldn’t use the term “target group”, since I know not many people are even reading them. And if I would like to tackle that, I would need to set up several topic-oriented blogs, which would lead to several untended blogs and/or would kill too much time. Nah, I think I’ll just leave it like it is for now. Only reason to reconsider the language choice for the reviews would be some other place to write them for, like a newspaper or something. Which I won’t do I guess.

Favourite quotes: “Target goal: Leave a good looking corpse.” (Goth girl on Fitocracy.); “Train like your stronger, fitter, evil-twin is plotting to kill you.” (Also seen on Fitocracy.)
The last quote is interesting, since I tend to say that I am my own evil-twin, because of the beard.

Fitocracy points: 2874 – Resting the legs, just upper body and back exercises… if you don’t count the squat coaching I did on Tuesday for three guys in a row.

Movie Review: Our Idiot Brother

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Ned (Ned Rochlin) is an idealistic and all around nice guy. He’s just selling his organic dynamic harvests on a market, when he’s being approached by a cop having a bad day, looking for some weed. Ned offers him some and since the cop won’t accept it for free, takes some money and therefore goes straight to jail. Eight months later, he’s released on parole for good behaviour, but his hippie girlfriend now has a new guy and will even keep his dog. So he needs a new place to live and stays with his mother. But since that’s not working out for him, he goes to crash with his sisters… and messes up their lives.

A comedy drama with several storylines connected through Ned. Now, unlike the mix of comedy and drama I saw a few weeks ago (50/50), this one is focussing more on the comedy part. Actually this is like a romantic comedy, that’s stronger on the funny side and swaps the romantic for drama, while also keeping some of those romantics. Complicated? No, it’s just to show how indifferent I am about this movie. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s not really good either. It’s nice to watch, but doesn’t show anything new. Actually you know the side-stories from many other romantic comedies, just shortened down to the basic stuff. Again, that makes me indifferent, for it makes those stories more bearable, but then again it’s leaving things out and still makes it predictable. So my general recommendation for this movie is: Meh.

Link: IMDB: Our Idiot Brother

Recap Week 2012-17 & 18

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The long weekend really threw me off. Missing Tuesdays training, was drowsy and not well enough prepared for Wednesday’s D&D session, didn’t write the movie review till Friday and also missed the recap (hence two weeks in one post).

But I got my new wardrobe on the last weekend, 4 weeks earlier than announced. Now I can put my cloths in there, instead of having them in three different rooms. That’ll free up some space to clutter up again.

I also posted my first movie reviews to IMDB, which can be read there. But of course that’s not necessary, since I also post them on this site.

Oh and on the long weekend, there was also the medival festival on Stettenfels. Has been nice, as always and I got myself a bunch of arrows. I really should take the time and finish my longbow, so I can disgrace myself participate in contests.

But of course I should also finish my scabbards and finally work with all the leather I gathered over the last two years. Then there was that soldering iron, I wanted to use to decorate some horns. And let’s not even think about the leather armour I wanted to make for sparring. (That protective jacket for fencing masters may be strong enough, but kills a lot of the agility I need for 3-dimensional fencing.) Well, I won’t get bored.

Favourite quote: I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world. – Muhammad Ali

Fitocracy points: Week 17: 2955 + lvl2 squat achievement + level-up to 28 – Not much time on Friday and Sunday, but still kinda good. Week 18: 2418 – No gym on Tuesday, but doing a bit more on Wednesday and on Sunday I only did One-Arm Push-ups. Oh yeah, I can do them now!

Movie Review: Lockout

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Snow (Guy Pearce) is a governmental agent, accused of killing another governmental operative and stealing information from him. He actually tried to save that information and passed them on to his partner Mace (Tim Plester). Each one tries to get away on their own, but soon they both are arrested. After futile attempts to squeeze the information from Snow, he’s convicted to 30 years in stasis on MS: One, a maximum security prison in Earth’s lower orbit. Meanwhile, Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace), the daughter of the president of the United States of America, is paying a visit to MS One. She’s concerned that the stasis is causing mental illness to the prisoners. But the interview with Hydell (Joseph Gilgun), a rapist and murder, goes horribly wrong, leading to a prison-wide breakout. Among the fugitives is Alex (Vincent Regan), who takes on the lead and starts to blackmail the government, threatening to kill the hostages, not knowing who Emilie is. The government on the other hand, knows. That rules out military action, leaving only one plan: To send one man in, to try to rescue her. But who is qualified for this, while also being valiant and/or stupid enough? Snow is. And with the promise to find his partner Mace on MS: One, and with him a lead to the lost information, he’s even willing to do this.

The movie starts out as a spy thriller, at least looks like it, but soon turns into a mixture of Escape from New York and Die Hard in space. The story is about as deep and predictable, but this ain’t the kind of movie you watch for the story. Instead, you watch it for some fun and action. And this is what you get. While the action in the beginning (spy thriller part) is the best of the movie, you can enjoy some shootings and explosions later. The characters on the other hand are very swallow; especially the main protagonist is very one-sided. He’s making up for his lack of emotion with funny comebacks and one-liners, though. And by that I mean about every single line he had in his script. But it’s okay; it’s not turning the movie into a comedy, but still adds a good part of fun to it, just gets a bit annoying every once in a while. I should also mention that this is a Luc Besson movie, which means that it’s quite good for what it is. But a thing that really bugged me was the pace. Things often go fast from one thing to the next, so you get the feeling things are left out or the movie could’ve at least been better with a few more minutes spread over the entire flick, just to slow it down a bit here and there. This is also one of the reasons they actually blow the only semi-deep moment that tries to carry a message. Maybe you have to wait for the Directors Cut to get this. Which brings me to the conclusion: If you like to see a good action flick on the big screen, go for it, it’s really enjoyable. If you just add flicks like that to your time killer list, wait for the DVD and hope there’s a Director’s Cut version of it.

Links: IMDB: Lockout, IMDB: This Review