Now that’s what I call a Sunday night!

Last night just might have been the best night I’ve had since I moved out to Arizona in April.

Thursday or Friday I made reservations at Ruffino’s, a local Italian joint that one of my girlfriend’s friends had recommended we try.

So we went… and although the prices there were a little higher than my sensibilities would usually allow me to pay for food, it was an incredible meal. Quite possibly the best Italian I’ve ever had.

As we drove home from that, we could see lightning flashes in the distance. Looks like monsoon season is on the way…

We weren’t done, though. We headed to the local movie joint a little while later to go see Inception. In IMAX. Though it did have moments where it felt a lot like Shutter Island, the last film DiCaprio did, it was just an amazing flick. To me, it’s amazing that someone could just think up a story like the one that movie told, much less make it work so well.

If you go see any movie out there this summer, make it Inception. Just trust me on this one. It’s amazing.

Well I guess I’d better start responding to text messages more…

Last night I got a phone call from my mom asking if I was ok.

My brother had called her freaking out because I’d not responded to a text from him in a few days. He was worried that something like this was going on:

The Silence of the Lambs

Moral of the story? Always answer text messages.

Marley & Me: I got no issues, but here’s a tissue. You’ll need it.

When I saw the commercials for Marley & Me I told my grandmother we had to go see it.

I haven’t read the book, but she had and spoke wonders about it.

We finally got around to it today with my aunt (yes, the one with her head in the alligator) and cousin.

The movie has it’s hilarious moments, many of them that looked like something a certain member of our pack would do.

It also has romantic moments, as Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson(whom I’ve never been a fan of before now) played their parts beautifully.

The story, especially towards the end, also has it’s sad moments.

I’m not one to cry over movies, but I did at the end of this one. Most people, especially pet owners, will.

All in all, I’d give the movie an 8 out of 10.

My thoughts on Quantum of Solace

Yea, I know I said I’d write this Saturday. Oh well.

It starts off right where Casino Royale left off with a very good car chase sequence. Later in the movie there’s a boat chase and then a plane chase. All three were well-done, but what would you expect?

I’ll not say too much of the plot, but it did leave some loose ends. I’m assuming that at least some of those loose ends will be addressed in the next movie.

Daniel Craig’s filling in well into the James Bond role I think. He brings something different to them, which is probably a good thing since the series is undergoing a reboot

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

It’s a decent movie. It’s not as good as Casino Royale, but it’s not bad. It was worth the $5 I shelled out to catch a matinee on Friday afternoon.

Just a recommendation: Watch (or re-watch) Casino Royale before you watch Quantum of Solace, just to refresh on things.

An American Carol: Not bad, but could have been better

Yesterday afternoon I went and watched An American Carol, David Zucker’s new flick poking fun at Michael Moore.

Granted I’m on the side, politically, where i’d enjoy the movie. Then again, I’m all for poking fun at both sides of the asile, as I see both side’s flaws. Heck, I might even go see W when it comes out later this month.

Amyway. the movie started off as a laugh riot. Unfortunately, I found that as you got deeper into the movie the politics involved kind of killed the funny, which is the flick’s major weakness in my opinion.

I’d give it a 6 of 10, but go see it if it looks interesting to you.

You'll want to see Wanted

Yesterday I went and saw Wanted. It's the story of seemingly normal guy Wes Gibson (James McAvoy) who's recruited to be an assassin for an ancient group called The Fraternity.

I won't reveal too much of the plot but I'll drop some comments random thoughts style:

• Morgan Freeman's character Sloan is bad-ass, especially when he tells you to "shoot that motherfucker!"
• Watch the letters that fly off the keyboard when someone gets whacked upside the head with it.
• Fox (Angelina Jolie) is hot (in a somewhat freaky way). And Jolie's performance in this flick is pretty good.
• The special effects were awesome. Like The Matrix on crack awesome. I've never seen anything like them before.
• The plot was pretty strong for an action movie. Had a good story that had plenty of turns you weren't expecting to see happen.

All in all, this is an awesome flick. It's just as good as The Bucket List was to me, but for totally different reasons.

I'm giving it an 8 and telling y'all that it's worth every penny you'll spend to see it at the theater, as well as the gas you put in your car, the meal you eat, and anything else related to the experience you can think of, assuming you like action flicks.

So, yea, go see it. Like now.

Technorati Tags: Wanted,James McAvoy,Morgan Freeman,Angelina Jolie

Vantage Point mediocre at best from where I'm sitting

Today I went to see Vantage Point, the story of an attempted presidential assassination from five different perspectives.

It's got tons of action: car chases, explosions, gun fights and the like. And they're well-done scenes. There are also enough crazy plot twists to make the writers of 24 go "damn."

The story-telling from the different POV's was interesting, but it was kind of tough to follow what was going on and I thought made a weak and insanely unrealistic plot just a little more tolerable.

The action's good, but the plot is pathetically weak. I'd say that it's a mediocre movie at best. If you love action movies, I'd recommend renting it as opposed to going to theaters or buying the DVD. I won't.

I'd give it a 5.

The Bucket List

I really don't go see movies much, but today I went to see The Bucket List, the new flick with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, two of my favorite actors.

It's basically about two terminal cancer patients who leave the hospital to do things on their "Bucket List," their list of things they want to do before they die.

There's skydiving, racing classic cars, jet-setting, all that fun stuff. Then, towards the end, you see how that experience changes them and makes them better people for the time that they have left.

The movie wasn't terribly popular with critics. Nor should it have been. It's not the most realistic, most well-written movie ever. But it is cute. It'll make you laugh until you cry. It'll make you smile.

And it'll move you.

A definite must-see. I'd give it eight out of ten.

Also, see the movie poster made for I Can Has Cheezburger.

The Godfather

When I was younger I wasn't much for watching movies, especially older ones.

I'm starting to get better about it.

I mentioned on my Twitter account about a month ago that I was going to watch The Godfather on AMC. I'd never seen it before then and had a hard time understanding what was going on. Maybe it was the commercials, but I had the same problem when I watched Scarface for the first time and it was on DVD, so who knows.

A few weeks later, I went and got the DVD's for the trilogy and watched them all. After that, I can see why many consider it to be the best movie ever made and is #1 on IMDb's rankings. And to think that Francis Ford Coppola was on the brink of being fired by Paramount the whole time was just amazing to me.

Part II is definitely evidence that sequels can live up to the original. I think that says it all.

That leaves Part III. It's by no means a bad film, I just think it looks a lot worse than it really is because of how extraordinary the first two are.

Anyway, what do y'all think? And while you're at it, feel free to fire off any recommendations for other older movies to watch.

Crossposted to Through our eyes