Assault on Precinct 13 - ACE Train Movie Review

A Detroit precinct on its last day of operation has some unexpected guests when a blizzard forces a bus carrying prisoners, including a cop-killing mobster, to stop until the storm lets up. The police captain is less than thrilled and finds himself in the line of fire when a group of rogue cops siege the precinct to take down the mobster before he testifies against them in court. The officers and inmates must team up in order to survive the night.

I enjoyed this film and found it to be well thought out and not very predictable. The actors were good and I especially liked the performance from Laurence Fishburne; he's a real bad ass. There was a ton of action, suspense, guns, blood and explosions which made for an exciting movie that had very little down time. The very end might have been a little expected, but the journey to get there was a thrilling one.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Drea de Matteo, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Ja Rule

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Home on the Range - Movie Review

A family farm is about to be auctioned off and an outlaw rustler has his eye on it. Three dairy cows set out to save the farm. With the help of some barnyard friends, they team up to capture a fugitive and collect the reward money. However, there is a bounty hunter who is also on the fugitive's trail.

This is definitely not a classic Disney movie. I'm sure kids will love the funny cows and yodeling bad guy, but the plot was lame and not as imaginative or interesting as the true classics. There are a few parts with adult humor, but it's mostly filled with jokes only kids would laugh at and adults would roll their eyes.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Roseanne, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Randy Quaid

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

The Wedding Date - Movie Review

A romantically challenged woman from New York who has to fly to England to attend her half-sister's wedding, hires a male escort to pose as her boyfriend so she could make her ex-boyfriend (who suddenly dumped her 2 years earlier) jealous. While spending time with the escort during the wedding festivities, she begins to wonder if the relationship has to be all business.

This is your typical romantic comedy; nothing different or innovative. After 10 minutes, you will have figured everything out and know exactly where it is headed; no surprises. There are some funny moments, but mostly it's just a bland movie with a weak plot and the chemistry between the characters seemed awkward at times. It's less than 90 minutes long, but I wouldn't even waste that amount of time watching it.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Nerd, Geek or Dork?

Some folks at work were taking this test to see if they were a Nerd, Geek or Dork. Try the test yourself and let me know your scores by entering them in the comments section. Here's my results:

Pure Nerd

56 % Nerd, 21% Geek, 26% Dork

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

My test tracked 3 variables how you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 47% on nerdiness
You scored higher than 19% on geekosity
You scored higher than 38% on dork points

Don't forget to try the test yourself and let me know your results.

Alexander - ACE Train Movie Review

The film chronicles the life of fourth-century B.C. ruler Alexander the Great and follows the young king as he leads his forces on a bloody empirical conquest across the known world, taking large parts of Asia and the Middle East to amass a giant empire, all by the time he turned 25.

Anytime I see the word "epic" to describe a movie, I think I'll skip it from now on since I can't think of a good epic movie that I have seen. Any movie over 2 hours is stretching it, but this one is close to 3 hours - UGH! It wasn't a completely horrible movie, but it was just too long. The battle scenes could have been cut down, some of the speeches could have been shorter and the acting could have been better. I'm not a fan of Angelina Jolie, so she bugged me with her fake accent. I also found it difficult to keep track of all the Greek names and follow the timing of events since the movie goes back and forth between various years (sometimes it shows the dates and other times it says, "ten years earlier"). Anyway, it was an epic relief when the movie was over.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Colin Farrell, Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Joke - 3 Minute Management Course

Lesson One
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.
A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?" The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson
- To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson Two
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. " They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Management Lesson
- Bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson Three
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.
The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Management Lesson
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

This ends the three minute management course.

Hostage - ACE Train Movie Review

A hostage negotiator with the LAPD has a standoff that goes horribly wrong and decides to move his family to a small, quiet town where he serves as chief of police. When three young criminals try to steal a car from a wealthy accountant, the situation turns ugly and the thieves become trapped in the heavily secured home, taking the accountant and his family hostage. The chief of police finds himself recalling his skills as a hostage negotiator to try to calm the situation. When his own family becomes involved, he has to decide whether to protect the safety of the family in the house or his own wife and daughter.

When you see a Bruce Willis action movie, you know what to expect and this is no different. There are plenty of guns, blood, close calls, grimaces and even some explosions. The story is pretty good with some slightly unexpected twists and plenty of suspense. Nothing too groundbreaking, but if you're in the mood for a gun-heavy action flick, check it out.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Jonathan Tucker

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Sin City - Movie Review

Based on the graphic novels (comic books) of the same name, Sin City tells three different story lines from the series' history. One story follows a street thug on his quest to find the killer of a prostitute with whom he had a relationship. Another story shadows the new boyfriend of a bar maid as he tracks down the ex-boyfriend who used to beat her. Finally, a retiring cop spends his last day on duty saving a girl from a sexual predator and returns years later to make sure she is still safe. All of these stories take place in the same city and involve some of the same characters.

If you are a fan of comic books, you will love this movie. If not, it's an acquired taste and you might not "get it" since the three stories are mostly independent with only subtle ties to each other. This film is the most literal translation of a comic book to film that I have ever seen. The look and dialogue are ripped straight from the pages which culminates in a completely original concept. I was blown away with the amazing imagery and quality of talent that created this film. Even non-comic book fans should be entertained with all of the action and drama that takes place. After all, anything can happen in a comic book...

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes (I already watched it twice)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Josh Hartnett, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Michael Clarke Duncan, Brittany Murphy

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Close Your Eyes - Movie Review

While treating a patient who wants to give up smoking, a hypnotherapist sees visions of a girl trapped underneath the water of a stream. The patient turns out to be a police detective working on the case of a teenager who recently escaped a serial killer and is so traumatized by the incident, she is unable to speak. The therapist gets pulled into the investigation since he might be able to venture into the sub-conscious of the girl and retrieve information that could help catch the killer. As they dig deeper into the strange crimes, they discover a web of violence, religious fanaticism and bizarre tattoos.

This is pretty good supernatural thriller and provides enough clues throughout the film that provokes your mind to try to put all the pieces together. While the acting is average and the story could have been polished a little more, there are enough creepy moments, foreshadowing and peculiar images to keep your interest. This is the type of movie that, once it's over, you try to replay it back in your mind trying to remember all of the hints that might have led you to figuring it all out.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Goran Visnjic, Shirley Henderson, Miranda Otto

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Matchstick Men - ACE Train Movie Review

An obsessive-compulsive con man makes a good living with his protege and partner-in-crime by swindling people out of money with promises of vacations and prizes which they never receive. The protege wants to pull off a really big job and convinces the con man to join him. The neurotic con man is forced to see a psychotherapist in order to get the prescription drugs that will calm his nerves in order to pull off the big con. While receiving therapy, he is inspired to contact the daughter he has never seen and is forced to re-examine his life.

I like Nicolas Cage and thought he did an excellent job playing a neurotic con man in this film. There was plenty of action, drama and comedy to keep my interest as well as a couple of twists that caught me off guard. The cons were believable enough to not be completely ridiculous and the plot and characters were intriguing. It all added up to a very good movie that I would recommend especially if you are a Nicolas Cage fan.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, Bruce McGill

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Imaginary Heroes - ACE Train Movie Review

Parents take different paths to deal with the pain when their oldest son commits suicide. The mother becomes ever more cynical and harsh, but tries to bond with their surviving son by finding a common indulgence - marijuana. The father also tries to bond with his son but the boy feels like he hasn't lived up to what the father wanted. While the family tries to deal with the pain and make sense of the tragedy, the big question is whether they can heal and move on before they are torn apart.

This film is a meandering, depressing journey through the lives of people who have issues to deal with on many levels. It would have been much better if there was even a hint of light at the end of the tunnel. However, the entire movie is shot (and the actors perform) in such a way that is draining and left me feeling "blah." While I'm sure it takes a long time to get over the suicide of a family member, I'm also pretty sure it doesn't make for a good movie plot.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Monster's Ball - ACE Train Movie Review

A racist, alcoholic Georgia prison guard starts to fall into a deep depression when his son, who works at the prison's death row, commits suicide. Already under stress from having to take care of his father who is dying of emphysema, he quits his job and starts to lose it until, one night, he comes to the aid of an African-American woman whose son just got hit by a car and died. The unlikely couple find a strong bond in their grief. The prison guard discovers that the woman is the widow of the man whose execution he and his late son helped to orchestrate at the prison.

Snooze. This is the perfect example of a movie that has won a bunch of awards and accolades, but after watching it, I don't see what all the hype was about. The story unfolded so slowly, but then ended abruptly without any closure and left me wondering if it was clever to have the audience draw their own conclusions or just a cop out from having to develop a creative ending. I don't know why Halle Berry won the Best Actress Academy Award for this film, but I suppose having to spend a significant amount of time naked with Billy Bob Thornton is worth some kind of award. Overall, I was bored, unimpressed and not convinced of the racial enlightenment.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle, Sean Combs (P. Diddy)

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

OZZFEST - August 13, 2005

On August 13, Mike and I went to Ozzfest 2005 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. This is an all day heavy metal music festival and consists of two stages: the second stage (which was set up in the parking lot) had bands playing from 9:30am - 4:30pm and the main stage (which was in the amphitheatre) ran from 4:30pm - 10:45pm. The lineups were:

Second Stage

• Arch Enemy
• Trivium
• The Black Dahlia Murder
• It Dies Today
• The Haunted
• Wicked Wisdom
• Bury Your Dead
• Gizmachi
• Soil Work
• A Dozen Furies
• Mastodon
• As I Lay Dying
• Killswitch Engage
• Rob Zombie

Main Stage

• In Flames
• Black Label Society
• Shadows Fall
• Mudvayne
• Iron Maiden
• Black Sabbath

We arrived at the venue before the music started and went straight to the front of the second stage. For the next 5 hours, we watched the bands while a huge mosh pit circled behind us and people crowd-surfed above us. Some of the highlights of these early bands were Trivium and It Dies Today which I thought had good music, great stage presence and really got the crowd into it. It was also pretty cool when the bassist and lead singer of A Dozen Furies jumped in the crowd and crowd surfed on top of us (I thumbed the bass).

A couple of strange moments were when the lead singer of The Haunted tore off his clothes and sang the last song wearing only a thong (not pretty) and when a guy who looked like a computer geek doing the sound check turned out to be the lead singer of The Black Dahlia Murder who proceeded to go crazy and rock on stage.

The lowlight was definitely Wicked Wisdom which is a newly formed band whose lead singer is Jada Pinkett Smith; you know, the actress whose husband is Will Smith. It was obvious that they were only there because of Will's connections because they really sucked. The only cool part was that Will Smith was there and walked up and greeted the people who were in the front. We were standing right in front of him and Mike shook his hand (he probably still hasn't washed it =)

Before the last two bands on the second stage played, we moved back from the stage because we were getting tired of people launching themselves out of the mosh pit and onto our heads. I stood behind the mosh pit for Killswitch Engage and Rob Zombie which were both very good and drew a huge response from the crowd as expected, especially when Rob played his hits from White Zombie (More Human than Human, Thunder Kiss '65 and Dragula). After that, it was time to head to the amphitheatre and watch the bands on the main stage.

I don't know if I was just tired from standing for 7 hours straight or disappointed from being so far from the stage (we had seats right in front of the lawn) after having been in front for all of the earlier bands, but I couldn't get into the first few bands on the main stage; although the dreadlocks that went down to the ankles of the lead singer for Shadows Fall were impressive. Mudvayne ramped the crowd up for the bands I really was looking forward to seeing.

In my opinion, Iron Maiden put on the best show of the night. They had the best stage set-up with two elevated platforms on either side of the stage where Bruce Dickinson (lead singer) was able to run back and forth and pump up the crowd. They also had a huge (probably 12 feet tall) Eddie (their scary mascot) walk across the stage and mess with the guitarists. The only disappointment was that they didn't play longer. They only had 60 minutes and played mostly music from their first few albums including 4 songs from their very first record. I guess when you have 13 studio releases, you can't play everything, but not even "Fear of the Dark".... bummer.

Finally, it was Black Sabbath's turn. They played all of their greatest hits that have influenced all of the bands that played during the day. The strange thing was that, after having listened to all of the speed metal bands earlier, Black Sabbath sounded really slow and it was weird to imagine how they were cutting edge and "heavy" in their day. Ozzy has seen better days as he hobbled around the stage and screamed into the microphone while recovering from laryngitis. While this might be one of the last (if not the last) tours for Black Sabbath, I'm glad I saw them before they call it quits.

A Very Long Engagement - ACE Train Movie Review

An engaged couple living in a French village are torn apart when the man is sent to fight with the army near the German front during World War I. While there, he is accused of injuring himself in order to be sent home. To discourage similar behavior by the other soldiers, he was sentenced to death and was sent into the no man's land between the French and German lines, where he would certainly be killed. His fiance is notified of his death, but she feels in her heart that he is still alive and sets out to find him after the end of the war.

This was a very long movie - or at least it felt like it. This is a French film, so they speak French and have English subtitles. I don't think I have ever watched a movie with subtitles before and I found it challenging to try to see everything that was going on in the scene while simultaneously reading what they were saying. Trying to keep all of the characters straight with their French names was a little difficult as well. I might not have minded the extra concentration that was necessary if I felt the movie was enthralling, but I found it rather slow from start to finish and was relieved when it was over; predictable ending. I tried, but I think it will be quite a while before I watch another subtitled movie.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Cisco Opens NASDAQ - We Were There!

On August 10, 2005, the first ever virtual opening of NASDAQ occurred at Cisco Systems in San Jose and Shawnna and I were there. We arrived at 5:00am to register, pick up our commemorative red polo shirts and eat the breakfast that was provided. After making it through all of that, we headed to the balcony on the 2nd floor (just below John Chambers) to hang out until the ceremony. We were able to be on the 2nd floor balcony during the ceremony because we knew the person who set up the event and she put us on the list (yes, there was actually a list and a "bouncer" checking it).

At about 6:00am, most people who were going to show up, were there. In all, there were over 2,000 Cisco employees who showed up for this ceremony. It was amazing to see that many people there at 6am when there usually isn't that many people there at 8am. As it got closer to 6:30am, they started filming to build up to the opening bell. The crowd was very excited and were waving at the camera and cheering; especially when John Chambers addressed the crowd and thanked everyone for coming.

Finally, it was time for the opening bell. We counted down the seconds, Chambers rang the bell and it was all over. People left immediately and got in line for the give-aways. The first 500 people to register received iPod Shuffles (512 MB) and the next 1000 people to register received Bluetooth wireless headsets. Shawnna and I both received the iPods (score!) and then we went back to work.

When I was back at my desk, I watched the webcast of the opening bell and saw that the first thing they show is a zoom in from the crowd to Shawnna and I. As they pan across, I can be seen flashing the devil signs (mom would be proud =). You can watch the webcast and get a lot more information at the NewsAtCisco website.

Waiting for the ceremony to occur. We were on the balcony in the center of this picture.

I took this picture to show our view of the crowd.

John Chambers rings the bell to open trading on NASDAQ

Guess Who - ACE Train Movie Review

A protective father learns that his daughter is dating someone and it's becoming serious, so he does some research and finds out the man is a successful businessman. Content in that knowledge, the happy couple is invited to the parents' house for the always stressful meeting with the parents. However, this meeting has another surprising twist when the family of the woman (who are African-American) meet her boyfriend and discover he is white. The father is anything but pleased and it will definitely take some convincing to get his blessing; especially considering the couple is planning on announcing their engagement.

I enjoyed this movie and laughed a lot. The black/white conflict isn't necessarily an original idea, but Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher had good chemistry which translated to some very funny moments on screen. The plot was very predictable, but since this wasn't a mystery, I guess that's OK. However, the ending was not only predictable, but also very hokey which left a bad taste in my mouth and probably resulted in a .5 reduction in rating. Overall, I would recommend this movie if you are in the mood for an enjoyable film with a humorous plot and no thinking required.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana, Judith Scott

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Dave and Shawnna will be TV stars on August 10, 2005 at 6:30am PT!

Shawnna and I will be on the second floor balcony during the NASDAQ opening bell on August 10, 2005 at 6:30am PT. The opening bell ceremony will be broadcast live on CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg and FOX. We'll be the ones with red shirts on =).

LIVE! from San Jose, California: The First Ever Virtual Opening of NASDAQ

August 10, 2005, will mark the first time in 34 years that The NASDAQ Stock Market will conduct opening and closing ceremonies from outside New York. Three thousand miles away at Cisco Systems' San Jose, California headquarters, Cisco and NASDAQ have recreated the MarketSite including a replica blue video wall and electronic podium to mirror the NASDAQ opening and closing bell ceremonies. Cisco CEO, John Chambers, along with 2000 Cisco employees, will ring the bell to signal the start of trading from a "virtual" control center, complete with NASDAQ's famous video wall that provides trading updates throughout the day.

This historic event is made possible thanks to a dual path, secure, private, IP-network. Cisco's Internet protocol (IP) networking equipment and software will be transmitting NASDAQ trading information from New York to San Jose, highlighting the benefits of virtualization and IP technology for businesses and society. The virtual open event caps off a year of commemoration marking Cisco's 20 years history of giving back to the community, technology innovation and industry leadership.

Webcasts

Virtual Open Webcast - 6:20 am PT
*Replay will be available approximately 1 hour after the live event.

Industry discussion on virtualization and technology innovation - 9:30am-11:00am PT
*Replay will be available approximately 6 hours after the live event.

Virtual Close Webcast - 12:40pm PT
*Replay will be available approximately 1 hour after the live event.

Weekend - August 6-7, 2005

The weekend started on a good note with some kayaking on Hidden Lake Saturday morning. After a few laps around the lake, we came back home for a nice breakfast. In the afternoon, we went to the Fremont Festival of the Arts with Leanna and Jeff. It was the same as it is every year - hot, same vendors, we never buy anything, but it was nice to be outside and Shawnna got the gyro she has been craving. After that, we came home and watched Grosse Pointe Blank while eating pizza and root beer (yum!).

On Sunday, Shawnna had a BeautiControl party (spa products), so we spent the morning cleaning things up in preparation. While the party was going on, I watched the Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Steve Young and Dan Marino were inducted) and the A's beat the Royals 11-0. When the party was over, we cleaned up and watched Stevie, a good documentary. Finally, we ate dinner, watched some TV (interrupted when Peter Jennings died) and went to bed; another weekend past.

Stevie - Movie Review

Steve James volunteered for the Big Brother program in the 1980's and was a mentor for Stevie Fielding who was a troubled 11-year-old. After getting a job in another town, Steve lost contact with Stevie until 1995 when Steve became a documentary filmmaker. Steve decided to find Stevie and make a documentary about how his life has changed since they were last together. Hoping to find Stevie in a better position than when he left, instead Steve found that Stevie's life had taken a series of wrong turns. Shortly after filming began, Stevie was charged with an unthinkable crime and faced serious jail time.

I love documentaries and this is a good one. The amount of access the film crews were granted by Stevie an his family meant that most of the revelations and reactions regarding his life, battles with his mom, relationship with his fiance, criminal charges and subsequent trial were all caught on tape. This was essentially a 2+ hour intervention with appearances by folks from all stages of Stevie's life trying to steer him in the right direction. It was fascinating to see Stevie's demeanor change from guarded and tough at home to relaxed and happy when he was visiting folks away from the home. It was almost like he just needed to get away from home to turn his life around; but would that place have to be a prison cell?

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Stephen Dale Fielding, Steve James (Directed Hoop Dreams as well)

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Grosse Pointe Blank - Movie Review

A freelance hit man who is no longer happy with his line of work decides to accept one last assignment. The assignment is based in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, his old home town and the timing coincides with his ten year high school reunion. While in Grosse Pointe, he finds his high school sweetheart who still holds a grudge on him for standing her up on prom night. While spending time with her and pushing off his assignment, he discovers that someone else has an assignment to kill him.

This was a quirky film. A comedy about a guy who kills people for a living is definitely an original and strange concept. I like John Cusack and thought he did a great job and had good chemistry with Minnie Driver, but the film wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. It was mildly amusing the first time he prepared his rifle, tracked his target, shot him dead and packed up; all while arguing with his secretary on the phone about going to his high school reunion. However, the lack of emotion displayed while killing people in precarious positions got old quick and his gun flashing scenes with Dan Ackroyd weren't funny in my opinion. Overall, though, I thought the movie was original and entertaining enough to be enjoyable and was worth seeing once.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Ackroyd, Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Coach Carter - ACE Train Movie Review

A retiring basketball coach for an under-performing high school team in a rough part of Richmond, CA turns the reigns over to a new coach with a radical idea - require the players to perform in the classroom in order to play on the court. While Coach Carter (a former star player for Richmond High) guides the team to a 12-0 start to the season, the team doesn't hold up their end of the bargain in the classroom. So, the coach decides to cancel all games until their grade point averages rise to the agreed upon level. Of course, since the team was on their way to the state championship tournament, this is met with a huge amount of resistance from the players, parents and even the school board. However, the coach has a point to make and he's not easily swayed.

Great film! This was based on the true story of the 1999 Richmond High basketball team and their trailblazing coach. Samuel L. Jackson was perfect for the part of Coach Carter and the film was fascinating to watch. It was amazing to see that a basketball coach stood up for education when everyone seemed to be against him; including the school board who voted to end the lockout and let the players play despite their low grades. In a school where only about 50% of the students graduate high school (let alone attend college), with Coach Carter's tutelage, 6 players went on to college after graduating. Rarely a dull moment; great story, great acting, great message.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Ashanti, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

The Upside of Anger - Movie Review

A housewife and her 4 teenaged daughters' lives are turned upside down when her husband and their father leaves for Sweden with his secretary. The mother turns to drinking and canoodling with her husband's best friend and the daughters find their own way of dealing with their shock. After they all attend a funeral, everything gets put into perspective.

This was a long and confusing film. There were so many side stories that didn't seem to relate to anything and added to the confusion as I tried to figure out their meaning to the whole plot. While Joan Allen and Kevin Costner did a great job in their roles, the four daughters, which are all talented actresses, had their talents wasted by weak roles. I pretty much had the ending figured out in the first 20 minutes, but the message was a good one; although, not good enough to spend two hours of your time.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Open Water - ACE Train Movie Review

A scuba diving, married couple decides to get away from the hustle and bustle of their everyday life and go on vacation to a remote island. While there, they naturally want to go scuba diving. Once they are out to sea, the experienced couple decide to break from the group and go exploring. When they return to the pick-up spot, the boat was gone. Left in the middle of the ocean in shark-infested waters, they must find a way to survive long enough for help to arrive.

When I learned this film was based on true events (it says so on the DVD), I was excited to watch it. Ten minutes into the movie, I was bored and ready for some action. After finishing it, I was very disappointed, but wanted to learn about the "true events" this was based on. This was a low-budget, independent film and it showed - the acting was bad and the script was worse. A movie about two people in the middle of an ocean can be interesting if the script is good ("Cast Away" was great and Tom Hanks was by himself on an island). However, I found myself rooting for the sharks just so something would happen. I will say that I liked the ending because it threw me for a loop, but it also exposed the fact that the "true events" were few and far between. If you want to know the real story, click here.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.