SJ Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche - 11/30/07

This was the annual "take my brother to see the Avalanche for his birthday" game. It was the first game I had attended at the arena this year and I was very impressed with the new technology they had on display. They completely replaced the giant, 4-sided scoreboard hanging above center ice with a new, high definition one. They also replace the banner ads between the first and second levels with a screen that wrapped all the way around the arena. This opened up a lot of possibilities for getting the crowd going with cool graphics and huge moving images. Finally, they replaced the old sound system with a much better, and easier to understand, one. Below is a picture of the new technology during construction.

Oh, and the game was good, too ;-) The Sharks got off to a fast start with a power play goal from Joe Thornton two minutes in. Five minutes into the second period, Thornton scored on the power play again to increase the lead 2-0. The Avalanche got their first goal shorthanded when Milan Hejduk beat Nabokov with 3:30 left in the period to cut the lead in half. The Sharks struck back quickly when Mike Grier scored 1:30 later to increase the lead back to 2 goals. The Avalanche wasted no time in making it a 1 goal game again when Andrew Brunette scored 1:30 later. After that flurry of goals to close out the second period, neither team scored in the third and the Sharks held on for a 3-2 victory.

Overall, it was a very physical game and both teams looked pretty good and had many scoring chances. The Sharks just played a little better and were fortunate to get a great game from Joe Thornton. One other note, during one of the breaks in the action, a guy in our section won a dance-off with a person in the competing section which meant our whole section received a $10 Dave & Buster's gift card. Not bad for some other guy's work (he was wearing a USA flag shirt, so I think he might have had an unfair advantage). Go Sharks!

Score: W 3-2
1st Period
SJ - Joe Thornton(PP) (Milan Michalek)
2nd Period
SJ - Joe Thornton(PP) (Milan Michalek, Sandis Ozolinsh)
Avs - Milan Hejduk(SH) (Paul Stastny, Scott Hannan)
SJ - Mike Grier (Joe Thornton, Kyle McLaren)
Avs - Andrew Brunette(PP) (Paul Stastny, Joe Sakic)
3rd Period
None

SJ SOG: 29
Avalanche SOG: 20
Winning Goalie: Evgeni Nabokov
Losing Goalie: Peter Budaj

Tickets: Section 221 Row 4

Meet the Robinsons - ACE Train Movie Reivew

When Lewis meets a mysterious boy from the future named Wilbur Robinson, the two travel forward in time where Lewis discovers the amazing secret of the Robinson family. Lewis is a brilliant twelve-year-old with a surprising number of clever inventions to his credit. His latest and most ambitious project is the Memory Scanner, which he hopes will retrieve early memories of his mother and maybe even reveal why she put him up for adoption. But before he can get his answer, his invention is stolen by the dastardly Bowler Hat Guy and his diabolical hat - and constant companion - Doris. Lewis has all but given up hope in his future when a mysterious boy named Wilbur Robinson whisks our bewildered hero away in a time machine and the two travel forward in time to spend a day with Wilbur's eccentric family. In a world filled with flying cars and floating cities, they hunt down Bowler Hat Guy, save the future and uncover the amazing secret of Lewis' future family.

This film was cute, but very, very corny. It's yet another example of a kid's film that offers very little for the poor parents that have to sit through it. As usual, there was a good lesson to be learned for kids and I'm sure they would think some of the corniness was funny, but there were several times I rolled my eyes and thought, "You've GOT to be kidding me." It was certainly not a Disney classic by any stretch of the imagination, which is exactly what it was missing - imagination. Everything in the film had been done before and done better. I'll give it points for great animation, likable characters and the ending with Rob Thomas' song, but it's definitely not a must see.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Voices of Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry, Wesley Singerman

The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Sicko - ACE Train Movie Review

Activist filmmaker Michael Moore turns his attentions toward the topic of health care in the United States in this documentary that weighs the plight of the uninsured (and the insured who must deal with abuse from insurance companies) against the record-breaking profits of the pharmaceutical industry. Moore interviews a number of people who have been left broke by medical bills even though they were fully insured, and explains how the corporate drive for profits has left numerous people in financial and medical disarray. After hearing that detainees in Guantanamo have access to free health care, Moore assembles a group of World Trade Center rescue workers to travel to Cuba in order to get the medical help they need for ailments they incurred in 2001.

Michael Moore is a very good storyteller and his documentaries are definitely interesting to watch. Sicko is no exception, but it wasn't quite as good as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. I suppose the topic just wasn't as controversial as the others and didn't capture my full attention. Moore does his best to make it interesting and keep the shocking statistics flowing and for the most part, he did a good job. Of course, as with any documentary, it's a portrait of one side of the argument. He presented a few arguments against his point of view, but they were a weak attempt at creating the illusion of a fair and balanced portrayal of the health care debate. This documentary should be watched for entertainment purposes only, not as a basis to form opinions.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Michael Moore

The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Nineteen Eighty-Four - Book Review

The year is 1984; the scene is London, largest population center of Airstrip One. Airstrip One is part of the vast political entity Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two other vast entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment, depending upon current alignments, all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston Smith knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant "correction" of such records. "'Who controls the past,' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"

In a grim city and a terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the Party's official image of the world is a fluid fiction. He knows the Party controls the people by feeding them lies and narrowing their imaginations through a process of bewilderment and brutalization that alienates each individual from his fellows and deprives him of every liberating human pursuit from reasoned inquiry to sexual passion. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

I know that this book is thought of as a classic and has introduced words like Big Brother and Orwellian to the English language, but I just didn't find it to be a page turner. Sure, the idea of a government completely controlling all aspects of every citizen sounds intriguing, but there's only so much conspiracy talk I can handle before it becomes stale, depressing and boring. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a complete snoozefest. I was able to appreciate the imagination of Orwell and the time it must have taken to create the frightening world of Oceania, complete with its own language. I suppose my main gripe was with the length of the book. It tended to drag at times and would have been much better with a little more editing.

When the book was released in 1949, I'm sure the "Big Brother controls all information" message in the book would have hit harder than it does today. Now, there are a lot more information sources than there was back then, so the thought of Big Brother controlling all content and changing historical references to suit their needs seems a lot more far fetched now than it would have back then. Of course, you never know, Big Brother could have created all the new media sources to spread their messages quicker and broader. If that's the case, I just committed thoughtcrime and the Thought Police will be knocking on my door any second to snuff me out - crap!

Seriously, I think this book is worth a read if you haven't ever read it. If nothing else, it should make you realize that our government is not that bad and you should also learn some new vocabulary words. However, if you're depressed or believe in government conspiracy theories, steer clear of this book - it will only make your outlook of the world worse.


Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I read it again: No

Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
Hardcover: 330 pages
Released: 1949

Ratatouille - ACE Train Movie Review

It's hard being a rat with culinary aspirations, but Remy is convinced he has what it takes to break the stereotypes and follow in the footsteps of star chef Auguste Gusteau. As fate would have it, Remy is currently situated in the sewers directly beneath Gusteau's elegant restaurant. Soon Remy teams up with a young chef with little talent named Linguini. Together they are able to create some fabulous dishes, but they live in fear that someone will discover their secret and object strenuously to a rat being in a kitchen. When Remy's passion for cooking turns the haughty world of French cuisine upside down, the rat who would be king of the kitchen learns important lessons about life, friends, and family while questioning whether he should pursue his culinary calling or simply go back underground and return to his life as a sewer rat.

For what it was (a very "safe" kids movie), it was excellent. The animation was clean and colorful. The plot was straightforward and easily followed. The characters were funny and memorable. There was a good lesson to be learned and I think kids would love this film. For adults, there's not a whole lot in this movie that's targeted toward the older set, but I found it light and entertaining. It's not a must see for adults, but I think it's one that adults can enjoy if they watch with the right frame of mind.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Voices of Patton Oswalt, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo

The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - ACE Train Movie Review

Chuck Levine and Larry Valentine are two New York City firefighters whose longtime friendship has endured many a five-alarm fire. All that widower Larry wants is to ensure that his two children will be taken care of if anything should happen to him on the job, and all that single blaze-battler Chuck wants is to carry on with his carefree life of non-commitment. Having once rescued Larry from certain death in a particularly fearsome inferno, beholden Chuck feels forever indebted to his brave friend and has vowed to repay the favor when the time is right. When Larry discovers that the only means of circumventing the civic red tape that could throw his children's futures into jeopardy is to take Chuck as his lawfully wedded husband, his obligated pal reluctantly agrees to step up to the alter with the understanding that the arrangement will be a well-kept secret between themselves and the justice of the peace. A potentially fatal flaw in their presumably foolproof plan is soon revealed, however, when an overzealous bureaucrat decides to question Chuck and Larry's partnership. Subsequently forced to embark on a mandatory honeymoon and pose as starry-eyed newlyweds, Chuck and Larry quickly discover just how important it can be to stick by a friend in his or her time of need.

Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame. I was really looking forward to watching this movie since the previews looked so funny. However, if you've seen the previews, you've already seen all the funny parts. I would have thought that Adam Sandler and Kevin James would have had better chemistry, but it seemed forced. Instead of creating a comedy, they seemed to just be making a political statement. Granted, I agree with gay rights and everything this film ended up standing for, but this wasn't supposed to be a "message" movie - it was supposed to be a freakin' comedy and it wasn't funny. Maybe Sandler has finally run out of funny material because he missed on a lot of his jokes. This movie is probably not as bad as I've rated it, but I was just very disappointed. Now I have to watch Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore to get the bad taste out of my mouth.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel

The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - ACE Train Movie Review

As the story opens, Sue Storm (The Invisible Girl), and Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) prepare for their upcoming, superhero-studded wedding celebration. But Reed cannot stay focused on the nuptials - he's distracted by wire reports of a bizarre, comet-like object hurtling toward the Earth with tremendous force, triggering brownouts, blackouts, tropical storms and various other climatological disasters. When the said object hits the island of Manhattan, destroying much of the city in its wake, its identity becomes resoundingly clear: "it" is actually a "he" - a psychotic villain known as The Silver Surfer who intends, for some unascertainable reason, to destroy much of the Earth - just as he obliterated dozens of planets before it. Feeling compelled to rally their old gang and save the day, Sue and Reed summon Ben Grimm (The Thing), and Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) to take on the Surfer - and end up battling not only him, but an obnoxious Army general and the cantankerous Victor Von Doom, who has broken out of his icy prison that held him captive at the end of the first movie.

This film wasn't as good as the first one (which wasn't that great to begin with). The plot was weak and underdeveloped. It was too short to truly do a story of this scope justice. The actors did a pretty good job with a marginal script, but there were plenty of lame scenes and bad jokes. The special effects were OK, but the Silver Surfer seemed overly rigid - maybe by design. Overall, I just wasn't very impressed and can think of many other movies based on comic books that are way better than this one. Nothing really stood out about this film, so add it to the pile to forget.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans

The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.

Transformers - Movie Review

Long ago, on the planet of Cybertron, a massive, powerful alien race divided into two factions, the noble Autobots, and the devious Decepticons. They fought for the sole access to a talisman known as the Allspark, a cube with the capacity to grant infinite power, and eventually the Autobots smuggled it off the planet's surface, hiding it in an unknown location on Earth. Now, hundreds of years later, the Deceptacons have come looking for it, and if the Autobots don't find it first, the Earth will be enslaved or destroyed by the evil aliens' use of its massive power. The Autobots don't know where the cube was hidden, but the information may be stored in the most unlikely of sources, as a gangly young Earthling named Sam Witwicky who's just picked up his first car, has a strange connection to the Allspark's history, making him the unlikely ally of these enormous creatures, as they fight for humankind's survival and the chance to return home.

I grew up with Transformers - watched the cartoon and played with the toys. This movie brought back a lot of good memories. However, this film was a little different than the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon I remember watching. The plot was gripping, entertaining and even funny. The special effects, though, were really the star of the show. The way that the Autobots and Decepticons moved and transformed was simply amazing and the fight scenes were out of this world (ok, bad pun intended). Anyway, this film is a sight for your eyes as well as your mind. The interaction between the transformers and humans looked so real, I was taken back to childhood daydreams where our car could transform into a cool robot - a friendly robot. This is a must see movie, even if you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Optimus Prime and Megatron - by the end, you'll be able to.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel

The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.