Man vs. Mailbox

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged and I wanted to start back up with a short story that took place a few weeks ago when I was riding by bike around the neighborhood.

Last year I bought a new road bike and was diligently riding it all season.  This year is a slightly different story.  I haven’t had a lot of free time to ride, but one beautiful afternoon when returning home from church I saw my lonely bicycle in the garage yearning to hit the pavement again.

I decided it was about time to take it out for at least a quick ride around the block.  I was in my normal church attire: a button down shirt, jeans and casual shoes.  Being too lazy to go and change I decided to just take it out the way I was.  I started getting hot and sweaty almost immediately, and half a minute into the ride I realized my tires weren’t pumped up.  I decided I should turn back and at least pump the tires up before continuing if not give up all together.

I pulled into a cul-de-sac and as I was making a U-turn I was worried that my tires would loose traction and I would slide out and fall.  I’ve never fallen on my road bike, and I had planned to keep it that way.  I ended up taking the turn extremely wide and my wheels were mere inches from the Belgian block curb.  I momentarily looked up and a few feet in front of me was a mailbox that was mounted to be overhanging the road and directly in my path.  Being too late to avoid the mailbox, I just braced for impact and rode straight through it.  After the collision, the mailbox went flying through the air and landed on the owner’s lawn.  Fortunately, I wasn’t injured (apart from my dignity) and miraculously I didn’t fall either. 

I quickly stopped and looked back to see the mailbox lying on its side several feet from the lone post which previously held it.  There I was standing by the side of the road in my now sweaty church clothes next a mailbox I just pulverized while riding my bike.  My first thought was, “should I run?”  But me being such a law-abiding citizen, I decided to ring the doorbell of the owners and confess my fault.  No one was home and I decided to leave and come back later.  That’s as I passed by the lone post I noticed that it was constructed like Lincoln logs where the pieces of wood fit into each other.  More importantly, the two pieces hadn’t been nailed together.  I quickly grabbed the mailbox and successfully put the pieces back together and fully restored the mailbox.  Crisis averted.  I then rode home with a semi-clear conscious.

I realized that if the mailbox has properly been nailed together, I would have most likely have been clothes-lined on impact rather than just riding straight through it.  I consider myself lucky to have walked away in a victory after the match between “man vs. mailbox”. 

Strangers on a Train (1951) - Movie Review

I’ve only seen a few Alfred Hitchcock films, all of which were amazing to watch, and Strangers on a Train did not lessen Mr. Hitchcock’s reputation.  Like many classic films Strangers on a Train has a gripping plot with a simple yet effective delivery since they can’t rely on the ever so popular movie magic effects of today’s film industry.  

Many classics I’ve seen are unbearably slow to me after being desensitized by modern films, but Strangers on a Train was a relatively fast moving classic bringing viewers deeper and deeper into the plot and struggles of the characters.  The essential plot itself is fascinating and I found myself still thinking about the genius and simplicity of it all days after the credits finished rolling.  Hitchcock also does a great job building up the tension and anxiety through the characters and situation.  Scripting and basic cinematography are fantastic to go along with Hitchcock’s other films.

Perhaps it’s a change in times but there were a few segments I found unintentionally comical because of overly ridiculous situations.  For instance, an old man crawling under a speeding marry-go-round platform in an attempt to reach the controls which are strategically positioned in the center of the out-of-control ride.  Even though this took away from the seriousness, I can’t really consider this a flaw and I can’t really point out anything else I didn’t enjoy.

Overall, Stranger on a Train was an intriguing and well orchestrated classic by Hitchcock.  Of course, viewers have to watch it with an open mind that it was released in 1951, but regardless I think most people with a brain will not be disappointed.

Rating: 90%

Unstoppable (2010) - Movie Review

Unstoppable fits well with today's genre of action thriller movies without the typical guns and mindless shooting.  The film kept me on the edge of my seat pretty much throughout the entirety of the movie and I enjoyed the emphasis on the flaws of corporate bureaucracy.  I have to say that Unstoppable reminded me a lot of Speed (1994) of which I am a fan of, but maybe just because it was the first rated-R movie I watched.

Unstoppable is engaging throughout the film and is well paced, meaning it was never too slow or too much to take in at one time.  It also had a few spots of gentle humor among the tension of the plot and situation which I thought kept the mood lighter.  The numerous different situations in the film are also well explained through depictions in the media coverage of the event.  Nothing was too outrageous but it helped me understand exactly what was happened or going to happen at all times.  At the end of the day, you come to watch this film for the suspense and action, which is well designed and built up.

The major flaw of Unstoppable is character development.  I am a big fan of Denzel and from Star Trek (2009) I guess I can consider myself a Chris Pine fan as well, so I expected great performances from both. However, since the movie isn't quite a dialog driven flick and lacked character development, I was quite disappointed with the contribution the two actors were able to fit into the film.  I'm not saying they aren't great actors, I'm just saying the film didn't really allow for them to shine on stage.  Another thing that I noticed but didn't bother me that much was the choice in music.  I felt like the soundtrack was taken straight out of Black Hawk Down (2001) or some other modern day warfare movie.  It was fitting for an action film and wasn't too displaced in Unstoppable, but did make me raise an eyebrow a little.

Overall, if you're looking for a thrilling and action-esk movie that doesn't involve a lot of bullets and gratuitous explosions while at the same time you don’t have character development on the top of your movie rating criteria, Unstoppable is a decently entertaining film to watch.

RT Rating: 70%

127 Hours - Review

I loosely knew of Aron Ralston’s story from before, but I still had no idea what to expect when going to watch 127 Hours. It’s hard to imagine a movie to be really exciting when the majority of the movie is set in a narrow canyon under a boulder, but to my surprise it was an artistic, well filmed movie that was exciting and a blast to watch.

One of the big things I look for in movies is pace, and even though 127 Hours was only 94 minutes long plot-wise it didn’t really encompass much but regardless I found that it was engaging from start to finish. The design of the film really puts you right next to James Franco and I felt my heart and mind struggling with the character the whole time. The filmography is also well done and considering 80-90% of the movie is filmed in close quarters I never felt that the angles became repetitive or boring. I also liked how the writers used Aron filming himself on his camcorder to bring a deeper understanding of what was going on in his head. It wasn’t the most original thing, but it was very appropriate.

As far as flaws, there wasn’t anything I can really put my finger on that I didn’t like about the movie except for the name. The film never really clearly explain the name, but I can take a pretty good guess at what it represents. Although, having said I thoroughly enjoyed the movie I have to say that it's definitely not for everyone. Even though I thought it was engaging, at the root of it all there isn’t a whole lot going on, but that's not really a fault of the movie or anyone at all really. Also, it gets pretty gory and hard to watch at some point.

Overall, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I came out pleasantly pleased. Great filming, great pace and great acting. It’s not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it.


Rating: 90%

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Review

So I've recently started writing reviews for movies on RottenTomatoes.com and I figured I'd share them here as well.

----------

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was an artistic and well paced movie. I've read the books and I have to say that the movie did a great job depicting the scenes just as I imagined them. Not many movies based on novels can boast on this subject. The difficult part of making lengthy movies is pace, which I believe the Harry Potter series has been nailing in the last two movie releases. The storyline is obviously pretty solid but can get confusing to those who haven't read the books, and since it's based off the novel I can't really criticize.

There were its downsides though. The previous movie, the Half-Blood Prince, really pushed the situational humor of which I am a big fan of and didn't feel was as present in the Deathly Hallows. However, this can go either way for many viewers. I also find that the movie lacks tension and therefore robs the climactic scenes of their potential. In other words, the movie felt stimulatingly flat and constant. One other style of action films that I saw in the Deathly Hallows was the super shaky camera and viewers not knowing with even 50% confidence what is going on.

Overall, I thought the movie was absolutely beautiful, well paced and being a Harry Potter fan I loved watching it despite its flaws.