Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Movie Review: 1408

Welcome to Day 2 of my review week.  I have wanted to talk about this 2007 old-school horror flick for a while.  1408 stars John Cusack, and features Samuel L. Jackson in a strong supporting role.

The premise of this movie is fairly simple, John Enslin (Cusack), a writer who's subject in the paranormal, ghosts, spirits, hauntings, etc... finds out via an anonymous tip, about a New York hotel, one room in particular, that he won't be able to spend a night in.  Enslin, being a no-fear kind of skeptic, takes up the challenge and attempts to book that particular room.  The hotel manager, a mysterious fellow played by Samuel L. Jackson, tries to talk Enslin out of staying in that room, telling him about the number of deaths that have taken place in it over the years.  Enslin decides to go for it, and the scary ride begins.

Look, I have never been a fan of horror films, but they don't really leave me quaking in fear, either.  I'll admit that when I was a little kid, I was afraid of the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz (true story), but that's about it, and I got over that by the time I was thirty nine.  Since that time, only one other horror flick has ever... disturbed me, and that was Stephen King's "IT".  This has held true, until I saw 1408.

Like I said, the scary ride starts as soon as Enslin gets inside the room.  If you have seen this movie already, you know what kind of things happen in the film, if you haven't, I won't give everything away, but I will tell you that Enslin sees, hears, and interacts with a number of phantoms, ghosts, and really freaky electronic communications devices.  He sees and speaks to his dead father and has a heartbreaking scene with his dead daughter.

Now, there have been horror films that are much more gory than this one, in fact, this movie isn't what I could call super-bloody, but the camera-work is fantastic, the suspense is palpable, and the writing is tight.  I dare you to watch this without a significant rise in your pulse rate.

This movie is one he** of a ride, from the beginning ALL THE WAY TO THE LAST SECOND.

See it.

Guest Blogger: Anali

Please welcome my next guest blogger:  The lovely Lisa, from Anali's First Amendment..  Lisa is an attorney, freelance writer, and an unabashed foodie.  I always look forward to reading about what is on her mind... and on her plate.

I have a crush on a cake. Actually, it may be a bit deeper than that. A crush is an intense and usually passing infatuation. This glorious cake has only been on my radar since June, but our relationship could be far more than a summertime fling. 

What is the cake that I speak so highly of? Well, like many relationships, let me say this. It’s complicated. Okay, it’s not that complicated. This is cake not number theory. But I have been told that I can be rather dramatic.  

The cake was originally called Raspberry Buttermilk Cake on Gourmet’s website. I adapted it and changed the name to Copycat Cake. That’s not the best of names, but it made sense when I made it for the first time.  

You can read about our courtship here on my Flickr page. I had purchased four pints of blueberries and was trying not to bake anything. Sometimes I have to restrain myself from baking. It seemed that everywhere I looked, mouthwatering pictures of blueberry muffins appeared, and then a blueberry cake, which was the adapted version of the Raspberry Buttermilk Cake.  I broke down and copied everyone else by baking with my blueberries.  

This cake is quick, easy to make, and pretty in a very simple way. It’s not a whoop-de-do kind of cake. With no frosting and just a single layer. But the taste is extreme. I must have made this cake close to ten times already.  

Now the “complicated” part about this cake is that I don’t think I’ve made it the same way twice. I’ve used coconut milk instead of vanilla rice milk. Substituted whole-wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour. I’ve used cherries once and raspberries a couple of times. This is one adaptable cake! Both the cherries and blueberries were extremely tasty, but I like it with raspberries the best. The tanginess of the raspberries really pops against the sweetness of the cake. I’ll probably try it with strawberries and blackberries eventually. And any other berry that I can get my hands on! 

Since the berries change all the time and I’ve never used buttermilk, the original name doesn’t seem to fit. So, I’m going to stick with Copycat Cake for now. If you have any ideas for a better name, I’m open to suggestions. Here’s my version of this recipe below. I hope you try it. Enjoy!

Copycat Cake

(adapted from Gourmet’s Raspberry Buttermilk Cake} 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup Smart Balance

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup vanilla rice milk

1 cup berries (set aside) 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well.  Pour batter into a round cake pan that has been greased and floured.  Place berries over the top of the batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let cool, then serve.  

Thanks, Lisa!  I rarely bake, but I may try this when I get home from Florida. 

Ok, friends.... when you get a moment, follow the link to Lisa's blog and read about AND see her great creations!

Mmmmm!!!!

Movie Review: Harry Potter & The Halfblood Prince

I actually went to the movies twice this weekend.  That pretty much never happens... it was strange. 

Anyway, I thought I was being a good dad and got tickets (online) for the new Harry Potter movie, because Soccer Girl was all amped up about it.  I figured that I would tell Mrs GF, and she would be all "what a good dad you are"and then I would tell Seoccer Girll and she would be all "oh daddy!, thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

The things that I mentioned above were dancing through my head as I made the purchase and then sent the following email to Mrs Gunfighter, to brag about the fact that I had scored three tickets to the hottest movie in the country. 

"Guess who has scored 3 tickets to the Harry Potter movie?"

Oh, yeah!  I was feeling pretty good about myself, and it wasn't even 7 A.M. yet!  Well, a couple of hours later, I received an email from Mrs. Gunfighter reminding that she had to work on Saturday (big confab with out-of-town colleagues).  DAMN!

Well, what is a dad to do?  I'll tell you what I did... I invited one of Soccer Girl's teammates to come with us.  I was certain that as much fun as she might have going to see a movie with her own beloved father would be, she would probably havemore fun with one of her chums.  Arrangements were made, and off we went to the movies!

Naturally, the girls wanted to listen to the High School Musical 2 soundtrack that is on my ipod (don't hate, I liked those movies!), and they sang along... giggling mightily when I started to sing along with them.

We got to the theater, got our popcorn, and settled in, just in time for the coming attractions, many of which looked REALLY cool... especially the upcoming G.I. Joe movie, which I will be seeing as soon as it comes out... again, don't hate.  I'm a man, I like action movies.

So the Potter movie starts, proceeds, and ends.

Nice visuals.  Good acting.  Good story, and easily followed, even though I haven't seen the previous movies, nor have I read the books.  Harry Potter is a wizard, so are his friends.  They go to a school for wizards.  Old guy with a long beard.  Game they play on brooms that is a cross between rugby and basketball.... sort of like Gaelic footbal.

Right.

Fights, teen romance, sadness, glad tidings, villains, reunion.

The lights come up and the girls are happy... and so am I.  They enjoyed themselves and I didn't have an awful time.

I took the girls to lunch at Noodles & Company, we listened to more High School Musical, and home we go.

Success.

Oh... the movie... look, I'm not into Harry Potter, and any review based on the story/stories wouldn't mean much coming from me.  If you are into it, I am CERTAIN that you will enjoy it.  If you aren't into it, you probably shouldn't bother... but if your spouse, squeeze, lifepartner, hey-baby, or  whatever, drags you to see it, you probably won't hate it.

Movie Review: Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

Do you know what I did Friday? 

I took the day off. 

I had to take soccergirl off to day camp, as Mrs Gunfighter had a big meeting to go to, and I had a midday Dr's appointment, so I bailed on the whole day.

After taking care of the whole off to camp thing in the morning, I went to my appointment and sat in the parking lot and read for nearly an hour which was really pleasant.

After I spent about 10 minutes with the sawbones I decided that I would head over to the mall and see what movies were playing, and if there were any worthy blow-stuff-up movies, I would pass a couple of pleasant hours watching thins/people getting blown up.

Well, the usual array of comedies (yawn) and chick flicks (thank you, no), I saw that the new Transformers movie was out and was starting right away.  Great, I thought, I'll give that a try.

Well, I will tell you that for a summer action movie, at least for any male of the species, this movie had pretty much all that we can wish for it all... or at least mostly. 

Let's review, shall we? 

Robots?  Check;  Zany clueless parents as an attempt at humor?  Check;  Explosions?  Oh heck yeah!, I mean Check!;  Shia LaBouef (I can't be bothered to spell-check that kid's name) check; mildly racist stereotypical comedy relief robots?  (an unfortunate) check.

I'll be honest, the plot is paper-thin, but who goes to see an action film for the plot?  The acting was... meh, y'know, it's an action flick... we don't go for the acting, either.  The best way for me to sum up is to say this:  Lots of explosions, fighting robots, good cinematography, great special effects, lots of military hardware, and lots of tight shots of Megan Fox's bee-stung lips, Megan Fox's enhanced boobs, Megan Fox in hot pants and boots practically humping a motorcycle, Megan Fox in stilletto heels, and Megan Fox sweating, running, etc.

Did I mention that Megan Fox was in this movie?

I had fun for a couple of hours, and walked away not unhappy to have gone to see it.  If you have the inclination, go see it, you won't be sorry that you did.  If you have something else to do and you miss it, don't worry, it's an action film, you've seen enough of them to not be missing much.

Star Trek: A Review

As I began to type this, on Sunday evening,  we had only just returned from seeing the new Star Trek movie.  I’m not ashamed to tell you that I am an exceptionally happy middle aged geek!

By now, you may have heard the movie praised by the usual suspects:  jaded reviewers who enjoyed the visuals or the slam-bang action; the purists who enjoyed the fact the Enterprise had the appropriate hull number (NC-1701);  time-travel fans who found no fault with the way that potential paradox was handled; and young fans who don’t remember the original show in the first place.  I’m here to tell a different tale… maybe.

For me, Star Trek was a coming home experience.  Yeah, that’s what I said.  If you have been with me for a while, you know that I was practically raised by a television.  You also know that Captain James T. Kirk was a life-long role model for me.  To see my old friend and mentor, Captain Kirk in action again would heave been reason enough to give this movie the highest of praise, but I can’t, in any honesty, stop there. 

This is the Star Trek movie that I  have been waiting for since 1979, when I was 15.  That was when the original (lame-ass) Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released.  This new film  satisfied where so many of the other Star Trek movies were mere parodies of themselves (or dead-boring, like the first one).

I have to admit that I was as skeptical as any other fanboy over the fact that there was going to be a new, young, unknown James Kirk, but I am here to tell you that I was not disappointed. 

This movie was nicely filmed, as you would expect of any highly anticipated, big-budget summer blockbuster, and the special effects were pretty good, too, but not so spectacular that they deserve their own review.  The story was good, too, not that I am going to do spoilers here, I’m not.  I will say this:  This movie was tightly written, and the cast was great!
 

 

With the cast being led by Chris Pine, who played the brash, impetuous, womanizing Kirk, and being incredibly well-supported by Zachary Quinto as a young, emotional Spock, and Zoe Saldana as Uhuru (who has a surprising role to play!).  How could you have anything less than a... well... stellar (yeah, I know) movie experience.  Add to all of this, the inclusion of an actor who did such a credible job of playing Dr. McCoy, and you are set up for a good time, no matter what.

The story itself?  It was good enough.  It was interesting... not too simple, but not so complex as to give you a headache.  This is true space opera, which is what star trek always was.

One of the other things that you have to love about this movie is that it is almost... almost a total homage to decades of Trek geeks AND those who have and made fun of them us.  The Bones McCoy character shouting "Spock!  Are you out of your Vulcan mind?", Kirk shagging the green chick, and so many other things, made this movie even that much better.

I loved this movie... it took me back to late Saturday afternoons, watching Star Trek after a long day of swimming and water polo at the local Boy's Club when I was 12  It brought me more than just an entertaining two hours, it brought me something that movies seldom do: 

It brought me joy. 

It brought me happy memories of an otherwise troubled time.

It reminded me of a time when I still believed that I could boldly go wehere no one had gone before (oh, quit groaning)

It has been nearly 48 hours now, and I am still grinning.  How's that for good?

I think that you should go see this movie.  Taken on all of it's merits, you'll love it, even if you aren't a huge Star Trek fan.

Live long, & prosper!

Man Movie Music #3: Hawaii 5-0

Yeah, I know it isn't movie music, but, it sure as heck is Man-Music!

Steve McGarret was one of the coolest dudes that ever lived (on TV, anyway!), and you've got to love a sidekick named Chin Ho.

Man Movie Music #2: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

You really can't say enough about this classic piece of movie music, done by the incomparable Hugo Montenegro!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly was the third appearance of Clint Eastwood's classic "Man With No Name" character, whom he also portrayed in two other films; "For A Few Dollars More" and "High Plains Drifter"

Enjoy the music:

You KNOW you'll be whistling this all day today!

Man Movie Music: The Wild Geese

A year or so ago, I did a series of posts about "Man Movies". I want to talk a little about Man-Movie" music... you know, those theme songs that bring the movie right back to you, straight, with no chaser. So this week will be dedicated to bringing you some of my favortie movie theme music. Here we go:

Do any of you remember the 1978 movie "The Wild Geese"? It was one of the last big war movies with an all-star, or mostly all star cast.

This movie was all about the wars of African Liberation, the exploitation of Africa by large multinational corporations, ethics, morals, combat camaraderie and all of the good man-movie stuff.

I don't want to talk about the movie today, to tell you the truth. What I do want to talk about is the theme song from the opening credits.

I loved this song. I have loved it since I first saw this move in 1978 (or something like that.

I realize that Joan Armatrading has an unusual voice... she always put me to mind of Tracy chapman... but to tell you the truth, this song alone should have made her a star... and it did, for a while anyway, in the UK.

Film Review: Quantum of Solace

Bond is back, my friends!

Now before I talk too much about this movie, I am going to start by saying that this second installment in the revival of the tales of everyone's favorite British spy isn't as good as the first... but that's only because this is a different movie, based on a different novel.  It has nothing to do with Daniel Craig's acting ability.

Now let's get down to it.  The theme music:  It was recorded by two artists that I generally love... but the result was less than stellar.  Jack White & Alicia keyes have both written and played some really fantastic stuff, but their collaboration didn't work for me.  There was nothing really WRONG with Keyes' vocals, but to me they sounded like lyrics that should have been sung by a man.  The pacing of the opening songs, coupled with the graphics just made me want the song to end.

The movie opens to a big car chase, that ends well for Bond, having spectacularly dispatched several black sport-car-driving thugs who have automatic weapons.  Once Bond arrives at his destination, he doesn't leave us waiting more than another three minutes before he is involved in a well-filmed foot chase, that ends in a pistol shot that makes the firearms instructor in me proud!  As an aside, the MP-5 that Bond is carrying in the picture (with typical theatrical inaccuracy, doesn't make an appearance in this film, thank God).

Critics lambasted this movie as confusing (it wasn't, you just have to pay attention), critics said that there were to many set locations (there weren't, again you just have to pay attention).  Critics said that Bond was too bloodthirsty (he isn't, but you have to remember, he is a trained killer.  That's what killers do).  To the critics, I say:  Why should anyone trust a professional movie critic to be able to properly review a man-movie, especially one like this?  Let's face it, most movie critics have probably never used guns, been involved in a fist-fight or brawl, and almost cretainly never made it with a really hot chick (I'm just saying, friends... and you know I'm right.)

I liked this movie.  Daniel Craig, in my opinion, is the best Double-O seven since Sean Connery.  Craig's Bond is sophisticated, but tough.  I don't mean tough as in can be gruff and macho... I mean tough as in he'll kick your ass!  Craig's Bond isn't as much about techno-gear as Roger Moore's Bond.  Craig's Bond is about getting the job done with the tools at hand.

Now, our story:  I'll set it up without spoilers, since this movie just came out on DVD last week.  Bond has captured the mysterious Mr. White... who is the same man that Bond shot right at the beginning of "Casino Royale", so this movie begins "minutes" after the previous one ended.

Bond discovers that a new group of baddies who are as secret as they can be and have infiltrated Britain's MI-6, the Canadian CSIS, and the CIA.  In natural Bond fashion, he goes around the world killing as many of the bad folks as he can, all the while getting closer and closer to the center of things.  Not only does he get the people he is trying to kill, he also takes revenge on the people that were responsible for the death of Vesper Lynde, his love interest from the last movie.

This movie had all of the elements that makes people love this genre.  A good looking, tough, beleivable leading man; good supporting roles (Judi Dench as M); good chase scenes; believable (mostly) gunplay; exlosions; and a few very good looking women.  That's the formula, friends, and it still works.

That's enough details... I haven't told you anything that would give away any of the cools stuff from the movie.  All I can say is that it was big fun, right from the start... or at least, once you get past that opening song.

Highly recommended.

OK, gotta dash, I have to pick up soccer girl from her camping trip in 16 minutes!

The New G.I. Joe Movie

Look, I took the day off from work, yesterday, to go to the DMV and get some other things done... that and I am sick, but that doesn't matter.  Yesterday is my Grandmother's 89th birthday, and I'll be calling her later... but to most of you that doesn't matter anywhere near as much as it matters to me.  Neither of these this are the subject of this post.

I just found out that there is going to be a live-action G.I. Joe movie!

...and crickets.

Wow, I thought you all would be happy for me.  All of you probably know about this already because you watched the SuperBowl when it was on last week, or whenever it was.  Well, I missed out because I didn't watch the game.  Well, no matter.. your friend Gunfighter is a happy (former) geek-boy, and I am almost (almost) as happy about this as I was about Iron Man last year.

Anyway, I was raised with G.I. Joe action figures... yeah, that's what I said: action figures.  Not dolls.  Don't make me kick your ass!  This was back in the days when G.I. Joe was a twelve inch figure, not the little four inch figures that came along in the 80's.  I still pause when I pass the newly re-sized GI Joes in Wal-MArt or other places that sell toys.

Anyway, have a look:

Pretty cool, huh?