Posts for: 2013

Looper

Futuristic move about time travel and hired hitmen starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt.

IMDB info

My Review
This movie was not what I expected it to be based on what I'd seen in the previews. The director tried for character development but unfortunately it falls flat. You want to care what happens in the end but I just couldn't bring myself to go one way or the other. Some of the action is good but the visuals are nothing impressive.

My rating: B-

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 12

Last night saw the further development of a character who I believe will play a big part in the group... Michonne. She really seemed to make a positive impression on Carl who has become a bigger voice in season 3. This episode also saw the return of a character we haven't seen since season 1. He seemed to be a pretty big plot point of this episode so I'm wondering if we are going to see more of him.

The previews for next week look pretty amazing so I can't wait for Sunday!

You can check out The Walking Dead Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Review: Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II

The last installment to the Twilight saga starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. This movie leads up to the final confrontation of the Cullens and the Volturi in the series.

IMDB info

My Review
I wish this whole series never happened. This movie was just insult to injury. The build up to the end was virtually non-existent. You have the final sequence, backup and then boom... it's over faster than it started. Too bad the studio doesn't have a satisfaction guarantee and offer refunds when you hate the movie or in this case the whole series.

My Rating: D+

Help Save Cici

We recently adopted a Min Pin "Cici" from an organization who helps transport dogs from high kill shelters down south in hopes of finding them a home in the North. Upon taking Cici to the vet for her initial wellness exam after her adoption it was noted to us that she has a pretty severe case of Pulmonic Stenosis (heart defect) and needs to have surgery to give her the best chance possible of a normal life span.

Unfortunately, this procedure is rather expensive and not one we were prepared to deal with as part of adopting her. We feel we made a commitment to her when we took her in and will get her the treatment any way possible but we are asking for help and have set up a donations page to raise funds to offset the cost of the procedure.

As of today, we are at 21% of our goal and could use all the help we can get. Please donate if you are able. Any amount will help. If you are unable to donate, please help spread the word to others. [Read More]

Review: Skyfall

The latest movie in the James Bond franchise starring Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem. MI6 comes under attack and 007 must track down and eliminate the threat.

IMDB info

My Review
My hopes for this movie were a lot higher. It was longer than needed as there were some story lines that weren't needed. While the story development was easy to follow and connect it was thin. The final sequence was OK.

My Rating: C

Original characters return to Star Wars

George Lucas apparently let it slip in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford have signed on to make appearances in Star Wars: Episode VII. He later went on to say that he probably wasn't supposed to say anything.

Not sure about anyone else but this doesn't really get me excited for the new movie. I was more excited by the fact that Lucas sold the rights to Disney and someone else would be taking the reins.

Who wants to see "Star Wars: Geriatric Jedis" anyway?

What was lost is now found

I recently purchased the Fitbit One Activity and Sleep tracker so I can start to monitor just how inactive I really am (not that I don't already know). I decided to wear it while I was snow blowing the driveway after the last snow storm we had and unbeknownst to me, it had fallen off and got blown into the snowbank by the snow blower.

It wasn't until I got into the house that I realized it was no longer on my hip. After a few trips back over my whereabouts I was unsuccessful in finding it. It wasn't until my wife and I were outside actually knocking down the snowbanks that it was discovered. Thankfully it was still in one piece and had been completely unharmed.

If I'm supposed to wear it while I'm active but it's going to fall off under any kind of activity, it makes it kinda pointless to own, don't you think? Our cordless phones have a "locate" feature. If these tiny things are so susceptible to being lost why don't they come with the same sort of feature? It could have saved me a good hour or so looking for it. [Read More]

Review: Wreck-it Ralph

Ralph is the popular villain from the Fix-it Felix video game who doesn't want to be the villain anymore. He sets out to change his lot in life and runs into some interesting characters. Stars the voices of John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman.

IMDB info

My Review
I liked this movie. Yeah, it's for kids but it's entertaining for adults just the same. There are a lot of references to classic video game characters that adults will be sure to remember. The story line was pretty much formulaic as is typical of Hollywood these days but I was caught off guard (although not surprising once revealed) by the true identity of the villain in the end. Don't expect this movie to be on par with the Disney Classic movies but by itself it can definitely hold its own. [Read More]

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 13

I was let down with this episode. The whole premise is the meeting between the Governor and Rick. While they take their sweet time behind closed doors those they have brought as reinforcements get chummy outside; exchanging conversation and taking turns killing walkers. Back at the prison some folks want to make their way to the meeting to finish their opposition while they have the chance and conflict arises there.

The episode could have spent the first half on the plot points for the whole episode and moved on to something else. It seemed like a filler week. The Governor did give Rick a way out which he must grapple with... will he? won't he? In the end I think we know the answer and the fact that he confided in Hershel solidifies it all the more. Hershel is a man of upstanding character and probably won't go for the alternative.

Next week's previews look pretty interesting but I was deceived with this week so I'm not putting much stock in those anymore. Here's to hoping for a better episode next week. [Read More]

Review: Oz the Great and Powerful

A remade telling of the classic story they are selling as a prequel to the original. It stars James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis. A little known magician is forced to look beyond himself in order to save a land he was thrust into. When others count on and believe in him, will he find the courage to stand up to evil and protect those who need him most?

IMDB info

My Review
I had really high hopes for this movie as the previews looked amazing. Sadly I must say the director was more interested in the visuals than with the story telling or character development. Even watching the 2D version you could tell that there were sequences they placed in the movie solely for the purpose to visually wowing the audience in 3D. [Read More]

Review: Rise of the Guardians

Five beloved children's characters must come together to protect the children of the world from Pitch Black a.k.a the Boogie Man (Jude Law). When he threatens to take over children's dreams and make them stop believing in the other characters Jack Frost (Chris Pine), North a.k.a Santa (Alec Balwin), Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) band together to fight back.

IMDB info

My Review
For children, seeing their favorite characters come to life I'm sure is a wonderful experience. However as an adult I was thoroughly disappointed as I had expected I would be all along. There was a story to the movie but the dialog and adventure were extremely lacking. [Read More]

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 14

This week's episode was better than last week's however it still feels like a waste; almost like the writers are just trying to get us to the end of the season and ran out of ideas so they are dragging this thing between the prison and Woodbury out. Andrea makes her escape from Woodbury and attempts to find her way to the prison all the while being tracked down by the psycho that is The Governor.

While the rest of the town is preparing for war against the prison we are following these two through the fields and woods that separate the two compounds. In the end Andrea makes her way to the front of the prison and...

There were a couple of "oh wow" moments in this episode that put it above last week but still a far cry from what we're used to, expect and deserve as loyal followers of the show. It's too late to do anything about the remaining two episodes for this season but all I have to say is "come on writers you need to step up your game for next season".

You can check out The Walking Dead Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. [Read More]

Spring time conspiracy

I think the groundhog and Mother Nature conspired to play a cruel joke on New England. This year the groundhog saw his shadow which is supposed to signify an early Spring. Things appeared to be going well until a pretty big snow storm was dumped on New England. But OK, it was still early. Things were melting and the grass was starting to show. There were a couple of warm days. And right when things are looking like they might actually be turning for the better, here we are with yet another storm.

Nice one you two... I see what you did there. You're both on my list.

Review: This is 40

Life goes on and doesn't turn out the way Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) had expected it to. This is a sorta sequel to "Knocked Up" but follows these two instead.

IMDB info

My Review
OMG! This movie should not exist! I'm glad that Judd Apatow is comfortable enough with himself and his marriage to show off his wife's breasts for all to see but he could have done it with a movie that was at least good. No amount of nipple would have saved this movie. I'm also a little dumbfounded by the language he teaches to his real-life kids (who play Pete/Debbie's children) in order to partake in this movie. Don't waste your time. Rent "Knocked Up" instead. [Read More]

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 15

OK, now I know the writers have definitely run out of ideas for this season. This is the third episode in a row that hasn't lived up to the rest of the series. The only saving grace for this one is the event that takes place at the end. Without that, I would have had to rank this one as the worst episode of the season.

The premise of this week is that Rick decides to turn in Michonne to the Governor in hopes that he'll keep up his end of the bargain and leave them alone. He enlists Daryl and Merl to help him get Michonne alone so they can corner her and drag her away. Along the way Rick has a change of heart as is the case with almost every decision he has to make but it's too late. Merl has already tied her up and is on his way to Woodbury. Events ensue and Merl sets Michonne free but continues on his own to Woodbury to carry out his own vengeful plot.

I'm almost looking forward to this season to end. It should give us one final hoo-rah to redeem the season and it will give the writers some time off to recharge and get a good story line going again. [Read More]

Review: Men in Black III

The boys are back for (hopefully) one last go-round with the galaxy's space nasties. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as Agent J and Agent K, respectively. When an alien is locked up in a high security prison on the moon for 40 years, he has time to plot how to exact his revenge. This movie also stars Josh Brolin as the 1969 version of Agent K.

IMDB info

My Review
Oh how I wish they had stopped at two. Will and Tommy Lee have lost their chemistry as the comedic duo and Tommy is looking so old. I mean, they didn't even try to disquise just how old he is in this movie. To that note, I think the only reason he makes an appearance at the beginning and then the end of the movie was just so they could keep the die-hard fans happy. [Read More]

Happy Easter

I hope you all have a Happy Easter! If you're traveling, be safe. Be thankful for everything you have and maybe help out someone who doesn't have enough.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Finale

**Warning: Spoilers**

So what can I say about this finale? Such a let down. We did say goodbye to a couple of characters in this episode. The writers made a bigger deal out of the "main" character killed off than I think any of the fans did. She definitely didn't have as much of a hold on our heart-strings as in the past. There was apparently a cut scene that surfaced online. Whether or not it's actual footage, I don't know. But, if it was legit I think the director would have been wiser to go with it as it would have played a bigger piece in creating the shocking moment they were hoping for than what we got.

There were some sequences that made you think the plot could go one way and then come to find out that wasn't it at all. Still, the overall emotion of the finale was missing and just kept the season on its continued path downward in its story telling. Writers/Directors/Actors, take the next couple of months, re-read the comics, rethink your direction and storytelling style, come back to season four and punch this series into high gear. [Read More]

I'm on a low FODMAP

I recently went in for a follow up with my gastroenterologist and he again suggested to me the low FODMAP diet.

FODMAP (Fermentable Oligo-saccharides Di-saccharides Mono-saccharides And Polyols) was coined by researchers at Monash University in Melbourne and it describes the sugars that are poorly absorbed by the body. They include:

1. Fructose – found in fruit, honey, juices.
2. Lactose – found in milk and milk products.
3. Sugar polyols such as sorbitol and mannitol – found in some fruits and vegetables and as artificial sweetener.
4. Fructans – found in wheat, rye, onions, garlic.
5. Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) – found in legumes such as chickpeas, kidney beans or baked beans.

I'm a picky eater to begin with and saw what was considered acceptable on this diet and to be honest it has me concerned... I mean no milk! Come on! There goes my daily bowl of cereal and my chocolate milk. [Read More]

The Cellphone turns 40

I took a trip down memory lane tonight when I found an article discussing the evolution of cellphones over the last 40 years back to when Martin Cooper, a VP at Motorola placed the first call to his rival at AT&T's Bell Labs. Make your way through history to the point where Steve Jobs launched the iPhone by making a call to the local Starbucks to order 4,000 in front of an auditorium of journalists.

There's a nice slideshow that portrays what was to become "smartphones" and I recognize over 1/2 of them. It was a very nice flashback.

Read the Article
See the slideshow

Facebook Home for Android

Facebook as launched "Home" for Android devices. It is attempting to gather information on customers' usage of mobile devices in yet another attempt to monetize all aspects of its platform. Home will allow users to see live updates and perform actions on their Facebook account right from the phone's home screen. While Facebook says it will be able to document which apps users open it will only collect that data from a small subset of its home users and will only use that information to create metrics on the app's optimization. I think we all know that's a load of hooey and won't be restricted to just that for long.

This is yet another piece of software gathering information on my habits that I don't really care to be sharing. Why can't they gather information that is useful to me? Like monitor when my grass gets too long and automatically mow it for me or know when the garbage man is coming up the road and put my trash out at the curb... I'm just saying.

The Walking Dead hardcover graphic novels

I've begun to read the hardback versions of The Walking Dead comics as I am a huge fan of the TV show. I had heard reports that the writers take some liberty with the storylines of the show but, Man! I didn't realize just how much they stray. To paint a picture for you, imagine the comic book story as a straight line. Now imagine the tv story as a zig-zag overlaid on top of that straight line. You can see intersecting points which would be the main plot and characters but along the way nothing is the same.

I have made it through two of the books so far which correspond to the TV series timeline through the first part of season three. There have been hook-ups that I don't want to even think about, characters that are missing from the show, and unfortunately no Dixon brothers to speak of. This is turning out to be just like any other time I've read the book and saw the movie. The movie can't do the book justice and I end up appreciating it less that I would have otherwise.

The storyline of the comics is a lot more intriguing than the TV show has been and knowing the difference makes me wish they had stuck closer to the original story. [Read More]

My First API

I'm pretty proud of myself... I wrote my first API today. In addition to the tiggiler.com and nashuaphoto.com domains, I also own tigurl.com which is used for URL shortening just like Tinyurl or the like. At one point it was open to the public but it became too much of a burden for me to manage on my own so now it's by invitation only.

While it's just the bare bones necessity, I created an API on that domain and have successfully implemented it on this blog in order to more easily create the shortened URL that you see on some of my posts. Prior to that, I would have to manually log in, create the link and then spread it around my social networks. Now, with a click of a button, it's done (except for the sharing part of course)!

I know those of you neck deep in the software development world are like "yeah big deal, I write at least two APIs a day". [Read More]

What title do I add to my experience?

So it's been a couple of days since my last post but there has been good reason. I recently purchased a new computer to use to replace my current network server solution. I figured while I was at I'd also use it to host my websites myself. Now mind you, I've hand coded all my sites to this point and had enabled/configured IIS on Windows XP Pro so I figured it wouldn't be much worse on Windows 7 Pro (I refuse to jump to Windows 8 just yet). Man, was I wrong! I ran into configuration issues trying to serve up ASP pages. Everything I saw online said I should just be able to enable it in IIS and have it work.

After countless hours trying different suggestions from various Internet searches as well as a call to Microsoft and the OEM I bought the tower from, I ended up doing a complete system restore back to the factory settings. I was sure I had messed something up with the systems after all the restores I did when changes I made screwed up something else that was working.

Needless to say, I finally got it working and now will begin the tedious task of migrating over my various sites (of which there are a 1/2 dozen actives and another 6+ inactive that I keep for archival reasons).

So what title can I add to my list of experiences? Network Administrator doesn't seem like the right one because I've had all my various desktops, laptops and wireless devices networked together but this is the first time I'm hosting my websites locally. [Read More]

3rd time's a charm... hopefully

We plan a trip to Disney World in Florida every year for the last 4. This being our 5th annual trip we decided to splurge a little. We belong to the Disney Vacation Club and decided to use points from three years to get a 1 bedroom room on the concierge (club) level at the Animal Kingdom - Jambo House. We were signed on early the day the reservations opened and were able to reserve a spot. Time passed and then my wife's vacation was rejected. *Sigh*

There was no getting around it. She was needed at work during that time and her boss would not budge. OK, plan B... We then decided to go during Christmas and New Year's week and were able to get a studio for the two weeks for less points than the previous trip. Some time passed and we began to think about whether or not we really wanted to 1. be at Disney for that long and 2. be at Disney during their busiest season of the year. *Shrug*

We have since changed to a week long vacation during a different part of the year. The timing should be good, we won't be there too long and crowds should be manageable. [Read More]

Spring is here! Finally...

We spent this last weekend working in our yard trying to clean up from the winter. It's amazing... despite having no trees in our yard, we end up with what seems like the most leaves out of all our neighbors. That just doesn't seem fair. We went over the front yard with a lawnmower, a leaf blower and a manual rake and now we can see just how dead our grass really is. Yuck!

I almost want to put the leaves back... almost! It still looks better than it did but we've been trying to get this thing growing for the last 4 years and still have the worst lawn on the street by far. It's a little disappointing and embarrassing at this point that we just can't the grass to want to grow. I think it's time to call in the professionals. Hopefully they come with a guarantee that they can get it looking beautiful.

So as if Saturday didn't make for a busy enough weekend, we spent part of the day Sunday at a local walking trail where I was finally able to get over 10,000 steps on my Fitbit since getting it a couple months ago. [Read More]

Review: Jack Reacher

So I finally got to watch Jack Reacher. I got it pretty much the day it was released on Blu-ray but things kept coming up that preventing me from sitting down to watch it. I must say, this movie was not what I thought it was. Not having read the book or any synopsis of the movie, I was basing my opinion solely on the trailer and the write up on the back of the movie box.

Jack Reacher is an ex-Military cop who is asked for by name and becomes the lead investigator in a murder investigation after an ex-Military sniper apparently goes on a shooting rampage in a public area, killing 5 innocent people. Reacher's past involvement with the shooter and his pure hatred leads him to look at all the angles to the crime and soon leads him down a path others didn't expect to be heading.

IMDB info

My Review
I expected this to be an action film but ended up getting a who-dun-it drama. [Read More]

Happy Memorial Day

In remembrance of all those who have served and are currently serving to secure and protect our freedom.

TK 421 - My new t-shirt

We have gone to Disney every year for the last 5 years and I have always come home with a t-shirt to commemorate our trip. Now I typically don't wear screen print t-shirts out of the house so they get used as the shirt I throw on when I'm in my "pajamas". We were in the Orlando area for Memorial Day weekend and made a stop by Hollywood Studios for one of their Star Wars weekends. While there I saw my new pajama shirt for that trip...

It also happens that the 24th was the day Magic Kingdom was open 24 hours to celebrate their Monstrous Summer to support the release of "Monsters University". I arrived already having decided that I would get the shirt to commemorate that happening too...

What are some things you pick up while you're vacationing?

Deskunk your dog

My dog was sprayed by a skunk the other night. Of course, it was raining which made trying to figure out what to do and how to do it without getting it all over the house or me that much more difficult. She was brought into the bathroom by my wife while I started looking up online what to do. I was able to find a "recipe" to neutralize the odor. Time is of the essence so I began to mix the concoction and get ready to bathe my dog before the oils began to "set in". It was easy to find online and uses Hydrogen-Peroxide, Baking soda, water and regular dish soap. This stuff works wonders as I was able to get pretty much all the smell out.

Of course I had the skunk smell all through my nose so I could tell for sure if it was still on her, on me or just in my nostrals. I woke the next morning with the smell out of my nose and was able to confirm that the dog didn't really smell other than like the soap we used after we used the mixture. My thought was confirmed the next morning when I brought her to her daycare and told them what happened. [Read More]

Falling Skies: Season 3 Premiere

"... over the last 7 months ..."

That was the phrase heard over and over again during the two hour season premiere of Falling Skies on TNT. So much has changed since the end of season two that they apparently felt they needed to remind the viewers that a chunk of time had passed so that we don't start questioning where everything came from. I'm sorry to disappoint but I was still scratching and shaking my head in disbelief. If you need to constantly remind us that so much time has lapsed then you are obviously straying from the story or introducing things that you clearly haven't built up in the story and probably shouldn't.

Case-in-point... The humans now have advanced technology from the new alien race that landed at the end of season two and are now able to effectively fight back. In the two hour premiere there were two battles that took place, both of which were a success for the humans. This also leads to the next gripe I have with the direction this episode took. [Read More]

Review: Warm Bodies

Being a fan of recent movies and TV shows in the zombie genre, I was interested to see this comedic take on the subject. After the zombie apocalypse there is a hoard of zombies just hanging out at the local airport.

One of those zombies "R" starts having thoughts to himself about how life is getting boring and he begins to revert back to being human more and more especially after he meets the daughter of the President of the new United States.

After saving her life, the two of them form a forbidden relationship and they set out to show that the zombies are changing back.

The movie was short so I was able to sit through it relatively easy. There were a couple of parts where I kind of chuckled but nothing that really got me into a good laugh. It was cheap so I don't feel so bad having purchased the movie prior to watching and out of boredom might watch it again.

Overall, this movie isn't worth your time and you should probably not spend any money on. Wait for it to come out on TV and see it for free then. [Read More]

Happy Father's Day

From one father to all the others... Happy Father's day!

Falling Skies Season 3 Episode 3

As if they don't have enough to fight in the aliens, now they have to contend with humans too. After the Berserkers are attacked on the front line and one killed the 2nd Mass capture a POW who reveals that she is with another unit fighting for the "real" new United States and president. Looks like Tom Mason might have a challenger to his newly acquired role as Commander in Chief.

These made for a good stand alone episode but I'm not too thrilled with the potential direction of the show. Stick to the conflict between the humans and the aliens. We also got to see a softer side of Pope which is out of character for him and the new born baby continues her alien antics.

Falling Skies: Season 3 Episode 5

OK, so I missed blogging about last week's episode but there wasn't much that happened. We found out that Tom and Anne's baby is part human, part alien. At the end she leaves Charleston with the baby and runs into some skidders.

We pick up there with Weaver forming a search party to go out and look for them. Tom and Pope are stranded in the woods after their meeting is ambushed and their attempted escape by plane goes wrong. Being chased by skidders along the way the two must rely on each other to survive.

The search party doesn't find Anne or the baby but they think they've stumbled on to their tracks and return to Charleston to ask the rebel skidders for their help in tracking them.

The high level story lines of this episode were thin but they did a good job at creating events to keep the story going for the hour. I didn't get bored so I would say this is probably one of their better episodes this season.

Review: Under the Dome

What the heck is this? The premise was intriguing but I've seen the first two episodes and all I can think is "what are they thinking?" The story is dull and the acting leaves A LOT to be desired. Come on, there's some creepy guy who is insane and in love with this girl he keeps locked up in his parents' old bomb shelter. Seriously!?

And then there's the hidden plot of the huge shipment of propane that was brought in just before the dome appeared. This was suppose to save the town and is this big secret that a bunch of the top officials are trying to cover up yet I don't know what the big deal is. It's not like owning propane is against the law.

There's no fluid plot lines and everything seems to be jumbled up in this small town. It's only the second episode so I'll give it a couple more but I can't honestly see this lasting multiple seasons and I'll most likely end up giving up on it in a couple weeks.

Falling Skies: Season 3 Episode 6

*SPOILER*

Wow! Those little mind control bugs can work... they made Hal turn on his own father and try to extort information out of him about the weapon the Volm are building. It was pretty sweet actually, he drives up in a Humvee and pistol whips Marina Peralta (the Vice President) and then sticks the gun in Tom's face. They hole up in an abandoned apartment after Maggie shreds the crap out of the Humvee on the escape with a 50-caliber truck mounted machine gun.

Tom tries to talk to the "inner" Hal as he can see he's trying to fight the effects of the bug. Through actions taken by others, Hal is subdued and the bug destroyed. Hal then comes to realize that he must have been the mole. Others aren't so sure.

Drew Roy was getting a little creepy lately playing Hal so I'm actually happy that whole saga came to a close. Although he still didn't seem quite himself at the end of the episode but hopefully he'll return to the preppy high school kid he was before.

I posted a tweet (@tiggiler) that I think Charleston is in for a rude awakening now that Tom has resigned as President. [Read More]

Under the Dome Season 1 Episode 3

OK, now we know the shipment of propane had something to do with a drug scheme between the town's selectman, sheriff and local priest. But we still don't know what. My guess has to do with burners in order to cook up some product.

The psycho continues on his whacked out journey, taking advice from his captive to go searching down some old mine shafts to see if they can go underneath the dome. That turns out to be a dead end.

A local cop goes crazy and ends up finding himself in a manhunt that turns out badly for him.

"Barbie" and the news reporter continue their little dance of "do I trust them or don't I"...

The shows writers tried to create way too many plot points that it just gets irritating and none of them really seem to intertwine. I'm not putting much stock in this show. Too bad too. I needed something else to watch and talk about.

Falling Skies Season 3 Episode 7

*SPOILER*

That's the most ridiculous plot twist I've experienced in a long while. How did she even become infested? Karen didn't kiss her... unless her and Hal had a thing going on the side that wasn't made public to the viewing audience. Even still, just stupid.

I did like the conflict with the Masons and the family who ambushed them on the back road. There was a lot of "now they have the guns, no now they do" going on but it still made for some entertaining television. And Ben's a bad-ass kicking butt on not just one but multiple occasions. I guess those spikes in his back are coming to good use after all.

I am sad that there are only three more episodes. I heard somewhere that they are going to do a two part season finale so it's really only two more weeks?

So sad.

Under the Dome Season 1 Episode 4

Now everyone has Meningitis... Did the powers that be just wake up one day and be like, let's see how much conflict we can cram into this show? The reporter finds out that her husband was lying to her about being in financial ruin and having an outstanding debt that "Barbie" was supposed to take care of. The councilman finds the girl that his son has been keeping in the bomb shelter but not before "Jr" is made a deputy of the sheriff's department. So much bad, just so much...

Falling Skies Season 3 Episode 8

Season 3 of TV shows now-a-days seems to be the ugly step child. It almost seems like they use it to weed out those who aren't truly fans. First it was the Walking Dead and now Falling Skies...

Last night's episode was a complete train wreck. It had nothing to do with moving the storyline forward and was an empty plot line. You can miss that episode and won't be lost on anything. Tom gets captured by Karen... again. He escapes... again. Next episode will be can people trust him... again. Come on people! We've seen it. It's old. Move on and get the story going. For such a short season (only 10 episodes) you'd think they can fill each of them with meaningful character development, story lines and keep it moving at an acceptable pace.

Episode 8 has to be the worst episode of not only the season but the whole series. I'll wait and see if they can recover with season 4 and if not it will probably be my last.

Under the Dome Season 1 Episode 5

OK, I'm done with this series. I can't take it anymore. The latest episode has the military using a Neutron bomb on the dome in an attempt to destroy. At the end of the episode you see the surrounding land completely destroyed (as it would be after a blast like that).

Junior's father found the girl in the bomb shelter and left her there so he could "think about what to do".

Ridiculous!

Falling Skies Season 3 Finale

"That's it? She's a bug killer?" - my wife

We leave with the 2nd Mass on the move again looking for another location to call home. My wife and I are taking bets on how much time will pass between season 3 and 4. I'm betting just shy of 1.5 years given the rate of increase in gap between seasons.

Season 1 - 2: no time lapse
Season 2 - 3: 7 months
Season 3 - 4: 14 months (just my guess)

Anyway, Season 3 gets disappointing ratings from me. Too bad tv series can take a mulligan.

Review: Moneyball

Wow! This movie was way better than I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't great but it didn't totally suck either. Brad Pitt plays the GM for the Oakland A's baseball team and after a pretty good season which ended in elimination during the post-season and his team losing 3 players to free agency he must rebuild his team.

Through a meeting which includes Jonah Hill with a competing ball club Pitt hires Hill and the two set out with a very small budget to try and win the season based on statistics disregarding the values set on players by the team's scouts. If they can just get on base enough statistically they should be able to overcome.

They end up making it pretty far and on a budget of $40mil vs the NY Yankees' $130mil. In the end they don't win the World Series but other ball clubs adopt their way of thinking and Pitt's character is offered a very lucrative contract with the Boston Red Sox, which is turns down.

It was a pretty long movie but there was enough story taking place to keep you engaged and the timing did not drag at all. [Read More]

Six Flags New England - stay away!

I have been to Six Flags New England previously but only for a short period of time and it was many years ago. Honestly I don't remember the trip as it wasn't that memorable then either. This year, entry was a Christmas 2012 present and I attended with other family members ranging in age from 2 to upper 50's.

The park is easy to get to and traffic first thing in the morning is not bad. We were able to pull through the parking entrance and park all in a matter of 5 - 10 minutes. Once parked you can either walk to the park entrance or take a shuttle/bus. The walk is not that bad and it's just a matter of crossing over the main road.

Like most parks, Six Flags is broken into different themes ("Looney Tunes Movie Town", "Rockville", "DC Super Hero Adventures", etc.) of which they are laid out on their map. I strongly suggest getting a map when you enter because you will need it in order to find the entrances to some of the rides. The park is pretty big so I wouldn't expect to be able to ride every ride in one day so make an ordered list of the ones you must ride before your time in the park is up and concentrate on those first. [Read More]

Review: World War Z

United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.

This movie was far better than I had expected. Seeing the super human speed of the zombies in the commercials made me very skeptical. However, it wasn't too much of a distraction and the storyline kept you well engaged. Brad Pitt gives a very good performance on par with his performance in Spy Game and leaps and bounds above his acting in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. If you are a fan of the zombie genre then you'll definitely want to check this one out. If not, it's still a good watch but you may want to rent it.

Review: Oblivion

"A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself."

Wow! This movie was not at all what I thought it was about. I knew Earth was no longer inhabitable but I thought the conflict was for totally different reasons and between different parties. There's not a lot in the way of action but the movie does an excellent job at moving the plot forward and keeps you interested in what is going on. Tom Cruise gives his typically performance and Morgan Freeman isn't a main character through out but the rest of the movie keeps it all tied together.

This movie is definitely a must see.

Review: Iron Man 3

"When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution."

This movie was more Tony Stark than it was Iron Man. They completely ruined the movie when you find out the inner workings of the terrorist in this movie and the powers possessed are down right ridiculous. They take a somewhat believable premise and completely amplify it to the "N"^th degree. You can tell this movie wasn't directed by Jon Favreau and it has a completely disconnected feel from the previous two.

Unless you own the rest of the franchise or the other movies in the Avengers universe (Thor, Hulk, etc.), this one is only a solid rental at best. You'll watch it once but it'll probably just sit on your shelf after that. Please bring back Mr. Favreau for the 4^th one.