Movie Review - The Grey

I was talked into seeing this movie over the weekend - the last movie we saw wasn't that great (Young Adult bleh) so it's been a while since January is a slow movie month typically and things don't start warming up till March.

Regardless, the hubs read the Rotten Tomatoes numbers to me and surprised I was that it had gotten such good reviews.  I wasn't quite sure how both critics and users had agreed that it was 77% fresh but I decided it was worth a shot.  

Liam Neeson has never let me down.

In fact... I'm surprised there is still a list of things that Liam Neeson should punch that he hasn't punched.  Pretty sure all of those items are on his 2012 goal list.

Oh was I doing a movie review? Oh yes.  We don't know much about the dude Liam Neeson is playing other than he's suicidal, he keeps having flashbacks to a wife under a white sheet that likes to stare at him a lot, and he works in a really, really cold place with a bunch of other hardass dudes.  

For some reason they allow planes in the air during blizzards and of course, things do not go well once the plane hits the ground. 

In this alternate universe folks don't get frostbite if they leave their faces uncovered in the bitter cold for days on end, wolves are the size of small buildings, falling into a river doesn't result in immediate hypothermia, and you can successfully detonate a shotgun shell with a pointy stick. 

The first half of the movie is awesome. Then it slows down while you wait for the really annoying survivors to be eaten by wolves. This takes a long time. 

It starts to pick up towards the end before you're given another gigantic let down. 

I won't spoil the ending but let's just say that this movie has no replay value.  Watch it once and you're done.  You got all the info that you need.  There is no Inception mind twist in this movie. Still - worth at least one watch for the Liam Neeson punching value. 

2011 Movie Review Post

I saw a lot of movies in 2011 and thought I'd sum them all up in a post.  These are in no certain order.

Thor - May 6th, 2011 - I had terrible expectations for this film and was convinced to go see it by Ringo.  Given some recent disappointing showings of comic book films I really wasn't sure how this one would shake out.

I was pleasantly surprised during the film.  The villain was very "villainesque", we were given a pretty rainbow bridge to look at several times until the dude broke it, and I got to see an unrealistic learning curve of someone from another time adapting to the modern age.  Sir Anthony Hopkins deserved more screen time.

I'd see it again.  I did end up liking the film despite my best effort not to. It was one of my favorites of 2011.  Also looking forward to seeing him again in The Avengers.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 - July 15, 2011 - Being that the first part was a massive disappointment (which is no surprise given that the first half of the book is also a massive disappointment) I was hoping the second half would redeem itself.

For the most part the film did pretty well.  The epic battle was pretty epic.  I enjoyed the speech Voldemort gave at the end. I think my favorite bit was the scene inside the goblin bank vault.

My husband said this movie was his favorite because it was the last one he'd ever have to see of the franchise.  Lets hope J.K. doesn't let him down.

Basil Update

Basil's ACL has been slowly tearing since January. The orthopedic surgeon told me it could completely tear at any time and there was no telling when it would happen.  Well, Sunday it happened.  You can see in the video him not wanting to put any weight on it or resting his toes on the ground on his right hind foot.

Sunday they called me back after I left a message and asked me to bring him in Monday morning. Monday they called to confirm his ligament had torn completely and he'd be having surgery the following day.  His ACL was repaired using the suture technique where two strong sutures are put in to mimic his ACL. Dr. Hay said this technique was highly successful in corgis since they typically have lots of muscle mass to handle it and recover quickly.

Last night I called and the tech said he was doing great. He ate all his dinner and went potty for him. Said he was a happy little guy and he'd give him a kiss for me.  (I'm definitely sending a huge thank you card to Dr. Hay and his staff).

Today he comes home! I set up a little area in the back room where he will be for several weeks when we are at work.  The real danger with ACL tears and recovery is reinjuring it on a slippery surface.  Anywhere Basil needs to walk in the house has to be covered with rugs or towels to prevent him from losing traction and slipping.  I've washed all the crate towels and blankets in the house and he will get my old bath towel to sleep in so he feels safe.

The other doggies haven't acted any different. Secretly I think Bernie is hoping Byron disappears as well so she can go back to being an only corgi.  I hope they let him rest when we get home and don't annoy him.

I plan on swimming Basil in the big garden tub once his incision heals to help him rehab his knee and keep his leg strong. I think him wearing the life vest it'll be deep enough that he can't touch the bottom and I can have him swim in place for a few minutes at a time. He likes to swim as long as I'm there with him so I don't think it'll be stressful.

Byron is doing well! We haven't been to agility in several weeks unfortunately due to various things but he is having fun at home running around the yard with Bernie.  Sometimes I catch them playing together.  I think she actually likes him!

A Pinball Outing and Basil Update

Yesterday we drove up to Maitland (a bit North of Orlando) to attend the first annual Southern Pinball Festival.  They were holding it all weekend but Saturday was the only day I could go up there for everything.  They had over 100 machines you could play from many different decades.  Photography wasn't the easiest given the lighting so I had to turn my ISO way up.  I got a few decent photos.

At 1PM we had the pleasure of listening to Gary Stern talk about his company Stern Pinball, the only manufacturers of pinball machines right now. He told us a little bit about how sales are going, their design process, and what they see in pinball's future.

In lieu of getting a photo with him I later ended up playing pinball right next to him!

Afterwards we had a few beers at a nearby Irish pub and then called it quits. It was a really fun day.  I was happy to see Ringo even try playing pinball.  He enjoyed some of the older machines more than the newer ones. We both really liked the new Tron LE table and Lord of the Rings.  I hope one day we can get a table for the house rec room.

In other news, Basil had his 6 month checkup with the orthopedic vet.  His condition has gotten worse with his right rear knee. The limping is more pronounced and he doesn't like to put weight on it. Dr. Hay recommended trying a month of steroids to see how he responds and if that would give him any relief.  I immediately saw a difference on the first day of steroid use. I'm hoping this will keep him comfortable until it is time for ACL surgery.  That might be a year away.

Today I've got a meeting at 1PM with the current vice-president of my quilt guild to go over some things I'll be taking over from her starting in January. Then I get to come home and start working on a few sewing projects I've got going on.

Corgi Photo Post Again!

I got a new lens hood for my 50mm 1.8 lens and wanted to try it out.  I lost the light about 10 minutes in but I got some good photos before that happened.  

Corgi + Water = Fun (Photo Post)

Some of my favorites from our outing today:

Corgi's Have a Visitor - Photo Update

I know I haven't posted photos in forever - it's because I haven't been using my camera much.  Now that the weather is getting better I'm hoping I can get back into the habit of pulling out my camera more frequently!

Dogpile!

Basil Smile

Byron and Bliss are buddies