Things I swore I would never do - Be absorbed into a phone while riding public transportation

I don't remember where this one came from but I have always been against doing it. I have always hated the idea of light rail or a bus and being self absorbed into a phone (by phone I am referring to a smart phone with multiple aps, music or internet capability or games, etc., etc.). Not sure if I have held a negative opinion of people who do this or have a stereotype of some sort about the behavior being escapist or trending to far towards isolationism. I remember thinking at some point I will never get absorbed into a phone while on the light rail.

I broke that oath when I was borrowing a friends phone for a few days. This was not long ago when I was obsessed with Angry Birds and could not stop playing it. So another behavior I have sworn I would never do and given enough time I broke my swear and engaged in the behavior I despise.

Movies I have seen which did not get nominated for Best Picture

Movies I have seen which did not get nominated for Best Picture This year I was anticipating a few movies to be nominated for Academy Awards. Since I try to view movies nominated for academy awards I decided to see these movies before they were nominated. I was expecting to be a step ahead of the nominations but when these movies were not nominated for Best Picture it turned out I was off base. Lesson learned, always wait for the nominations and do not let guess which movies will be nominated beforehand as it can get to be an expensive movie watching habit.

Rush
This film is based on the rivalry between two racing legends of the late sixties & seventies. The film captures many aspects of the lives of the drivers, women they dated & married, business adventures, interactions with friends and their career path from humble beginnings to formula one racer car drivers. The cast delivers solid performances and the racing scenes are presented in a variety of ways, like one is watching a sporting event to the super slow motion John Wu style where five seconds on screen lasts ten minutes. The main aspect of the movie is the competition between the two men and their drive to compete with one another which was captured well & the strong point of the film. It may not have been nominated but this movie is excellent and worth watching, I recommend it!

Iron Man III
It is rare a movie series improves with each film but that is what has happened with the Iron Man trilogy. The third film is mind blowing good script, amazing visual effects, & wildly entertaining. A suitable end is found for Tony Stark' story in this series of the Iron Man story. The entire cast was amazing and I will definitely own this movie! I do recommend seeing this film.

All is Lost
I was expecting this movie to be nominated for best picture and it was not. I think it was nominated for a few other awards. If you like movies with action & almost no dialogue then go see this film. The only monologue in the movie is one Robert Redford delivers in the beginning of the film. The rest of the movie is Redford in his boat out at sea. While Redford looks older he is still interesting to watch and kept my attention on the screen the entire time. A man alone on a boat at sea is reminiscent of The Life of Pi only without as amazing visuals scenes of the ocean and no tiger. The end should not be missed & is a twist which makes the movie. I recommend it to those who like movies which are metaphors for life & existence & Robert Redford fans everywhere.

Out of the Furnace
Judging by the look of this film I was certain it would be nominated for best picture. From the previews I thought the movie would be one of the best movies of the year. The film portrays two brothers from a small rural town on the east coast. The drama is top notch throughout the entire movie! I was surprised how much story with twists & turns are packed into the first 45 minutes of the film. The story telling builds to a conflict between Christian Bales character and the films antagonist, played by Woody Harrelson. The ending was lackluster and rushed leaving a few loose ends which seemed odd considering how much detail the film makers took time to cover throughout the film. The cast was excellent with great performances. While it did not live up to my high expectations I do recommend this film for movie goers who enjoy character dramas or character lead films & original story lines.

Things I swore I would never do - Angry Birds

I have this habit of swearing I will never do certain things. Usually it is because I do not like it without a good reason. I just intuitively know better without any evidence or fact to base my negative opinion. Usually the things I swear I would never do I end up enjoying and love.

Such is the case with Angry Birds

Maybe I was turned off by the title or the cartoon images of the bright colored birds with furrowed brows. I am not sure how it started but I swore I would never play the game. One day while at a friends place I tried the game(I realized I had no reason for not liking the game so I decided to play it). I realized the game is insanely fun & addictive. I was disappointed I did not own an Ipad or smart phone so I could download the game.

A year later a friend let me play Angry Birds on his smart phone and it was the Star Wars addition or version of the game. And it was twenty times more fun and addictive. Now I am an Angry Birds fanatic. Whenever a friend lends me their smart phone or Ipad...you know what I am playing!

So much for I will never play Angry Birds!