Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - The Good Shepherd

I never imagined that when I chose to rent The Good Shepherd that there would be a risk that I was making a decision that I would be reminded of the rest of my life. Men, when your wife says, "I don't care, you pick the movie," just remember that you may look back at this moment as a crossroads, and you could be at risk of losing movie-picking privileges for a very, very long time. You may even coin a new phrase, like, "Whatever you do, don't pull a 'Good Shepherd.'"

Since I admit that this was horrible movie and a colossal waste of 2 hours and 40 minutes (yes, you read correctly) of my life, I refuse to waste any more time on this subject. For a great re-cap of this movie, check out this review. It says it all.

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/film/article/1157145520631?packedargs=suffix%3DSubSectionArticle

Needless to say, I say "Don't Go."

Playtime...

Ok, I promise I'm almost done posting cat pictures... (I might be lying). But I finally got them to play a little bit last night. They each had one end of a ribbon. I am so proud they were playing nice.

Now We're Getting Somewhere...

I am happy to report that Bailey and Bear are reluctantly making progress toward accepting each other. They are mostly past the hissing and growling stage and on to the basically ignoring each other stage. Bear has pretty much stopped charging at her... We finally got the idea to put him in his harness to slow him down. Here are some shots from tonight's "session."

Bear surveying the situation from safe atop his perch...



Keeping an eye on each other (notice Bear is on the floor)...

Snacktime...

Lickin' their chops...

I was hoping they'd be fast friends... but what you see in this short video clip is great progress from where we started a few days ago... Like I said, they're basically ignoring each other.

One more quick clip of Bailey...

Introducing, Bailey...

The big news of the weekend was the addition of a new feline member to our family. We decided Bear might like a friend. Bailey is a 3 year old female kitty who comes to us from Animal Friends of Pittsburgh. The people who owned her before moved away and left her outside... can you believe it? A nice neighbor picked her up and took her to the shelter. We visited her several times last week and brought her home on Friday evening. Saturday was a rough day for her, as she was having a reaction to the vaccines she got on Friday and was feeling generally miserable. We were worried about her but today she has perked up and is doing much better.

Bailey and Bear have only seen each other through a crack in the door so far, as she has been confined to the office until they can get along. For now, the hiss count is Bailey 2, Bear 1. Bear seems a little afraid of her which is funny because he is more than twice her size... he weighs 15 pounds and she weighs 6. Here are some photos from her first weekend with us.

_

Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - Baby Mama

Occasionally, in my role as a good husband, I have to watch what would be considered a "chic flick." However, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are a very funny female comedic duo that have the rare ability to make guys laugh, so I wasn't dreading watching this movie all that much.

Baby Mama stars Tina Fey as Kate Holbrook, a very successful businesswoman that has worked her way up the corporate ladder to vice president of a chain of health food stores. Despite her professional success, Kate now finds herself 37 years old, single and desperately wanting a child. Exhausting all conventional options, she employs the services of a surrogate agency. The agency hooks Kate up with Angie, (Amy Poehler) a trashy girl from very, very far on the other side of the tracks.

After a fight with her loser boyfriend, Angie moves in with Kate, and the comedy ensues. There are some good laughs from the Odd Couple-type pairing. Kate is obsessed with all things health-related for her surrogate's baby, while Angie would rather down a Red Bull, pig-out on junk food and trash Kate's Pottery Barn-showroom apartment.

One small problem with a twist - Angie isn't really pregnant. It's a scheme hatched by Angie and her boyfriend to get a fat check from the surrogate agency. But this twist has an additional twist - one I'm not going to reveal, but it will keep you guessing as to how everyone will get their happy ending.

Like cinematic Chinese food, Baby Mama didn't leave any lasting impression on me, but that's OK. It was an entertaining film. Humorous supporting performances by Greg Kinnear and Steve Martin were an added bonus. One thing that bothered me - Kate neither has the time or social skills to have a baby conventionally and confesses that a nanny will help raise her child. Why bother having a kid, I ask? But maybe these are questions beyond my pay grade:)

Nevertheless, I say "Go."

Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - Man on Fire

Man On Fire is an aptly-named drama starring Denzel Washington. He plays John Creasy, an ex-CIA operative/assassin with a haunted past that drives him to self-loathing and alcoholism. We meet up with Creasy in Mexico City at the home of his friend Rayburn, played by Christopher (more cowbell!) Walkin. Due to a wave of kidnappings south of the border, Rayburn suggests that there is good money to be made for someone like Creasy in the booming profession of bodyguarding.

Creasy is quickly hired by a wealthy couple to guard their nine-year-old child, Pita, played by the freakishly-mature Dakota Fanning. Pita wants to be his friend, but Creasy is reluctant, citing that it's not part of his job description. But seriously, who can resist Dakota Fanning? Of course he eventually relents, and becomes attached to the delightful girl who has given him a new-found hope in life.

Since that would be a far too short movie, Pita is soon kidnapped. This is where the "Man On Fire" part comes in. Creasy's new mission is to find Pita and bring the evildoers to justice. In doing so, some dark and disturbing parts of his past resurface, which actually come in quite handy when tracking down and killing bad guys. As his friend Rayburn puts it, "A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece." Yikes.

The remainder of the movie is Creasy's bloody quest for justice among the seemingly total corruption of the Mexican social/legal system. It's Denzel going completely Rambo on your butt - in short, a Death Wish movie with a big budget and better acting.

The movie is a little long at over 2.5 hours, but Denzel Washington keeps you interested with his usual intense performance and the many creative ways of off-ing the villains. Warning - this is a violent movie, but I didn't feel it was overly exploitive. There are also thoughtful questions raised about guilt, forgiveness and redemption - although no clear answers are given. The end of the movie gives us a gentle resolution to Creasy's quest for justice - maybe more gentle than it really should have been. However, it's a less-than-perfect ending to a less-than-perfect movie. All in all, Man On Fire is worth viewing, so I say "Go."

Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - Disturbia

Disturbia is a remake loosely based on Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller, Rear Window. Shia LaBeouf (that's a guy, for those who are not familiar with him) plays Kale Brecht, a teenager that has trouble dealing with the sudden death of his father in a car accident. He ends up under house arrest after clocking one of his teachers in the eye for making a rude comment about his dad.

Kale discovers an interesting way to pass his time while being confined to his house - watching the neighbors. Of course, one of the more interesting objects of his attention is Ashley, played by Sarah Roemer, an attractive young girl that just happens to move in next door just as Kale begins his new hobby of people watching. She eventually catches Kale and his friend watching her, but fortunately for him, (and the plot of the movie) Ashley isn't completely creeped-out and eventually joins them in their people watching.

But the voyeurism doesn't stop there. There is also a shady guy next door who Kale suspects is the serial killer that has recently been in the news. This is where the movie started to go south for me. After beginning with some promise and a reasonably intelligent script, Disturbia descended into a film that reminded me of the slasher movies of my youth - kind of a Friday the 13th meets Silence of the Lambs. The remainder of the film follows the kids' attempts to prove their suspicions and avoid getting themselves killed in the process. There are plenty of false scares and futile attempts to convince the authorities that their neighbor is a homicidal maniac along the way. There's even a final chase scene through the killer's lair that would make Indiana Jones proud.

Shia LaBeouf is a very good young actor and Disturbia really benefits because of his presence. He seems to excel at playing the nerdy nervous kid that gets the way-out-of-his-league girl. But his abilities can't make up for the numerous cliches that bog down the film.

It's been a long time since I saw the original Rear Window, so I don't remember much about it, but I'm sure that it is far superior movie than Disturbia. If you find yourself stuck at home for a few hours, rent it. As for Disturbia, I say "Don't Go."

Furry Fan...

Bear got his very own Steelers jersey this weekend. It is marketed as a dog jersey because I am sure that the manufacturer assumes that a cat would have no part of it. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to mind at all. He wore it for the whole game... what a good sport :)

Pre-Wedding Festivities...

This weekend I helped throw a wedding shower and Bachelorette party for Rebecca, a friend of mine who I lived with before Jim and I were married. Her wedding is in late October. The shower was held at the Rivertowne Pour House in Monroeville. Here are some shots...

Table settings...

The Baskets we made for prizes...


Fresh floral centerpieces...

The Bride and Bridesmaids...

Rebecca (the Bride) and I...

Gift table (note the cake made from towels!)...

The Bride and Groom-to-be...

The Bride and Bridesmaids before the Bachelorette Party...

Our Limo...
In the limo...
View from Mount Washington...

Par-tay...

Last weekend, the Edgewood Acres East block party took place. It is in it's 16th year and is quite the extravaganza. Festivities began Friday night with ourdoor movies in the neighboor's driveway. On Saturday, there was a pig roast & potluck, followed by a campfire. We met tons of neighbors and had a great time. We are feeling very welcome in the neighborhood.

Under the Weather...

Please forgive my lack of posts recently. I've been sick since this weekend and therefore don't have much to comment about. Unless you want me to talk about what brand of tissue I'm using or something... probably not. I hope to be fully recovered soon and will be back to my regular posting.

In case you were wondering...

You probably thought I've been randomly overusing punctuation. Actually, I've purposfully used the ellipsis as a 'theme' throughout the posts. I'm pretty much always in a state of anticipation so I think it fits. And now, for an Ellipsis Haiku...

I love dot dot dot

Lets me look ahead and think

What is next for us?

Signs of the Times...

While we were out west recently, we drove through a part of Tacoma we hadn't seen before and Jim hit a jackpot of old signs that he could not pass up. Not familiar with his series? Go to www.jimzahniser.com/JZCreative/Photography.htm to see plenty of examples. Anyway, here are the latest additions...