Holiday Movie Review: Rise of the Guardians

I know we’re called Hungry and Fit. I know. But take this as a metaphor. We are Hungry and Fit. All the time. But there’s more to life than eating and obsessing with fitness, it’s called fun and relaxing. So here’s another movie review, presented warmly by yours truly. 😉

Rise of the Guardians. A nice holiday movie for the kids (and the rest of us). It was Black Friday Night and we were strolling the beautiful outside 29th Street Mall with family. We all got big cups of hot cocoa and enjoyed the sparkling lights on the tree and light poles. After some last-minute relaxing Black Friday shopping in an empty Macy’s (new boots, thank you very much!), the elder generation of the family decided to hit the sack, but us youngsters wanted to see a movie. Well, really just Chris and I did, but we dragged my brother, Kai, along anyhow.

Passing by the quiet ice skating rink, we slipped into the Century Boulder Theatre (which we had never attended) and saw a 9:30 showing. We were one of three other groups watching the movie–guess it’s not a real popular time or day to watch a kid’s movie. Anyhow, onto the movie! Tell me to stop story telling.

Rise of the Guardians has a great cast: Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine, Jude Law, and Isla Fisher. All of them do an absolutely incredible job at the voice acting, they really get into it, making it that much more enjoyable for the audience. We actually couldn’t believe Alec Baldwin played Santa so we had to watch this of him live-action doing it to believe. And for any Elder Scrolls fans, Santa totally sounds like a Nord so I spent the night annoying Chris and Kai with Nord-accented Skyrim quotes. I’m sure they enjoyed it.

With top notch actors, DreamWorks did a lovely job with making it beautiful and fun CGI. Definitely visually-pleasing and enjoyable to watch. I especially loved Sandy’s effects. The imagination of the creators was what was really the best part of the show…the story, the powers, the “guardians“…all of it. I found myself leaning forward into the movie, getting really into it, it was quite captivating as any magical holiday movie should be. Probably the funniest parts of the movies was whenever the yetis were in the scene. We definitely cracked up every time they were there.

It wasn’t excellent. But it was good and we left feeling happy. A good holiday movie that gets you in the spirit for the upcoming holidays. Go see it on a winter night and don’t forget the hot cocoa.

Hot Cocoa (Photo credit: wine me up)

Nov152012

Wreck-It Ralph and Skyfall: Double Feature

Ideally, Alana and I would go to the movies every time a new movie came out that we were even remotely interested in if we had the time and money. We’re not quite there but we’re close enough to be able to see the movies we really want to at a discounted rate on Sunday mornings before we both go into work for some late shifts. Although our checklist is backing up, it includes: Cloud Atlas, Argo, Chasing Mavericks, Man with the Iron Fists, Lincoln, Silent Hill Revelations, and Flight. You could probably figure out which ones we each want to see. Rise of the Guardians comes out nest Wednesday and that’s on there because we love Dreamworks but there are tons of upcoming movies that we want to see: namely The Hobbit and Les Miserables. But back to the point of this post, a review of this trip and those two movies.

As for the trip, we were excited to see that Hobbit promotions were everywhere and we even took some pictures with them. There was also a stand up of Georges St Pierre for his upcoming match against Carlos Condit. I want to see it but Alana doesn’t, but it’s not a big deal. So we brought our usual stash of goodies including popcorn, drinks, and candy and prepared for the double. First up…

In theater 4, Wreck it Ralph. This was a good Disney movie, plain and simple. Great voice acting, a good comedic and clever script, nostalgia for gamers, and a cute story line with great characters. It was entertaining, kept our attention, and was full of great lessons. The soundtrack was solid and the animation was top notch, going from pixelated throw back moments to smooth and beautiful modern day technology. In terms of a score, let’s just say it was a really good movie. 8 maybe seems fair. Nothing lower but there was nothing exceptional to make it higher.

No time to break, the previews here last for so long that we had to go to the bathroom and rush to the next one.

In theater 11, the movie I have been waiting for the past four years, Ian Fleming presents Daniel Craig as 007 James Bond. My dad raised me on James Bond movies and although him and my brother love Roger Moore, I am a little bit more open to the other Bonds. I always liked Sean Connery, and even Pierce Brosnan, and even Timothy Dalton, but Daniel Craig has done an exceptional job in the role. He is much more callous and introverted than past Bonds but maintains the confidence and debonair manner. I don’t want to give any spoilers but I was initially disappointed in the story. With that being said, I enjoyed the movie and was grinning the whole time. They kept regular Bond quirks but took some new turns and chances, such as with their “choice” of Bond “girl.” Javier Bardem was so amazingly creepy. It was great acting, beautiful sets and landscapes, dark and mysterious, but overall amazing. Maybe 8.5 but it’s hard to put a number to it.

And then we bought a 6 dollar fountain drink to win a trip to New Zealand for 4 and the set of the Hobbit. We lost and won a track from the movie soundtrack. That is one expensive song.

See these movies and wait to read our next reviews.

Oct082012

Back to The Movies: Double Review of Taken 2 and Pitch Perfect

So, despite being very busy and having more important chores to do… we decided to start going back to the movies on Sunday mornings. AMC has a great deal where any pre-matinee show is only 6 dollars a ticket, unless its 3D or something else fancy. So we decided on these two:

Taken 2: We loved the first one and Liam Neeson is just awesome. While this movie was more or less the same as the first, and any fan would enjoy it for sure, it did have a lot more love and fluff. For a 90 minute movie, at least half felt like fluff so the action was shortened but it was still very entertaining. Not as clever, but still worth seeing if you enjoyed the first. It was somewhat entertaining. 3/10

Our boy, Liam

Pitch Perfect: Alana convinced me to see this, which wasn’t hard because I actually love acapella. She wanted to see it because of the Australian roommate of the main character from Bridesmaids. Seeing her hilarious acting was well worth our money and while the movie was predictable, it had some great musical arrangements and some decent acting. It was very entertaining. 7/10

Next weekend we plan on doing another double to get into the Halloween spirit, by seeing Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania.

I never wanted to see Looper but I do like Bruce Willis and the reviews are top notch so I’ll consider it. As for other future movies, my three most anticipated of the year are obviously, in no particular order because it’d be too hard:

The Hobbit (!!!)

Les Miserables

Skyfall

Otherwise, I plan on seeing Alex Cross with Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox, Silent Hill Revelations 3D, Cloud Atlas, Chasing Mavericks, Wreck it Ralph (Looks great), Man with the Iron Fists, and Rise of the Guardians.

Let me know if anything else coming out this year looks worth seeing! We love movies of all kinds, just no zombies for Alana.

🙂

Oct052012

Rest and Recovery Days (We Take A Lot)

Looking at this past week, we only went to the gym three out of five days. Sunday was shoulders and climbing, Monday was legs and climbing, and Wednesday was arms and climbing. (Climbing=Bouldering, until we get more gear) That means that Tuesday and Thursday were more or less rest or recovery days, but this isn’t completely the case. Everyone works out for a different reason. Some people want to feel better, some want to look better, and some actually enjoy it. Although the first two are true for myself, I would never work out as much as I do if I didn’t enjoy it.

Rock climbing on the wall of Voiron, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes championship (Isère, France). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Going to the gym is considered a leisurely activity in my daily planner because 95% of the time, a trip to the gym is on the same level as playing video games. The other reason that they weren’t rest days is based on how active one’s lifestyle is outside of designated workouts. On both of those days, I biked over ten miles to and from jobs throughout the day. It was on a cheap mountain bike, and there were lots of uphills and changes of direction and pace. Also, I was in the water for hours treading and teaching children how to swim. I was never moving too quickly, but overall I probably “swam” a thousand yards (I should calculate, or try to, some day.) Finally, everyday I walk a dog in the foothills, and those hikes/walks are usually around 3 miles long. According to my former Taekwondo master, hiking is the greatest form of exercise in the world… even greater than taekwondo. (He is an 8th degree black belt)

HIKE OR DIE

So never feel bad about taking a day off from the gym! Especially if you have an active and healthy lifestyle. Many people don’t realize just how active they are! Do you clean the house? Pick up your children and carry them around? Mow the lawn or garden? Walk the dog? Shovel snow or rake leaves? Walk up and down stairs all day? All these activities can be extremely taxing on the body and while you might not get the same effect of lifting weights in sets and reps, you can still get a heck of a workout from it.

Houseworks

Furthermore, rest is good as long as you don’t take too many days off it you’re trying to reach a certain goal. Some studies show that you won’t lose muscle gains for eight days, and cardio gains for three days. Now, I would not recommend taking more than two days off in a row because that should be enough recovery time for your muscle fibers, but don’t be too hard on yourself for taking some rest!

LET THOSE MUSCLES REST

Letting your body over-recover is much better than not letting it recover. You want those fibers to undergo fancy scientific processes like protein synthesis so that they come back bigger and stronger. Skip the process, and risk losing the growth that you worked so hard for. Working out, eating right, and sleeping right are the easy parts… your body is doing all the hard work, just get your mind in the right place. Never be too hard on yourself (I can’t take my own advice) and always try to enjoy what you’re doing. Working out every day, or nearly, for four years is really boring, unless you love the pain and struggle.

Keep up the good work!

Oct012012

Family Addition: Television!

So, I start all my posts with so. What a bad habit, but not as bad a habit as buying ridiculous things, which ended up with us having a 39″ television in our little apartment. When I was in college, I can’t remember what year, I decided to buy a nice television for my bedroom at home. (I think it was when I graduated actually.) Why? Because I love playing video games and watching movies/anime. Plain and simple.

Now, my room at home wasn’t the biggest, and my vision wasn’t the best, but bigger doesn’t always mean better. As a result, I bought the most environmentally friendly television at the time (or one of them). It was a cute little 22″ Philips LED 720p TV and it got the job done. When we decided to move, I couldn’t let this little guy, which I spent a whole $159.99 on just stay behind. So we took him/her, despite the sea of other things we got rid of over the months. Somehow, it made it all the way across the country despite the ridiculous heat and bumpy roads. But here in Boulder, in our apartment, the Philips just wasn’t working out and I decided to make a move.

An exciting bundle of packages that may or may not have our TV inside

After debating for weeks, with a little financial aid and TV input from my brother, I finally ordered a 39″ TCL 1080p 60HZ LED TV. It was nearly $350 on Amazon, but had free shipping. It made it in two days with Prime, and seemed to be in perfect shape, as we watched “The Avengers” the first night we got it. We haven’t used it since but I can’t wait for tomorrow. Why? Because I ordered this television for one reason. Resident Evil 6. And I might as well use it for Dishonored. And every other good game coming out soon but really I can’t wait to put it to good use. It doesn’t have an off-axis glare like the Philips had because of its size. It fits almost perfectly and I think that movie nights and video games will be so much better with it. Now Alana can use the Philips as a PC screen so she can play Skyrim in super mode. And now I can play Skyrim in super-mode too. Can’t wait for Resident Evil 6. PSN username KINGTUCCI for anyone that wants to play online multiplayer.

There it is, in all its glory

Thanks for reading the short post, I’ll let you know how the TV performs in my soon to come review of Resident Evil 6.

Bonus Pic: Misty being pissy

Sep172012

Movie Review: Resident Evil Retribution

So, in typical birthday tradition we saw the newest Resident Evil film in the live-action series because it’s always released on my birthday weekend. Now, I did not think that any of the first four live-action films were good, as a fan of the series and as a blank slate, looking for an entertaining film. Some were better than others, but the only good Resident Evil feature length film was Degeneration, which was animated and starred characters that actually played a prominent role in the series, Leon and Claire.

Alice (Milla Jovovich) and the Red Queen, along with Rain and the White Queen, are all major film characters that were in fact created strictly for the films. They do not appear in any of the MULTIPLE video games in the Resident Evil (or Biohazard, as it is named in Japan) series. And that’s fine, it’s alright if you do not accurately portray the series… and although I might not like it, I have obviously still been open to watching them all. However, when you go against the story line of the series directly contradicting many important matters, then I have a problem!

So with that, they essentially took a bunch of characters that either did not exist or never met or worked with one another, and had them all shoot off 300,000 rounds of ammunition in this movie. Barry, Leon, Ada, Jill, and Wesker all together at the same time, this late in the chronology? A licker the size of an eighteen-wheeler fighting them in a car chase? Wesker trying to save humanity and not drowning in a pit of volcanic lava while trying to destroy the planet? And what happened to Chris and Claire Redfield who were with, I thought, Alice at the end of the last movie. Sequel? I hope not.

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Actors ...

Actors from the film

The actors in this movie did a horrible job. Horrible. And we think Milla is top notch, but she couldn’t even convince in this role because she probably knew how ridiculous it was. Leon didn’t look right for me, Ada didn’t look right for me, Barry didn’t look right for me, but their costumes were spot on and you could tell they tried. It’s always hard to cast perfectly for an animated character because there might not be anyone that looks identical. As for the effects, it was just overkill. Too much slow motion, too many bullets being fired off, the Las Plagas infected either looked too cheesy or not infected enough. It was just bad, too much was off for a fan to like it and it was just too bad of a movie for anyone else (Alana said it was one of the worst movies she’s ever seen).

Resident Evil video game

So with that, having seen it in 2d the day after it was released, I would have to give it a 1/5. And being from a genre that I generally love, horror, and having it be a video game based movie, that’s bad. Really don’t see it. Even if you saw the last five, don’t see it. It’s a waste of time and money. Wait until it’s either a waste of time or money, not both. So disappointing with my personal most anticipated video game release of the year, Resident Evil 6. October 2nd, it’s preordered and set up for release day delivery via Amazon. Scott Reiners, I hope you’re ready for co-op cause we have a Platinum Trophy with our name on it.

Sep132012

Happy Birthday, Chris!

You’re an old man now (24 to be exact). So, I’ll direct you to this post for what we did over the past weekend (kind of our birthday weekend/week). That was all a bunch of fun, definitely some good times. His exact birthday was yesterday, September 12th.

Anyhow, two nights ago we decide to have a joint birthday dinner. I ask Chris what he wants for dinner and he says (can you guess?)…SUSHI! So sushi it is! We invite Marga, Ben, and Megan to meet us for a 7:30pm dinner at Sushi Tora. It was nice on the interior and very busy. We arrived in the rain, and were lucky enough to find a spot right in front! A very rare occurrence anywhere near Pearl St. Once everyone arrived, we started off with some Magic Mushrooms–a very popular appetizer there. I believe it contained salmon, mushroom, and some sort of other flavor. Looked good.

We stayed there for a few hours and ordered a lot off the menu (well, Chris did at least). I got some delicious tuna and smoked white tuna sushi (nigiri). I didn’t really like the smoked flavor of the white tuna, just because I’m so in love with white tuna (it’s my favorite, just so you know)

Chris ordered two entrees: cod and mackerel (not raw). He ate them up pretty quickly.

Mackerel: GREAT protein-wise and omega-3s!

Megan and Marga then split a DELICIOUS tempura-battered brie with sliced apples (or were they pears?) with honey. Very very good.

Then, Marga, Ben, and Megan split a bunch of different rolls, all of which mostly contained salmon and eel, I believe. They looked very tasty.

We then ended the night with banana tempura, which was extra delicious. Very sweet and under a base of caramel, mmm! Overall, this place was good, not great, but still an excellent time with family and just enjoying the night. The price didn’t quite match the value, but it’s a big step up from Japango. Our next Sushi adventure will be at Sushi Zanmai, which is supposed to be superb. Can’t wait to try it out!

We went to bed full and happy, having had a really fun night. The next morning, we woke up to wet grounds outside and a steady trickle of rain. I looked at the forecast: 57 degrees alllll day. I knew Chris would be happy. He likes the cold. I don’t quite like the cold (sorry, I’m from SoCal), but I do enjoy my rain and it gives a great reason to stay inside and be happy. Which we did when we could. With the looming chore of the DMV before us, I wanted to take Chris out to a place that had good croissants for breakfast. So I put on my jeans and my NZ gumboots (rare recently, due to it being a usual 90 degrees and all) and we drove to Spruce Confections.

It was delicious (see above). We got two croissants, one mixed berry with chocolate scone, hot chocolate, and Bhakti Chai. We really enjoyed the croissants–they were fresh, buttery, and had a perfect taste. The scone was good, but didn’t compare to the croissant. The hot chocolate was soul-warming, but needed to be a tad bit sweeter, but we will definitely again. Now, the Bhakti Chai was intense. It had the strongest ginger flavor I had ever tasted in a chai before! If anyone is sick, pick up a cup of this stuff! Well, anyhow, it was an adorable little cafe/bakery with quirky girls working the shop, rain dripping down outside, and a couple of cute dogs hiding under tables waiting for their owners to hurry up with their drink. They will definitely see us here again. We can’t wait to go here during the winter, I have a feeling the scene will be perfect.

I then spent the next 3 hours in the DMV, getting a Colorado license while Chris happily sat in the car, playing a new game I got him for his birthday on his 3DS. We then both had work, but by the time 8pm rolled around, we were hungry. Chris picked me up and we discussed dinner. We had recently walked to Marshall’s and on the way, our noses were hijacked by the most wonderful smell…wafting from a big Indian restaurant (Jai Ho). So, last night, we decided to go. It was very good, very quiet, and very atmospheric. We had samosas, garlic naan, a mushroom dish, and a curry dish (which was spicy even though the waiter insisted it was the non-spicy one Chris could get). I guess we’ll need to say “non-Indian non-spicy” next time.

He also got a lot of great birthday loot, including some video games, music, checks, and cards, so thank you everyone!! Cheers 🙂

P.S.- Sorry for skipping a day, beloved readers, as you can see we were very busy yesterday and the night before. Thanks, as always, for reading!

Aug242012

Two Games: Pixel vs. Turf

So, I am nowhere near as eloquent as Alana the Poet, but I will try to remember how to write so that it is enjoyable for the reader to get through the text. Recently, very recently in fact, I had the pleasure of playing (in) and finishing two games. One was more physically challenging and naturally, the other stimulated the mind. For anyone who thinks that video games cannot be a learning experience in a beneficial way, I think you might be wrong. Granted, some games encourage illegal and unhealthy activity, but how often are those issues raised with a Nintendo Game; let alone one that was worked on by Koji Kondo and Shigeru Miyamoto.

A Video Gaming Legend

The game that I just completed for the first time in a long time, was The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening, which was released in 1993, re-released for the DX in 1998 and re-re-released on the Nintendo E-Store for 3DS very recently, somewhat in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of arguably the greatest video game franchise of all time. (My favorite Nintendo based franchise, but Final Fantasy and the Elder Scrolls put up some serious competition.)

The version, which is six dollars, is well worth it. The graphics and game-play were cutting edge at the time, the music was nostalgic to the previous three major releases, and the story was clever and captivating. The replay value was still there, especially on the new handheld. I didn’t upgrade my sword to level 2 by collecting enough secret seashells or max out my health (13/14 hearts) but it was a relatively complete and smooth run.

Now, for the not so smooth run, which was more or less a series of short sprints tied with wheezing and a burning chest as the result of either altitude (no) or my being very much so out of shape (yes). We stopped by the Boulder Indoor Soccer “arena” last week to watch Ben Powell play in a very physical 6 v 6 game of indoor soccer. It is not too different from your typical soccer game but it is very fast paced with hockey substitutions. I am so grateful for those substitutions because this week, actually a few hours ago, Ben asked me to help fill out the roster. I came completely unprepared, with no indoor shoes, no shin guards, and no cardio based endurance. The third was the most painful. I had no idea there were two 22 minute and 30 second halves, but I am so happy there were not four.

Indoor Soccer Arena

It was physical, I was slipping, my legs were filling with lactic acid, and my chest was about to burst, but my technique was there and I played smart enough to not make any mistakes. In all of my sporting experience, which is pretty extensive for someone my age, my best piece of advice and the lesson learned from this post for anyone who is still reading, is that the most important role players in a team sport (and an essential quality for individual sports) and the players that determine whether you win or lose do not make mistakes.

Indoor soccer at the Phanzone in Hampstead, NH

Bam!

Now, let me make it clear that I am not saying that Lebron is the worst player in the NBA because of his turnovers; all I am saying is that there is a +/- way of looking at competition, and if you do not make ANY – moves, then you are in good shape to help yourself or your team. Honestly, you do not need the raw talent of Michael Jordan, you do not need the brute force of Babe Ruth, and you do not need any gift from whoever you believe in, all you really need is knowledge and composure. Your goal is to use your knowledge of the game to make the smart safe moves, and prevent the opponent from capitalizing on your mistakes, so that you can capitalize on their mistakes. 1-0 is a win. No real competition between two great opponents should ever be a blowout.

The first person to comment on what two pieces of advice I’m trying to give out in this post will receive…a random special give-away! It can be anywhere in the world, just leave your email address.