Writing is about to take off on the Weezer Rant. I haven’t posted a “Weekly-ish rant” in almost 2 months (haha, go figure, right?), but should be posting more frequently now. Hope everyone out there is doin well. As for what’s been going on with me – well I just got a job a couple weeks ago. Before that I’d been doin plenty of odd jobs, predominantly yard work via Nate Moses or connections through him. Back in November I had applied to work at Level One again but was turned down. Well they hired me again a few weeks ago, and Iam actually fairly glad to be back. It may simply be the fact that I haven’t had a full-time job in so long that I’m just thankful to have a regular income, but I’m trying to have a good attitude about it. I can’t believe I’m back again, but am thankful God has given me work. I will, however, actively be looking for other work opportunities, so if anyone has any – let me know PLEASE. I have also recently moved back home. At first it was only temporary to help out another friend who needed a place to stay, but being thrown under a bus financially this past 8 months really hurt, and it’s gonna help me a ton to have cheap rent for a few months. Life is still a little tuff right now, simply because it’s slow and trying. It’s sort of a Deja Vu moment, like i’m reliving my own life. Being back where I was 3 years ago seems like I took a step backwards in a way, but I’m trying to grit my teeth and see what God does with it all. What I’m trying to do is just keep pressing forward towards my goals, doing my best along the way to worry about myself and being the best person I can be by God’s standards. One thing that is going well is church. Grace Church held its first service at the new Downtown location this past week (a photo is posted on my Twitter @theweez09). The building was packed out with visitors, and Matt Williams preached a great message on the vision for our church. He preached from Acts, emphasizing about what Paul said in regards to giving all you have for the cause of Christ. Just because we got a new building doesn’t mean we have arrived. Jesus needs us to spread His name in our new environment and be involved in our church body. Matt told us that 20% of the greater Greenville area is churched. 20% – and we’re the diamond stud on the buckle of the Bible belt. If every person in the Greenville area wanted to go to church next Sunday morning, we’d be 300,000 seats short – and you and I KNOW how many churches there are around here. What does that say about places like Boston, Seattle, and Las Vegas? This really got me excited about wanting to plant a church. Stuff like that always does. Hopefully I will have a chance to help out with the internship program at Grace this summer. My buddy Mitch Miller will be doing the internship there. Other than that, I’m trying to stay exercising, playing my guitar, and continuing to write. My goal now is to pay off some debt and save for the upcoming school year so I can be back at seminary again.
AND here we go with the categorical run-down:
Movies
As I have mentioned before, I only recently got a job, and since it’s been awhile since my last post, and since I’m a big movie guy anyways – there’s a lot here to dish out, so here it goes –
– August Rush – a really good, family movie dealing with an orphaned boy who turns out to be a musical prodigy. Good story and characters make for a really good film I could basically recommend to anyone. 7.5/10
– The Majestic – Jim Carrey stars as a man who loses his memory and ends up in a small town he knows nothing about. The movie was decent, but being from director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, the Green Mile) I expected A LOT more. 6/10.
– The Green Mile – Tom Hanks stars as a state prison guard who comes across a convicted murderer who has some extraordinary abilities. Frank Darabont directs this emotional drama showing showing us what miracles look like. Really enjoyed this one – 8/10.
– Law Abiding Citzen – Jamie Fox and Gerard Butler star in this suspense action flick about a man imprisoned for killing the man who murdered his family. The whole movie is about the lines between justice and the law. This movie was ok, leaving me with mixed emotions about the main characters. 5.5/10
– Goodfellas – regarded as one of the finest mob movies of all-time, Martin Scrosese’s look at crime in NY City is definitely a well-made movie with great acting performances. That being said, the movie was not very entertaining to me and did not hold my attention well. I realize that most critics love it, but the 1st priority of a movie is to entertain, and I was not. 5/10
– American Beauty – 1999’s winner for Best Picture is a comedy-drama that tells the story of a typical family that is going through many issues. Some of the subject matter is kinda twisted, so I wouldn;t recommend it for everyone. Kevin Spacey is great and the story is easy to follow, but I would certainly not say it’s worthy of a Best Picture nomination. 6.5/10.
– Fargo – The Coen Brother’s quirky black comedy set in a small Mineesota town follows the scheme of a married man to have his wife kidnapped to get a sizeable ransom from her Father. Inevitably, calamity ensues and it’s funny at times, disturbing at others. Again – a movie that deals with some odd subject matter at times, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to the typical person, but I can appreciate a well-made film, while it wasn’t my favorite. 6/10
– Donnie Darko – a really odd movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal about a teenager who takes advice from a doomsday bunny. Sounds weird, cause it is. The movie is a cult-favorite, and a few guys I know LOVE it and tell me to watch it again, but I haven’t cause I hated it hahahahaha. 3/10
– Robin Hood – Ridley Scott’s big, bold new take on Robin Hood acts as a prequel to most typical Robin Hood flicks, drastically changing some of the key plot lines you’d come to expect out of this character. I was REALLY excited about this movie, and was REALLY let down, unfortuntely. the story was hard to get into for me and the movie just lacked the charm and script I expected. Russell Crowe is good, as usual, but that’s about it. 5/10
– Iron Man 2 – The follow-up to 2008’s smash hit had some big shoesto fill. In my opinon, Jon Favreau does a great job at keeping the same feel to the movie. Robert Downey Jr is perfect is his reprised role as billionaire tech wizard Tony Stark. Joining him is returning cast members Gwyneth Paltrow, along with new comers Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, and Don Cheadle. Really liked this movie. Great summer pop-corn, action flick. 7.5/10.
– Million Dollar Baby – Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this drama about an old boxing coach who revives his coaching career through a down-and-out 30 yr. old waitress (Hilary Swank) who wants to be a boxer. Morgan Freeman co-stars in this Oscar winning film that I thought was great. I would definitely recommend it. 8/10.
– The Proposal – romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a hard-core boss who ends up faking an engagement to her assistant (Ryan Reynolds). Cute movie, great for a date, pretty funny as far as romantic comedies go, so overall I would recommend it – especially to girls hahaha. 6.5/10
TV
LOST, a show that captivated audiences for 6 seasons has come to a close. Check out my previous post to get the details and my take on the climactic ending.
American Idol comes to a close this week, poising Lee DeWyze and Crsystal Bowersox to face off in the season finale. Although it’s been a disappointing year in comparison to Seasons 7-8, Lee and Crystal are definitely deserving of the top 2 spots and should put on a great show for the finale. I don’t really care who wins this year, however.
The Office is still plodding along. I try to watch it every week, but honestly the show doesn’t amuse me nearly as much as it used to. I still love Jim and Andy as much as ever, but for some reason just haven’t found the show to be as captivating or witty as it is typically known for.
One new show I have been watching lately is Modern Family. They actually just had their season finale last week, but if you haven’t seen the show now is a great time to catch a few episodes and give it a shot. Basically it shows the diversity of the typical American family structure. The show features 3 related families. I personally enjoy the show for it’s clever writing and humor. Probably not for everyone but I don’t watch many shows so this is one I felt was worth mentioning.
Sports
In basketball, the Boston Celtics are currently up 3-1 on the Orlando Magic. The Celtics only need 1 more win to return to the NBA Finals. The Lakers are currently tied 2-2 with the Suns, so we could have a rematch of 2008’s NBA Finals.
In hockey the Pittsburgh Penguins have been eliminnated from the playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals is now set with the Flyers playing the Blackhawks. I could not care less who wins hahaha.
And in baseball, the Boston Red Sox continue to have a mediocre season thus far, though they have had some big victories recently. They are currently in 3rd place in the AL East behind the Yankees and the Angels.
Music
Not much to report here as far as new music. I would recommend this past week’s Glee episode for the performance of Les Miserables’ I Dreamed a Dream. It features Idina Menzel alongside cast-regular Lea Michelle. Fantastic performance here – Also, I was able to attend a concert over the weekend headlining Mayday Parade. They put on a great show and I would definitely recommend the band if you’re unfamiliar with them. They’re a pop/punk group, slightly emo but not whiney.
Like I said before, I’m going to try my best to write more, especially this summer, I have started to be involved in another writing opportunity which I will go into detail about later, so some of my efforts will be channeled through that instead of the Weezer Rant itself. Anyways – thanks for reading, peace ->
Weez
The Weezer Rant 