THE BROTHERS BLOOM

As interesting a movie as I've seen in awhile, and one I'd like to add to my personal collection, The Brothers Bloom (2008; PG-13) is the story of two young men who have been con-artists since childhood. The older brother guides the younger and has him play parts to entice others to give them money. All his life, the younger actually never becomes himself - he's always playing parts. His desire is to live an "unwritten life", a life of his own making and not guided by his brother.

The final heist finds the younger actually falling in love with the female mark. Eventually, she decides to become a con-artist, too. See, she's not as dumb as they think and she figures them out pretty much from the get-go. She lets them play out their gig.

The story is actually very touching at times, as the love these brothers have for each other is the key factor in their lives. They are orphans and all they've got is each other, no matter what the younger one wishes were different. It's not the kind of relationship where they exchange christmas cards and gifts. They give each other a part of themselves.

I highly recommend this to everyone.

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MONSTERS VS ALIENS

This is such a cute and funny movie, that I highly recommend it to everyone - not just kids. The story of Monsters vs Aliens (2009; PG)  is about a bride-to-be who has been hit by a meteor on her wedding day. She grows into the "50 foot woman" and is whisked away to a prison designed just for monsters, to keep them out of the public eye.

There she meets a mad scientist-turned-cockroach, a missing link creature, a blob, and a gigantic caterpillar. After a few weeks, they are enlisted to save the world from an alien enemy who is, of course, trying to take over the world.

Throughout the adventure she discovers some things about herself and her fiance, including the fact that she is a strong, independent woman who can accomplish great things instead of just riding on the coattails of her weatherman boyfriend. She also learns how to not be taken for granted by anyone. She realizes that she can accomplish anything in her life, from Houston Job Searches to continuing education - it's all right at her very large fingertips.

While this has some very funny lines (Link says, "Is the earth warmer? It would be a very convenient truth if it is."), it also shows us that we can all be amazing in small ways and impact the lives of others in a positive manner.

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DRAG ME TO HELL

Possibly one of the scariest movies I've seen lately, but not in the chainsaw massacre sense. Drag Me To Hell (2009; PG-13) is based on a young woman being cursed by an elderly lady who was being evicted from her home. The old lady had been given a couple of extension on her mortgage and was literally on her knees in front of the young loan officer, begging for another. When it's refused, the woman attacks the loan officer and places a curse on her.

As the story plays out, the young woman tries to go to a spiritual advisor and later to a psychic to rid herself of this terrible curse. You see, a demon is trying to catch her and, yes, drag her to hell.I think that the woman may not have had a good return of premium life insurance or something, the way she was battling this demon!

Lots of jump moments and the total terror of the young woman almost until the end make for a great movie to watch in the dark - but not alone. And not for those who are super-sensitive about demonic activity.

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Addicted to work

Am I addicted to work?

I was off Tuesday. By early afternoon, I had a raging headache and was feeling groggy. I rode with Son to where my truck is, near where I work.

While he was working on the truck, I walked to my work place and got some coffee. I sat in the lobby, trying to fight off the headache and feeling of fatigue. While there, they got a terrible rush so I got up and helped them through it. Being a manager, it's one of my responsibilities to fill in if needed when something like that arises. By the time the rush was over, I was feeling a lot better and more energetic. Sometimes I think that working these few extra hours works as well as fat burners, giving me energy and a lower appetite. In fact, I worked another couple of hours just tonight because they were so short handed!

Strange, huh?

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TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

This is the typical Transformers kind of movie. However, I wouldn't recommend it for children. It has a lot of innuendo and language that isn't appropriate for kids at all. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PG-13; 2009) was made with the same great technology that others have been made with though. The action is realistic looking, if you want to sit through a rather lengthy 2 1/2 hour film. I did.

Sam Witwiky and his girlfriend Mikaela are united once again in this film where only Sam can help the good Transformers defeat the evil ones. While it is highly unlikely that a young person just heading to college would be the answer to the question, "Who is going to save the world today?", it gives us hope that there are individuals out there who can do great things.

In this one, Sam has found a shard of the "cube" in some of the clothes he used in the previous adventure. The shard ignites some pretty terrific knowledge in his brain. Not only that, but when he drops it, it animates kitchen appliances and other electronic devices, from heated mattress pads to electric scissors, making them into evil little robots that attack him and everything around them. Bumble Bee tries to save the day, but all that's accomplished is a lot of destruction around the Witwiky house.

Still, Sam is just trying to live a normal life when all this occurs and he is once again thrown into the unwanted role of hero.

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HUMANITY'S END

If I was shorting myself on calcium every day, then Humanity's End (2009;not rated) filled in that gap due to how cheesy it is. Shoddy sets, lackluster technology, less-than-gifted actors, and a really lame script add up to make this a pretty sorry evening's entertainment. The space ships looked like they were created from model submarine kits and discount classroom furniture.

The premise is that bio-robots and other forms of intelligence and life have set out to eradicate all human life in the universe. Luckily, there just happens to be one man and one woman left - a sort of intergalactic Adam and Eve. Still, they have to survive and make babies before the human race can be resurrected. And, they have to make sure all the bad guys are destroyed.

The "hero" of the movie is a shady, cynical, self-effacing star pilot. I figure his character was modeled after Han Solo of Star Wars. However, he doesn't have the depth or heart of that character.

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