Reviews and More

Even though it’s only been a week since the primetime TV season ended, I’m already going through withdrawals. I need to have several shows queued up to watch otherwise I tend to go a bit crazy! Anyway, since I want to have enough material for this blog to carry me through the summer and into the fall season, I’m starting to watch some older shows on DVD. After some deliberation (and after watching the series finale a couple months ago), I decided to give The O.C. another try — this time from the very beginning.

I wrote before that I tried watching The O.C. a long time ago, but was turned off for a couple of reasons. First, I’m in my 30s and didn’t really want to watch a teen-focused series. I had spent 10 years watching Beverly Hills, 90210, so I wasn’t ready to wade through all that teen angst again. Second, I absolutely hated Benjamin McKenzie’s acting. I thought he was terribly wooden and one-dimensional as Ryan Atwood, and I didn’t think I could handle an entire series with him as the main character.

But I thought the finale was decent, and I want to see Seth and Summer’s relationship develop, so I decided to put my initial reactions aside and give The O.C. another try.

I watched the first three episodes on DVD and have mixed feelings about the results. On the one hand, it’s nice to see the series from the beginning. I missed the pilot, so I didn’t have Ryan’s backstory and didn’t really know why he was living with the Cohens. But now that I know what happened in 1×01, lots of other things just make more sense.

However, these first three episodes dealt mostly with the poor outsider trying to fit in in the rich kids’ neighborhood. There wasn’t anything fresh or original with Ryan’s storyline, so it felt like I’d seen that stuff a million times before.

I’m enjoying the Seth character right from the beginning — except for the fact that he’s been in love with Summer since sixth grade or whatever. Summer is one of those snobby girls that doesn’t have the time of day for “dorks” like Seth. In fact, when he talks to her for the first time, she gives him a dirty look and says something like, “Eww, who are you?” right to his face. And yet, his love for her continues.

Also, I hate it when these shows make it seem like kids don’t know each other. I’m sorry, but if you go to grade school with someone, you at least know who they freakin’ are!! You know their names even if you’re not friends with them!! Elementary school classes aren’t that big, so please don’t tell me it’s possible for kids to slide under the radar for that entire time. Plus, then you’ve got junior high and high school, and Seth has been living next door to Summer’s best friend ever since they were little. So I don’t buy it that Summer doesn’t even know his name!! (Yeah, that’s a total nitpick, but I had to get it out of my system.)

Anyway, I’m going to continue watching this show. Even if it’s dumb, I’ll at least have fun pointing out its flaws!

The summer movie season always means that viewers will get treated to a whole slew of big-budget films from the major Hollywood studios. Unfortunately, while these $100 million movies are heavy on special effects and star power, they’re usually pretty light on substance and meaning. Obviously a majority of moviegoers are interested only in being entertained, but some people are looking for a bit more. If you belong to this latter group, you should check out the Spiritual Cinema Circle.

The Spiritual Cinema Circle is an online film club that delivers four inspirational movies to members each month. The movies can be anything from shorts to documentaries to full-length features, and are all selected based on spiritual themes and quality. All four movies are compiled onto a single DVD, and you get to keep these monthly DVDs forever — which is a benefit that very few film clubs offer.

One of the club’s co-founders is producer Stephen Simon, a man who has been producing Hollywood movies for many decades. He helps choose the monthly films that go out to Spiritual Cinema Circle members, so you know the selections are made with a critical, experienced eye.

Overall, the Spiritual Cinema Circle sounds like a terrific way to encounter inspiring, uplifting movies that you probably wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. Visit the site and join today!

I am not a big fan of boxing movies in general, nor of Russell Crowe in particular, so it’s really no surprise that I didn’t get around to watching the 2005 film Cinderella Man until just last night. Besides the two characteristics I just listed, Cinderella Man was also directed by Ron Howard, had a running time of over 2 hours, 20 minutes, and takes place during the 1930s — all elements that seemed to point to a boring movie. However, it’s based on a true story, and that’s what finally got to me in the end.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Crowe stars as James J. Braddock, a professional boxer from New Jersey who was on the brink of making it big. But then a couple of untimely injuries coupled with the crippling effects of the Great Depression sent Braddock into poverty and relative obscurity. He found himself having to line up in the hopes of getting picked to work on the docks just to keep his wife Mae (played by Renee Zellweger) and three kids clothed, fed, and sheltered.

Braddock still fought whenever possible, but the opportunities were few and far between (and the payouts were nowhere near what he was used to). At one of these fights, Braddock does so poorly because of a broken hand that the referee hands out a ruling of “no contest.” I guess that’s a big deal in boxing circles because Braddock had his pro license revoked after that, which meant he wouldn’t have this extra source of income anymore. As a result, he ends up going on public assistance and begging for money to keep his family together.

The rest of the movie then dealt with Braddock’s efforts to get his license back, and his eventual climb to the heavyweight title bout against Max Baer. If you know anything about boxing, then you know that the outcome of this fight is one of the most talked-about in pugilistic lore.

My Reaction: I was extremely surprised at how much I liked Cinderella Man. I thought Russell Crowe was fantastic in this movie, and believe that he’s the one that really made the whole thing work. Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, and Bruce McGill also turned in good performances, but Crowe carried them all. I don’t know anything about the real James J. Braddock, so I can’t tell you if Crowe depicts the fighter accurately or not. Nevertheless, he was wonderful here.

I felt that the movie did drag in a few places and could have been about 20 minutes shorter. Moreover, I would have preferred it if some of the boxing scenes weren’t quite so graphic. But I do understand that it’s a brutal sport and that’s what Ron Howard was trying to depict, so I’ll give him a pass on that.

Overall, I’m giving Cinderella Man 7.5 stars out of 10 and recommend that you give it a try if you haven’t done so already!

I was a business major in college, so of course I had to take a lot of finance and accounting classes. While I’ve forgotten a majority of the lessons I learned back then, one of the concepts that has stayed with me has to do with structured settlements such as annuities, lawsuit settlements, lottery winnings, and things of that nature. Basically, there are times when you’re better off taking your money in the form of a lump sum rather than in periodic payments. This has to do with interest rates and calculating future value, and can be a bit complex.

To me, there’s a much simpler way of determining whether periodic payments or a lump sum is better for your situation: do you need all the money now, or can you wait? Answering that question will get you started and then you can make your final decision after taking other factors into consideration.

So what happens if you’re already locked into periodic payments, but need a lump sum for an emergency? Well, I came across the web site of a company that could be very useful in this situation. It’s called StructuredSettlement-Quotes.com, and they can help you sell your structured settlements to the highest bidder. They work with a large network of financial companies to make sure you get the most competitive offers around, while leaving the actual decision up to you.

This sounds like a pretty good deal, so if you’re ready to get out of a structured settlement and receive a lump sum instead, check out StructuredSettlement-Quotes.com today!

I don’t watch too many comedies because most of them end up being light on plot and completely unfunny to boot. But Jack Black films are usually a good bet for me, so I decided to give Nacho Libre a try despite the terrible reviews the movie received. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a big mistake! Here’s what I thought of Black’s most recent effort.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Black stars as Ignacio, a monk in a monastery in Mexico. Ignacio’s main duty is to cook for the orphans at the monastery, but there’s never enough money to buy fresh ingredients. So Ignacio ends up serving green slop most of the time.

Ignacio often makes trips into town to tend to the sick or pick up some food, and on one of these trips he encounters Ramses (played by Cesar Gonzalez), a famous wrestler who enjoys the adoration of all the townspeople. Ignacio, who has watched wrestling since he was a child, also dreams of making it big in the ring so he can serve decent meals to the kids. But of course wrestling is against the monastic code.

Later on, however, one of the other monks treats Ignacio so badly that he decides to go out there and wrestle anyway. He creates a costume, calls himself Nacho, and recruits Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez) as his tag team partner. They start out small, but work their way up to bigger venues. All the while, Nacho uses the proceeds from his matches to buy better and better food for the orphans — and manages to keep his second job under wraps.

The rest of the movie then deals with Nacho and Esqueleto’s continued rise through the wrestling ranks, and the big showdown with Ramses. There’s also a subplot involving a nun who arrives at the monastery, Sister Encarnación, played by Ana de la Reguera, but not much happens there — as you might expect given that we’re talking about a monk and a nun!

My Reaction: I was pretty disappointed with Nacho Libre. As I mentioned above, Jack Black’s movies are usually great in terms of providing some solid laughs and at least a halfway decent storyline. But this one completely missed the mark. I barely even cracked a smile during this movie, and didn’t think any of the running jokes were remotely funny. Plus, Black’s “Mexican” accent was annoying and distracting, which just made the movie even more unbearable.

The writers didn’t even take the time to develop any of the supporting characters. The audience wasn’t given a single reason to believe that Ignacio would fall in love with Sister Encarnación — or that she would return the sentiment. That whole subplot just felt tacked on, and was a complete waste.

Overall, I give Nacho Libre 4.0 stars out of 10. There are plenty of other Jack Black movies to choose from, so there’s no reason to waste your time with this one.

Ever since I started working from home just over two years ago, I realized that I would have to pay very close attention to business-related purchases such as office supplies. I would obviously be using up more pens, paper, folders, ink cartridges, labels, and miscellaneous items (like paper clips, rubber bands and staples) than ever before. Even though I’d be able to write off these purchases at the end of the year and thus lower my tax liability, I still wanted to shop around for the lowest prices possible in order to limit my initial out-of-pocket expenses.

At first I thought my best option would be to purchase everything from those huge office supply superstores that are all over the place these days. But once I actually started comparing prices, I saw that those national chains couldn’t compete with online retailers. It seems that even smaller online stores can consistently offer better prices on the exact same products because of the extremely low overhead involved in selling from a website.

Now that I have a good idea of which websites feature the best prices on specific products, shopping for my office supplies is a breeze. I never buy from bricks and mortar stores anymore (unless it’s an emergency situation and I need something immediately), and am convinced that I’m paying some of the lowest costs around. The amount of money I’ve spend on office supplies has been steadily decreasing, so I must be doing something right!

Whenever I see an author rise to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List with every single new novel released, I feel compelled to read something from that writer to see what all the hype is about. Nicholas Sparks has enjoyed astounding success ever since the release of his 1996 debut The Notebook, so I’ve forced myself to try to read his books even though I don’t really go for the romance genre. I read The Notebook and didn’t like it, but figured I ought to read at least one more novel before writing Sparks off for good — which is why I spent the last two weeks with True Believer. Here’s what I thought of Sparks’s 2005 #1 hit.

Plot Summary (with possible spoilers): The main character in True Believer is a 37-year-old man named Jeremy Marsh. Marsh is a writer whose knack for explaining scientific phenomena in layman’s terms has earned him a regular column in Scientific American and whose good looks might land him a regular gig on television. Jeremy’s main talent lies in debunking various supernatural claims, such as proving that so-called psychics are actually just impostors. In this respect, I got the feeling that Jeremy was the “anti-Mulder”. Unlike everyone’s favorite FBI agent, Jeremy didn’t want to believe at all.

Coming off a successful appearance on Primetime Live, Jeremy needs one more big story in order for his agent to secure a TV spot for him, possibly on Good Morning, America or another high-profile show. As luck would have it, Jeremy receives a letter from someone in the small town of Boone Creek (North Carolina) who says that the local cemetery is haunted. Jeremy decides that this story might have merit, so he takes off to spend a week in Boone Creek investigating the mysterious lights that occasionally appear in the graveyard.

When he arrives in Boone Creek, he discovers that the place is everything that you’d imagine a stereotypical small town to be. The inhabitants have lived there their entire lives, they all know each other’s business, news travels fast, etc. Moreover, just like most small towns, Boone Creek is fighting for its very survival as industries close down and people move away to places with a stronger economy. The ghost story could be beneficial for the town, as it might attract tourist dollars — particularly if Jeremy tells the story on national television.

As a result, most of the people of Boone Creek treat Jeremy like a rock star. They stare at him, throw big parties in his honor, give him a key to the city, and generally roll out the red carpet for him in the hopes of making a good impression. The only person who doesn’t seem to be overly impressed by the big city writer is Lexie Darnell, the proprietress of the local library.

Of course Lexie is a beautiful, funny, intelligent woman who attracts Jeremy’s attention right away. They are frequently in each other’s company because Jeremy has to do research at the library, and soon he finds himself falling for Lexie. He wonders why she would choose to stay in a place like Boone Creek when she could be and do so much more, and she wonders why he can’t see the charm and satisfaction of living in a small town.

The rest of the novel then deals with this budding relationship and whether or not Jeremy and Lexie will get together when both of them know that Jeremy has to go back to New York in just a few days. Oh, and we also get the solution to the mystery of the lights, although that really takes a back seat to the romance plot.

My Reaction: Once again, I fail to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to Nicholas Sparks! I thought True Believer was a completely boring, utterly predictable novel that didn’t have a single surprising twist or turn at any point along the way. The whole cemetery lights mystery was pointless and there wasn’t any type of payoff at all. Hey, I can understand the concept of a Macguffin, but if that was Sparks’s intent all along, then he shouldn’t have focused on the mystery that much!

Moreover, the cookie-cutter characters exhibited no depth at all and weren’t consistent in the least. For example, Sparks alternately paints Jeremy as a bar-hopping womanizer who has the ability to get over his conquests quickly and as a traditional guy who wants nothing more than to be able to have children with the woman he loves. Lexie is all over the map as far as her characterization goes. First she doesn’t want anything to do with Jeremy because she’s been burned by these out-of-towners before. Then, she laments the fact that she’ll never find her “equal” in Boone Creek because the dating pool is too small? One minute, she’s content with dating Rodney. The next minute, she yearns for what Jeremy has to offer?

Oh, and did I mention that Jeremy falls in love with Lexie in the course of TWO DAYS??? Yeah, like anyone does that in this day and age?!

Overall, I thought True Believer was just boring, predictable, and not the least bit entertaining. I give it 4.0 stars out of 10, and advise you to give it a pass. This makes two strikes for Sparks. One more dud novel from him and I’m going to cross him off my list of readable authors forever!

I haven’t always been the most responsible person around when it comes to money, but in the last five years, I’ve made a concerted effort to change my ways and get my financial affairs in order. I’m happy to say that I’ve made excellent progress in that area: I’m now completely debt-free, except for my mortgage. Since I’m not looking forward to 24 more years of payments, I’ve been researching ways to help me pay off my mortgage more quickly.

During the course of my web search, I came across a new program that sounds very promising. It’s called the Money Merge Program, and has been receiving a good deal of media attention. The most prominent feature of the program is something called a Money Merge Account (MMA), a web-based program that uses precise mathematical calculations to help you determine when to pay additional principal on your mortgage, thereby reducing your overall interest payments for the duration of the loan.

The MMA analyzes your financial picture by considering your current checking and savings accounts in conjunction with a special Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). Because of the way the MMA performs its calculations, it’s unlikely that you’ll have to refinance or even modify your current spending habits.

As I said above, this sounds like a fantastic program, and I’m very much interested in seeing if it’s right for me. That’s why I’m planning on getting a free MMA analysis later on this week. If it turns out that I can pay off my mortgage in less than 15 years because of the MMA, then of course I’m going to sign up for it. I’m very excited about this and can’t wait to find out more!

I usually make it a point to see Oscar-winning films as soon as possible in order to determine for myself whether or not they’re worthy of all the buzz. I take particular notice of films that win (or are nominated) in the Best Picture and screenwriting categories because I’d take a good story over good performances or cinematography any day.

But when the Alexander Payne film Sideways won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about watching it. The previews made “Sideways” seem pretentious and overblown, with far too much dialogue and too little story, so I put it off until now. That was a mistake!

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Paul Giamatti stars as Miles Raymond, a man whose life seems to be going nowhere. He’s an aspiring novelist who makes ends meet by teaching 8th grade English, and he’s been in a persistent funk since his divorce two years ago. The only thing that Miles enjoys doing anymore is attending wine-tastings. He’s something of an expert when it comes to wines and likes to showcase his knowledge to others, including his only friend Jack (played by Thomas Haden Church).

The basic setup of the film is this: Jack is getting married in a week, but before that, he and Miles are taking a trip through California’s wine country to indulge in various tastings, play golf, and generally enjoy Jack’s final days as a “free man.” Of course, to Jack, that also means hooking up with a random woman or two, just to get it out of his system. Miles doesn’t care about women; he only wants to drink, so this becomes a source of constant conflict throughout the movie.

Miles and Jack eventually do meet two women who are very interested in them. Maya (Virginia Madsen) is a waitress at one of the restaurants Miles and Jack frequent, and she’s been attracted to Miles for quite some time. Unfortunately, he’s too self-absorbed and depressed to notice until Jack tells him. Stephanie (Sandra Oh) is a pour girl at a winery, and she hooks up with Jack. Stephanie and Maya are friends, so it seems like everything should work out well.

Of course, this wouldn’t be much of a movie if everything worked out perfectly, so you can bet that Miles and Jack get themselves into trouble along the way. The rest of the film then deals with the paths these relationships take and with the changes the characters undergo.

My Reaction: I was pleasantly surprised by Sideways. Even though I didn’t understand or care about the wine-tasting parts, I found the characters and their predicatments compelling enough to stick around for the ride. I was particularly interested in the relationship between Miles and Maya, and have to say that I liked the way Miles came around very slowly. He didn’t do anything out of character throughout the entire film, and I felt his arc to be genuine.

I could have done without the fat guy’s full-frontal nudity scene and without Stephanie bashing the hell out of Jack’s face with her motorcycle helmet, but whatever. I certainly wouldn’t tell someone to steer clear of the movie just because of those scenes.

Overall, I thought Sideways was a good film and I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I give it 7.5 stars out of 10 and recommend that you see it if you haven’t already!

My husband and a group of his friends are very involved in motocross. In fact, they’ve formed their own “team” and compete in amateur and professional races across the country. Although they obviously don’t have a big budget, they still make a pretty good impression because of the custom t-shirts, hats, and stickers that they’ve had printed up for all team members.

Recently, I’ve heard my husband mention that they’re interested in doing even more in terms of promoting the team. For example, they’ve been talking about investing in a full line of custom apparel to sell through the team website and at race events. If they can find a store with low enough prices on custom screen-printing, then they could actually make some decent money from merchandise sales.

I think the team’s idea has merit, so I’m going to help them try to find the best deals. I’m sure an online store will be much cheaper to work with than a bricks and mortar one, so I’ll have my husband take a look at CustomInk.com. They’ve got great low prices from what I’ve seen, plus their required minimum quantity is just six pieces and they’ve got tons of different products to choose from. I can’t wait to see what kind of custom merchandise the team comes up with!