I haven’t been in the theaters for a while, and I have noticed that things have become a little more expensive, which means that movies have to be all the better to make it worth the money (about $20 a person). I took a little gamble on my first time back and I saw a movie I really didn’t know much about. Jonah Hex, directed by Jimmy Hayward, based on the DC comic book, albeit a few changes in the movie. Overall the movie was decent, with decent acting and a decent plotline.

Jonah Hex is set in civil- war period America just before the fourth of July. It opens with a nice graphic explaining things up to the plot point. Jonah is a confederate soldier who comes to his senses and betrays the army to do what’s right. Hex becomes an outlaw in the south, fighting against the confederates, he kills the family of Quintin Turnbull, which in turn comes to bite him in the ass as Quintin ties him to a cross and kills his family and makes Hex watch as his family is burned alive. Turnbull then takes a hot branding iron and brands Hex’s face with the initials QT (which later he burns off with a tomahawk leaving him with a brutal scar). He is found near death by native Americans who then try to bring him back to life, but instead Hex walks a void between life and death where he can now touch and wake up the dead to talk to them. Hex, with a heart filled with vengeance, hunts for Turnbull but finds that he burned himself alive. Hex then becomes a bounty hunter, and in turn gets a price put on his head. The union army finds that Turnbull is alive and is planning on destroying America with a secret weapon. The general then decides to summon Hex to fight against Turnbull and stop him before he can blow up the north with a nuke- like secret weapon.

First, I want to talk about the plot. It differs quite a bit from the comic book in Hex’s upbringing, which I don’t find appealing at all, and the new plot that they wrote has a lot of holes in it. They don’t explain the relationship between Hex’s character and Megan fox’s character, Lilah. At least she’s not just eye candy, she does plenty of ass- kicking on her own. There are also many holes in the relationship between Hex and turnbull; I didn’t understand what was going on between them half the time, and why Hex turned on him. They also randomly would switch to different times in the plotline, which got a little confusing. Also, the story was a little too short. It was just action after action after action, they really didn’t slow the movie down at all. Toward the end, they kept switching back and forth between the actual boss battle and some random dream battle between the same two people, which just got annoying.

The action was done really well though. There are a lot of cool western shootouts and and really cool fight sequences. The camera was steady throughout which I liked, and Hex, in a couple scenes, had some really cool weapons at his disposal, but for how action- packed the movie was, I would have liked to see more of these cool weapons, also one of those slow- mo shots of the bullet soaring through the air would be cool too.

The acting was alright. Not everyone really had the wild- west accents (except for Brolin and Megan Fox who did a stellar job.) There was not a whole lot of emotion in the movie, which again goes back to the storyline really. Josh Brolin also mumbled a lot which made it quite hard to understand what he was saying. The acting also seemed… forced. A lot of the actors did not really capture the characters for me, which is a major nail in the coffin for this movie. Megan Fox was really the only stand- out actor in the movie, but she always does a great job. Also some of the characters seemed to have posh British accents, which really made no sense.

Another blow for the movie was there was almost no character development. I really had no idea who anyone was or why they were even there. The pictured Hex as a vengence- ruled madman who gets a sick pleasure from killing, and Turnbull as a complete sociopath hell bent on killing everyone, and Fox’s character was practically an ass- kicking prostitute. Turnbull’s minions seemed brainless and anyone else was rather insignificant.

I did like the background music, which consisted of wild- west style guitar or banjo, at sometimes having electric instruments, and even some full songs. The music did set the mood very well, and at the right breaks, the lighting was both realistic and dramatic, setting the mood as well. (one of the only things that the director did right.)

Overall, the movie really wasn’t worth the twenty dollars (that’s ticket and refreshments), but it was still a cool action ride. Unfortunately, I had to pee the entire time, so it was a little harder to concentrate. The movie was mediocre, not the best, but not the worst. There are many improvements that could be made, but there are a couple things that they did well. It would be a cool movie to watch with friends on a boring Saturday night, but I don’t think it’s worth the money in theaters.

In a rating… 4.5 out of 10 stars.

A lot has happened since I last posted. The elephant in the room, however, is that I lost the love of my life, the one girl who I felt was my true soulmate. I went even deeper into my depression, wanting to kill myself. I knew that this wasn’t good, so I desperately reached out for help. It seemed as if the struggle between school, work, a past relationship, and family just exploded in my face. The explosion, ignited by the relationship, really caused me to break down, and take a look at myself. Who I am, what I’ve become, who I want to be, all of these were carefully looked into. I’ve always prided myself on being able to easily handle any problem that was thrown my way, and it seemed like God had to knock me down a few pegs, so he did. God sent me these challenges for a purpose, and that was, in my view, to bring me closer to Him.

I have had depression and suicidal thoughts for four years, pretty much when high school started. I was in a different world, just a small fish in a sea of sharks, and there was blood in the water. It wasn’t the students out for blood though… It was the teachers. One in particular. Mrs McHalpine, algebra nine teacher. She hated me. Most of the kids in her class were the hard workers, I, however, was a slacker. I rarely did my homework, and didn’t really pay attention in class. I did, however, manage to get the school work done, and pass all of my tests and quizzes. She hated that, and she hated me. She tried so hard to fail me, but I passed by the skin on my teeth.

At that time, certain “changes” occured in my body. I began maturing, and noticing girls… not for their cooties, but for their features. One, especially caught my eye. I felt the need to acquire a girlfriend. So I tried, and failed, multiple times. I also was in wrestling at this time. I was a horrible wrestler, I didn’t win one match my freshmen year, but I kept coming back for more and more punishment. Wrestling made me feel alive, for the first time.

Time went on and I started doing better in school, and I started winning in wrestling matches, I had a few friends, and I had a happier life. Something seemed to be missing, though. Like there was an open pit that I could not fill. I remembered that i did not have a girlfriend. All of my other friends were getting theirs, but I was not. How unfair. Surely enough I was a good guy and all, but no one ever really wanted to date me. I had plenty of female friends, but that’s all they were… friends. That’s the first time I’ve really felt hopeless.

At this time, my brother and sister were growing up, enough to be a nuisance, and they quickly learned how to get under my skin. They were good at it.

That summer I had finally found what I was looking for… a girlfriend. Ker and I had known each other for practically our entire lives, and it just felt right. When the relationship started, pure bliss, but about a year later, I learned her true colors. I tried to break up with her, multiple times, and she wouldn’t let me. I found someone else that I had feelings for, and the unthinkable happened. I cheated on her. I used this as ammunition to break up with her finally, and it worked.

My Junior year, I quit wrestling, one of my three regrets.   I quit for three reasons: To find a job, to leave the assholes on the team, and because my ankle and knees got bad. I’ve regretted it to this day. I’ve prided myself on never giving up, and I gave up.

After I had broken up with my first girlfriend, me and my second girlfriend took off like a rocket. Everything was bliss as it should be. I felt deeply and madly in love with her. We even got to the point of talking about marriage and children. I fell for her, hard. A problem arose, though. I fell so hard for her that I completely feared losing her, which made me paranoid and obsessive. The very way I was trying to protect her became my downfall. The relationship started to go south, and I tried hard to save it, but it was as if she was trying to break up with me. The smoking gun, however, was when she wanted to go to prom with her ex. I made her chose between him and me, she chose him. I was devastated. I lost the love of my life. I became severely depressed and suicidal. I tried perhaps three times. It was over. The best thing that ever happened to me was gone. I still tear up to this day writing about it. Another of my three regrets. I lost a part of myself when that happened, a part that I think I’ll never get back. I went into therapy  for it. To this day, I still am horribly attached to her, though I wish I wasn’t.

That brings us to today. All of these events have shaped me to be the person that I am today, and as I write this, I am constantly re-evaluating, checking myself to be who I am, whoever that is. All of these events made me look back on myself. My past failures turn into experience and lessons. Life is the best, but hardest teacher. You will never stop learning until your last breath.

The first lesson is love. Never fall for someone so deep that you depend on them to make you happy. That’s what happened to me, and I wound up getting screwed. Love is something that one can not describe. Love is so complex that it is beyond our own understanding. Never give someone too much of yourself, because you’ll get screwed in the return. Love someone for who they are, and try to deal with what they become, because people change. People always change, we can not control that, but we can control what we do with who they become. Iris became someone that I hated. she always treated me like shit, and then rubbed my face in it, trying to twist it to appear as my fault.

Second lesson is when things get too complicated, or go too far south, cut your losses and get out. This is different from giving up. Randy Pausch said “We can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” Some times this means you have to fold.There are no more benefits, so cut your losses and get out. Nothing more is there for you to gain.

Third lesson is never bottle up your emotions. Picture, if you will, a balloon. Every time you bottle something up, that balloon gets another breath of air put inside it. That balloon will become fuller and fuller until eventually it explodes. An explosion is never good for anyone.

The last lesson (that I can think of) that i have learned is that you’re never alone. There are always people out there willing to help. I got so bad that people became concerned about me. Even if there is no one there. There is still one being that loves you and will bring comfort to your soul. that being is GOD. God is always there for you, and will never forsake you. If you are going through a hard time, that is God trying to pull you closer to him.

Through all of the doubts, wars, and things that have happened, through all of the regret in my life, there is one thing that I will never lose. That is myself. I may seem to become hurt, even beside myself, but I will never give up. I have too much to live for.

“I can’t understand this mess, I am more than this, I am more than worthless.” -Drowning Pool, “More than Worthless”

2012, the day that the world as we know it, will come to an end. At least, that’s what director Roland Emmerich fantasizes about in his new movie Properly titled “2012.” Emmerich takes us on an intense journey across the United States, and even China as he utterly destroys the world. This movie leads for and intense, white- knuckle thrill ride that’s sure to knock the socks right off of you. At least there’s somewhat of a story behind it, but the story is so complex and all over the place that it leaves a small wound in this cinematic giant.

The movie begins in 2009, when two scientists discover that a massive solar flare has caused Earth’s core to superheat at rapid temperatures. One of them, Adrian, rushes to tell the White House officials that the Earth has an expiration date. 2012.

Now the date is 2012. Curtis, a writer and part time limo driver for Russian billionaire, Yuri, takes his kids out camping. While there, Curtis finds that his favorite camping spot is sealed off by the government. He and his children decide to hop the fence, and are caught by U.S. military. Curtis later meets Adrian, who lets them go, and meets an underground radio broadcaster Charlie. Charlie tells Curtis about the apocalypse, and a secret government plan called the Ark project, which is three vessels to take a certain chosen people from around the world through the chaos.

Later, Curtis returns home to rescue his family, including divorced wife, Kate and her new boyfriend, Gordon. Curtis rents a plane and Gordon flies them out of Los Angeles as it is destroyed. They land in Yellowstone, collect the map that Charlie had of the Ark vessels. Then they land in Las Vegas. The collect Yuri, his two sons, and his girlfriend. They board Yuri’s plane with his pilot, Sasha and make their escape to China.

They crash land in China due to no fuel, Sasha dies, and the rest are discovered by Chinese soldiers. Yuri waves his green passes to get on the Ark for his kids and himself, and leave the rest behind. The group is discovered by a monk, who takes them with his family to sneak in the Ark.

!!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!

The group get on the Ark through a passage way. The gates are lowered to let people on, and Gordon is killed when he is crushed in between the gears. They also get a big drill caught in the gears, which, disable the vessel from closing the gate just as a tsunami is about to hit.

Adrian, who is also on the vessel contact the trapped group, and they are able to get the drill free. Later, the tsunami waters have receded and they discover that Africa is above sea level. The Ark vessels then head for Africa.

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Overall, the movie was pretty good. It featured some spectacular special effects, and the acting was pretty good. Roland Emmerich just has a way of killing off 5/6 of the world’s population in spectacular ways. There were, however, a few problems with the film.

First off, The entire story was all over the place (as seen above.) There were too many stories that they were trying to follow, and it lead to some confusion, especially when they left  a certain group alone for an extended period. Instead of one major plot, it seemed like they were trying to follow three or four major plots at once. Somehow, though, they were able to kill off or bring their major characters together for a great ending.

Second, I thought that there was too much comic relief in the film. Of course comic relief is good in intense thriller disaster movies such as this one, but there was too much, which broke the story quite a bit. Much if the comic relief was right in the middle of an intense scene, which really broke it. I did not like it at all. Too much of a good thing is certainly bad for this movie.

Also, I felt that some of the movie was dragged out too far, and it got a little long. However, I felt that for every bad thing, there was a great thing that countered it.

The movie was an absolute thrill ride. It had me on the edge of my seat (sometimes literally) the entire time. With disaster and danger at every turn, the cataclysmic events almost double in size with each new chapter of this film. From completely annihilating California to turning Yellowstone into a super Volcano to the destruction of the Washington Monument and not only crushing D.C. with the Air Force 1, but then sinking it into the ocean. This film proves that Mother nature is a ticking time bomb and that Roland Emmerich is a very twisted, yet intelligent and talented director that likes destroying important things.

The special effects were quite stunning. Most of it was probably done with Green Screen, but it was very believable and spectacular. The acting was a plus, with Cusak as one of the main characters.

In conclusion, 2012 was a thrill ride that echoed Emmerich’s work. This movie, yet flawed, is a masterpiece of visual art that will thrill generations to come, even after 2012.  4 out of 5 stars.

I’m just going to dive right into it, Twilight was decent at best. Overall, I thought it was pretty corny, cliche, and some things didn’t make sense. I have three major points to support my stance.

The First one, the oddity of the vampires. From what I know, Vampires were invented by Bram Stoker when he wrote Dracula, a Novel based on a count that would drink human blood. Dracula had super- human strength, speed, and senses. He could turn into a bat, and he had to avoid sunlight. He could not see his reflection. The Vampires in Twilight are completely backwards. First off, they sparkled in daylight, which made no sense, and as far as I know, Dracula didn’t have any “superhero” powers like reading minds or predicting the future. At least they got the blood sucking part right.

Second, the corniness of the story.  It’s a friggin’ merry- go- round with just about every other teenage girl story with vampires, or any story of the sort for that matter. Boy meets girl, boy has a secret, so he acts weird, girl finds out his secret, boy and girl fall deeply in love, other guys try to kill girl so boy has to fight off enemies, girl wants to be like boy, but boy won’t let girl. It’s been done over and over and it never gets any more repulsive of a story. The only thing that set this one apart was the sparkles. It is really annoying when there is just no fresh material for these people to use. The corniness of pretty much everything else in the movie is a problem, too. Girl has a great disposition, which makes girl attracted to boy, and vise- versa. The enemies were corny, too. There is always the one enemy that is supposed to be like the greatest of the vampires, but the underdog, usually being the protagonist always finds some way to win, and almost kills his love in the process. The ONLY Fight scene just made me flip a lid because of the corniness. Pretty much everything was corny.

The last point is the acting. Maybe it would have been a LITTLE better if there was some real stars in it, but it was all just a bunch of no- name, first time actors that really didn’t give it depth. It made the entire thing even more agonizing. I would have liked to see the guy that played Victor Creed from X Men origins: Wolverine play James.

Overall it was pretty much 2.5-3 hours of my life that I’ll never get back. The only reason that it is popular is because Edward is a vampire and that is the rage with all the Gothic chicks now- a- days. Vampires, vampires, vampires. It is annoying. All I gotta say is, try again!