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Well, we’ve finally trained Cam and Soph to take a nice picture. Too bad I was trying to shoot video this time, though!

Looks like Cam is already excited for his voice to change. He’ll make a
great bass singer…some day.

Aim got Cam a Jumpoline for Christmas. And although it is a health hazard in every way, shape and form imaginable, he just looks so darn cute playing on it – so we throw all parental instincts aside and simply enjoy the show!

Forgive the lack of updates…but life’s been a tornado for the last month. We had a great trip to Texas at the end of November with some of our best friends in the world (pics/video to come), then we went right into the insanity that some call the holiday season – starting with a broken washer and dryer!

Maybe those of you with kids who have been in this situation can relate, but I swear our laundry tripled in the time we were unable to wash it. To make matters worse, when the delivery crew brought our new LG appliances a week later, the dryer had a huge dent in it. And the shiesty delivery guys offered Aim $75 to just accept the delivery! The nice sales guy at Home Depot warned us that this might happen, and in my opinion these kind of shenanigans should be a crime! I mean, we just spent how much on new appliances, and these goons are going to offer $75 to accept damaged goods?

Anyway, we did finally get the new stuff (pictured above), and though this may sound a bit twisted, I have found myself looking forward to doing laundry each night. The washer and dryer are faster and quieter than the old ones, and even play little Nintendo-style songs when the loads are done. Plus, they also make coffee and do taxes, so that’s a plus. The only downside? This was our Christmas gift to each other.

Speaking of that, happy belated Christmas and New Year’s…here’s to a great 2009!

By watching this video, I’m thinking Cam might not have much of a future as a professional goalie. But perhaps being a caddy is his calling…

The Skinny: Edward Norton turns into Angry Shrek – I mean The Hulk – when he’s angry.

The Good: Well, I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is that it delivers about what you’d expect or hope for: decent acting, and lot of flashy effects where the big green guy smashes various things to smithereens. There is only one moment at the very end of the film that I didn’t expect, and if you’ve seen Iron Man, you may be excited by what the moment reveals.

The Bad: I think I griped about this in some of my other recent super hero movie reviews, but with the exception of maybe Batman, I don’t think a lot of these comic book characters are all that complex or interesting. This is definitely true for The Hulk. I mean, basically the guy has simple issues: if his blood gets pumping too much, he grows into a huge green beast and beats everybody up. I guess if that were me, I’d hide a million miles away, take a low-key job and enroll in anger management classes. Actually, that’s kind of what Edward Norton’s character does before making a mistake that leads the government evil-doers to his doorstep. What follows is a sequence of events that you can just about call shot-by-shot. And although several attempts are made to make Norton’s anger problem and character more interesting than they are, those ideas are either not followed up on or are forgotten about completely. In fact, they pretty much just serve as filler between Hulk sequences. To put it simply: if you’ve seen the preview, you’ve just about seen the whole movie. To be fair, I can’t say I was bored, but without a real interesting story or some developed characters as a foundation to move things along, all the green guy’s bashing and smashing are not much more than noise that I started forgetting about as soon as the credits started rolling.

The Ugly: Liv Tyler’s acting. I think she gets to every new movie set and says, “Hi gang, I was just gonna do my whimpery, whispery character again – cool?”

The Bottom Line: A good movie to watch while sorting laundry or waiting at the airport (which is how we saw it).

Score: Technorati tags: The Incredible Hulk, movie reviews

Ever since Cam developed an unhealthy addiction to People magazine, he’s become obsessed with the latest Britney Spears news. And apparently it’s beginning to have a bad effect on him…

Disclaimer: Before you write me nasty emails accusing me of torturing Cameron with a laser, I assure you that his shrieking is not that of pain/agony. He loves playing “chase the laser” and bugs me about it every time he watches what you’re about to see:

The Skinny: Two school boys – a troublemaker and a member of a religious sect – form an unlikely friendship and collaborate on a film called Son of Rambow after being inspired by Stallone’s version.

The Good: I really enjoyed this movie for so many reasons! First, I’d never heard of the film (I don’t think it had a theatrical release here), it doesn’t star anybody I know, and I’d never read anything about it – so I had no expectations going in. It was kind of the Once factor for me in that respect. I also loved this movie because it brought back fond memories of experiences and products I remember from childhood: watching Stallone/Norris/Van-Damme action movies on old top-loading VCRs, doodling obsessively on a notepad when I should’ve been paying attention during school, and filming home movies with camcorders (which were about as big as me back then). Although I didn’t recognize anyone in the cast, the film is carried by two capable young actors – perhaps the most impressive of which is Will Poulter as the troublemaker. His character reminded me exactly of a kid named Danny who used to go to my bus stop in elementary school. Danny was always in the principal’s office and never got any supervision/guidance from his parents. Danny also had an older brother that he worshiped (who didn’t give him the time of day). So in some ways, this movie was like watching people who were right out of my past. And aside from the great performances and nostalgia, the story really nails the whole love/hate relationship that two best friends can have – such as the jealousy of letting other friends into the group, taking blood-brother oaths, and being told they can’t see each other for one reason or another. The rollercoaster of events the boys go through as their movie masterpiece is constantly entertaining, and for the most part, feels pretty believable and authentic.

The Bad: Just like Once, I fear this movie is not going to get the audience it deserves. It’s one of those rare films that’s simply fun to watch, and is a mild PG-13 (for some violence and reckless behavior). If I were back in the 80s again, I’d certainly have a copy of this on VHS in my collection.

The Ugly: The ending went a little too over-the-top sappy for me, but still didn’t ruin the overall fun spirit of the movie.

The Bottom Line: Good clean fun – go see it.

Score:

Technorati tags: Son of Rambow, movie reviews

The Skinny: Indy and some friends get tangled with Soviet enemies as they try to uncover the secrets behind a crystal skull.

The Good: My first experience with this franchise was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I loved that movie because it – and the rest of the Indy franchise – nailed such a great mix of humor, adventure, and awesome action sequences. And those sequences, while obviously hard to believe, were done with enough realism that you felt a true sense of danger – even if you knew Indy would always prevail. And because I have such fond memories of watching the series with friends and family while growing up, I couldn’t wait to take a nostalgia trip and see what the latest installment had to offer.

The Bad: What this latest installment has to offer is a big pile of monkey turd. My biggest complaint is the story, but in my quest to remain spoiler-free on this blog, I won’t go into the weird cluster that one might call a “plot.” Aside from the story (which is enough reason to stay away), I think my other big gripe is realism. Now I know that movies are not supposed to be realistic, and as I mentioned above, I always loved watching Indy get into a pickle because you always knew he’d make it out ok. But this movie might’ve been a bit more aptly titled Indiana Jones Enters the Matrix. He flies through the air in a fridge (yep, you read that), battles a sea of man-eating ants (yep, you read that too), goes over three Niagara-sized waterfalls in a jeep (I’m still not lying). And Indy’s not the only one who seems to be straight out of a cartoon – Shia LaBeouf shows up and has an action sequence in which he effortlessly swings through the jungle on vines, alongside dozens of monkeys. Speaking of swinging, I wanted to grab my DVD player by the cord and swing it into the toilet.

The Ugly: Shia’s hairdo in the film…yikes!

The Bottom Line: Do you love the first three Indy movies? Good – stay clear of this film, and lets leave it at that!

Score:

Technorati tags: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, movie reviews