The year in reviews

Here we are.  It's been 366 days, and I have done 366 reviews.*  It's been an interesting journey.  I've learned a lot, but I have a long way to go.  I've made mistakes along the way, but I have had an adventure.  I would think long and hard about an undertaking such as this one.  It was very rewarding, but it was stressful at times.

In the beginning I wasn't even posting my reviews to a blog.  I was just putting them in my notes section on Facebook.  If you decide to do something like this, I strongly suggest using a Blog service.  I prefer Blogger, which has been very user friendly for me.  I can easily link my reviews on Facebook, which allows me to still share them with my friends and family.**

I like to think that my writing has improved a bit as time has gone on.  In the beginning, my reviews were pretty short, with minimal discussion.  Now, some of them get into more depth, while others remain shorter.  I like to think it is based on what each topic is deserving of.  

I know I still have a long ways to go if I actually wanted to do anything as a writer.  I'm incredibly unpolished and quite mediocre according to some.  That's okay.  I'm having fun, and the ability to improve is always there.  The little tips and suggestions I have received are welcome.  You don't learn or grow without feedback.

There are certain changes I could make that would improve my pieces immensely.  With some reviews, I have notes to go off of.  For most, I am writing it as I go.  I don't go back and re-read what I've written, which means I miss typos.  In the next year, I'm going to try and press myself to review my own words, to see where I could improve.

In the past couple of days, I have been playing catch up.  I had missed quite a few reviews in November and December.  I was busy, so many days saw a heading put up without the actual article.  I've paid for that, but everything is caught up now.***  For this upcoming year, I'm going to avoid that particular behavior.  I got through the first few months of 2012 getting my reviews up daily, so I know it can be done.

I've had an adventure this year, and you can see some of that in my reviews.  It's not world class writing, but I had fun doing it.  I've written a review for every day of the year in 2012.  I got my driver's license.****  I gave up Coke and caffeine cold turkey.  I'm not the most amazing person you'll talk to today.  Heck, I'm probably not in the top ten, but I don't need to be.  I'm just going to keep on doing what I do.  We'll see what 2013 brings.

Thanks for reading.

*Including this one.

**All six of you.  :)

***I think.  I hope.

****It was year and years and years overdue.

Space Team

While you're all getting a little tipsy with your friends, you should be playing Spaceteam.  It's a free app for up to four players.  You log in on your respective pieces of technology and play together.  Each person has what looks like a space ship console.  Each person gets instructions that have to be done quickly.  Sometimes, you have the item that needs activated.  Other times, it is on someone else's screen.  You have to take and give instructions quickly and calmly.  While that sounds really simple, it's actually a lot of fun and requires more brain power than you would think.  Go download it!

Lincoln

As someone that loves film, I'll watch almost anything.*  I don't even have to be that interested to sit down and watch a movie.  However, there are movies that I feel I must watch because I've heard they're good.  Lincoln is one of those  movies.  We went to a ten o'clock showing, so I was already worried about being tired.  When we decided to see Lincoln instead of something with more explosions, I was doubly concerned.  I needn't have been.

The film covers the brief time spent attempting to pass the 18th Amendment, the abolition of slavery.  You also see just how this goal, this one change impacted Mr. Lincoln and those around him.  The politicking that went into making it happen, as well as the money and lives, fill nearly three hours.

Would you believe that the time flies?  The pace set by the film-makers is nigh on perfect.  There are no real lulls.  Even knowing how it all ends, I was on the edge of my seat during the voting scene.  Considering that the film is primarily discussion, it's amazing how well they made it come together.**

The script takes what is really a complex matter and explains it in such a succinct way that it's almost shocking.  I learned so much while watching the film***, and I enjoyed it.  I generally like history, even though I'm not very good with it.  This movie made me want to go learn more about what happened.  They show-cased the right events and the right people.****

Furthering assisting the film was cast.  While I enjoyed picking out all the actors I had seen in other projects, Daniel Day-Lewis stood heads above the rest, literally and figuratively.*****  I know praises have been heaped upon him by pretty much anyone for any film he's been in, and it's all earned.  He disappears into whatever role he takes on.  He is an amazing actor.  I didn't care for Gangs of New York when I first saw it, but I want to re-watch it, just to see him.  I would actively seek out a movie I didn't like to see his performance.  That says a lot about his capabilities.  He takes on Lincoln, who most everyone has some preconceived notion of, and makes him human, makes him real.  He's not shown as a perfect man; he's shown as a genuine person.  Day-Lewis further humanizes him by making the impact of his quest apparent upon him.

I was truly shocked at just how great Lincoln was as a film.  I expected good performances spread over a somewhat dry movie.  That couldn't be farther from the truth.  The film is nearly perfect.******  If you haven't seen it, you should.  This is one of those movies that I felt better for watching.*******

*If there is an exception, it's probably movies staring Jennifer Aniston or horror movies full of jump out scares.  Blah.

**I'm not indicating that films that feature talking over explosions are inherently weaker.  In some instances, with some subject matter, films can become bogged down, overcome by their own weightiness, their attempt to be important.  Lincoln never falters.

***I do have to give props to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for teaching me that Lincoln lost a son.  I knew that going into this film.  I don't know if I had heard that in high school or not.

****I can't speak as to the historical accuracy of the piece.  If it's close enough, this is the type of film I would want my kids to watch in high school.  I remember watching 1776, the musical.  I was ill prepared for Lincoln because I kept expecting them to sing in the debate sections.

*****Lincoln was tall.

******<<<<<Spoiler>>>>>

The only criticism I have of the entire film, and I use that term loosely, is the ending.  I would have liked to have seen it end after their carriage ride where they discuss travelling abroad.  The end is fine as it is, but I would have preferred cutting it a bit earlier since we knew what would happen.  I like the film focusing on the passing of the 13th Amendment.  Mark and I differ on this point, as he believes it shows just how much he gave.  Regardless, the film is still amazing, and as I said, this is barely a criticism.  Spielberg knows what he's doing.

*******Although, it was awkward to watch in the South, especially when they started mentioning towns I live near.

Bluegreen Getaways - The Booking

In the near future, Mark and I have some time off.  Mark, being amazing and and enabler, thought it would be a great idea to head on down to Disney for a few days, especially since we signed up for those two nights at the Fountians via Bluegreen Getaways.  He called them today.  Let's just say that things didn't go as expected.

Let me remind you what we were told we would be receiving:

• 2 nights at the Fountains, located in Orlando
• $75 in Visa gift cards
• An additional $25 in Visa gift cards for booking before January 8th
• An additional $50 in Visa gift cards for visiting prior to the end of February
• An additional 2 nights for only $100 

Let me tell you what Mark was told we were getting:

• 2 nights at the Holiday Inn Express (Ability to upgrade to the Fountains for an additional charge)
• $75 in Tanger gift cards
• An additional 2 nights for only $399 (Price for extra nights if we upgraded to the Fountain)

Now, I do hope you see where we have a problem.  Needless to say, Mark was furious.  I missed most of his rage, as I was at work when he called.  Apparently, the people that initially signed us up were less than honest.  I suppose there could have just been omission.  At no point in time did they tell us we would be staying at a Holiday Inn Express.  As a matter of fact, they said that the 2 hour time-share presentation is usually scheduled on the second day to allow the guests time to settle in and get to know the resort.

With Mark's anger level rising, he finally asked to be transferred to a supervisor.  If I understand it correctly, this happened multiple times.  He was on the phone for over an hour and a half before they finally said someone would call him back.  After the service he had received, he didn't actually expect anyone to call him.

A couple hours later, the phone rang.  A very helpful woman listened to Mark's concerns and did what she could to help.  She offered to get us two nights at the Fountains, but if we want to extend the stay two more nights, it will cost the $399.  She also agreed to change the Tanger gift cards over to Visa gift cards, which is appreciated.  Overall, she was very helpful.  Unfortunately, she is unable to do for us what the original salesperson promised.  She did offer to refund $75 of our original $99 purchase fee.  Because we received a $25 gift card, she is unable to refund all of it.  She is keeping it open, so we can request a refund in the future.

Currently, Mark has called and left her another message, stating that we have more questions.  We still don't know what we're going to do, but I do know that the supervisor we spoke to went a long way towards fixing things.  I can't in good conscience recommend anything to do with Bluegreen Getaways at this point.  I can commend her customer service though.  She had to deal with a truly angry Mark, which is a rare beast, indeed.

Wal-Mart Shopping Carts (Seaboard St.)

I want to start out by saying how awesome it is that stores provide carts for consumers to use.  This is obviously beneficial for the store owners because people are more likely to buy more if they have an easy way to carry it.  That being said, stores should really make an effort to maintain their carts.  Out of all the stores I have been in, the Wal-Mart on Seaboard Street, here in Myrtle Beach, has the worst carts I have had the misfortune of using.

One might assume that I just had some bad luck tonight.  If that's what you're thinking, you would be very, very wrong.  In general, I avoid the Seaboard Wal-Mart.  It is often busy, which leads to the shelves being messy  and, in some instances, empty.*  If I have to go, I try to go really, really early on Sunday mornings.

Tonight, I didn't have much of a choice, so I headed to the Seaboard Wal-Mart.  In the past, I have often pulled out two or three carts, only to have each of them messed up.  I can handle when they pull to one side or the other, but I can't stand the racket some of them make.  On multiple occassions, I'll come in the grocery entrance and head to the other side of the store for things like toothpaste.  By the time I'm passing the other entrance, I'll have to stop and swap out carts.  Often, the new cart is no better than the old.  It's just plain terrible.  The overwhelming majority of carts are in poor shape.

Tonight was no different.  I pulled out a cart, pushed it a bit and decided it was too noisy.  I grabbed another one, hoping it would be better.  I thought maybe it was just a bit noisy, but I was wrong.  It just rattled and rattled.  I stopped in the other entrance to swap it out.  I shouldn't have to go through three carts to find one that isn't a mess.

Now, it's not Wal-Mart's fault that the carts are in such poor shape.  Customers have a tendency to be pretty rough with them and leave them in all manner of places.  I'm sure the people gathering the carts aren't overly careful with them either.  Unfortunately, that's not my concern.  That particular Wal-Mart needs to replace the noisy carts or at least perform some sort of maintenance.

I'll continue to avoid that Wal-Mart when possible.  Between the crowds, the under-stocked shelves, and teh cruddy carts, I'd rather pay a few more dollars and shop at BiLo.  They have really neat carts!

*I love the sugar canister they sell, where the sugar is in a resealable container.  It's easy to use, but the Seaboard Wal-Mart is usually out of them.

Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Dips

Chocolate covered pretzels are pretty standard nowadays.  You see them everywhere, but they're not all created equal.  Most of them use sub-par chocolate, which makes them pretty nasty.  Luckily, the Syder's of Hanover Pretzel Dips are amazing.

These particular pretzels use Hershey's chocolate to coat their pretzels.  Apparently, Hershey's chocolate is looked down upon.  For me, that's not the case. It's probably because that's the chocolate I grew up eating. Either way, the Snyder chocolate covered pretzels are just plain amazing.  I get excited when I find them.  You can find them much more frequently than you used to find them.

As to the pretzel component, it's not too bad.  My favorite pretzels tend to be Rold Gold brand, especially the pumpernickel ones.  The Snyder pretzels in this particular product are solid.  I like them just find.

If you like chocolate covered pretzels, you should try the Snyder's Pretzel Dips.  They're good.  That's really all there is to say about it.

Django Unchained

Have you ever seen a movie and just wondered where the reviews and opinions were coming from?  Before I saw Django Unchained, I thought I had heard it was okay.  I didn't hear anything overly positive about it, but I hadn't heard that it was bad.  I heard it was solid, maybe four out of five.  Granted, I don't go looking for reviews before I see a film.  Regardless, I wanted to see Django Unchained.

I didn't particularly feel that the film was amazing, rather it felt like more of the same.  Tarantino makes interesting movies.  To me, it seems like he picks a genre and does his own take on it.  Often, it feels like he's paying homage, but he usually makes it his own.  With Django Unchained, he tackles the western.

Perhaps his greatest strength is his ability to create interesting characters.  Sometimes, it is just plain fun to watch them, to take in the dialogue.  He's pretty well known for that.  Django Unchained is no different.  I wanted more of Dr. King Schultz.  I found Calvin Candie to be a joy to watch, but that could have just been DiCaprio's performance.  Either way, Tarantino created these characters and pulled these actors together to create this film.

He also brings his brand of violence to the piece,with one particular scene being hard to watch.  To clarify, I grew up watching things like Predator and any other number of violent action movies.  I am no squeamish, nor do I feel violence has no place in movies, but I was incredibly uncomfortable during a particular scene.  For this bit, Tarantino actually let go of his love of blood spray to just let two men fight.  Perhaps it is the reactions of those around them that caused such discomfort.  It goes to show that he knows how to put together a scene, how to elicit a response from the audience.  He knows what people like about his films, but  he also knows how to manipulate you.  It's the mark of a good film-maker.

I have watched Django Unchained, and I must say that one viewing was enough for me.  I'm glad to have watched it, and I recognize it as a quality film.  Unfortunately, it is not the type of movie I would pop in to watch over and over again.  He does a great job creating a western that feels new and old at the same time.  Visually, he captures the feel of those old movies while making the story seem a bit more modern.

The only moment that really pulled me out of the film was when Mr. Tarantino showed up.  I know he can act, as I've seen him do it in the past.  For whatever reason, I just couldn't take him seriously in this film.  I'm sure it is my own fault, but I just couldn't buy him in his role.  I just kept thinking that it was Quentin Tarantino, not whomever I was supposed to be seeing.  Once again, I'm not making a comment on his acting.  I'm simply stating that I couldn't get out of my own head, in that regard.

Since seeing the movie, I've read a few things, seeing what others thought.  Apparently, they saw a whole lot more in the film than I did.  One person was mentioning all the deep social commentary, which I didn't see.  I saw the obvious message, but I didn't find a deeper tone to the film.  I'm not saying it doesn't exist; I'm just questioning my ability to see it.  I'm usually pretty good, but I don't know if it is really there.  There are a lot of people that love Tarantino's movies, that will attribute much to his abilities.  I felt Django Unchained was more of the same from him.  That's not a bad thing, as his style is interesting, and I enjoy seeing his movies.  I just don't know how deep they really are.  Perhaps I shall watch it again.