Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 directed by David Yates
2010
★★★✰✰
So I really like the Harry Potter series.  I love the books and the movies are great.  I felt that this movie really missed the mark though.  It just seemed very choppy and a poor attempt to get many scenes from the book into the film.  If you haven't read the book, this movie will be very confusing and hard to follow.  Of course, I still liked it and I am eagerly anticipating Part 2 and the finale of the series.

The King's Speech

The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper
2010
★★★★✰
So I knew this was going to be a good film but I was surprised as to how good.  I really wanted to give it five stars but it was a little too slow at times to get that rating.  Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are fantastic.  The story is incredible and to see an historic biopic about a time that doesn't seem too long ago is very interesting.  Well worth the rental and it deserved to win the Oscar.

Sun through trees

Sun through trees, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I finally submitted my first photo into the Gizmodo shooting challenge.  Not great but at least I did it.

The Challenge:
Take an awesome photo with your cellphone. And don't, for lack of a better term, err...phone it in.
http://gizmodo.com/#!5793921/shooting-challenge-cell phone-ii

My Comment:
I used my iPhone 3GS for this shot with the standard camera app. I was at my church in Rolling Hills Estates, CA for my kids' Easter egg hunt. The sun had been in and out of the clouds all morning and it finally broke through at the end of the egg hunt. I didn't use any editing software or additional apps for the photo. I think it looks good enough without any add ons. I even like the pink lens flare that got caught in the shot.

127 Hours

127 Hours directed by Danny Boyle
2010
★★★★✰
So I really liked this movie.  I remember reading about this story when it actually happened in the news and was amazed that he could survive.  Danny Boyle is a great storyteller and James Franco is starting to become one of my favorite actors to watch.

Weekly recap

So I just wanted to show off my awesome running skills from last week.  23 miles!

Ridgecrest 5K* Results

So I got my results and it is just what I figured.  My full 5K time would have been around 34-45 minutes which is what my training times have been due to the hills.  Since this race was very hilly it fit right into my training times.

Golden Hour pitchfork

Golden Hour pitchfork 4, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I wanted to take a photography class but it was canceled.  I decided to try the Gizmodo weekly shooting challenge.  Here is my first photo:

The Challenge:
Take a photo during the golden hour, which is actually two hours—the first and last hours of sunlight in a day. Well, approximately.  It's an excellent time for portraits, landscapes...really anything you could possibly want to photograph.
http://gizmodo.com/#!5791592/shooting-challenge-the- golden-hour

My Comment:
I just took up photography and decided I should take a class to help my photos. I signed up at the local art center and was all ready to go. The day of the first class, I got a phone call from the center telling me I was the only one who signed up and that the class was canceled. So now I am going to try the photo challenges on gizmodo as my photography class. I have no idea if I have done anything right but I thought this shot of a pitchfork in my front yard had some nice sunlight on it. Hope this works.

UPDATE: I missed the deadline so this wasn't submitted into the contest.

Ridgecrest 5K*

So I ran in my March race that was postponed today.  It was a fundraiser for the intermediate school near my house.  Essentially the large portion of the runners were 12-14 years old.  Very interesting running with so many kids.  The course was very hilly at the South Coast Botanical Gardens which made my time slower.  However, the course turned out to be .2 miles short of 5 km.  That is why I am putting an asterisk next to the race.  Still fun.

A Run Through Redlands 5K Photo

So I actually got a picture from the race!  Click the photo for a larger view.  Not much else to say...

Good Hair

Good Hair directed by Jeff Stilson
2009
★★★✰✰
So I think this was a fascinating movie.  There is so much I didn't know about African American hair.  Chris Rock is hilarious.  Worth a look.

A Run Through Redlands 5K Results

So I ended up being slower than my time last year.  I was hoping to improve but I essentially stayed the same.  Oh well.  On to the next race on Sunday!  Train, train, train...

A Run Through Redlands 5K

So I ran this race last year.  I have been very sick for the past week and a half and I have not been able to train as good as I could.  I got to run with my good friend, Ohm, who ended up finishing better than I did.  I like the race but I know I could have done better.

March

So I finished my first month of a new photography project "one object 365 days."  I hope I can keep it up.  Thankfully my iPhone makes it possible.  Check out my photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewjohnson/

I Love You Phillip Morris

I Love You Phillip Morris directed by Glenn Ficarra
2009
★✰✰✰✰
So I thought this was going to be a comedy about the cigarette/tobacco industry.  I was wrong.  It is essentially the true story of a gay guy that keeps breaking out of prison.  Very slow and I ended up fast forwarding much of the film.

The Social Network

The Social Network directed by David Fincher
2010
★★★✰✰
So I had high hopes for this film since it was critically acclaimed and won so many awards.  It was a fascinating story but as for the actual movie, it was only good.  What my wife and I got out of it was "these people are really smart..."

The Hobbit

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien
1937
★★★★★
So I have read The Hobbit before but I wanted to read it again as filming has started on the upcoming two part movie of The Hobbit.  I love this story and in some respects, it is better than The Lord of the Rings since it is more concise, easier to read (none of that elvish mumbo jumbo ;-)) and less characters in general to follow.  Even though I had already read this story, I was still glued to the book loving every minute of it.  ...thoughts of a super nerd.