Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds directed by Quentin Tarantino
2009
★★✰✰✰
So I have enjoyed Quentin Tarantino's films in the past: Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs are great.  I had heard mix reviews about Basterds but still wanted to see it.  (My brother-in-law hated it).  The movie was 2 1/2 hours and should have been 1 1/2 hours.  There was so much build up that the movie was incredibly slow.  Almost nothing happens for the first 30 minutes of the film.  The comical ending is fantastic so it was worth waiting it out but still, way too long.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 directed by Lee Unkirch
2010
★★★★✰
So I finally got to see a movie in the theatre!  And I got to take my 4 year old son to his first movie!  My parents even joined us, too.  What a great film.  Definitely not too scary and my mom was in hysterics.  I felt this was a good introductory film for H's first movie as he is familiar with the story (having seen Toy Story, Toy Story 2,  and all other Pixar films).  We made sure not to go to a 3D as I think that would be over the top.  H did great although I think he got uncomfortable sitting on the booster seat for so long.  I am excited because I will get to take him to more movies.  The movie itself was good with a little bit of a tear-jerker toward the end.

Phoebe in Wonderland

Phoebe in Wonderland directed by Daniel Barnz
2008
★✰✰✰✰
So I was trying to find a movie to watch with my wife and we picked this one as it seemed interesting.  What a downer!  We were thinking it would be more of an upbeat movie of a young girl's fantasy land but it is a sad story of Turret's syndrome.  I love my kids!

The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom directed by Rian Johnson
2008
★★★★✰
So I have here another film that I knew nothing about and had zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised.  Really good story and I loved how the brothers (Adrien Brody & Mark Ruffalo) acted as if it was a period piece.  Steamships across the Atlantic.  Train travel through Europe.  It seemed like they thought they were stuck in the early twentieth century at times while everyone else is in present day.  One drawback; Mark Ruffalo's hat.  I kept thinking he was an Hasidic Jew for the whole movie.

Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude directed by Hal Ashby
1971
★★★★✰
So I am not sure what possessed me to watch this movie but I am glad I did.  Very quirky and odd with a lot of funny.  I absolutely loved the matching suits when Harold (Bud Cort) visits the psychiatrist and his uncle's do-it-yourself prosthetic arm so he can salute!  On top of that, a fantastic soundtrack done entirely by the great Cat Stevens!  Very good.

American Teen

American Teen directed by Nanette Burstein
2008
★★✰✰✰
So I put this movie in the netflix queue because we saw a trailer for it that made it look like an interesting documentary about high school kids.  The film was alright, not great as the "non-documentary" parts really took away from the movie.  They would have these clearly scripted shots of the main subjects daydreaming and then they would go into a cartoon of their imaginative life.  Some people might have liked it but I didn't. Not at all like a real life Breakfast Club even though it might try to be.

Ankle

So I wrote last week that I rolled my ankle and I thought it was fine.  I even did two mediocre runs on Thursday and Saturday but it seemed to be going well.  Last night, when we were having dinner outside, I took off my socks only to see my ankle had swollen up!  I am so bummed as I really need to train for the next 5K in 2 weeks.  I'm not sure what I can do.  I guess I need to just rest and hopefully it will get better by next week so I can get a few training runs in before the race.