I'm Glad They Called Me on a Mission!

So, I opened my mission call the other day. I will be serving in the Washington Kennewick Mission. I report to the MTC on August 4th and will then be trained to teach in Spanish. Also a fun fact: my mission is shaped like Texas drawn by a four year old.

The Hardest Part is Waiting...

Everyone remembers being a kid in December. Christmas is getting closer and closer and closer. But it just won't come fast enough! Well imagine that but multiplied by a thousand times, that is what I am experiencing currently. I am waiting for my mission call to come in the mail. Let me tell you, every day it doesn't come the anxiety gets worse. I'm not waiting for some awesome presents like the kids at Christmas, I'm waiting to find out where I will live for two years, if I have to learn a language, when I will leave, and all sorts of huge life changing things like that. AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN IT IS GETTING HERE. Hopefully tomorrow. I can't sleep too good anymore. Each night is more or less tossing and turning waking up and falling back asleep, rinse and repeat. Like I said, each day the anxiety is mounting. So I sleep as late as I can so that I can try to go check the mail first thing that day. I have a little bit of a minny panic attack every time I approach the mail box. And that in a nutshell is my life right now. Come on post man, don't fail me now!

This is what I do with all my free time...

Everybody knows that I loves me some Batman. The TV shows, the comic books, and of course the movies. Now then, today's entry is my opinion of the Batman movies and how I rank them. Enjoy!



So I will be focusing on the six films made in the past twenty years, (Sorry Adam West, nothing personal). So our story begins in 1989 when Batman gets a long overdue reimagining. A more dark sinister one. Tim Burton very successfully portrays the new Batman movie which introduced an already established Batman and the origin and death of his nemeses Joker, and lightning struck a second time in 1992 with Batman Returns Where we learn the origin of Penguin and Catwoman, both of these films were received well with critics and fans. In 1995 Joel Schumacher took over the franchise and released Batman Forever, introducing us to the finally Two-Faceified Harvey Dent (Dent had been in the two previous films while still district attorney) and then the origin of the Riddler and Robin. In 97 Shumacher made another contribution to the Batman film franchise with Batman and Robin and brought in Mr. Freeze, Bane, Poison Ivy, and Batgirl. Both of Shumacher's films were poorly received by critics, but well received with fans. After Batman and Robbin the franchise was put on hiatus until 2005 when Christopher Nolan rebooted the series with Batman Begins. This movie wipes the slate clean and starts the franchise over, showing us how Batman came to be and then introducing the villains Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow, not to mention key characters from the mob. This new take on the franchise is steeped in realism, as in what would Batman be like if real? Then in 08 Nolan released The Dark Knight, which gave us a new Joker, and a new Two-Face. Both of these films were greatly received by both critics and fans. Now then, my list of who's who in the Batman franchise:

The Directors of the Batman Saga:

3. Joel Shumacher
2. Tim Burton
1. Christopher Nolan

Portrayers of Batman:
4. George Clooney
3. Val Kilmor
2. Michael Keaton
1. Christain Bale

Portrayers of Bruce Wayne:
4. George Clooney
3. Christain Bale
2. Val Kilmor
1.Michael Keaton







Now for the big matter:

The Batman Movies:

6th Place
Batman and Robbin
No surprises here I'm sure. This took Mr. Freeze and turned him from a tragic deeply depressed character to a one liner spitting out Austrian guy. But they did get Poison Ivy right, but that was about it.

5th
Batman
I hold this movie in the highest esteem don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it. There is a huge leap in quality from number six to number five, now we get into the tough choices. This movie is great, the only beef I have with it is that it is too dark, not plot wise, it's literally difficult to see what is happening on screen.

4th
The Dark Knight
(WHAT?! Stephen are you crazy?! This should be number one!!) I know anonymous reader, you're shocked. This movie is supposed to be the best everything, but in the end it just couldn't beat out its sisters. I love this movie. The plot is intriguing, the characters are phenomenal, and Heath Ledger's performance as Joker is stupendipherous. Remember, 5 through 1 are all extremely close, each one is better than its predecessor by a mere hair.

3rd
Batman Forever
I know you're asking me how this can possibly beat Dark Knight. Hold on I'll explain. Myself personally, I feel more for the comic bookish Batman movies. This captures that spirit perfectly. Dark Knight is a fantastic drama, but that's just it, it's a drama. This movie has the perfect combination of slapstick humor and serious and action. Definitely one of my favorites. Robbin isn't the best, but I'm not complaining, because we get Riddler and Two-Face teamed up for awesomeness.

2nd
Batman Returns
I love the original, but this the first sequel I would have to say passes up the original. It is great. Penguin's plot is pretty good, but where this movie really shines is Catwoman's story. Michele Pfiefer is absolutely brilliant as Catwoman and her counterpart. The absolutely tragically beautiful breathtaking scene when she goes back to her empty depressing apartment for the first time after being "reborn" is enough to cement this movie in the number two slot.

1rst
Batman Begins
I know what you're thinking, if I said the Dark Knight was too serious then why should Batman Begins get first place. Well I will tell you. This was the first movie to take on a truly realistic approach to the franchise, and they succeeded. I've read several Batman Graphic Novels (For those of you unversed in comic book talk, a graphic novel is like a comic book except more targeted to an adult audience. Usually they are steeped in realism and dark violent themes). So the reason that this movie takes home first place is because it does the best job of capturing the feeling of the source material.

In conclusion:
Each of these movies are in their own way totally awesome, if you haven't seen them do yourself a friggin service and check 'em out.

And if you took the time to read through that mountain of text then here's a little reward for your effort, enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbgLapRAloQ

YOU WANNA GET NUTS?!!

So today was a way cool day I'd say. I got to spend the day with one of my closest friends Ricardo, we went back to our old high school and visited all our old friends in the band. Good times good times. Then we ended up going on various adventures throughout town. One of our stops was Walmart where I picked up something that made my DVD library that much more complete. A DVD pack with the first four Batman movies in it. Yes that's right, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin. Of course I already had Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. So now, not counting the Adam West Batman movies I have all of them. Huzzah! Now then, if you will excuse me I'm going to go watch several Batman movies. Good day to you.

Los Peliculas

Here's two of the three short films I was in last semester, to my knowledge the third is not on the internet. Enjoy.

http://www.vimeo.com/11447225



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE-bYkt3-W4

My Top Ten Movies From College

The following movies are ten of my favorites from my time at college. They are in no particular order. Not all were new, some had been out for a few years, they just had good viewing experiences while I was out there. Some of them are actually lousy movies, but they were viewed under the right circumstances. So without further ado, my top 10 college experience flicks:

1. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

What more need be said? This movie is absolutely amazing. Perfect down to the last detail. Quite possibly my favorite movie of 2009. I saw it four times in the dollar theater. Great movie, 'nuff said.


2. DISTRICT 9

Now then, this movie is fantastic. It is low budget, almost indie feeling, but sooo good. Over summer term I went with my roommate Joe, and our friend Omar and his cousins to go see this at midnight when it first came out. I absolutely loved this movie. Something that made it a bit more powerful for me was that earlier that evening my dad had called to announce that he had cancer. So I was a little shaken up at the time and watching the movie's protagonist literally deteriorate and fall apart over the course of the movie was very upsetting to me at the time. Also, before hand something extremely funny happened. Since this movie is rated R every trailer was for some horrible rated R horror movie. So by the end of the trailers everyone in my group was understandably shaken. Omar, (a very large Mexican) turns to me and Joe and in a higher than normal voice says if we want we can come over to his apartment after the movie and watch something happy. Another great memory of this movie experience is that immediately after me and Joe went over to our friend Ellen's apartment for a 3 am french toast party. It was way fun.


3. BOONDOCK SAINTS II ALL SAINTS DAY

The Boondock Saints is a great movie. This sequel cannot hold a candle to it, but it is still good. Also it features one of my favorite movie monologues in it. I would post it but the language is a bit too adult for this family read blog. Another great thing about it, I got to watch it with my good friend Mark.


4. ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Everyone and their grandmother knows I love Alice in Wonderland. This is referring to the new Tim Burton adaptation. I went to the midnight showing with my dear friend Ellen and some of her roommates. We ended up having to sit in the front row due to the packed nature of the theater, and so a lot of the 3d was lost on us as it was cast out over our heads. But it was still fun. A night out with Ellen is always an enjoyable night out.


5. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

This was another midnight showing attendance. I put it in the list mainly because of the fun time that was had waiting in line. I went with my roommate Joe and our neighbor who sadly I can not think of his name at the moment. Anywho, we ended up having to wait in line for a few hours before hand but it was still incredibly fun. Just standing out in the chilly night air and cracking jokes. Then the movie itself was very good, (in my opinion the best book interpretation thus far in the series). Afterwards I got home at 3ish and had to write a paper that was due that morning, got it in no problem. Another fun thing is before leaving me and Joe watched all manner of fan made Harry Potter spoofs on YouTube, very humorous.


6. ZOMBIELAND

Zombie movies really only hold a sort of sick fascination for me. I watch them, but then afterwards I usually regret watching them simply because they ultimately make you feel bad at the end when everyone dies. Well, this is not only a great zombie movie, but undoubtedly one of my favorite movies. It is safe to say that this is the only feel good zombie movie out there currently. Do zombies eat people? Yes. Are there blood and guts? Yes. Is there a heart warming storyline that makes you smile and feel good? YES. I love this movie, I watched it with my good buddy Mark, go check it out.


7. TWILIGHT

"WHAT?! Stephen, surely Twilight didn't make your list of favorite movies at college?!" Well anonymous reader, it is true, Twilight made the list. I had seen this once before leaving for school and absolutely hated it. At school I saw it two more times. Once with my good friend Kyrie and some of her guy friends, and then again with my friend Rose and Matt Morgan. This movie, if watched with the right funny people, is phenomenal. Nothing is quite as funny as popping in this cheesy poorly made movie, kicking back, and just ripping into it. I highly recommend getting together with some friends and riffing this thing. You won't regret it.


8. 300

Now then, this movie was already one of my favorites before I left for school. It is just an all around good movie. The reason it made the list is because one evening I was hanging out at my friends' Ellen and Haley's apartment. Ellen was doing homework in her room I think, so me and Haley were chilling out in the living room. One of her roommate's Mac was out and so we looked through her iTunes movies to see if there was anything good. She had 300 and Haley had not seen it, so we decided to watch it. It was just a very nice hour and a half cuddling on the coach with my very good friend Haley, enjoying a very good movie 300. Happy memories.


9. ADVENTURELAND

This movie is pretty decent. It's all about this kid and his summer job before going off to college and all the adventures that happen as a result. The movie isn't named after his adventures, he works at an amusement park called Adventureland. Anyway, I watched this movie on line and then when it ended it was snowing outside. It was about 2 in the morning at this point. It was so quiet and beautiful and peaceful. The movie made me feel good and nostalgic, and then outside was just gorgeous. So me and my roommate Drew and our good friend Brittany ran around outside and played in the snow for an hour or so. It was just a good memory.


10. BANDSLAM

This movie is only so-so. The reason it made the list is because I watched it with my friends Ellen, Haley, and Brian. So the company was good. It also made the list because it has the single greatest kiss scene in all of cinematic history. Seriously, thank you very much Haley, for showing this to me, it was amazing.

HONORABLE MENTION:
Here are some movies that just barely didn't make the list for one reason or another but I feel still deserve to be mentioned:
Mr. Dungbeatle=an amazing movie my film professor made.
The Complete Star Wars saga=me and my friends introduced them to Jessica who had never seen them.
How To Train Your Dragon=great movie, go check it out.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox=Wes Anderson's debut animation film, golden success.



So there you have it. Each movie listed was filled with great memories from college that I will cherish for years to come. Some movies on the list are not for the entire family, but they're all definitely worth checking out.

The Musings of a Fevered Brain

So, every once in a while I have what I believe to be a good blog post come to me while I am away from a computer, or do not have access to one. In these situations I write down my thoughts and type them up later, that way I don't forget what could be considered a good idea. Well, apparently I did this last night because when I woke up this morning I found the following entry written down next to my bed. I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything, but given the circumstances I was in at the time, I'd say this is pretty good...


Don't you hate that feeling? You know the one. When you're lying awake in bed at 1:40 in the morning. Quietly ticking away the hours, wondering when sleep will take you. But alas, both the Sandman and Morpheus seem to be giving you the silent treatment. You already know how vindictive and bitter those two can be and you sincerely regret whatever it is you did to invoke their wrath. Your eyelids are heavy with exhaustion, but no comforting sleep comes. Perhaps it is because of the extremely sedentary life style you led today. Or maybe it is because you slept off and on until 3 o'clock this afternoon respectively. The only thing you can be sure of is that you truly and deeply hate being sick. Oh that I might lure the Sandman to my humble abode. Or gain favor in the eyes of Morpheus. But I do not know what bate to use, and who knows where I could get a sacrificial goat at this hour. Alas, sweet dreams....