The Life and Times of a Midwestern Movie Addict

Ah, we are getting into the month of February...where romantic comedies abound thanks to Valentine's Day and where other films go to die.  February, like January, has that terrible reputation of being a dumping ground for films studios don't have much faith in.  It should come as no surprise then that, aside from a few annual exceptions, the films released here often get bad reviews.  Notice that I didn't say that these films actually are bad...as some analysts and critics would have you believe...rather because it is well-known in the industry that these months are landfills, critics tend to be harsher and much less in the mood to watch these films (which is odd, since you'd think that films picked last for the softball team should be treated a little more gently...since we know they can't perform amongst their better-date brethren).  There are notable exceptions (many of them put in limited release in December to be eligible for awards season, but wide released in...

Yesterday was a pretty big day.  I had auditions for the senior class play (which went well considering only five students showed up), a full day of reading in my sophomore classes (we FINALLY started Act III of the Crucible), and the CCT awards dinner (from which I won nothing, but I don't mind...the best folks did indeed win) and by the end of it all, I was fairly pooped.  You'd think I'd sleep really well after such a busy day...and yet, you'd be dead wrong.  I ate three desserts at the dinner (because I had walked up so many extra calories going back and forth across the school yesterday) and since I hadn't done that many sweets in a terribly long time, I think all the sugar kept me awake.  It was a very good day, however, and once I got into the afternoon it flew by so quickly.  However, I still had time to watch a movie before bed and here it is for your consideration.  It's probably spoiling my usual lead-up to tell you that the film is the sequel to...

Yesterday was a great day.  I know I gave mention to that yesterday at this time, but I really mean it.  The school day passed very quickly and I had plenty of time at home to relax...however I didn't relax, I made a mess in my kitchen instead.  Tonight is the annual CCT (Chillicothe Civic Theater) awards dinner and they asked all who were attending to bring a covered dish to share.  I decided to make the Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatoes that I made with my sister this past Thanksgiving (and got rave reviews for), but I had never made mashed potatoes from scratch before.  Usually I just make the powdered kind which taste just fine to me, but I figured since I'm making this for a large group I should go all out.  So after peeling, slicing (with a food processor), and boiling the potatoes I had already spent 45 minutes on this one dish.  Good grief!  I also had to cook bacon and grate cheddar cheese too, which added to the time (though I was able to do...

Last week was amazing.  I got so much work done both on the finishing up side of things and the prep side and I had a great time hanging out with my teacher friends at our long lunches (everyone gets an hour for lunch during an exam week).  Add to that getting to spend more time with my friend Bond than I have in over a year this past weekend and a fancy meal at J. Gilbert's (it was Restaurant Week in Columbus again), and you have the mark of an amazing week.  I also hadn't seen my study hall in over a week (which in itself is enough to make a week great...they annoy the piss out of me) so it's almost a shame that today we had to get back into the normal routine of class, rinse, repeat.  However, I am cautiously optimistic about this second half of the school year.  The first half seems to have flown by, from my point of view, and I know with the senior play and the musical in the near future that my time is going to essentially evaporate into the air....

There are some movies, as I said back when I first started this blog, that we aren't supposed to like because of several factors.  Perhaps it is because the star is someone that is generally known to have little to no talent, or maybe it is the fact that the film is a remake or a sequel to something much more well liked, or maybe the story is just too strange or odd to really connect with mass amounts of people.  Either way, general consensus dictates that the film is of poor quality and so it gets shuffled off to the side to rot.  It might surprise you to know that many of my favorite films fall into that outcast group of films we're supposed to not enjoy.  I think this is the case for two reasons...one, I've always been a little left-of-center regarding my taste, but also when I see these films my expectations remain low and allow the films a much better chance of impressing me.  We come, then, to the film of the day that I have enjoyed since I was in college ...

I've watched and reviewed a lot of horror these past few days and so I think today I should do something a little different today.  First let me lament about the Internet situation here in the building today.  The Internet has been running slow and sluggish the whole week and today the technology department decided to run a full diagnostic over it which requires turning off several Internet ports...which makes the Internet not work in several places in the building.  This normally wouldn't bother me, as it comes back with enough frequency to allow me to take role and check things for starting class.  However, I am also giving my quarterly assessments today and we have to do them online...which is fairly difficult when the Internet keeps going in and out.  I literally almost pulled out my hair trying to deal with that this morning and assuring the students that everything would be fine eventually.  This afternoon is my last class where I need to do this and ...

I'm starting to feel old.  I know I say that a lot, but after last year's theatrical offerings I really feel old.  For example, The Muppets was released at the tail end of the year and was all about how they weren't cool anymore and had been forgotten largely by the pop culture center.  Having existed in the heyday of the Muppets career, that hit me somewhat hard.  Also, shows I used to love are now entering their 20th and 30th anniversaries (such as Designing Women and Roseanne) and some of the actors are even dead now.  So the recent nostalgia/reboot kick has both delighted me and made me a little embarrassed, because even though I've been a lifelong fan of something like the Muppets...its now more campy and "cute" to still like them rather than to have grown up and moved on.  So it is with deep reverence that I bring to you my look at the latest and so-far final entry in the "Scream" series, released to theaters in April of 2011.  It finds the fa...

I'm much more fuzzy headed today than I was yesterday and I can't decide if that has to do with me being tired or with me being cold.  It is particularly cold today at school, and I always blame that on our poorly insulated cinder block walls and windows leaching out all the heat.  My desk is right next to the outer wall and it feels like an ice chest over here.  I've been passing out earlier and earlier these days too, so I shouldn't be tired...but yet I have the itchy eyes and slow wits of a guy who hasn't slept enough.  Maybe its a combination...my body is cold so it wants to hibernate.  At any rate, it is uncomfortable and it makes for something of a slow day.  On the up side, I am now over halfway finished with my freshman semester exam and I wager I will have it finished by Friday (just in time to go home and doctor up some hefty review sheets for my freshmen and sophomores over the weekend...just what I always wanted).  It's my third round of se...

I'm pretty proud of myself for getting in at least one more post between Christmas and today, our first day back to school after the long winter break.  This year we were off for a whopping 17 days this year thanks to a calendar goof (our district calendar authors did not allow for the federal holiday yesterday and thus were forced to take it).  I don't think anyone has broken the bad news to the kids yet, because no one has complained about it yet...but because we took an extra day and still must get in our 180 days, their last day of school has moved from May 31st to June 1st.  A huge change I know (and yes that is sarcasm) but at the end of the year, an extra school day is like cruel and unusual punishment to them.  I'm not worried really, I have my last two exams classes that day and I predict a large majority of my annoying students will simply not come that day (look at my tears, I'm so sad about it)...but the whining that they will let loose when they are told...