Also- what does NBA stand for, anyway?

(I know it isn't a book, movie or musical item, but sports are entertainment so that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

I think it was Jay Leno that made the joke... NBA now stands for "No Basketball Anymore". What's the deal?! Can't believe there won't be any basketball this season... seriously never thought it would come down to this. I guess there's still college, though (meh...). I haven't followed the issue (again, really didn't think they'd throw out a whole season!), and I don't know who's to blame, but this is pretty disappointing. Sports are like the seasons-I need to look forward to them! Geez guys-pull it together before next season... PLEASE.

Finally remembered my username/password combination...

I've watched probably 10 movies, read maybe 5 books, and listened to about a million songs since my last post. I had intended to write reviews on each and every one of those (well, the books and movies, anyway), but I could not-for the life of me-remember my password. Getting old is a real pain. At any rate, I can't actually remember everything that I've ingurgitated over the past few weeks (or months?), so I'm just going to write about what stood out. 

MOVIES

FINALLY watched Saving Private Ryan. Finally. And now I understand. I read a review on the film awhile back that described it as "devastating"... and I concur. The opening soldier's eye view of the D-Day invasion is horrifyingly well done. This is probably the first scene in a movie where the camera angles were used in a way that I was able to appreciate them (and by that, I simply mean that this is the first time I've even NOTICED the camera angle in a movie, much less felt moved by it). After that scene, I was admittedly sick to the stomach and concerned that the entire movie would be just as gut-wrenchingly realistic and grotesque. While the movie remained realistic, the story turned enough to give my weak organs a break. Besides the amazing depiction of what happened on that day, the story and dialogue were also incredible (not to take away from the actors, who were exceptional). While I'm not a huge fan of Tom Hanks, I felt like his performance in this film was very, very convincing (especially towards the end of the film when his character's colors really begin to show). 

So yes-this film was incredible. I don't often remember much from a movie after just one viewing, but there are some that I probably won't have the heart to watch twice (war flicks, typically... of which this one is certainly included). I always try to be careful when watching a film by a well-known and much respected director like Spielberg (especially when he's accompanied by his right-hand-man, John Williams), because I don't want the reputation to become the film and influence my opinion of the movie. That being said, I dare you to find a subpar Spielberg movie that has not lived up to his usual standard of excellence. I certainly can't name one. 

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World-I didn't get it...? I really didn't. Maybe I don't play enough video games (actually, I'm certain I don't), but the whole thing seemed like a lame trip. The humor was relatively funny, but I could never understand what was going on, and that was kind of frustrating. That's about all I have to say about that!

Bringing Up Baby-Pure, unadulterated humor. Funniest movie that I've seen in a good long time. I watched it a few months back so I don't remember all of my initial thoughts, but the screenplay and acting were incredible. Movies like these really make me resent a lot of the stuff coming out of Hollywood recently. Comedies today are unrealistically raunchy and rude. Older films like Bringing up Baby are refreshing in that they use clever and thoughtful means to produce the kind of humor that I actually find funny, without insulting me in the process (since when is insulting a person funny? I feel like 90% of humor today is found in hurting another person [usually by making a crude joke]). Anyway, the acting made this movie... and I'd love to see something like this find its way into modern production!

I know I watched more than that, but everyone and his mom is blowing up my phone right now, and this has already taken me far too long to write. I'm gonna stay signed in and try to pick this up again at some point...