Movie Review: August Rush

I've been having a hard time figuring out what I'm going to say about "August Rush." Overall, I liked the movie well enough. I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, eventually settling on 4, because I decided that if it were on TV, I would watch it again.

The basic premise of the story is 2 musicians (Keri Russell and Johnathon Rhys Meyers) have 1 magical night together, but are split apart by circumstances of their lives. Anyway, out of the "magical night" they had a kid, which Meyers' character never knew about and Russell's character thinks is dead. The child, named Evan Taylor, then dubbed August Rush (played by Freddie Highmore), spends his life in an orphanage before circumstances land him in New York where he discovers that he is a musical prodigy. He has always believed that his parents "wanted him" but something kept them from being with him. He believes his music can draw them to him.

It's a very far fetched story, and at times, I found "August Rush" hard to watch. Evan/August is a likable kid, and he really goes through a lot. You can sort of imagine how hard his life would have been. Scenes with Robin Williams were difficult, because at first Williams' character is somewhat likable, but he quickly becomes a very hated character. Also, the entire "star crossed" nature of the romance between Russell's character and Meyers' character is sad.

But there are also many uplifting moments as well. Some include when young Evan gets to play his first real instrument, when he gets discovered by kindly church folk who recognize that he is a prodigy, and the final scene when he gets to conduct his first original composition. The ending was unsatisfying at first, but after some thought, I liked how the ending revealed enough to leave you with a "happy" feeling, without becoming too much.

Overall, "August Rush" is a good film, if you like unrealistic, somewhat sappy stories, which I usually do.

Chicago Tea Party

Rush played this sound byte from CNBC today. This may get me to actually watch CNBC. I'm attaching a link. Be sure the watch the video. It's nearly 5 minutes long but definitely worth a listen. We need more of this type of thing from the "silent majority"! I love the traders cheering the background!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29283225

He's Baaaaaccccckkk

That sound you heard earlier today, you know, the mix of groans and sighs of relief, came from Southern California. Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles to be exact. The groans were from the rank and file professional golfers on the PGA Tour. The signs of relief? Well, those were coming from PGA Tour and CBS executives. Why all the noise? Because, Eldrick Woods (a.k.a Tiger) is back, starting next week. And I for one am glad!

Yes, for those of you that know me, that's going to be shocking. I've never really rooted for Tiger, and I still won't. But, I'm going to be the first to admit that professional golf without Tiger was BORING!!! (Insert your own joke here about how golf is always boring) Before Tiger's knee injury, he didn't play a lot, but at least you knew when he would play and could look forward to those events...it made the events in the middle more tolerable. For me, a Tiger event is a chance for me to root for someone to pull a huge upset and beat the man. I haven't had that for 8 months.

Don't get me wrong, there have been great stories in golf over the last 8 months. There was Iowa native Zach Johnson winning 2 events, the stunning US Ryder Cup victory and my former high school teammate Wil Collins earning his tour card. But, there have also been disappointments. Phil Mickelson for one...I've been a huge fan of Phil Mickelson for a long time, and frankly, he missed some huge opportunities while Tiger was out. But, that's Phil being Phil. He's the human golf roller coaster.

Anyway, I don't know where I'm going with this. Welcome Back Tiger! I would say kick some butt, but I don't really want you to do that. Play well, and let some other guys win once in a while.

Why I Love Sports

Every so often, I need a reminder of why I love sports. This week, amid the latest steroid scandal in baseball, the Michael Phelps controversy and the firing of another NBA coach came a great (and sad) story out of Milwaukee high school basketball. I can't tell it any better, so I'm adding a link to the story.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/19/sports/Tim-Dahlberg-021809.php

This is the kind of thing that only sports can give us, and too often these stories get lost in the fast paced, high dollar world of the professional and major college sports that dominate the news. But, at its purest, sport is about competing, win or lose, and showing good sportsmanship whenever you get the chance. I love it when stories like these get national exposure, because it reminds all of us how great sports can be.

Ranking the Presidents

Whenever I read an article online or in print, I always ask myself, "does this pass the common sense test?" Today, I found one such article that does not pass the common sense test. The article was posted on MSNBC, and it ranked the US Presidents 1-42. Given that it is MSNBC, I was shocked to see that Barack Obama was not #1 (sorry couldn't resist that). In fact, Mr. Obama was not included in the rankings, as they were taken at the end of 2008. Here's the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29216774/

There is a link off this story that eagerly discusses the fact that George W. Bush ended up 36th in the rankings. Again, I was shocked that MSNBC didn't find a way to make him last. As I looked through this list, I immediately had several problems with the rankings.

1. Andrew Jackson is the 13th greatest President. Really? This is the man who gave us the Indian Relocation Act, which eventually led to the "Trail of Tears" and the death of 4,000 Cherokee (this was done under Jackson's successor, Martin Van Buren but it was Jackson's policies that made it possible). Sorry, that act alone should put Mr. Jackson near the bottom of the list.
2. John F. Kennedy is the 6th greatest President. This man was President for 3 years, and he botched the Bay of Pigs royally. Can we honestly say that a man who botched one crisis and was President for 3 years was better than Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of this country and leader of the expansion west? I know he's the hero of all modern liberals, but that doesn't make him a great President. Sorry, that one doesn't pass the common sense test.
3. Bill Clinton is the 15th greatest President. What did he do? Seriously, I can't even dignify this with a detailed response.
4. Jimmy Carter is ranked 25th. How does the man who presided over an era where the "Misery Index" was created not end up on the bottom of the list. Carter was in way over his head, and was easily the worst President of the 20th Century. Just because he's done a few good things since then doesn't change the fact that he was an awful President.
5. Ronald Reagan should be higher than 10th. I'm just throwing that in there, because I'm a big Reagan fan.

Now, these were just a few of the problems I had with this list. This list was compiled by rankings given by 65 historians and professional observers of the presidency surveyed by C-SPAN. I'd wager money that most of these 65 people are in Academia, most likely at the University level (yes, I'm alluding to liberal colleges). These are the "super smart people" who are brainwashing, I mean educating, our college aged youth today. It's scary that they can get it so wrong that I can spot a ton of problems. I'm much weaker at history than I should be. I'd love to hear what my Dad would say about this list, as he is a huge history buff. I bet he'd tear it to shreds.

Honestly, this type of thing goes a long way towards explaining how Barack Obama got elected President.

What was George Lucas Thinking?

This blog is 9, almost 10 years in the making. Also, this will further confirm my nerddom. See, I didn't have blog back in 1999 when "Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace" came out. You all remember that one. That's the one where George Lucas nearly ruined the Star Wars franchise with the introduction of Jar Jar Binks.

Why does this come up now you may ask? Well, yesterday, David and I watched Episode 1, because he really likes that movie. As I watched it for the umpteenth time, 2 things stood out...1) the pod race really was cool and 2) Jar Jar Binks nearly ruined the movie. "Mesa Jar Jar Binks..." is like fingernails on the chalkboard to me. It's as if George Lucas said "we need comic relief, so let's put in an ultra annoying character."

What I think Mr. Lucas was going for was the same type of comic relief provided by C-3PO and R2-D2 in the original trilogy. Where Lucas missed the mark was in the story. C-3PO and R2-D2 actually fit in the story, and they never overwhelmed it. Jar Jar Binks fit for about the first 15 minutes, but once they got done with the Gungan City, he was of no value for the next 2 hours. Thankfully, the error was corrected in Episodes 2 and 3, and Binks was a much more minor character. Unfortunately, Binks is back in the new series, "The Clone Wars", and he's very annoying there again.

But, my kids love Jar Jar Binks. Maybe that's the genius of this whole thing. Adults will tolerate the annoyance that is Jar Jar Binks because he makes the children laugh.