Movie Review: The Illusionist

After a 2 week hiatus, I was able to finally watch a movie again last night. The first movie back was "The Illusionist". This was a movie that has been hovering near the top of my cue for months, but only recently made it to the top. I kept finding other movies that I wanted to watch more. Well, I was really missing out. "The Illusionist" is a terrific movie, and is easily a 4.5 star movie.

I would compare "The Illusionist" to films such as "The Prestige" and "The Count of Monte Cristo". Set in early 1900's Vienna, "The Illusionist" stars Edward Norton as master Illusionist Eisenheim who creates an elaborate plot to free his first love, played by Jessica Biel, who is to be married to the villain, Crown Prince Leopold, (played by Rufus Sewell). Adding an additional foil to the mix is Paul Giamati, who plays the Chief Inspector trying to figure out what Eisenheim is doing.

Overall, the cast is great. Norton shines in the lead role. I'm finding that I really like Edward Norton as an actor. He has played some interesting characters. One of the nits I had was the accents used by the actors was not consistent. This was especially true for Jessica Biel and Paul Giamati. Though, I really liked Giamati's character. Rufus Sewell was perfect as the Crown Prince Leopold. Sewell is really a natural villain. I have a hard time with him in the "Eleventh Hour" on CBS, because I think he's a much better villain.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good mystery/drama. This movie keeps you guessing to the end, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. I know I wasn't. I may have to buy this film at some point.

Playtime Poppy!

This afternoon, we went to see "Sleeping Beauty" at Playtime Poppy. Playtime Poppy is a Children's Theater group, made up of mostly high school kids, who put on 3 shows throughout the school year.

This was the first time I've gone with to Playtime Poppy. The other times, Amanda and the kids went during the week when I was working. But due to the current state of Amanda's ankle, I was forced to go because I had to drive. I'm glad I went, because this was an absolute blast! Watching the kids be so excited about what they were seeing was great. There is a lot of audience interaction required, which David and Nicholas really got into, especially Nicholas.

Before the show started, a royal joke teller was needed for the show. David went and told a knock-knock joke. David's joke was funny, but he was not selected as the royal joke teller. Then the show began, and lasted for about 45 minutes. Afterward, all the actors were in the hallway outside the theater, signing autographs for the kids. Nicholas and David each got a couple of autographs on their programs.

I'm really glad I was forced to go. I hope the kids continue to enjoy things like this, and I hope I get more opportunities to go with them.

Guess who said it?

Here are 2 quotes on the expansion of gay marriage into our society. The question is, can you guess who said it?

Quote #1:
“We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”

Quote #2:
“I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”

A lot of similarity between those 2 statements. So, who said them?

Well, if you've been paying attention to the news lately, you would know that quote #1 was uttered by Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, when asked this question by one of the judges. In the aftermath of this statement, some gay rights activists have called this answer by Prejean "hateful" and "angry". And, apparently, in the eyes of the pageant judges, and many of the same gay rights activists, this statement disqualified Prejean from the Miss USA title...she finished 2nd.

But, then there's that 2nd quote...who said that? Well, it's none other than the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. In the last election, voters who claimed to be homosexual overwhelmingly supported Obama.

So, what have we learned here? Apparently our beauty pageant contestants are held to a higher standard than our President by certain segments of the population. I can't decide if this is funny or sad...maybe a little of both.

Move out...Please!

I saw the following article from MSNBC, so it must be true as it comes from the most liberal news source going (he says sarcastically):

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30352252

Yes, you read that right, now the City of New York (i.e. the liberal capital of the world) is going after salt. Apparently, it's too hard for people to look at a label, see how much sodium is in there, and not eat it if it's got too much. New York City has taken nanny state to a whole new level. First, it was trans fats, then calorie counts on menus, now they are going after salt.

Look, I struggle with high blood pressure, so I know it's not easy. But, if you read labels, you can quickly find foods with less sodium. It's just not that hard to do.

As I read this, I was thinking, why would anyone want to live in New York City? After all, taxes have reached confiscatory levels, the cost of living and doing business is through the roof, you have to put up with Yankees fans, it's crowded, it's dirty, the airports are always backed up, and now...the food Nazis are at it again!

But then I thought...maybe they want people to move out. Maybe they've recognized the problems I just spoke of, and have decided that the only way to fix them is for less people to live in New York City. So, maybe they are trying to make it as crappy as possible so people will be forced to relocate. I know, it may seem far fetched, but hey, anything is possible when liberals are involved (oops, there's that sarcasm again).

First Communion

Yesterday, our son David received his First Communion. For Catholics, and probably for all Christians, this is a big day. Catholics do this at a younger age than most...2nd grade. I grew up Lutheran, and didn't receive Communion until 5th grade.

First Communion comes on the heels of First Reconciliation, which was in January. David has now had the sacrements of Baptism, Reconciliation and Communion.

We had a great day. First Communion was at the 9 am mass. We had all 4 of David's grandparents in town, as well as 3 of Amanda's family members from Pennsylvania. At mass, our Deacon gave a great homily to the kids, and David got to answer a question during the homily. After listing several things he remembered about his first communion, Deacon Smith asked the kids, "what did I forget to mention?" David raised his hand, and answered "you forgot to mention that you aren't supposed to make a face when you drink from the cup." Raucous laughter ensued. The correct answer was Communion. The homily stressed the importance of remembering that Jesus loves us (which David told me again tonight), and remembering this most important part of the day.

The actual communion was wonderful. Both Amanda and I were a bit overcome with joy for David. He was so happy. When we got back to the pew, he said "I wanna go again!", with a huge smile on his face.

After taking pictures at the church (we got some great ones), we headed home to open gifts and prepare for the party. We had lots of help preparing for the party, which was good, because the night before, Amanda had fallen and sprained her ankle badly, requiring and emergency room trip (that's a story for another blog). Luckily, our families stepped up and helped us out. The party turned out to be a good time. Including family, we had 33 people stop by to visit and congratulate David. We also got numerous other cards in the mail.

I hope that David will remember this day always. I know I will. It was an exhausting weekend...I joked that I needed a weekend to recover from my weekend...but I think it was well worth it.