UNReal

When I read the article saying that one of the best shows on cable was a Lifetime show I thought it was a joke. Then I read a few more articles all claiming the same thing. Then I was interested enough to look up some information about the show in Wikipedia.
The plot sounded like it could be interesting. It starred Shiri Appleby who I thought was the best part of Roswell....
So I watched the pilot and was hooked. The writing was cynical and right on point. The characters were all terrible people. Yet somehow they were also fragile and endearing. I actually cared how things turned out.
I am having a hard time waiting for the promised second season. Hopefully if Lifetime drops the ball Netflix will pick it up and run with it.

Hits

I added Hits to my Netflix queue because it included Julia Stiles in the cast list. I should have done a little more research. She shows up for two minutes in the very beginning of the movie and has one or two lines….
The description and poster art were also intriguing. It looked like it could have been a great satire. Instead it was just an indie blah fest. The jokes lacked punch. It was sort of like an hour and a half episode of Portlandia but even less funny.
The thing is that you feel sorry for Dave and his daughter and the hopeless rapper and the poor women selling baby clothes and married to a narcissistic, untalented closet dweller. Pity is not a good background satire. Once you pity the players, you cannot laugh at them. The pity makes it hard to laugh the people who are taking advantage of them. I cannot laugh at people I find truly terrible.
I say skip it and do something useful with the 100 minutes.

I, Frankenstein

Despite the low star rating I wanted to give this movie a shot. It stars a Chuck alumni and Arron Eckhart can turn in a good performance.
Sadly, neither thing could save this movie. It was plodding and stupid and dull. It was barely worth free.

Cinderella

Initially I had no intention of taking Bug to see this movie. I was firmly in the camp that thinks remakes can never be as good as the originals. The Frozen short was a bit of draw, but it would eventually end up on You Tube….
Then I heard the Wittertainment review and interview with smiling Sir Kenneth Branaugh. The good doctors sold me on it.
I am glad they did. Bug and I had a good time. Bug thought it was beautiful. She was a little antsy towards the end of the movie, so I wasn’t sure she liked it. Then we got home and she went on and on telling H about how great it was.
The movie is beautiful. The colors and costumes are colorful and well done.
I think the best part for me was that this version sticks to basics of the original, but makes Cinderella a strong character. She is treated terribly and bad things do happen to her. She does rely on the help of magic to meet the prince. However, she chooses to stay with her step-mother. She chooses to accept the prince’s hand. Her strength and character draw the prince to her. She tries to get to the ball on her own.
The message is also great “Always have courage and be kind."
There is a lot of dying parents, but the deaths are not dwelled upon. Instead, the love and strengths of the parents are played up.
The step-mother is scary. However, she is over the top which blunts some of the effect. Her back story also serves to humanize her.
The Frozen short was cute. I liked the song and Bug was singing it for a day.
The combination of the short and the feature is a bit long for fidgity kids. Bug spent the last 10 - 20 minutes standing, walking, and generally fidgeting. She liked the movie, but couldn’t keep her little body still for two hours.

Paddington

Bug and I were excited to see Paddington. She loved the trailer and the Witterati had nothing but praise for the movie. It seemed like the perfect way to spend a snowbound Presidents Day.
The movie was gorgeous. Paddington looked real and like it was filmed with the actors. The cast did a fabulous job acting against a ghost.
The story is pretty magical as well. It could easily slip into sentimental slop, but the writing is honest and infused with wit and charm and peril.
Lord Grantham in a dress is worth the price of admission.
The only criticism I have of the movie is the scares. There were two very scary sections that seemed a little over the top. The last one, in particular, felt gratuitous.
Bug liked the movie, but the scary parts were a little too much for her. She wasn’t overwrought and didn’t have nightmares, but she didn’t really like them.

Into Darkness

I’d heard mixed reviews of the latest Star Trek outing. Some thought it was too action packed and strayed from the intellectual heritage of classic Trek. Some thought it was too laden with references to classic Trek episodes. It felt to me like the split was more about tradition than the merits of the movie.
Personally, I thought Abrahms' first Trek outing was an exciting action movie. Sure it used the time paradox cop out to hit the reset buttong, but that is not the worst sin. I don’t put it in the same class as the classic Trek movies - for me this includes TNG movies. It was more of an action movie than a Trek movie.
It isn’t surprising that my feelings about Into Darkness follow similar lines. It was a great action movie. Much like the parallel movie in the classic series, it ups the action from the first movie. The action and pace are amped up to eleven. It is a thrill a minute ride with barely anytime to catch your breath between big set peices. Unlike its parallel, it skimps on what makes classic Trek more than simple action. There is very little focus on ideas and character development. The pace is just too fast for that. The plot allows for deep issues about the industrial security complex and the balance between security and peace. It just glosses pass them.
One thing that Abrahm’s Trek does away with is the over acting. Pine is every bit Captian Kirk, but without the ham. Cumberbatch plays Kahn in much the same manner. He is evil, but not over the top. I’m torn about this. I think the new Kirk is more realistic and human. However, Shatner’s Kirk made for great speeches. Montalbán’s Kahn matched Kirk ham for ham. It was pure b-movie fun.
On its own merits, Into Darkness is a bonkers action movie. As part of the Trek cannon, it depends on your allegiance to classic Trek.

2014

2014 felt like a long year. There were a lot of great things, but they were punctuated by long stretchs of drudgery.Life comes with a certian amount of drudgery. It is unreasonable to expect constant excitment from visiting to the grocery store, folding laundry, washing dishes, supervising a child in the shower, brushing your teeth, helping your child brush her teeth, watching the same episode of Dragon Tales for a week, watching Elsa build her ice castle everyday for three weeks, or being a taxi service to play dates, gymastics, swim lessons, birthday parties, and dance lessons.
The taxi service does, more than occasionally, lead to excitement or at least a moment of joy and/or wonder. I get to see Bug having fun, learn new skills, surprise herself, listen to her stories, and teach me new things. Taxi service is the drudgery that makes me appreciate the wonder of being a dad.
The additional drudgery this year comes from my job. It pays well, but there have been few oppertunities for me to really sink my teeth into anything. The pace of development is slow and most of the features in development are simple from a user perspective. It is hard for me to get excited about documenting a point-and-click UI or the same APIs in a different language. The amount of process and over management exascerbate the boredom. I pretty much have to clear everything I do through a manager and one other person. This is in addition to technical and editorial reviews…. I’m not sure if the solution is a different job or a different attitude; the devil you know or the devil you don’t….
There were also parenting challenges. Bug went through a bit of tantrum storm through the spring and summer. Two of her great strenghts are her independance and her determination (some may call it stuborness). They help her in all sorts of ways, until they mix together in a cauldron of frustration and explode. We had some rough rides, but, hopefully, we all learned how to modulate ourselves and use our natures positively. The darkest moments made me glad that I wasn’t in this alone. Being able to tag out for some relief and having a different perspective on hand made weathering the storms much easier. It makes me respect the work my Mom must have done as a single parent even more than I already did. One thing is certain: Parenting is the most challenging thing I have, and will likely ever, do.
Fortunately, life has a lot of wonder to offset the drudgery:

• There were a bunch a great paddles this year.
• Bug and I got to go on a bunch of great bike rides together.
  
• Bug learned to ride a two wheeler.
• We all went on our first real hiking adventure in the White Mountains.
• We did our first real kayaking trip on Boston harbor.
• We had a number of relaxing camping vacations.

When I look back on the year, it loses a lot of its drabness. The moments of joy and wonder bubble up and remind me what is important: smiles, laughter, hugs, learning new things, sharing nature.