I seem to be watching a lot of brain dead films this month. The next one that my wife and I watched was called War.
It stars Jason Statham (the Transporter himself) as an FBI agent taking on the Japanese Yakuza with his partner. During a raid, his partner shoots a man in the face while saving Statham's life. It is possible that the guy who was shot was a bigtime hitman who works for the Yakuza named Rogue.
Several weeks pass by and Statham is on leave and is going to a game with his family and his partner's family. As he arrives to pick up his partner, the house is engulfed in flames and, afterward, they discover 3 bodies- his partner and family. Evidence is left that suggests Rogue.
3 years pass and Rogue (Jet Li) shows up again and is in the middle of pitting the 2 Japanese crime families against each other and Statham vows to bring Rogue to justice.
The action scenes are impressively staged and a lot of bones are broken and blood spilt. Statham and Li are both presences on screen and demand your attention. The script is all over the place with tons of exposition about the battle between the families, but none of it makes sense. Statham and Li are used well, but the supporting cast (Luis Guzman, Saul Rubinek, Matthew St. Patrick, Nadine Velazquez) are all onscreen for 5 minutes tops and dropped. Devon Aoki, who has done her own stunts in Sin City and DEBS, is wasted in her role as the daughter of one of the family heads.
There are several nice surprises in store if you can make it through the rough first hour. The last 15 minutes almost makes up for the rest- ALMOST, but it's a case of too little, too late.
This is a definite recommend for action junkies, all others- beware, depending on your tolerance of these types of films.
film- 4
movie- 6
Best TV Show That I Just Watched
Parks & Recreation
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Movie Reviews- Resident Evil Trilogy
Again, explanation needed. Why did I watch these films? 2 words- Ali Larter. In 1999, I saw 4 different films, all having Ali in a major role and did not realize it was the same actress. The 4 films were- House on Haunted Hill (innocent brunette in a horror film who survives the climax), Final Desination (same), Legally Blonde (the heiress accused of murder), and Varsity Blues (for those who have seen the film I now have 3 words- whipped cream bikini). Anyone who can pull that off impresses me. Ali is now on the TV show Heroes (and, I will admit, she is the main reason I started watching Heroes, and, what a character intro in the pilot, huh?) She has a major role in the 3rd film in this series Extinction, so I decided to catch up on the other two before seeing her in the third.
The entire trilogy is based on a series of videogames. I'm sure the videogames were great for their time. Without Resident Evil, there would be no Silent Hill. Movies based on videogames do not have a good track record. Super Mario Bros. anyone? So, any movie based on a videogame already has 2 strikes and 3 balls against it. The first film doesn't help.
Resident Evil stars Milla Jovovich(Fifth Element) as Alice, a female (who is often found in little or no clothing) who, at the start of the film has amnesia. She wakes up in her mansion and is soon kidnapped by a bunch of SWAT memebers and taken below the mansion to help them stop a virus from being released to the general population. It seems that a deadly virus was released in a top secret lab hidden below the city and it must be stopped.
This original film is more of a horror film- tons of zombies popping up, bloody and gruesome deaths await most of the SWAT team (I must admit, the laser hallway is a great sequence), and, it has, a kick-butt chick! Halfway through Alice realizes that she is partially to blame for the outbreak and that she was a security personnel for the entry to the labs. When her life and the life of her friends are on the line, she starts taking charge!
Although not a real fan of Milla, I must admit, she looks good in the little red dress and kicking butt. I doubt if she will ever be a great actress, but she's a good actress for being an ex-model. In the film, Alice does have miraculously healing cuts and bruises, but, it is part of the fun because Milla did 90 percent of her own stunts and they decided to not cover up any of "battle scars".
The dialogue in the film is laughably bad and it is fun to mock. From talking to a fan of the games, he said that the sets were amazing because they were straight out of the game. There are a couple of good fight scenes, but, overall, nothing too impressive.
film rating- 1 (for Milla's red dress and art direction)
movie rating- 3
Resident Evil- Apocalypse
This takes place immediately after the end of the first film. This film's tone is more futuristic sci-fi action than horror. Alice (Milla) has been kidnapped by the evil corporation and has had her genes spliced with the virus. Not only did she survive but now she has superhuman abilities.
Racoon City has been overtaken by the virus, the city walls are closed, and only a few survivors are struggling to stay away from the infected, and they arent winning. As always, a small group has banded together. They discover that the main scientist(from the secret underground lab in part 1) has lost his daughter in the zombified city and that the government is going to send a nuclear weapon over the city at dawn to contain the outbreak. He offers room on the last helicopter out of the city to the small band if they get his daughter.
Alice is given a bit of help by Jill Valentine, a tough female cop trying to get out of the city. Milla has a new provacative outfit and Jill is a cop in hot pants and tube top and adds to the scenery as well. There is an impressive new villain in Nemesis(with a surprising connection to the first film) and the final battle between Nemesis and Alice is a visual treat.
The dialogue is still horrendous, but there is a greater sense of fun here. Again, no great shakes, but the fact that this is a true sequel with strong connections to the first film shows that the filmmakers at least tried with this one. A definite step up.
film- 3
movie- 6
Resident Evil- Extinction
Guess what? The nuclear bomb didnt stop the spread of the virus! It is 5 years later and the world is now barren and, yet again, another band of survivors is trying to find a place to settle down where they wont be visited by Zombies. The leader of this band is Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and they have a convoy of trucks. Alice is travelling alone, just trying to survive because she knows that the Evil Corporation is hunting her down to take advantage of her powers.
Of course, Alice finds Claire and the convoy needs to find gas to head up to Alaska where they feel they may be safe. They are in the Western US and decide the best place for gas before their trip may be Las Vegas. So they head to Vegas while the corporation starts tracking Alice.
This is basically Road Warrior with zombies and hot butt-kicking chicks instead of Mel Gibson. Parts of it are just as cheesy as part one, but the fun of the Vegas Strip under sand and some more great stunts by Milla help. In films like this, you know that characters are only introduced to become zombie food and the audience can enjoy watching the band get smaller. I will admit that I was surprised with who dies and the order of it all. Characters that I just knew were going to live got chomped earlier than I would have guessed. That put a bit of suspense into the proceedings.
Dialogue is again atrocious, but by now, it's almost endearing. ("What are we doing?" "Getting out of here!") Milla and Ali look great. The final 10 minutes takes an interesting turn, and, I will admit, the final shot made me sad that I wasn't watching these in preparation for Resident Evil 4.
The amount of fun as a whole is lessened, but the final 10 minutes and a few surprising and shocking sequences almost make up for it.
film-2
movie-5
None of these will stand the test of time. 20 years from now, no one will remember these (unless they are still cranking out sequels). These are not high art by any means. The reason for these films is simple- to make money by showing the audience the blood, guts, and gore of a zombie movie by having kick-ass chicks looking hot while killing the zombies. At least some thought has gone into the plotting of the scripts, even if dialogue was missed completely. If you just want to turn your brain off, there are much better films to watch, but these will do. These would also make for a fun MST3K-type style of Saturday night and you may hate yourself for actually defending certain scenes here or there.
The entire trilogy is based on a series of videogames. I'm sure the videogames were great for their time. Without Resident Evil, there would be no Silent Hill. Movies based on videogames do not have a good track record. Super Mario Bros. anyone? So, any movie based on a videogame already has 2 strikes and 3 balls against it. The first film doesn't help.
Resident Evil stars Milla Jovovich(Fifth Element) as Alice, a female (who is often found in little or no clothing) who, at the start of the film has amnesia. She wakes up in her mansion and is soon kidnapped by a bunch of SWAT memebers and taken below the mansion to help them stop a virus from being released to the general population. It seems that a deadly virus was released in a top secret lab hidden below the city and it must be stopped.
This original film is more of a horror film- tons of zombies popping up, bloody and gruesome deaths await most of the SWAT team (I must admit, the laser hallway is a great sequence), and, it has, a kick-butt chick! Halfway through Alice realizes that she is partially to blame for the outbreak and that she was a security personnel for the entry to the labs. When her life and the life of her friends are on the line, she starts taking charge!
Although not a real fan of Milla, I must admit, she looks good in the little red dress and kicking butt. I doubt if she will ever be a great actress, but she's a good actress for being an ex-model. In the film, Alice does have miraculously healing cuts and bruises, but, it is part of the fun because Milla did 90 percent of her own stunts and they decided to not cover up any of "battle scars".
The dialogue in the film is laughably bad and it is fun to mock. From talking to a fan of the games, he said that the sets were amazing because they were straight out of the game. There are a couple of good fight scenes, but, overall, nothing too impressive.
film rating- 1 (for Milla's red dress and art direction)
movie rating- 3
Resident Evil- Apocalypse
This takes place immediately after the end of the first film. This film's tone is more futuristic sci-fi action than horror. Alice (Milla) has been kidnapped by the evil corporation and has had her genes spliced with the virus. Not only did she survive but now she has superhuman abilities.
Racoon City has been overtaken by the virus, the city walls are closed, and only a few survivors are struggling to stay away from the infected, and they arent winning. As always, a small group has banded together. They discover that the main scientist(from the secret underground lab in part 1) has lost his daughter in the zombified city and that the government is going to send a nuclear weapon over the city at dawn to contain the outbreak. He offers room on the last helicopter out of the city to the small band if they get his daughter.
Alice is given a bit of help by Jill Valentine, a tough female cop trying to get out of the city. Milla has a new provacative outfit and Jill is a cop in hot pants and tube top and adds to the scenery as well. There is an impressive new villain in Nemesis(with a surprising connection to the first film) and the final battle between Nemesis and Alice is a visual treat.
The dialogue is still horrendous, but there is a greater sense of fun here. Again, no great shakes, but the fact that this is a true sequel with strong connections to the first film shows that the filmmakers at least tried with this one. A definite step up.
film- 3
movie- 6
Resident Evil- Extinction
Guess what? The nuclear bomb didnt stop the spread of the virus! It is 5 years later and the world is now barren and, yet again, another band of survivors is trying to find a place to settle down where they wont be visited by Zombies. The leader of this band is Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and they have a convoy of trucks. Alice is travelling alone, just trying to survive because she knows that the Evil Corporation is hunting her down to take advantage of her powers.
Of course, Alice finds Claire and the convoy needs to find gas to head up to Alaska where they feel they may be safe. They are in the Western US and decide the best place for gas before their trip may be Las Vegas. So they head to Vegas while the corporation starts tracking Alice.
This is basically Road Warrior with zombies and hot butt-kicking chicks instead of Mel Gibson. Parts of it are just as cheesy as part one, but the fun of the Vegas Strip under sand and some more great stunts by Milla help. In films like this, you know that characters are only introduced to become zombie food and the audience can enjoy watching the band get smaller. I will admit that I was surprised with who dies and the order of it all. Characters that I just knew were going to live got chomped earlier than I would have guessed. That put a bit of suspense into the proceedings.
Dialogue is again atrocious, but by now, it's almost endearing. ("What are we doing?" "Getting out of here!") Milla and Ali look great. The final 10 minutes takes an interesting turn, and, I will admit, the final shot made me sad that I wasn't watching these in preparation for Resident Evil 4.
The amount of fun as a whole is lessened, but the final 10 minutes and a few surprising and shocking sequences almost make up for it.
film-2
movie-5
None of these will stand the test of time. 20 years from now, no one will remember these (unless they are still cranking out sequels). These are not high art by any means. The reason for these films is simple- to make money by showing the audience the blood, guts, and gore of a zombie movie by having kick-ass chicks looking hot while killing the zombies. At least some thought has gone into the plotting of the scripts, even if dialogue was missed completely. If you just want to turn your brain off, there are much better films to watch, but these will do. These would also make for a fun MST3K-type style of Saturday night and you may hate yourself for actually defending certain scenes here or there.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Movie reviews
I am going to post a ton of movie reviews tonight. I was going to post last night, but had to help a friend. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Movie Reviews Rating System
I will be honest, I love films. Because of this, there are only about 20 films in my life that I have seen that I have hated and find no redeeming value in. For example, there is a film called Forbidden Zone from 1982, I believe, that is a very bizarre and horrible film, but, it had redeeming value for me because it was the first score done by Danny Elfman (Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo officially).
I think of cinema being divided into 2 halves- films and movies.
Films have some sort of social value, based on the art portion of the medium. They have amazing acting, great writing, delves deep into characters and setting (for example- Schindler's List, Philadelphia, English Patient).
Movies are not meant to have any social value, they are just meant to be fun. Chris Hicks, movie reviewer in the Deseret News while I was growing up reviewed Major League and one of his lines stuck with me- "Comedies are made to make the audience laugh. If they don't, they have failed. There is nothing new in Major League. We have seen it all before. But, I laughed. Hard. And often." He gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. Most action movies fall into this category. (examples- Major League, Bad Boys, Transformers, Billy madison).
When I review movies, they will be graded two ways- film grade and a movie grade. The movie grade will be based on comparing it to others of its kind- horror to horror, not horror to Citizen Kane. Then the film grade will say if it is well made in an artistic sense.
I hope this makes sense, if not, let me know and I will try to explain it more.
The system will be on a scale of 1-10
I think of cinema being divided into 2 halves- films and movies.
Films have some sort of social value, based on the art portion of the medium. They have amazing acting, great writing, delves deep into characters and setting (for example- Schindler's List, Philadelphia, English Patient).
Movies are not meant to have any social value, they are just meant to be fun. Chris Hicks, movie reviewer in the Deseret News while I was growing up reviewed Major League and one of his lines stuck with me- "Comedies are made to make the audience laugh. If they don't, they have failed. There is nothing new in Major League. We have seen it all before. But, I laughed. Hard. And often." He gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. Most action movies fall into this category. (examples- Major League, Bad Boys, Transformers, Billy madison).
When I review movies, they will be graded two ways- film grade and a movie grade. The movie grade will be based on comparing it to others of its kind- horror to horror, not horror to Citizen Kane. Then the film grade will say if it is well made in an artistic sense.
I hope this makes sense, if not, let me know and I will try to explain it more.
The system will be on a scale of 1-10
Movie Review- Stay Alive
First- let me explain.
We have a neighbor who comes and borrows our washer and dryer for a huge comforter that she has. I have made a pledge that unless it actually ruins a plan we have (she wants it done that night and we are about ready to walk out the door for vacation- and yes that has happened), then I will do it for her whenever she asks. Last night, as I was getting ready to crash for the evening because I was exhausted, she came over and asked me to do it. I agreed and told her to come back in 2 1/2 hours. I told her that to give me a little leeway in case I zonked for a bit inbetween the switching from washer to dryer. So- I picked a crappy little horror movie because of all of the musical stings and jump scares. I figured that, if I did crash, one of those would wake me up enough to be able to help the neighbor.
So- Stay Alive-
For what it is, I actually liked it. The basic premise is- there is a video game that once you start playing it, if you die in the game, you die in real life. Just not playing the game doesn't help because it takes itself off pause and plays without you until you die. Of course there is a spirit that must be put to rest to win the game- and stay alive!
The acting is decent , again, for what it is. There is the over-the-top stoner buddy for comic relief, the too-serious leading man with a history that he will have to overcome in the climax, the screaming female, the serious goth female who gets the answers for the group but dies before the climax, and on and on. The actors do what is needed for the role, but nothing more.
There is not much gore, except in one flashback, so this is not for gorehounds, either.
Nothing great to be sure, but when you're expecting absolute crap and you get a few scenes that are genuinely creepy because of the visuals and atmosphere- I have to give it a little credit. I would not highly recommend it, but, if you're looking for a horror film, you could definitely do worse.
By the way, I saw the extended cut, and apparently, the PG-13 rated version has 15 minutes less than what I saw. Based on what I have heard was cut, the PG-13 probably will not make much sense.
Stay Alive-
film rating- 2
movie rating- 5
We have a neighbor who comes and borrows our washer and dryer for a huge comforter that she has. I have made a pledge that unless it actually ruins a plan we have (she wants it done that night and we are about ready to walk out the door for vacation- and yes that has happened), then I will do it for her whenever she asks. Last night, as I was getting ready to crash for the evening because I was exhausted, she came over and asked me to do it. I agreed and told her to come back in 2 1/2 hours. I told her that to give me a little leeway in case I zonked for a bit inbetween the switching from washer to dryer. So- I picked a crappy little horror movie because of all of the musical stings and jump scares. I figured that, if I did crash, one of those would wake me up enough to be able to help the neighbor.
So- Stay Alive-
For what it is, I actually liked it. The basic premise is- there is a video game that once you start playing it, if you die in the game, you die in real life. Just not playing the game doesn't help because it takes itself off pause and plays without you until you die. Of course there is a spirit that must be put to rest to win the game- and stay alive!
The acting is decent , again, for what it is. There is the over-the-top stoner buddy for comic relief, the too-serious leading man with a history that he will have to overcome in the climax, the screaming female, the serious goth female who gets the answers for the group but dies before the climax, and on and on. The actors do what is needed for the role, but nothing more.
There is not much gore, except in one flashback, so this is not for gorehounds, either.
Nothing great to be sure, but when you're expecting absolute crap and you get a few scenes that are genuinely creepy because of the visuals and atmosphere- I have to give it a little credit. I would not highly recommend it, but, if you're looking for a horror film, you could definitely do worse.
By the way, I saw the extended cut, and apparently, the PG-13 rated version has 15 minutes less than what I saw. Based on what I have heard was cut, the PG-13 probably will not make much sense.
Stay Alive-
film rating- 2
movie rating- 5
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The magic is gone
Earlier this year, when Live Free or Die Hard came out, most articles and reviews about it talked about how long it had been since John Mcclane was on the big screen. In fact, one of the lines of the film talks about "an analog hero in a digital world".
I started working for Blockbuster on October 12th, 1995- the same day that Die Hard with a Vengeance came out on video. I quit for an 8 month period from Sept. 1996-April 1997, but re-hired with them in April 1997 and worked full time with them until March of 2007. Then, I dropped down to 2 days a week until May of 2007 and ever since, I have just worked 1 night a week (Mondays) so that I can make room on the New Release wall for all of the new movies. All told, that comes to 11 1/2 years.
When I started in 1995, there was a new fangled video system called DVD that was still being tested and Warner was the only studio embracing it. It was very difficult to find VHS tapes in the widescreen aspect ratio. That winter, the huge hits were Usual Suspects, Ace Ventura When Nature Calls and While You Were Sleeping. I had barely started dating the woman who would become my wife.
I have now been married 10 1/2 years, DVD is the major home viewing experience of choice, it is getting more difficult to find Pan & Scan (which is a very good thing), and While You Were Sleeping and Usual Suspects are now considered modern classics (and When Nature Calls has pretty much been forgotten about).
Last night was my final night of doing the New Release wall. I put in my two weeks notice last week and I trained my replacement to do the wall last night.
I am done!
I am going through a slight grieving period. I have been working at Blockbuster for a hair under 1/3 of my life! I loved the employee discounts and such, but the truth is, the magic is gone. I am 35 and my body was starting to hurt while I was down on my knees for about 8 hours straight. I had changed stores back in September, and I really disliked most of the staff in the new store. My employee account had never been changed over so one of the perks, 5 free movies a week, had been null for the past 3 months anyway. I have a great new job that I really enjoy and am making much more money at, so the sleep dep on Tuesdays wasn't worth it. But, I must say- I am going to miss it.
What better job is there when you're a movie buff than to talk about movies for 8 hours a day? To get the little known movie into the hands of a person who doesn't think it looks good, and then have them come back and say that it has taken a spot in their favorite films of all time is a rush for freaks like me.I loved being the person who received the new shipment of movies and look at the cover art for the first time. I loved putting out the new releases and calling major attention to the ones I liked and making the films that I didnt like disappear into the wall. But, after 11 1/2 years the magic is gone.
I am moving on and continuing my life. Blockbuster was great, but it's time to leave it behind. I have many more adventures coming my way, and Blockbuster doesn't fit into my life anymore.
I am still a movie fan and I still love the community of 'release date' freaks, be it on DVD or theatrical. I will be there for the first showing of Indy 4 and the Dark Knight and will ask my friends at Blockbuster to get any promo items from those films next year at this time. My wall of DVDs will only grow, though not to the extent it used to.
That's my time, and I...am...outta there!
I started working for Blockbuster on October 12th, 1995- the same day that Die Hard with a Vengeance came out on video. I quit for an 8 month period from Sept. 1996-April 1997, but re-hired with them in April 1997 and worked full time with them until March of 2007. Then, I dropped down to 2 days a week until May of 2007 and ever since, I have just worked 1 night a week (Mondays) so that I can make room on the New Release wall for all of the new movies. All told, that comes to 11 1/2 years.
When I started in 1995, there was a new fangled video system called DVD that was still being tested and Warner was the only studio embracing it. It was very difficult to find VHS tapes in the widescreen aspect ratio. That winter, the huge hits were Usual Suspects, Ace Ventura When Nature Calls and While You Were Sleeping. I had barely started dating the woman who would become my wife.
I have now been married 10 1/2 years, DVD is the major home viewing experience of choice, it is getting more difficult to find Pan & Scan (which is a very good thing), and While You Were Sleeping and Usual Suspects are now considered modern classics (and When Nature Calls has pretty much been forgotten about).
Last night was my final night of doing the New Release wall. I put in my two weeks notice last week and I trained my replacement to do the wall last night.
I am done!
I am going through a slight grieving period. I have been working at Blockbuster for a hair under 1/3 of my life! I loved the employee discounts and such, but the truth is, the magic is gone. I am 35 and my body was starting to hurt while I was down on my knees for about 8 hours straight. I had changed stores back in September, and I really disliked most of the staff in the new store. My employee account had never been changed over so one of the perks, 5 free movies a week, had been null for the past 3 months anyway. I have a great new job that I really enjoy and am making much more money at, so the sleep dep on Tuesdays wasn't worth it. But, I must say- I am going to miss it.
What better job is there when you're a movie buff than to talk about movies for 8 hours a day? To get the little known movie into the hands of a person who doesn't think it looks good, and then have them come back and say that it has taken a spot in their favorite films of all time is a rush for freaks like me.I loved being the person who received the new shipment of movies and look at the cover art for the first time. I loved putting out the new releases and calling major attention to the ones I liked and making the films that I didnt like disappear into the wall. But, after 11 1/2 years the magic is gone.
I am moving on and continuing my life. Blockbuster was great, but it's time to leave it behind. I have many more adventures coming my way, and Blockbuster doesn't fit into my life anymore.
I am still a movie fan and I still love the community of 'release date' freaks, be it on DVD or theatrical. I will be there for the first showing of Indy 4 and the Dark Knight and will ask my friends at Blockbuster to get any promo items from those films next year at this time. My wall of DVDs will only grow, though not to the extent it used to.
That's my time, and I...am...outta there!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
I'm back!
So, it has been almost 6 1/2 months since I posted on this thing. So, let's catch up-
First, since it will make the entry flow a bit better later, and not because it's the biggest thing, is I have been going through a drug study program from a new restless leg syndrome drug. I had the placebo to begin with (since it made no difference), and, middle of September, I got the actual drug, which has helped me a ton! I was unable to get to sleep several nights a week before because of the restless leg. I would spend those nights on the couch since I didn't want to wake up my wife. Now, I am able to sleep well through the night and get to sleep earlier than before. I'm still a night owl, but, every once in a while, I can go to bed at the same time as my wife, as well.
I got a new job at Pinnacle Security as an account retention specialist. That went well. Then, in September, I was promoted and made a customer service supervisor. After 6 1/2 months at Pinnacle, I am now making more than I was after 11 years at Blockbuster.
As far as Blockbuster goes, I have been working 1 night a week(Mondays) so that I can do the new release wall. For the past 7 years, that has been one of the pleasures of that job. Now, I have changed stores, again in the middle of September, and, with the new restless leg medicine, I realize just how exhausted I am. Before, I wasn't sleeping well anyway. Now that I am, the discrepancy is huge! I also don't like the new crew I am working with, so, as of yesterday, I put in my 2 week's notice. I basically only do the wall 1 more time, next week, and train my replacement, and then I am done.A journey that I started in October of 1995 will come to an end. It has been fun, but it is time to move on.
Now that I am in a groove with my new job, I am going to seriously focus on writing. I know I have said that before, but I am going to look ahead to the future. When I look aty my life, I want to be a writer when I grow up, so I am going to focus on the screenplay and the book I am working on.
I am also going to do quick movie reviews whenever I watch a new film (which is many less than it used to be) or give TV reviews as well.
For all my friends out there, stay tuned!
First, since it will make the entry flow a bit better later, and not because it's the biggest thing, is I have been going through a drug study program from a new restless leg syndrome drug. I had the placebo to begin with (since it made no difference), and, middle of September, I got the actual drug, which has helped me a ton! I was unable to get to sleep several nights a week before because of the restless leg. I would spend those nights on the couch since I didn't want to wake up my wife. Now, I am able to sleep well through the night and get to sleep earlier than before. I'm still a night owl, but, every once in a while, I can go to bed at the same time as my wife, as well.
I got a new job at Pinnacle Security as an account retention specialist. That went well. Then, in September, I was promoted and made a customer service supervisor. After 6 1/2 months at Pinnacle, I am now making more than I was after 11 years at Blockbuster.
As far as Blockbuster goes, I have been working 1 night a week(Mondays) so that I can do the new release wall. For the past 7 years, that has been one of the pleasures of that job. Now, I have changed stores, again in the middle of September, and, with the new restless leg medicine, I realize just how exhausted I am. Before, I wasn't sleeping well anyway. Now that I am, the discrepancy is huge! I also don't like the new crew I am working with, so, as of yesterday, I put in my 2 week's notice. I basically only do the wall 1 more time, next week, and train my replacement, and then I am done.A journey that I started in October of 1995 will come to an end. It has been fun, but it is time to move on.
Now that I am in a groove with my new job, I am going to seriously focus on writing. I know I have said that before, but I am going to look ahead to the future. When I look aty my life, I want to be a writer when I grow up, so I am going to focus on the screenplay and the book I am working on.
I am also going to do quick movie reviews whenever I watch a new film (which is many less than it used to be) or give TV reviews as well.
For all my friends out there, stay tuned!
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