August 2011 Movies

my list of movies watched for August 2011

*denotes non first run movies

Rating System based on 5 ✰ Values

  • It’s Kind of a Funny Story - 2010 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • The Change Up - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Step Brothers* - 2008 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Magnolia* - 1999 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Blade Runner* (Theatrical Version) - 1982 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Blade Runner (Workprint Version) - 1982 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • The Beaver - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Blade* - 1998 - IMDB Link - ✰✰
  • Blade 2* - 2002 - IMDB Link - ✰✰
  • Blade Trinity* - 2004 - IMDB Link - ✰✰
  • Your Highness - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰
  • Talladega Nights* - 2006 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • The Money Pit* - 1986 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Mobsters* - 1991 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Band of Brothers - 2001 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰✰
  • City of Life and Death - 2009 - IMDB Link -✰✰✰✰
  • American Gangster* - 2007 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Fight Club* - 1999 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Game of Thrones - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰✰
  • Super 8 - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Funny Games (French Version) - 1997 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Funny Games (US Release) - 2007 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Serving Life - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰
  • Home Movie - 2008 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Water - 2005 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • The Royal Tenenbaums - 2001 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰✰
  • The War of the Roses - 1989 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Geronimo: An American Legend - 1993 - IMDB Link - ✰✰
  • Sukitaki Western Django - 2007 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Cache - 2005 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • The Whistleblower  - 2010 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • The King of Comedy - 1982 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • The Boston Strangler - 1968 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Rushmore - 1998 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Casino* - 1995 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰✰
  • Colors* - 1988 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Griff the Invisible - 2010 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • The Haunting in Connecticut - 2009 - IMDB Link - ✰
  • Let it Be - 1970 - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰
  • Goodfellas* - IMDB Link - ✰✰✰✰
  • Season of the Witch - 2011 - IMDB Link - ✰

Total 41 Films 27 First Runs

Year: 243 Days - 195 Films - 118 First Runs

Stellar month really blew some titles away!  I guess I was a couch potato lol!!!  I included “Band of Brothers” and “Game of Thrones” in my list because they were 10 hours plus each and should be easily considered one if not two films each!  Excellent series by the way, I cannot wait for “Game of Thrones” season two!!  

From a friends suggestion I have decided to add a star rating for each movie I watch!  This will give more insight into how I felt about each film, I am also going to include a brief synopsis about at least two if not more of films I enjoyed the most during the month, again giving more insight into how I felt about the movies and to help suggest titles.

I discovered Michael Haneke this month from a few Filmology members, and I am blown away by his movies thus far!  My first discovery into his film was “Funny Games” the 1997 French release.  This movie is flat out in your face and brutal, he leaves the ending open which so far from what I hear is Haneke’s style either open or open to interpretation.  My second film of his for the month was the 2007 US release of “Funny Games” even though it is shot for shot the same movie the US version was not as hard to swallow as the French release.  I dunno if it was the fact that I had already seen the French version so all the on edge scenes I knew what was going to happen or if the US version contained recognized actors / actress, either way very good cinema!  My third for the month was “Cache”.  This movie was by far my favorite of his so far, lots of undertones and there was one scene in particular that just blows your mind in the film (don’t wanna spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but those who have know exactly which scene).  The ending also was great, the way he leaves it open but subtlety shows the two adolescent boys getting together and talking, very interesting indeed!!  I look forward to watching “The White Ribbon” this coming month, I decided to put it on hold for the Filmology September Film Schedule.  For those who haven’t discovered Haneke as of yet, definitely do so and enjoy!

I also during the month did get to watch the Film of the Month for August as voted by Filmology “Blade Runner” in both Theatrical Version and Workprint Versions!  I’ve seen the Theatrical a few times so nothing new there, however, I did get to experience the Workprint for the first time.  A much more raw film than the Theatrical I really enjoyed seeing it in the original intentions.  Kinda gives the film a new life when you watch it after the Workprint version.  I definitely recommend for anyone who is a fan of “Blade Runner” to see this verison!

2 notes

July 2011 Movies

my list of movies watched for July 2011

*denotes non first run movies

Total 25 Films 16 First Runs

Year: 212 Days - 154 Films - 91 First Runs

Pretty good month for cinema overall!  Caught a lot of recent movies and re-watched a few classics!  Favorites overall have to be “Tree of Life” and “Larry Crowne” with “Source Code” being up there on top as well!  Excellent movies!  Looking forward to the fall season and what is to come for new releases. 

Wonderful Home Repairs - Part 2 Cabinets

After a little delay, getting a few other projects started and getting them accomplished (helps the ego and morale lol) I have done some more work on the cabinets.  I was watching the DIY network, great channel, bad to watch at night though lol (motivation has a funny way about it when watching the DIY network) and I seen a commercial for “Gel Stain”.  Hmm, what is “Gel Stain” and will it help my cabinet project, first thing that popped into my head!  So I got online and did a little research about it and found some reviews as well as peoples personal experiences and decided that I would give it a shot and see how it looks.  Went to Home Depot and grabbed a quart of it (link) pretty costly but if it works and makes the cabinets work nice so be it, I also grabbed a “natural” bristle paint brush (link) for most of the people online recommended that route.

We decided on cherry wood as our color preference.

So before I could get started staining I decided that I was going to focus on one of the smaller doors to start with and see how it turns out.  I started out by sanding with my handy sander from a previous Home Depot run (link), have I mentioned that I love Home Depot and how dangerous of a store it is lol!  Sanded with 150, then finished with a 220.  After I got them nice and smooth I filled the holes with filler (link) and went over those areas after it was set.

Nice and smooth!  Note: you can still see where the old hardware was on the doors, this is probably the biggest issue thus far with my project, I sanded and sanded and sanded, still a thorn in my side to say the least! 

Another shot of the finished sanded product.

Next I popped open the can of stain, and boy this stuff is thick and gloppy!  I shook the hell out of the can before I opened, and it did absolutely no good, this likes to be stirred not shaken (sorry Bond). 

It says to stir until it is a nice cream consistency, and continue to stir as you apply when needed.  Fortunately this piece was small so it didn’t require additional stirring once I got it to the consistency needed!

You can really see the gobs as I was stirring.  When I was reading online people could not stress enough how important it was to stir well, the pigments settle to the bottom of the can, so in order to get the full color make sure it is stirred well!

For this top coat I used the paint brush I purchased, applying both against the grain and with the grain, alternating until good coverage was achieved!

The can says to let it sit for three minutes then wipe off excess with a clean cloth.  The cloth I chose to do the trick was an old T-Shirt, cut up into pieces.  When wiping off go with the grain!

First coat complete. Now to let it sit for 8-10 hours and reapply again!  Have I mentioned also that I am impatient and just wanna see what my finished product will look like!  At this point I am a little let down, I can see where the old hardware was and every imperfection the wood has sticks out like a sore thumb!  I am already getting discouraged and ready to call it and paint them white!

The show must go on however; I am going to see this through and at least see if not having to paint them white is a possibility!

Here we are 12:30 in the am and I am ready to apply the second coat!  This time I decided to let the stain sit longer before wiping off and use a cloth to apply!  Both tips I read online while researching (here’s a link to a pretty informational site).

Picture quality on these is bad, used my iPhone rather than busting out the Canon lol!  Here is the application picture.  I let it set about eight minutes this time around.

Here we are after the excess removal.  Much better I must say!  The discouragement is diminishing at the moment!  I can see less of the old hardware marks, which is good!  I guess we will have to wait and see what a few more coats does for the finished product, fingers crossed!

Comparison shots (granted not all in the same light lol). 

More to come soon….

19 notes

Landscaping, well kinda!

While on my shopping excursion for the planter box I built I noticed pine bark was on sale, three 2.0 cubic foot bags for only 10 bucks (link) (later I see the normal prices is only $3.88 but still saving is saving lol)!  We had looked at the rubberized faux bark at Costco which was almost $8.00 a bag if I remember right so for that cheap might as well grab some bags and have a go at it!  The area we were planning to cover is in our backyard around the side of our house.  It was already trimmed out with the scalloped bricks (link) so it was really just a matter of pulling the weeds out, putting the weed blocker down (link) and putting the pine bark in with the help of my lovely wife!!!

Didn’t get a picture of the before, but here is one of the work in progress!

And of course once all the work paid off:

I love the way this turned out and it wasn’t a very expensive little project for the great cosmetic look it gave to our yard!!

I ended up buying more bags than I needed (8 in total, used 5.75 or so) but now I will have extra for touch ups or maybe I will decide to use them somewhere else!!

Total cost for this project about $54.00, that included a gardening ho which I didn’t have and the 2 extra bags of pine bark!

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DIY FUN! - Planter box!

My cabinet project is going a tad bumpy so I really needed an accomplishment to keep myself motivated!  My wife told me that she really wanted a planter box so that we can grow some tomatoes, fresh herbs etc… so I did some research online and found a few ideas before venturing off a few days later to Home Depot!  Borrowing ideas from a few sites (link & link) I got a material list together and drew up some plans along with a shopping list!

Materials List:

  • Pressure Treated Hemlock Fir Brown 2x4x8’s (link) x6
  • Pressure Treated Hemlock Fir Brow 4x4x8 (link) x1
  • Pressure Treated  Hemlock Fir Brown 2x6x8’s (link) x3
  • 1 pound box Grip-Rite Exterior 2” Screws (link)

I had Home Depot rip my 4x4x8 into 12, 8 inch strips, and I had them cut one of my 2x6’s in half.  My circular saw is cordless and my blade isn’t quite thick enough for the 4x4’s and I just figured the 4x6 would be easier to manage and trim.

Started my assembly by cutting two of the 2x4x8’s in half then attaching my 4x4 cut pieces to the 2x4x8 lengths.  I pre-drilled all my holes before screwing them together to prevent any splitting.

Getting great use out of my handy saw horses that I built as you can see!

I attached the 4x4 pieces at each end then measured my half point and attached another.

I then attached a second length to my sides using shims for expansion space between them. After I was done with the two long lengths I then moved onto the side pieces and attached a 4x4 piece (again with a shim for expansion) to the middle point and moved all my pieces into the backyard for assembly.

Note: I attached the sides to the length at the edges as well as to the 4x4 piece.

Here is all the sides assembled together.

Note: I would have liked to use the remaining 4x4 pieces (I only used 8 and had 12 cut) for the sides to make attaching the next part easier but the lengths were different sizes (cutting error by Home Depot) so I had to improvise.

Next I began my top pieces using the 2x6x8 lengths. Screwing them down to the 4x4 cut pieces

Did the same for the opposite side then measured and cut the two halves of 2x6’s that home depot split for me, wanted to make these cut to fit just in case I was a little off once assembled (both sides were exact btw!!) I ended up attaching the top side trim pieces to the middle 4x4 and side screwed into the long trim pieces!

Here is the finished product:

Next on the planter box to do list, moving to correct spot, filling and planting!

Total cost of this project was under 70 dollars, and can be quite a bit cheaper if you find the materials on sale!

2 notes

Wonderful Home Repairs - Part 1 CABINETS (day 2)

Day 2 of the Cabinet refinishing fun started off with building some DIY folding sawhorses (link here of that fun)!  Using two of the new sawhorses Amy got in on the fun and stripped the other two larger doors while I finished up the last two.  Missed out on the photos there because I was too busy cutting and measuring :(

Amy took some pictures as she did work!

Then she got some of the dogs watching us in our yard!

Here are the doors I did after I got the last two sawhorses done!

First coat of gel stripper!

Second coat.  You can kinda see remnants of grey?  Maybe primer?  Definitely a stain and varnish sealant of some sort under the top coatings!

again no elbow grease required, I just let the gel do its work, didn’t do any heavy scraping, just applied enough pressure to get the gel off.

Four more doors in total to go, next step after they are stripped will be sanding and I may strip the backs of the doors as well, wanna work on the corners and sides a little better.  So far I am at the bottom of my first container of material, probably enough for one more door.  

While I was waiting for the stuff to do work I decided to photo some of our roses!

3 notes

Wonderful Home Repairs - DIY Sawhorse

So as I was venturing into my cabinet repair yesterday I thought to myself how cool it would be to have sawhorses to make the job easier and better than using the bed of my truck!  I took a journey to Home Depot and the lowest priced ones I found were 34 dollars!  “They can’t be that hard to make” (internal dialogue).  So I got my phone out and did a quick google search for “DIY folding sawhorse” first hit lead me to this fantastic DIY.  Here is my version of what he did, with a bit more detail.

Material List: (enough materials to make 4 sawhorses)

  • Plywood (4’x8’ sheet, 1/2” thick (link))
  • Studs (2’x4’x8’ 6 needed (link))
  • Wood Screws (3 inch (link))
  • 16 penny nails (couldn’t find a link, they were approx 2.50 for a box)
  • Some rope (happen to have some lying around from my truck)

approx cost $38 bucks

I was lucky enough to already have the wood screws and 2x4’s so my cost for this project was only a mere 17 dollars.

Tools used:

  • Cordless drill
  • Circular
  • Reciprocating Saw
  • 1/4” drill bit
  • 5/16” drill bit
  • tape measure
  • hammer
  • screw driver head for drill

While I was doing my shopping at Home Depot I had them cut my plywood into quarters, making it a) more manageable and b) easy to fit in the car as I didn’t bring my truck on this trip!  So now we have four 2’x4’ pieces of plywood and all materials needed, time to get started!

I started by measuring everything out prior to cutting (remember measure twice, cut once).  I measured then cut my plywood pieces into 1’x3’ pieces, then measured my 2’x4’x8’s into 30” sections thus getting three leg pieces per 2x4 with 2 left over in case an error is made.  So after all cuts are made we are left with:

  • 18 - 30” 2x4’s (only need 16 for the project)
  • 8 - 1’x3’ sheets of plywood
  • 4 - 1’x2’ sheets of plywood (spare wood, could be useful if you need a top for your sawhorse)

Now we are going to work in more manageable terms, one sawhorse at a time!  Taking 4 of your leg pieces and two of the 1’x3’ plywood pieces we can start by doing some measurements on the leg pieces.  First off a line 1 inch from the edge of each of the legs (only one per needed).  Then mark another line on the edge adjacent to the 1 inch line 1.5 inches from the edge.  On the line that was just drawn now measure to the half way point of the line or approx 3/4 of an inch this is the center line and will be used later.  Repeat this on all four legs mirroring every other piece.

Now we are going to get started with the cuts and assembly.  Setup the circular saw at a 50* angle and cut on the 1 inch line previously marked on the legs.

This cut will prevent binding when unfolding!

Next get the 1/4 inch drill bit and drill at the center lines approx 1” into the wood (you can use tape to mark on the drill bit where to stop) of the sides of the leg, do this once on each mirrored board

Note the mirroring of the holes!

Next assemble these legs to one of the 1’x3’ plywood sheets.

I used 4 wood screw per leg, note the positioning of the angle cut on the leg from previous cuts.

Next we will drive the nails into the other legs, again mirroring.

Using the reciprocating saw (or hack saw, whatever you have that works) cut the heads off the nails.

Then drive it into the board a little further so that it fits into the hole of the previous drilled leg pieces.

Insert these legs into the other half of the sawhorse.

Note the position of the angles again, remember this is to prevent binding when opened.

Next assemble the second half of the 1’x3’ plywood.

Make sure you drill into the correct leg or your sawhorse wont open!!

Next measure the half points of each plywood (or 18”) and mark 1 inch from the bottom, using the 5/16 drill bit drill a hole, do this on both sides.  This will be used for the stop rope!  This will help add strength to the sawhorse to ensure they stay sturdy for years to come.

Note burning the edges of the type of rope I used will help prevent fraying and help to thread through the hole.

Rinse and repeat!

Four perfectly good sawhorses for less than the price of a manufactured one!  Plus that feel good feeling of doing something for yourself!!

A quick look at one folded!

Total time it took me was about an hour or so for the first one, then each subsequent about half an hour or so!  Definitely worth it!

20 notes

Wonderful Home Repairs - Part 1 CABINETS

Been on a home repair kick as of late, gotta get things in order and knocked out before our baby comes into the world!  This week I am working on refinishing our kitchen cabinets!  FUN! 

Our house was built in the mid 50’s so the cabinets are a wonderful hardwood and I am guessing really beautiful underneath the layers upon layers of paint and varnish!  My idea, strip them down and see what we got!

Here’s a before picture of the lower cabinets (apologies for the picture quality, I was being lazy and using my iPhone) didn’t think to take the uppers before taking them off! Paint is chipped away in spots and they are in need of some TLC.  Rather than just throwing a coat of paint on top of them I decided to strip them down which at the very least will give me bare wood to paint, that is if I can’t sand them and give them their natural appearance again.

So I decided to go with a paint stripper gel that I found at Home Depot (seen here) it’s nice and thick so I painted a pretty hefty layer onto the cabinet doors!

Here I just got done applying and you can already see the stuff going to work and bubbling up!  I waited around 45-50 minutes, the container recommends between a half and hour and twenty-four hours. 

Using a putty knife the paint stripped right off, in sheets and gobs!  It was quite nasty but it did do the trick!

Here’s an idea of the paint that came off!  I did a second coat because it looked like maybe they were stained or sealed above the bare wood!  Only allowing the allotted half hour this time I again scraped the remnants of the gel off the cabinet doors. 

Voila!  With the exception of the spots we are down to bare wood!  No elbow grease required, I just let the gel do the work.  My only concern at this point is it looks like the white paint seeped through the varnish or “sealer” into the wood grain.  Not sure how this will look after sanding, but if it does keep the white tint I will probably just choose to paint them, at least it will be a clean start and I will be painting bare clean wood!  So far into the project two hours and ten minutes, and about thirty dollars in supplies.  Stay tuned for part 2 of what will probably end up being an epic series of events that I wish I didn’t get myself into!  But it will be FUN!

1 note

June 2011 Movies

my list of movies watched for June 2011

*denotes non first run movies

Total 14 Films 8 First Runs

Year: 181 Days - 129 Films - 75 First Runs

Very slow month!  Missed out on watching some films due to watching Band of Brothers and also re-watching the first season of Son of Anarchy!  I did however get to catch X-Men and Thor.  Both really good movies, I do have to say that I am more looking forward to Captain America and I really think it will blow these ones out of the water!  Project Nim was a fantastic documentary, a definite must see!  I really liked it!  Also caught a few Ed Wood movies I hadn’t seen before, always classics there and always enjoyable.  So much so that I had to also watch Ed Wood haha!  Here’s to another month of movies, hopefully much more in July!

May 2011 Movies

my list of movies watched for May 2011

*denotes non first run movies

Total 22 Films 14 First Runs

Year: 151 Days - 115 Films - 67 First Runs

Another slow month, unfortunately!  Moved this month so that can be to blame!  I did get to see “Hangover 2” on a midnight premiere and while I was a bit disappointed that it was the same movie with a different setting it was still none the less funny.  Out of the new movies I seen in the theater this month I found “Bridesmaids” to be the most entertaining!  Lots of vulgar comedy!  Got to catch up on some Tarantino classics as well, always love rewatching his movies!  At the beginning of the month I got a chance to catch “Kill the Irishman” and absolutely loved it, a highly recommended movie from me and by far the best movie I have seen in a bit!