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Topics - Dragonfire
1
« on: December 17, 2017, 05:49:43 AM »
I went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi yesterday - Friday - afternoon. At first I thought I was going to end up waiting until next week, but I got the chance to go and I'm glad I did.
The movie is really good. Really good. Several things were awesome. I didn't think it was predictable at all. I had convinced myself that one of two things were more than likely going to happen..if not both. Neither one did. No I'm not saying what I thought would happen. I have seen some things posted online - after I saw the movie - where some people are disappointed for ...whatever reason. I didn't feel that way. I was really wanting to see it, but I still did't have my expectations super high if that makes sense. All I knew about the movie going in was the little from the trailers I had seen. I think that was good. People really need to see without knowing what to expect.
I saw the normal version. I do want to see it again in the theater. Maybe I'll check out the 3D that time. There were a lot of things that I think have the potential to look cool in 3D.
Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were wonderful in the movie. Once the credits started, there was the tribute to Carrie, and yes, that did make me tear up a bit. Her daughter does have a nice supporting part. She doesn't steal any scenes or anything, but she was good too.
I know I am being very vague here. I don't want to accidentally spoil anything for anyone. The movie is awesome. Go see it immediately.
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« on: December 06, 2017, 02:48:59 AM »
Well I went and did it again...stayed away way longer than I intended. Sorry about that. But I found my way back again. The last few years have been busy and kind of crazy at times. There were some issues at work with the new manager that was ..well not a manager and no one liked. She would just up and leave when the office was full of clients and never come back. Then one time she claimed she came in on her day off and had to do everyone else's work. It wasn't pretty. Five people quit because of her, which made last tax season crazy busy. 10 hour days most of tax season, but it was a way better season since the horrible manager was gone. It is just too bad she drove off a few good preparers. I will probably have to work a lot of hours again this season too. I also had more sort of complicated returns to deal with last tax season. I passed the exams with the IRS last year - I passed the final one a year ago today I think - so I'm an Enrolled Agent now. I spent most of my time last year starting in June studying for those exams. I have done a lot of classes again this year. I may still try to finish a few online classes by the end of the year. Or I may wait and do them at the beginning of January. My mom ended up in the hospital with pneumonia right after I posted here last..or at about the same time. Her doctor wanted her to get stronger meds since it wasn't clearing up. The hospital here has issues, so I wasn't happy about that. She did seem to get better, but she only had nurse practitioners taking care of her. The one was a dingbat and didn't know what she was doing - giving her stuff that made the asthma worse and not watching her blood pressure. Well the ding bat was the one that released her after a week with her blood pressure too high. The next morning she was back in the hospital because she'd had a mini stroke. There were other issues with her care from that, but she is ok. She never lost the ability to talk, she just had trouble with her right side for a while. That leg still is weaker, but she is ok. So all that, along with tax season that year, had me a bit stressed. My step dad had to get a new pacemaker because the battery was done last summer. Well he had complications again too - there were complications when it first went in too. It got done again last October because of infection. The doc said it was fine after that. Then this June when he had another check up, was told it is infected and has to come out. Hospital here in town can't do that procedure - not that he was going back to that doc again after everything. He went to hospital in Columbus and has a better heart doc there now. The surgery went fine, but it did take a while for the infection to clear up because it was so bad and the doc couldn't get it all out in surgery. So far he doesn't have a new one yet. Doc wants everything to be fully healed for a while first. Also, the prior doc had the pacemaker set too high, so it was shocking him all the time. He had another checkup about a month ago and everything was good. He goes back again in the spring. I am still behind on stuff from my DVR, though I have caught up with some stuff. I have new things I've started watching too that have been added. I'll probably always be behind on it.  I still go to movies, though I don't always see everything I want in the theaters. There are a few playing now I want to see, and more coming. I still get movies and watch them, though it has been a few weeks at least since I last watched something. My computer had been having some fits and just not running too well for a year or so. Just running everything so slow, so when I tried to go online, it creeped, and I got annoyed and gave up without doing what I wanted to do, like come here. I got a new computer recently that is so much better. Hopefully I will be able to stop here more often again. I have missed it here.
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« on: December 12, 2015, 07:38:31 PM »
Hi everyone..I'm back. I really didn't mean to be away this long. Work got a bit crazier last tax season - only had a handful of days off over the entire tax season. By a month later, I was having to go in to another office 2 days a week to help with bookkeeping stuff there because the one woman up and decided to quit. I have also taken even more classes than I have before in the off season. I'm up to like..hmmm...191 hours of tax classes this year - and I still have a few more I want to finish up. I have also sort of started to study to try to pass the tests to be an enrolled agent. So lots of classes and studying has been going on. I kept meaning to stop here to post some, and stuff kept coming up. I've been doing more to help my mom..this has been kind of a bad year for her. back in January she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia and horrible ear infection. Over the summer, she fell off a step stool and broke her tail bone. She was finally starting to feel better after that and she got pneumonia again- she is very prone to getting that. It didn't get as bad that time at least. She got over that, and then 5 weeks ago she stepped in a hole in a parking lot that threw her balance off and twisted her foot, and she broke a bone in her foot. She has to wear this big boot thing on the foot that she hates - it is heavy and since it is higher than any shoe she wears on her good foot, it has her off balance, which makes her back and hip hurt worse. But it is getting a little better. Last doc visit she was told she can start putting more weight on it as she can stand it and even try to walk without the boot. She just started to do that a little bit. She doesn't want to over do it. She goes to the doctor again on Friday. I have managed to go see some movies this year, though there have been some I didn't make it too. I haven't gotten as many new movies this year, and I haven't watched as many this year - my DVR is full of stuff too. I even got behind on Doctor Who.  But I'm working on it. So anyway. I'm back. I probably won't be able to post too much when work is nuts again coming up, but I don't intend to stay away so long again.
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« on: October 19, 2014, 06:32:49 AM »
Happy Birthday  I was going to post earlier today, but I got sidetracked with other stuff, so sorry I'm a tad late.
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« on: August 03, 2014, 06:46:20 AM »
Guardians of the Galaxy 5 out of 5 stars I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy on opening day. I loved it. I want to see it in the theater again and I will definitely be adding it to my collection. Peter Quill, who likes to call himself Star Lord, ends up in all sorts of trouble after he finds an orb that others are after. He ends up working with a strange group including an assassin, two bounty hunter/mercenaries, and a maniac to save the galaxy. There is a scene after the end of the credits that ties back into something from earlier in the movie. Another Marvel character is shown. I knew who the character was immediately, though I have no idea what Marvel is planning where that character is concerned. I certainly wasn't expecting that character to show up. I thought maybe it would be someone that will be in one of the next few confirmed Marvel movies. The plot is fun and entertaining, though it also has some more emotional moments as well. There is a lot of humor throughout the movie and it works wonderfully well. This movie made me laugh more than 22 Jump Street and Tammy. There is a decent amount of action and adventure going on. There is some violence, but nothing too extreme or graphic. At one point, a character does make an obscene gesture. It is done in a humorous way. Even with that bit in the movie, it seems more family friendly than some of the other PG-13 rated comic book movies. The movie is a bit...odd or even bizarre at times, but it works. The oddness makes the movies more interesting and entertaining. It is really one of the best movies of the year. I did see the movie in 3D. I did notice some 3D effects and think it was used well throughout the movie. There are a lot of cool scenes throughout the movie and the 3D does add to some of them. Several older songs are heard throughout the movie. The way the songs are used works very well and adds to what is going on. Personally, I would have liked to have heard more of some of the songs. The characters are interesting and different from anything in any of the other comic book movies I've seen. There is a small connection to the other Marvel cinematic universe movies through Thanos. It seems like something in particular is being set up for him in future movies, though I don't know how at least one of the confirmed movies will connect to that. Guardians of the Galaxy is a very fun, entertaining movie that is well worth seeing. It is awesome. 5 out of 5 stars I did post a longer review on my blog. Guardians of the Galaxy
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« on: August 03, 2014, 06:22:18 AM »
22 Jump Street I ended up seeing 22 Jump Street a week ago. I never really wanted to see it, but I got talked into going by a friend. I should have stuck by my initial instincts. I saw 21 Jump Street on one of the Encore channels a few months ago. I wasn't impressed. The best part was when Johnny Depp turned up, but that quickly got ruined too. This movie is mainly more of the same, with Jenko and Schmidt sent undercover at a local college after they screw up a drug bust. Never mind that they are older than all the other students - they did at least acknowledge that they were too old to pass for high school students. Jenko manages to become friends with a few football players who are in a fraternity. Schmidt is left out of that, but he manages to hook up with a girl that is out of his league. Jenko and Schmidt can't agree on things, and that does cause issues with their investigation. Some of what happens is funny, but more often than not, the jokes don't work. Things are way overdone. I lost count of the number of times jokes are made about movie sequels or some kind of gay joke is done. The first few times, those things are funny, but they don't know when to stop. Those jokes keep being used over and over and over, until long after the humor is gone. Most of the humor is crude in some way, and that also gets old. Too much of the movie just isn't funny. The characters are flat and not that interesting. I don't really like Jonah Hill. He didn't annoy me as much in this movie, but nothing about his performance in it changed my opinion of him. I know that 22 Jump Street made a lot of money and got a ton of good reviews. I don't see it. For me, the movie was a huge, unfunny mess. Since the movie was successful, I won't be surprised if they go and make another one. 2 out of 5 stars I did post a longer review on my movie blog. 22 Jump Street
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« on: August 03, 2014, 06:05:55 AM »
Tammy I went to see Tammy not long after it came out. While the movie was entertaining, it wasn't as good as The Heat or Identity Thief. Tammy's life is a mess when she decides to take off on a road trip with her grandmother Pearl. Pearl has her own issues, and there are odd situations that come up during the trip. The plot is alright, though it could have been stronger. Some of what happens is predictable, though there are some things that happen that are at least somewhat surprising. The movie is funny, though not as funny as other things McCarthy has done. Some of the humor is rude and crude, so it isn't going to appeal to everyone. There is a lot of swearing, and obscene gestures. A few things that happen or that are discussed are at least slightly disturbing. The characters are alright, though Tammy does have a lot in common with other characters that McCarthy has played. That could disappoint or bother some people. The movie is funny and entertaining overall, though it could have been better. People who like McCarthy will probably find something to like. 3 out of 5 stars I did post a longer review to my movie blog. Tammy
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« on: August 03, 2014, 05:38:16 AM »
Transformers: Age of Extinction I saw the first three Transformers movies and mostly enjoyed them overall, though I had issues with all of them. I wasn't that...ummm...enthused about seeing this one, but I ended up going anyway. I mainly went because it had been so long since I had seen one. There just haven't been as many movies out this summer that I was interested in. So I went to see this. It is ok as a mindless action movie, but that's about it. The plot is wafer thin, dealing with a secret division of the CIA hunting down all Transformers even though the Autobots were supposed to have immunity or something like that. Cade Yeager is a struggling inventor who finds Optimus Prime. That puts him, his daughter Tessa, and her secret boyfriend Shane in the middle of a new mess. This is another typical Michael Bay movie, which means there is an overload of action scenes and CGI while the the plot suffers. Some of the action scenes are cool, but it gets to the point where it loses the cool factor. The movie is 3 hours long. 3 hours. The previous Transformers movies were really a bit long, and this one is even longer. There is nowhere near enough plot to justify the movie being this long. After a certain point, all the giant robots fighting each other scenes all blend together into a big ol blurry, jerky mess. Bay again uses jerky camera work and quick cuts during action scenes, making it all but impossible to keep track of who is who at times. A few of the new Transformers change into some really awesome cars, including a Bugatti Veyron, but they are barely in the car forms, so it is a huge waste. What's the point of one of them turning into a Veyron when he spends less than 5 minutes total in that form, and when he is in that form, the camera bounces around too much to really show the car. During scenes when the cars are driving, there are these sweeping shots used that don't focus on anything really. It is annoying, but typical for Bay. The human characters are all new for this movie. Most of them are really flat and not that interesting. Cade is ok and Mark Walhburg is an improvement over Shia LaBeouf. Tessa is annoying, whiney, and not likable at all. She made me miss Megan Fox's character from the first two movies. The different Transformers are like they have been, though the new ones introduced in this movie don't get much attention. Harold Attinger is the main villain of the movie and Kelsey Grammer is good in the part. Stanley Tucci turns every so often and adds some comic relief. There are a lot of attempts at humor that just don't work and a lot of product placements that can be slightly jarring. Transformers: Age of Extinction is an average mindless action movie. It manages to be entertaining overall, but it could have been a lot better. Something is done that seems to be an obvious set up for another movie and since this one has made buckets of money, there is little chance that Bay will change anything and actually give the plot attention. 3 out of 5 stars I did post a longer review on my movie blog. Transformers: Age of Extinction
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« on: August 03, 2014, 05:06:09 AM »
Maleficent I actually saw this one twice in the theater and almost went a third time. I will definitely be getting it once it is out on Blu-ray. The movie starts showing Maleficent as a young fairy and she becomes friends with a young boy named Stefan. When she is older, is a protector to The Moors, the magical land where she lives. The King of the human land next to The Moors feels threatened by Maleficent. Stefan betrays Maleficent so he can become the next king. Maleficent changes because of the betrayal which also causes changes to The Moors. When she hears that Stefan and his wife have a daughter, Maleficent turns up and curses the baby Aurora. I really liked this movie. I know that some people have complained about it changing Maleficent too much from the animated movie version of the character. I did see that some claimed this movie made the character weak. I don't feel that way at all. This version of the character is different which will disappoint or bother some people. I choose to look at it as an alternate version of the story that doesn't ...ummm...diminish or negate the animated version of the story. Other characters are a bit different as well. I think the differences are interesting and make for an entertaining movie. There are dark moments in it that may upset or scare younger children. I saw both the 3D and the 2D version of the movie. The 3D added depth to scenes, especially those in The Moors. I did notice things, but there really weren't any images coming out of the screen. I loved Angelina Jolie as Maleficent. She was perfect in the part. There are times when she looks like the animated character come to life. She is deliciously wicked in some scenes. It is a very powerful performance, especially when Maleficent realizes how Stefan has betrayed her. None of the other characters receive as much attention as Maleficent. The other characters are interesting and all the cast does a good job. Imelda Stanton plays one of the pixies that looks over Aurora. I didn't fully recognize her at first since some kind of special effect was done to make her look smaller. She, and the other pixies, get bigger for part of the movie. Once I realized who she was, I did think Umbridge is a pixie. Maleficent is a wonderful entertaining movie with a magnificent performance from Angelina Jolie. It is one of the best movies I've seen this year. It is definitely worth checking out. 5 out of 5 stars I did post a longer review to my movie blog. Maleficent
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« on: August 03, 2014, 04:23:33 AM »
X-Men: Days of Future Past I went to see X-Men: Days of Future Past on opening day - I'm just behind on posting about it here. The movie is really good and definitely worth checking out, though a few things could be a tad confusing. This movie is sort of a sequel to all the previous X-Men movies and sort of a prequel to them as well, depending on which time period events are taking place in. It starts out in the future, with the Sentinels hunting down mutants. A few of them, including Kitty Pride and Bishop, have discovered a way to fight them by using a type of time travel to keep going back in time to warn themselves. That group meets up with Professor Xavier, Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, and Magneto and a plan is developed. It is decided that Wolverine's consciousness will be sent back in time to 1973. Wolverine will then have to find Charles and Erik and convince them to work together to prevent something from happening that ultimately leads to the creation of the Sentinels. Wolverine is doing the time travel because he is the only one who will be able to survive traveling that far back. The movie is very entertaining and done well. It is much better than X-Men 3 and definitely worth checking out. The time travel aspect could make some things a little more confusing, especially if you start thinking too much about the implications of certain things. It is sort of like they are using the changes in 1973 to wipe out certain things that happened previously. In at least one case, that is probably a good thing. I know there are plans for at least one more movie, so I guess that will show for sure what has been....ummm...wiped out by the time travel. It hasn't undone the changes made my X-Men First Class to the backstories of a few characters though, not to mention the changes to timelines - meaning characters showing up long before they were supposed to. The movie is based on one of the more well known story arcs from the comic books. I know the basics of the story even though I never read the comics, so I am aware of what has been changed. For the most part, the changes work fine, and in some cases, make sense. It is an entertaining story that works well for a movie. Certain parts of it wouldn't have worked as well if the story had been told earlier because of the limitations with special effects at those points. The characters are interesting and entertaining overall, though I did have issues with the younger Charles for a bit. A few things just weren't right there, but I got past it. There are younger versions of a few characters. The cast is good. I really liked seeing Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan as Charlies and Erik again. 4.5 out of 5 stars I did post a longer review on my movie blog. X-Men: Days of Future Past
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« on: June 29, 2014, 12:32:42 AM »
I'm starting this so we can have a thread dedicated to talking about Rizzoli & Isles - instead of just putting the posts in the Castle thread.  So, there could be spoilers here. When the episodes are still new, we'll use spoiler tags - like we have been doing in the threads for Castle and Bones.
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« on: June 13, 2014, 05:34:29 AM »
I just came across this lovely deal at Amazon this evening and immediately thought of you. Your collection will never be complete without this.  Deal of the WeekSorry...I couldn't resist.
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« on: April 01, 2014, 05:20:19 AM »
The last episode of the series aired tonight. I haven't always watched...I think there are still some episodes that I haven't seen. I have watched a bit more the this season...especially the last few months. I liked getting to see the Mother finally and the little moments here and there between her and Ted. I watched the last episode tonight. Now I wish I hadn't bothered. Maybe some will like it and be happy with it. I just know I'm not and it has me ....annoyed. Very annoyed. I've lost all interest in ever watching the show again or getting the last of the DVD sets. Do NOT click the tags unless you've seen the episode or don't care about how it ends. I'm serious. I am going on a rant and will be spilling the major stuff. So. You have been warned. I have a few issues, which are mostly all connected.
I kind of feel right now like the last episode kind of.....hmmmm....shit all over the series and the whole idea how Ted was telling his kids the story of how he met their mom, the love of his life. I remember reading some stuff in the past - even a few years ago - about how some fans of the show were absolutely convinced that there would be some twist or something and Ted was going to end up with Robin. Well. That is pretty much what they did and I don't like it. At all. After the entire freaking last season being about Robin and Barney's wedding weekend, it comes out that they got divorced after 3 years. 3 freaking years. It was bad enough when they had them start dating to begin with and then break up. This was ridiculous. Then Robin basically drifts away from the rest of the group, becoming some famous news anchor - which is what wrecked the marriage for the most part..her always traveling for work and putting that first. So..that was the first thing that ticked me off. Oh...Barney reverted to his jerk douche ways, chasing every woman he sees.
At first, I was good with what was going on with Ted and the Mother. Things seemed really good with them from the few bits here and there shown - still not much tied to her. I supposed that should have tipped me off. Anyway, we finally get to see when the first talk. Woohoo. We see the wedding..not all of it, but enough. Then while that is still being show, there is a Ted voice over going on about how much he loved her...the journey to getting to that point..etc..says how he knows he will love her for as long as they have - something like that. As soon as he said that, I thought she's dead. And she was. There are a few happy pictures shown..then he talks about when she got sick. And I got pissed. I briefly thought well maybe she got better...but no. Then the kids are going on about how the story was really about how he wants to be with Robin - Aunt Robin. They start pushing him to go after her. So he does. And that's how it ends. With him chasing after Robin again. Why doesn't he just go beat his head against a freaking wall? Why didn't I do that instead of watching?? ARRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. They set up stuff really well with the mother this season from the episodes I've seen - I didn't see them all - and then this. Probably within a minute of seeing the wedding, Ted is talking about her getting sick. What the hell?? What was the freaking point of doing all that, only to have the mother be dead the entire time basically - when Ted is telling the story she's been dead 6 years - and Ted goes after Robin. Again. What. The. Hell?? This is ridiculous. That ending just sucked out all the enjoyment I had gotten from the show. Ok...I'm done now. Sorry...I just needed to...vent a little I guess. The show has kind of annoyed me at times over the years...little to no progress toward meeting or even seeing the mother. Barney being a jerk. but this tops it all.
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« on: October 01, 2013, 06:40:57 AM »
Here's my spot. No idea how many I will get to, but I'll be trying. I'll try to keep up with writing about them too.
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« on: August 19, 2013, 04:08:01 AM »
The last few days - at least yesterday and today - have been bad. My cat Hayley died today. She had been fine..at least she seemed to be..no acting different or anything. On Friday she was limping a little bit, and I just thought at first that one of the other critters pounced or something. By that night, I was afraid something was wrong..she wasn't acting like herself at all. Saturday morning my mom and step dad took her to the vet - Elmo had to go for an allergy shot so they took her too and were told nothing could be done for her. The vet said that cats are good at hiding something until it is too late to help them. The vet also said she was very old. I got Hayley like 4 years ago..maybe 5. She was supposed to be 8 then. Now we are thinking she was older then. So . This has been a very bad day. Especially on top on Angel dying just a few months ago after issues with a...bad vet. We have a different vet now.
Anyway. I am .. well I don't know. I need to distract myself for a while or something.
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