This says it all.

Sweet lyrics and some great guitar.

The only thing to do now is visit Bruges.

The scenery in the movie is enough to make you want to book a flight to Belgium, but that is hardly what made this movie great. I’m pretty sure Colin Farrell won an award for this, and I can see why. He’s not laugh-out-loud hilarious, but he is definitely a character! He is blunt and fresh. You want to cringe, but your face can’t stop smiling.

The movie wouldn’t be what it was without Brendan Gleeson. He was Farrell’s perfect counterpart. A bit more well grounded, sharp, and in control. However, he doesn’t just prompt the conversation, but is quite funny throughout the movie.

As for the movie itself: BOOM! Spectacular! I’ll admit that I was skeptical in the beginning. For about the first 20 minutes of the movies, I wasn’t sure where it was going. I mean, I was intrigued by the fact that they were in Bruges, and the scenery definitely kept me watching, but I still wasn’t sure of what I thought. Curious is a good word to describe how I felt. But then, I noticed a tangible change in the movie. Something was…building.  By half an hour in, they had my attention, my interest, and my laughter. 15 minutes later, I was consumed. Not really though.

In all seriousness, it is a movie that builds as it goes. All of these new elements start to get thrown into the movie, and you wonder how they will come into play later. And trust me, everything comes together in the end, at least depending on how you look at it. In fact, the ending is damn near extraordinary.

You know how sometimes you’ll see a movie and be able to pick out things that could have been written better or didn’t quite make sense? Like plot holes? I dare you to find one in this excellently written story. Well, there are some aspects that you could speculate as far fetched. Actually, there are quite a few, but you will love them. They make the story flow and just feel right.

All in all, this is an entertaining movie. It has some heavy stuff going on, but the humor, which is ingenious and new and crisp and witty, makes it feel like a light romp about the city of Bruges. It is kind of a mix of Hot Fuzz, Snatch, and something else really clever. But, don’t take my word on that comparison because they are completely different films. They just both happen to have the badass British swearing and badass, kickass feel, if that makes sense.

Go watch it. Farrell and Gleeson are a duo to remember. I hope that more awards are in their future. Oh ya, and don’t discount Ralph Fiennes. Slam Dunk! All of the character dynamics were great. Every single character was important. That’s saying something.

This is hilarious in a strange way that makes me question many things.

John Rambo will eat you alive. I feel like that could sum up this movie. Whether he’s ripping out tracheas or just shooting them with a bow and arrow, he is kicking major ass nonstop.

First off, the plot is pretty damn believable, or should I say the way he portrays the plot. The movie is graphic as hell, violent as a mutha, and gory as a son of a b, but it helps in the long run. After all, genocide is a horrible thing, and Stallone does a great job of showing what gruesome things may have occurred or be occurring not only in Burma but in many places around the world. I don’t think that Stallone made this as a political stab to government inaction, but rather just an exciting, action film. Pretty much, a group of American volunteers from a church in Colorado come to Burma to help the people who are being persecuted. They are all about preserving life and staying positive…until, of course they are captured by the Burmese military. And, I must say that these Burmese are ruthless. Chopping off limbs, blowing people up, bayoneting children, feeding guys to pigs. They are crazy. Also, if you’ve seen Invisible Children, this army also captures young boys and forces them to join the army. Anyway, the priest from the Church hires Rambo and some mercenaries to rescue the good-doing members of his church. Christian? I won’t argue. And a massacre of many soon ensues.

If you are looking for a plot with a hidden meaning, or dramatic interrelationship problems, then this is probably not the movie for you. However, if you’re looking for John Rambo to drop some serious one liners, then you may want to check this out. I’ll give an example of some of the dialog you can expect:

Girl: “Don’t you think that people need help too.”

Rambo: “Life don’t take no prisoners baby.”

Girl: “There are innocent people dying out there.”

Rambo: “Go home.”

Genius. Stallone knows just to what to say.

Also, if you weren’t fond of Rocky or any other Stallone-esque films, than this may not be for you. You basically get to see bad guys kill good guys, and then watch as the bad guys get their asses handed to them by the other, badass good guys. That’s plot for you.

I must insist that you check it out. It will get your heart rate up and blood pumping. Not to mention, you may find yourself rooting for Rambo the whole way through. It’s normal. It also presents the very serious problem of cultural genocide in our world today.

“Live for Nothing or Die for Something.” Hell ya!

• Richard Dawkins- The Selfish Gene
• Paulo Coelho- The Alchemist
• Daniel Quinn- Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit
• Bill McKibben- Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
• William P. Young- The Shack

I’ll start off with The Selfish Gene. It is technical as hell, but worth it if you can get through it. Now, it is by Richard Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion, but don’t let that scare you off. He gives excellent examples of the Selfish Gene Theory. It is a theory that says at the basis of everyone human action is a selfish gene. However, not selfish in the way that you would think. Basically, genes want to live and reproduce, so they act selfishly to prolong their life. It is hard to describe, and can only really be done by Mr. Dawkins,so I don’t want to butcher the theory. He gives a wide range of examples involving strange animal practices, but in the last chapter he surprises you and relates it all to the human race. So, whether you are a devout catholic or an extreme agnostic, you can take something good away from this book. In my opinion, after reading this I felt as if I had solved a missing piece of the puzzle. Things just started to make sense. That is how I felt after most of the books that I am about to describe. It is definitely a scientific read, but can be easily related to the spiritual. But, if you are looking for a spiritual and inspiring read, the next books will definitely please you.

Next, The Alchemist. If you want to be inspired, if you want to feel hope, if you want to read something you will remember, then this is the perfect book for you. It follows the journey of a young man from Spain to Egypt. I feel like I can’t even give a good enough review of this book because it was written so well.When reading this, I actually bookmarked certain pages and highlighted the lines that I liked; there were many. It is not necessarily scientific or religious, but more spiritual. It sends a message for anyone and everyone to follow their dream and fulfill their personal legend. The fulfillment of the personal legend is the overall theme of the book. Warning though: After reading this you may feel an overwhelming urge to pursue a childhood dream and perceive the world in a more positive light.

Ishmael. Must Read. Absolutely must read. “Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.” This is the statement and overall description on the back cover, and it describes the whole book perfectly. A student answers the ad in the paper and finds out that a gorilla will be his teacher. It may sound strange, but if you are looking to have your mind blown or completely turned inside out, only to find out that that is exactly how minds like to be, then this is the book for you. You will come across concepts and ways of thinking thawill change the way you see the world. I think that sums it up pretty well.

Deep Economy; isn’t it though? Take the three books I have described to you above, condense them into a well written and anecdotal, political essay, and apply each and every concept to the real world. This will give you the perfect recipe for Bill McKibben’s writing. If you are at all concerned about the economy, the environment, or the future in general, then this is a must read. He manages to prevent thought provoking ideas and solutions to our current environmental and economic problems. Mostly, he discusses way to localize the economy and save resources. He also manages to present the benefits and disadvantages of doing so in an unbiased manner. They may sounds like the ideas and methods of a Utopian society from far far away, but they are actually very feasible and inspiring to those who want to make a difference in the current environmental practices of the current economy.

The Shack: The title says it all, or does it? This is fiction, just so you know. After reading this I actually googled the main elements of the story to find out more. This shows just how well this was written. Young manages to write the most believable account of a spiritual journey I have ever heard. The story follows a man whose daughter was kidnapped and murdered during a camping trip. Sometime later, this man receives a letter from God telling him to go to the shack where they found her bloody clothes. This is where the books takes an amazing and fantastic turn that previously only had the potential to be created in a dream. He meets God. That is all I can really say. He meets God. This book is definitely more of a religious read, but anyone and everyone should read it. Talk about imagination. You will truly feel uplifted at the last page.

These are all great books to read. However, reading all of them will create a synergistic and fantastic mix of text and ideas that you will never forget. In fact, reading these will only create a greater desire to expand your mind and lsiten to what different people have to say. I just happened to come across all of them in the span of a year. It seemed that they were all written to help people connect and realize the message from each previous book. It is a strange and wonderful feeling to be able to relate and agree with books that present ideas on such different genres and ends of the spectrum. So, my suggestion: read one. Sit on it. See what you think. Repeat.

Hands down. Best game of 2008. World of Goo is where it’s at.

I got a Wii over Christmas and received many games. De Blob, FiFa Sccer 2009, Boom Blox: The only one I played was World of Goo. My parents were even in on this game. It’s not a multiplayer, but it’s also impossible to not watch as other people play. It’s kind of like a backseat driver game. As you are playing, everyone else is telling you what to do and instructing you on what you did wrong. On the flip side, if you don’t have the controller, then you will find it very hard not to critique the other player’s actions.

This is a strategy game, but it is also much more. The graphics are nice. The storyline is totally out there, but awesome and completely original. To top it off, the levels are the most innovative, crazy, fun levels I have ever played in a video game. Each one is different, always introducing new elements to the challenge ahead of you. Basically, the goal of each level is to get from point A to point B, but only if it were that simple.

You use these little goo balls to build bridges and structures to get from one side to the other, but there are many obstacles ahead of you. By the end of this game, you will have racked your brain to the limit and feel such accomplishment as to proclaim yourself a physicist. The amount of game play time all depends on how smart your moves are, but we finished the game in about a week. Keep in mind, this amount of time included many late nights and long days on the couch between a few people. However, don’t worry about how long the game takes to finish because you can always go back to each level and try to improve on your previous efforts. Not to mention, there is a nice little surprise at the end of the game.

Overall, this game is completely insane and awesome. It is a Wii ware game and only costs about $15, and you can download it right to your Wii. It’s no James Bond or Need for Speed; it’s much better. It was made by an independent company and needs to be discovered, even though it already won the game of the year award on Spike Tv’s video game awards. Definitely check it out.

Like most movies, you don’t leave the theater astonished with an urge to see it again or change the world. That is why Trust the Man is great. It’s entertaining. It’s funny. It’s light.

I didn’t actually see it in theaters, but if anything, that made me like it more. I saw it in a Super 8 Motel in the middle of Lindsay, California on a free HBO channel. I actually only saw the last half, but I later rented it so I could see the whole thing. So, in my opinion this is a great dvd movie that you can watch with friends while sprawled out on various couches or recliners.

Julianne Moore and David Duchovny play a struggling married couple. Moore is a stage actress and Duchovny is a sex addict, naturally. You also have Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal playing a couple who have dated for the past seven years. She wants kids and he bases every decision off of his extreme fear of dying. How are they related? Crudup and Duchovny are besties and Moore and Crudup are brother and sister. The movie has some deep themes and conflicts, but they are all done with a comic touch. I really felt like I could actually like these characters. I wanted the best for them.

Ultimately, it’s a good slice of life, romantic laugh through the big city. Watch it on a night when nothing is going on or throw it in the dvd player on a Saturday afternoon. Either way, its a nice movie that will get you to smile. Plus, you’ll get to see that NBC executive from Seinfeld that joined Green Peace after his Elaine obsession. Not to mention, Eva Mendes.

Alright. This is an action movie. For action purists.It’s not a conventional formula for a can of whoop ass type movie, but keep an open mind. Liam Neeson kicks major ass!

Forget about Jason Bourne of The Bourne Series, Jason Statham of The Transporter Series, Sam Jackosn of Pulp Fiction, Denzel of Training Day, and Bruce Willis of the Die Hard Series. Taken takes the cake. In fact, after watching this you won’t even remember who said “Yippee ki yay mitherfucker.”

Basically, Liam Neeson plays an ex CIA guy who allows his teenage daughter to go to Paris. And, she gets taken, kidnapped. So, the movie follows him on his journey to get his daughter back, at any cost. If you thought that Jack Bauer pulled some crazy ass stunts in 24, then think again. He wants to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, so he will do anything to get her back. Neeson has the voice, the moves, and the charm. You’ve got fight scenes, chases, torture; it’s all there. The acting is great. The story is intriguing. The style is awesome. Not to mention, it is intense. Excite the hell out of you. So, I definitely recommend this. Look for it in theaters.

This had to be one of the best movies that I had never heard of before seeing it. This is not due to the fact that the whole movie chronicles a young woman on her stoned misadventures through the state of California. It was funny. Plain and simple. It kept me laughing.

Anna Farris plays an aspiring actress who, during a morning smoking ritual, mistakenly eats her roommate’s pot cupcakes when the munchies attack. By the way, Hyde from That 70’s Show plays her roommate. I didn’t recognize him for the first half of the movie. After the feast, some paranoia inspired decisions lead to a crazy day of adventure and hilarity. There were some other famous faces that also made an appearance in the movie. Adam Brody, From The OC plays her dealer. John Krasinski, better known as Jim from The Office, plays a slightly nerdy guy who is slightly interested in Anna Farris. Harold of Harold and Kumar, Carrot Top, Danny Trejo, Jane Lynch, and that hippy counselor from Freaks and Geeks also manage to show up at some point in the movie. Still though, Anna Farris is the star of the show.

She either delved deeply into the research and study of the stoner’s psyche in a grueling and backbreaking attempt to portray the perfect pothead, or she simply woke up one morning and lived like it was any other day. Either way, improvised or heavily scripted, she did a fantastic job of making me laugh. I would say that if you liked Pineapple Express, especially James Franco, then you definitely need to check out Anna Farris in Smiley Face.