ArtisticallyChill

Sometime last month, Serena and I saw Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood’s latest movie in which he both starred in and directed. The movie is about Walt Kowalski, a veteran from the Korean War, who, despite his hardcore prejudices gets involved in the lives of his Hmong neighbors when their teenage son tries to steal Walt’s most prized possession: his mint condition 1972 Gran Torino. The family feels shamed and asks that the son work for Walt to restore honor to the family. Walt then begins to for a bond with the teen and his family and slowly begins to see beyond his prejudices.

Firstly, I’ve always been a Clint Eastwood fan ever since seeing him in The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. In fact, it was only his westerns that I could sit through and watch as a kid. In Gran Torino, Clint still knows how to act. However, I wish the dialogue could have been better written. The cut of the film could have been better too. There were a few times I felt didn’t feel the passage of time from once scene to the next. But overall, we both enjoyed the film’s story of aging, die-hard prejudices, the realization of one’s mortality, and the journey of redemption. Gran Torino is a sure classic Eastwood film that anyone will enjoy.

~ LoneWolf

Not just for any Watchmen fanboy or comic book nerd, but also for photographic enthusiasts, the official set photographer of Watchmen the movie, Clay Enos, has produced a companion entitled Watchmen: Portraits. This ginormous hardcover, 10.25″ wide x 14.25″ tall at 1″ thick, is a 192-page black-and-white collection of every character as well as every crew member in the production. Watchmen Portraits is absolutely stunning and makes a great coffee table book or reference material for aspiring artists of any medium, not just photography. Serena definitely had to have it as she flipped through the pages. She definitely got no complaints from me about her Impulse Pick of the Week! This will definitely go nicely with my Absolute Watchmen that I have on hold.

• ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL # 18
• ANGEL: SMILE TIME # 2
• CAPTAIN AMERICA # 47
• GIGANTIC # 3
• GREEN LANTERN #38
• JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA # 24
• RUNAWAYS # 7
• TEEN TITANS # 68
• TRINITY # 39
• WATCHMEN PORTRAITS (HC)
• WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS # 12
• WOLVERINE: ORIGINS # 33
• X-FORCE # 12

MY PICK OF THE WEEK: WATCHMEN PORTRAITS
Let’s face it. There are definitely some titles that I’m really enjoying in the list above (Green Lantern, X-Force, Angel, Gigantic, Runaways) but I’m going with Serena on Watchmen Portraits. It definitely stands out and we both can’t wait to see the movie. Hopefully I can finish reading the graphic novel for the umpteenth time to keep it fresh in my mind for when I go see the movie and judge how well the screenplay adapted the graphic novel.

~ LoneWolf

• Got paid my first paycheck with the salary cut my company gave me. I feel less motivated to work and more motivated to pursue my dreams. #
• @jayjayoh So what you’re saying is that I should buy passport/freeagent to go with my laptop and an NAS for my home network, right? in reply to jayjayoh #
• blogPost: Yahtzee Reviews FEAR 2 http://tinyurl.com/abrkvp #
• Lunch and then a few errands while getting some air. #
• E-Filed my taxes again this year. I should see my return direct deposited within 2-3 weeks, just in time for my birthday next month! WOOT! #
• Off of work. Gonna chill for a bit then head out to do some grocery shopping. I’m out of beer. Oh, and food too. ;p #
• Eating dinner then watching the Top Chef Finale in a few minutes! #
• Tonight’s Daily Show was awesome and The Colbert Report is following up nicely! #