It's been a bad week.  But, that is behind me now.  I wanted to let you know that there will be some regular posts taking place this month, and hopefully from now on.  Starting with last weekend, I've decided to dedicate my Saturday and Sunday posting to reviews of movies I've seen.  Sometimes the review will be recent and speak of a film recently released, and at other times, it will just be some random one I happened to catch on Netflix or something.

In any event, I hope you enjoy and come back to check them out from time to time.  They will all be categorized as a review, so the link you see at the top right of the page called "Movie Reviews" will take you to all my posts related to movie reviews.  Heck, there are even some from when I started this blog back in 2005.  Sigh, to be that young again.

If you happen to be on Twitter, make sure you follow me @ThatJamesGuy and you will receive an update every time a new blog post is made, even the ones that aren't reviews!

Here is hoping that your week was better than mine, that your weekend is great, and we get to do this all again real soon.  Yeah, I don't think that works as a sign-off either.  I guess I'll just stick with something simple.

So long for now.

Sorry, I mean Sons of Anarchy.  Why, what did you think I was going to say?

The finale aired last night and it was glorious.  It was a great end to another triumphant season.  At first, you're left thinking, wow, they are just going to tie everything up all nice and neat like.  Then, BAM! Surprise number 1, and then BAM! number 2.  Granted they did get things all nice and tidy, but they also made a mess of things to set up next season too, and it was great!

** SPOILER ALERT **
Reading beyond this point will tell you what happened in the finale.  Be warned


The big bad this season has been Adam Arkin as Ethan Zobelle and Henry Rollins as AJ Weston.  All season long it seemed like they have SAMCRO in the corner, and just kept beating them, one encounter after another.  However, for the finale, only Weston got what was coming to him.  If there is such a thing, his death was dignified.  As much as it can be for a piece of crap like that.


Zobelle managed to get away in the end because, well, the other big thing that happened.  Gemmy finally got her revenge on Zobelle's daughter, but it was poor timing on her part.  As it turned out, she managed to get framed for Edmond Hayes' death in the process, because Agent Stahl didn't want to take the fall for it.  So now (and next season) Gemmy is on the run from the Feds.

As Stahl reported over the radio what had happened, that Gemmy killed Edmond, his dad Cameron overheard on the scanner and decided he would seek revenge against the one who killed his boy.  However, when he shows up, he finds the prospect Sack at Jax's place with Tara and the baby boy.  When Cameron makes to kill the baby with a knife to "take one son, for another," Sack goes to stop him and gets stabbed in the process.  With his dead body on the floor, Tara is left there, scared, watching Cameron hold the baby boy, not knowing what to do next.

It happened that Tara was on the phone with Jax when Cameron arrived, and the abrupt end to the conversation made Jax concerned, so he and some guys left Clay and the rest of the gang with Zobelle, who was hiding in a deli full of kids and customers.  When Jax and the guys arrive to find Sack dead, the find Tara tied up in the nursery, and she tells him that Cameron stole his son.  Jax calls Clay and tells him what happened.  Clay and the rest of the gang immediately leave Zobelle, and join up with Jax and them to find Cameron.

Zobelle takes the opportunity to charter a flight out of the country, seemingly unfazed by the death of his daughter he learned of, only moments earlier.  I really hate this guy.  His survival means he will be back, either in the near future, or in another season when all scores are settled.  In the meantime, the guys reach Cameron at the wharf, and start chasing him.  He manages to reach his boat, but we are left to believe he has a hard time starting it, giving our guys a chance to catch up.  No.  Instead, he come to see that they get there too late, and Cameron has sped away with Jax's son, Clay's grandson, and most likely, the focus of next season.

The last shot is of Jax on his knees, being held by Clay and another guy, screaming "Noooo!" at the top of his lungs.  It was magnificent.  I wish they had this scene to use for inspiration before they filmed Star Wars: Episode III.  That is how you scream in absolute pain, and heartbreak.

Now I know why I had a dream that I was in this show!

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and Michael Douglas

I am not a McConaughey fan, not by any stretch of the imagination.  However, there have been a few films that he acted in that I enjoyed.  Films like, Contact, A Time to Kill, Sahara, Tropic Thunder, Edtv, and Angels in the Outfield.  For Ms. Garner, well, I have been a fan of hers since she was on Felicity, so you can understand my desire to watch this one.

If you can recall the previews, this is basically "A Christmas Carol" with girlfriends, instead of Christmases.  It's an obvious allusion, and they make no apologies about it.  They even acknowledge it fully at various points in the film.  Still, it wasn't as annoying as you would think, and it turned out to be an interesting device to use on the main character.

The strength in the film, for me, lies with Jennifer Garner's performance.  She seemed to present the most range and emotion in the film, and her character is the one you connect with the most.  McConaughey's character, the womanizing playboy, is not relatable, but rather stereo typical and what you would expect.  I will say that in some key scenes, he was able to convey the proper amount of feeling that was needed.  Still, for the majority of the movie, he was simply being himself (or an exaggeration of himself).  Whereas that may have worked for Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, it did not work in the same way here.

The supporting cast is good also.  Michael Douglas plays the deceased uncle who returns to show McConaughey the error or his ways.  Breckin Meyer plays the little brother who is getting married that prompts this whole trip of self discovery, and Lacey Chabert plays his bride to be.  All good performances supporting a solid story, which was adapted from an awesome story.

Overall, it's a feel good movie with quite a bit of humor and the standard moral message you would expect.  There is a reason I rented it instead of seeing it in theater, and if you're looking for a light film that you can have on in the background, this would do it.  It would also serve the purpose of looking at the beautiful Ms. Garner quite a bit, you know, if that's what you want too.  So long for now.

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Zooey Deschanel

The film provides a great balance of humor with some rather raw, and emotional moments.

The overall premise of the movie is to show us the relationship that happens between two characters in the span of 500 days.  The man, Tom and the woman, Summer.  From day 1 to day 500, we are taken on a roller coaster.  The days are not shown in chronological order, and we jump back and forth from beginning to end, and all the places in between.  Initially, you think this is going to be annoying and somewhat disorienting, but as with the rest of the film, it was handled beautifully. 

From the beginning of the film, you are told that this is not a love story, and it really isn't.  It is simply a story of a relationship, told from the guy's point of view, with all of the good and bad included.  The humor is subtle, but touching.  Most importantly, you come to feel for the characters, one way or another.

I was left with a sense of longing and loneliness by the end of it.  I had never been in a relationship like they one they depicted, and I felt said for that fact.  I couldn't relate to what they went through, when it was either a good moment or bad.  Instead, I had to visualize what it would be like for myself from the countless films and tv shows that I have seen.  Not once recalling an emotion of my own.

Aside from the humor, there were moments when you were made to feel uncomfortable, and it was justified.  Because, as I can only assume, there are those moments that exist as well.  You can tell that the story is in fact based on a  true event, but not necessarily only one persons tale.  No, instead, you can pretty much imagine that almost anyone you run into could have had this happen to them as well.  That, in my opinion, it what made it a great film.  You can relate to it, you feel something watching it, and for me, you were left feeling something well after it was over.  It made an impression, that's for sure.

So long for now.

Before this morning, I had intended this post to be some humorous take on Thanksgiving.  I was going to try and be witty and clever.  I wanted this post to be unlike other posts you will inevitably come across today.  Then, something happened.

Through a post on a gadget blog of all things, I saw a picture of three soldiers in Afghanistan resting, watching movies on their laptops.  I clicked through to see the article, and was sent to the Boston Globe website where they have a series of pictures from Afghanistan.  I scrolled through what they had, and cried.  Yes, cried.

I am so grateful for my family and my friends,  hopefully each of them know just how much.  I am also grateful for those men and women who are fighting a war on the other side of the planet, to keep us safe.  It doesn't feel like enough to just say thanks, and certainly there is more that can be done.

But, I invite you to say thanks with me today, or any day.  Visit www.LetsSayThanks.com and send a special note to our troops.  This is a free service from Xerox, started in 2006.  We can visit the website, choose the design of the card and add a personal message.  Then, once a month, the cards are printed and sent with packages from Give2TheTroops.  You can't specify who the card is delivered to, but does it matter?  No.  Each and every person over there deserves our thanks and our support.  Not just today, but everyday.