To Be Brave Or Seek A Friend

That is not the question, but rather a play at words, with regards to the two movies I saw today. Those two movie's were Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World and Disney/Pixar's Brave (in that order).

The first movie actually had nothing to do with the end of the world, so that was disappointing in and of itself. Alright I'm just kidding. The film actually deals with the last three weeks of the world, as that's how much time there is until a comet hits earth. The film actually gets you to think (well at least it got me to thinking). What would you do if you knew you only had three weeks to live? That's basically the plot to the movie, but in between that is an unlikely friendship, and a bond that grows throughout the movie between Keira Knightenly (Penny) and Steve Carrell (Dodge). I found the movie to be enjoyable once Keira's and Steve's characters first interacted, and I'd say the movie did start off a bit slow, but once it did, again, it was enjoyable.

Disney's/Pixar's Brave was better than I thought it'd be, but in all honesty, I found it to be one of Pixar's better films (certainly better than Cars, and Cars 2). It's about a Princess not wanting to go with her mother's wishes of getting married to a suitor, and thus runs away, and comes across a witch, whose spell will change her mother, but not in the fashion in which she wanted. That's pretty much the plot of the film, and won't go into more detail, as I'd just ruin the movie. This is the second animated film I've seen this month (the other being Madagascar 3), and I'd say this one ranks as the best so far. That will be tested though, as Ice Age 3 is out in July, with other animated films due out in September and beyond.

Contests In June...

June's more than halfway over, and in terms of contest wins for myself, it's been an ok month. I've won a pair of earrings (that I'm keeping, not for myself, but keeping, as their women earrings, which goes along with the necklace I posted many entries ago), a Scout Timbuk2 Messenger Bag (which costs $110), a Hockey Night in Canada jersey (which costs $130), which came along with NHL 12 for the Xbox 360 (new, btw), a $15 amazon gift card, and I think that's pretty much it (unless I'm forgetting something).

I'll more than likely be looking to sell the messenger bag, and the jersey (it's a size large, but looks bigger than a large (as it is Canadian).

In Terms Of Walking

I'm on track, but not quite where I want to be at. My goal this summer is to lose weight, and I'm fairly confident I'll be able to do it (as I've done it before). Since June 2nd, I haven't missed a day/night of walking, and my time for the most part ranges from 35-45 minutes a night. My goal is to average an hour a night (at the very least). My next step is eating, and that's coming along as well, and not quite where I want it at either (meaning there are days where I eat more than I want to).

I'm not impressed that I've yet to miss a day since I've fully started with my goal, but I'm encouraged. Only reason why I say that is I know what it takes to lose weight (as I've done it before), and my longest streak was 2 years (straight).

6/20/12 Angels And Giants

Yesterday was the first time I saw the San Francisco Giants play in person, in quite a while. The last time I did so, was at Dodger Stadium maybe 7 (or slightly longer than that) years ago. This was also the second game I've been to this week (with games 3 and 4 coming this Friday and Saturday, as the Angels take on the Dodgers).

The game started off with the potential of it being a pitcher's duel, with Weaver making his return for the Angels, going up against the Giants Voelsong (or however you say his last name). The first inning lived up to it, but the second inning for the Angels kind of proved that wrong as the Angels jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo home run from Alberto Callaspo. From there, Weaver settled into a grove and went 6 strong innings, and the Angels went on to add 5 more runs (2 of which came from back to back shots from Morales and Trumbo).

Fire and Ice, A Ballgame, And Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day, and instead of going to church, we went out to Fire and Ice, and afterwards the Angel game. Church wasn't an option for us yesterday, because of the brunch, and the game starting at 12:35.

I didn't take any pictures of Fire and Ice (which is located in Anaheim), but if you've never been, it's worth going (at least once). You gather your food (which isn't cooked), and there are one or two cooks in the center cooking on a big open grill thing, and they cook it for you on the spot. For Sunday Brunch, they will cook pancakes, burritos, burgers, any pasta combination you can come up with and more. The hours for brunch are 10:30 to 3. If you aren't able to make it for brunch, they do the same for lunch and I think dinner (have never been for dinner). The brunch I believe is on Saturday's and Sunday's.

What Does A Circus And Space Have To Do With Each Other?

Nothing, it's just I saw two movies whose plot's dealt with what's in the title. The first movie dealt with the circus (Madagascar 3) and the second movie dealt with space and beyond (Prometheus). I would have saw another movie, but I decided not to, and will put it off until the next time I go to the theaters (which will probably be in two weeks).

As mentioned, the first movie I saw was Madagascar 3. I decided to see this one, because I actually like animated films, and I thought it'd make for a good blog entry. Compared to the animated films released last year (outside of Tin Tin, as that was the best one), this was one of the better animated films I've seen in a while. If you've seen the Penguins of Madagascar series, you might be disappointed as just about the only voices that are the same from the show and movie is Skipper and Mort. It has been a while since I've seen the other Madagascar films, so I wasn't expecting this. Regardless of how I feel (the voice acting on the series is better), it wasn't that big of a negative for me, as I still ultimately enjoyed the film.

Nintendo's 2012 E3 Showing

Nintendo entered today poised to win E3 with the showing of the Wii U (the new Nintendo console due out in either October or November), and Nintendo somehow managed to drop the ball (probably putting it lightly). The new games shown were New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU, Pikmin 3 along with games already released on other platforms: Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition, Mass Effect 3, and Assassin's Creed III.

Nintendo then went on to show games that won't appeal to their hardcore gamers, which would be Scribble Nauts Unlimited. Perhaps Nintendo's biggest dud of their conference was Nintendo Land, which will bring incorporate the Miiverse that Nintendo revealed on Sunday, and apparently showcase the capabilities of the Wii U like Wii Sports did for the original Wii.

As far as the price of the system, Nintendo did not reveal the price point for the system during the conference, and speculation is it will be revealed a few months from now at a later conference. To say that Nintendo's conference was disappointing is an understatement. There was good news that Nintendo revealed. The Wii U will ship with 2 gamepads, just like the original NES.

Sony's 2012 E3 Showing

Sony in my opinion had the best E3 showing so far (as Nintendo's is tomorrow). What exactly did Sony show off? They showed off a new White PS Vita that will be bundled up with Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for the Vita. The game itself is the first game in the Assassin's Creed line that will feature a female assassin as the person you control. The game, according to Sony has been built from the ground up for the PS Vita. The bundle should be released this fall around the same time Assassin's Creed III for consoles is available.

Games for the PlayStation 3 that were shown were Beyond: Two Souls (which stars Ellen Page). The game takes a tackle on the question. What happens after death. The lead character (Ellen Page) character apparently experiences death, and comes back with some sort of entity, over the course of 15 years (or something along those lines). Visually speaking, and storyline wise, the game has a strong appeal to it. Sony showed off their fighting title, which looks like a Super Smash Brothers clone (which stars Nintendo characters), and this game like that one stars Sony characters. The game itself is called PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

Microsoft's E3 2012 Showing

Microsoft kicked off the E3 press briefings with their annual E3 showcase, and for the most part, they disappointed. The show kicked off with a bang in game play from Halo 4, and then the show concluded with another attempt at a bang with new game play of the next Call of Duty title (which like Halo 4 is due out this fall).

Other games shown off were Resident Evil 6 (aside from Halo 4, the game I'm most looking forward to), Madden 13 and FIFA 13 (with Kinect controls). To be honest, the FIFA game looked intriguing, as if you foul mouth the refs in the game, Kinect picks up on it, and you get penalized for such language. Madden 13 honestly didn't look impressive with what was shown (Joe Montana was playing the demo). Gears of War Judgment was shown off for a 2013 release, and was shown with a teaser trailer (that should leave most, if not all Gears fans craving more).

A feature Microsoft showed off was Xbox Smart Glass, which allows you to take content (movies) from your Xbox 360 to your mobile devices, and back again (when you return home). In addition Xbox Smart Glass will allow you to use said mobile devices to control your game.

Microsoft's press conference could have been better if they actually showed something new (that wasn't previously shown heading into E3). The biggest game for Microsoft is likely to be Halo 4, with other big titles as mentioned above.

Mirror, Mirror On The, Nevermind...It's Friday Which Means

I spent it at the local AMC Theatres, however I only saw one movie, although there wasn't anything else out that warranted me seeing more than one movie, although I did almost buy a ticket to see Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Instead, the only movie I saw today was Snow White & The Huntsman. This was the second Snow White movie to be released this year, and without a doubt was the better of the two movies, although the first film centered more around the Queen than Snow White, as this film had an even balance.

Going into the film, I had my doubts about Kristen Stewart, for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason being she doesn't have the look for a Snow White. Having seen the film, my doubts lived up, as I didn't think she quite pulled the look off, but once I got over it (which was the first few minutes she appeared on screen) she actually grew on me, and as such I enjoyed the film. This was the first film I've ever seen with Kristen Stewart, and will probably be the only one for awhile, unless I'm somehow seeing Twilight, which isn't likely unless I'm seeing it with a girl, which isn't likely to happen anytime soon.