They recently started a photo contest on their Facebook page called “I Wish I Was There”, to which I submitted one of my favorite images of all time, “Sam Tootle on Mensa, 5.11D”. It’s been selected as one of the Top 10 and now voting is in the hands of my peers!

I would love it if you’d help me out and cast your vote for my photo. Simply click the following link, and click on the photo above my name.

An important note: clicking on any photo casts your vote. I know the photos are small and kind of hard to see, but clicking on any photo will cast your vote for it, not give you an enlarged photo!

http://www.facebook.com/Clymb?sk=app_256872381018652

(click to view larger image)

Release date:

My rating: ★★★
Bottom line: A creative and interesting look at what happens on planet earth in a single day.

Somebody had the idea of asking the entire world to get out their video cameras on July 24, 2010 and film themselves doing whatever it is that they do. That request resulted in Kevin Macdonald receiving 80,000 submissions and 4500 hours of footage from 192 countries, which he then cut down to a 90-minute, non-narrated film that attempts to show what it means to be a human today (as a video editor myself, I understand what a monumental task that must have been and how much respect it commands).

The film goes through life in a day – we start with people a few late-night owls awake in the middle of the night, and move on to people waking up and going through their normal routines. We follow people to their jobs, from corporate America to the farms of third world countries to people scraping to get by. We join in on happy celebrations and mourn sad losses. We meet people we would otherwise never meet, and connect with them in a way that is only possible through such a raw, visceral style of filming. Each clip pulls from the last, unknowingly creating a linear story that,  in 90 short minutes, wraps up what it means to be a human living on earth in the year 2010.

Release date:

My rating: ★★★
Bottom line: This confirmed my suspicion that I never want to go cave diving.

I’ve been scuba diving, and I know how eerie and claustrophobic it can feel to be 40 feet below the surface of the ocean in a wide-expanse of nothing but water. I’ve also been caving, so I know how dark and encasing it feels to be 100 feet below the surface of the earth in a tunnel not much wider or taller than yourself. Combining the two comes across as nothing other than absurd and utterly terrifying.

For the cast of Sanctum, which is based loosely on a true story (emphasis on “loosely” – I researched the original story), exploring and discovering previously unknown places through cave diving provides the ultimate thrill. For Frank, cave diving is his sanctum – his holy place, his reason for living. But when the shit hits the fan, being the best at what you do isn’t enough to stay alive. You have to get lucky.

If you’re at all able to relate to what is happening on screen, this is one of those films that puts you in a place where you are most vulnerable and doesn’t let you come up for air. It’s an eerie, gripping thriller with a cool setting, a terrifying story, an even scarier acting.

Release date:

My rating: ★★★★
Bottom line: The Kung Fu East meets the Wild West in an all-out showdown!

Yuan is the best swordsman and assassin in the world, as we are shown at the opening of the film with a visually stunning and physically amazing battle scene. Unable to kill an innocent enemy infant, Yuan takes the child and escapes to the other side of the world to hide in the wild west with an old friend of his. Yuan meets and becomes attracted to Lynne, a woman who had been learning the ways of the sword from Yuan’s late friend. When Yuan’s past catches up with him, he and Lynne must work together to save the town from two opposing forces.

This is a fun movie with a fun story. I was particularly drawn to the editing in many of the fight scenes, and the techniques used to show Yuan’s superior ability and speed. The characters are quirky and entertaining. You get the complete spectrum of roles from every Kung Fu and Wild West movie you’ve seen, and the interaction between these two completely opposite worlds makes this movie well-worth the watch.

Release date:

My rating: ★★★★★
Bottom line: If it weren’t for Michelle, I never would have seen this great movie.

I’ll admit: I’m usually quick to steer clear of movies in the drama and romance aisles. It’s not that I think they are bad movies, I just generally don’t enjoy films from those genres. I would have taken one look at the cover of this DVD and moved right along. But Michelle had read the book and was really excited about seeing the movie (we missed seeing it in the theater), so I sucked it up and took one for the team.

Much to my surprise, Water For Elephants is both an intriguing and enjoyable watch! It stars a young man named Jacob Jankoski (played by Robert Pattinson) who, after his parent’s pass away, runs off and joins the circus. There he meets ringmaster and boss August (played by Christoph Waltz) and his lovely wife Marlena (played by Reese Witherspoon). Jacob becomes their new best friend, and it isn’t long before he begins to have strong feelings for Marlena.

Maybe its because the movie is filled with cool animals, but the film had my attention the entire time. It’s your classic story about a guy who falls in love with a woman he can’t have, but told in a way that keeps you wondering what will happen next. It’s a romantic drama filled with violence, suspense, love, hatred and a big circus elephant.

Release date:

My rating: ★★★★
Bottom line: I finally saw a movie with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.!

I grew up hearing the names of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and others associated with the Big Band style of music of that time. Having always associated these names with music, and then stumbling across the original Ocean’s Eleven on Netflix Instant and seeing these names as the starring actors, it became a much watch!

We all know the story – a bunch of guys get together to pull off a heist where they knock off a bunch of casinos in Las Vegas. I remember reading somewhere that this movie was filmed on location during downtime between performances at The Sands. Unlike the 2001 remake, the movie is a lot less serious and clearly meant to be a comedy. Lots of great lines, lots of great music, and lots of fun. The only difficulty? Everyone dressed alike back then so it was hard at times to keep the characters straight!

Release date:

My rating: ★★★★
Bottom line: Imagine a world where people have become stupefied by a permanent state of happiness.

I don’t normally do this, but I’m going to quote the short description from IMDB because it’s the perfect way to describe this film in just a couple of words:

“A retro-futuristic steam-punk thriller, about two men in two time periods, whose search for the same grand conspiracy leads them to question their own humanity.”

The main character Jack makes a living by selling drugs (like long-expired prescription pills) to people looking to induce pain and gain relief from their permanent state of happiness. It’s kind of sick, but a really intriguing concept. When Jack starts discovering mysterious tapes created by his dead father, he follows in his father’s footsteps to expose the government conspiracy that created the dystopia that he lives in.

Release date:

My rating: ★★★★
Bottom line: If I ever have children, I hope they are as awesome as Hanna.

Hanna is a 16-year old girl who lives with her father in the remote wilderness of Finland. Her father Erik (played by Eric Bana), an ex-CIA agent, has spent the last sixteen years training Hanna to follow in his footsteps as the perfect assassin. When she is ready, she embarks on her mission to infiltrate the CIA and kill Marissa Wiegler (played by Cate Blanchett). The ensuing action, while unbelievable at times, is thrilling and entertaining.

I remember reading somewhere that the girl who played Hanna, Saoirse Ronan (you may recognize her from The Lonely Bones), wanted the film to be as believable as possible and trained endlessly and tirelessly so that she could actually perform many of the stunts and actions in the movie that were required of her character. So even though the film is a bit unrealistic at times (I had a hard time believing a 16-year, 100 lb. girl could throw around a 200 lb. grown man in full military outfit), the action is enjoyable and its interesting to see how Hanna deals with each of the seemingly impossible situations her characters comes into in her pursuit to assassinate her target, Marissa.

Release date:

My rating: ★★★★★
Bottom line: Disney made a horse movie I really enjoyed. Bravo.

Based on a true story, Penny Chenery (played by Diane Lane) takes over her ailing father’s stable – Meadow Stables in Virginia. Determined to learn the business of horse racing and bring greatness back to her family farm and name, Penny hires veteran horse trainer Lucien Laurin (played by John Malkovich) in her pursuit to the first Triple Crown Winner in twenty five years.

In true Disney fashion, Secretariat is a movie that takes you on an emotional ride through the happiness and sadness of a woman pushing herself, her family, her friends and her horse as hard as she can in her pursuit for victory in a male-dominated sport. You can’t help but fall in love with some characters, feel great disgust for others, and get a feel for the passion and hardships that the real Penny Chenery must have gone through in her pursuit of a Triple Crown Victory. Even better, the real Penny Chenery actually makes an appearance in the movie!

Release date:

My rating: ★★★
Bottom line: This time, an entire family is haunted by a sinister presence.

Let’s get this out there right from the start: Make sure you have watched Paranormal Activity before watching Paranormal Activity 2! Otherwise you won’t completely understand what is going on.

Paranormal Activity 2 puts us in the house the Rey family, who is celebrating the birth of a son. Cut to a year later, and what the family believes to be a series of break-ins leads them to install several video cameras throughout the house, revealing a truly darker and unexplainable presence at work.

I’m hesitant to say much more because the connection to Paranormal Activity with Micah and Katie is pretty cool, and you start to get a grasp of the bigger picture and what is going on. The movie is filmed in the same style as the first, through the eyes of a home video camera and the surveillance cameras. Again, we don’t ever see the demon, only the terror and havoc he creates, leaving our imaginations to do the rest (which is particularly dangerous for those of us with wild imaginations).

If you’re looking for a couple of mind-screwing horror films to watch this Halloween, consider a Paranormal Activity marathon!