Review: AMC 14 Westroads (formerly Rave) and World War Z

When I'm not out fishing, working or being with family, I enjoy watching movies, playing tabletop RPGs and other games and spending time with friends.

Nestled on the North side of Westroads mall is a 14 theatre... theatre... previously owned by Rave.

Since there are obviously no AMC pictures up yet, just replace that big sign with the AMC logo and yer good.

It was here I went with fellow moviegoers Dan N., Adam D. and Jon S. for World War Z.

Produced by and starring Brad Pitt, World War Z is a movie about survival and sacrifice against incredible zombie-rific odds. 

Before going further on my review of the theater and the movie, I want you to know that I'm a terrible critic. Go see it for yourself and make your own decisions. 

And, of course, I can't review a movie without the flagrant spoiler alert.

First, the theater. 

Pros: 

Old building, new feeling. People were friendly and helpful. Even the gal who came in to clean up after the show was bubbly and helpful, offering her near-overflowing trash can to anyone walking by that needed to throw something away. The floor wasn't sticky like I expected, which was cool.

Cons:

The chairs squeaked and rocked. DBOX seating was only available in one theater. Sour Patch Kids - bag, not box - cost $4.25. That's about it.

Now, the movie.

Pros:

The special effects on this movie excited me. I built up a lot of anticipation for this, wanting to see Brad's take on worldwide takeover of zombie hoards. Many people asked if I had read the book first, and frankly, I'm glad I didn't. I wanted to see the movie for what they could make of it. 

Dialogue was clear and to the point. They didn't overload it. The movie clipped along at a pace that wasn't hard to follow.

Another zombie pro: they ran like the dickens. I thought that was a clever twist, as I, in my sheltered existence, have not seen that variation before. Made the "swarm" that much more terrible to imagine as they cut down thousands of people.

All of this tied together with the suspense of avoiding a terrible demise at the mouth of zombies made the movie entertaining.

His amputating the hand of the Israeli commando was a great part of the movie. He doesn't think, he just acts, then he counts to check if she changes. Very intense.

Cons:

Within the first 5 minutes, there was a noticeable mistake. Laying in bed, the two daughter characters jump on them and Brad covers his head with his hands playfully. Cut to another angle, no hands on head. Cut back to previous, hands on head. Woops. Sounds small, but I noticed it. Womp womp.

Thank heavens the daughter found a hunting rifle in a closet of the RV. Too bad she was supposed to be getting her sister a drink. Kind of a strange scene insertion.

Several of the troops on the aircraft carrier during helicopter landing sequences were obviously CGI. I found myself thinking, "Well, I guess it is a lot cheaper to animate. That's cool." But it's not. I don't want to be thinking that during a movie!

Overall, the movie was far too cramped and rushed. I mentioned above that it is not hard to follow, and it isn't. What is Lane's UN training, and how does it apply? Who is this Terri and how did they meet? Wait, the president is dead? Jet fuel in the water? His family is ordered off the ship via phone call? SLOW DOWN AND MAKE THAT CRAP HAPPEN.

I expected this to be a trilogy. At this point, it looks like they bagged the trilogy idea and decided to end the movie with the montage of "we're still fighting, but now we've got deadly/non-deadly pathogen camouflage" that insinuates "it all works out in the end." 

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being "good flick" and 1 being "I'd rather be fishing", I give this movie a 6. 

Father's Day, "Born to Run", and Baby Girl

I had honestly forgotten Father's Day usually brought gifts until my wife handed me beautiful cards from my daughters and an opened FedEx envelope.

Inside? XeroShoes.

My beautiful wife ordered me the 6mm black Contact featured here.

"I tried looking for minimalist shoes, but you've got such big hobbit feet... I just got you some of these," she remarked.

I was so thrilled. I had wanted to try Merrel brand shoes, but they were above $100 and nowhere near my width of foot. This was better. I felt a thrill as I took them out and got ready on the instructions.

Later on that day, they were done.

I took them for a test jaunt yesterday for a few blocks - since it is crucial to go suuuuuper easy at first after years of foot binding to avoid stress fractures, etc - and loved them. In fact, it was like being a kid again. I love that thrill of "feeling the world".

They are super light-weight being nothing more than a 6mm pad of textured rubber. All they are for is making sure you don't tear your foot up on glass, rocks and other debris while out and about.

Yesterday, I couldn't help myself. I had to run. I started jogging behind the lawn mower. After a bit, I put on the side-eject attachment - allowing for faster travel with same cut - and took off my grubby tennis shoes to put these bad boys on. Beat my 1 1/3 hour mowing time for my and my neighbors lawn by completing in 35 minutes, and I was looking around at other possible lawns.

The fact is, I've been astounded by the facts presented in a book recommended - and gifted to me - by a fellow runner at work. 

I've been more than astounded. I feel inspired. It makes sense! Among many other interesting points, and a wonderfully gripping storyline, McDougall extrapolates on:

• The correlation between commercialized footwear and injury
• The way the human body is formulated for endurance and long-distance running at speed
• The freedom that comes from one of humanity's hard-wired proficiencies
• One of my favorites, "Persistence Hunting"

This book is moving. I have no other way of explaining it. I highly recommend it to anyone who runs or wants to run. It will help open your eyes to the truth of our bodies and what we can do and entertain you all at the same time. 

Don't read it if you are sensitive to language, though. He doesn't pull any punches on quoting his acquaintances verbatim.

Even more moving was the ultrasound yesterday wherein we found out we're having another girl!

She is due the first week of November. It will be lots of drama and creativity, attitude and sensitivity. It will be epic. 

White River Fly Shop® Hobbs Creek® Fly Line

About a year ago, a fly-fishing enthusiast passed me in the hall at church. 

Having noticed my  Facebook posts about recent investment into the hobby of fly fishing, he stopped, smiled and commented on my recent purchases. I had bought 10 lb. monofilament, some flies, and a nail knot tool.

We chatted, but I was dying to find out his preferences on something specific. Fly line, of course!

So, I asked him:

"Hey, what kind of fly line do you buy?"

"Oh," he said, "I throw the cheap, $20 stuff. I figure if I can cast with that, I can cast awesome with the good stuff."

Amen, brutha. Amen.

White River Fly Shop® Hobbs Creek® Fly Line 

 

I LOVE THIS LINE. 

It's yellow, it's cheap, and it has more memory than your iPad. It stretches, it catches, and, with love, it shoots like an arrow.

Pros: 

1. Cost: 
• It's only twenty dollars.
2. Castability: 
• See my friend's comment above. It is smooth!
3.  Durability: 
• Given the cost, I bought it two years ago, and it's still going great! Great return on not a lot of investment.

Cons:

1. Opportunity cost:
• I don't have any idea what I'm missing in a more expensive fly line.
2. Memory:
• No, seriously. More than your iPad.
3. Memory: 
• Can't stress it enough. A massive coil at your feet is hard to deal with, and I have it every time during my 40 ft. casts.

Anyone else have similar experiences with it?

Let me conclude by saying, again, I LOVE THIS FLY LINE. I really do. As a beginner doing my best to get by on a limited budget, I could not have wished for a better line.


*NOTE: I am blogging about this because of how I really feel about it. However, if you do decide to try this line out, try ordering using the link attached to the above picture. I admit without any shame that doing so would contribute to my love of the sport monetarily, as I am an Amazon affiliate for this stuff.

By the way, when I say the line needs a good stretch, I mean go catch a ton of fish on it.

Cheers.

Product Review: "The L.L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing"

Macauley Lord, Dick Talleur and Dave Whitlock joined forces several years ago to create the L.L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing. Fly fishing for beginners can be difficult, but this book offers wonderful insight. And its entertaining!

There I was, July 2, 2011. My birthday. My sister and her daughters had come down from the Loess Hills of Iowa. My mother gave me a gift card to Bass Pro, my sister had given me a hat with a LED headlamp built in, and my beautiful wife gave me this book. I was thrilled. My fly-fishing experiences were just beginning, and I was hungry to learn more.

My wife researched heavily before buying this book and found it to be the best rated for beginning and intermediate fly-fisher people. There are great things in it, however, that I'm sure even experts can benefit by reviewing.

This book contains:

• A very high quality introduction to fly fishing as a sport
• Hand-illustrated diagrams that show:
• Casting basics
• Fly knots
• Fish species
• On a special note, I especially love this part as a father, because I have sat down with my 4 year old and 1 1/2 year old on several occasions to look at the pictures. They love it!
• Beautiful photographs of landscape, habitat and the authors with their catches
• Detailed instructions for several types of warm, cool and cold-water fly patterns

I highly recommend it for anyone that is beginning a fly-fishing journey or that just wants to expand their library with something they can improve from, as well as something they can introduce to younger generations and children.

If you didn't catch the link on the picture, here's one directly to the Amazon listing.

Happy fishing!