Bryce Moore's Blog, page 325

Movie Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Another film review for you today. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was not a movie I expected to really like. I'm not even sure why--I hadn't read any reviews, I hadn't talked to anyone who'd seen it . . . Something about the title just said "this is going to be a stupid movie" to me, so I wasn't eager to watch it. However, I thought TRC would get a kick out of it, so I ordered it on Netflix.

I was very pleasantly surprised.

It tells the story of a young inventor who just isn't that successf...

The iPad

For those of you who haven't been following tech news lately, Apple announced their Tablet/Slate/Netbook thingy (that's the technical term for it) today--the iPad. Check out the link for a video and full description of the device. It's basically a big iTouch. No camera on it, and no phone, but it comes with a slew of apps and other cool things, all for a starting price of $499(!). What do I think about it? I think I want one--too bad I can't afford it. It has an optional keyboard, great video...

Book Review: Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book, although I have to say that the ending was a letdown for me. Cashore had such a good thing going, but then it all started to unravel at the end instead of coming together. Events seemed to pop up and be resolved at random, and other complications appeared out of nowhere. It could have easily been a five star book for me, but . . . you need to nail those endings. Sort of like how no matter what, Lost (the TV show) will ...

Old Friends and Dead Mice

I'd say it's almost worth getting out of touch with old friends, just for the feeling you get when you finally get back In Touch with them, but . . . I think I'd still rather stay in touch all along. That said, it is very nice to hear from people you haven't heard from in a while. Thank goodness for Facebook and blogs--I'm so much better at keeping tabs on people than I ever was in the days before them.

And in an update on my mouse situation, I'm happy to report the critter's dead dead dead. I...

Movie Reviews: Pan's Labyrinth and Watchmen

Thought I'd get these two reviews in on the same day, just because they're both movies I'd think many of you have heard about but not actually watched, due to their rating. If you're too lazy to read my reviews, I'll give you a brief overview: you ain't missing much.

That's not to say the films were bad. They were pretty good. But they weren't anything I'd have felt deprived of if I had missed them, and that means they were a disappointment to me. I'd heard such good things about them, and in ...

Piano Lessons

So the piano has now officially been tuned. For those of you wondering, it plays beautifully. According to the tuner, our piano is from 1910, and is in good condition. I'm looking forward to having some time behind the keys for a while--I'd really like to get better at piano, and now that we have one up and running, I have the chance. That said, I'd also really like TRC and (eventually) DC to be able to play the piano, and for that, I'm turning to you, faithful readers.

What's a good age to st...

Life without Television Thus Far (and a Writing Observation)

So it's been a week and a half since I ditched satellite, and I thought I'd report back on the experience. Honestly, it's felt very freeing. Some of the shows I watch regularly have started up in the meantime, and . . . I'm not watching them. No Chuck. No American Idol. No 30 Rock (well, I have watched 30 Rock online--some things shouldn't be lived without). I even missed the Golden Globes on Sunday, probably the hardest thing I've passed on to this point. But it's not like it's felt very dif...

To the Mouse Who was Gnawing the Wall next to My Bed at 2 AM

Dear Mouse,

I know you gotta eat. I know you're hungry. I can relate to that feeling. I'm hungry, too. A lot. The difference between me and you is that no one's going to kill me if I start eating, mainly because I make it a practice of not eating where I'm not supposed to. For example, I don't waltz into the middle of a Mafia meeting and start chowing down on a Big Mac. I'm not generally known to eat my lunch in the middle of a shark tank. I'm not in the habit of dining with rattlesnakes.

Let m...

What's Your WebMii Score?

I came across this cool site: WebMii. Basically, it does a web search for your name, then tells you how visible you are on the web. Thus, I now know that in the US, I rank in at 2.8 out of 10, meaning I'm not extremely visible, but more than not visible at all. My friend Brandon Sanderson, author extraordinaire, comes in at 7.3. Barack Obama is an 8.7. Clearly, I have a ways to go before my plans of world domination come to fruition.

What's your WebMii score?

Movie Reviews: Silent Movie and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

Two films for you this time, because I know you're all in withdrawal from any recent movie reviews of mine. The first is Mel Brooks' Silent Movie. This is a film I'd heard the title of many times, but never really knew what it was about. For those of you who fall into my boat, this is a silent movie. Meaning they don't talk. (Well, technically, there's one word in it, but still--pretty silent.) It's about a big shot director who has an idea to make a new silent movie, and then tries to find b...