Cloverfield Trailer

The Golden Compass

We went to see The Golden Compass last night. First time we've gone to the movies in a little while. I was interested in the movie for obvious reason...

It wasn't crowded, thank God.

The theater was actually only about 1/4 full. It got me worried. And when the previews began, I got even more worried.

There were two or three movies that got my attention but not necessarily in the good way. Narnia 2: Prince Caspen, and Inkheart. Both movies fell into the same genre/style as The Golden Compass, and it made us unforgivingly realize that this next summer is going to be all about Narnia/LOTR Fantasy type movies. I didn't mind too much when Marvel and DC decided to revamp their comic-to-movie ambitions, some dishing out complete trilogies [i.e. X-Men, Spiderman]. It felt as if you had one summer when EVERY thing come out; X-Men, Spiderman, Catwoman, Batman, Superman, etc. Oh well, Narnia-esc movies are going to have their summer now too...

Well, about The Golden Compass.

***warning, potential spoilers***

In my honest opinion, I didn't like it that much. It was good, and it may get you interested in the books, but its not a winner. I could see them saving it with a really good sequel (there are three books in all: His Dark Materials) but if they don't make enough with this movie, they're scrapped. I LOVED the concept. I loved the demons (I wish I had an little animal buddy next to me the entire time). I found it interesting how they mirrored their human companions, often kept them in check. I loved the idea that this Magistrate wanted to control your demons, or in some situations, eliminate them. I enjoyed the contrast of the free willed demons (being able to express themselves) to the very controlled Magistrate demons (never speaking, often treated like pets). With demons being the humans' soul, it goes to show you that your soul is held captive by your beliefs.

The Ice Bear's were cool. A very unexpected scene caught me so off guard, I found myself smiling like a fool. The fact that Ice Bears aren't human (thus not having souls/demons) makes me curious on who from our reality did the Author intend to portray as the Ice Bears. They are still based on a very war-based history. They have an hierarchy system, and their king doesn't seem the best of all folks.

Now for the bad points.

I read this before I went (while looking up show times) and it was stuck in my head. Forgive me if I do the same.

***spoilers***

I felt the movie was too back story driven. I agree with critic's opinion that it rushed plot points, and the ending left you uninterested. I was not a fan of all of the dialog, ESPECIALLY Lyra's monologues (I hate little kids talking. I hate when they try to be deep. Stop!)

I completely enjoyed it visually and conceptually, but other than that, the actually movie felt like it missed it's target.

***end of all spoilers***

Oh well, at least it will keep me entertained while I wait for JJ Abram's Cloverfield coming out next month.

That's all for now.

~Tim

My Weekend...

As quickly as it seemed to come, the weekend was over. I don't want to bore you with too many details, but the shake down was as follows:

Took my mom to a Doctors Appointment. My sister came too. He wound up not coming, so my Mom called him and talked to him for about an hour. Got some good news, some re-assurance, and reason to have a better weekend than expected. We decided to go to lunch at 5 Guys (Yea!) and it was great! When I got home, Christa's sisters were over hanging out. So I started listening to music, sketching up more Polar Bear's adventures. Before I knew it Saturday was over. Sunday was supposed to be dedicated to studying but after a about two hours, frustration took over and we stopped. MTV had a marathon of Beauty and the Geek, recapping this season up to part one of the finale. Before we knew it it was 8 o'clock, and the day was wasted.

This weekend kind of sucked, but it wasn't really that bad. It was an odd mix of good news and disappointment. Its Monday, and Heroes is on tonight. I have class tonight, too (Calculus II). Test for that class is Wednesday, and the Final is the Wednesday after. I am not looking forward to that. I am able to focus easier, now that Physics is out of the way. I managed to get good grades on my first three tests, and since the final grade consists of the best 3 out of 4 tests, my teacher doesn't care if we return. The catch is Physics II assumes you've nearly mastered theories and methods of Physics I. Sneaky Sneaky... I swear some teachers don't acre if you fail, because they get paid regardless, and if you have to come back to re-take it, then more money for them.

For those that know, I'm still dieting. Saturday was the 1st of December, and I managed to lose about 10+ pounds this past November. Looks like I'm on my way to make it a nice clean 15lbs come the 8th. I dare consider putting before and after photos, but I'm going to keep personal monthly record, as well as a chart listing weight loss regardless. Nothing fancy about the diet either, or the exercise routine. I'll post something about it later this week. A few interesting topics came up this weekend, so I'll share those during this week, too. That's all for now

~Polar Bear

New Layout

I decided to create a theme for my blog. As the title suggests, these will be random thoughts and rants, ideas and critiques, by one cool dude. : )

And that guy to the left there is me. There will be a new scene every post. Stay tuned for some pretty fun adventures!

Well, thats all for now, I guess.

TTYL!

~Tim

The Best Of...

OK. My girlfriend, Christa, and I have been joking about this for a while.

We love to eat out. We like good food. We hate bad restaurants, and we LOVE good restaurants. We appreciate good food so much that they will most likely see us about a dozen times or more before we get tired of them.

We like to try new places, and merely by habit, we start to critique them as soon as we walk in the door.

Anyways, back to the topic. We were joking about creating a list of the best places to eat. Granted, we haven’t been to every restaurant, and there are even types of restaurants we've never tried before, but we feel we've experienced a significant list.

I was sure someone had already made such a list, and I was right.

Palm Beach Post has organized a list (full with extensive reviews/ratings) of a lot of local Restraints, Bars, and Pubs and has ranked and sorted them in their respective food categories.

For example, look at their Best Burger list.

You notice something missing? Yes. McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, etc have all been graciously left off the list. THANK YOU!

Unfortunately, they're missing completely... :(
I would like to see a ranking of the best Fast Food Burger joints (ranked by name and location, because we all know all 500,000+ McDonald's are not the same)

Well, we've been to a few of the places on the Palm Beach Post's Burger list, and they're amazing. Unfortunately, I think there are a few places that are better than those listed.

For Example:

5-Guys Burger and Fries easily beat out Duffy's in my opinion.

If you go head to head, Bacon Cheeseburger to Bacon Cheeseburger, 5-Guys will come out on top. I fear that their lacking menu, however, has dropped their ranks.

Duffy's has more options, and more flavors (Hell, IHOP has more burgers) but when it comes to quality beef, list of toppings, and fast service, 5-Guys should be on a much higher pedestal than presented.

Well, with my obvious disagreement with some of the options, I have made it my duty to create our own list of “best of” foods. Rather than have 5 or 6 in a list, It will be only the #1 spot, and maybe runner up.

For Example:
(and not the actual list)

Best Subs: Firehouse Subs
Runner Up: Northlake Pizza and Subs

Best Drive-In/Drive Through: Sonic
Runner Up: Wendy’s

Best Burger: 5-Guys
Runner Up: Duffy’s

Best Pizza: NYPD III
Runner Up (tie): Bionguorno/Sam’s Club

Best Pub: Brass Ring
Runner Up: Fuddruckers
etc...

It is also my duty to be fair, so I ask for you ...

What's you're favorite burger joint? Best Bar? Let me know, and I'll try it.

That's all for now.

~Tim

Welcome

Welcome to Thoughts By Polar Bear!

This is not the first post, that is coming soon.

Welcome, and I hope you stay!