Movie review: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

• October 24, 2006
• James Skemp

I've been trying to get a pretty good range of movies through Netflix. While it wasn't high on my list of movies that I wanted to see, it was a documentary, and therefore a good genre to put into the mix every once in a while. While I'm giving the movie three stars, I thought it was worthwhile to watch, but don't think I'd sit through another viewing.

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Movie review: The Departed (2006)

• October 22, 2006
• James Skemp

Since I'm not going to be able to write the article(s) that I wanted to tonight (since one is going to require research, and the other is going to involve thought) I figure I'll write up a quick review on The Departed, which I had the pleasure of seeing today.

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Movie review: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

• October 20, 2006
• James Skemp

While it's true I probably should have watched 2001: A Space Odyssey a long time ago, I've just gotten around to watching it.  Unfortunately, perhaps I should have watched it sooner and have been done with it. While visually stunning, I'm having a hard time finding any substance behind the movie that I can really grasp.  All-in-all, I've given 2001: A Space Odyssey a generous three stars, since while I'm sure it was amazing when it first came out, it's, I hate to say it, kind of boring.

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Know thyself - or - On the examined life

• October 18, 2006
• James Skemp

In Gavin Schmitt's 2006 essay Should We Examine Life?, Gavin attempts to arrive at some solid decision on the two following questions, "Is there value in examining our lives and the world around us? Is there value in ignoring our selves and our world?", having come to this questions based upon Socrates' claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living". However, while Gavin attempts to answer these questions, and perhaps succeeds, he opens himself up to an even larger question, which will be the topic of this essay.

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Movie review: North by Northwest (1959)

• October 17, 2006
• James Skemp

For many years, North by Northwest is a movie that I have wanted to see, if not consciously, then certainly at the back of my mind.  Other than the somewhat sappy ending, North by Northwest was one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time. Directed by Hitchcock, this movie truly put me on the edge of my seat.  The ending was quite a surprise, and the movie has aged extremely well in the over 40 years since it's release.

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WinMerge 2.6 released

• October 16, 2006
• James Skemp

The very helpful, and always cool, WinMerge has been updated to version 2.6. Grab it while it's hot.

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Movie review: Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

• October 13, 2006
• James Skemp

Grave of the Fireflies is a fairly (read: very) depressing story. Supposedly, this film was named Best Animated Feature at a children's festival, yet I don't know that the intended audience is children. Nonetheless, even though it's depressing, I think it's a good film, showing the hardships some people (have) face(d).

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Movie review: Ran (1985)

• October 12, 2006
• James Skemp

There are a number of movies out there that seem like they go on far longer than one would have thought. Two hours long, but it feels like it's over four. Ran is one of these movies, but in the best possible light.

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Movie review: Bowling for Columbine (2002)

• October 10, 2006
• James Skemp

The first thing to always keep in mind, while watching any documentary, is that the producers always have an agenda in mind. That said, this is the second Michael Moore film I've seen (Fahrenheit 9/11 being the other), and the time I've reminded myself to take everything with a grain of salt.

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Comments on the first 2006 Gubernatorial Debate in Wisconsin (9/15/2006)

• October 8, 2006
• James Skemp

I've wanted to watch the debate for some time, so, after the one on Friday, I decided it was time to take a look for some video. I did find a copy of the first one, from WisPolitics.com, so here's my comments on the debate.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Gavin, I know Green is a jerk. If you live in Wisconsin, and you watch TV, you've probably also seen Green's ads, where he likes to attack Doyle, even though Doyle is running pretty nice ads. So, full disclosure, I'll be voting for Doyle this year, and I hope my fellow Wisconsin citizens will as well.

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