Total Recall (1990) or Total Recall (2012)??

(CONTAINS SPOILERS, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET!!)

Anytime a remake (reboot, whatever you want to call it) comes out, many people, like me, become skeptical.  It seems Hollywood prefers to remake old movies rather than take the time and money to make a new movie.  Remakes can go good or bad.  The majority of the public seems to be annoyed by remakes, so as soon as word gets out there's going to be a remake, the public seems to be automatically against it.

Back in 1990, 'Total Recall,' was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's biggest hits.  It had great action, special effects and one hell of a premise.  Arnold played Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who is really a secret agent.  He dodges soldiers, assassins, to save the people of Mars by changing the atmosphere to give the Martians free air.

In the remake, 'Total Recall,' director Len Wiseman wisely chose to keep most of the original intact.  Doug Quaid, this time played by Colin Farrell, is now a factory worker.  He dreams of doing something more.  He decides to go to Rekall to get a fantasy.  However, he is soon attacked and must defend himself against a group of soldiers.  Quaid must now fight an unknown enemy while trying to find out why he is being targeted.

To be honest, I like both movies.  It's rare that you find yourself liking the original and the remake.  Len Wiseman did a great job with the remake.  He changed some major plot points.  Quaid doesn't go to Mars, there are no mutants.  In the original Quaid must risk it all to get the people of Mars air.  In the remake, Quaid must stop an invasion that could kill millions of innocent people.  Also in the remake, there is no army of soldiers, but rather a robot army.

The remake still has great special effects, awesome action scenes.  The acting is pretty good too.  Colin Ferrell does a great job as someone who a believable person.  Kate Beckinsale shines as she actually plays a  villain this time.  Jessica Biel also gets a nod as the woman that is kind hearted, but can fight as well.  Bryan Cranston, who is an awesome actor, doesn't get much screen time in this movie.

The remake of 'Total Recall' proves that if a movie is going to be remade doesn't necessarily mean it'll be bad.  Give it a chance.  For better or worse, it'll be fun to discuss afterwards.

Chick Fil A

There's been a lot of talk about Chick Fil A's stance on gay marriage.  Personally, I support gay marriage.  I have no problem with, let alone, see why gay couples can't get married.  If you don't like gay marriage, then don't go to one.  Don't put others down, and try to impede their happiness because YOU have a problem with.

I have eaten at Chick Fil A a couple of times.   I don't go there that often.  It's not because I disagree with their stance on same-sex marriage.  I don't go there because I think they're too expensive.  When you're a college student on a very tight budget, you have to be very careful (choosy) on when and where you go to eat.

A lot of people choose to eat there to show their support for the restaurant.  Others choose to boycott Chick Fil A.  I have no problem with either of these people.  Just because you support gay marriage and eat at Chick Fil A, doesn't mean you're evil.  Just because you're against gay marriage and eat there, doesn't mean you're evil.  It just means you like their food.

Chick Fil A does have a right to express their opinions.  Do I agree with them? No.  Does that mean I'm going to hate them or their employees? No.  You can disagree with someone and still be civil to them.  No one has to draw a line and say 'Agree with me or else.'

My First Cruise

I had never been on a cruise before.  Oh sure, I've heard plenty about them.  I always wondered what it would be like to take one.  I finally had the chance to go on one.  I went with my dad, Dennis, stepmom, Robin, brothers, James and Aaron, my sister, Samantha, her boyfriend, Ryan, and my sister in law, Christina.
We were all heading to the Bahamas.

I was a little bit nervous.  I had rarely been out of the country.  Anytime you go someplace new, it's both exciting and scary.  Nonetheless, I was excited to go.  The cruise ship itself was pretty cool.  It was smaller than most cruise ships, or so I was told.  The cruise ship was basically a moving hotel.  It had rooms, restaurants, and shops just like a hotel.  Only difference is that a hotel stays in one spot.  A cruise ship moves.  Plus your view changes.  One day your views is that of the ocean.  The next you could see an island outside your room.

One of the perks was free food.  Well, it came with the cost of your cruise ticket.  The food was amazing.  They had a good buffet at the Windjammer Cafe.  The food there held several choices.  Plus the view of the ocean was a nice touch.  They had two more restaurants, Vincent's and Claude's.  (Not sure who they were named after.)  Both restaurants had some really good dishes.  The menu had some fancy dishes that would've been really expensive.  The staff was polite and really helpful.

Another perk was the view.  I live in an apartment so my views consists of trees and the other apartment buildings.  It was nice to have an ocean view for a few days.  It was cool to see the ocean outside my room's window before I went to bed and when I woke up.  The room itself was nice.  A bit small, but not uncomfortably so.

The cruise had some musicians perform.  There was a band, and some pianists perform.  They both played some nice, relaxing music.  It was funny because the pianists used Ipads to hold their sheet music.  I guess technology really does change everything.  The cruise ship even had a small casino aboard.  I'm not much of a gambler.  But the casino was nice.  They even held daily drawings for cash and prizes.

The Bahamas was so cool.  We took a sight-seeing tour around the island of Nassau.  My family and I took a limo tour.  We saw so many sights.  We even saw some of the poor neighborhoods.  Seeing how some people are less fortunate makes you grateful for what you have.  Our guide, Sydney, really knew his stuff.  He told us plenty of information about the places and people we saw.  The weather there was hot and muggy, but didn't ruin our fun.

All in all, it was good, memorable experience.  Although I did get homesick toward the end, I'm glad I want. I'm not sure when I'll be able to go on a cruise again.  Even If I never get to go on a cruise again, I'm grateful enough I went on this one.  It was relaxing to not only get away for a while, but to do it with my family.
It sucked that I had to go home.  Vacation is fun, but sadly, you have to go back to reality eventually.

20 Things That Made My Childhood Awesome (in no particular order)

20. NES
19. Sega Genesis
18. Nickelodeon Channel
17. 80s cartoons
16. 90s cartoons
15. Drive-Ins
14. Slumber parties with friends
13. Easter egg hunts
12. Sneaking to get a glimpse of my Christmas presents on Christmas morning
11. School field trips to the Fresno Fair
10. Trips to Disneyland with my family
09. Trips to Yosemite with my family
08. Going to the comic book store with my dad and brother
07. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the cartoon series and the movies)
06. When 'The Simpsons' first came on
05. When 'Beavis and Butthead' first came on
04. When 'Ren & Stimpy' first came on
03. Watching my sister, when she was really young, feed the ducks
02. Teaching my sister how to high-five
01. Not having to pay bills

Some Movies I Haven't Seen

-Caddyshack
-The Godfather (all 3)
-Scarface
-Casablanca
-The Money Pit
-The Great Escape
-The Towering Inferno
-High Noon
-The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Drive-Ins: (Almost) Gone, But Never Forgotten

One of the places I remember the most fondly growing up was the drive-in.  The Woodward Park Drive-In, off of Blackstone, close to the 41.  It seemed like every weekend my family and I would go there and watch a movie.  Sometimes it would be my dad, Dennis, my brother, Aaron, and I would go.  Sometimes my brother and I would bring some friends.

There's just something cool about a drive-in.  Yes, sit down theaters are cool too.  But drive-ins have a cool atmosphere.  You can roll down the windows of your car and let the cool breeze in.  You could stretch out in the backseat while you watch the movie.  My favorite thing to do was to watch the other movies playing.  I remember my brother and I would go to the bathroom or to the snack bar.  We would see a horror movie playing that our parents wouldn't let us see.  We would then try and watch it for a few moments before our parents would come and look for us.

The price was amazing.  $5 per car.  You try and go see a movie now, and it's $7, and that's during the matinee at most places.  I think some drive-ins even had double features.  I think there are some drive-ins around.  I'm not sure where, I'd love to go to one.  Hey, here's an idea: Instead of building more Starbucks, Wal Marts, or Costcos, let's build more drive-ins.  It's time drive-ins made a come back.

'True Blood' Season Premiere

I wanted to do this sooner, but I wanted to wait until more people had a chance to catch the season premiere of the new season of 'True Blood.'  Don't worry I'll try not to give away too many spoilers.  Last season, season 4, had its moments.  Some good, some bad.

Last season the writers took a good idea and stretched it way too thin.  This season, they tried to cram too much in just one episode.  The writers tried to wrap up some loose ends from last season, and add some new story arcs.  Adding new story arcs sounds like a good idea, but you need to stretch them out.

The major story arc involved Sookie's best friend, Tara.  Last season we saw Tara get shot in the head with a shotgun.  Tara's cousin, Lafayette, had the idea of turning Tara into a vampire.  Pam, who showed up at Sookie's place looking for Eric, thought it was a dumb idea.  Sookie managed to convince her promising one really big favor.  Pam agreed to try, informing Lafayette and Sookie know it might not work.

At first, I thought this was a lame idea.  This being a supernatural drama, a character dying isn't such a big deal.  They could always come back as a ghost, vampire, etc.  I think it would've been a more dramatical impact if Tara just died.  Granted, Tara becoming a vampire may prove interesting.  But it has to be done right.

Another note, Alceide and Sam pretty much bonded after Alceide helped Sam avenge his brother, Tommy.  To protect Alceide, Sam told Alceide's pack that he killed their leader, Marcus.  A new character that emerged was Marcus's mother.  She clearly wants revenge for her dead son.  Marcus was a psychotic prick who constantly threatened his ex-wife, Sam's current girlfriend.

I'm really not sure how much longer the writers can take the Marcus story line.  Let's say Marcus's pack tracks down and kills Alceide and Sam.  What then?  And if Alceide and Sam track the pack down, and kill them.  How much longer can this story play out either way?  I like the characters Sam and Alceide, but I can't help but wonder how many more story lines can the writers do involving these two.

Bill and Eric are being targeted by The Authority.  The Authority is made up of the world's most powerful vampires.  Since Bill and Eric killed Nan Flanningan, a vampire mouth piece for The Authority, they've been targeted.  It's too early to tell what will happen with Bill and Eric.  What will The Authority have them do?

Nora, who happens to be Eric's sister, has been added to the show.  Nora and Eric go at it fast and furious. Nora mentions that they are brother and sister, seeing as how they were both sired (made) by Godric.  I know that doesn't make them actual siblings, but it's unsettling to have two characters who are sexually involved referred to as siblings, in any sense.

Christopher Meloni has joined the cast one of the Authority leaders.  I can't wait to see him in action.  I've missed seeing him on 'Law & Order: SVU.'  I'm not sure if Meloni is supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy.  Either way I think Meloni was help the show this season.  I'm just disappointed he wasn't in this episode.

This episode was good, but not good enough to wait all summer for.  The Tara\vampire thing was interesting, but seemed too forced.  The Authority does hold promise, but should've been elaborated more on.  The season just started, so it's too soon to tell how the season will play out.  Last season was a disappointment, so this season could make or break the show.