Cold Souls Movie Review

Ted Puffer Review = 2 1/2 stars

This is the sort of movie that you really, really want to like. You want to connect with the characters and the central premise of the film in a very direct and personal way that you end up cheering every frame, even though the movie might not deserve it.

And to be completely honest, this film doesn't. But that doesn't mean that I didn't like it. The film resolves around an actor who finds the weight of his own soul to be crushing his happiness, and interfering with his work. So he goes to a soul storage facility for a sole-ectomy. His soul will be removed and kept safe for him while he pursues his life without the weight of his sold burdening his mind.

What impressed me was that this was the only leap of faith that the director demands of the audience. After this ability for the soul to be removed and confined, if not completely understood, is presented, the rest of the film flows naturally.

For myself, I appreciated the questions raised in the film as far as what would happen to someone if their soul was suddenly removed from their life. The movie suggests that there are changes, but no the ones you'd normally expect. The actor who is the central figure of the film doesn't become an evil Faustian character. He does say that once his soul is removed, he feels empty, but lighter. Beyond these vague descriptions, you are left to see the changes to his body and personality yourself, even if the actor isn't aware of them on a personal level.

All in all a good movie, but it would have been a great short film. They can't all be winners.

The Hurt Locker

Ted Puffer Review = 4 Stars

The only real reason I wanted to see this movie was because it was being billed as the greatest movie about the Iraq war created so far, and considering the duds which have hit the screen since the war started that's actually saying something. I knew it didn't have to be great, but it did have to be a generally good movie. And a good movie about Iraq is needed. Movies tend to let us crystallize our thinking about a topic, and the Iraq war is a heck of a topic in need of some clarification.
Also what attracted me was the idea that this was a fictional story. So while it may do nothing to actually explaining the war, it might be able to show real emotion and a broad theme surrounding the whole mess.
And it does.
The movie is surprising in that it doesn't have any tense moments. This is a movie that follows a bomb squad through their tour of duty, so you'd expect lots of ticking time-bombs and action against the clock. The movie has none of that.
What is does have is some great characters and some bewildered people not really sure why they're in a warzone, but happy to be there. Not happy in the normal sense of the word, but happy they are in a place they feel they should be in .

Not an easy subject, and an even more difficult emotion to convey in film. But brilliantly done, and making for a great movie.

Alice In Wonderland Movie Review

Ted Puffer rating = 2 or 3 stars.

I'll keep this brief because there are more in depth reviews available everywhere. Alice In Wonderland isn't as bad a movie as it should be. It should be terrible. It should have been a multi million dollar snore fest. But when all is said and done, it really wasn't that bad.

So I'll bump up my review to three stars.

The acting was fine, the special effects are good and the pacing of the movie moves right along. What keeps this film together is the story, which shocked me. It actually is a nice, tight little story that doesn't get bogged down or off track.

The real surprise is the fabled dance that Johnny Depp is supposed to dance when the Red Queen is finally defeated. The director is waving a red flag at this point telling the audience to expect a cinematic abomination which will embarrass all involved and their kin for years to come. When the ghastly scene finally crawls on to the screen, it's over before it's lumbering pretense has started. That in itself is a win.

Easter At Morongo Basin

I just returned from a birding trip to Morongo Basin and had a beautiful time outside. The wildlife sanctuary has a fantastic boardwalk that covers many trails throughout the valley and makes for a great hike. Boardwalks always seem artificial, and can sometimes keep you removed from the actual wildlife of the park, but this one is done so carefully that you don't realize that you're on a civilized path. You really do get the feeling that you're hiking through the desert.
Birds? Well, that's another story. It was blowing around like crazy today, so any birds that are in the area are nestled in reeds and nooks in the rock walls lining the canyon. So if I put together a bird list for this trip, it would be amazingly brief. I heard plenty of feathered fellows out there, but only saw one hummingbird and one hawk.
I identified the humming bird with pretty good certainty (black throated), but the hawk was gone before I could get a good bead on him with the binoculars. He wasn't riding a thermal, he was heading out to somewhere else. So he whipped by pretty quickly. I don't think it was a Merlin, but am not sure what he was exactly.

There are tree frogs in the area, and again I could hear them but didn't see them at all. I'm going to have to look for them next time.

There was a huge fire that raced through the canyon about 4 or 5 years ago, and there are still lots of signs from it wherever you look. Lots of black twigs and husks poke through the valley bottom and there's a slight smell of smoke that is evident around some bends. But the trees are making a comeback and the grounds are very lush. So although the fire was horrible it didn't decimate the reserve and the birds and critters are coming back.