Sweet Land

Yesterday was another busy day, probably my busiest of the week. However, I am proud to say I fit in another 20 miles. I could not achieve the resistance level I did yesterday and it took me about 3 minutes longer. Usually that would bother me, however I am not going to focus on the little things but the whole picture. I am finding my "Zone" and once that hits I have no trouble making it to the end.

The movie I chose yesterday was "Sweet Land", directed by Ali Selim. This romance had a few big names such as Elizabeth Reaser ( Twightlight Series), Tim Guinee, Alan Cumming, John Heard, Ned Beatty and Alex Kingston (ER). The experience of these actors were evident, as the quality of the acting was above average. I love the pairing of Reaser (Inge) and Guinee (Olaf). Alan Cumming added a nice quirkiness to his character, Frandsen. Elizabeth Reaser was nominated for the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for her role in this film.

Set in the 1920's, this is a love story between a Inge, a mail order bride, and Olaf, a Norwegian-American farmer. Inge travels to rural Minnesota to marry a farmer she has never laid eyes on. She comes with hopes and dreams but is met with prejudice and rejection from the townspeople who see her as a political and social threat. This is a story of love, strength, prejudice, perseverance and human nature. The subplots of friendship, family ties and the love of land only add to the quality of this movie and storyline. The writer and director successfully incorporated so many subplots without losing the integrity of the main storyline.

The camera work was wonderful and allowed the viewers to enjoy the beauty of the Midwest. The editing enhanced the ability of the viewer to connect with the characters of the film.

I found myself comparing the time of the 1920's to the political/social issues of today. I also found myself warming up to the characters early in the movie, especially Inge. This movie may have borderline slow and slightly boring if it had not been for Alan Cumming's portrayal of the loveable Frandsen.

Ebert & Ropert gave this a 2 thumbs up. My grade is a solid A. Simply loved it...

Godspeed (4/26/10)

I did not come close to meeting my goal last week. I am disappointed in myself, but also have to consider my schedule. We had a huge surprise party for the boys and that took a lot of time, energy and planning. I planned to make up some miles on Sunday, but just could not get myself off the couch. Monday started a new week, with the same goal...100 miles.

I was going to start out slow and log in 15-18 miles considering the few days off. However, I felt pretty good as the "ride" progressed, so I went for 20. I also increaded the resistance for part of the ride. I mix it up to keep it interesting. The highest resistance to date is 5. It felt good to be able to push it again.

The movie I chose was Godspeed directed by Robert Saitzyk. This movie falls under the Indie Suspence & Thriller category.

Godspeed is a slow moving story of vengeance and murder. Set in Alaska, this movie provides decent camera work allowing the viewer to enjoy the beauty of this state. The acting was on the better side of average. This movie lacked a decent storyline, however. It appears the writer attempted to combine all that makes for great thriller and crammed it into this film without rhyme or reason. The overt religious themes was not complete enough for it to have an impact. The initial crime of vengeance had the potential to make for a great thriller, but one important ingredient was missing, the suspense. There was nothing in this movie that needed to be "figured out" Everything was given to you as the movie slowly played out.

Long story short, Charlie (Joseph McKelheer) was a cheating "faith healer" who wife and son were murdered while he was with a hooker. The crime was carried out by Luke (Cory Knauf) and his mentally incompetent follower. The murders were carried out to avenge the death of Luke's mother, who went to Charlie to be "healed" and died shortly after of cancer, which lead to the suicide of his father. The majority of the movie is set 6 months after the murders when Luke's sister, Sarah (Courtney Halverson) brings Charlie to their rural compound. As the movie unfolded I kept waiting for something big to happen, something to tie everything together. It never came.

The only redeeming value of this movie was the acting skills of Cory Knauf. My grade for this movie is a C-. If you have a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do, it may be worth a watch.

Fetching Cody (2005)

Today I set the goal for 25 miles. I expected the first three miles to be difficult, but expected to be securely "in the zone" by mile 6. Mile 6 never came. I struggled through each and every mile. I have to say there was nothing enjoyable about the ride. I usually have a great sense of euphoria after such an accomplishment, but that was not the case today. I pretty much had the "I am glad it is over" kind of feeling. I am hoping this will change. I did make it to the 25 mile mark, but it took about 10 minutes longer than yesterday. My legs felt weak throughout the ride and I just felt palin worn out. I know I may be pushing it, but a I have this goal in mind and I am bound and determined to meet it. I just kept reminding myself of the words I told a friend last night "Just push through it..."

Unfortunately, I picked a bomb of a movie. This movie did not make this ride any easier, in fact it added to the torture. Directed by David Ray, this Canadian movie was a cheap rip off of "The Butterfly Effect". This movie was based on a young man's (Art) desperate attempt to save his girlfriend (Cody) after life on the streets catches up with her and she ends up in a coma. Art attempts this by traveling back in time on a time travel recliner to change the course of events. I should have known this movie was going to suck when Art travels back to Cody's gym class to give her a tampon to prevent an embarrassing gym class moment. The movie did not get better, only cheesier. It was obviously a cheap rip off of "The Butterfly Effect", which was released a year prior. It even had a very similiar resolution at the end.

The acting was poor overall. However, the lead male, Jay Baruchel did go on to appear in several bigger flicks (Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder, and She's not that into you).

I would grade this movie a D. It was not the worst movie I have ever seen, but it was definately in the bottom 25. I would not waste my time on this movie.

Brick Lane (4/20/10)

Today it was my goal to log in 25 miles on the bike. I really want to hit my goal of 100 miles this week. Of course it is a very busy week. I realistically only have 4-5 days to bike. Prior to today, I have pedaled 20 miles maximum. I am finding that the first 3 miles are the hardest. Once I hit 5 miles, I get into a zone. Today I reached 25 miles!! I also reached a resistance of 4 for the first time. I try to vary the resistance to give my legs a workout and breaks throughout my ride. I did struggle the last 3 miles, but logged in the 25 miles I wanted!! I was surprisingly not as tired as I thought I would be afterward.

The movie of the day was Brick Lane (PG-13). If I were to give this movie a grade, it would be an A-. This movie was produced in the UK and was never a box office hit in the US.

This movie is about a beautiful child bride from Bangladesh, Nazneen. Her marriage to a middle-aged man was arranged by her father and she was sent to reside in London with her new husband. She left behind her younger sister, a very important relationship in her life. This movie struck a cord with me, as my sisters are intertwined in my soul. Throughout the movie, letters are exchanged between the sisters. The letters demonstrate the vast differences in their lives and spirit. However, as the movie progresses these differences lessen.

The movie rapidly fast forwards to about 20 years into Nazneen's life in London. There are so many minor plots interwoven into this drama. There is the story of raising 2 daughters in a culture that conflicts with the parents. There is the story of an arranged marriage of 2 strangers (even 20 years later) and a forbidden love. Nazneen speaks of these 2 loves, one that is so strong, but burns quickly and one that develops so slowly over time that you do not realize it exists. There is the story of a woman coming to terms with the many conflicts in her life. The ending was actually unexpected and touching.

The lead actress in this movie is Tannishtha Chatterjee (Nazneen) is incredibly beautiful. She embraced the quiet nature of her character. Satish Kaushik pakyed the role of Chanu, Nazneen's sometimes bumbling husband. It was hard not to feel sorry for this man. He was not the love of Nazneen's life, but he was a good husband and tried to be a good provider. Christopher Simpson played the role of Karim, a young Eastern Indian struggling to be a Muslim in a very turmuluous time.

Brick Lane may move slowly at times, but is well worth watching from beginning to end. I strongly reccomend it for a lazy Sunday afternoon. If I would compare this to another movie it would be the Eastern Indian "The Color Purple"

Introduction

Recently I set a goal for myself to log in 75-100 miles a week on my exercise bike. I want to regain my figure and simply get into shape. Staying motivated is the most difficult part of this journey. I have a long history of beginning on the road to fitness, by always fall off the path.

Shortly after beginning this biking routine, I began catching up on movies (mostly Indies) to help distract my mind from exertion of my body. It helped! I found myself recommending more and more movies to others. Blogging is the perfect way to reccomend (or not) the movies I have seen. It also will keep my accountable for my journey to fitness.

I have changed my work schedule, going in bright and early. I leave mid afternoon and pedal until the boys get home. Over the past few weeks I have gone from biking 5 miles to reaching up to 25 per day. I have yet to reach the 100 mile mark in a weeks time. I am close this week, currently at 50 miles. Although the scale has not moved in the downward direction as fast as I would like, it is going down. However, I am beginning to see changes in my body shape...for the better. I am struggling with tiredness and fatigue, but am determined to push through it.

I hope my readers will find value in my movie reviews and my journey. I also hope you all will hold me accountable as I "Pedal Through the Indies"!!