The Baby's Dresser Has Finally Arrived

Hey there. After waiting a for over a week, we finally got our baby's dresser. We ordered it last Saturday and we asked for it to be delivered the following Monday, the day I took off of work to be home to lay cement. I took that day off as a means to get some cement work done while I waited for the dresser to arrive. Well, I got a call from the delivery guy saying that he wasn't going to be able to deliver it since the dresser wasn't ready. That was very upsetting since I stayed home mainly to be there when the delivery was to be made. My wife was more upset that I was. I think it was because she's been itching to put some baby clothes away. I was upset too, but I wasn't as upset because I got some cement work done so it didn't feel like I wasted a day. The delivery guy agreed to deliver the next day, Tuesday, after 6. I agreed, since it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Well, it turned into a big deal.

Tuesday morning, my mother in law asks us if we would be available that evening to take out her mother (my wife's grandma) out to dinner. We told her we couldn't make it because we were expecting a delivery. When we get home, I call the guy to tell him I'm there and he can stop by when he's ready. He said that he would stop by. No more than 2 mins later, he calls me back and said that there was some kind of problem with the warehouse and he would not be able to deliver it. We were livid. We missed out on my wife's grandmother's dinner to be home for this guy and he wasn't going to show up. We were ready to cancel our order, we were that upset. The only reason we didn't is because we went through hell looking for it. We wanted a dresser that had drawers on one side and a closet on the other.

When we get home today, we see a guy sitting by a tree and another in a truck, and our dresser sitting on our lawn. We jump out of the car and the guys haul it in. After they place the dresser in the room, the delivery guy apologized for the inconveniences and started to place the blame on the warehouse people. I really didn't want to hear it. I was just glad we got it. There was a problem with it though... IT'S BIGGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED!!!

We carefully measured the room and furniture so that we knew exactly what we could get and how it would fit. Well, it turns out the dresser was about 6 inches longer than we thought. That completely threw off our plans... My wife was frustrated. She was looking forward to getting it and now there was something wrong. We decided that we would not use the dresser for the baby and give to our youngest one and use the old dresser for the baby. We didn't want to do that, but that's the best that we could do, considering the situation.

Now, everything is in place and the clothes has been transferred and put away. We are both tired and we'll most likely be getting some sleep soon. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning... I'll give you guys an update then. Later!

Orphan - A Film Review

Hey there. This weekend, my wife and I treated ourselves to a movie. My wife is not a horror buff. She's not one to go out and look for a "scary movie" to watch and any film of that nature that she does watch is because I wanted to see it. One such film is Orphan. I was captivated by the movie posters and commercials and I knew that I wanted to catch this film. An opportunity presented itself this weekend while my mother in law watched the kids.

***WARNING!!! SPOILERS BELOW***

I must admit that the advertising for this film sucked me in. As previously stated in this post , I asked the question if this film will follow suit of other films like The Good Son or The Omen. The advertising definitely made it seem that way, with the majority of it focusing on Esther and her "secret". Upon seeing the film, I am glad to say that the movie wasn't so much about Esther, but just as much about the family in the film.

The film is a refreshing in the sense that it did not follow the typical format of a horror film. A typical horror film will showcase the antagonist killing off various characters in the film, while the protagonist goes about and discovers the identity, or weakness, of the antagonist. While the film does have it's path that will label it as horror, the film really shines when it comes to the actors and their portrayal of the characters. It is great to have a film where the characters are well developed. You feel for these people as for what they have gone through by the brilliant acting. You have the cheating husband in John (Peter Sarsgaard) that tries to wrong his right, you have the ex-alcoholic mother Kate (Vera Farmiga) who continues to battle those demons, you have the over zealous and negligent son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett), you have a partially deaf child Max (Aryana Engineer)(which may or may not have been cause by her mother) and then you have the problematic "child" in Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). This is not your happy-super-go-lucky family. This is a family that has issues and had issues before we were introduced to them. Esther did not cause these problems, she merely added on and intensified what was already in disarray. Esther's character is not so much as the "kill 'em" type as she is more the master manipulator. Such as when she hugs her daddy extra tight while staring at Daniel with a slight smirk on her face. Your first glimpse into who Esther really is.
The script is so well written and the characters so well played that the film earns a great rating on that alone. Being that this is a horror film, you do not generally see great acting and horror in the same sentence, yet this film pulls it off beautifully. Not to mention to the great cinematography. The camera angles are perfect and the scenery only amplifies the senses. As Esther walks down the cold, icy snow, it doesn't help but illuminate that cold, stark stare that Esther does oh so well. Another great shot that showcases such control of her facial expressions is that during the hospital scene. As Daniel is fighting for his life, due to Esther's misdeeds, she puts on her sweet child act to her grandmother. Once she receives the money to go get a soda, she gets up and walks towards the hallway. A beautiful smile crosses her face, as any child would have after getting what they wanted, but the moment Esther walks past the window and her grandmother could not see her, the smile vanishes without a trace and that cold stare is full front and center. These are the shots that make the movie so great.

Max is another character who is vital to the movie's success. Because she is deaf, she has learned to read lips and uses sign language. Esther manipulates her younger sister to read lips and tell her what's going on when Esther cannot hear. Considering Max always wanted a younger sister, she covers for Esther when she witnesses Esther in full fledged evil. Another strong point in regards to Max is her character development. As a deaf child, you'd figure that the film will follow suit with many other films and place Max as a character with a serious disability. On the contrary, we see Max grow stronger as the film goes on. As a timid child who is shy to hug her new sister Esther, to a child that is capable of knowing that her mother's life is in her hands and is firing a pistol. Another great aspect that was very well played by the filmmakers are the silent scenes. Max wears a hearing aid, since she is partially deaf, and when we see that she takes them off, the film goes silent. This is used to GREAT effect... Especially well done, right before Esther attempts to seduce John.
Kate's character could be considered the protagonist of the film. Some may argue that it would be Max, since Max is the character that develops the most during the film. When Kate claims that "there must be something wrong with Esther", the whole world looks down on her and chalks it up to Esther being a child in transition. She battles through her demons throughout the film and nearly relapses back to drinking. Everyone ignores Kate's concerns and she, and the audience, feel as if she is alone in her attempt to uncover Esther's past. Esther manipulates the facts to make Kate almost a non-factor until the end of the film when she is the only one left to take actions on her findings. A great scene that highlights these frustrations explodes during the hospital scene. Esther wasn't really going to get a soda, she was going to finish off Daniel in his hospital bed. Max, realizing that Esther is taking longer than needed, told her grandma that she was going to get Esther. When she sees that Esther is not at the soda machine, she runs to her mother and tells her to check on Daniel. At that moment, an emergency alarm is set off in Daniel's room, since he flat lined due to Esther suffocating him with a pillow. As the family is being kept out of Daniel's room, Kate runs off to Esther. Seeing that Esther is walking with a soda, Kate runs up to her and unleashes her pent up anger and strikes Esther, knocking her down in front of the medical staff. Great stuff!

This is definitely a movie that you need to see. The script is very well acted out and the tension builds slowly, but when it explodes, the climax is gratifying. It's not a disappointment (*cough *cough The Happening *cough *cough) or expected. The scene that brings it all together was original. Again, hints are scattered throughout the film and when it brings it all together, you think back at those hints. A great example of this is when Esther is flickering her black light on and off. You only see that cold stare appearing and reappearing as she turns that light on and off. Later in the film, you understand why... She was admiring her work. Being an artist, she painted with such skill that it generated much attention. Seen through normal light, they look normal. When a black light is held against them, they display a grotesque painting. Special emphasis on her "orphanage". A beautiful painting of her orphanage in Russia turned to one engulfed in flames when the black light is held against it. It was a great way to display both sides of Esther is an extremely creative way.
Again, I greatly enjoyed Orphan. If you are looking for a new breath of fresh air in the horror genre, you definitely need to check this out. It's a nice contrast to have a well scripted and well acted horror film. "There's something wrong with Esther", and there's definitely something wrong with you if you do not go and see this film. Later.

Laying Cement

Hey there. Dead tired. Layed cement all day. Im just lying in bed for the rest of the day. I took the day off today from work so that I could stay home and work. I've been meaning to get it done since forever. I just never got around to it. Well, it finally happened. I killed a good 6 or so hours out in my back yard taking care of business. Next project coming up is putting up my shed. That should be up in a week or so. Here are some pics of what went down at my back yard. Yup, I mixed the cement using a plant pot and a shovel. You can't say I'm not resourceful. lol Later.

Orphan is a Great Film

Hey there. My wife and I went to see Orphan today. What a film. I greatly enjoyed it. I'll post a review of it tomorrow. But I can definitely say that it's one of my favorite films of the year so far. Later.

Baby Voltron or Baby Gizmo?

Hey there. My wife came up with the great idea of getting our soon to be little one retro stuff from when we were kids. She asked me what was some of the cartoons I watched as a kid and we can pick something from there. I named out a few shows and then it dawned on me... VOLTRON! We should sooo get a Voltron thing going on. That show was simply just bad ass. My wife said, "Good luck finding a diaper bag with Voltron on it." She's right. I can't find one anywhere. Damn! That sucks. As I was searching for "retro merchandise" I stumbled across a Gizmo satchel bag. You know Gizmo, right? The little guy from the movie Gremlins? He used to say something along the lines of "Mogwai". lmao Anyways, I showed it my wife and she liked it too. Now, we're on mission on finding either a Gizmo diaper bag or a Voltron one. Both are old school characters and we hope that we can find a shop somewhere that sells what we are looking for. If you guys see anything, let me know! Thanks. Later.

There's Something Wrong with Esther

Hey there. How can you NOT want to see this movie? I'm a horror and thriller film buff and there is just something about this flick that has caught my attention. The advertising for this film is spot on. Everything from the tag line "There's something wrong with Esther" to the freaky ass posters all over the city. I'll be driving by and out of the corner of my eye, I see the movie poster and it's Esther, giving me a stare down. It brings shivers to see a child with such a cold stare.

The movie comes out in theaters today and my wife and I are going to try and catch it this weekend. We don't really go out to the theaters as much as we would like. I want to say it's mostly because we don't see many movies that catch our attention. Even if they are movies for the kids, if they don't seem to excited about it, we don't see it. Well, not until I can rent it on Netflix. lol I'm kinda glad that the kids are leaning towards my love of fright. I've caught them watching Ghost Hunters on TV and the little one always asks if the movie we're watching is a "scary movie". If we answer yes, she tends to stick around and watch. lol I don't mind the kids watching stuff like that, as long as it's not overly gruesome or violent. There's no way they'll be watching Hotel or Turistas or anything like that.

Anyways, The Orphan somewhat reminds me of other films in which the child actor is NOT portrayed as innocent. Such great films as The Omen, where Damien is the son of the devil, or The Good Son, where Frodo and Macaulay Culkin represent good and evil respectively. Both of these movies hangs the question, "What would you do if it was your child?" I have a sense that The Orphan may follow suit and ask that question to the reader. From what is shown on TV, the film doesn't seem to go for cheap scares, so it's natural to assume that psychological and ethical questions are going to drive this film. If we get a chance to see this, I'll definitely be posting my comments and thoughts on this film. Until then, there's something wrong with Esther.... Uh, I mean, later. lol