Movie Critique: The Hangover 2

Dumb.

My criticism isn't even because it is exactly the same movie as the first one. It's because...The pacing was slow. The situations weren't funny. And well, that's it.

I do not recommend.

Movie Critique: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

My dad loved these movies, so growing up I watched the originals. They never really kept my interest, but then again I was young. We picked up "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes" from Redbox last night to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised to like it as much as I did. 

I believe this movie is meant to reboot the franchise, and is taking a more "science" based approach than "sci-fi"; in this franchise the apes get their intelligence from modern science in the form of experimental drugs. Obviously the film is still science fiction, but the plot is easy to swallow, no time travel or astronauts or spaceships. Another difference is that instead of using humans in make up to play the apes; motion capture CGI was used for the main chimpanzee, Caesar. Andy Serkis, was the man in motion capture suit, which has to make him an expert at this point, but my one criticism might be that I could see Gollum in Caesar. 

I once heard that good science fiction reflects social and/or political issues of the times, this movie meets that requirement, giving heed to advances in medicine and the fact that "some things aren't meant to be changed". Aside from it's moral, there are some real heart stirring moments when Caesar asks if he is just a pet and when the family Caesar has always known is taken away from him. 

I liked it. I recommend it. If you've seen it, let me know what you thought. 

My last project of 2011

So this was my first attempt at recovering a seat to a chair. This is something I helped my mom with once upon a time, I've seen on numerous TV shows, but never tried myself. Actually it's pretty easy, it's kinda like wrapping a present...in fabric...with a staple gun. Here's the break down--

1) Take an old chair. (I scored this one at a thrift store for $5.) Unscrew the seat from the legs.

I liked the chair right away, but the fabric just wasn't for me. 

2) Remove old fabric. Cut new fabric to about an 1-2 inches of overlap. I did two inches, but after it was all said and done I realized it didn't need to more than an inch of overlap. And, I actually cut the new fabric and a white piece of muslin, so I was attaching two layers to the chair. (I got my new fabric from Hobby Lobby with a gift card from the holidays; 2010 holidays to be exact.) Tip: When cutting the fabric make sure that you are getting the part of the pattern where you want it on the seat. 

3) Start by stapling a single staple in the "north" and "south". Fabric should be taut, but not stretched. 

4) Now do the same on the "east" and "west" side of the seat. Flip it over and take a peek. 

5) On to the corners. Staple the very corner at a diagonal. Again pull taut but do not stretch. 

6) Neatly pull to the left and right of the corner up, and staple. 

7) Finish up by stapling all along the edges, filling in from the corners to the first staples from steps 3 and 4. 

8) Reattach seat to chair, in this case with screws. 

While I did the re-upholstery, my hubby gave the chair a good cleaning with wood cleaner. Here's the end product...

Boom! A new chair I love for about $5. Perfect to go by the shoe and coat closet to put on those winter boots.