So right now I'm working on catching up with all the movies I haven't seen. I haven't gotten very far. However, I am not dissuaded. It'll just take me a little time, that's all. Thus far:

I was very much impressed by this movie. I had no idea what to expect going into it -  I had read the review in the Star Trib (which had nothing but good things to say), desired to see the film, and then promptly forgot about it for a few weeks. Until Father's Day rolled around and we needed a family movie. This is not a family movie. I think my mother is slightly scarred from seeing this film. I adored it. My dad also enjoyed it, but definitely exaggerated his delight upon seeing how much praise I had for the film. Whatever.

Anyway, let me begin by saying I'm not much of a Colin Farrell fan. His roles just never quite did it for me. Here, I was blown away. Farrell was the perfect choice for the totally neurotic, cynical, spazzy Ray. Brendan Gleeson's character Ken was the ideal counterweight for crabby Ray. Round, cuddly-looking, friendly and pleasant. You wouldn't peg either of them as assassins. I don't want to say too much about the plot and I know already that this is a totally crap review, but as the film continued, I was more and more impressed by how deeply into the human psyche director Martin McDonagh was willing to delve. Battles between right and wrong, ethics versus selfishness, and l

ife and death are waged freely throughout the film. Topped off with a beautiful beautiful ending that left me nearly speechless, this film was one that won't leave my mind for quite some time. 

Favorite Character: Chloe - played by Clemence Poesy (from Harry Potter 4)

Favorite Line: "Well, here we are in a room with two manky hookers and a racist dwarf." -Ken

Favorite Moment: Ray karate chops Jimmy the midget in the neck. Classy.

Another pleasant surprise. Although I was told many a time before seeing this movie that it was absolutely hysterical, I still had my doubts. Luckily, I was not disappointed in any way. The plot itself is fairly basic. Fatass panda accidentally/on purpose becomes the savior-to-be for a good chunk of China. Problem: he's a fatass and has no clue what he's doing. Other problem: his dad wants him to go into the noodle business. Other other problem: the bad guy is friggin diesel as hell. And pissed. In short, Po the panda  (Jack Black, hilarious as always) figures things out and saves everybody, uttering "skadoosh" simultaneously. Go figure. What really impressed me was how the film catered to such a large demographic. Kids, teens, adults, grandparents. I saw them all there and they were along side me, laughing their asses off at every twist and turn of the film. That is the mark of a good cartoon film. A universal audience. Cheers Mark Osborne and John Stevenson.

Favorite Character: Shifu - voiced by Dustin Hoffman, no idea what kind of animal he was. 

Favorite Line: "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." -Oogway

Favorite Moment: Tai Lung zapping Po and Po saying "I'm going to pee" and rolling around laughing. Backfire.

Nothing relating in any way to film.

I actually just needed a place to put Jonathon's lyrics so I wouldn't forget/lose them. 

Track 1:

I'm afraid of injury, cause this hill's too steep and I'm going down fast

Cat scratch, won't last, guess I never had a chance

Living in a world where everybody's getting something somewhere.

You're telling me I gotta be a little more aggressive 

When I'm passive in my nature

And I could never be anything else with you.

I don't know why I'm not singing other women songs

I know you're with another but we really seem to get along together.

Track 2:

Once I knew a man who carved angels out of stone

He was paid for his creations but it chills me to the bone

Drank it all away, put his family on the line

His hands work for the lord but his liver works for wine.

Grandfather and daddy, where did you go wrong?

Grandfather and daddy, I hope I don't end up just like this song.

Once I knew a man whose heart was broke when he was two

His poppa died and this guy didn't know just what to do

His mother left him in a bar with her alcoholic friends

From the day she left him, ____ he'd never feel again.

Grandfather and daddy, where did you go wrong?

Grandfather and daddy,  I hope I don't end up just like this song.

Track 3:

ask Jonathon.

Track 4:

I live in a state of preventative arrest, political distress

The emperor's undressed but no one wants to tell him so.

A woman on the street asked if I'd offer her a ride, if I wanted a good time

I didn't have a dime to spare so I kept moving on

The men are in the deserts and the ships are out to sea, the prisons have no key

It's hard to see but I think this life will be the death of me

Oh good god on high have mercy on my soul

Oh good god on high have mercy on my soul, on my soul

I try my best to breathe but it gets harder every day, I'm out of things to say

There's not a lot of money left and no place left to stay

It's raining all the time, seems I've never seen the sun

I'm not foolin' anyone

I'm going nowhere fast and where I am's where I've begun

Track 5: 

I always offer to pick you up and give you a ride

You always say you're not going my way anymore

And I don't know how I'll get out of this town with my life

Three rounds left to go I don't know if I'm up to a fight.

You told me that lately you were thinking of taking your life

When I asked where you rolled over and went back to sleep

And then I could tell it had all gone to hell a while back

Try as we may seems that we just can't pick up the slack.

Well you don't keep secrets you never look back

You're never afraid to be bold

It kills me to think that there's no chance in hell

So I throw my cards in now and fold.

And cigarettes stink through the vents in my bathroom at five

God it's too early and I'm no more awake than alive.

And I don't know why but I can't get you off of my mind

I guess it's just women like you are the hardest to find.

You don't keep secrets you never look back

You're never afraid to be bold

It kills me to think that there's no chance in hell

So I throw my cards in now and fold.

I might as well tell you these things that I feel for you're gone (?)

Any excuse just to write you another damn song.

Track 6: 

I'm on my own with the pain in my head

I either wish you were here or I wish I were dead.

These pills work just fine but give me pretty strange dreams

Seems I'm losing my mind but things are worse than they seem.

I'll take you to the bottle and you can stay with me awhile where there's no morning

I'll take you by the hand and show you rings in hell you never seen before

The man in the box (?) said things are gonna change 

But the hole in my heart always seems to stay the same.

I heard you're bleeding again, I'm glad to know I'm not alone

If you need a bandage, babe, you know I'm always home.

I'll take you to the bottle and you can stay with me awhile where there's no morning

I'll take you by the hand and show you rings in hell you never seen before

I'm on my own with the pain in my head

I either wish you were here or I wish I were dead. 

Track 7: 

ask Jonathon.

Track 8: 

(radio intro)

Highways got nothing on the side streets where everybody moves a little slower

Small town, big hearts, white picket fence, nobody locks their doors

And real life's got nothin on the movies where everything works out fine

Everybody's beautiful in those picture perfect endings, everybody drinks expensive wine.

But these pills got nothing on the oxygen, flows through my blood to my brain

Living life from both sides now and nothing feels the same.

[break, new melody thing]

I got time and time's got me, I still gotta make a lot of history

And travel round the world and the seven seas, I'll die too soon and I'll cease to be.

I'm gonna cease to be (x4)

Gonna start a war gonna catch a disease, I'll hang around your ____ with ____ Japanese

I'll wear a pair of socks that goes up to my knees, I'll die too soon and I'll cease to be.

I'm gonna cease to be (x4)

Track 9:

ask Jonathon.