Guilty Pleasure: Jumper

Yes, I admit it. I really like watching Doug Liman's Jumper, the 2008 critically panned sci-fi movie featuring Diane Lane, Hayden Christensen , and the ubiquitous Samuel L. Jackson.

Honestly? The movie pretty much sucked. Let's get that out right away. Special effects aside, the storyline really needed a lot of work. Oh wait...did you know it was based on a book?

A book so bad-ass, it basically should have been the storyline. The writers of Hollywood, in their status of knowing it all, decided that Steven Gould's novel needed spicing up and to be a convoluted confusing mass of "Why the heck did that happen?".

So why do I watch movie? Because I often find myself in a realm of Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda. The books, if you haven't read them ,really develop that thing called character. Yeah, I know; it's just not a pretty thing on screen. It's not like it's never been done before [cough Forrest Gump cough ] or has ever been successful [cough Bourne Identity cough], but what do I know?

The best part of the books? The sequel was equally good. Yeah, it was. What the movie lacked, the book easily addressed. The action of "jumping" was overplayed, in the thought that audiences would be swayed by magically disappearing and reappearing. Ask yourself this: Why are the Harry Potter and Twilight series so successful? The development of the characters. The movies themselves were easily written; they followed the original blueprint!

On second thought, don't watch the movie. It will basically piss you off and you'll rant to me about losing ninety minutes of your life. Spend a few hours and read Steven Gould's little gems about a young man against the world and how he/it is changed through the course of events.

If you watch the movie, you will feel guilty. I can't attest to any pleasure though.

Shazam!

Guilty Pleasure: Breaking Bad

It's not too often that I come across a show that I become engrossed in, but sometimes you find one with a truly interesting story.

Breaking Bad is an original series on AMC that I got hooked on about two years ago. The premise? Chemistry teacher gets diagnosed with terminal cancer, worries about his wife, unborn child, and handicapped son, and decides to start cooking meth.

"Whoa...!" you say. Yeah, obviously I really sped that up, but that's the whole thing of it. Imagine a dealer with scruples.

My wife laughs at the incredulity of the entire situation, but I wonder if it could happen. As a teacher, I seriously doubt that even a former teacher would go this route, but considering all the resources available to a teacher it's not that far of a stretch (but it's still a stretch). Even though I despise drug dealers, the storyline within this story really keeps me captivated

So, what are your thoughts about it? Stupid? Groundbreaking? Comments are always welcome.

If you've not had a chance to check it out, you can catch up at Watchbreakingbad.com or start off on Season 3 beginning tomorrow night.