"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" Movie Review

I'm going to start with a disclaimer that this will be a long movie review as there is a vast quantity of information to cover.  Lets get started.  I have been a fan of Harry Potter ever since the first book came out and I can say I am glad to see it come to an end in the final movies just because it has had its time in the lime light and its time to move on.  While the books are way better than the movies the movies are still good.  But anyway on to the review.  In the first installment of the final chapter in the life of Harry Potter the adventures have an especially somber and scary coloration, as these friends are cast out from the protective surroundings of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into a grown-up world of peril that test the independence they have struggled to obtain under the eyes of their teachers.  There is no time for quidditch, school uniforms, or classroom pranks and adult supervision has all but vanished.  Albus Dumbledore is dead, and though Hagrid and Mad-Eye Moody offer some assistance early on, Harry and his companions must rely on the kindness of house elves, on their own newly mastered wizarding skills and, above all, on one another.  This is especially difficult because of the rivalry for Hermione that has always simmered between Harry and Ron, has finally bubbled to the surface along with the resentment that Ron feels for being the "sidekick"to the Chosen One.  Hermione seems lonelier than ever because she has left her Muggle parents entirely, erasing herself from their memories to prevent them from being caught up in the war between the wizards.  For most of the movie Voldemort's forces are very much in ascendant.  Lord Voldemort is after Harry and his comrades because he wants to finish what he started 17 years ago and kill Harry once and for all.  Harry is also after Voldemort and wants him dead because of the murder of his parents.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione are after the horcruxes which contain part of the soul of Voldemort and in order to kill him they must destroy the horcruxes first which proves to be a difficult task until they discover the Sword of Griffendor at the bottom of a frozen lake.  The sword allows the horcruxes to be destroyed with easy.  During their journey to find the remaining horcruxes they discover a strange sign that is where the movies obtains part of the title "Deathly Hallows."  The story of the Deathly Hallows is portrayed in an animated short that is inserted into the film where Hermione narrates.  It is actually quite interesting.  The Deathly Hallows tie into what Voldemort is doing throughout the flashbacks that Harry experiences.  While I would love to tell you more about the movie I feel it would give away more than I already have and leave you knowing to much as you watch the movie.  This is a great movie and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

"Despicable Me" Movie Review

I literally just finished watching this movie with Chantel and Aspen and it was fantastic!  If you have kids I would recommend it because they will love it and it is great for the parents as well!  Steve Carell has done it again!  But anyway on to the review.  In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn and no fences and it towers over the other houses.  But unknown to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout.  Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru, planning the biggest heist in the history of the world.  Dr. Gru is going to steal the moon!  Gru delights in all things wicked.  Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way including the up and coming villain Vector who is threatening his job as the worlds best villain.  But then one day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.  The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.  This movie is a great cartoon and family movie that I strongly recommend!

"The Last Song" Movie Review

Okay...I know what your thinking.  "Why in the world would a guy watch a movie with Miley Cyrus in it?"  And I totally agree with you.  It's almost as bad as a grown, adult woman watching the Twilight movies.  But for the sake of this movie review lets just pretend I like Miley Cyrus...but I don't.  Anyway Chantel and I sat down to watch this movie one night a few weeks back and I was surprised that the movie was actually worth watching.  Miley Cyrus' character "Ronnie" is a girl that got in trouble with the law and her parents are divorced so to get her out of the scene for a while her mom sends her and her brother, Jonah, to their fathers house for the summer.  Immediately upon arrival Ronnie gets in with the wrong crowd by becoming friends with a local girl that is nothing but trouble.  Ronnie goes and hangs out with her friend and her friends boyfriend (confusing I know) but he makes a move on Ronnie but that makes Ronnie mad and she leaves.  But her friend saw this happen and it made her mad so when she runs into Ronnie in a local store she slips something in Ronnie's purse and she immediately gets caught and they think she stole it which she really didn't.  But in the mean time of all this happening Ronnie meets a boy.  I know thats always where the trouble lies right?  But this guys doesn't seem so bad until Ronnie finds out that he is really the son of a very wealthy family and that his family doesn't really approve of him dating a girl like Ronnie.  In the middle Ronnie and her family having the time of their life, along with Ronnie's boyfriend Will, Ronnie's father passes out and is rushed to the hospital where the discover some awful and heartbreaking news.  But I'm not telling you what that is because that would ruin the movie.  Needless to say this movie was great and I would watch it over again and I strongly recommend that you see it yourself.  Thanks for reading and enjoy the movie!

"Dinner For Schmucks" Movie Review

Last night Chantel had a church event to attend so I stayed home with Aspen.  I got bored after she got tired of playing with me so I decided to find a movie for Chantel and I to watch in bed that night.  I chose this movie thinking anything with Steve Carell would be funny and played Xbox until Chantel got home.  When we finally made it to bed we started watching the movie.  "Dinner for Schmucks."  A man named Tim, played by Paul Rudd, is a business man trying to make his way to the 7th floor where all the other big shots are.  He gets his chance when one of the guys gets fired and seizes the opportunity to try to take that position.  In a meeting he presents an idea that gets the bosses attention but Tim is soon let down because the boss lets another guy head up that idea.  As Tim is leaving his boss, Fender, calls him in an office.  Its the office of the guy that was fired that morning.  The boss and a few co-workers tell him how good this office is for him and just when he thinks the job is his he finds out the has been invited to a dinner.  The dinner has two purposes: 1. so the boss can get to know Tim a little better and 2. each person invited has to bring an idiot with him so they can make fun of the idiot.  Tim agrees to the dinner but when he tells his girl friend about it but she is less than pleased.  The following morning Tim is headed to work and he hits some guy with his Porsche.  Who is this guy?  None other than Barry, played by Steve Carell.  Barry is a mouse taxidermist and works for the IRS.  Since meeting Barry and inviting him to dinner Tim's life has gone crazy, all thanks to Barry.  This movie is hilarious and I recommend it because it gave me lots of laughs and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and everybody needs some times like that.  Enjoy!

Michael Jr. At James River Assembly

Last night we attended the Michael Jr. Comedy Show at James River Assembly with some of our friends, Steve and Nicole Lopez, and it was one of the best comedy shows I have ever seen.  He kept all of his jokes clean and related most of his jokes to God or a Biblical message.  Michael Jr. is truly changing the way comedy is done and brings hundreds if not thousands of people to Christ while doing it.  He uses comedy as a ministry by traveling to places that most people won't go.  He made a documentary about the travels titled "Comedy: The Road Less Traveled" and I haven't seen it yet but the trailer was enough to bring tears to a persons eye just seeing how he is touching peoples lives.  I would recommend that if Michael Jr. comes to your town or near you to go see him or even watch him on Comedy Central because he is a truly life changing person.

"Christmas With The Kranks" Movie Review

"Christmas with the Kranks"  is a great family Christmas movie!  For the first time, Luther Krank (Tim Allen) and his wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) are about to celebrate the holidays without their daughter Blair, who has just left for the Peace Corps in Peru. Luther sees a Caribbean cruise poster in a Chicago travel agency window, and he begins to plan the trip. First he must see how he will pay for the trip, so he comes up with an idea that if they skipped Christmas, they could go. He will save money by not buying a tree, having a party, or putting up decorations. The neighbors think he is crazy and want him to at least put Frosty the Snowman on his roof for the local decoration contest. The battle begins between the Kranks and their neighbors. Then Blair calls and tells her parents that she is flying home for Christmas with her fiancée. They have twenty-four hours to put up all the decorations and prepare for the Christmas party. This is a must see holiday movie!

"Clash Of The Titans" Movie Review

If I had to describe this movie in one word it would be "WOW!"  This movie is a great choice for the people that like the movies that have some kind of historical background to them.  Which Chantel and I both love.  This is a story about the son of Zeus, Perseus, who is on a quest to defeat Hades because he killed his parents.  I know what you are thinking, "Wait...didn't he just say his dad was Zeus?  Hades killed Zeus?"  No.  Perseus had family on earth that adopted him because he didn't find out that Zeus was his father until much later in life.  But anyway Hades killed his parents because the humans angered the Gods and Zeus told Hades to release the Kraken and destroy the city of Argos.  The Kraken is this huge creature that a human alone cannot defeat so it is up to Perseus to destroy him so he can defeat Hades.  I can't tell you much more without spoiling the movie so the last thing I will tell you is that Perseus had a little help from Medusa ;)  Enjoy the movie!

"A Christmas Carol" Movie Review

A few evenings ago we watched the new animated movie "A Christmas Carol" starring Jim Carrey.  Let me start out by saying that Disney delivered yet another classic movie that is a must see this holiday season.  The story is the same story that everyone heard growing up and is one of my favorite Christmas stories of all time and until now there has not been a play, movie, or anything else truly capture the meaning and also be a good show.  It is about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge and he is a miser by definition.  He hates spending money and would rather see people die or starve than have to give them any of his money.  But most importantly he hates Christmas with a passion.  All of his hatred, greed, and anger earned him a visit by his old business partner, Marley, who died 7 years earlier.  Marley warns him that he will be visited by 3 ghosts: The Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future.  Scrooge is shocked by the visits but his he shocked enough by what the ghosts' told him that he will change his life?  Will money loose its value in Scrooge's eye?  Watch and find out!  Merry Christmas!

Bill Engvall at Springfield, MO

So last night Chantel and I went and seen Bill Engvall at the O'rielly Family Event Center in Springfield thanks to KGBX giving out some free tickets and it was and excellent time!  Bill Engvall was fantastic and super funny but the guy opening for him was not even close to being funny.  If you ask me his joke were either rude or just not funny at all and he was jumping around the stage like he was high on drugs thankfully we only had to listen to him for 30 minutes before Bill came out.  Before Bill started his jokes I was wondering what jokes he was going to do and if they were ones I had heard before and I was thinking just how funny can they be when you have heard them like 20 times but his whole show was jokes I had never heard before until the end when he did the "Here's Your Sign" joke and then I only heard 2 that I had heard before and they were still very funny.  All in all it was a great, fun filled evening and I had a great time with my wife.  I would recommend that everybody go see Bill Engvall even if you have to drive hours to do so.

"Eagle Eye" Movie Review

Last night we watched "Eagle Eye" and I can safely say it is a good movie worth watching.  It starred Shia and Michelle Monaghan.  The hardest part for me about movies starring Shia LaBeouf is every time I see him it's hard to take him as a serious role since he started as that kid from "Even Stevens" and "Holes."  But in his defense he did a great job in this movie.  Here is my review.  Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is an amiable slacker with an over-achieving twin brother.  After his twin brother dies in a car accident, strange things start happening to Jerry very quickly: a fortune shows up is his normally empty bank account, military grade weapons are delivered to his apartment, and a voice on his cell phone tells him the police are going to be at his door in 30 seconds to arrest him.  The voice tells Jerry to follow her instructions, Jerry does not and he is arrested.  The voice breaks him out of the FBI holding and now Jerry begins to follow the instructions the voice gives.  Soon Jerry meets a woman (Michelle Monaghan) that is following instructions from the same voice and they begin racing through the city, on to a cargo plane, and eventually to the Pentagon and Capitol Building all while being chased by the FBI.  Her name is Rachel Holloman, a single mom and the voice has threatened her son's death if she doesn't cooperate with the instructions given.  The voice on the other end seems to know everything about these two people but who is behind this voice?  What is being planned? Why Jerry and Rachel?  Watch "Eagle Eye" to find out!

"The Patriot" Movie Review

A couple of days ago Chantel & I watched "The Patriot" and sadly it was the first time I had ever sat down and watched the movie start to finish.  Needless to say I was throughly impressed!  This is a fantastic movie that mixes action, historical fact, and a good story line all together with out it going overboard.  The film mainly takes place in South Caroline and depicts the story of an American swept into the American Revolutionary War when his family is threatened.  The main character is Benjamin Martin, played by Mel Gibson, and he is a classic family man.  I wife died years ago and he was left to raise 7 children on his own: Gabriel, Thomas, Margret, Susan, Nathan, Samuel and William.  Benjamin Martin is a French-Indian war hero who is haunted by his past, now wants nothing more then to live peacefully on his small plantation, and wants no part of a war with the most powerful nation in the world, Great Britain. Meanwhile, his two eldest sons, Gabriel and Thomas, can't wait to enlist in the newly formed "Continental Army." When South Carolina decides to join the rebellion against England, Gabriel immediately signs up to fight...without his father's permission. But when Colonel William Tavington, British dragoon, infamous for his brutal tactics, comes and burns the Martin Plantation to the ground, tragedy strikes. Benjamin quickly finds himself torn between protecting his family, and seeking revenge along with being a part of the birth of new, young, and ambitious nation.  I could write tons more about this fantastic movie but I want you to watch it and experience the suspense and action for yourself!

Anniversary

So as most of you know today was our (Chantel & I) anniversary.  It was our 3 year anniversary.  Sadly this is an amazing feat in today's world but I'm happy to report that we are doing great and we have plans to stay together forever.  Though don't think we haven't had our own trials and tribulations because these past 3 years have had many ups and downs and until recently it was more downs than ups.  The birth of our new daughter, Willow Faith Hartley, has brought a new light in our lives and made us realize many things.  But the reason I am writing this blog is that I hope a lot of people will see it and realize that even though there may be trouble its is worth working through those troubles to spend the rest of your life with the person you love!

The Sexually Immoral

I know I'm probably not the one to be preaching about this but I feel that from my past experiences I am able to relate to people and the decisions they are trying to make.  More importantly I feel I can relate to teenagers who feel they are "ready to take their relationship to that level."  Personally I think this is the most stupid thing that any teenager can do and for one main reason:  The Bible clearly states that you cannot let a hit of sexually immorality exist in your life (Ephesians 5) and one of the Ten Commandments is "You Shall Not Commit Adultery."  While most people think this only applies to married couples it can also be applied to people that are still participating in dating relationships.  Basically You cannot have a sexual relationship with a person who is not your spouse.  So teens that even means you cannot have a sexual relationship with someone that you think you will marry someday.  If you ever find yourself in this position whether you are a teen or an adult ask your self this question "If I could travel to the future and se who my future spouse is going to be then would I want them to have been sexually active with anyone besides me?"  Most of you would say no I don't want them to be with anyone but me but what you have to realize is this applies to you too.  It doesn't mean they have to be sexually pure for you but you can go out and have sex with whoever you want whenever you want.  Your body is a temple and sanctuary that is for your spouse and you to enjoy when you are married and not until then.  If you are sexually active early in life there are many different effects it can have on you like pregnancy, STDs, and traumatic emotional damage.  So I have said all of that to say this, if you feel you think it is time to be sexually active I ask you to please take time to pray and speak with your Pastor or Youth Pastor and maybe even a Christian counselor and get the advice and guidance you need.

Hello world!

Well this is my first blog post so I just want to say hello!  My blog will mostly be filled with things revolving around new pieces of technology and more importantly Apple products as well as movie reviews, book reviews, and just healthy discussions.  Thanks for looking at my blog and I hope you find my topics interesting and helpful.