More One Sentence Movie Reviews!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - While the film does feel disjointed because of contrived character interactions, the chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, as well as the amazing visual effects make this a fun summer blockbuster. 7/10

Godzilla - With the exception of Bryan Cranston, the human characters are flat, and there isn't quite enough of the titular monster in this film, as enjoyable as Godzilla's battle scenes were. 6/10

X-Men: Days of Future Past - While not quite as epic in scope as the film trailers made it out to be, the all-star cast delivers strong performances in a well-handled plot thanks to the direction of Brian Singer. 8/10

Maleficent - The first third of the film is heartfelt and moving, but loses its way due to a lack of loyalty to the source material and laziness in the writing. 6/10

One Sentence Movie Reviews!

Here are some thoughts on films I've seen recently, along with a 1-10 rating:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 9/10
The best superhero movie since 2008's The Dark Knight, this film stretches itself past the limitations of its genre into a timely and surprisingly political thriller that mainstream audiences have enjoyed.

The King's Speech - 9/10
This 2010 film is simple, yet powerful, thanks to refreshingly original cinematography and set design, accompanied by fantastic performances from Colin Firth and Geoffery Rush.

The Breakfast Club - 8/10
It took me a while, to see this 1980s classic high school film, but the touching and honest portrayals from the Brat Pack are moving and uplifting.

Helvetica - 7/10
This documentary about the titular font gets a little bland as time goes on, but the director appropriately captures the excitement and passion of designers, and gives an appropriate peek into the thought that has gone behind the text that we see almost every day.

On Returning to My Blog

As the great modern philosopher George Takei would say, "Oh, Myyy."

Here I am, back in the blogosphere. It feels kinda weird, but somehow feels like the right thing to do right now. The mission was a great opportunity for me to keep up a blog. I wasn't able to stay in touch with a lot of people, and it also meant a lot for me to be able to share all the incredible experiences I had in Arizona. I'm really grateful that so many of you gave me lots of positive feedback, and even that you simply took the time to read it.

As you may have noticed, my blogs became less and less frequent. I suppose I just got really caught up in what I was doing, and couldn't really find the time to write a full blog each week or even each month.

Then I came home. What's it like coming home from a Mormon mission, you ask? I suggest watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Yep, that's pretty much it.

Anyway, for a while I didn't really think that I had anything interesting to say. I'm still not sure if I do. However, the idea of starting this back up again has been nagging at me over the past few weeks. I've surprised myself with this sudden desire to write my thoughts before an internet audience again, considering how many stupid blogs I've seen posted on Facebook over these last few months. But blog I must! I shall go over some reasons why I feel the sudden need to do this thing again.

1) I'm really bad at carrying on interesting conversations.

Let's face it: I can do better at keeping in touch with people. However, when I do, I run out of things to say quickly. It's not that I don't care or that I'm not doing anything with my life. I feel like I can express myself more when I have time to think about what I'm saying. Hopefully this blog can be a springboard to more meaningful talks with the people I care about.

2) I want to get better at analyzing films.

I'm hoping to write regular and well thought-out reviews of the movies I see. I've been writing several one-sentence reviews on Facebook, but I want to get more in depth and share with all of you how I really feel. And while we're on the subject of Facebook.

3) I need to spend less time on Facebook.

I will never be one to talk about the evils of Facebook. I refuse to accept that it is inherently evil. That said, I need to cut back the time I spend on mindless Buzzfeed articles and write about something that has substance.

4) I want to improve my writing skills.

I really like writing, but I haven't taken any kind of English class in a long time. Unfortunately, my grammar and punctuation have taken quite a hit. I'm sure that there are some mistakes in this very blog, and that's why I need to spend more time practicing.

5) I need to balance out the stupid blogs.

Need I say more?

I hope that this will be interesting to whomever is bored enough to check this out. Hopefully we can end up a little smarter with our discussions, become a little more loving, and have a little more fun. As Abraham Lincoln once said:

75 Degrees in January :)

 

You read that right. 75 degrees. I might never go back.

So, here I am, officially 3/4 of the way through my mission. I suppose that if I wanted it to be, this could be the trunkiest 6 months. But I am doing everything I can to stay focused and enjoy the time that I have left. I really am enjoying myself. Last night my companions and I got home really late after a long Sunday...we usually go to 7 or 8 hours of church, and run around to different appointments afterward. I was completely out of it, but I couldn't help telling myself how much I love this gig :)

I am in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have two awesome Polynesian companions and we have a blast with each other. I get lots of chances to overcome my natural nervousness in meeting and talking with people and I get to share the gospel that means so much to me. Even when people are slamming the door or throwing oranges at us while we're riding our bikes, it's just so much fun. I just love this work.

There's been a lot of fun stuff happening out here in AJ. I still get the chance to hike every now and then. There's lots of different trails around here. I'm getting used to the winter visitors. I had a dinner with a bunch of older folks from Canada last night and it was surprisingly really fun. Although one unfortunate thing is that whenever I hang around Canadians my accent comes out...I didn't even know I had an accent. At least I still pronounce "bag" correctly. Elder Fuiava has let it slip that I have a YouTube account. More often these days I walk into houses and people want to talk to me about my videos...it's fun, but some of those old ones are pretty dumb.

As far as the people we're teaching, we're having a lot of success. It seems like people are coming out of nowhere, wanting to come closer to God and learn more about the gospel. It seems as if we've found more people in the last few weeks than in the last few months. I also got the neat opportunity to go to a baptism for somebody who I taught about a year ago. Her name is Amber, and her family is a lot of fun. I got to teach her a lot with Elder Hernandez, and the memories of teaching her are some of the most powerful that I've had. I was so happy for her. I suppose that's why I'm loving this so much. I come to love people so much who were strangers to me just a little while ago.

Thanks everyone for your letters and postcards, especially around Christmastime. I love you all!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7

Title: You wanted a blog post...

So my mom informs me that my friends like my blog and that I need to write another one. I have like 5 minutes to write this one. Here it goes...

- November is here, and that means that the snowbirds are back. I see more and more North Dakota license plates every day and I'd like to think that my driving is better than the average snowbird.

- The weather is awesome...still in the 80s

- Quails are awesome. Pigeons are gross.

- I have another Polynesian companion. His name is Elder Fuiava and he's from Samoa. I traded him two ties for a lava lava.

- I look really good in that lava lava

- I love talking to people about the gospel! We've talked about 2012 and aliens a lot.

- I'm voting for a Mormon for President. Me.

- Alma 44:4

- Jesus is our Savior :)

Love,

Ammon!