Hop's Thoughts

No, this will not be some memoriam to every celebrity who died this past year. While I too was saddened by the losses, it’s our individual lives and how those loves affect others that means the most. I won’t even discuss my personal woes, because the reality is, they’re mine and I own them. It’s called accountability and while this is in no way a pat on the back, it’s a lost art.  This year has been a stressful one for me, but how can I complain when I have friends who have lost their parents, their siblings, their husbands and wives, even their children? I can’t in good faith ask for their pity or even their sympathy, or is it empathy, when I know the pain of losing the person who matters most to them. I can understand and show empathy and from where I am now, I can only do so by quietly dealing with life. Not the lemons we equate to bad tidings, but life. People are enamored by clichés and their use of them says a lot about how we misunderstand our existence. Life isn’t meant...

Living in a studio apartment for over a decade, then moving into a home that wasn't mine, followed by my current locale, a motel room, has lead me on a search for a new home. But, what do I "need?" What we want is at the forefront of our everyday lives and an entire capitalistic industry has fed of our desires, but it ignores what we need. I won't bore you with the mathematics, but have you ever thought about hotels? I'm not talking about the Waldorf Astoria or the ones you see in Dubai. I'm talking your standard hotel room. Maybe even your standard motel room. You're paying somewhere in the vicinity of $100 for what you need. In actuality, you're getting more than what you need and you're paying much more than you should, but most of the money is going towards convenience. As I look at "my" room, I have everything, but a stove. I have two beds, I need one. I have three chairs, I need two, should I decide to entertain a guest. I have a ...

This blog used to be much more personal. A way for me to get off my chest and mind the things I couldn't always talk about. Nobody read it, which made it somewhat like screaming at the mirror, but for whatever, it helped. I gave it up a while back, when I started talking to real people, but I started to realize their ideas, thoughts, opinions and often their criticisms, were entirely based on their lives and not mine. I lost my outlet and I started to internalize. I'm not saying this will be my go to source for therapy, but maybe I need it. Maybe I don't. Maybe internalizing isn't such a bad thing after all. I mean, nobody really wants to hear other people's problems anyway, unless of course, they can make a buck off of them. So an incident happened back in November and it put me in a bind. Without getting into a long-winded, detailed account, I threatened someone. Apparently, I threatened them in the worst way I could. I threatened to treat them as they had treat...

I Was Born, But - Ozu's 1932 silent film plays like a Japanese Our Gang and it's wonderful. The Victim - Thai horror film has as good a first hour as any I've seen, then the puzzle begins. The Sea Of Trees - Van Sant fails, by making the most predictable movie ever made. Cold Fish - Starts off strong, but devolves into splatter film with very little to admire. Sausage Party - A 90 minutes dick joke that lost me in the first 90 seconds. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword Of Vengeance - Part one of six is everything you could want. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart At The River Styx: Wonderful second part delivers loads Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades: A tad slower than the first two, but quite good. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In Peril - A little better than third, but still fun. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons: Gets back on superb starting track. Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven In Hell - Superb finale. Absolutely brilliant set. I Am The Pretty Thing T...

Bound To Vengeance - Well above average rape revenge film. Two leads are amazing. Sweet Bean - Touching, simple tale about three lives that find meaning from each other. Moebius -Ki-duk Kim delivers the oddest film ever about castration, fetishes and incest.  The Shallows - If not for the lovely Blake Lively, this would be a worst movie ever candidate. The Darkness - Despite a nice cast, this fails on every level. As horror, it's a sleeper. Swiss Army Man - Dano is amazing in this hilarious and touching film, but truly awful ending. X Cross - Japanese horror that works initially, but then gets silly. Not awful, but not good. Cat People - Classic thriller/horror, uses light and sound to create wonderful tension. Devil - People stuck in elevator. Decent acting gets buried beneath silly non-twist. The Witness - Doc about Kitty Genovese detailing her brother's search for answers. Odd! The Wailing - Popular Korean thriller/horror did nothing for me. Two and a half hours o...

'71 - Solid beginning, but then just becomes a painfully predictable chase movie. Unoriginal! Stranger Things - Far from perfect, but one of the more fun series' I've watched in a while. Detour - 40's B-movie noir. Just over an hour and I loved it. Needs a big time remake. The Adventures of Prince Achmed - First animated film f0m 1926. Pretty, a little too rapey. I Killed My Mother - Xavier Dolan writing this at 16, is almost as amazing as the film itself. The Road - Cormac McCarthy adaptation has me wondering why I bother. Why Viggo, Why? The Square - Tense documentary. Limited in its focus, but powerful message. Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon - Brilliant idea, unravels after 30 minutes. Money Monster - Much better than I anticipated. McConnell was the standout in exciting film. Broken - Roth is great, but newcomer Eloise Laurence is the star. One of the 10 best of last 5! Exit To Hell - Kane Hodder Grindhouse film. Easily one of the worst movies...

I skipped this last year, but will fully admit, I'd never have guessed my Broncos would be in the Super Bowl. This year, I had two clear cut favorites (Colts and Cardinals) a month ago, but things might have changed. As usual, I go through each game....yes, I predict all 256 games to come up with this. I know, pathetic, but I enjoy it and I've had some success in the past. So here it is. The seed of the playoff teams is in parenthesis AFC EAST New England Patriots* (2) 12-4 New York Jets 7-7 Buffalo Bills 7-7 Miami Dolphins 4-12 AFC NORTH Pittsburgh Steelers* (3) 11-5 Cincinnati Bengals* (5) 11-5 Baltimore Ravens 9-7 Cleveland Browns 3-13 AFC SOUTH Indianapolis Colts* (1) 15-1 Houston Texans 9-7 Tennessee Titans 6-10 Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12 AFC WEST Kansas City Chiefs* (4) 10-6 Denver Broncos* (6) 10-6 Oakland Raiders 8-8 San Diego Chargers 7-9 NFC EAST New York Giants* (4) 9-7 Dallas Cowboys 8-8 Washington 6-10 Philadelphia Eagles 5-11 NFC NOR...