Mini Bulk Reviews

I don't feel like writing full reviews so I'm writing mini reviews for films I missed writing about.

X Men: First Class (**)
In 1962, Charles Xavier (James Mcavoy) starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), his best friend... and future archenemy. The plot and storyline are perfect, but there were arts of the film that were terrible.

The Hangover: Part II (**1/2)
Two years after the bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu's wedding. Stu's plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry.I thought it was the same movie, same characters, in a different place.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (**1/2)
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too. I went to see this in D-Box (which I'll write about in a future article.) But the film was just ok for me.

Jesse Eisenberg and Jake Gyllenhaal to star in Now You See Me.

The Hollywood Reporter has the details on what the talented young actor is doing with his new-found clout in the business:


Casting for Summit’s magic heist movie is heating up, with Jesse Eisenberg of Social Network fame in early talks to star in Now You See Me, Summit's heist movie being produced by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Louis Leterrier is directing.
Jake Gyllenhaal, who just starred in the Summit techno-thriller The Source Code, is being courted for another lead role.
See Me, per Summit, pits a crack FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of bank heists during their performances, showering the profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

Thoughts?

My Friend Roth

A Roth IRA is for me.  And you.

I have been reading about Roth IRAs since my days of working at a bank, and I meant to open one then.  It's one of those things that can easily get away from you.  I'm telling you that right now is the time.  It's a breeze.  Please bear with me in this post; I only share what I feel is valuable information.  Wink!

Starting my own was part of getting my financial house in order over the weekend.  The gist is this: you save money for your retirement, and this is money that has already been taxed.  Ideally, you would want to practice that whole out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing, but if you do need to access it, you can always take what you deposited (not the earnings) tax-free.  There are fewer rules than with a traditional IRA, and you can access the money at a younger age (59 1/2).  You can also pull up to $10,000 for the purchase of your first house.  Bonus!

Consider this as well: taxes will most likely be higher when you and I retire because, much like the mercury in a Tennessee summer, they rarely go down.  Also, you could make bank and be in a higher tax bracket when you retire.  Good for Uncle Sam, bad for you.

The current maximum amount for the year of 2011 is $5,000.  You can open one at places like Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard.  Depending on which place you choose, you can generally start small and work up to the maximum amount if you are so inclined.  Remember that if your company offers a match for their 401(k), you'd want to contribute first to that account, at least up to the amount that they will match.  That is what's called free money, which is a rarity in this day and age.

If you're interested, there's a lot more information here and here.  Someone once said that you should pay yourself first, and I definitely agree.

Shady In The Best Way

Warby Parker is coming out with a line of sunglasses.  And just like their regular specs, for every pair sold, they'll donate a pair of glasses to someone in need.  Plus, soon enough they'll have prescription shades. 

I can't wait.  It will be the first time I've ever been able to wear sunglasses.  Ok.  That's a bit dramatic because I've always had options.  But they have not been up to par.  Not the case with Warby Parker.

John's DVD Pick of the week (June 7th 2011)

Before I pick my film I just wanna say sorry for the lack of updates on the blog. School has kept me busy, but it's out for the summer. In the meantime all my top ten films are now available with my pick of the week it's

True Grit.

That's Right the Coen Brothers remake of the 1969 John Wayne film was my pick of the week. It was #8 on by best movies of last year. Other films out this week include The esamble cast The Company Men, Mike Leigh's Another Year, Adam Sandler's Just Go With It, and The James Cameron produced Sanctum.

My Vintage pick is: In honor of this week's release of Super 8 I'm recommending a trio of alien films that had involvement from J.J Abrams and Steven Spielberg. They are Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, ET, and Cloverfield. The first two are must sees and the other is not a strong recommendation, but still worth a try.

Money Talks

I spent a chunk of the weekend getting my financial house in order, as it were.  Not that it was out of hand, mind you.  But it was time for me to take control.  Remember my resolution?  My first stops were LearnVest and Money Under 30, which are great resources for financial information.  Then it was on to Mint.

Mint is this totally free, totally awesome site that allows you to securely see all of your money matters in one place.  There are charts, graphs, text alerts...oh my.  You can set a goal, track spending trends, and learn tons of information.

Then it was on to annualcreditreport.com.  This is the place that Suze (and the FTC) recommend.  It's the only legitimate and free place to see your credit report.  You can view your report with each of the three major agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian) once a year, per the government.  There's also information about disputing false information.  Sorry--there's a lack of flashy graphics here, but that's sort of for the best.

My last stop was Credit Karma.

Similar to the last link, this place provides your actual credit score instead of the report.  For free.  And you can check your own score as often as you'd like.  For free.  They also give tips about dealing with debt in all of its incarnations.

Note: I do not purport to be any type of financial expert.  I'm simply telling you how I spent several hours of a Sunday afternoon.  My point in all of this is that the information is out there for us.  And it's free.  (Have I mentioned that?)  And secure.  And no one is going to do this stuff for you.  If you take some time on the front end, I promise you that it will be worth it. 

Don't wait too late to pay yourself.  The time value of money is a very powerful thing.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer 2011 HD

thoughts?