Movie #1 - The House I Live In (Documentary)

Completed my first movie for the fiftyfifty.me challenge and watched The House I Lived In which is a documentary-film directed by Eugene Jarecki. The documentary provides an insight on the "war on drugs" within the United States of America from drug dealers and narcotics officers to inmates and federal judges.

Review Summary

I decided to watch this based off the ratings on Netflix and IMDB and have to say this documentary did not disappoint. The documentary film not only provides insights into how drug-use has affected close people to director Eugene Jarecki, but the origins of the "war of drugs" in USA and what are the major driving forces behind it.

The documentary introduces various people from different backgrounds that are either involved in drug-enforcement or have been affected by drug-use. From David Simon, creator of the The Wire to providing his thoughts on drug problems in the USA to Richard Lawrence Miller, an American historian and expert on the history of U.S. drug laws providing great insights into the origins of the drug laws.

A well-spent 110 minutes that will make you wonder what is the answer to the U.S. drug problem? Will drug-use ever be eradicated? - 9/10

My 50 Books & 50 Movies Challenge Officially Begins

Happy new year to everyone and I am happy to say that my 50 books & 50 movies challenge has officially begun as of 1st January 2014. Throughout this blog I will be updating my progress of the challenge based on each piece of content I read/watch. Once I have read a book and/or watched a movie I will post a brief review on my thoughts and any recommendations.

To start of the 50 books & 50 movies challenge, the first book I plan to read is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Dr. Stephen R. Covey. A popular self-improvement book that would be an ideal place to start especially at the start of a new year.

The 7 Habit of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Amazon Review

According to Steven R. Covey, to live with security and wisdom, and to have the power to take advantages of the opportunities that change creates, we need fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity. Quite a tall order when you consider that most of us live our lives in a permanent state of flux, questioning our ideals and values and fighting a daily battle with the lack of self-confidence that stops us from taking risks of any kind. But, in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey manages to make it sound as if changing the way we look at ourselves and the world around us so that we can become more successful both personally and professionally an absolute doddle. He defines the "habits" as "the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire" and states that the "Seven Habits" of the title are not mutually exclusive, but rather when developed together help to form a well-rounded, sensitive, confident and effective human being.

My first movie of the challenge will be Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which I am eager to see since I am a fan or the Lord of the Rings film and haven't got around to watching this prequel. For the movie challenge I plan to only see movies I have not see before, no repeats. The majority of movies I will watch will be through Netflix mainly since it will be cheaper and move convenient.

Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Stay tunes for more updates on my fiftyfifty.me challenge in 2014.