Got an invite to Google Wave from my friend in the Pacific Northwest, Honester Ciphers, but I wasn't exactly sure what Google Wave was for. This video was helpful.
Oh, I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Sky Is Falling!
That's it, its over, time to pack it in. Okay, maybe not. We don't handle success very well here.
The Bengals lost to the Texans on Sunday 28-17 in a game where the Bengals D completely disappeared in the second half. I chalk that up to the lack of pass rush on Matt Schaub, which was due to large part to injures to Antwon Odom and Domata Peko. Push rush was a major problem last year and seemed to be righted this season. Now, I don't know. Rookie Michael Johnson, who was a beast in college at Georgia Tech, is going to need to step up fast. And since neither tight end can seem to hold onto the ball, Chase Coffman might need to step up fast as well.
Speaking of Georgia Tech, thanks to their victory of Virginia Tech on Saturday, Virginia is currently in first place in the ACC Coastal Division, sitting at 2-0 in conference play, the only team in the Coastal without a conference loss. Sure, they still have to play Georgia Tech, Miami, and Virginia Tech, but for now (and at least another week, since Georgia Tech is going to Charlottesville this week and the worst that can happen is they lose and remained tied), the Virginia Cavaliers are a first place team. I told you the sky is falling.
Alabama is hands-down the best team in the country right now and Mark Ingram should be leader in the Heisman clubhouse. Not that any of it means anything in the middle of October.
A six-part docu-series on IFC debuted last night called Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut). I haven't seen it yet, but from the reviews, its looks really good. IFC's also showing a lot of old Monty Python stuff right now as well, which is always a good thing.
After it was referenced in last week's episode of Castle, I saw The Sting again for the first time in a while on one of HBO channels over the weekend. Is there a better con-man movie? I don't think so. I think people tend to gravitate toward Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when then think of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I like The Sting better.
Finally, my thoughts on the so-called Balloon Boy and his family. I have to admit, when this story first broke, I didn't care about it. I didn't care that some kid in Colorado might be flying away in some balloon. I didn't care when the balloon was found sans kid and it was thought that the kid might have fallen to his death. And I didn't care when it was discovered that the kid was just hiding in the attic the whole time. But now that its been revealed (allegedly) that this thing was a complete hoax, I'm all in on this story. Faking a missing child situation with an accidental launch of balloon contraption in an effort to leverage yourself your own reality show after you've already appeared on a reality show? There's nothing about that that isn't awesome (you know, in a completely deranged sort of way). The sheriff in this case needs to be right. These allegation have to be true; I think I'll be crushed if they aren't. Its the reality show angle that pushes this story over the edge. This was all (allegedly) a publicity stunt? Really? What part of making people think your kid may have floated away on a balloon would a reality television producer look at and say, "Yup, those people need to be on television more often."? People have done some crazy shit to get their own reality show, but fake sending your kid up in a balloon is a whole new level of crazy. The sky is falling indeed.
The Bengals lost to the Texans on Sunday 28-17 in a game where the Bengals D completely disappeared in the second half. I chalk that up to the lack of pass rush on Matt Schaub, which was due to large part to injures to Antwon Odom and Domata Peko. Push rush was a major problem last year and seemed to be righted this season. Now, I don't know. Rookie Michael Johnson, who was a beast in college at Georgia Tech, is going to need to step up fast. And since neither tight end can seem to hold onto the ball, Chase Coffman might need to step up fast as well.
Speaking of Georgia Tech, thanks to their victory of Virginia Tech on Saturday, Virginia is currently in first place in the ACC Coastal Division, sitting at 2-0 in conference play, the only team in the Coastal without a conference loss. Sure, they still have to play Georgia Tech, Miami, and Virginia Tech, but for now (and at least another week, since Georgia Tech is going to Charlottesville this week and the worst that can happen is they lose and remained tied), the Virginia Cavaliers are a first place team. I told you the sky is falling.
Alabama is hands-down the best team in the country right now and Mark Ingram should be leader in the Heisman clubhouse. Not that any of it means anything in the middle of October.
A six-part docu-series on IFC debuted last night called Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut). I haven't seen it yet, but from the reviews, its looks really good. IFC's also showing a lot of old Monty Python stuff right now as well, which is always a good thing.
After it was referenced in last week's episode of Castle, I saw The Sting again for the first time in a while on one of HBO channels over the weekend. Is there a better con-man movie? I don't think so. I think people tend to gravitate toward Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when then think of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I like The Sting better.
Finally, my thoughts on the so-called Balloon Boy and his family. I have to admit, when this story first broke, I didn't care about it. I didn't care that some kid in Colorado might be flying away in some balloon. I didn't care when the balloon was found sans kid and it was thought that the kid might have fallen to his death. And I didn't care when it was discovered that the kid was just hiding in the attic the whole time. But now that its been revealed (allegedly) that this thing was a complete hoax, I'm all in on this story. Faking a missing child situation with an accidental launch of balloon contraption in an effort to leverage yourself your own reality show after you've already appeared on a reality show? There's nothing about that that isn't awesome (you know, in a completely deranged sort of way). The sheriff in this case needs to be right. These allegation have to be true; I think I'll be crushed if they aren't. Its the reality show angle that pushes this story over the edge. This was all (allegedly) a publicity stunt? Really? What part of making people think your kid may have floated away on a balloon would a reality television producer look at and say, "Yup, those people need to be on television more often."? People have done some crazy shit to get their own reality show, but fake sending your kid up in a balloon is a whole new level of crazy. The sky is falling indeed.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
O Captain, My Captain
Caught the last half of Dead Poet's Society yesterday evening (on VH1 Classic, of all channels). A great movie, one of my favorites. Then later in the night, it was referenced in How I Met Your Mother. Clearly, its a sign. For what, I don't know, but a sign none the less.
Had a solid weekend for beating rival teams. St. X beat Elder on Friday, Virginia (shockingly) beat North Carolina on Saturday, and the Bengals beat the Browns on Sunday. Is it sad that I thought the biggest win of the three was St. X? Elder is clearly X's biggest football rival right now, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, when I was in school, Elder probably ranked 3rd in terms of GCL rivalries, behind Moeller and LaSalle. Moeller was the powerhouse back in the day, LaSalle was the "King of the Road" game, and Elder was just Elder. But now, Elder's the #1 rival, dwarfing both Moeller and LaSalle. Funny how it is.
Speaking of funny, how the hell did Virginia pull off a victory? Is Carolina just that bad? As much as I would have loved to see Groh go 0-12, its always nice to beat Carolina, especially when its a year where they were supposed to be good and the Hoos are so bad.
Note to the Bengals- have a game won or lost before the final minute of regulation/overtime. Please.
Apparently, the baseball regular season ended on Sunday. I can't remember ever being less enthused about a baseball postseason than this one. I read a stat yesterday that said since August 23 (ie- the last 6 weeks of the season), the Reds were 27-13, the best in baseball. They finished 78-84, 4th place in the NL Central, 13 games out. Does this mean we (Reds fans) should be excited for next year? Does one's finish to the previous season have any real bearing on one's performance next? Some say "yes." Look at the Bengals; they were miserable last season, but they managed to finish strong and win their last 3 games. Now, they're 3-1 and tied for first place in the AFC North. Sure, its a tenuous 3-1 (they could be 4-0 as easily as they could be 1-3), but 3-1 is 3-1 at the quarter pole. So maybe there's some reason to hope next spring.
All signs point to Ken Griffey, Jr. retiring from baseball. He got a huge standing ovation from the Seattle fans on Sunday was even carried off the field by his teammates at the end of the game. Its tough to come back from getting carried off the field. I've made my thoughts known on Ken Griffey, Jr. He was the best player I ever saw (and will ever see). If this was his last year, he'll be headlining the Hall of Fame class in 2014, the first year of his eligibility.
I'm incredibly stoked for ESPN's 30 for 30 series that starts tonight. Hands down, this looks like the coolest thing ESPN's ever done. 30 documentaries by 30 filmmakers covering topics from the past 30 years (since this is ESPN's 30th anniversary). Its a complete 360 from the"me, me, me" 25th anniversary celebration, which is a good thing. The subject list for 30 for 30 just looks incredible. Tonight's doc is about the trade of Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles, done by Peter Berg (director/producer of Friday Night Lights, both the movie and the TV show). I plan to watch all 30 films, but I'm particularly interested in the ones on Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller and the Knicks, fantasy sports, Terry Fox, and June 17, 1994. Again, this just looks so cool.
In other TV recommendation news, you should be watching Modern Family, Glee, and FlashForward. All good, in completely different ways.
Final thought- I read from a friend that the ideal frequency for chest compressions during CPR is 100 bpm, which happens to be the same tempo for both Stayin' Alive and Another One Bites The Dust. Now THAT'S a sign.
Had a solid weekend for beating rival teams. St. X beat Elder on Friday, Virginia (shockingly) beat North Carolina on Saturday, and the Bengals beat the Browns on Sunday. Is it sad that I thought the biggest win of the three was St. X? Elder is clearly X's biggest football rival right now, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, when I was in school, Elder probably ranked 3rd in terms of GCL rivalries, behind Moeller and LaSalle. Moeller was the powerhouse back in the day, LaSalle was the "King of the Road" game, and Elder was just Elder. But now, Elder's the #1 rival, dwarfing both Moeller and LaSalle. Funny how it is.
Speaking of funny, how the hell did Virginia pull off a victory? Is Carolina just that bad? As much as I would have loved to see Groh go 0-12, its always nice to beat Carolina, especially when its a year where they were supposed to be good and the Hoos are so bad.
Note to the Bengals- have a game won or lost before the final minute of regulation/overtime. Please.
Apparently, the baseball regular season ended on Sunday. I can't remember ever being less enthused about a baseball postseason than this one. I read a stat yesterday that said since August 23 (ie- the last 6 weeks of the season), the Reds were 27-13, the best in baseball. They finished 78-84, 4th place in the NL Central, 13 games out. Does this mean we (Reds fans) should be excited for next year? Does one's finish to the previous season have any real bearing on one's performance next? Some say "yes." Look at the Bengals; they were miserable last season, but they managed to finish strong and win their last 3 games. Now, they're 3-1 and tied for first place in the AFC North. Sure, its a tenuous 3-1 (they could be 4-0 as easily as they could be 1-3), but 3-1 is 3-1 at the quarter pole. So maybe there's some reason to hope next spring.
All signs point to Ken Griffey, Jr. retiring from baseball. He got a huge standing ovation from the Seattle fans on Sunday was even carried off the field by his teammates at the end of the game. Its tough to come back from getting carried off the field. I've made my thoughts known on Ken Griffey, Jr. He was the best player I ever saw (and will ever see). If this was his last year, he'll be headlining the Hall of Fame class in 2014, the first year of his eligibility.
I'm incredibly stoked for ESPN's 30 for 30 series that starts tonight. Hands down, this looks like the coolest thing ESPN's ever done. 30 documentaries by 30 filmmakers covering topics from the past 30 years (since this is ESPN's 30th anniversary). Its a complete 360 from the"me, me, me" 25th anniversary celebration, which is a good thing. The subject list for 30 for 30 just looks incredible. Tonight's doc is about the trade of Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles, done by Peter Berg (director/producer of Friday Night Lights, both the movie and the TV show). I plan to watch all 30 films, but I'm particularly interested in the ones on Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller and the Knicks, fantasy sports, Terry Fox, and June 17, 1994. Again, this just looks so cool.
In other TV recommendation news, you should be watching Modern Family, Glee, and FlashForward. All good, in completely different ways.
Final thought- I read from a friend that the ideal frequency for chest compressions during CPR is 100 bpm, which happens to be the same tempo for both Stayin' Alive and Another One Bites The Dust. Now THAT'S a sign.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Heat, Circa 1933
And the 2009 Magical Mystery Movie Tour continues, this week stopping at Batman vs. Captain Jack Sparrow, otherwise known as Public Enemies.
Now, I had high hopes for this film. Really high hopes. And I while thought it was good, I didn't think it was great. Johnny Depp was great as John Dillinger (nice to see him play a "normal" person; his first since, what, Finding Neverland?), but I think that could be due to the fact that Dillinger is the character that was given any depth. Everyone else just felt kinda flat and 1-dimensional. It may be unfair, but I can't help but compare this movie to Heat, Michael Mann's other bank-heist epic. There, he fully explored the characters on both sides of the story (Pacino's cop and De Niro's robber). I get that Public Enemies is a film about John Dillinger and not the people chasing him, but because of that, you don't feel anything for Christian Bale's Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent tasked with taking down Dillinger. I didn't feel like there was a character there, and thus their one scene together (aside from the ending, when Dillinger is gunned down; its a famous moment in history, so no spoiler alert for you!) is really dissapointing Of course it didn't have the gravity of the Pacino-De Niro diner scene, but it could have. Depp and Bale are two of the finest actors working today (in my opinion), and their one scene could've been great. But it wasn't because Bale's character didn't have any. All the early press focused on Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the same movie, but then the movie got finished, and it was just Depp. I have to wonder now if that's why all the recent ads for Public Enemies have focused solely on Depp with nary a whisper of Bale (I mean, he's only the God-damn Batman!).
But it was just Melvin Purvis that seemed flat; it was everyone not named "John Dillinger." In addition to Purvis, I wish they could have spent a little more time developing the other guys in Dillinger's crew. A big point in the movie was highlighting how loyal Dillinger was to his people, but without really knowing any of them, it was hard to connect with.
As I said, I thought it was a good movie. I think I'd give it a B-. There's some good shootout scenes (again, nothing like the heist scene from Heat, but that's okay) and there are a ton of cameos. It seemed like everyone in this movie was someone you'd recognize (not major names, but someone where you'd look it up on IMDb afterwards and go, "Oh! That guy!"), even the incidental characters that have only minimal screen time.
So there it is, the seventh new movie (I think) I've seen this year. Here are my grades so far:
Watchmen A-
Star Trek A+
X-Men Origins: Wolverine C-
Angels and Demons B-
The Hangover B+
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen C
Public Enemies B-
Happy Fourth of July.
Now, I had high hopes for this film. Really high hopes. And I while thought it was good, I didn't think it was great. Johnny Depp was great as John Dillinger (nice to see him play a "normal" person; his first since, what, Finding Neverland?), but I think that could be due to the fact that Dillinger is the character that was given any depth. Everyone else just felt kinda flat and 1-dimensional. It may be unfair, but I can't help but compare this movie to Heat, Michael Mann's other bank-heist epic. There, he fully explored the characters on both sides of the story (Pacino's cop and De Niro's robber). I get that Public Enemies is a film about John Dillinger and not the people chasing him, but because of that, you don't feel anything for Christian Bale's Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent tasked with taking down Dillinger. I didn't feel like there was a character there, and thus their one scene together (aside from the ending, when Dillinger is gunned down; its a famous moment in history, so no spoiler alert for you!) is really dissapointing Of course it didn't have the gravity of the Pacino-De Niro diner scene, but it could have. Depp and Bale are two of the finest actors working today (in my opinion), and their one scene could've been great. But it wasn't because Bale's character didn't have any. All the early press focused on Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the same movie, but then the movie got finished, and it was just Depp. I have to wonder now if that's why all the recent ads for Public Enemies have focused solely on Depp with nary a whisper of Bale (I mean, he's only the God-damn Batman!).
But it was just Melvin Purvis that seemed flat; it was everyone not named "John Dillinger." In addition to Purvis, I wish they could have spent a little more time developing the other guys in Dillinger's crew. A big point in the movie was highlighting how loyal Dillinger was to his people, but without really knowing any of them, it was hard to connect with.
As I said, I thought it was a good movie. I think I'd give it a B-. There's some good shootout scenes (again, nothing like the heist scene from Heat, but that's okay) and there are a ton of cameos. It seemed like everyone in this movie was someone you'd recognize (not major names, but someone where you'd look it up on IMDb afterwards and go, "Oh! That guy!"), even the incidental characters that have only minimal screen time.
So there it is, the seventh new movie (I think) I've seen this year. Here are my grades so far:
Watchmen A-
Star Trek A+
X-Men Origins: Wolverine C-
Angels and Demons B-
The Hangover B+
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen C
Public Enemies B-
Happy Fourth of July.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Odd Day
I just got back from watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, with the full intention of writing a review here on the blog, only to come home and find out that Michael Jackson died. Nothing against Ed McMahon (who I only know from Star Search; too young for him on The Tonight Show) and Farrah Fawcett (who I only know as someone who was once super hot; too young for Charlie's Angels), but Michael Jackson was bigger than both of them combined. Times thirty. And then some. Its wild. I always thought that he would have one last great comeback moment before he died (think Elvis "Aloha From Hawaii"). Even now, just after his passing, there's talk about how he'll be remembered; will his recent legal troubles/bizzare behavior overshadow his monumental impact on music. I say no way. We got past fat, drug-addicted Elvis, we'll get past Michael's issues. Yeah, so he was borderline functional as a person; he was an absolute musical genius. As ESPN's Matthew Berry (@TheRealTMR) tweeted this evening- Say what you want, but when most people die, they don't have four minutes as good as this:
Couldn't agree more.
(And by the way, Transformers was exactly what you'd expect it to be- giant robots, big explosions, hot chicks, minimal story/plot. Go in with those expectations and you won't be disappointed. Go in expecting anything more and you're a moron.)
Couldn't agree more.
(And by the way, Transformers was exactly what you'd expect it to be- giant robots, big explosions, hot chicks, minimal story/plot. Go in with those expectations and you won't be disappointed. Go in expecting anything more and you're a moron.)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Great Years For Movies
I've seen a lot of movies so far this year. Watchmen, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, The Hangover, Angels & Demons, just to name a few. Not quite halfway through 2009 and I've probably seen more movies in the theater this year than I did in the past two years combined (and there are still several more to go; I'm looking at you, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Harry Potter, Public Enemies). And while not all of these movies (if any) are destined to be classics (though I've got high hopes for Public Enemies), it did get me to think about the great years in movie releases. I was aided in this inquiry by the current issue of Toyfare magazine (yes, a magazine/price guide for toys, action figures, busts, statues, maquettes, etc.- get over it).
The folks over at Toyfare have proclaimed 1984 to be "the best year in pop culture." Now, I tend to think that's more a function of our distance from 1984 (25 years, for those of you who struggle with math) than it does with that actually happened in 1984, but that's an argument for a different time. I mention the article here because it alerted me to the plethora of great movies that were released in 1984. Check out this list:
The Terminator, Gremlins, This Is Spinal Tap, Ghost Busters, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Amadeus, Beverly Hills Cop, The Karate Kid, The Natural, Sixteen Candles, Footloose, Purple Rain, The Neverending Story, Red Dawn, Police Academy, Bachelor Party, The Last Starfighter, Revenge of the Nerds
That's pretty damn good, and I'm sure I missed a few. Now, any cinephile will tell you that the greatest year for movies was 1939, and its really hard to argue that. I mean, when your lineup's got Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Gunga Din, Wurthering Heights, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington; that's like the '27 Yankees. So everyone's battling for second place. Fine. What years stack up after '39? I think 1984 has a strong case. They may not all be "classics" but they are some good movies. Thinking about 1984 lead me to consider 1994, which has also been named a great year for movies. Consider:
Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, The Lion King, Hoop Dreams, Heavenly Creatures, Clerks, Forrest Gump, Quiz Show, Nobody's Fool, The Professional, Natural Born Killers, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Mask, The Crow, Interview With The Vampire, Ed Wood, Reality Bites, Speed (okay, maybe not so much)
Another solid year. Maybe years ending in -4 have something to do with it (1974-The Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation*, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Lenny; 1964: Dr. Strangelove, Mary Poppins, Goldfinger, My Fair Lady, A Fistful of Dollars). Maybe its just because years ending in -4 puts the difference between then and now on the -5's.
[Random note: John Cazale, aka Fredo Corleone, appeared in all of 5 movies before dying of cancer, The Godfather Part I, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter, and appeared in archival footage in The Godfather Part III. All 6 movies were nominated for Best Picture. Not bad for 6 movies.]
So what about 2004? Which if these, if any, will be remembered as "classics" or "greats" 15 or 20 years from now: The Incredibles, Million Dollar Baby, Sideways, Spider-Man 2, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ray, Shaun of the Dead, Finding Neverland, The Aviator, Garden State, Crash, Napolean Dynamite, Saw, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy?
For me, I might have to go with 1999 as my favorite year (again with the nice, neat time difference). Fight Club, The Matrix, Office Space, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, American Pie, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, 10 Things I Hate About You, Toy Story 2, Three Kings, Galaxy Quest, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, Election, The Insider, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut; now THAT was a good year. Although, I think the fact that Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace also came out in 1999 make the year ineligible for competition. No year that saw the release of a Star Wars prequel is qualified to call itself "the greatest year for movies." Damn you, George Lucas.
The folks over at Toyfare have proclaimed 1984 to be "the best year in pop culture." Now, I tend to think that's more a function of our distance from 1984 (25 years, for those of you who struggle with math) than it does with that actually happened in 1984, but that's an argument for a different time. I mention the article here because it alerted me to the plethora of great movies that were released in 1984. Check out this list:
The Terminator, Gremlins, This Is Spinal Tap, Ghost Busters, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Amadeus, Beverly Hills Cop, The Karate Kid, The Natural, Sixteen Candles, Footloose, Purple Rain, The Neverending Story, Red Dawn, Police Academy, Bachelor Party, The Last Starfighter, Revenge of the Nerds
That's pretty damn good, and I'm sure I missed a few. Now, any cinephile will tell you that the greatest year for movies was 1939, and its really hard to argue that. I mean, when your lineup's got Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Gunga Din, Wurthering Heights, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington; that's like the '27 Yankees. So everyone's battling for second place. Fine. What years stack up after '39? I think 1984 has a strong case. They may not all be "classics" but they are some good movies. Thinking about 1984 lead me to consider 1994, which has also been named a great year for movies. Consider:
Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, The Lion King, Hoop Dreams, Heavenly Creatures, Clerks, Forrest Gump, Quiz Show, Nobody's Fool, The Professional, Natural Born Killers, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Mask, The Crow, Interview With The Vampire, Ed Wood, Reality Bites, Speed (okay, maybe not so much)
Another solid year. Maybe years ending in -4 have something to do with it (1974-The Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation*, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Lenny; 1964: Dr. Strangelove, Mary Poppins, Goldfinger, My Fair Lady, A Fistful of Dollars). Maybe its just because years ending in -4 puts the difference between then and now on the -5's.
[Random note: John Cazale, aka Fredo Corleone, appeared in all of 5 movies before dying of cancer, The Godfather Part I, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter, and appeared in archival footage in The Godfather Part III. All 6 movies were nominated for Best Picture. Not bad for 6 movies.]
So what about 2004? Which if these, if any, will be remembered as "classics" or "greats" 15 or 20 years from now: The Incredibles, Million Dollar Baby, Sideways, Spider-Man 2, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ray, Shaun of the Dead, Finding Neverland, The Aviator, Garden State, Crash, Napolean Dynamite, Saw, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy?
For me, I might have to go with 1999 as my favorite year (again with the nice, neat time difference). Fight Club, The Matrix, Office Space, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, American Pie, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, 10 Things I Hate About You, Toy Story 2, Three Kings, Galaxy Quest, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, Election, The Insider, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut; now THAT was a good year. Although, I think the fact that Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace also came out in 1999 make the year ineligible for competition. No year that saw the release of a Star Wars prequel is qualified to call itself "the greatest year for movies." Damn you, George Lucas.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand We're Back
Hopefully.
Maybe.
We'll see.
So, I've been a little lax recently on posting here. I'm going to try and be less lax about doing so in the near future. I'll start by making another movie recommendation- if you want to laugh for an hour and a half, go see The Hangover.
Nothing actually happens in the movie, and yes, the trailers pretty much give you the movie, but it was still funny as hell. Sure, it probably would have been funnier if you didn't already know that Mike Tyson had a cameo, but his scenes are still hysterical. I mean, Mike Tyson singing In The Air Tonight? Never not funny. Supposedly, there's a sequel already in the works. I'm not entirely sure how that's going to work (perhaps the storyline involving Ed Helm's Stu character), but I'm sure it will. Anyway, the movie's a riot. Mindless, juvenile, offensive, yes. But really funny. Go see it.
(Random factoid I discovered while reading up on The Hangover: Zack Galifianakis was offered a role in Into The Wild because Sean Penn saw an earlier movie he had done about 15 times. The movie? Out Cold. See Puddin', you're not only one with love for Out Cold; Sean Penn's seen it 15 times!)
Maybe.
We'll see.
So, I've been a little lax recently on posting here. I'm going to try and be less lax about doing so in the near future. I'll start by making another movie recommendation- if you want to laugh for an hour and a half, go see The Hangover.
Nothing actually happens in the movie, and yes, the trailers pretty much give you the movie, but it was still funny as hell. Sure, it probably would have been funnier if you didn't already know that Mike Tyson had a cameo, but his scenes are still hysterical. I mean, Mike Tyson singing In The Air Tonight? Never not funny. Supposedly, there's a sequel already in the works. I'm not entirely sure how that's going to work (perhaps the storyline involving Ed Helm's Stu character), but I'm sure it will. Anyway, the movie's a riot. Mindless, juvenile, offensive, yes. But really funny. Go see it.
(Random factoid I discovered while reading up on The Hangover: Zack Galifianakis was offered a role in Into The Wild because Sean Penn saw an earlier movie he had done about 15 times. The movie? Out Cold. See Puddin', you're not only one with love for Out Cold; Sean Penn's seen it 15 times!)
Monday, May 11, 2009
To Boldy Go...
Go see Star Trek. Seriously, go see it. Its really good, really fun, and you don't need any prior Star Trek knowledge to enjoy it. Sure, some knowledge helps, but its definitely not required. J.J. Abrams and crew did, in my opinion, did a masterful job of a)introducing the characters, b)acknowledging the existing story canon, and c)establishing a new story arc that all viewers could follow and get behind. Earlier, I said that everyone should go see Watchmen, and while I still stand by that, I think that Star Trek is a far better "you'll enjoy this even if you nothing about the source material" movie.
Without spoiling it, I'll just say that the plot of the movie guards itself from criticism about changes to the Star Trek canon. Sure, it makes for a kinda weak plot, but plot clearly wasn't the point of the movie; the point was to set up the characters and the universe in which they operate so they can tell more substantial stories later in the sequels (and judging by the early box office numbers, I think a sequel's inevitable, if one hasn't already been announced; if it holds at #1 against Angels and Demons this week, I bet they announce TWO more movies). And the characters and character interactions were by far the best parts of the movie. I thought the cast did a great job of embodying the essence of the characters they were playing without resorting to imitations of the original actors. You could see how these characters could logically (sorry) progress into the characters of old. The scene of Kirk as a kid going on a joyride (the one you see in the trailer) was unnecessary, but there's also a scene of Spock as a kid that's just awesome. The action scenes were nice and flashy, but the character scenes were what I found the most interesting.
There were also plenty of Easter eggs planted throughout the movie to satisfy the hardcore Trekkies (or Trekkers, as I guess, from the video below, that's the correct term now). Nearly all the iconic lines from the old show were fit into the script, and every time one was uttered, it drew praise from the audience I was in. Kirk hooking up with the green-skinned alien-girl was a nod to a classic Star Trek episode. I've also read that was a tribble sitting on the desk when we first meet Scotty (I didn't catch this; guess I'll have to see it again). And, much like it was done in Casino Royale for James Bond, you don't hear the iconic Star Trek theme until the end of the movie, implying that its only at that point that they've become "the crew of the Starship Enterpise."
So go see it, you won't be disappointed. Also, watch this clip from last Saturday's Weekend Update on SNL; you won't be disappointed but it, either:
Live long and prosper.
Without spoiling it, I'll just say that the plot of the movie guards itself from criticism about changes to the Star Trek canon. Sure, it makes for a kinda weak plot, but plot clearly wasn't the point of the movie; the point was to set up the characters and the universe in which they operate so they can tell more substantial stories later in the sequels (and judging by the early box office numbers, I think a sequel's inevitable, if one hasn't already been announced; if it holds at #1 against Angels and Demons this week, I bet they announce TWO more movies). And the characters and character interactions were by far the best parts of the movie. I thought the cast did a great job of embodying the essence of the characters they were playing without resorting to imitations of the original actors. You could see how these characters could logically (sorry) progress into the characters of old. The scene of Kirk as a kid going on a joyride (the one you see in the trailer) was unnecessary, but there's also a scene of Spock as a kid that's just awesome. The action scenes were nice and flashy, but the character scenes were what I found the most interesting.
There were also plenty of Easter eggs planted throughout the movie to satisfy the hardcore Trekkies (or Trekkers, as I guess, from the video below, that's the correct term now). Nearly all the iconic lines from the old show were fit into the script, and every time one was uttered, it drew praise from the audience I was in. Kirk hooking up with the green-skinned alien-girl was a nod to a classic Star Trek episode. I've also read that was a tribble sitting on the desk when we first meet Scotty (I didn't catch this; guess I'll have to see it again). And, much like it was done in Casino Royale for James Bond, you don't hear the iconic Star Trek theme until the end of the movie, implying that its only at that point that they've become "the crew of the Starship Enterpise."
So go see it, you won't be disappointed. Also, watch this clip from last Saturday's Weekend Update on SNL; you won't be disappointed but it, either:
Live long and prosper.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 03/01 - 03/07
I saw 2 movies in the theater this week; can't recall the last time I did that. First was Fanboys, which I recommend for big-time Star Wars fans (or big time Kristen Bell fans). The second was Watchmen, which I discussed (briefly) here.
-Heroes, Monday: The Rebel storyline only works if it actually unites all the characters together. If its just a mechanism to loosely tie all the stories to one common point (like it is now), the show's not going to get any better. But if they can tighten up the story and get everyone working together, the show's got some hope. I'm glad they finally had Parkman use his mind-control powers deliberately to achieve an end and not while he was under stress to save his life. He's ridiculously powerful; why don't they use him more? And how does strapping a bomb to Parkman help The Hunter reach his goal? People would have to know that a)people with abilities exist and that b)Parkman is one of them for it to be an effective stunt. Peter exposed the operation of rounding up US citizens to the public, but not the specifics as to why; people with powers are still unknown. The Claire-Alex storyline was only good because it gave Claire's mom, Sandra, something constructive to do. And Sylar's storyline? Just stupid. So his dad has TK and he sliced open his mom's head. Whatever. That toy car sparked his memory; did he call it Rosebud? That story needs to be finished.
-24, Monday: Who knew that it was that easy to take control of the White House? Just dive underwater, drill up beneath the subsurface, and with the help of a single man in the inside, you too can take the President of the United State hostage. It had a real James Bond-ish plan feel to it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm glad to finally see Jon Voight on the show; I think he's going to be an awesome villian. I'm also getting the traitor vibe from the President's daughter, Olivia. I didn't think that before, but now, it seems like it makes sense. Its the kind of left-field twist 24 is always good for. I'm also really enjoying Agent Walker's transformation from a by-the-book FBI agent to a do-what-is-necessary Jack Bauer clone. The ongoing struggle betwen her and Agent Moss is good to. Moss and Bauer and polar opposites and Renee is moving in between then. This episode also had my favorite 24 scene device- when a character has vital information that needs to be heard, so they tell a random person to call someone in charge so they know what's going on, but before that person can make the call, they're shoot and killed and the information remains unrelayed. Happens all the time in 24.
-Lost, Wednesday: I've read some review from people that didn't like this episode; I loved it. I loved the "Three years eariler/Three years later" construciton, filling in the gaps on the island between when Locke reset the wheel and when the O6 got back to the island. So we learn how Sawyer and company become a part of the Dharma Initiative. Sawyer, Jin, and Miles all work security; makes sense. Juliet works in the motorpool; not so much. But where is Faraday? We saw him a the beginning of the season working on the Orchid station; is he still in contact with everyone else, or is he off doing his own thing? Charlotte's death seem to send him off the deep end (if that was even possible), so its possible he his disassociated himself from everyone. My favorite scene was the conversation between Sawyer and Richard Alpert; what must be going through Richard's head at this point? He doesn't age, which one would assume he's aware of, so he had to know that the island has some special time properties associated with it. But what about all the time-travel? He seemed not to understand it when Locke talked with him in the 50's, and he seemed non-reactive when talking to Sawyer, like he didn't want to let on that he knew more than he was letting on. I'm starting to think that the reason Richard doesn't age is because he died and the island brought him back to life. There a lot of talk about an Egyptian connection to the island (the hieroglyphics, the ankh necklace, the statue); I think it would be awesome if Richard was part of the first settlement on the island, thousands of years ago, and he's been the same age ever since (because he's dead and doesn't age). And finally, new girl Amy's baby boy; he's going to be important. Why? Because the actress playing Amy said in an interview that she knows who her baby is and isn't allowed to say. That just screams important. The the child was born in 1977, putting him in his late-20's at the time of the Oceanic plane crash, and about 30 when the Ajira plane landed. So who could it be? Still pondering that one.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Starbuck confesses her death to Baltar and Baltar rewards her by outing her secret to everyone. Well done, Gaius. I like the open, shared knowledge about how Starbuck, Hera, and the Final Five all experienced "All Along The Watchtower." One of my favorite parts about using this song has been how they've worked in lyrics into the dialogue. And in this episode, the dying Eight that requested seeing Tigh quoted a line herself ("Too much confusion"). First time a non-Final Five quoted a line. Important? Dont' know, but was a nice touch. I think its interesting that Sam is now plugged into Galactica hybrid-style; I hope they keep playing this angle before they abandon Galactica (which appears inevitable). While Boomer appears to be evil, it doesn't like she's completely evil. She obivously bonded with Hera and it looks likes she's going to save Hera from Cavil's experiments and return her to the fleet, at the cost of her own life. And we still need some answers to Starbuck. The longer they delay those answers, the more it looks like her answers are the answers to everyone and everything.
And finally, this weekend was the real start of March Madness. Or, the Mayhem Before the Madness, as the ESPN promos would tell us. Championship Week is just as good as the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (which, let's face it, is the best part of the tournament). Little mid-major schools playing for a chance to be Cinderella, where you're only way in is to win because there is no bubble. The elation when a team wins and earns a ticket to the Big Dance, the agony of coming so close and losing. That emotion is why college basketball is lightyears ahead of the NBA.
-Heroes, Monday: The Rebel storyline only works if it actually unites all the characters together. If its just a mechanism to loosely tie all the stories to one common point (like it is now), the show's not going to get any better. But if they can tighten up the story and get everyone working together, the show's got some hope. I'm glad they finally had Parkman use his mind-control powers deliberately to achieve an end and not while he was under stress to save his life. He's ridiculously powerful; why don't they use him more? And how does strapping a bomb to Parkman help The Hunter reach his goal? People would have to know that a)people with abilities exist and that b)Parkman is one of them for it to be an effective stunt. Peter exposed the operation of rounding up US citizens to the public, but not the specifics as to why; people with powers are still unknown. The Claire-Alex storyline was only good because it gave Claire's mom, Sandra, something constructive to do. And Sylar's storyline? Just stupid. So his dad has TK and he sliced open his mom's head. Whatever. That toy car sparked his memory; did he call it Rosebud? That story needs to be finished.
-24, Monday: Who knew that it was that easy to take control of the White House? Just dive underwater, drill up beneath the subsurface, and with the help of a single man in the inside, you too can take the President of the United State hostage. It had a real James Bond-ish plan feel to it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm glad to finally see Jon Voight on the show; I think he's going to be an awesome villian. I'm also getting the traitor vibe from the President's daughter, Olivia. I didn't think that before, but now, it seems like it makes sense. Its the kind of left-field twist 24 is always good for. I'm also really enjoying Agent Walker's transformation from a by-the-book FBI agent to a do-what-is-necessary Jack Bauer clone. The ongoing struggle betwen her and Agent Moss is good to. Moss and Bauer and polar opposites and Renee is moving in between then. This episode also had my favorite 24 scene device- when a character has vital information that needs to be heard, so they tell a random person to call someone in charge so they know what's going on, but before that person can make the call, they're shoot and killed and the information remains unrelayed. Happens all the time in 24.
-Lost, Wednesday: I've read some review from people that didn't like this episode; I loved it. I loved the "Three years eariler/Three years later" construciton, filling in the gaps on the island between when Locke reset the wheel and when the O6 got back to the island. So we learn how Sawyer and company become a part of the Dharma Initiative. Sawyer, Jin, and Miles all work security; makes sense. Juliet works in the motorpool; not so much. But where is Faraday? We saw him a the beginning of the season working on the Orchid station; is he still in contact with everyone else, or is he off doing his own thing? Charlotte's death seem to send him off the deep end (if that was even possible), so its possible he his disassociated himself from everyone. My favorite scene was the conversation between Sawyer and Richard Alpert; what must be going through Richard's head at this point? He doesn't age, which one would assume he's aware of, so he had to know that the island has some special time properties associated with it. But what about all the time-travel? He seemed not to understand it when Locke talked with him in the 50's, and he seemed non-reactive when talking to Sawyer, like he didn't want to let on that he knew more than he was letting on. I'm starting to think that the reason Richard doesn't age is because he died and the island brought him back to life. There a lot of talk about an Egyptian connection to the island (the hieroglyphics, the ankh necklace, the statue); I think it would be awesome if Richard was part of the first settlement on the island, thousands of years ago, and he's been the same age ever since (because he's dead and doesn't age). And finally, new girl Amy's baby boy; he's going to be important. Why? Because the actress playing Amy said in an interview that she knows who her baby is and isn't allowed to say. That just screams important. The the child was born in 1977, putting him in his late-20's at the time of the Oceanic plane crash, and about 30 when the Ajira plane landed. So who could it be? Still pondering that one.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: Starbuck confesses her death to Baltar and Baltar rewards her by outing her secret to everyone. Well done, Gaius. I like the open, shared knowledge about how Starbuck, Hera, and the Final Five all experienced "All Along The Watchtower." One of my favorite parts about using this song has been how they've worked in lyrics into the dialogue. And in this episode, the dying Eight that requested seeing Tigh quoted a line herself ("Too much confusion"). First time a non-Final Five quoted a line. Important? Dont' know, but was a nice touch. I think its interesting that Sam is now plugged into Galactica hybrid-style; I hope they keep playing this angle before they abandon Galactica (which appears inevitable). While Boomer appears to be evil, it doesn't like she's completely evil. She obivously bonded with Hera and it looks likes she's going to save Hera from Cavil's experiments and return her to the fleet, at the cost of her own life. And we still need some answers to Starbuck. The longer they delay those answers, the more it looks like her answers are the answers to everyone and everything.
And finally, this weekend was the real start of March Madness. Or, the Mayhem Before the Madness, as the ESPN promos would tell us. Championship Week is just as good as the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (which, let's face it, is the best part of the tournament). Little mid-major schools playing for a chance to be Cinderella, where you're only way in is to win because there is no bubble. The elation when a team wins and earns a ticket to the Big Dance, the agony of coming so close and losing. That emotion is why college basketball is lightyears ahead of the NBA.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Watch Watchmen
Watchmen was fucking awesome. Plain and simple, go see it (don't worry, no spoilers in this post). Do you have to be a fan of the comic (or know the comic) to enjoy it? I don't think so, but its hard for me to say since I am. Just know going in that there is a lot of graphic violence and sex and that the movie is very dark. Very dark. And very graphic, especially with the violence. The sex is actually pretty tame when compared to the violence. That is, unless you count all the time you see a blue-CGI'ed penis, which is quite a few (seriously). But I can't stress the violence enough; if you can't stand violence, Watchmen might not be for you. Based on the audible gasps and the fact that a few people walked out part of the way through the movie, I'm guessing some people in the theater didn't quite know what they were getting into. Oh well. I thought it was incredible, and my complaints (few as they are) have to do with visual style and casting and nothing to do with the story or how it was told.
Complaint #1- all the damn slow motion. We get it, Zack Snyder, it looks cool when you slow down time and then speed it up real quick to catch up; we all saw 300. Watchmen is a long movie (2:43, I believe), and I swear it could have been a half hour shorter if all the slo-mo had been dropped. Okay, so there's not that much slo-mo, but there's a lot. Its used in pretty much every action sequence. I get that its just a director's visual style, but its been done to death (see: Bay, Michael).
Complaint #2- Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias. A lot of reviews I read pegged Malin Akerman as the weak casting link, but I think it was Goode. And its not that he's a weak actor, I just think he was miscast. You don't believe for a second that he's the "smartest man in the world", and if you do believe that, you certainly don't believe that he physically capabable to do what he does in the movie. And then there's this odd accent that comes and goes with him. The first time we see Adrian Veidt, he's got this strange, indecernable accent, but later in the movie, he's got nothing at all. It was a little distracting. Aside for Ozymandias, I thought the rest of the movie was cast well, especially Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson.
There's a lot of talk about the movie altering the climactic ending from that in the comic; don't worry about it. I don't think the original ending would have worked on screen. They cut elements from the story that tie into the original ending (and they were right in doing that), so without those story points, the original ending wouldn't have made any sense. What they changed it to works better in the context of the story and achieves the exact same intended outcome. In fact, I dare say that the movie's ending achieves that outcome in a more complete and all-encompassing way than the comic.
So all-in-all, I loved Watchmen. Its totally worth seeing again in the theater, and I might do just that before the weekend's over.
Complaint #1- all the damn slow motion. We get it, Zack Snyder, it looks cool when you slow down time and then speed it up real quick to catch up; we all saw 300. Watchmen is a long movie (2:43, I believe), and I swear it could have been a half hour shorter if all the slo-mo had been dropped. Okay, so there's not that much slo-mo, but there's a lot. Its used in pretty much every action sequence. I get that its just a director's visual style, but its been done to death (see: Bay, Michael).
Complaint #2- Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias. A lot of reviews I read pegged Malin Akerman as the weak casting link, but I think it was Goode. And its not that he's a weak actor, I just think he was miscast. You don't believe for a second that he's the "smartest man in the world", and if you do believe that, you certainly don't believe that he physically capabable to do what he does in the movie. And then there's this odd accent that comes and goes with him. The first time we see Adrian Veidt, he's got this strange, indecernable accent, but later in the movie, he's got nothing at all. It was a little distracting. Aside for Ozymandias, I thought the rest of the movie was cast well, especially Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson.
There's a lot of talk about the movie altering the climactic ending from that in the comic; don't worry about it. I don't think the original ending would have worked on screen. They cut elements from the story that tie into the original ending (and they were right in doing that), so without those story points, the original ending wouldn't have made any sense. What they changed it to works better in the context of the story and achieves the exact same intended outcome. In fact, I dare say that the movie's ending achieves that outcome in a more complete and all-encompassing way than the comic.
So all-in-all, I loved Watchmen. Its totally worth seeing again in the theater, and I might do just that before the weekend's over.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
This Is Just Weird
I'm in full-on Watchmen mode right now. I would love to see this guy take on scenes from the graphic novel in the same Saturday-morning cartoon style.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 02/22 - 02/28
TNT is showing The Lord of the Rings right now, which is surefire way for me to waste away an entire day. Its right up there with Band of Brothers on History.
-Heroes, Monday: While I don't plan to abandon this show anytime soon, my patience is wearing thin with Heroes. This episode wasn't that bad; there was a lot of good exposition and the black-and-white flashback scene were a nice call back to Company Man, easily one of the best episodes to date. But I don't think we learned anything Earth-shatteringly new. HRG is a double (or is it triple) agent, working his own agenda while working with The Hunter. Shocker. They need to reassemble all the characters and get them fighting toward a single goal. Of course, that goal now appears to be saving New York, err... Washington, D.C. from annihilation. Good thing no one's currently occupying Isaac's loft, otherwise where else would Parkman use his as-of-yet-unexplained new ability to paint the future? It does sadden me, however, that they can't seem to come up with a better storyline than "save a city from destruction." I'll keep watching, but I really don't know why.
-24, Monday: See, I told you the blonde FBI chick was a mole. I just didn't think she'd be a mole in tandem with Hillinger. Too bad she fell for Sean's shoot-the-girl-than-shoot-yourself-in-the-arm act. That one fools them every time. I really thought for a second there that Hillinger would get away, at least for an episode or two. But I didn't count one the extent of Chloe's digital kung fu. Hillinger is in custody, Dubaku is dead, all the names everyone working with Dubaku is exposed, and the coup in Sangala is being quelled. Looks like a short day for Jack Bauer and company, if it weren't for the imminant attack being planned on Washington right now. Looks like General Juma is going to go after the White House next, which should keep Jack busy for the next 14 hours or so. I also get the sense that they've introduced the President's daughter for the sole purpose of her getting kidnapped somewhere down the line. I can see it going down something like this: Juma threatens the White House, everyone is evacuated, the attack is averted, Juma then captures the First Daughter because she defies her mother's orders and goes off and does something on her own without any Secret Service protection. I'd like to think that they could use her for more than that, but I'm not banking on it.
-Lost, Wednesday: First, what's happening on the the island. We now have names for the two other people who were sitting in business class with the O6 and Ben- Caesar and Ilana. And while it looks like everyone else on the plane survived (clearly, Lapidus IS a really good pilot), these two are obviously going to be important. From the looks of it, they landed on the small satellite island, by the Hydra station. Did Lapidus manage to land the plane on the "runway" that Kate and Sawyer were forced to work on? Was the runway being built because the Others knew that the Ajira flight would eventually have to land there? The woman that left with Lapidus on the outrigger has to be Sun. I mean, who else would a)have something or someone to look for and b)even know that there IS something or someone else to look for? They head toward the main island, carrying some Ajira bottle waters, and land on the beach, looking for the old camp. But if that's the case, why wasn't Sun with Jack, Hurley, and Kate? Why was she left on the plane? And where's Sayid? According to Caesar, some people disappeared in the flash, while other didn't; who stayed and who was flashed away? This begs another question- the flash of light is associated with time travel; so have Jack, Hurley, and Kate been transported back in time while the rest of the plane, including Lapidus, Ben, and what looks like Sun, crashed on the island in "real time"? I have no idea. Oh, and the least surprising part of the episode- Locke's alive again. Or, at least he's not dead. He can interact with everyone and can eat food, so let's just assume that he's actually alive again. Okay, so now to off the island, when Locke turned the wheel and was sent to the Tunisian desert. We do we learn? We learn that Charles Widmore wants to help Locke because Locke is special and destined to lead the people on the island. This is odd, because Ben claims to want to do the exact same thing for the exact same reason, except that he and Widmore are also working against each other. It makes Locke seems like nothing more than a pawn in a much, much larger game. Nothing all that exciting in Locke's meeting with each of the O6 (though Hurley assuming that Locke was dead was funny). None of them want to go back, and they make that very clear to Locke (especially Jack and Kate; they REALLY cut down Locke). We do get some good info, like how Jack gets sent off the rails (Locke tells him that his father says, "hi"). We also see that Locke wanted to kill himself, but doesn't because Ben stops him. And then Ben kills Locke anyway, and makes it look like a suicide. I wonder whether killing Locke was his plan all along, or if he decided to do so only after hearing Locke's plan to go visit Ms. Hawking. Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think it's the latter. Why? Because Ms. Hawking thinks Locke committed suicide. Ben's working with Ms. Hawking, trying to bring the O6 back to the island, because that's what Locke was supposed to do. He got Locke to divulge his mission so HE could carry it out and get himself back to the island (since he wouldn't have been included if Locke was running the show). It was only after he assumed Locke's role that he learned that he needed to bring Locke's body back with them. He clearly didn't realize the implications of doing so (ie- that Locke would come back to life on the island), otherwise he might not have murdered him. That should make for an interesting meeting once Ben awakes on the island.
-Hackers, Thursday: I can't believe I watched this movie. Again. It was made in 1994, released in 1995. Is that really how people thought computers worked 15 years ago (man, I feel like I've made this observation before). I think War Games, made back in 1983, gave a more accurate depiciton of computers than Hackers did. That said, check out the cast list to this movie; there are a ton of actors that you'd recognize now from other, less crappy, work, outside of just Angelina Jolie.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: So, I thought we'd actually get some answers about Starbuck in this episode. Turns out, we didn't. At least, not on the surface. While nothing specific was revealed about Starbuck, the implications were very heavy. The popular interwebs theory is that Starbuck is a hybrid, and that her father is Daniel, the missing 7th Cylon model that Cavil destoryed. Ellen said that Daniel was an artist, and from what we saw in this episode, Starbuck's father was a piano player (it was pretty clear that all the piano scenes were just in Starbuck's head). Also, Hera, a known hybrid, drew the melody to All Along the Watchtower, which happens to be the song Starbuck played as a kid, taught to her by her dad, and the song that triggered the Final Five (err, Four) to realize who they really were. So I think Starbuck's a hybrid, the first hybrid, and that when we get the specific answers about her, we'll get specific answers about humanity as a whole (ie- the end of the series). Speaking of Hera, its good to see that Boomer is just straight up evil. Clearly, it was the plan all along for her to "escape" with Ellen, rejoin the fleet, exploit her relationship with Tyrol, disguise herself as Athena, kidnap Hera, steal a raptor, and return to Cavil's baseship. It seems that Roslin's health is tied to her proximity to Hera; I don't think she's long for this world anyway. It will also be interesting to see what happens to Tyrol, since he was responsible for Sharon getting out of the brig and thus complicit in the kidnapping of Hera. It will also be interesting to see what happens to Galactica itself. Clearly its falling apart and it won't last much longer, but what happens when they do have to abandon Galactica? Roslin's going to die, and Galactica is on its last legs; can Adama go on without his two loves? With only 4 hours of the show left, I have no idea how they'll cram everything they need to say into the final episodes. But I can't wait to see it.
Okay, back to The Lord of the Rings.
-Heroes, Monday: While I don't plan to abandon this show anytime soon, my patience is wearing thin with Heroes. This episode wasn't that bad; there was a lot of good exposition and the black-and-white flashback scene were a nice call back to Company Man, easily one of the best episodes to date. But I don't think we learned anything Earth-shatteringly new. HRG is a double (or is it triple) agent, working his own agenda while working with The Hunter. Shocker. They need to reassemble all the characters and get them fighting toward a single goal. Of course, that goal now appears to be saving New York, err... Washington, D.C. from annihilation. Good thing no one's currently occupying Isaac's loft, otherwise where else would Parkman use his as-of-yet-unexplained new ability to paint the future? It does sadden me, however, that they can't seem to come up with a better storyline than "save a city from destruction." I'll keep watching, but I really don't know why.
-24, Monday: See, I told you the blonde FBI chick was a mole. I just didn't think she'd be a mole in tandem with Hillinger. Too bad she fell for Sean's shoot-the-girl-than-shoot-yourself-in-the-arm act. That one fools them every time. I really thought for a second there that Hillinger would get away, at least for an episode or two. But I didn't count one the extent of Chloe's digital kung fu. Hillinger is in custody, Dubaku is dead, all the names everyone working with Dubaku is exposed, and the coup in Sangala is being quelled. Looks like a short day for Jack Bauer and company, if it weren't for the imminant attack being planned on Washington right now. Looks like General Juma is going to go after the White House next, which should keep Jack busy for the next 14 hours or so. I also get the sense that they've introduced the President's daughter for the sole purpose of her getting kidnapped somewhere down the line. I can see it going down something like this: Juma threatens the White House, everyone is evacuated, the attack is averted, Juma then captures the First Daughter because she defies her mother's orders and goes off and does something on her own without any Secret Service protection. I'd like to think that they could use her for more than that, but I'm not banking on it.
-Lost, Wednesday: First, what's happening on the the island. We now have names for the two other people who were sitting in business class with the O6 and Ben- Caesar and Ilana. And while it looks like everyone else on the plane survived (clearly, Lapidus IS a really good pilot), these two are obviously going to be important. From the looks of it, they landed on the small satellite island, by the Hydra station. Did Lapidus manage to land the plane on the "runway" that Kate and Sawyer were forced to work on? Was the runway being built because the Others knew that the Ajira flight would eventually have to land there? The woman that left with Lapidus on the outrigger has to be Sun. I mean, who else would a)have something or someone to look for and b)even know that there IS something or someone else to look for? They head toward the main island, carrying some Ajira bottle waters, and land on the beach, looking for the old camp. But if that's the case, why wasn't Sun with Jack, Hurley, and Kate? Why was she left on the plane? And where's Sayid? According to Caesar, some people disappeared in the flash, while other didn't; who stayed and who was flashed away? This begs another question- the flash of light is associated with time travel; so have Jack, Hurley, and Kate been transported back in time while the rest of the plane, including Lapidus, Ben, and what looks like Sun, crashed on the island in "real time"? I have no idea. Oh, and the least surprising part of the episode- Locke's alive again. Or, at least he's not dead. He can interact with everyone and can eat food, so let's just assume that he's actually alive again. Okay, so now to off the island, when Locke turned the wheel and was sent to the Tunisian desert. We do we learn? We learn that Charles Widmore wants to help Locke because Locke is special and destined to lead the people on the island. This is odd, because Ben claims to want to do the exact same thing for the exact same reason, except that he and Widmore are also working against each other. It makes Locke seems like nothing more than a pawn in a much, much larger game. Nothing all that exciting in Locke's meeting with each of the O6 (though Hurley assuming that Locke was dead was funny). None of them want to go back, and they make that very clear to Locke (especially Jack and Kate; they REALLY cut down Locke). We do get some good info, like how Jack gets sent off the rails (Locke tells him that his father says, "hi"). We also see that Locke wanted to kill himself, but doesn't because Ben stops him. And then Ben kills Locke anyway, and makes it look like a suicide. I wonder whether killing Locke was his plan all along, or if he decided to do so only after hearing Locke's plan to go visit Ms. Hawking. Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think it's the latter. Why? Because Ms. Hawking thinks Locke committed suicide. Ben's working with Ms. Hawking, trying to bring the O6 back to the island, because that's what Locke was supposed to do. He got Locke to divulge his mission so HE could carry it out and get himself back to the island (since he wouldn't have been included if Locke was running the show). It was only after he assumed Locke's role that he learned that he needed to bring Locke's body back with them. He clearly didn't realize the implications of doing so (ie- that Locke would come back to life on the island), otherwise he might not have murdered him. That should make for an interesting meeting once Ben awakes on the island.
-Hackers, Thursday: I can't believe I watched this movie. Again. It was made in 1994, released in 1995. Is that really how people thought computers worked 15 years ago (man, I feel like I've made this observation before). I think War Games, made back in 1983, gave a more accurate depiciton of computers than Hackers did. That said, check out the cast list to this movie; there are a ton of actors that you'd recognize now from other, less crappy, work, outside of just Angelina Jolie.
-Battlestar Galactica, Friday: So, I thought we'd actually get some answers about Starbuck in this episode. Turns out, we didn't. At least, not on the surface. While nothing specific was revealed about Starbuck, the implications were very heavy. The popular interwebs theory is that Starbuck is a hybrid, and that her father is Daniel, the missing 7th Cylon model that Cavil destoryed. Ellen said that Daniel was an artist, and from what we saw in this episode, Starbuck's father was a piano player (it was pretty clear that all the piano scenes were just in Starbuck's head). Also, Hera, a known hybrid, drew the melody to All Along the Watchtower, which happens to be the song Starbuck played as a kid, taught to her by her dad, and the song that triggered the Final Five (err, Four) to realize who they really were. So I think Starbuck's a hybrid, the first hybrid, and that when we get the specific answers about her, we'll get specific answers about humanity as a whole (ie- the end of the series). Speaking of Hera, its good to see that Boomer is just straight up evil. Clearly, it was the plan all along for her to "escape" with Ellen, rejoin the fleet, exploit her relationship with Tyrol, disguise herself as Athena, kidnap Hera, steal a raptor, and return to Cavil's baseship. It seems that Roslin's health is tied to her proximity to Hera; I don't think she's long for this world anyway. It will also be interesting to see what happens to Tyrol, since he was responsible for Sharon getting out of the brig and thus complicit in the kidnapping of Hera. It will also be interesting to see what happens to Galactica itself. Clearly its falling apart and it won't last much longer, but what happens when they do have to abandon Galactica? Roslin's going to die, and Galactica is on its last legs; can Adama go on without his two loves? With only 4 hours of the show left, I have no idea how they'll cram everything they need to say into the final episodes. But I can't wait to see it.
Okay, back to The Lord of the Rings.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The End Is Nigh.
You now have just over a week to go and read Watchmen before the movie is release on March 6th. I've been excited for this since the trailer first ran before The Dark Knight back in July. I've checked, and I couldn't be more stoked now. Here some clips from the movie that have been released so far (the last one combining 10 shorter clips together):
Yeah, couldn't be more stoked. I've checked the scenes against the novel (because, let's face it, I'm a geek), and I am impressed. But I'm not one of people that think any deviation from the source material is automatically a bad thing; I understand that things change when a property is adapted from one medium to another, so I can accept changes as long as they make sense. Example- clip 6 (of the 10 shown in movie four) shows Deisberg talking to Veidt about the Comedian's death. In the novel, its Rorschach that talks to Veidt. Why the change? Don't know, but as long as the same information is conveyed in the scene, it doesn't really matter. Also, I don't mind that they've decided to actually use the name "Watchmen" in the movie; nothing changes in the story by doing so, you eliminate any potential confusion among the non-graphic novel crowd about why the movie's called Watchmen and "Watchmen" is never mentioned, and it sounds better than "Crime Busters" anyway.
I've read that there are 3 cuts of the film- the theatrical cut (155 minutes), a director's cut (around three hours), and a special extended cut (pushing three and a half, which, I would guess, includes the Tales of the Black Freighter story cut into the film). I can't wait until the 6th. Let's hope that the greatest comic book ever made into a movie can also be the greatest comic book movie ever.
(Man, that last line was terrible. Sorry).
Yeah, couldn't be more stoked. I've checked the scenes against the novel (because, let's face it, I'm a geek), and I am impressed. But I'm not one of people that think any deviation from the source material is automatically a bad thing; I understand that things change when a property is adapted from one medium to another, so I can accept changes as long as they make sense. Example- clip 6 (of the 10 shown in movie four) shows Deisberg talking to Veidt about the Comedian's death. In the novel, its Rorschach that talks to Veidt. Why the change? Don't know, but as long as the same information is conveyed in the scene, it doesn't really matter. Also, I don't mind that they've decided to actually use the name "Watchmen" in the movie; nothing changes in the story by doing so, you eliminate any potential confusion among the non-graphic novel crowd about why the movie's called Watchmen and "Watchmen" is never mentioned, and it sounds better than "Crime Busters" anyway.
I've read that there are 3 cuts of the film- the theatrical cut (155 minutes), a director's cut (around three hours), and a special extended cut (pushing three and a half, which, I would guess, includes the Tales of the Black Freighter story cut into the film). I can't wait until the 6th. Let's hope that the greatest comic book ever made into a movie can also be the greatest comic book movie ever.
(Man, that last line was terrible. Sorry).
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Remakes Have To Stop
You can file this under "worst idea ever":
Gore Verbinski to direct 'Clue'
They're going to remake Clue, to which I ask, "WHY?!?!?" What possible reason would you have to remake a movie as good as Clue? Its hysterical and seriously, one of my favorite movies of all time. Its never not funny, and insanely quotable. If you haven't seen Clue, I suggest you do so before its destroyed by the remake.
Gore Verbinski to direct 'Clue'
They're going to remake Clue, to which I ask, "WHY?!?!?" What possible reason would you have to remake a movie as good as Clue? Its hysterical and seriously, one of my favorite movies of all time. Its never not funny, and insanely quotable. If you haven't seen Clue, I suggest you do so before its destroyed by the remake.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
More Plot Holes Than Meets The Eye
So thanks to HBO, I've seen Michael Bay's Transformers movie at least a dozen times. If there's nothing else on and Transformers is, I end up watching it. Don't know, its just one of those movies. I think Megan Fox has something to do with it. Anyway, I never really paid attention to the "plot" of the movie before because its Transformers and Michael Bay, so I figured it didn't matter. And it doesn't, but when I finally didn't pay attention, I found that the plot makes absolutely no sense. Sure, the movie's 18 months old, but I just now realized how ludicrous the story is.
According to the Autobots, Megatron's plan is to use the Allspark to transform Earth's technology into weapons to rebuild his army and destroy the world. But according to the guys at Sector 7, Megatron crash landed in the Artic Circle about 2,000 years ago while looking for the Allspark and has be in some form of frozen state since then. Also, all of Earth's technology was apparently reverse-engineered from Megatron himself. So if he's been frozen all these years, how could he possibly have a plan to usurp Earth's technologies when there wasn't even any technology for him to usurp before he got here? And how the hell does Megatron know anything about humans anyway? He's been out of commission since he crash landed, so what the fuck? There are plot holes and then there are plot holes; this is the latter. I mean, even Snakes On A Plane made an attempt to explain its ridiculous potential holes; Transformers didn't even try.
Clearly this is my fault for paying too much attention to the movie; I get that. But after enough viewings, some things are just inevitable. That said, I'm sure the sequel will be just as inane, and I'm sure I'll see it its opening weekend.
According to the Autobots, Megatron's plan is to use the Allspark to transform Earth's technology into weapons to rebuild his army and destroy the world. But according to the guys at Sector 7, Megatron crash landed in the Artic Circle about 2,000 years ago while looking for the Allspark and has be in some form of frozen state since then. Also, all of Earth's technology was apparently reverse-engineered from Megatron himself. So if he's been frozen all these years, how could he possibly have a plan to usurp Earth's technologies when there wasn't even any technology for him to usurp before he got here? And how the hell does Megatron know anything about humans anyway? He's been out of commission since he crash landed, so what the fuck? There are plot holes and then there are plot holes; this is the latter. I mean, even Snakes On A Plane made an attempt to explain its ridiculous potential holes; Transformers didn't even try.
Clearly this is my fault for paying too much attention to the movie; I get that. But after enough viewings, some things are just inevitable. That said, I'm sure the sequel will be just as inane, and I'm sure I'll see it its opening weekend.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Rethinking A Bad Movie
So The Wizard was on one of the HBO channels tonight. If you don't know (or don't remember, or have tried to forget), The Wizard was a 90-minute Nintendo commercial that masqueraded as a feature-length movie. I remember seeing it when it was first released back in 1989. In fact, its quite possible I saw it in the theaters (I'll look to BrotherofGiantAsianMan to confirm or deny that statement). I seem to recall having enjoyed the movie the first time I saw it, but I hadn't seen it in a while, and my opinion of the movie had dropped considerable. I used to think it was just a bad movie. And not bad in a "so bad its good" way, just... bad. But upon further review, I think I'm coming around on The Wizard. The level of unintentional comedy in this movie is just off the charts. And I'm not just talking about this scene (a.k.a. one of the greatest scenes in movie history):
In addition to this scene, there are a myriad of things that I love about this movie:
-I had forgotten that Christian Slater played the older brother, meaning that in between his career defining roles in Heathers and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he managed to squeeze in this gem.
-The horribly awkward sexual chemistry/puppy love story between 13 year olds Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis. Its just wrong. Seriously, they're 13.
-Speaking of Jenny Lewis, its possible you know her better as the lead singer of Rilo Kiley.
-Speaking of music, in an early scene, New Kids on the Block is playing in the background. I believe it was "You Got It (The Right Stuff)".
-Did you know that Tobey Maguire had a small, walk-on role in The Wizard? I didn't.
Yeah, that's Spiderman on the far left.
-The fact that the third finalist is a horribly stereotyped girl gamer with Coke-bottle glasses that could have easily been mistaken for a dude if it weren't for the pigtails. And even with the pigtails, its still a tough call.
-And finally, I love how everyone seems to know everything about Super Mario Bros. 3 when the finals was supposed to be the first time anyone had ever seen the game. The raccoon suit makes you fly? Sure, that one's obvious. Jimmy knows where the first Warp Whistle is hidden (which, aside from the unintentional comedy, is the only real thing gained from the movie)? Okay, maybe you can chalk that one up to him being a gaming prodigy, but how do the people in the crowd (ie- Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis) know that a)warping is that the whistle does and b)that there's even a hidden warp zone in Level One? I realize that Nintendo's trying to sell the game (like Mario 3 needed the help) by showing off parts of it, but couldn't they have had them react to the whistle ("Oh, the whistle takes you to the Warp World!") instead of having them already know what it does? Would've made more sense that way, but I'm guessing that "sense" wasn't a big priority on this flick.
So what does it all mean? It means that I've taken The Wizard off my "Worst Movies Ever" list (with the likes of Super Mario Bros., oddly enough, and The Core) and dropped it into the "Horribly Awesome" category (up there with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). Too bad there isn't a deluxe special edition DVD for The Wizard; I think I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I still may have to own it anyway.
In addition to this scene, there are a myriad of things that I love about this movie:
-I had forgotten that Christian Slater played the older brother, meaning that in between his career defining roles in Heathers and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he managed to squeeze in this gem.
-The horribly awkward sexual chemistry/puppy love story between 13 year olds Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis. Its just wrong. Seriously, they're 13.
-Speaking of Jenny Lewis, its possible you know her better as the lead singer of Rilo Kiley.
-Speaking of music, in an early scene, New Kids on the Block is playing in the background. I believe it was "You Got It (The Right Stuff)".
-Did you know that Tobey Maguire had a small, walk-on role in The Wizard? I didn't.
Yeah, that's Spiderman on the far left.-The fact that the third finalist is a horribly stereotyped girl gamer with Coke-bottle glasses that could have easily been mistaken for a dude if it weren't for the pigtails. And even with the pigtails, its still a tough call.
-And finally, I love how everyone seems to know everything about Super Mario Bros. 3 when the finals was supposed to be the first time anyone had ever seen the game. The raccoon suit makes you fly? Sure, that one's obvious. Jimmy knows where the first Warp Whistle is hidden (which, aside from the unintentional comedy, is the only real thing gained from the movie)? Okay, maybe you can chalk that one up to him being a gaming prodigy, but how do the people in the crowd (ie- Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis) know that a)warping is that the whistle does and b)that there's even a hidden warp zone in Level One? I realize that Nintendo's trying to sell the game (like Mario 3 needed the help) by showing off parts of it, but couldn't they have had them react to the whistle ("Oh, the whistle takes you to the Warp World!") instead of having them already know what it does? Would've made more sense that way, but I'm guessing that "sense" wasn't a big priority on this flick.
So what does it all mean? It means that I've taken The Wizard off my "Worst Movies Ever" list (with the likes of Super Mario Bros., oddly enough, and The Core) and dropped it into the "Horribly Awesome" category (up there with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). Too bad there isn't a deluxe special edition DVD for The Wizard; I think I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I still may have to own it anyway.
Monday, January 5, 2009
2009: Bold Predictions!
First off, happy belated new years. We're a mere five days into 2009, and I'm still wondering where 2004 went. Anyway, 'tis the season for bold, outlandish predictions that have a 38% chance of being true 72% of the time. Though, since I'm so good a predicting things on the blog, its probably a safe bet to take my predictions and go the other way. Never the less, onward to GiantAsianMan's Stone-Cold Locks for 2009*:
(*you know, unless they don't come true)
Sports
-The Reds will finish just over .500, somewhere around 82-80.
-Chad Johnson has played his last game in a Bengals uniform.
-The Big East will get 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament (and none of them will make the Final Four).
-The Yankees will miss the playoffs again. So will the Mets.
-Tiger Woods comes back from knee surgery and wins (at least) 2 majors.
-Brett Favre will be back AGAIN next season, but not with the Jets.
-If Tim Tebow comes back for his senior season, he'll win a second Heisman.
-The NBA finals will look a lot like they did last year, with the Celtics beating the Lakers.
TV & Film
-The top 3 grossing films of the year, in no particular order, will be Watchmen, Star Trek, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
-Heath Ledger does not win an Oscar for The Dark Knight (he does get nominated, though).
-The island went back in time (okay, that was an easy one).
-The final cylon? Tom Zarek.
-Or Dr. Cottle.
-Reaper won't get a third season when it deserves one.
-Private Practice will get a third season when it doesn't.
-Dollhouse will be a great show, but it won't get a chance to shine due to its Friday night time slot.
-Regardless of how good Nathan Fillion's new show Castle is, it won't last 4 episodes, just because.
Okay, I guess that's all I've got for now. Here's to 2009!
(*you know, unless they don't come true)
Sports
-The Reds will finish just over .500, somewhere around 82-80.
-Chad Johnson has played his last game in a Bengals uniform.
-The Big East will get 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament (and none of them will make the Final Four).
-The Yankees will miss the playoffs again. So will the Mets.
-Tiger Woods comes back from knee surgery and wins (at least) 2 majors.
-Brett Favre will be back AGAIN next season, but not with the Jets.
-If Tim Tebow comes back for his senior season, he'll win a second Heisman.
-The NBA finals will look a lot like they did last year, with the Celtics beating the Lakers.
TV & Film
-The top 3 grossing films of the year, in no particular order, will be Watchmen, Star Trek, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
-Heath Ledger does not win an Oscar for The Dark Knight (he does get nominated, though).
-The island went back in time (okay, that was an easy one).
-The final cylon? Tom Zarek.
-Or Dr. Cottle.
-Reaper won't get a third season when it deserves one.
-Private Practice will get a third season when it doesn't.
-Dollhouse will be a great show, but it won't get a chance to shine due to its Friday night time slot.
-Regardless of how good Nathan Fillion's new show Castle is, it won't last 4 episodes, just because.
Okay, I guess that's all I've got for now. Here's to 2009!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Essential Videos 4 - Tiny Dancer
Elton John credits Cameron Crowe with reviving this song. Before Almost Famous, he rarely played it in concert; now, its one of his most popular songs.
I love how at first, it seems like the song is just underscoring the scene, but as it progresses, it becomes clear that the song is the scene. Simply the greatest movie-music scene in film history (though, this scene is a close second).
I love how at first, it seems like the song is just underscoring the scene, but as it progresses, it becomes clear that the song is the scene. Simply the greatest movie-music scene in film history (though, this scene is a close second).
Monday, July 21, 2008
Speaking Of Batman...
... he pitches for the Reds. And to think, the Reds AAA team is the Louisville Bats.
Though, I'd rather have a starting pitcher moonlighting as a masked vigilante in Gotham City than a head football coach pulling shifts at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with House.
Though, I'd rather have a starting pitcher moonlighting as a masked vigilante in Gotham City than a head football coach pulling shifts at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with House.
I Believe In Christopher Nolan (And Zack Snyder).
Okay, time to geek out.
The Dark Knight was fucking awesome. I'm not going to spoil anything from the movie (not that there is a whole lot to spoil; that is, unless, you are one of the people that doesn't already know that Harvey Dent is fated to become Two-Face- there, you've been spoiled), but it lived up to all of the hype. Christopher Nolan has done an amazing job rebooting the Batman franchise. Heath Ledger as the Joker? Incredible. There's talk of a posthumous Oscar nomination, and given his performance, I don't think that would be out of place. The movie addressed my favorite part of the Batman character- the fact that Batman is kinda crazy and is really only a half-step away from the "freaks" he puts away in Arkham. I love that he's essentially insane but he's able to control it and use his psychosis for good.
Zoe: He's a psycho, you know. Niska.
Mal: He's not the first psycho to hire us, nor the last. You think that's a commentary on us?
And speaking of psychotic superheroes, how about the teaser trailer for Watchmen that ran before The Dark Knight?
Stunning. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. Yeah, its supposed to be "unfilmable," but so was The Lord of the Rings, and look how that turned out. What you need is someone who is determined to remain true to the source material, and Zack Snyder appears to be that someone. Entertainment Weekly has Watchmen on the cover right now with a preview of the movie, and it looks like Snyder is saying all the right things and working hard to preserve as much of the original story as possible. But in the end, you never know. Changes are inevitable, I just hope the changes make sense and are justifiable within the context of the story. I guess Snyder's first real test is at Comic-Con this week, where he's showing some footage. If he gets of there alive, maybe he's on the right track.
The Dark Knight was fucking awesome. I'm not going to spoil anything from the movie (not that there is a whole lot to spoil; that is, unless, you are one of the people that doesn't already know that Harvey Dent is fated to become Two-Face- there, you've been spoiled), but it lived up to all of the hype. Christopher Nolan has done an amazing job rebooting the Batman franchise. Heath Ledger as the Joker? Incredible. There's talk of a posthumous Oscar nomination, and given his performance, I don't think that would be out of place. The movie addressed my favorite part of the Batman character- the fact that Batman is kinda crazy and is really only a half-step away from the "freaks" he puts away in Arkham. I love that he's essentially insane but he's able to control it and use his psychosis for good.
Zoe: He's a psycho, you know. Niska.
Mal: He's not the first psycho to hire us, nor the last. You think that's a commentary on us?
And speaking of psychotic superheroes, how about the teaser trailer for Watchmen that ran before The Dark Knight?
Stunning. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. Yeah, its supposed to be "unfilmable," but so was The Lord of the Rings, and look how that turned out. What you need is someone who is determined to remain true to the source material, and Zack Snyder appears to be that someone. Entertainment Weekly has Watchmen on the cover right now with a preview of the movie, and it looks like Snyder is saying all the right things and working hard to preserve as much of the original story as possible. But in the end, you never know. Changes are inevitable, I just hope the changes make sense and are justifiable within the context of the story. I guess Snyder's first real test is at Comic-Con this week, where he's showing some footage. If he gets of there alive, maybe he's on the right track.
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