Not really. I'm just going to let that last post hang there, unfinished. I guess the idea of District 9 being nominated for an Oscar is a little less offensive seeing as how Avatar was up for the best picture nod. I don't have much to say here. I thought I ought to make some futile attempt to upkeep this blog. No one reads it anyway. If there were more going on in my life, I might actually write about it here and tell my family about it. That way I'd at least get courtesy page views.
Anyway, a few week s ago I saw a movie called "Rolling Vengeance". It was like Mad Max except about a trucker who builds a monster truck to kill the guys who killed his family. The truck had a drill on the front as well. Pretty awesome, really.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, August 17, 2009
District 9
I watched "District 9" last Saturday. I can't say that I was particularly interested in seeing the film. My roommate was going to see it with his brothers and dad and he invited me along. I thought I might as well watch it. It was matinee prices after all.
After seeing it, I thought, "Wow. That was an okay movie. It had a lot of stupid elements and turned into a video game movie in the second half, but it was okay."
But I've been reading people talking about how great the movie is, saying it's one of the best sci-fi films of the decade and how Oscar worthy it is. And honestly, that bugs me. Because it's not that great. It's okay. It's fairly enjoyable, but I will vehemently disagree with anyone who says it is worthy of the praise it's getting. So, here's why my opinion is better than theirs. Spoilers ahead:
The overall concept of District 9 is fairly original. At least it isn't one of the overused sci-fi tropes that we see trotted out again and again. The beginning of the film is in a documentary style where the arrival of an alien species above Johannesburg, South Africa 20 years ago is explained through various interviews and other documentary stuff. You know what? I'm going to skip over the plot description for now. Just know that the aliens have been moved into a slum underneath their spaceship and have been heavily segregated from the human population.
A private organization called the MNU is the main entity that deals with the aliens. And they're EEEEEVIL. Super evil. Hitler evil. Mustache twirlingly, tying women to railroad tracks, hand wringingly evil. And it is the MNU's ridiculous level of evilness that really prevents this movie from being great. The evil marine employed by the MNU and becomes the main antagonist actually says to one of the aliens (called prawns derogatorily), "I love killing you prawns!" Cause he's evil, see?
Anyway, I'll have to finish complaining about other peoples' opinions later.
After seeing it, I thought, "Wow. That was an okay movie. It had a lot of stupid elements and turned into a video game movie in the second half, but it was okay."
But I've been reading people talking about how great the movie is, saying it's one of the best sci-fi films of the decade and how Oscar worthy it is. And honestly, that bugs me. Because it's not that great. It's okay. It's fairly enjoyable, but I will vehemently disagree with anyone who says it is worthy of the praise it's getting. So, here's why my opinion is better than theirs. Spoilers ahead:
The overall concept of District 9 is fairly original. At least it isn't one of the overused sci-fi tropes that we see trotted out again and again. The beginning of the film is in a documentary style where the arrival of an alien species above Johannesburg, South Africa 20 years ago is explained through various interviews and other documentary stuff. You know what? I'm going to skip over the plot description for now. Just know that the aliens have been moved into a slum underneath their spaceship and have been heavily segregated from the human population.
A private organization called the MNU is the main entity that deals with the aliens. And they're EEEEEVIL. Super evil. Hitler evil. Mustache twirlingly, tying women to railroad tracks, hand wringingly evil. And it is the MNU's ridiculous level of evilness that really prevents this movie from being great. The evil marine employed by the MNU and becomes the main antagonist actually says to one of the aliens (called prawns derogatorily), "I love killing you prawns!" Cause he's evil, see?
Anyway, I'll have to finish complaining about other peoples' opinions later.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Drag me to Ukraine
I lived in a Ukraine from the July of 2002 to the July of 2004. While there I ran into a group of people that I had only had knowledge of from TV and film, Gypsies or Roma. Director Sam Raimi is releasing a film titled "Drag Me To Hell" and it focuses on a girl who will be dragged to Hell in three days because of a Gypsy curse. Now in my first week in Ukraine, I was sitting in a cab with a friend of mine. The cab driver had left to take care of something before we departed. We waited with the doors open, my friend in the passenger seat and me in the back on the passenger side.
We were suddenly approached by two Gypsy women. There tended to be groups of Gypsies around train and bus stations. Unfortunately, they were usually there to ask travelers for money or on occasion steal from them. I hope that doesn't sound hateful, but I knew quite a few people who had their wallets stolen by Gypsies at train stations.
Anyway, the women approached us and began speaking to us. I hardly spoke any Russian and understood less. My friend was preoccupied with the other Gypsy, so I was left to my own devices to communicate with this woman. After a couple of minutes of neither one of us understanding one another, the woman pulled a hair off of my head and poked out triangle patterns on my arm with it. Then both of the women turned and left.
I asked my friend, "What just happened?"
He replied, "They were asking for money. They said if we didn't give them money they would curse us with bad health. That's why they pulled out the hair."
I said, "So I was just cursed by a Gypsy?"
"Yep. Cursed with bad health."
"Huh."
Happily, I wasn't sick for over a year and a half after that. Also happily, I haven't been dragged to Hell either.
We were suddenly approached by two Gypsy women. There tended to be groups of Gypsies around train and bus stations. Unfortunately, they were usually there to ask travelers for money or on occasion steal from them. I hope that doesn't sound hateful, but I knew quite a few people who had their wallets stolen by Gypsies at train stations.
Anyway, the women approached us and began speaking to us. I hardly spoke any Russian and understood less. My friend was preoccupied with the other Gypsy, so I was left to my own devices to communicate with this woman. After a couple of minutes of neither one of us understanding one another, the woman pulled a hair off of my head and poked out triangle patterns on my arm with it. Then both of the women turned and left.
I asked my friend, "What just happened?"
He replied, "They were asking for money. They said if we didn't give them money they would curse us with bad health. That's why they pulled out the hair."
I said, "So I was just cursed by a Gypsy?"
"Yep. Cursed with bad health."
"Huh."
Happily, I wasn't sick for over a year and a half after that. Also happily, I haven't been dragged to Hell either.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sexual Healing
I'm not convinced that anyone genuinely likes the song "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye. I think people only like it ironically. I was listening to it earlier and there's not really anything really interesting about it other than the words "sexual healing." Other than that it sounds like a run of the mill R & B love song. I'm not trying to imply that Marvin Gaye sucks or anything. I'm personally not too familiar with his music other than "Sexual Healing." I just don't think that most people like that song as anything but a novelty.
To me, it's one of those things that people put on so they can nudge their friends and say, "Hey, look what I'm listening to. It's a song about getting it on. Pretty funny, huh?" and then they never listen to any other Marvin Gaye song. At least, they probably don't listen to his other songs knowingly. I'm sure there are many fans of Marvin Gaye who are familiar with his entire catalogue of music and I don't want to offend them. You know how rabid Marvin Gaye fans can be. I just don't think that "Sexual Healing" is anything but ironically cool for most people.
On the other hand, I'm not afraid to offend fans of the Beatles. Yep, I don't like the Beatles. I only bring up the Beatles because it seems to me many people only like the Beatles because everyone likes the Beatles. You can't like good music if you don't like the Beatles seems to be the mindset many people have. Of course, that line of thinking is dumb. There will never be anything, a book, a band, a movie, a flavor of soda, that will be universally liked. So running into an unfavorable opinion shouldn't be that big of a deal. Besides, overwhelming popularity does not automatically make a thing wonderful. After all, how many people were doing the Macarena?
I digress. I never thought the Beatles' early stuff (Hard Day's Night, Help!) was very good. In my opinion it was all a bunch of vapid love songs. I find it hard to believe that they were ever taken seriously after their early work. All their fans seemed to be screaming, teenage girls. They were the Backstreet Boys of the sixties. I thought I liked their later stuff until I actually started listening to one of their albums. I thought most of the songs were just annoying noise.
Of course I realize how influential the Beatles were and still are. I'm sure they've influenced most of the music I listen to these days. But I just can't get behind their music. I tend to like covers of their songs way more than I actually like the original versions.
Anywho, I don't really want to offend anyone with my opinion. But when it comes to disliking the Beatles, it's impossible to not set someone off. I've seen Beatles fans accuse those who dislike the Beatles of being liars. Some people actually think it's impossible to dislike the Bealtes, which is pretty dumb.
I don't know how I transitioned into a talking about the Beatles from Sexual Healing, but I've done it. I guess I don't have to worry too much about rabid Marvin Gaye or Beatles fans coming after me. No one's reading this anyway.
P.S. I hate the Eagles, also. I think "Hotel California" is just a terrible song.
To me, it's one of those things that people put on so they can nudge their friends and say, "Hey, look what I'm listening to. It's a song about getting it on. Pretty funny, huh?" and then they never listen to any other Marvin Gaye song. At least, they probably don't listen to his other songs knowingly. I'm sure there are many fans of Marvin Gaye who are familiar with his entire catalogue of music and I don't want to offend them. You know how rabid Marvin Gaye fans can be. I just don't think that "Sexual Healing" is anything but ironically cool for most people.
On the other hand, I'm not afraid to offend fans of the Beatles. Yep, I don't like the Beatles. I only bring up the Beatles because it seems to me many people only like the Beatles because everyone likes the Beatles. You can't like good music if you don't like the Beatles seems to be the mindset many people have. Of course, that line of thinking is dumb. There will never be anything, a book, a band, a movie, a flavor of soda, that will be universally liked. So running into an unfavorable opinion shouldn't be that big of a deal. Besides, overwhelming popularity does not automatically make a thing wonderful. After all, how many people were doing the Macarena?
I digress. I never thought the Beatles' early stuff (Hard Day's Night, Help!) was very good. In my opinion it was all a bunch of vapid love songs. I find it hard to believe that they were ever taken seriously after their early work. All their fans seemed to be screaming, teenage girls. They were the Backstreet Boys of the sixties. I thought I liked their later stuff until I actually started listening to one of their albums. I thought most of the songs were just annoying noise.
Of course I realize how influential the Beatles were and still are. I'm sure they've influenced most of the music I listen to these days. But I just can't get behind their music. I tend to like covers of their songs way more than I actually like the original versions.
Anywho, I don't really want to offend anyone with my opinion. But when it comes to disliking the Beatles, it's impossible to not set someone off. I've seen Beatles fans accuse those who dislike the Beatles of being liars. Some people actually think it's impossible to dislike the Bealtes, which is pretty dumb.
I don't know how I transitioned into a talking about the Beatles from Sexual Healing, but I've done it. I guess I don't have to worry too much about rabid Marvin Gaye or Beatles fans coming after me. No one's reading this anyway.
P.S. I hate the Eagles, also. I think "Hotel California" is just a terrible song.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Last Letter to My Mom
From frivolous musings on TV, video games and movies to mourning about my ailing mother. Wow, this blog has everything. My favorite person in the world is slipping away and I'm sitting here watching her go. I think my original intent for this blog was to create an ongoing tribute to my own mediocrity. I may be mediocre, but my mom isn't; no matter what anyone says. Seriously, I will fight you if you call my mom mediocre. Unless you did it in the comments and then I would simply delete your stupid comment.
I digress. My mom is extraordinary. I think by and large most people would consider their mother extraordinary and my sympathy goes out to anyone not blessed with having such an amazing woman in their life. But I want to talk about how my mother is extraordinary.
Despite having only one year of college, my mom is incredibly educated. She was so well prepared to raise her six children. She cooked, cleaned, and took care of us. Took care of us isn't the right phrase. She nurtured us. She wasn't a maid. She wasn't our servant. She was a loving parent willing to sacrifice for her children. You see, my siblings and I were her most prized possession.
Her mother had taught her how to cut hair. I don't think I ever went to a barber until I was nineteen. She was talented with a sewing machine. I can't count the number of blankets she made for her kids and later her grandkids. She learned how to make an array of household items. She could make bread, jam, soap, lotion, and toothpaste among other things. We had over a years worth of canned fruits and vegetables in our basement thanks to her.
Some may scoff and say these are all domesticated skills and that somehow they are less respectable than those of a woman who made a career for herself. My response is that the things she did for us kids are more important and will have longer lasting consequences than most of the decisions some CEO will make. Jobs really only make you money. Motherhood makes families.
Besides, my mother has her own fair share of career accomplishments. She has worked as a school music teacher, a bank loan officer, a real estate agent and she has been the head of the financial department for a school for disabled children for the past six years. She has a fairly impressive resume for a woman with only one year of college.
Another reason my mom was so extraordinary to me is for her musical ability. She and my father both have impressive singing voices and together they cultivated a love of music in each of their children. Music is one of the most important things in my life and I owe that love to my mother.
Finally, my mother is extraordinary to me because of the love she has shown me for my entire life. I know that she would be willing to help me whenever possible, regardless of how troublesome it might be for her. I think of the many, many times she has stepped in to help me clean up some mess I have gotten myself into and I know that only a mother who loves her son more than herself would do that.
I love you Mom. You are my favorite person in this world. It breaks my heart to see you go, but I know I'll see you again someday. Goodbye, Mom*.
*In case you're wondering, I have cried a few times.
I digress. My mom is extraordinary. I think by and large most people would consider their mother extraordinary and my sympathy goes out to anyone not blessed with having such an amazing woman in their life. But I want to talk about how my mother is extraordinary.
Despite having only one year of college, my mom is incredibly educated. She was so well prepared to raise her six children. She cooked, cleaned, and took care of us. Took care of us isn't the right phrase. She nurtured us. She wasn't a maid. She wasn't our servant. She was a loving parent willing to sacrifice for her children. You see, my siblings and I were her most prized possession.
Her mother had taught her how to cut hair. I don't think I ever went to a barber until I was nineteen. She was talented with a sewing machine. I can't count the number of blankets she made for her kids and later her grandkids. She learned how to make an array of household items. She could make bread, jam, soap, lotion, and toothpaste among other things. We had over a years worth of canned fruits and vegetables in our basement thanks to her.
Some may scoff and say these are all domesticated skills and that somehow they are less respectable than those of a woman who made a career for herself. My response is that the things she did for us kids are more important and will have longer lasting consequences than most of the decisions some CEO will make. Jobs really only make you money. Motherhood makes families.
Besides, my mother has her own fair share of career accomplishments. She has worked as a school music teacher, a bank loan officer, a real estate agent and she has been the head of the financial department for a school for disabled children for the past six years. She has a fairly impressive resume for a woman with only one year of college.
Another reason my mom was so extraordinary to me is for her musical ability. She and my father both have impressive singing voices and together they cultivated a love of music in each of their children. Music is one of the most important things in my life and I owe that love to my mother.
Finally, my mother is extraordinary to me because of the love she has shown me for my entire life. I know that she would be willing to help me whenever possible, regardless of how troublesome it might be for her. I think of the many, many times she has stepped in to help me clean up some mess I have gotten myself into and I know that only a mother who loves her son more than herself would do that.
I love you Mom. You are my favorite person in this world. It breaks my heart to see you go, but I know I'll see you again someday. Goodbye, Mom*.
*In case you're wondering, I have cried a few times.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Better left alone
Not surprisingly, no one is reading my little blog. Maybe talking about something new and fresh will bring in the readers. I know! The new Indiana Jones flick. People love Indiana Jones.
I saw the new Indiana Jones movie opening day and I've been wanting to write about my thoughts on the movie. First off, I had absolutely no hope for this movie. Why? Remember the Star Wars prequels? Yeah, those movies sucked. They had some good parts, but overall they were pretty awful. I figured that a new Indiana Jones movie would have the same pitfalls from before. After watching the movie I would have to say that I would watch The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull over any one of the prequels.
That said, I have to let you know that I did not care much for this new Indiana Jones adventure. It definitely wasn't the train wreck I thought it would be. I had Marina Trench expectations for this one. The movie was enjoyable as long as you didn't use your brain. There's an overwhelming neglect of the laws of physics in many scenes. On the other hand, the CGI wasn't as out of place as I originally thought it would be.
So what were my main problems with the movie? Two things:
First, everything felt shoehorned into the movie. It felt like the film's writers sat around one day talking about all the things that were awesome in the original movies and decided to write those things into the script. I imagine that the writing sessions went like this:
"You know what was awesome? When Indy jumped on that truck and threw all the Nazis off of it! We should have him do that three or four times! That would be awesome!"
"Remember when the Nazis opened the Ark and the wrath of God came out an melted their faces? That was awesome! Someone needs to get their face melted or exploded in this one, too!"
Writers love to talk in exclamation points turns out. Anyway, all the action scenes simply felt like a rehash of scenes from the original movies. Besides that, the action scenes were completely superfluous. Many of them have no effect on the plot at all. I suppose that this is forgivable since the action is probably the main attraction of an Indiana Jones movie. It seems they could have put a little more effort in explaining the couple of times Indy's party is suddenly attacked by native inhabitants. That really just goes back to my point though. Indiana Jones was attacked by indigenous peoples in the first three films so it must happen in this one.
On to my second major complaint. Shia Lebouf. I really, really, really hate this kid's acting. I'm making this judgment based on the small list of films I've seen the kid in. They are in short order Transformers, Disturbia, and a few minutes of Holes. I think I'll go into detail in another post on how those movies all worse off (amazing I know) due to his presence.
Indiana Jones the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is no better off. I'm just going to say I feel that Mr. Lebouf is miscast as a "tough," motorcycle riding, greaser kid. He has a couple of scenes that I would like to call "Anakin moments" that make his character grate on my nerves even more. An Anakin moment would be a scene in which an annoying character performs an amazing feat that is supposed to make said character more heroic. The best example would be from the Phantom Menace, specifically the scene where little Anakin accidentally takes a spacefighter into space, accidentally crashes onto the enemy's starship, and then accidentally destroys it. Force shmorce, that was awful. Now that I think about it, I could call this a Jar Jar Moment since Phantom Menace had that awful scene in which Jar Jar accidently destroys a fair number of the droid army. But Anakin gets the title since the greater crime was making Darth Vader suck.
Mr. Lebouf's defining Anakin moment would have to be the scene of him swinging through a jungle Tarzan like with a small army of monkeys at his side. If you haven't seen the movie, the scene is even more ridiculous than it sounds.
The writers also pitted me against this movie by bringing to life one of my major fears for the film concerning Shia Lebouf. Here's a spoiler alert for you. Seeing the ads I began to worry that Mutt (finally remembered Shia Lebouf's character's name) would turn out to be Indiana Jones' son. And man can I call them. This actually ties into my previous point of the movie trying to recreate things from the earlier films. It seemed to me that the relationship between Mutt and Indy was an attempt to recreate the father/son dynamic that Ford and Connery had in The Last Crusade.
The whole son situation left me wondering the whole movie how Indiana Jones could have such a wiener of a kid. I guess all the genes that make him so awesome are recessive. It reminded me of Kirk's wiener kid in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. You know, the guy who wraps a sweater around his neck the first chance he gets. That and the perm. Also, Kim Bauer sucks. Apparently all Bauer awesomeness is carried on the Bauer Y chromosome. The point is, Indiana Jones should not be having wiener kids.
Although better than I expected, I still found this latest entry into the Indiana Jones saga more than a bit disappointing. I just hope they won't try to continue the franchise with Shia Lebouf stepping into Ford's shoes as the surprisingly tough archaeologist. But if George Lucas can make Darth Vader into a pansy I guess no character is safe.
I saw the new Indiana Jones movie opening day and I've been wanting to write about my thoughts on the movie. First off, I had absolutely no hope for this movie. Why? Remember the Star Wars prequels? Yeah, those movies sucked. They had some good parts, but overall they were pretty awful. I figured that a new Indiana Jones movie would have the same pitfalls from before. After watching the movie I would have to say that I would watch The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull over any one of the prequels.
That said, I have to let you know that I did not care much for this new Indiana Jones adventure. It definitely wasn't the train wreck I thought it would be. I had Marina Trench expectations for this one. The movie was enjoyable as long as you didn't use your brain. There's an overwhelming neglect of the laws of physics in many scenes. On the other hand, the CGI wasn't as out of place as I originally thought it would be.
So what were my main problems with the movie? Two things:
First, everything felt shoehorned into the movie. It felt like the film's writers sat around one day talking about all the things that were awesome in the original movies and decided to write those things into the script. I imagine that the writing sessions went like this:
"You know what was awesome? When Indy jumped on that truck and threw all the Nazis off of it! We should have him do that three or four times! That would be awesome!"
"Remember when the Nazis opened the Ark and the wrath of God came out an melted their faces? That was awesome! Someone needs to get their face melted or exploded in this one, too!"
Writers love to talk in exclamation points turns out. Anyway, all the action scenes simply felt like a rehash of scenes from the original movies. Besides that, the action scenes were completely superfluous. Many of them have no effect on the plot at all. I suppose that this is forgivable since the action is probably the main attraction of an Indiana Jones movie. It seems they could have put a little more effort in explaining the couple of times Indy's party is suddenly attacked by native inhabitants. That really just goes back to my point though. Indiana Jones was attacked by indigenous peoples in the first three films so it must happen in this one.
On to my second major complaint. Shia Lebouf. I really, really, really hate this kid's acting. I'm making this judgment based on the small list of films I've seen the kid in. They are in short order Transformers, Disturbia, and a few minutes of Holes. I think I'll go into detail in another post on how those movies all worse off (amazing I know) due to his presence.
Indiana Jones the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is no better off. I'm just going to say I feel that Mr. Lebouf is miscast as a "tough," motorcycle riding, greaser kid. He has a couple of scenes that I would like to call "Anakin moments" that make his character grate on my nerves even more. An Anakin moment would be a scene in which an annoying character performs an amazing feat that is supposed to make said character more heroic. The best example would be from the Phantom Menace, specifically the scene where little Anakin accidentally takes a spacefighter into space, accidentally crashes onto the enemy's starship, and then accidentally destroys it. Force shmorce, that was awful. Now that I think about it, I could call this a Jar Jar Moment since Phantom Menace had that awful scene in which Jar Jar accidently destroys a fair number of the droid army. But Anakin gets the title since the greater crime was making Darth Vader suck.
Mr. Lebouf's defining Anakin moment would have to be the scene of him swinging through a jungle Tarzan like with a small army of monkeys at his side. If you haven't seen the movie, the scene is even more ridiculous than it sounds.
The writers also pitted me against this movie by bringing to life one of my major fears for the film concerning Shia Lebouf. Here's a spoiler alert for you. Seeing the ads I began to worry that Mutt (finally remembered Shia Lebouf's character's name) would turn out to be Indiana Jones' son. And man can I call them. This actually ties into my previous point of the movie trying to recreate things from the earlier films. It seemed to me that the relationship between Mutt and Indy was an attempt to recreate the father/son dynamic that Ford and Connery had in The Last Crusade.
The whole son situation left me wondering the whole movie how Indiana Jones could have such a wiener of a kid. I guess all the genes that make him so awesome are recessive. It reminded me of Kirk's wiener kid in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. You know, the guy who wraps a sweater around his neck the first chance he gets. That and the perm. Also, Kim Bauer sucks. Apparently all Bauer awesomeness is carried on the Bauer Y chromosome. The point is, Indiana Jones should not be having wiener kids.
Although better than I expected, I still found this latest entry into the Indiana Jones saga more than a bit disappointing. I just hope they won't try to continue the franchise with Shia Lebouf stepping into Ford's shoes as the surprisingly tough archaeologist. But if George Lucas can make Darth Vader into a pansy I guess no character is safe.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
If someone could explain...
Here's something that has perplexed me for awhile. The game Half Life 2. I've heard occasionally that it is the best video game of all time. I never touched the game until my roommate bought the Orange Box that includes Half Life 2 and its two sequel episodes. I started playing through Half Life 2, but somewhere along the line I got really bored with the game. If you ask me, it's just a derivative version of Doom with better graphics and less interesting monsters. Even the plot is basically the same: an interdimensional portal is opened and monsters come out to kill people.
Anyway, I've just always wondered what the appeal of the game is that garners it the title of best game ever. I guess you could mod it on a PC, so maybe that had something to do with it. All I know is that the hot re-bar throwing crossbow is the stupidest variation of a sniper rifle ever. High projectile speed is usually desirable, isn't it?
Anyway, I've just always wondered what the appeal of the game is that garners it the title of best game ever. I guess you could mod it on a PC, so maybe that had something to do with it. All I know is that the hot re-bar throwing crossbow is the stupidest variation of a sniper rifle ever. High projectile speed is usually desirable, isn't it?
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