I generally try to avoid discussing uber-nerdy things like video games and comics on this blog (that's what the other one's for), but I feel the need to express my meaningless endorsement for Neil Gaiman & John Romita Jr.'s Eternals mini series. Yes, it is a comic book. A Marvel comic book to be exact. Yeah, it mentions guys like Spider-Man and all that. It also ties heavily into the previous history of the Eternals (a near-godlike race of ancient supermen genetically---look, its complicated, ok?) Right, so, Marvel continuity gets touched on, but its not essential to the story. There's a whole big "Civil War" event going on over Superhuman Registration that gets mentioned, but isn't important here. You don't have to know about it to enjoy what's going on. Gaiman's writing is good. The guys got an ear for dialogue and can deliver on off-the-wall concepts, and the Eternals, created by comic god Jack Kirby, definitely are. There's a whole bunch of plot threads going on, but I get the feeling that "all will be revealed" when its all said and done. And Romita Jr.'s art is really damn good. Sometimes he's a little "blocky" for me (like some of his Punisher stuff), but not here. Its all good. I've gotta say, if you're looking for an inroad into the world of comics as deeply rewarding storytelling, this may not be as artsy as an indie comic (or Vertigo, for that matter-->See Gaiman's Sandman), but its a good way to ease into parts of the Marvel Universe that don't involve Spider-Man or Wolverine.
And for Pete's sake, if there's one thing comics need less of right now, its Wolverine.
Besides, its a mini, so six issues and you can pretend you never stepped into a comic shop.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Reservations and the lack thereof
Well, its about a week till I climb aboard a heavier-than-air marvel of engineering and hope I safely land in Dublin. And if not that, then at least the peanuts had better be good. Its strange. Most of the flight arrangements have been taken care of. I’ve begun test packing to see what I’m going to have to exclude from the suitcase, figuring out what book to read on the flight, little stuff like that. Basically, it’s a lull in the action, much like the point where you realize you’ve strapped yourself into the roller coaster, but the fun part hasn’t started yet. Its that middle part in between, where every second that goes by with another clunk is a stark reminder that bit by bit, the comfort of the ground is slowly slipping away whether you want it to or not. At least there’s no ratcheting “Klink klink klink” sound as you get dragged to the crest of the hill. It’s not quite the eerie silence before the plummet where you begin to have reservations on it being good idea after all. It’s the moment when you realize that the eerie silence is close at hand.
Surprisingly, I’ve managed to find time for television amid all this chaos. Not a whole lot of television, so most of that time’s been spent on the Travel Channel. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is a show I’ve been slowly getting into over the last couple of months here and there, but its finally won me over. The premise is simple; famous author and chef travels around the world and tells you what he thinks. It’s a great show because he eats everything, even the nasty stuff. Greater still is his command of language and imagery. The guy knows his narrative stuff. Now, on a completely opposite end of the spectrum is Passport to Europe which, while showing interesting places in Europe, just doesn’t have the whole “I want to go out of my way to watch this” factor. Actually the only reason I did watch it was because they went to Dublin.
And I’ve just run out of stuff to say, so I’ll stop.
Surprisingly, I’ve managed to find time for television amid all this chaos. Not a whole lot of television, so most of that time’s been spent on the Travel Channel. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is a show I’ve been slowly getting into over the last couple of months here and there, but its finally won me over. The premise is simple; famous author and chef travels around the world and tells you what he thinks. It’s a great show because he eats everything, even the nasty stuff. Greater still is his command of language and imagery. The guy knows his narrative stuff. Now, on a completely opposite end of the spectrum is Passport to Europe which, while showing interesting places in Europe, just doesn’t have the whole “I want to go out of my way to watch this” factor. Actually the only reason I did watch it was because they went to Dublin.
And I’ve just run out of stuff to say, so I’ll stop.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Tto the MAXXX!!
So I’m sitting here wondering what to write about. Ah, what the hell. Here’s a book review. I mean, uh, a book review so X-TREEEM it’ll rip your face off and wear it to a masquerade ball!
Miyamoto Musashi’s “A Book of Five Rings” is like a lesser known “Art of War.” Basically, it’s a treatise on strategy and warfare written just before the samurai’s death. Its written in short, economic sentences. What’s interesting about it (and completely contrary to pretty much any anime out there) is that he advocates learning to be tactically flexible, study the enemy, adapt tactics, and use any weapon at your disposal to win. He has no “super-ultimate” attack that’s guaranteed to win. In fact, he shows scorn on martial arts styles that limit themselves to only one style of combat. He says long swords, short swords, bows, spears, guns, cannon whatever all have tactical uses and a victorious warrior will never look down any of them. Adding weight to his argument is his resume of winning over sixty duels before he turned thirty. One of those duels was won with an oar. He killed a man with an OAR.
X-TREEEM!!!!!
Miyamoto Musashi’s “A Book of Five Rings” is like a lesser known “Art of War.” Basically, it’s a treatise on strategy and warfare written just before the samurai’s death. Its written in short, economic sentences. What’s interesting about it (and completely contrary to pretty much any anime out there) is that he advocates learning to be tactically flexible, study the enemy, adapt tactics, and use any weapon at your disposal to win. He has no “super-ultimate” attack that’s guaranteed to win. In fact, he shows scorn on martial arts styles that limit themselves to only one style of combat. He says long swords, short swords, bows, spears, guns, cannon whatever all have tactical uses and a victorious warrior will never look down any of them. Adding weight to his argument is his resume of winning over sixty duels before he turned thirty. One of those duels was won with an oar. He killed a man with an OAR.
X-TREEEM!!!!!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
A Symphony of Terror for Moog and Slide Whistle
Well, it was a late work night last night, so I didn’t get this posted before collapsing from exhaustion. So its getting posted now. And through the miracle of the “internet” if you’re reading the archive for fun (though what madness could impel that idea escapes me) it’ll appear in a sequential format, and it’ll be like there was no missing day at all. Except for this incriminating paragraph. Curses! Foiled by my own verbosity!
Rounding out my foray into classics of early German cinema is F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Its from 1922, so it predates Metropolis by five years and it definitely lacks the polish and film quality of the latter. Still, it definitely deserves its place in the hallowed halls of film classics. The plot is essentially an unauthorized bastardization of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Guy goes to Transylvania and is essentially responsible for bringing a vampire to his home town. Vampire takes a ship and kills the crew before leaving a bloody mess in said town before finally being stopped. There’s even a crazy lunatic. Ok, so the plot’s pretty straightforward.
Admittedly, the directing is also usually straightforward too. But there are moments of visual awesomeness. You’ve probably seen the hunched and spooky shadow of a figure creeping up a stairway? That’s from Nosferatu. And its one of the best shots ever. Also, Count Orlock is probably my favorite movie vampire ever. Freaky looking as all hell and a downright monster with creepy monster hands. Another interesting technique Murnau used was adding different filters to set the mood of the place. This being a monochrome picture, it’s a little difficult to tell a lot of the time whether its day or night outdoors (since they probably filmed all the outdoor stuff during daylight so it would come up on film), so a blue tint was added to make it look a little more like night time without being nearly as dark as actual night.
The only real complaint I have about the movie is that, well, the soundtrack does sound rather digitized. This being a silent film and all, the original score must’ve deteriorated, so a substitute was put in. It does get the job done, but it doesn’t sound nearly as good as Metropolis’. And yes, parts of it do sound like a slide whistle.
Rounding out my foray into classics of early German cinema is F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Its from 1922, so it predates Metropolis by five years and it definitely lacks the polish and film quality of the latter. Still, it definitely deserves its place in the hallowed halls of film classics. The plot is essentially an unauthorized bastardization of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Guy goes to Transylvania and is essentially responsible for bringing a vampire to his home town. Vampire takes a ship and kills the crew before leaving a bloody mess in said town before finally being stopped. There’s even a crazy lunatic. Ok, so the plot’s pretty straightforward.
Admittedly, the directing is also usually straightforward too. But there are moments of visual awesomeness. You’ve probably seen the hunched and spooky shadow of a figure creeping up a stairway? That’s from Nosferatu. And its one of the best shots ever. Also, Count Orlock is probably my favorite movie vampire ever. Freaky looking as all hell and a downright monster with creepy monster hands. Another interesting technique Murnau used was adding different filters to set the mood of the place. This being a monochrome picture, it’s a little difficult to tell a lot of the time whether its day or night outdoors (since they probably filmed all the outdoor stuff during daylight so it would come up on film), so a blue tint was added to make it look a little more like night time without being nearly as dark as actual night.
The only real complaint I have about the movie is that, well, the soundtrack does sound rather digitized. This being a silent film and all, the original score must’ve deteriorated, so a substitute was put in. It does get the job done, but it doesn’t sound nearly as good as Metropolis’. And yes, parts of it do sound like a slide whistle.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Undead Monkey Ahoy
Right, so, as I loosely promised last night, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was on the plate for today (yeah, I’m a few days behind the curve. I know).
I must admit to being a little torn about it. Visually, the movie knocks it out of the park. ILM did a hell of a job with Davey Jones and the Flying Dutchman’s crew. The story was great for an action movie, with the plot and subplots all moving forward at a nice clip. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is exactly as he should be and the movie lets you know that he’s the center of the POTC universe, and that’s a good thing. Keira Knightley is still sigh-inducingly beautiful. It’s a great movie. There’s no doubt about that. You will leave the theatre thoroughly entertained.
Its just that the POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl left me leaving the theatre with the heady euphoria of seeing something extraordinarily new and original. While there’s no lack of big awe-inspiring moments in Dead Man’s Chest, some of the sense of wonder is missing. Part of has to be the fact that the Disney Marketing Machine™ has put their entire weight behind this movie, unlike the previous one. The toys and books have been out since at least May, so Davey Jones isn’t nearly as surprising when you first see him. Oh sure, there’s stuff later on that provides some great surprises. In the first film, Jack Sparrow’s an unstoppable force. Crazy as a loon, yes, but someone with an ace up his sleeve whenever he needs it. It feels slightly less like that in this movie. He’s still Jack Sparrow, but he’s unnerved this time around.
One thing that was an absolute joy about this sequel was that it kept a lot of characters around from the first one. Some, like Jack’s crew, are logical nods to continuity. Others make for some great surprises that I’m not going to spoil here. The great thing about them is that even the side characters actually get to grow and develop too. Be prepared for a “to be continued” ending though. Although Empire Strikes Back ending on a similar note, so its not a big deal. Audiences loved the first one, they love the second one, and they’re going to keep on lovin’ the franchise. At least as long as they don’t decide they want to make prequels.
And yes, there is an undead monkey that Jack loves to shoot. S’wonderful, really.
I must admit to being a little torn about it. Visually, the movie knocks it out of the park. ILM did a hell of a job with Davey Jones and the Flying Dutchman’s crew. The story was great for an action movie, with the plot and subplots all moving forward at a nice clip. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is exactly as he should be and the movie lets you know that he’s the center of the POTC universe, and that’s a good thing. Keira Knightley is still sigh-inducingly beautiful. It’s a great movie. There’s no doubt about that. You will leave the theatre thoroughly entertained.
Its just that the POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl left me leaving the theatre with the heady euphoria of seeing something extraordinarily new and original. While there’s no lack of big awe-inspiring moments in Dead Man’s Chest, some of the sense of wonder is missing. Part of has to be the fact that the Disney Marketing Machine™ has put their entire weight behind this movie, unlike the previous one. The toys and books have been out since at least May, so Davey Jones isn’t nearly as surprising when you first see him. Oh sure, there’s stuff later on that provides some great surprises. In the first film, Jack Sparrow’s an unstoppable force. Crazy as a loon, yes, but someone with an ace up his sleeve whenever he needs it. It feels slightly less like that in this movie. He’s still Jack Sparrow, but he’s unnerved this time around.
One thing that was an absolute joy about this sequel was that it kept a lot of characters around from the first one. Some, like Jack’s crew, are logical nods to continuity. Others make for some great surprises that I’m not going to spoil here. The great thing about them is that even the side characters actually get to grow and develop too. Be prepared for a “to be continued” ending though. Although Empire Strikes Back ending on a similar note, so its not a big deal. Audiences loved the first one, they love the second one, and they’re going to keep on lovin’ the franchise. At least as long as they don’t decide they want to make prequels.
And yes, there is an undead monkey that Jack loves to shoot. S’wonderful, really.
Not Your Superman’s Metropolis
Wow.
I have just had sweet cinema lovin’ made to me. No. Its not Pirates of the Caribbean (that’s tomorrow). I’m talking about Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent masterpiece, Metropolis. Man, I’m still soaking it all in. The Germans know operatic, and this, this WAS operatic. Take a city of the future, built on the backs of drudging workers. Have the son of the genius behind the city discover that there’s more than fornication in a pleasure garden. Add a love interest that gets replaced by a robot duplicate by a crazy old guy with a mechanical hand and you’ve got a swiftly complicating plotline. At first, it seems like the movie’s going to go all “downtrodden workers rising up against the corporate masters,” and it does…in a way. Then it goes and spits in Marx’s face (I love when that happens) by going biblical. Great Flood kind of biblical. Tower of Babel kind of biblical. And the special effects are just about as good as they can get for being an 80 year old film. The “mascot” of the movie, the robot woman (they called it a machine-man in the movie) was really well done, and you can see where Lucas got the idea for C-3PO. Hell, there’s even a surreal stripshow, so there’s something for everybody.
I have to recommend this movie. If you call yourself a film buff, you’ve probably already seen it, unless of course you’re a filthy liar or just a misguided soul like I was who simply hadn’t had the chance to see this work of wonder. If you’re a fan of Modernism, its got stuff you’d like. Hell, even if you just casually like movies (like most of the people in the world) give this film a look. Some of the acting (particularly by the character of Maria) is just so crazy and brilliant at the same time. The lighting of the film is phenomenal. There are some shots where I was simply floored by the innovation and imagery used.
Look-just--Its good--Oh for heaven’s sake, just see the movie for yourself!
I have just had sweet cinema lovin’ made to me. No. Its not Pirates of the Caribbean (that’s tomorrow). I’m talking about Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent masterpiece, Metropolis. Man, I’m still soaking it all in. The Germans know operatic, and this, this WAS operatic. Take a city of the future, built on the backs of drudging workers. Have the son of the genius behind the city discover that there’s more than fornication in a pleasure garden. Add a love interest that gets replaced by a robot duplicate by a crazy old guy with a mechanical hand and you’ve got a swiftly complicating plotline. At first, it seems like the movie’s going to go all “downtrodden workers rising up against the corporate masters,” and it does…in a way. Then it goes and spits in Marx’s face (I love when that happens) by going biblical. Great Flood kind of biblical. Tower of Babel kind of biblical. And the special effects are just about as good as they can get for being an 80 year old film. The “mascot” of the movie, the robot woman (they called it a machine-man in the movie) was really well done, and you can see where Lucas got the idea for C-3PO. Hell, there’s even a surreal stripshow, so there’s something for everybody.
I have to recommend this movie. If you call yourself a film buff, you’ve probably already seen it, unless of course you’re a filthy liar or just a misguided soul like I was who simply hadn’t had the chance to see this work of wonder. If you’re a fan of Modernism, its got stuff you’d like. Hell, even if you just casually like movies (like most of the people in the world) give this film a look. Some of the acting (particularly by the character of Maria) is just so crazy and brilliant at the same time. The lighting of the film is phenomenal. There are some shots where I was simply floored by the innovation and imagery used.
Look-just--Its good--Oh for heaven’s sake, just see the movie for yourself!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
You WILL Believe a Franchise can Fly...Again
I was going to post something yesterday, but it was a cold lifeless list of all the places I’ve traveled to in my short lifetime. And in all honesty, I didn’t post it because I would’ve felt like an ass.
Anyway, I got myself to a silver screen and witnessed a nifty motion picture called Superman Returns. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Some may have even seen it. Me? I enjoyed the hell out of it. I thought it was a great story that made me care about Superman, something that hasn’t happened much since “The Death of Superman” back when I was a wee little lad. Right, so what worked? Kevin Spacey as Luthor is charming, intelligent and batshit crazy when he needs to be. His jolly little line about “Krrrrrryptonite” as he was taunting Superman before kicking him over and over in the gut was great. That and he didn’t treat his henchmen like they were dead weight. It was great seeing him get mad whenever he lost a henchman. I thought Routh’s Superman was on par with Reeve’s (blasphemy, I know) and that his Clark Kent was even better. It was also nice seeing James Marsden actually given significant screen time in a superhero movie. Turns out Jean didn’t kill Cyclops. She de-powered him and sent him to a better movie (OH SNAP!) Jimmy Olson, though given little screen time, was good, and not nearly the god awful annoyance that Pre-Crisis Jimmy Olson was. If you don’t know what that means, trust me, Jimmy done badly will make you want to kill him. To be honest, I didn’t really feel that Kate Bosworth’s Lois really worked for me, but she didn’t hurt the movie either.
What I absolutely loved about Superman Returns was that it placed Supes in just about the most awkward position possible when he returns. He’s ready to start up his life again at the Daily Planet and finds out that in the 5 years he’s been gone, Lois Lane has gone and had a kid and gotten herself a great guy for a fiancée. You just gotta empathize with Clark when he finds out Richard’s a great guy who absolutely loves Lois. I give the guy a lot of credit for cockblocking Superman.
Oh yeah, and some action stuff happens too.
Now I must make special not of the preview trailers. Spider-Man 3 was the only trailer worth seeing. Everything else was just mind-numbingly retarded. It is very sad to think that the shitty animated movies of our youth have been supplanted my shitty CG movies of the present. Male cows do not have udders you utterly deplorable people at Nickelodeon responsible for Barnyard!!! UDDERS ARE THE MAMMARY GLANDS OF COWS!!! MALE COWS DO NOT HAVE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE CALLED BULLS!!! ARRRRRRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT TRAILER MAKES ME WISH VIOLENCE UPON THE WORLD!
Ahem, so, anyway, the Spidey 3 trailer was full of Black Costumey goodness (its not really a spoiler since its all over the teaser). Can’t wait for that next year.
Catch you on the flipside.
Anyway, I got myself to a silver screen and witnessed a nifty motion picture called Superman Returns. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Some may have even seen it. Me? I enjoyed the hell out of it. I thought it was a great story that made me care about Superman, something that hasn’t happened much since “The Death of Superman” back when I was a wee little lad. Right, so what worked? Kevin Spacey as Luthor is charming, intelligent and batshit crazy when he needs to be. His jolly little line about “Krrrrrryptonite” as he was taunting Superman before kicking him over and over in the gut was great. That and he didn’t treat his henchmen like they were dead weight. It was great seeing him get mad whenever he lost a henchman. I thought Routh’s Superman was on par with Reeve’s (blasphemy, I know) and that his Clark Kent was even better. It was also nice seeing James Marsden actually given significant screen time in a superhero movie. Turns out Jean didn’t kill Cyclops. She de-powered him and sent him to a better movie (OH SNAP!) Jimmy Olson, though given little screen time, was good, and not nearly the god awful annoyance that Pre-Crisis Jimmy Olson was. If you don’t know what that means, trust me, Jimmy done badly will make you want to kill him. To be honest, I didn’t really feel that Kate Bosworth’s Lois really worked for me, but she didn’t hurt the movie either.
What I absolutely loved about Superman Returns was that it placed Supes in just about the most awkward position possible when he returns. He’s ready to start up his life again at the Daily Planet and finds out that in the 5 years he’s been gone, Lois Lane has gone and had a kid and gotten herself a great guy for a fiancée. You just gotta empathize with Clark when he finds out Richard’s a great guy who absolutely loves Lois. I give the guy a lot of credit for cockblocking Superman.
Oh yeah, and some action stuff happens too.
Now I must make special not of the preview trailers. Spider-Man 3 was the only trailer worth seeing. Everything else was just mind-numbingly retarded. It is very sad to think that the shitty animated movies of our youth have been supplanted my shitty CG movies of the present. Male cows do not have udders you utterly deplorable people at Nickelodeon responsible for Barnyard!!! UDDERS ARE THE MAMMARY GLANDS OF COWS!!! MALE COWS DO NOT HAVE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE CALLED BULLS!!! ARRRRRRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT TRAILER MAKES ME WISH VIOLENCE UPON THE WORLD!
Ahem, so, anyway, the Spidey 3 trailer was full of Black Costumey goodness (its not really a spoiler since its all over the teaser). Can’t wait for that next year.
Catch you on the flipside.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
What? Who's talking?
Er, I'm feeling obliged to post something this week before heading out to Chicago on Friday.
So, er, the World Cup's going on, for people who're into the whole "watching the athleticism of others". I don't follow football (no, not that football, I mean futbol) so all I know is Ghana beat the everlovin' snot out of team USA. Probably because in the rest of the world, they take futbol seriously ("murder the referee" seriously), unlike in the US, where minivans and SUVs cart kids home from games where they didn't even keep score, because "everyone's a winner in this game!" Yep, totally can't see why the USA doesn't have that killer instinct in the world's most ubiquitous game. And I don't even like soccer.
Um, that wasn't as long as I planned. Here's some pellet reviews of an arbitrary nature:
Wedding Crashers: Fun movie, felt a little long in places, Vince Vaughan is The Man, and Isla Fischer is gorgeous. Opposable thumb up.
Punisher: Pretty much what I expected, Rebecca Romijin-nolongerStamos is gorgeous, John Travolta didn't irritate me nearly as much as I feared, plus he died a horrible grisly death. Opposable thumb up.
Serenity: Knocked my socks off. Good effects, acting was superior to the Star Wars prequels, the plot didn't bog down too much, makes me want to track down Firefly and actually tune into the sci-fi channel for the first time in years. Two Opposable thumbs up!
Fine, you wanna have a rant?? Here's a rant. You know, Sesame Street's been pissing me off for years now. Forcing the Cookie Monster to cut back on cookies is just...inhumane! That pissed me off, yes, but an even more simmering anger lies beneath my surface. Where the hell is Grover??? All I ever see now is Big Bird & that soul-less freak Elmo. Who in Jim Henson's name is supposed to teach the kids of today the difference between "near" and "far?" Who is going to remind me, at great personal expense and risk, that there is a monster at the end of that book?! Who has a heroic alter-ego?? Certainly not that crimson idiot they're marketing everywhere. If they one day announce "Super Elmo" I will likely throw something through a TV.
And for that matter, whatever happened to whatshisface, Sully, the boring one? Honestly, he was so dull I can't even be sure that was his name. But damnit, he's got a right to have face time too! Ah, let's face it, he probably went and became clinically depressed and slouched off the set one day and was found dead in a hotel room in Yuma City with a bottle of Jack Daniels' Green Label whiskey on his nightstand.
But that two-headed guy who didn't make a lick of sense? He was awesome.
So, er, the World Cup's going on, for people who're into the whole "watching the athleticism of others". I don't follow football (no, not that football, I mean futbol) so all I know is Ghana beat the everlovin' snot out of team USA. Probably because in the rest of the world, they take futbol seriously ("murder the referee" seriously), unlike in the US, where minivans and SUVs cart kids home from games where they didn't even keep score, because "everyone's a winner in this game!" Yep, totally can't see why the USA doesn't have that killer instinct in the world's most ubiquitous game. And I don't even like soccer.
Um, that wasn't as long as I planned. Here's some pellet reviews of an arbitrary nature:
Wedding Crashers: Fun movie, felt a little long in places, Vince Vaughan is The Man, and Isla Fischer is gorgeous. Opposable thumb up.
Punisher: Pretty much what I expected, Rebecca Romijin-nolongerStamos is gorgeous, John Travolta didn't irritate me nearly as much as I feared, plus he died a horrible grisly death. Opposable thumb up.
Serenity: Knocked my socks off. Good effects, acting was superior to the Star Wars prequels, the plot didn't bog down too much, makes me want to track down Firefly and actually tune into the sci-fi channel for the first time in years. Two Opposable thumbs up!
Fine, you wanna have a rant?? Here's a rant. You know, Sesame Street's been pissing me off for years now. Forcing the Cookie Monster to cut back on cookies is just...inhumane! That pissed me off, yes, but an even more simmering anger lies beneath my surface. Where the hell is Grover??? All I ever see now is Big Bird & that soul-less freak Elmo. Who in Jim Henson's name is supposed to teach the kids of today the difference between "near" and "far?" Who is going to remind me, at great personal expense and risk, that there is a monster at the end of that book?! Who has a heroic alter-ego?? Certainly not that crimson idiot they're marketing everywhere. If they one day announce "Super Elmo" I will likely throw something through a TV.
And for that matter, whatever happened to whatshisface, Sully, the boring one? Honestly, he was so dull I can't even be sure that was his name. But damnit, he's got a right to have face time too! Ah, let's face it, he probably went and became clinically depressed and slouched off the set one day and was found dead in a hotel room in Yuma City with a bottle of Jack Daniels' Green Label whiskey on his nightstand.
But that two-headed guy who didn't make a lick of sense? He was awesome.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Kung Fu Hustle (And Flow)
Nope. Didn’t see Hustle & Flow, just Kung Fu Hustle, but I couldn’t resist mashing the two titles together. Kung Fu Hustle is a very, very interesting movie. The little advertising tagline on the dvd cover said something like “think Kill Bill meets Loony Tunes,” and, in a way that is true. It’s a very action-oriented movie with a lot of cartoony slapstick thrown in, and a lot of times its funny, but at others, its really kind of disturbing watching those situations using real people. Its hard to be cartoony when the characters bleed and get killed. Anyway, it’s a lot more serious than the cover would have you believe. Where the movie impresses the Hell out of me is in its whole concept and realization. Stephen Chow (the brains and main character behind this flick) has got one hell of an imagination. Kung Fu Hustle combines Chinese & Buddhist culture with 1920s American fashion and style. Its really quite interesting seeing nothing but Chinese actors walking around on retro sets using Tommy Guns. Also, the CG effects were quite good. Not “teh best evar!” but still really impressive (and better than Shaolin Soccer’s). So, final verdict: I dug Kung Fu Hustle, but liked Shaolin Soccer better. Both films are from Stephen Chow, and I’m sold on whatever he’s going to do next. I don’t care what it is, I’ll seek it out.
Also, watching a lightning storm from my rooftop makes me feel badass. That is all.
Also, watching a lightning storm from my rooftop makes me feel badass. That is all.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
But its just fiction!
Ok, I thought I had said enough about the bloody DaVinci Code, but something’s just rankling me about the franchise. Ok yes, religious groups have called for a boycott of the movie. Sure, why not, they can do that, no big deal. The response to that has been a loud cry of “but its just fiction, why are you getting all uptight about it? You silly religious people!” That makes me rub my temples for a little bit and sigh. Ok, yes, it is “just fiction.” I think we can all agree on that. However, it is a fictitious novel that bases its claims and information on “facts” that are suspect at best and outright disproved by historical evidence at worst. A non-fiction book, “Holy Blood, Holy Grail,” is given a lot of publicity and credibility by the characters of the book. Characters toss off lines of questionable historical authenticity as though they were common knowledge. So yes, the book is fiction because it revolves around characters that don’t exist (ie. Fictional) in events that didn’t happen (the curator of the Lourve hasn’t been murdered by a crazed albino). Just because a book is fiction, doesn’t mean it can go around contradicting historical facts. Tom Clancy fills his fictional characters with constant realistic touches about military equipment and doctrine. He does his homework meticulously. He doesn’t go around saying that Igor Sikorsky was not the first man to get a helicopter flying reliably.
Let’s get hypothetical. Say I want to write a fiction thriller. Completely fictional characters and plot. Let’s see, some schmuck gets murdered and its up to a, oh, I don’t know, political scientist to solve the crime. Now let’s say that this political scientist, our hero, says in a completely offhand manner, like it was absolutely true, that the Holocaust never happened. And he repeats this several times. No publisher would touch that book. There would be no summer “blockbuster” directed by Ron Howard. How can you possibly defend that kind of writing by saying “But its just fiction”? There is no such thing as “just fiction” and there never was.
Let’s get hypothetical. Say I want to write a fiction thriller. Completely fictional characters and plot. Let’s see, some schmuck gets murdered and its up to a, oh, I don’t know, political scientist to solve the crime. Now let’s say that this political scientist, our hero, says in a completely offhand manner, like it was absolutely true, that the Holocaust never happened. And he repeats this several times. No publisher would touch that book. There would be no summer “blockbuster” directed by Ron Howard. How can you possibly defend that kind of writing by saying “But its just fiction”? There is no such thing as “just fiction” and there never was.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Oh My Stars And Garters
So yeah, a little movie called X-Men 3 is out. Setting all kinds of Memorial Day box office records. I’ve seen it myself, and I’ve gotta admit, I’m torn. It wasn’t a bad movie as far as movies go. There was lots of action and explosions and mutant powers all over the place, but…
I came out of the movie feeling divided. Half of the plot/story/movie I really enjoyed, and half of it I absolutely hated. The good news: Ian McKellan’s Magneto is still a spot on charismatic yet ruthless villain. He’s still brilliant, and everything he says is gold. And they really let him go wild with his powers. Patrick Stewart is still the definitive Professor X, but he’s given less to do in this film. Hugh Jackman still owns the Wolverine part, but later on things get odd with him. I really enjoyed the Beast in the film. Much more than I expected to. Kelsey Grammer did an excellent job with him. The FX were also really, really good and there was lots of it, and there were a lot of fun little moments that brought a smile to my face.
But… (and I’ve been using those three dots a lot in connection with this movie) there was a lot of stuff in the movie that just felt off/wrong/dumb. The whole “Phoenix” plot I felt was completely mishandled and basically botched. Not good, considering that’s considered one of the best X-Men stories ever. Cyclops doesn’t do much at all in the movie, and Jean Grey kind of wanders around in a daze wearing a mopey/angry expression most of the time. A storyline that easily could’ve made a great movie in itself was completely wasted by being jammed into this one. But…the ending of X-2 kind of shoehorned the Phoneix storyline into this movie. The Cyclops stuff really did piss me off though, since he’s been my favorite mutant since forever, and I think that he’s just been completely mishandled in the movies anyway, but this was just a stupid use for him (and one that cripples the Phoenix plotline in the movie too). Halle Berry as Storm is still dull, dull, dull to watch. I didn’t mind her in X-1, I liked her in X-2, for some reason, I couldn’t stand her performance in this movie. And her haircut just made me giggle. Wolverine. Remember I said I liked Jackman’s portrayal, but the way the storyline panned out, they were giving him lines that were completely out of character. By the end of the movie I was sitting there thinking “Great, they’re writing Wolverine as Cyclops now. They why do (spoiler) to Cyclops?” Rogue disappears for most of the movie after being involved in a weakly played out love triangle that didn’t get enough time to develop. There’s not enough Colossus, though we do get the fastball special. Shadowcat’s just kind of there. Iceman has some great moments but is also underused. Oh yeah, and there’s no explanation for why Nightcrawler’s missing. They just never mention him. Juggernaut is not nearly the threat he should be, getting used for laughs instead of the unstoppable force he should be. Angel was barely in it, so I’ll barely mention him.
I’ll repeat. There were a lot of great little moments in the film. Unfortunately, there were a lot more big moments that fell flat for me, as both story afficionado and fanboy. The “Cure” plotline was great, and would’ve made for a great movie in itself that built up from the previous two. The “Phoenix” plotline should’ve gotten the full movie treatment it deserved and not been shoved in just because. The movie was rushed into production by the studio, changed directors at least once and is overall the weakest installment of the three X-Men movies. Its not a franchise killer like Batman & Robin. There are no rubber nipples in sight, but still, the X Movie franchise is starting to wobble disconcertingly. Of course if things go really south for them, they could just do what the new Superman movie is doing. Ignoring Superman 3 & 4 like they never happened. And a retcon (comic industry term) like that is probably the best chance we have of getting a Good Phoenix Saga movie.
I came out of the movie feeling divided. Half of the plot/story/movie I really enjoyed, and half of it I absolutely hated. The good news: Ian McKellan’s Magneto is still a spot on charismatic yet ruthless villain. He’s still brilliant, and everything he says is gold. And they really let him go wild with his powers. Patrick Stewart is still the definitive Professor X, but he’s given less to do in this film. Hugh Jackman still owns the Wolverine part, but later on things get odd with him. I really enjoyed the Beast in the film. Much more than I expected to. Kelsey Grammer did an excellent job with him. The FX were also really, really good and there was lots of it, and there were a lot of fun little moments that brought a smile to my face.
But… (and I’ve been using those three dots a lot in connection with this movie) there was a lot of stuff in the movie that just felt off/wrong/dumb. The whole “Phoenix” plot I felt was completely mishandled and basically botched. Not good, considering that’s considered one of the best X-Men stories ever. Cyclops doesn’t do much at all in the movie, and Jean Grey kind of wanders around in a daze wearing a mopey/angry expression most of the time. A storyline that easily could’ve made a great movie in itself was completely wasted by being jammed into this one. But…the ending of X-2 kind of shoehorned the Phoneix storyline into this movie. The Cyclops stuff really did piss me off though, since he’s been my favorite mutant since forever, and I think that he’s just been completely mishandled in the movies anyway, but this was just a stupid use for him (and one that cripples the Phoenix plotline in the movie too). Halle Berry as Storm is still dull, dull, dull to watch. I didn’t mind her in X-1, I liked her in X-2, for some reason, I couldn’t stand her performance in this movie. And her haircut just made me giggle. Wolverine. Remember I said I liked Jackman’s portrayal, but the way the storyline panned out, they were giving him lines that were completely out of character. By the end of the movie I was sitting there thinking “Great, they’re writing Wolverine as Cyclops now. They why do (spoiler) to Cyclops?” Rogue disappears for most of the movie after being involved in a weakly played out love triangle that didn’t get enough time to develop. There’s not enough Colossus, though we do get the fastball special. Shadowcat’s just kind of there. Iceman has some great moments but is also underused. Oh yeah, and there’s no explanation for why Nightcrawler’s missing. They just never mention him. Juggernaut is not nearly the threat he should be, getting used for laughs instead of the unstoppable force he should be. Angel was barely in it, so I’ll barely mention him.
I’ll repeat. There were a lot of great little moments in the film. Unfortunately, there were a lot more big moments that fell flat for me, as both story afficionado and fanboy. The “Cure” plotline was great, and would’ve made for a great movie in itself that built up from the previous two. The “Phoenix” plotline should’ve gotten the full movie treatment it deserved and not been shoved in just because. The movie was rushed into production by the studio, changed directors at least once and is overall the weakest installment of the three X-Men movies. Its not a franchise killer like Batman & Robin. There are no rubber nipples in sight, but still, the X Movie franchise is starting to wobble disconcertingly. Of course if things go really south for them, they could just do what the new Superman movie is doing. Ignoring Superman 3 & 4 like they never happened. And a retcon (comic industry term) like that is probably the best chance we have of getting a Good Phoenix Saga movie.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Does Whatever A 2nd Unit Can...
Ok, so today (Monday) turned into a pretty pleasant day. Drove downtown in the afternoon to check out the filming of Spider-Man 3. A sizable stretch of East 9th St. was closed off and transformed into a makeshift New York City. Anything identifying Cleveland was taken down in the cordoned off areas, and stuff like signs for Columbia University were put up. Regular pedestrians (like myself) were allowed to walk along the street (since the stores and companies were still open for business), we just had to stay out of certain areas and couldn’t cross the street at times when the cars were driving by. They were rehearsing a quick driving scene when I was there. A station wagon drove along and pulled to a quick stop at an intersection, the camera truck made a big swerve (as if to avoid hitting something) and the extras along the street acted surprised and shocked. It was actually very cool to watch, and they rehearsed it a couple of times. Sometimes with a taxi involved, sometimes with some other cars. They even had a truck drive by and wet down the pavement to make it look like it rained or something. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything important to the movie. However, I feel invested in the movie now. I’m gonna be going into the theater and keeping my eyes open for it. Oh yeah, spoiler alert: There was a guy with a saxophone. Hope I didn’t ruin the movie for you. Don’t believe me?
Pure Hollywood magic, baby.
Pure Hollywood magic, baby.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Annual Rituals and Such
100 Girls is one fun little movie. If you haven’t heard of it, don’t sweat it; most people haven’t. Its not particularly well known, and didn’t do too well when it came out in 2000. But, if you haven’t seen it yet, I do recommend tracking it down. Basically the plot boils down to the story of Matthew, a college Freshman in search of his kismetic destiny after a one night stand in an elevator in a blackout. To do that, he’s got to go through an entire dorm full of women to find the one of his dreams, exploring the wacky nature of relationships. And there’s a lot of sex jokes along the way. I think its funny and watching it has become something of an annual ritual for me.
A little context might explain. I was introduced to this movie sophomore year of college at a time when there was a whole mess of drama going around and this movie just kind of put everything on hold for a little. It also provided more than its share of inspiration with the climactic soliloquy Matt gives to a dorm full of women expressing his love. It turns out, doing something similar doesn’t necessarily work in real life, but it sure is a confidence boost. What can I say? It was springtime, love was in the air…
But I digress. Ever since then, our little circle of college buddies has been quoting that movie and watching it annually whenever possible. Its not perfect, its probably not a classic, but damn if its not entertaining, and makes me sad that flicks like American Pie can spawn franchises while stuff like 100 Girls fades into near obscurity.
A little context might explain. I was introduced to this movie sophomore year of college at a time when there was a whole mess of drama going around and this movie just kind of put everything on hold for a little. It also provided more than its share of inspiration with the climactic soliloquy Matt gives to a dorm full of women expressing his love. It turns out, doing something similar doesn’t necessarily work in real life, but it sure is a confidence boost. What can I say? It was springtime, love was in the air…
But I digress. Ever since then, our little circle of college buddies has been quoting that movie and watching it annually whenever possible. Its not perfect, its probably not a classic, but damn if its not entertaining, and makes me sad that flicks like American Pie can spawn franchises while stuff like 100 Girls fades into near obscurity.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
April 16 (Happy Easter)
So I've got this hyperactive imagination that kicks in when I see something a little odd. You know those bumper stickers that say "Jesus is my Co-pilot"? Those are kind of odd aren't they? I mean, you kind of worry what would happen if the driver of that car were to all of a sudden take their hands off the wheel and let Jesus have a go for a while. It seems a little arrogant to think that Jesus would manifest himself in physical form to help you drive your car just so you can take your attention off the road to look for old Hardees wrappers. But then I got to thinking, what if Jesus really was driving with me, what kind of car would it be? I've decided that it would be one of those hot rod convertibles, probably white with red flame work. You know, Jesus would call me up in the afternoons, ask if I wanted to go to Arby's, and I'd say "Hell yes, I want to go to Arby's with Jesus!", and Jesus would be like "Sweet mang, I'll be waiting for chu outside," and he'd honk his horn from my driveway. Then I'd be like, "Oh you!" and I'd go outside and wave to him. I'd Say "Hey Zeus!" See, if we hung out all the time, I'd call him Zeus, since we'd be buddies and he'd get the irony of the play on the Hispanic pronunciation of “Jesus” which, if I have to explain it, isn't nearly as funny. So as I'm saying "Hey Zeus!" as I'm walking out to his car, he'd be smiling back at me, wearing some big aviator shades. Then he'd hit the hydraulics on his car. Vwww Vwww. So then I'd get in the car and we'd go cruising around town, we'd go to Arby's and order at the drive thru window, get some roast beef sandwiches and curly fries with root beer. The root beer's for me. I'm not quite sure what Jesus would drink, but it wouldn't matter, since he could transubstantiate it into whatever he wanted. And then, when we got about a block away, I'd look at my roast beef sandwich, and be like, "That's not what I ordered," and Jesus would look at me, wink and say "Oh yes it is," and I would look and say "Thanks Zeus!" Some of you are going, "I don't know about this. It seems blasphemous." and you're waiting for the lightning bolt to strike me, but come on, don't you think Jesus would be totally sweet to hang out with on the weekends. I mean, he'd probably be all generous and make a coffee table for you, and you'd be like, "Aww, Zeus, you shouldn't have." But he'd say, "You could use it my friend," and that would be the end of that debate, since he'd be right about the coffee table, since I could use one, but I didn't want to impose on him. Then we'd probably drive off to the park and play Frisbee golf, or something like that.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
April 13 (Anybody Want a Peanut?)
Its funny, I don’t think I can name a single person under the age of 30 right now who doesn’t love “The Princess Bride.” If there’s one movie my generation unquestioningly loves, that’s got to be the one. The worst I’ve heard about it is that someone heard from someone else that they thought only girls like that movie. But no, it is no chick flick. Oh sure, there’s romance and kissy stuff, but they cover that in a very meta sort of way in the framing sequences. The movie just has so much else going on that its impossible to pin it down to one gender demographic. Its got swordfights, razor sharp dialogue, rats of unusual size, peril, magic, death, miracles, footage of a Commodore 64 game on camera, shrieking eels, Columbo, Fred Savage and Andre the Frickin’ Giant. I never watched wrestling back in the day, but even I knew who Andre the Giant was. Seriously, what Transformers watchin’ kid is going to turn down watching Andre the Giant in his finest cinematic role ever? I didn’t think so.
And the movie’s aged really well, all things considered. Oh sure, some of the effects might look a little lame now (I’m looking at you giant rat) but overall its not bad in the context of when it was made. Bet you didn’t know the soundtrack was by Mark Knopfler, better known from Dire Straits (No, that’s not something I naturally know, it was on the DVD bonus features) Hell, if there were more “chick flicks” like this out there, male/female relations would be set forward 300 years or so.
Damn, all this writing about the movie just makes me wanna go watch it. Inconceivable!
And the movie’s aged really well, all things considered. Oh sure, some of the effects might look a little lame now (I’m looking at you giant rat) but overall its not bad in the context of when it was made. Bet you didn’t know the soundtrack was by Mark Knopfler, better known from Dire Straits (No, that’s not something I naturally know, it was on the DVD bonus features) Hell, if there were more “chick flicks” like this out there, male/female relations would be set forward 300 years or so.
Damn, all this writing about the movie just makes me wanna go watch it. Inconceivable!
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Bamboo-zled (see, its supposed to be a pun...oh never mind)
Nothing much going on around these parts right now. Its starting to snow again in Ohio after a ludicrously pleasant January. Of course, being February, there isn't much for the sexy single male (or me) to do except batten down the hatches in preparation for the oncoming rush of Valentine's Day melancholy. Well not this year, ya hear me? This year I'm gonna be single and enjoy the hell out of myself on February 14th! Granted, I don't know what I'm going to be doing, but whatever, details!
Ok then, in other news, I saw 'House of Flying Daggers' tonight, a Chinese film about medieval tragic love and swordfightin'. I'll keep this short, so the rundown is this: There's a whole bunch of plot twists that I shouldn't spoil, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, it tends to drag in a few places, and there's fightin'. The fightin' I'll talk about because those are some of the best artistic scenes. There's an absolutely surreal sequence where an army of guys attacks the main characters in a bamboo forest (hence the title of this update). This is the only way I can really sum that fight up. Imagine that Cirque du Soleil went berserk and started throwing sharpened bamboo staves at the audience. It would kind of be like that. The other standout sequence is the duel at the end between two guys who are very, very pissed at each other, and then it starts snowing. Its epic, its got heart, and damn if it doesn't look cool.
Oh yeah, and there certainly are daggers thrown about with a vengeance in this movie.
Ok then, in other news, I saw 'House of Flying Daggers' tonight, a Chinese film about medieval tragic love and swordfightin'. I'll keep this short, so the rundown is this: There's a whole bunch of plot twists that I shouldn't spoil, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, it tends to drag in a few places, and there's fightin'. The fightin' I'll talk about because those are some of the best artistic scenes. There's an absolutely surreal sequence where an army of guys attacks the main characters in a bamboo forest (hence the title of this update). This is the only way I can really sum that fight up. Imagine that Cirque du Soleil went berserk and started throwing sharpened bamboo staves at the audience. It would kind of be like that. The other standout sequence is the duel at the end between two guys who are very, very pissed at each other, and then it starts snowing. Its epic, its got heart, and damn if it doesn't look cool.
Oh yeah, and there certainly are daggers thrown about with a vengeance in this movie.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Twas beauty killed the beast
Ok, so today was dental doomsday for my wisdom teeth. Didn't have anything to eat or drink from 10 PM last night till well after the surgery. As a result, I had some really weird dreams. I slept on the couch (where I'll be sleeping for the next couple of days) and every single damn dream took place there. In one I was trying to sleep on a couch and a lyger walked in and tried to climb on my couch, and I was like "No, you can't climb up on here, get your own couch." So it did. In another dream, I thought I was awake since I turned my head to see what was on TV. Whatever it was, I was enjoying the show, and felt very glad to have woken up and looked at the tv. The I woke up for real, looked over to the very much off television, and ironically noted that I was not glad I woke up and looked at the TV. The appointment was for 8 AM today, and got there withouth any problems.
I was taken to the surgery room and hooked up to blood pressure monitors and some other stuff. Then they hooked me up to an IV (not the Roman numeral 4) which was how the anesthesia was pumped into me. At first, I didn't feel anything different, then a minute or two later I starting to get dizzy. The last words I said before falling unconscious was "Yeah, I'm starting to feel it now."
20 or so minutes later I woke up in a recovery room (with no idea how I got there) and all I could remember from the surgery was I think a few drill sounds, so I was out cold. Anyway, I woke up slap happy and numb in my lower jaw from Novocaine that was pumped in there to make sure I didn't feel anything in the lower teeth. So there I was, groggy, shoeless and with stitches in my mouth (which will dissolve in a couple of days. Ginchy) and gauze in my mouth to absorb a lot of the blood. After I had reached enough stability to walk (and a reload on gauze), my dad drove me home. I watched television in a slightly dazed state, took a few pain killer & antibiotic induced naps (without the funky-cool dreams of last night).
Then I finally saw King Kong. No, not Peter Jackson's current flick. No not the God-awful 1970s Dino DeLaurentiis version, but the ORIGINAL giant monkey (yes, I know he's an ape, but dammit, monkey is just so much more fun to say) movie of the old millenium. I must say, I was incredibly impressed with the flick. It had pacing, no wasted scenes, wanton destruction, and hot monkey vs dinosaur action. Oh yeah, and Kong felt up the (then gorgeous) Fay Wray. You know you wanna see that out of morbid curiosity alone.
Tonight I also saw King Arthur for the first time (the recent one, with Clive Owen, that Welshman Ioan who's last name I can't pronounce who played Reed Richards, and the damn sexy Keira Knightly). I know the movie basically tanked in theatres, which is a damn shame since it really did offer a refreshing look at the Arthurian Legends. Keep in mind that I'm an Arthurian fanatic and very picky about any movie involving people with swords, arrows, axes and that oh-so shiny armor (Damn you Oliver Stone and Wolfgang Peterson). Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool working some of the Arthur characters into what historians know about Roman-Britain in late antiquity. (Here Arthur is a Romano-Britain in command of a unit of Sarmatian auxiliary cavalry, a people renowned for their horsemanship and for service in far flung outposts of the Empire). And they took a really interesting track with the Lancelot-Guenevere-Arthur love triangle by, well, killing off Lancelot in the climactic battle (again, they weren't trying to go for the traditional Medieval Romance version of the story but one based in late Antiquity). That and its got Keira Knightly in it. This is always a good thing.
I was taken to the surgery room and hooked up to blood pressure monitors and some other stuff. Then they hooked me up to an IV (not the Roman numeral 4) which was how the anesthesia was pumped into me. At first, I didn't feel anything different, then a minute or two later I starting to get dizzy. The last words I said before falling unconscious was "Yeah, I'm starting to feel it now."
20 or so minutes later I woke up in a recovery room (with no idea how I got there) and all I could remember from the surgery was I think a few drill sounds, so I was out cold. Anyway, I woke up slap happy and numb in my lower jaw from Novocaine that was pumped in there to make sure I didn't feel anything in the lower teeth. So there I was, groggy, shoeless and with stitches in my mouth (which will dissolve in a couple of days. Ginchy) and gauze in my mouth to absorb a lot of the blood. After I had reached enough stability to walk (and a reload on gauze), my dad drove me home. I watched television in a slightly dazed state, took a few pain killer & antibiotic induced naps (without the funky-cool dreams of last night).
Then I finally saw King Kong. No, not Peter Jackson's current flick. No not the God-awful 1970s Dino DeLaurentiis version, but the ORIGINAL giant monkey (yes, I know he's an ape, but dammit, monkey is just so much more fun to say) movie of the old millenium. I must say, I was incredibly impressed with the flick. It had pacing, no wasted scenes, wanton destruction, and hot monkey vs dinosaur action. Oh yeah, and Kong felt up the (then gorgeous) Fay Wray. You know you wanna see that out of morbid curiosity alone.
Tonight I also saw King Arthur for the first time (the recent one, with Clive Owen, that Welshman Ioan who's last name I can't pronounce who played Reed Richards, and the damn sexy Keira Knightly). I know the movie basically tanked in theatres, which is a damn shame since it really did offer a refreshing look at the Arthurian Legends. Keep in mind that I'm an Arthurian fanatic and very picky about any movie involving people with swords, arrows, axes and that oh-so shiny armor (Damn you Oliver Stone and Wolfgang Peterson). Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool working some of the Arthur characters into what historians know about Roman-Britain in late antiquity. (Here Arthur is a Romano-Britain in command of a unit of Sarmatian auxiliary cavalry, a people renowned for their horsemanship and for service in far flung outposts of the Empire). And they took a really interesting track with the Lancelot-Guenevere-Arthur love triangle by, well, killing off Lancelot in the climactic battle (again, they weren't trying to go for the traditional Medieval Romance version of the story but one based in late Antiquity). That and its got Keira Knightly in it. This is always a good thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)