Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Wizard21's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, September 6th, 2009
3:03 am	On Tangibility and Death I have had experience with death. It has become tangible to me many times. The same thing with near-death and disease. I understand things that are tangible. When things are around I can grasp and physically comprehend I deal with them better. I think everyone does. This is not one of those things. I met Remy when I was a freshman in college. She was the girl who sat in front of me in a boring class and actually did the homework. She liked to make fun of my friend Calvin and me, and we quickly got to know each other. I actually became friends with her when one day she sat down across from me at a table in the school cafeteria. What was at the time an argument over politics and movies became a strong friendship that still exists to this day. Since we were good friends she eventually introduced me to her boyfriend our sophomore year. Hid name was Jonathan, and they had been dating him since High School. It was the only relationship that I knew of in college that had actually lasted past the freshman year. I remember when I met him. He was about my height. He wore thick glasses, long pants, a t-shirt,. and a big black trench coat that become his trademark. We hit it off immediately, bonding over a long conversation about video games that lost Remy around the five minute mark. I saw him throughout the years. He showed up at a party once, though he wasn't the partying type. At one point we all had dinner at a restaurant called Jerry's which devolved into us batting jokes about our lives back and forth. He tried out stand up at one point and enjoyed it. I never got to go to any of his live performances but I saw a bunch recorded. I remember laughing when a joke bombed and he recovered by making fun of both himself and the joke for a big laugh. That was a serious sign of talent right there. When Remy graduated they were still going strong, and she ended up moving in with him. I visited a few times, which is how I wound up owning my first HP Lovecraft book; the two of them basically gave it to me. He worked in computers and seemed to be good at it, offering to help me do a web page if I ever started up a company. Of course, good things never last. Remy and Jonathan ended up breaking up at the end of their tenure at their apartment. I came over during this time to visit again and to get some "gifts" from the two of them. They both wound up giving me all of their hard alcohol...and there was a hell of a lot of it. I ended up moving it to my car in a laundry hamper they gave to me, laughing while I dragged the thing to my car. While I was there I watched some of the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien with them and I noticed that the two of them still got along just fine. Remy was actually curled up next to Jonathan, looking happy. It was an amicable breakup, and I know they kept in touch for the last year. I haven't talked to Jonathan since then. He had moved back to the east coast around where his parents lived. I kept in touch with him via facebook, leaving comments on his status messages periodically. I knew one day he'd show back up in LA and we'd end up having dinner together again with Remy, or something. It was bound to happen, and I think Remy knew it too. I still saw her a bunch and it was always simply this thing; we'd talk about how Jonathan was doing, and sometimes if he was coming back. So when I saw his facebook status a few hours ago and it simply said "farewell" I knew something was up. Jonathan killed himself a few hours ago. I called Remy as soon as she told me, and she's a wreck of course. Apparently not only had Jonathan killed himself, but he had done it in a fucked up way. First he had sent out a big email talking about it. When Remy called him he apparently told her he had already taken a large dose of pills. Remy didn't know his address so she couldn't call 911; instead she called his parents. Within the next hour they found he had hung himself after he had taken the pills. Unbeknownst to me, he had threatened to commit suicide before. Naturally, Remy is a complete disaster. I don't get suicide. I never will. I'm a happy person. Every time I think about myself dying it winds up being depressing to me...but those times are rare anyway. I have never thought about suicide. Instead I have always thought that even if everyone I loved died terribly I would still be here somehow, trying to live. I just don't understand suicide because I can't see the other perspective. It makes no sense to me, and no matter what people say I don't think it ever will. If I ever even thought about it I fully expect all of my friends to simply beat the ever living shit out of me, so I guess that's something. I have never had to deal with suicide for anyone I have known until now. I am not saying that Jonathan was one of my best friends; he wasn't. But I did know him, and he was nice, and I considered him a friend. He's the guy who spent an hour hyping Half Life 2 to me enough so I would buy it. He's the guy who gave me his booze with Remy. He's the guy who made me laugh a lot on many different occasions by being so deadpan I sometimes thought his sarcasm was serious. He was a good guy I wanted to see again and now I can't because he went and did something I can't quite comprehend. I can't even imagine how Remy is feeling right now. I talked to her earlier and she is barely keeping it together. My only thought after the conversation was that this guy had to know that he would effect her like that so HOW COULD HE?! It's not something tangible to me, and I don't get it. And I never will. I just hope everyone involved in this tragedy is okay. I hope Jonathan is finally at peace. I hope Remy keeps it together. I hope a lot of things. I'm just not used to anything like this, and it found its way home. Just give me something tangible to deal with and never let anyone I know do this again, okay? Then everything will be fine. Current Mood: morose (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 17th, 2009
3:10 am	you can make this for 30 mil? holy shit! I think I have mentioned this before, but so far this year hasn't been incredibly impressive as far as movies go. I mean, sure, we've had a few excellent movies. Up was damn awesome. Hurt Locker was intense as hell. Drag Me To Hell came out of left field and shocked the shit out of me. But there hadn't been any movie that was going to truly stick with me. Nothing was on the "best ever" list. Last year we at least had The Dark Knight by now. This year we haven't had anything nearly that amazing. I mean, I admit I ask for a lot. I want some sort of shocking, epic film making that is rare. Something I can watch numerous times and be blown away every time. I want fucking awesome. But most of the time I wind up with something like Transformers 2; that is too say, too stupid to live but entertaining anyway. I don't think this is a good thing, although I'm all about robots ripping each other apart. So what's my point? District 9 is the best movie of the year right now. That's my point. But that's not all. This is one of those movies that's going to be remembered as important ten years from now. This is one of those films that's going to get stuck in the public consciousness for years to come. It will be called a sci fi classic years from now. It will be considered near revolutionary. This is one of "those" films. It's a once in a lifetime achievement that has to be seen to be believed. Then again, maybe I'm just a big fanboy. This type of movie is cat nip for me, after all. It's intelligent. It's got a completely believable world. It has completely realized characters. It has scenes that are STILL stuck in my head. It's raw, uncompromised film making that you simply don't see anymore. And it's geeky as hell. Plus, when you leave the theater you WILL be thinking. The movie will make you think. Then after sitting on it for a day or two (like I have done) you will NEED to see it again (as I do) just to comprehend everything you saw. This movie has everything. It is violent. It is disturbing as hell. Some of it is high up on the gross out "ick!" meter. But it can also be funny and moving. It has an agenda and it will get you to think about things you usually try to ignore, such as racism in society and the way we treat our destitute. But just in case you think this is simply a message movie, the last 20 minutes is a lot like the Black Hawk Down of alien sci fi movies with action so amazing and intense you will be unable to look away. And for the geekiest of us out there, it involves (SPOILER ALERT if you don't watch trailers closely) a giant fucking robot that tosses cars around like Tonka Trucks. Oh yes, it's exactly as awesome as it sounds. And above all, this movie is original. And it has massive balls. That is a damn rarity these days. Go see this movie. It's important and it's amazing. It needs to be seen at least once on the big screen. And don't read any spoilers really, even the one above. You need to be shocked by this movie. You need to come into it unprepared for what you will see. Because you have no idea what you're in for if you're anything like me at all. District 9 is the best movie of the year, and I can't wait to see what Neil Blomkamp comes up with next. I'll say this much; as far as crazy sci fi goes, James Cameron's Avatar now has competition. Because holy shit, that's why. That is all. Current Mood: shocked (Comment on this)
Friday, July 31st, 2009
10:48 am	The last few weeks have been insane. I will post on them when I get a chance (which is more often than not meaning "never"). I'm currently packing for the drive to Sacramento. Then I am going to Oregon with the family (and sadly sans Andrew). Know what I should do while there? See if Danielle has time to drive over and say hi over the course of two weeks. Well, that and drink. SOMEBODY should call me. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
4:42 am	God Dammit Potter Day In my opinion the last Harry Potter book is the War and Peace of younger set literature. Younger Set Literature is not meant to come off as degrading. I've read enough of it to know some of it is DAMN awesome. It's just not exactly Steven King. Anyway it's War and Peace partially because of its massive fucking length and partially because of its importance to a whole generation. Because if you really think about it, it's the last book in a series of books that a whole generation grew up with. What TMNT and Power Rangers etc etc were to us, Harry Potter is to teens my youngest brother's age. The important fact that those kids read something so big that it could be used as a door stopper should also not be lost on the rest of us. I can't even get my kid brother to read To Kill A Mockingbird but if another Potter book came out he'd totally be there. My point is, this shit is pretty important apparently. Important enough to where I can show up to my shopping center/movie theater at 4pm to eat and find that it's Potter day, and people everywhere are dressed as witches and wizards and are yelling spells through microphones. They have shit set up selling all sorts of shirts. they have a stage that at one point has a Potter themed band on it. I run into Borders for some sort of sanctuary to find that the fans congregate in book stores and are there currently to listen to an author who wrote a philosophy book deconstructing Potter. I go to Comicon and this shit freaked even me out. All I could think of is "this must be what going mad is like." Though I don't mind the 20 year old girls who don't just dress up as witches, but dress up as what can only be described as "slutty witches." Well played ladies. But I digress. So today was apparently Harry fucking Potter day. And that's how I got roped into seeing the newest movie at midnight. Not that I mind; I've seen the last few Potter films at Midnight. At one point in my life I was alongside friends who had dressed accordingly which was rather disconcerting so I guess I just roll with it. It helps the last few Potter films have been pretty damn good. If forced to rank them I have to say that the third Potter is the best and the second is pretty much garbage. I caught the fifth one on TV the other night as if in preparation for the movie itself and still find it to be a good film. Then again I never seem to mind long running times. Just look at my all over the place review for Transformers 2. So how was the movie? Well there was a reason I brought up the last book above. That's the book I mainly remember. It drags like hell in the middle but the last 200 pages is basically one big epic fantasy battle where everything explodes. I like my huge fantasy battles, and the end of that book didn't disappoint even if the rest of the thing was 500 pages too long. Probably why it's being split into two movies. But see, I remember the seventh book. So it's probably not a good thing that I'm sitting through this, the sixth movie, and thinking "will they just get to the seventh movie(s) already?" Don't get me wrong; this is a good movie. Very good even. It plays itself for most of its running time as a sort of teen coming of age comedy which works really well. The movie is damn funny. Also the whole thing is really well acted. All those once annoying kid actors have come into their own and inhabit actual characters now, which help keep me interested...but the adults still continue to steal the show. The rest of the film is pretty much a master class in how to make a high quality movie; great special effects, awesome score, great sets, beautifully shot, etc etc. I really should have liked this movie more. Cept I didn't because in all honesty, outside of the ending moments, nothing really happens. The first half is generally plotless; a bunch of scenes are linked together barely and almost like some sort of comedy skit. the second half feels sort of rushed. The ending scenes aren't nearly as big as they should be and then the thing sort of ends on a depressing note. I'm fine with the depressing note; I'm not okay with how it just sort of sits there at the end. My reaction when I got through was "that's it?" which is probably why for the most part this movie felt like a placeholder until we get to the next two movies. In which case I hope they don't skimp on the action scenes like this movie. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie. I'm just fucking picky. If you're a fan your gonna go crazy over this thing. But really, it didn't quite do it for me. I just say bring on the next one. A few notes though. One: anyone else notice the homosexual overtones? Jesus they made me laugh. Just saying, pay attention, you might catch it too. Two: Every movie needs more Alan Rickman. I mean EVERY movie ever made. If he was put into Star Trek, Star Trek would be a better movie. Up? Same thing. Because Alan Rickman owns. Three: How the FLYING FUCK did this not get a PG-13 rating?! The last one got a PG-13 and it didn't have the innuendo or the same level of violence. I'm telling you, the MPAA is on some serious crack. Four: If you have watched the Harry Potter Rifttraxx before going to see or any other Potter film, you are ruined forever. On that note, you should watch these links http://www.rifftrax.com/rifftrax/harry-potter-and-sorcerers-stone and http://www.rifftrax.com/rifftrax/harry-potter-and-chamber-secrets and click "Watch Sample." Jesus it's late. I'm going to sleep. Current Mood: content (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, July 13th, 2009
1:17 am	Life Update I Am Alive. I just moved. Am currently living on a mattress in my friends' apartment. Usually the room has two occupants but this month for some reason both aren't here. Lucky me. The room is full of any junk I couldn't fit in my storage bin. In related news, moving sucks balls...even when I'm organized. Case and point? I dropped a piece of bed on my foot and now my big toe has purple stripes through it. Awesome. I really need a job. At least it looks like the room situation will finally work out if I can get the two prospective roommates to agree on the deal that I'm attempting to make. This has to be done by the end of July or I lose the room. No pressure or anything. My film did not make it into the comicon film festival. In fact, no one I know made it into the comicon film festival. All my other avenues to comicon dried up around the same time due to a variety of reasons. In short, unless something close to a miracle happens, I'm not going. This depresses me greatly but I've far too many problems currently to really worry about it. It doesn't help that whenever I get online some news item loves to remind me of what I'm missing. June and so far July have not been the best months. At least I always got the beach unless I have to move home. Boogie boarding is fun and FREE. Someone give me 90 bucks so I can get the cheap surf boards at costco and I'll take lessons from my friend for nothing. Eventually I will become a beach bum, complete with no money. That'll be new. The shining beacon of the last few months has been some of my good friends (like the people allowing me to sleep in their apartment) and the letters from a girl I know currently stuck in Arizona. It's like waiting for a gift that arrives roughly once a week and tells me I'm doing okay. It's strange but encouraging. Having a pen pal in this information age is WEIRD. On the home front my Dad apparently got a black GT that's stick shift. I didn't see that one coming, but I guess I really should have. It's about god damn time he gets a new car. I'm going to go sleep or something. And probably eat some ice cream. Current Mood: mellow (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
9:46 pm	"GIVE ME YOUR FACE!!" Robot Style I see a lot of movies every year. The only thing outside of food I really spend money on anymore is is movies and comics. This is mostly because I'm poor, and somewhat because I'm a sad media addicted little man who needs his superhero nerd fix. But that's not what I'm here to write about. (though really, how you can end Ultimate Spiderman like that MAKES ME WANT TO KILL MARVEL *breaths deep*) I have seen a ton of movies in the last month. I am eventually gonna review them all in little blurbs or whatever. Most don't scream out "write about me" or anything like that and currently I'm trying to keep my life from self destructing in my face. Writing about movies is usually far from my mind. But every now and then I see a film that needs to be talked about. It needs to be examined. It needs to be reviewed. Transformers 2 is that movie. Because really, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! I defend Michal Bay a lot. And I get a lot of shit about it. But really, the man makes giant action movies for 14 year old boys repeatedly. He does it well. Normally the end result is stupidly entertaining (except for Pearl Harbor, and even then the bombing scene was pretty great). So he seems like the right guy to make a movie about giant robots smashing each other in the face. Of course, for better or worse, when given unlimited amounts of control and 200+ million bucks he makes stuff like Bad Boys 2. It's like he completely loses his mind. For better or worse. With that being said, Transformers 2 is like Bay at his most fucking unhinged. It's like he took a ton of drugs and decided to make a movie about robots fighting and Shia Lehoweveryouspellhisnamei'mnotlookingitup screaming "no" a lot while a lot of rediculously hot women run around in slow motion and racial stereotypes insult everyone. This movie is basically like stream of conscious film making. Most of it doesn't make sense. Let me try to explain what happens in the way the movie does. Lots of slow motion chicks that don't exist in real life. Dogs humping. Shia screaming. More dogs humping. A robot humping a girls leg...and the girl liking it. A robot farts a parachute and says "wanker". A few robots cross the line into "racist as fuck" territory and everyone laughs. John Turturro wears a banana hammock and we get a closeup of his ass. Then he gets the line "I'm underneath its testicles!" as a robot literally shows off giant brass testicles. A robot cries washer fluid and sprays a girl with anti-freeze because insta-blindness is hysterical. A girl is a tentacle robot with a slimy tongue (hentai fetishists celebrate as we speak). Shia is apparently Robot Jesus. Or maybe Optimus is. I don't fucking know. Shia does go to Robot Heaven though. No, really. Oh, and someone gets tasered in the nuts. And other shit happens. And I really have no idea what half this movie was even about. It just sorta goes off into stupid land before ending almost three hours later on a note that would make The Power Rangers happy (thinks Zords combining powers in the last 20 minutes and you really aren't far off). This movie sound pretty terrible right now, right? Well, it is. It's a stupid fucking movie. It's pretty bad. It stands for most things wrong with cinema. And yet I enjoyed every fucking second of it. Because the 12 year old in me couldn't stop smiling. At a few points in the film my friend and I shared this look that can only be described as the "retard smile." We recognized the fact this movie was retarded beyond belief and insulting. And yet we were still enjoying ourselves. Because the people who made this movie listened to the complaints after the first movie. You wanted more robots? You got them. Robots with more personality? You got that too. Robots fighting CLEARLY? Shit, you get that in spades. Less humans? Done. Bigger everything? Hell yeah. Seriously, this might be one of the biggest movies I've ever seen. Every dollar is up there on screen. Massive epic scale battles, tons of robots wrecking shit, etc. It's all there. And it holds one of my single favorite action scenes of the last few years. It's a scene the 6 year old in me has been waiting for. It involves robots fighting for minutes on end using some killer moves. More to the point, it's Optimus fucking Prime fighting three robots at the same time and whooping ass for five minutes straight. And at the moment he rips a robots head open in slow motion with his dual blades I realized that my 10 dollars was well spent. Cause that was some serious fucking fun right there. Really, the movie is a 2 1/2 hour Saturday Morning Cartoon with an infinite budget. It has the same story telling technique as the original Transformers cartoon (ie not much) and instead is about the spectacle and the comedy. I didn't expect much more, and instead got some of the most insane action scenes I've ever seen commited to film. And wait til Super Optimus shows up at the end of the movie. My midnight audience went BATSHIT INSANE. If it doesn't remind you of the old cartoon or Power Rangers or something along those lines, then clearly this movie isn't for you and you should probably leave the theater. Me? I was overcome with 12 year old levels of nostalgia and blown away by the great action. Give a man 200 million, some drugs, a 14 year old sense of humor and a bunch of robots and he gives you this. And I say, Bravo Mr. Bay, I salute you. It's not a great movie. It's not even close to being a good movie. But it is a fun as fuck movie if you let yourself go. Expect a loud insane borderline incomprehensible sugar rush of a movie about robots fighting and hot women and you will be pleased. But dear God I never need to see John Turturro's ass again. Ever. Also, Optimus yelling "GIVE ME YOUR FACE!" before actually RIPPING OFF A ROBOTS FACE is one of my fave B-movie moments of, I dunno, ever. Current Mood: nerdy (Comment on this)
Friday, May 29th, 2009
5:36 pm	Seeing Drag Me to Hell at midnight and then Up less than 12 hours later might constitute one of the best cinematic experiences of my life. If not the best. Up is the best film of the year so far. That is all. (Comment on this)
4:34 am	GIVE SAM RAIMI YOUR MONEY Do you guys know who Sam Raimi is? He did all the Spiderman and Evil Dead movies, and some other things that no one seems to care about cept for cinema completionist/obsessive fans like myself. He's mostly know as "that Spiderman guy" or "the dude who uses Bruce Campbell." Let's be honest; he's a pretty awesome filmmaker even if you didn't like Spiderman 3. His new movie gets released today. You've probably seen commercials for it. It's called Drag Me to Hell. It's been getting a few months of fantastic press and advanced reviews, but unless you're hooked to a ton of movie sites like I am you wouldn't know that. Mostly if you watch the advertisements you think "this looks like a bunch of other horror movies." Because honestly, those trailers really aren't that good. Furthermore they seem to almost brag that "This movie is PG-13!! everyone can see it!" This is sort of a death sentence for most modern horror. When was the last good horror movie you saw that was PG-13? The Ring? Maybe? A long fucking time ago. Outside of that advanced press you would be forgiven if you thought this movie look lackluster, especially in this crowded summer. Do not pay attention to those trailers. Do not pay attention to the rating. Do not pay attention to most the other movies out, since most of them outside of Star Trek and Up aren't worth your precious time or money. I don't know how this happened, but Sam Raimi just pulled one over on a bunch of people. Those people are you, me, the critics, the film studio that produced this movie, and probably the MPAA. He did this by making a hardcore fucked up freaky ass horror film at a PG-13 rating for not a lot of money. You will not see it coming. There are a lot of great moments in this movie, but the moment this movie went from being "pretty fucking awesome" to "instant fucking classic" for me was the moment with the gate. Our heroine, who becomes more and more selfish and mean as the film goes on (and who can blame her) gets dropped at home by her boyfriend after getting assaulted (in one amazingly fun, freaky, and funny as hell scene) by a mean as fuck old crone who cursed her. She starts hearing weird shit and proceeds to look around for what amounts to metal shrieking and creaking sounds (for anyone who wants to learn good sound editing, WATCH THIS MOVIE). She goes to the window to see where the sound is coming from. During this time we get fucked with enough to where there is a nice nervouse laugh from how the camera punches into the girls face, coming mostly from how wound up tight you actually are on the inside. And then the sound drops out and...the girl sees wind causing a creaky metal gate to open and shut. And nothing happens. False scare. The beat has passed. That was clo-HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT DEAR JESUS CHRIST GOD FUCKING DAMMIT RUN BITCH RUN!! My audience SCREAMED. Like bitches. This happened A LOT. And to think that was one of the less scary lighter moments of the movie. Wait til you see what the fly actually does, or the anvil scene (one of the greatest single looney tunes scenes ever), or what the Lamia does during the brilliant and surprisingly funny seance scene, or the scene at the graveyard with the dead body, or the dinner eyeball, or the shadow scene in the house...I could go on. And then there is that ending. Holy shit, that fucking ending... No matter what you think, I can promise you this much; you will never see Emblaming Fluid the same way again. And if you can look at it after the movie without gagging slightly you are a better person than me. This is not a horror film like those normal crappy teen PG-13 horror films. This is not a horror film for your mother. This is not a horror film that is japanastupid horror. This is not a horror film completely full of computer animated bullshit. This is not like any horror film you've seen in years. This is something completely different. If you are a horror movie fan, you owe it to yourself to see this film. Now. Run to the theater. Because this is one of the best horror films I've ever seen. And it deserves to be watched in a crowded theater full of people who don't know what they just walked into. Horrow fans need to see this, and tell their friends to see it, because it deserves to be seen more than things like Wolverine or Terminator Salvation. Consider it educational. Or stupidly awesome. This is, and will most likely continue to be, one of the best single films of the year. Current Mood: giddy (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
2:12 am	On this 50 Book thing... Allow me a brief rant, if you will. Has anyone heard of what is being called the 50 Book Challenge? It's the challenge put out by someone to read 50 books by the end of the year. It caught on and has become some sort of internet meme. The idea being that you keep track of the books you read and how far done you are with the 50 books. I have different friends doing this challenge. Most of them seem to be failing, since most are barely ten books in at nearly the halfway point of the year, but I give them points for trying. But I digress. My point is, this challenge is out there, and it's making some news waves on the ol' internet. I originally decided I wasn't going to be part of this thing. Nevermind the fact that I could do that because I think I might have already. I didn't really feel like it. Then for a split second I changed my mind. Then I thought about what this thing actually is. I have to commend the 50 Book Challenge. I am all about getting people to read. Ask me about books and I'll probably talk until someone shuts me up via knocking me unconscious about what people should be reading. It's a big hobby of mine. I fucking love reading and wish we all did a little more of it. Therefore I am behind whatever gets people to read. That being said, this 50 Book thing is utter, total bullshit that angers me to such a degree that I am writing about it. The reason for all the hate? It's simple, really; this 50 Book Challenge solves nothing. In fact, it probably makes the problem worse. Consider this; by agreeing to do this challenge, YOU ARE FORCING PEOPLE TO READ. When was the last time that worked? Understand that my fears are based on what I have seen. Whenever people are forced to read, they dislike reading. Consider the fact that by the end of the year a lot of people will be reading less for pleasure and more to make a quota because their friends are doing it. This didn't work in high school and it doesn't work now. Just ask my brothers, who I usually have to force to pick up a book by telling them about the "Awesome explosions" beyond the front cover. I got one brother hating the crap out of his English class because he didn't read the books he was forced too. If he, by some miracle, got involved with this 50 books thing he'd be hating the crap out of it come November. And at least the last five books he wouldn't even remember due the speed at which he finished. This is my experience with most people, actually, but my brother is the best example. Which leads to this challenge's biggest sin; it does not plan ahead. Say you get done with all 50 books. Most people will not want to pick up another book for a good long time. which is fine, I guess, except for the fact that it means people aren't going to be reading anymore. Hell most people will be sick of books and not want to even look at another one for a good long time. Congrats, you just trained a ton of people not to read for the next year. I hope whoever made this challenge is happy. Think I'm wrong? Ask someone what they would do after reading 50 books. I doubt most would pick up number 51. This challenge's main flaw is that it isn't solving anything. It wants to make people read but in the long run I'm afraid it will make people adverse to it. I have yet to see proof otherwise. Furthermore the challenge will actually make you feel good after you complete the 50 books (if you do) nevermind the fact you might not read again for another two years. In short, I don't see this plan getting people to read AT ALL. Which is its goal. And that's a very serious problem. It does not make you a better person if you read 50 books. Hell, a lot of people would argue reading won't make you better at anything anyway, but that's another story. You know what I think makes you a better person? Continuing to read over time. Reading every year. Sticking with reading. Reading on a regular basis. That sort of thing. This plan does not make people do this. I propose an alternative challenge. Make people read 25 books, on average, a year. For a certain number of years. First of all the books will be more spaced out so the reading will be more enjoyable. You will not cram to get the number done nearly as much. Furthermore, if you read more books one year (say 30) you can read less the next year (say 20) and still come up with an average...and seemingly rewarding the person who read more with less "work." Finally, this allows a person to read year after year and get into an actual grove. Tell them to keep track of each book, just like the 50 book challenge. Then after the years are up, challenge a person to keep doing it. I'm not saying any of this will work, but I'm saying that a prolonged plan with less stress is always better than a plan with no foresight and a lot of stress. I think it makes more sense. Look I'll start. Books finished so far (from what I remember): It's Superman! (simply amazing) Event (meh) The Graveyard Book (one of the best books ever? Maaaaaybe) M is for Magic (more Gaiman!) Legend (more meh) Seven Deadly Wonders (retarded but incredibly fun) Lamb: The Gospel of Biff (pretty awesome) What Just Happened? (fun little thing) Adventures in the Screen Trade (William Goldman strikes again) Generation Kill (eye opening and a must read) Turn Coat (more Dresden is NEVER a bad thing) From Reel to Deal (and I read it all to educate myself on my movie too) The Book of Joe (name jokes aside, it's emotional and very funny) Slam (eh, Nick Hornby can do better) I think there are a few more but I can't remember, so until I remember they won't count. These are the books I'm reading currently (at the same time. No really. I'm sort of weird.): The Atrocity Archives Superpowers! Shantaram (it's fucking massive!) Steampunk Dreamsongs (also fucking massive!) Don't ask how I read stuff like that at the same time, I just do. Books I plan on reading: SOIAF DANCE WITH DRAGONS (COME OUT ALREADY YOU MOTHERFUCKER) The Glass Castle The Road Anything with the word "Tameraire" in it that might be released before the end of the year Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Douglas Adams we miss you) That's 24 planned or done so far. And there will be more. So get reading already. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
4:13 am	Dark Tower Nerds Read (there are apparently a few of you) On Ain't It Cool News a guy interviews JJ Abrams post Star Trek and had a great geeky conversation. Go to the site if you want to read it. But then there was this part... Quint: Right, well they are shooing us off here, but again I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me and as a life long DARK TOWER fan, I think you have quite a road ahead of you. As difficult as STAR TREK was to adapt, I think you are going to be looking at an even harder world to create. JJ Abrams: Yeah, we’ll see what happens with that... As I have mentioned before, JJ Abrams is gonna try to do Dark Tower (it's mentioned a few times in the interview). It's just fun to see him completely acknowledge it. Just thought you guys should know. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
4:51 pm	I'm alive, a lot has happened, will post about it later. All I have to ask now is... What's with the earthquakes? Honestly. I get back to LA and two happen within 72 hours. LA is just mad I'm back or something. Seriously, just give us the big one already or knock it off. It's annoying. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 8th, 2009
3:57 am	HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT STAR TREK IS BACK HOLY SHIT *nerds out uncontrollably* Aaaaaand that's my review. Best movie of '09 so far? YOU BET YOUR ASS. Current Mood: enthralled (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
5:46 am	On Fans, Movies, and Wolverine So the summer movie season is upon us. God help us all. That means I need to post reviews more often so you'll be hearing more of me. I'm so, so sorry. I might update on my life at some point at some time, maybe sooner than you think...or not. Whatever, no one cares. So I saw Wolverine today. Or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Which is a really damn clunky name. You might as well say "hopefully the beginning of a franchise movie Wolverine" and be done with it. I know they got an X-Men Origins: Magneto plannes, and maybe Wolverine 2. Personally I'm fearing we're gonna hear something like X-Men Origins: Iceman or some such bullshit where we get to hear a pre-teen whine about not fitting in because he's got powers (or something) and has to hide them like he's gay (because really, that's what X2 was), but that's just me. Before I get to this review, I will get this little rant out of the way, which will be introduced by this quote... "Fans are clingy complaining dipshits who will never ever be greatful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill tremulous voices the happier you'll be for it." - Yahtzee, Zero Punctuation I think this is the Fox Studios motto when it comes to comic book fans. I'm one of those fan boys that strives to understand the massive continuity and character changes the studios heap upon us in their comic movies. My philosophy is usually if the movie is good, all can be forgiven. I don't mind most changes. A lot of them have to do with budget constraints to begin with (sorry, but no, they CANNOT blow up Genosha. It would cost a fortune). The rest have to do with creative liberties, normally in order to make the movie work better. I know people who complained about Spiderman's suddenly organic webshooters and no yellow spandex in the X-Men movies...are you fucking kidding me? Shut the fuck up. No one seems to care that Ghul trains batman in Batman Begins because that's a GOOD MOVIE. Nevermind the fact that none of the shit ever happened in the comics. And yet KINGPIN IS BLACK OMFG. Seriously, it's this type of shit that lends credence to the above quote. I do, however, become annoyed with continuity changes that actually DETRACT from the movie going experience. I also dislike changes that really don't need to happen at all. I think X3 is a prime example of "stupid shit that made no sense but was changed anyway." Because a proper Pheonix plotline would have been so much cooler. Which leads me to Wolverine. Most the changes I don't mind at all. Wolverine and Sabertooth are brothers? Fucking whatever. It actually makes sense in the movie just fine. But then the last fifteen minutes came in and decided to rape all comic continuity in the face. Because (spoiler) THAT WAS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE DEADPOOL. FUCK THAT BULLSHIT. THAT'S FUCKING STUPID. I DEMAND WHOEVER THOUGHT THIS IDEA UP BE BURNED IN FIRE. But I'm going to file that in a seperate "insane clingy complaining dipshit" category and review this film from a critical non-geeky fanboy standpoint. So what'd I think of the movie without the above? Meh. This movie falls into the mediocre category. It's quite a mess, with a lot of problems and bullshit that annoyed me a great deal. And yet...I was never bored. I was entertained. So I can't give it a bad grade. But it's the entertainment part that almost seems to be the problem here. This movie seems to buy into the big studio idea of what popcorn movies should be, which is pure stupidity. I can bet there are many conversations like this one somewhere on the planet... INTERN: This makes no sense! This is all stupid! Most of this only exists to get us to the action scenes! There are plot holes everywhere! What the hell?! EXECUTIVE: SILENCE! And then the Intern was flogged and a new one was brought in because they're expendable. I'm happy last year raised the bar a bit when it came to the summer popcorn movie. Between Iron Man and The Dark Knight we actually had some intelligence...and look how well they did! People want things that make sense and have some hearts and brains to them, not just hollow shells where things explode. And yet the hollow shells normally outnumber the other movies. Not that hollow heartless brainless stupidity isn't entertaining. This movie was entertaining. But that's about it. In order to be entertaining the movie seemed to have plot holes you could drive trains through that existed simply to push the plot to the next action scene. Like what holes, you ask? Well I don't want to spoil too much but if you actually thing about most the scenes in the movie your head will start to hurt. To start with, if you actually know the powers of a sense of Wolverine than you have to realize that the plot point the whole third act twist hinges on MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. While we're at it, why don't hypno bitches powers work on Sabertooth? Why do the brothers decide to go to every war on the planet? Because their bored? How much time passes between all the events in the beginning? Because it's like we suddenly when from the Vietnam War to the 90s in about five minutes when only "six years passed." Or something. And hey, apparently adamantium bullets can kill wolverine...or wait they can't, but they can do other shit with memories. Inexplicably. And if you're running from people who are trying to catch you why would you stop within 20 miles of the place you're running from? Come on! I could go on. There is a list of this shit. My friend and I started laughing at some of it. It really was quite something. While we're talking about unintentional laughter I should talk about some of the wacky stuff in this movie. So apparently everytime something dramatic happens the characters have to bellow NNNOOOOOOOO while the camera stares at them from a God's Eye View. I kept expecting someone to scream "KAAAAAHHHHNNNNNN!!!!" just to drive the joke home. While we're on this subject, what's with all the cheesy as fuck zooms that got to the point of distraction? And what some of those horrible, horrible lines that seems to come from the action script-o-matic, including the classic-deadpan-made-me-giggle-line "I feel cold!" while someone was dying. That's a zinger right there. Also, the movie found a way to most the time get Jackman naked, topless, or wearing a tight shirt to the point of it being funny. I guess the ladies in the audience were happy (*cough* Danielle *cough*). And some of the effects... Oh man, those special effects. You spent 160 million bucks on a big budget movie and that's the effects you got? The Sci-fi channel called, they want their CGI back. That's gotta be embarressing. Wolverine's claws looked like cartoons, and some of the blue screen work reminded me of those gangster movies in the 1950s with the shitty rear projection. It's that bad. And yet, again, I was never bored. Maybe it's because of the actors. Everyone did a pretty good job. Liev Schriber and Hugh Jackman are awesome as Sabertooth and Wolverine. Their scenes are the best in the movie, and they ring humor out of the oddest of places. I was also happy to see Gambit show up and do some cool shit. Same with Ryan Reynolds as the actual Deadpool, even if he's only on screen for two minutes. I should note that some of the action was great, like the ending fight. Of course I probably was also entertained by the fact that it seemed like I was watching a train wreck of a movie and was giggling at it half the time. Come on Fox. I want a good mutant movie. I mean, a DAMN good mutant movie. I expect badassness. Hugh Jackman and the rest of the cast trying their hardest can not save this thing from imploding in on itself like some sort of dying star...and yet it still is way, way better than X3 and anyone who tells you otherwise is a dirty liar. But it's still not "good." I want another X2. Is that really so hard? So I'm dissapointed. Even though I was entertained. And sadly I'd still see another one because I do enjoy Wolverine skewering people. This gets 3 outta 5. Barely. I'm in a nice mood. Here's hoping the next "X-Men Origins: Some dumbass" movie is better. Or maybe we can get an X-Men 4 or X-Men reboot at some point. Hopefully it will be named X-Men: We Apologize for the Last X-Men Movie. I'd see it five times. Current Mood: disappointed (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
5:13 am	Obligatory Anime Nerdout here For those that care you really really need to see this link. http://www.zomganime.com/fullmetal-alchemist-2-brotherhood-episode-1/ HOLY CRAP I AM NERDING OUT. Also, of interest, http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=54300 ...the fuck? (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
5:52 am	The movie review/rant is back, bebeh Who do I have to kill to get a good movie around here? Jesus. Okay to be fair, I just saw two good movies. They weren't amazing, and I probably won't remember them come the end of the year, but they were a nice bit of entertainment anyway. They were Monsters vs. Aliens and I Love You, Man. I Love You, Man was pretty basic. It was funny, the cast was good, it was nothing really special. It was good, not great, but had a few great quotable lines you can talk to your friends about afterward. The most shocking thing about it was the fact that it wasn't produced by Judd Apatow despite the fact that nearly all of the actors in it are from his stable. Paul Rudd is awesome, Josh Seigel is growing on me, The Hulk has a good sense of humor about himself and Andy Samburg needs to be in more roles like this ie rolls that don't involve him being over the top. It was funny, etc etc we move on because there isn't a lot more to say. Monsters vs. Aliens was...interesting. It was another piece of "good not great" animated comedy from the folks at Dreamworks, who continue to toe the line of brilliance but not actually cross it. Most interesting about Monsters vs. Aliens is the fact that it's one giant Women Empowerment message disguised as a kid friendly action movie. I don't really have a problem with this, I just wasn't expecting it. It works in the context of the film, and allows for some rather sly jabs at sexual politics for any adults in the audience. The most impressive thing about this movie is the voice actors are all having such a fantastic time that the happiness seems to ooze off the screen. Each gets moments to shine, and Colbert as the idiot President is inspired lunacy. The other impressive thing is the quality of the 3D, which allows the energetic action scenes to explode in your face in a way I haven't seen in a while. The real problem with this movie is that there isn't a lot to it outside of a bunch of geeky B movie in jokes and pulp culture bashing. Once you get past that it's shallow fast entertainment. I'll forget about this by the time Pixar's Up comes out in theaters...which is probably to its benefit. It's good though. Take the kids and all that jazz. If nothing else it shows how to do a message movie for audiences properly, without taking us all out of the movie to preach. And speaking of bad movies that try to preach at you... Knowing is how to make a message movie go horrible, horrible wrong. I was enraged at this film. My loud rants to my friends afterwards proved this, as did my very loud "WHAT THE HELL?!" towards the end of the movie. And no, it's not Nicholas Cage's fault. The main problem is that 3/4s of this movie is pretty awesome and well made. The last 1/4 made me want to burn down the theater. I have created a theory about why this is. I call it the Wizard and the Demon theory. Consider this; most movies have to make you believe their settings. They have to immerse you in the illusion of their reality. Basically, they have to make you suspend your disbelief. Lord of the Rings is a great example of this. In the first five minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring you know you're watching a fantasy movie around the time the giant armor plated dude starts throwing around tons of people with superpowers while everyone is fighting on a volcanic plane. The whole movie continues this way. This means that in the latter half of the movie when Gandalf is fighting a giant fucking demon on a crumbling rock bridge, you buy it because the movie has set itself up this way. You successfully suspend your disbelief in such things in order to watch this awesome fucking scene. In essence, at that moment in time, you believe in that setting. Now if we pay attention to Knowing we'll learn a valuable lesson in what to do in order to completely fucking ruin the suspension of disbelief. The first 3/4s of the movie focuses on math and faith and tries its best to explain some hard to believe situations in very grounded ways. It's a sci fi movie trying to base itself in reality, and for the most part it works. It uses philosophy and the debate of faith versus science in realistic ways, and it has me hooked. It made me wonder how the fuck they were going to explain these hard to explain things. Then the last 1/4 of the movie started. You might as well have had a demon and wizard show up and kill each other. It would have made as much sense, and it would have probably been more entertaining. This movie spends all the good will it has built up in about five minutes by doing some stuff that's so completely over the top rediculous it completely destroys the suspension of disbelief it had been holding onto the whole time. It instead tries to preach directly at its audience and in doing so pokes so many plotholes in itself the whole thing sinks to the ground in a burning heap. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, screaming at the people on screen to stop...but they weren't listening. They were too busy trying to act like this wasn't the stupidest thing they had ever seen. In Cage's defense, I actually bought his "wtf" fact towards the end of the movie...because it was probably genuine "wtf" based off his reaction to the end of the script, which was apparently written by a bunch of people who had taken LSD before hand. I want to tell the ending, but that would be mean. I hear some people, like Roger Ebert, loved the faith message thrown into the last fifteen minutes of the movie. Good for them. I disagree. It makes the whole rest of the movie beforehand make no sense whatsoever if you think about it for more than five minutes. And then there is the last shot of the movie, which is so god damn rediculous I actually started laughing. For anyone who thinks my reaction to this movie (outright rage) is odd, I should tell you that my theater reacted the same way. When a main character died towards the end of the movie, my theater applauded...which wasn't the reaction I think the creators were looking for. At the end of the movie, a guy stood up and said sarcastically "Best movie of the year!" and the people actually laughed as they fled the theater. This thing wasn't even laughable, it was just bad. And depressing. I should note this is, even without all the badness, one of the more depressing movies I have seen in the last year or two. On the good side of things, Alex Proyas (the director who did The Crow and Dark City) can't make a bad looking film, and instead makes this one look sexy. He also got to direct some of the best disaster scenes I have ever seen on the big screen. That plane crash will stick with you, as will the very fiery ending (see the newest trailers for an example of BURN FIRE BURN BURN). Also the blond whispering people will freak you the fuck out. I wish there was more good things to say about this movie. The first 3/4s was good. If you walk out before the last 1/4 you'll probably love this movie. I'm just fucking mad at it. But no one cares about Knowing, right? You all want to know about movies that haven't come out in the US yet. The great thing about the internet is that it can find in a legal sort of way movies that have come out in other countries. Like my friend did. And that means we can watch these movies early. So how about Dragonball Evolution, huh? The live action Dragonball movie? Anyone care about that? WAIT WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! DON'T RUN!! As I was saying, Dragon Evolution is the live action Dragonball movie apparently made for the budget of a normal Power Rangers episode. This doesn't bode well for the film itself, since in my mind to make a proper Dragonball movie you need 100 million dollars and a bunch of giant ripped dudes flying around screaming inane shit and throwing explosive balls of plasma at each other. Admit it, you want to see that movie. This isn't that movie. This is the movie where a kid who is Goku is Goku had the charisma of a wood block goes to high school, pulls a Spiderman with the school bullies, gets the girl and at some point in time decides to save the world from some dude who is barely ever seen on screen. Because that's Dragonball, right? The real problem here is that I expected this movie to suck. I expected it even more when the file online to view the movie was named "gayballz" by someone who apparently has a better sense of humor than anyone who made this movie (I don't know who that says more about, the movie or the guy who named the file). So when the movie started sucking about two minutes after it started, I wasn't really surprised. This means I wasn't really angry. I simply watched the thing with a bemused expression stuck to my face the whole time waiting to see if at some point the movie got better. To its credit the movie never made me want to stop watching it. This is probably because the thing is fucking short. It also amused me, mainly due to the laughably bad scenes. Some of the fight scenes were shockingly well choregraphed for something so shitty and I'm shocked they didn't just make the movie nothing but kung fu fight scenes. The choreography is the one thing this movie has going for it, and a movie with no plot and a ton of fight scenes would have been better than this crapfest. Ironically it would have been more like a Dragonball episode, but I digress. The part that shocked me most about this movie was the fact that it wasn't all bad. Periodically it came alive and did something cool or funny for a few seconds before slipping back into pure ass mode. I started to thing someone behind the scenes had a bit of a brain and periodically woke up in order to yell out something entertaining. The anime in jokes all worked really well, and a few of the action scenes were genuinely cool. The final fight scene is short as hell but for about a minute or two there the characters are flying and hurling balls of plasma at each other, blowing the living fuck out of everything, just as it should be...before they ran out of money. That's actually the feeling I got from this movie; they ran out of money. The movie at times really does feel like a bad power rangers episode, complete with goofy people in monster costumes at one point. It also feels like it was edited by someone who did not know how to tell a story, and periodically skipped over portions of the plot in order to get to...a club scene for no particular reason. I could barely make sense out of the plot, or where the characters were, or why the fuck things were going on...but periodically something slightly cool would happen and I would be forced to keep watching. One day I'm gonna get this movie on DVD, get drunk while watching it, and laugh at it with friends. It's one of those movies. It's craptacular on a laughably bad scale, but isn't offensive or anything. It didn't make me angry like Knowing did. I'm simply glad I saw it for free so I can forget about it until the day with the DVD and alcohol and friends comes. Maybe some day we'll get a true Dragonball movie, with the flying and the ripped dudes and the superpowers that blow nuclear bomb sized holes in planets...but this isn't that movie. Too bad. As a note, I could watch Chow Yun Fat read a phonebook and be okay. The man is awesome. He at least attempts to save the movie...when he's on screen. Good for him. I'm going to bed. I have a long day of job hunting ahead of me. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
11:15 pm	http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=54034 and the article it came from... http://www.variety.com/VR1118001734.html Who do I have to kill to get into this? I will shank so many people, just point me in the right direction. Moral of the story: Agencies rule hollywood. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, March 16th, 2009
12:06 am	Bisonese joemalley2: OF COURSE! DJM Apollyon: LIKE LIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHHHTNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! joemalley2: They will be worth five british pounds. At least that is the amount they will set when I kidnap their queen. DJM Apollyon: YES! YES! joemalley2: THIS IS DELICIOUS! DJM Apollyon: It was Tuesday. joemalley2: Do not presume so much on my good nature DJM Apollyon: I guess you didn't see that, did you? joemalley2: This is merely superconductor electromagnetism DJM Apollyon: It levitates bullet trains from Tokyo to Osaka. It levitates my desk, upon which I ride the the saddle of the world. And it levitates... DJM Apollyon: Me! joemalley2: You come here prepared to fight a madman and instead you found a GOD??? DJM Apollyon: Keep your God! In fact, now might be a good time to pray to him! joemalley2: Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed. DJM Apollyon: You have made me a happy man. joemalley2: I know women, and you are harmless. DJM Apollyon: On the contrary, I mourn. joemalley2: All I want to do is to create the perfect genetic soldier. Not for power, not for evil...but for good. DJM Apollyon: GAME! OVER! joemalley2: They shall march out of my laboratory and sweep away every adversary, every creed, every nation until the very planet is in the grip of the Pax Bisonica. DJM Apollyon: Take them to the interrogation room. They will talk, or they will die. Preferably both. joemalley2: And all humanity...shall bow to me...in humble gratitude. DJM Apollyon: Behold! The face of your destruction, and of my victory! joemalley2: This time, colonel, you die for real! DJM Apollyon: I hoped to face Guile face-to-face on the battlefield, where we could engage each other in respectful combat. Then I would snap his spine. Ah, the road not taken. joemalley2: Worker ants, scurrying about with their pitiful weapons, afraid of the purity of unarmed combat! God bless you Raul Julia. (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
9:24 pm	I think only Tori will care about this link http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/eureka-7-pocket-full-of-rainbows-trailer-arrives/ 0_0 (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
6:54 pm	My balance in my bank account today is $0.00. My savings I think just hit that much. If I don't find employment soon I basically move home. It's been a fun month. I might as well do something insane before I probably leave. So I made a movie. I bet you were expecting me to say something like "got drunk, threw big party, beat up a hobo, etc." but no, that's not me. Instead I get together a group of friends and make a 10 minute short in less than a week on a budget of nothing but Best Buy gift cards. I figure this is my blaze of glory. Basically the San Diego Comicon has a film festival. If you get your film into the festival, your tickets to comicon are free. Somewhere in the last few weeks I decided that making a film for the festival would be a great god damn idea. The problem was that the film was due today, and I decided this only a few weeks ago. Many complications later we started filming...on sunday. I finished the damn thing today, and mailed it out ten minutes before the post office closed. Because I like cutting things fucking close. Considering the last few weeks it is some sort of miracle I got the film done at all. People normally ask what a Producer for a film does. The director tells everyone what to do, the writer writes the work, everyone else has positions that are self explanatory...but what the hell does the producer do? I heard a joke once that a Producer's job is to get an ulcer and yell at people. The Producer is the guy who gets all resources together to film whatever it is. Getting the money to the right people is his job, as is getting everyone into the same spot for filming. Which is why the scream a lot when things go wrong, and why they always get ulcers. It's a stressful job. So I did that and didn't sleep for most the week. Red Bull was my best friend. I made a film about a wannabe superhero in the same style I made all those Shiny Object episodes forever ago, only better. And for no money. This came down to me almost literally steal camera equipment from LMU while getting by on the charity of others. There was some begging involved, and one near tantrum where I punched a table a few times in anger, but the damn thing is done. And mailed out on time. I laughed a little hysterically when it was mailed out. It was a mix of relief and sadness. It might be the last big thing I do in LA. Also, if it doesn't get into the festival, the chances of me going to comicon become ridiculously low. They are already sold out of 4 day passes for comicon...and that's just fucking stupid. So now the wait begins, and more stress. It was fun to have Nova visit in the middle of all of that and somehow put up with me freaking out slightly. She's a saint, I think, sent to this Earth to give me encouragement and life advice and somehow find my quirks amusing and not fucking annoying. And I wish I could see her more than once every six months. I haven't given up on LA yet, I'm just at a loss about what to do. And sometimes it keeps me up at night. But this film...if this is the last big thing I do in LA, I can leave with my head held somewhat high. I'm proud of this thing. I completed a 10 minute short in less than a week. No one else I know has been able to do that. Hell, a 15 minute long movie in film school takes a WHOLE SEMESTER TO DO. Granted there stuff is more complicated, but my point is a friend of mine entered her 12 minute film into the festival today too. And hers took weeks. Somehow, someway, I made a 10 minute movie in less than a week that turned out both funny and good. I'm feeling DAMN GOOD right now. So tonight, on St. Patricks day (which I forgot was today until right after I sent out the film) I will not worry about my future. I will relax. And drink. And celebrate the fact that right now I feel awesome. I can brag for a day. Because I did something sort of amazing. I need a beer. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
4:55 am	Someone made a Watchmen movie It is nearly five in the morning, and I cannot sleep, because I just saw a two hour and forty minute movie at 12:30am that is still eating away at my mind. Everyone keeps writing and saying "Who watches the Watchmen? WE DO!" like it's funny. It's not really. I guess it's fun to say or something but all I can think is STOP STEALING LINES FROM A BELOVED ARTISTIC WORK GOD DAMMIT! This usually gets me to swear at Hollywood marketing, but I suppose the line was far too obvious to pass up. My point is, I was sitting in the Arclight Theater in Hollywood at 12:30am when a little guy came out and spoke to us to get the crowd revved up. He said these lines. I had the sudden impulse to chuck my water bottle at him, but the rest of the crowd seemed to eat it up. It was hard not to get carried away with the crowd. Their cheers made me smile. Their cheers are really the reason I go to midnight screenings. It's pretty fun to be in crowds like that. You pick a huge popular possibly famous theater and go to midnight opening screenings and you get to see things you've never seen before. These aren't the normal ordinary moviegoer. These people are the diehard movie fans, the people who are insane about what they are watching, who would rather dress up in costume and show up at a theater in the dead of night than sleep. These are the people who cheer and boo at screening, who sit around the theater afterwards debating the movie's very existance, and the people who threaten to get violent over anything they hate. These are the movie nuts, the obsessed fans, the analysts, the film geeks...my people, basically. Going to these screenings guarentees you will see people in costume (my friend Mike dressed as Nite Owl...and was in good company judging from all the other costumed people around). It guarentees you will know EXACTLY what they think of the movie right when the credits roll, simply from the atmosphere in the theater. Sometimes it also means to run into friends, or in the case of Los Angeles famous people. Hysterical moment of the night; my friend Kurt stopping in midsentence in a sort of awe in order to stare at Syler/Spock walk within six inches of him. I swear to God, JJ Abrams was there too...which would make sense, since this is the Arclight in Hollywood (the #2 theater in the country according to Entertainment Magazine) and there were statues of the Watchmen cast and models of the fucking new Enterprise from the upcoming Star Trek movie. Oh yeah, new Star Trek trailer be epic. Go see it here http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/ Anyway, got of subject... The movie starts, people cheer. Thing happen, people cheer. End of movie, everyone is dead fucking silent. That's not always a good sign. Half the theater refused to move as the credits rolled, with a sort of "did we just watch that?" attitude that could be felt throughout the room. From what I could tell the reaction to the movie was all over. The haters were very, very vocal...about as vocal as the passionate lovers, really. The lobby was an interesting place after the movie. Argument and conversation popped up all over the place. The marketing catchphrase was forgotten amidst the arguments over "The Squid" and the slow motion effects. My group of about twenty people was part of these arguments. What's the count? Most of them liked it, with a few reservations. A few absolutely loved it. One hated it so much he bailed within 30 seconds while refusing to talk about it. I get the feeling this is going to be the reaction of most the world. Meanwhile, as if we aren't professional enough, Roger Ebert is giving this motherfucker four stars. So what did I think? Short version: liked it a lot until the last fifteen minutes, and then I have some problems. Long Version: They did 90% of this movie exactly like the comic, except with better fight scenes. The acting is pretty much perfect across the board. Jackie Earl Haley as Roscharch should get nominated for an Academy Award but won't. There are a few sequences in this movie that surpass anything you've seen before and become something awe inspiring. If the whole movie had been like these sequences, the movie would be one of the best movies of all time. That part of the comic where Dr. Manhattan is on Mars remembering his life out of order? It reaches a sort of amazing barely ever seen on screen. That alleyway fight? Made big and incredibly violent and oh so satisfying. Rosharch in prison killing a guy with fry oil? Fucking electric. There are parts of this movie that makes me want to see it again. A way to describe a lot of this movie is electric. It's like being jolted by bolts of electricity going directly into your brain. It is uncompromisingly R rated, incredibly intelligent, and exactly what it needs to be. Up until the last fifteen minutes I was fully in love with this film. And then something happened. It wasn't a bad something exactly. They simply changed the ending from the comic. Something about "The Squid" which I'm not going to spoil here, but you've probably heard it by now anyway. The interesting part is, I have no problem with the major change involving "The Squid." I think the change is fine. It's the other minor thing they changed that bothered me. See, they left out my favorite part of the comic. Actually, they left out the reason the comic actually EXISTS. They changed it. That's what bothers me. By taking out a simple scene that is the point of the comic, you have fundementally changed what the story is about. And that's a problem, because the now changed point of the story isn't as good as the original point of the comic. Sorry if that seems vague, but I refuse to actually spoil it. Just see the damn movie. The major problem is that this ending seems about answering more questions and making the audience feel better. The original ending was about making a point, no matter how horrible it was. That's what made the comic great; you can disagree with the point the bad guy makes all you want, and you can see the alternative offered after everything has gone down. It has been the cause of tons of analysis and dissection over the last two decades, and the cause of loud arguments between many a comic geek. You can't just simply change that because you want the audience to like your movie a bit more. You can't simply throw out these points in order for the heroes to get a slightly better, more cathartic ending. No, that doesn't work. That just ruins some of an otherwise classic story. Forget "The Squid." I don't care about that change. If you see the movie and have read the book you will see the other minor changes. Then we can have a discussion. The other 90% of the movie? Dark Knight level of rediculous amazingness. I might have to see this again on IMAX just to dissect the damn thing and all its crazy amount of layers. I just wish the film had the balls to go all the way. Judging from the reaction of most my friends and half the theater, I'm not the only one. Because I didn't really clap at the end. I smiled, I shrugged, and I walked out to talk about it. And yet I still want to fucking give a standing ovation to The Dark Knight. But what can I say? Someone made an honest to god Watchmen movie. Someone did something that many people thought impossible and filmed Watchmen...and they made it under three hours long too. This movie is to be commended, and it has to be seen to be believed. A Watchmen movie exists in my reality and I got to see it on the big screen...and it was actually pretty damn good. So I guess I DID watch the Watchmen. God Dammit. That's a 4 out of 5 review for everyone, with the condition that on multiple viewings this movie might actually get better. It depends on if it grows on me like the comic did. Go see it already, and do it with a very excited crowd of movie fanboys. You won't regret it. I never do...but then again I am one of them. I'm going to bed now... Current Mood: pleased (3 Comments |Comment on this)