Happy 200th Birthday Charles Dickens

I just come to realize that today is Mr. Dickens's 200th birthday.  Happy Birthday.  For most of us the name reminds us of those dreaded English class reading text.  The simple mention of the name in the title might have caused many to not read the body of this blog post.  I would have been included in this group last week.

However two nights ago I had an experience which changed the way I associate the name.  So much so in fact that I am blogging about it. Two nights ago I watch the 1998 movie The Great Expectations with Ethan Hawke,  Gwyneth Paltrow,  and Robert DeNiro.  WOW.  Though the movie is modern interpretation of the novel, it still goes to show the power and depth of the original story.  And in some ways, it improves upon the original by presenting it in a media and setting which is more relateable to today's audience.

The acting, screen play, and setting are all standard big budget Hollywood.  But the character building, the emotional empathy and the story is all Dickens.  The movie has an artistic feel, and musical score which adds to the pleasant viewing experience. 

Wowing audiences for 200 years; well done Sir!

RoboTech

Some time in the late eighties a carton was aired that made an impression with at least one child; Robotech. A blend between Top-Gun and Star Trek, this weekday afternoon cartoon will take a seat between G.I. Joe and Transformers in the cartoon hall of fame. Though not quite as popular as the other two mentioned shows, the cult following which resulted could not be matched by either of the other two cartoon super shows.

Netflix, long had series available to rent, however the DVD's were constantly "lost", and made it not attractive to start the show. I had only watch a few episodes as a child since I was not allowed to watch weekday television. Recently Netflix made the entire series available for instant viewing. The short episodes are perfect for the attention challenged.

According to viewers the show only gets a one star rating, so why do I think it is so great. The show was intended for pre-teens and not the middle age super critics that hover about

the Netflix cyber domain. The show stood out amongst the other cartoons for its adult subject matter, which gave it an aire sophistication that pre-teens were drawn to.

The sage is broken down into three distinct series: the Macross Saga (Veritech), the Robotech Masters (Hover Craft) and the New Generation (Motorcycle). The Macross Saga however is the one that everyone remembers, as the other two series appear to be fillers. I am currently and slowly making my way through the Robotech Masters.

This seemly innocent cartoon series help teach hard life lessons to pre-teens, who are about to enter their teenage years. Mixed into the flashy anemia style graphics is the story of war and love, and the human races fight for survival. Shocking lessons of death and depression are gently introduced. Unlike The Simpsons or Shrek which were graphically designed for children yet much of the subject matter is for the adult viewer, Robotech told a story in a manner specifically for a pre-teen audience. With nudity, alcohol abuse, sex and violence, it is a surprise that the show was ever allowed to air.

The Cove - Not Knowing Is So Much Easier

So much media attention has been given towards the hunting to whales by the Japanese lately that it is common knowledge. However a news headline has so little information. Recently a documentary movie has been getting alot of media attention, yet it is still relatively unknown to the main stream public. Across the nation this film seem to snatching up awards at film festivals. I knew it was about some ill fated dolphins, but till last night I had no idea the depths of the subject.

Sometimes not knowing is easier than knowing. And now that I know I feel obligated to do something about it.






At the very least I will make a contribution http://www.takepart.com/thecove

I under stand now Bob Barker!

Transformer 2 - Bad Movie in Disguise

So some of you are probably wondering if I went and saw the movie. Fuck yeah I did. Come on, it was a sequel, with hot cars, and Megan Fox!!! So was it as bad as the critics said it was: YES. Do I recommend you go see it: YES.

Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen is well on its way to reaching the magic $400 million dollar domestic ticket sale mark. This would put this movie in the same class with eight others all time selling movies: The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, E.T. the Extra-terrestrial, Star Wars, Shrek 2, Titanic, Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. However most of these movie had more or less a positive review, I can not say the same for this one.

So what makes this movie so bad. First off it is drawn out. The two and a half hour movie could have been been shorten to and hour and the story would have been told just the same. And that is if you call the plot a story. It is more or less a loosely connected series of scenes that allow Megan Fox to look hot, robots to combat each other, cars to drive around, and the US military to showcase it brawn. Fight scenes these days are so long that viewers often get "battle fatigue", it is ten times worse when the battle is between CG robots.

Why are people going out to see it then? Well if you are like me you grew up with the Transformers, and no matter how bad it was I would have been there to see it. A interesting indicator for times of recession is an increase in movie ticket sales. Going out to see a movie is one of the cheapest activities for a night out. It also meets all the factors to make this a blockbuster summer movie; sequal of a good movie, popular actors, high dollar special effects. And finally, people are not expecting Oscar winning performances from Optimus Prime, they simply want to be entertained. And entertaining it sure was!

X-men Origins - Wolverine

Hollywood owes alot to Stan Lee. With all the comic book stories he has created over the years, movie makers have a seemingly unlimited supply of material. With the success of the X-men series of movies, it was just a matter of time before the most famous of the X-men would have his own flick. This is just like the comic book where Wolverine got his own series.

If you have been a true X-men comic book fan the content of the story is nothing new. It follows the story laid out in X-men Origins comic book Stan Lee wrote many years ago. But seeing the story unfold on the big screen was a real treat. Sure, some die hard fans do not like the silver screen interpretation of a classic, they usually don't; but I am a 21st century digital kid: I love movies.

Though filled with Hollywood booms and bangs, there was something different about this film. The movie was made to tell a story, and that's it! It wasn't trying to sell anything, wasn't setting itself up for a sequel (though all comic books stories are set up for sequels), wasn't trying too hard to impress. The story itself was so enthralling that THAT was enough. In fact it is one of the rare cases that the movie came after the merchandising. Sure they will be selling a few Wolverine toys and lunchboxes because of the movie, but all selling of "stuff" had been done already with the release of all the previous X-men movies. This movie in fact was truly just for the fans.

Fast and Furious 4

I am a sucker for car movies and for sequels. So it is not surprising that I went out and saw this movie. Should you go see it? Well are you a sucker for car movies and sequels?

With the return of Vin Diesel, this movie picks up where the first one ends, and in some ways should almost be considered F&F 2. With the character development and background established, the writers of F&F4 attempted to make a more serious drama flick. It kindda worked. The dialog is rather cheesy, but the action makes up for it.

I went into the theaters with low expectations and walked out satisfied.

Of course I had a few gripes about the movie.

-I hate the fact that they removed the drive axles from the front wheels making the AWD Nissan Skyline a RWD car. The ridiculous amount of throttle induced oversteer made Paul Walkers character look like a rookie barely keeping his car from spinning out. A good driver can still drift an AWD car, however to get that kind of tail happy action at low speeds they had to do what they had to do.

-Having experienced early model American Muscle cars, a street race with a modern import would be a blow out due to handling. Same could be said for the offroad scene against a 300+ HP (stock)AWD Subaru WRX STI. What made it even worse was the undercarriage shot of the flipped car, showing the stock 60's/70's leaf spring rear suspension.

The most exotic car of the whole film however was the Lamborghini LM002. It makes only a quick appearnce as the head bad guy races through the streets of Mexico followed by two Suburban type trucks. A telling view of it appears as it pulls up to the church. To see find out more about the Rambo Lambo: http://jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-fantasy-garage/rambos-lambo-the-lamborghini-lm002-279128.php

Slumdog Millionaire - Not such an underdog

We all have questions that need answered, and we all wish there was simple answers for them. For those that have not seen the movie, one common question seems to jump out: Does it live it to the hype? To answer it simply: YES!

What I thought was an independent Bollywood film, turned out to be a Hollywood production directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 days later, The Beach). The movie however does retain a very indi like feel; most likely due to the unknown actors as well as the foreign setting.

I won't go into the plot, it is rather simple, but I would like to discuss what makes this movie so enjoyable to watch, and possible why it won so many awards. This question however is much more difficult to answer, and can go back to the question: why do we enjoy watching movies?

Watching a movie can be best described as a temporary escape from reality. In many ways it is not much different than alcohol or elicit drug use, however cheaper and with less detrimental effects. A good movie not only take us away to far off lands but place us in situations that we would never imagine experiencing ourselves. A great movie however does the aforementioned in a very believable way, teaches us something, relates personally to our lives, and for me, leaves me feeling happy or at least satisfied. Slumdog Millionaire does all that. But how did it do it better than all the other movies that came out this year?

Movie aficionados love foreign and independent films. The cultural separation of a foreign film immediately creates a sense of "far away land", the slums of Mumbi is much more exotic than another California based Hollywood set. Yet foreign films are difficult to relate to. The same things that makes such a film exotic, cultrual differences, creates a disconnect between the writer and the American audience. Slumdog however has the best of both worlds. Not only does it have the exotic appeal, but it has the home court advantage. Danny Boyle though British born, directs "American" or western movies. Come on, Alien Resurrection, that is about as American as it gets. Also the screenplay which was based on an Indian novel, was written by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty). Again British but at least Western.

I originally mistook Slumdog to be made by an independent film maker. Indi films speak to the rebel in us all. Something about a filmmaker that isn't involved with the whole Hollywood scene appeals to me. By simply watching an indi film I am expressing my disapproval for all things mainstream, things which I think are wrong with our government... However the fact that I go to movies, and write on my own blog shows that I am mainstream. Who am I really kidding. For this reason Indi films many times do not satisfy. I find them poorly made, lacking a large enough budget to fully develop the story with lavish sets and adequate extras. Though Slumdog give the indi film feel, Fox Searchlight Pictures made sure the movie was not lacking in that respect.

This movie won best picture of the year, not only because it embodies what we viewers want to see in a film, but it also gives us the feeling we want to have about ourselves. Free thinkers that are not bound by societies norms and expectations. However what it really says about us, is that we are all very much alike, part of the mainstream norms, with the same expectations for movies at the very least.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809956055/trailer

Taken, What a movie thrill ride

Once in a while a movie comes along and captures the attention of a generation. This wasn't one of them. However it did completely engross me for two hours. In fact it was one of the best "Spy" type movie I have seen in a while.

Liam Nelson plays a retired spy, who has his daughter kidnapped. The plot is pretty simple, but the story is well put together. Nelson's character Bryan Mills plays a cool headed bad ass. I actually think that he is really a Jedi Knight in the movie, but they don't go into details. The fact that Nelson looks like a regular guy, makes the movie so much more real.

Yahoo Users gave this movie a -A, while the critics gave it a C.

I'd personally give it 4 out of 5 skis. My only gripe was two scenes that were a little too much, and made you snap back into reality and say, "Hollywood" under your breath.