Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
To celebrate Blade Runner I am offering a daily quote and screen shot of one of my favorite films of all time.*
Here is yesterdays and todays.
"Have you ever retired a Human by mistake?"
"Lo fa, ne-ko shi-ma, de va-ja Blade... Blade Runner."
*I do prefer the original theatrical cut over any other version, but all have their merits.
Here is yesterdays and todays.
"Have you ever retired a Human by mistake?"
"Lo fa, ne-ko shi-ma, de va-ja Blade... Blade Runner."
*I do prefer the original theatrical cut over any other version, but all have their merits.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars
Last night across the pond our lovely friends at the BBC released the 3rd to last David Tennant episode of Doctor Who (supposedly at xmas we are getting a 2 parter) and I must say that we are once again watching greatness. While I have my issues with RTD and many of his dues ex like endings he pulls out of no where sometimes these last episodes of the Doctor in action have been amazing. I really can't talk about much of the plot or ongoing story without spoiling it at all so I am gonna just say, watch it and you will not be disappointed. David pulls out some of his best work in an amazing script. It is hard hitting and ends up being one of the darkest episodes that is leads us right into the end.
I will add that this latest episode also adds more fuel to the fire of my theory of the future of Doctor Who. More on my theory here. I will add this additional evidence to this theory in this original post at the bottom so don't look if you dont want to be spoiled.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
Got a chance to visit (of what I imagine to be the last time) the Battlestar Galactica universe this weekend with a viewing of the new film "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan"
Viewers who have not finished the original series should not watch this movie until they have. While all events in this film take place very early in the series, it reveals all of the Cylon Models and takes away that suprise if you haven't experienced them yet. Also, with out background of much of the Cylon reasoning for their actions, most of the film will be lost.
What we were given was a wonderful Appendix to the Galactica story and one that focuses primarily on the Cylons and their actions. We see more of the attack on the colonies. More of survivors on Caprica and many questions that were left somewhat unanswered are dealt with in acceptable manners. Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) went behind the camera again and directed a tight piece that at times felt disjointed but at the end it all came together perfectly.
Some fans might consider this appendix to be a retconn or just made up to fill holes that the story was too weak to earlier explain. To them I say hogwash, you guys are just bitter that the ending of Galactica wasn't what you wanted it to be. Me, I felt it was perfect.
Viewers who have not finished the original series should not watch this movie until they have. While all events in this film take place very early in the series, it reveals all of the Cylon Models and takes away that suprise if you haven't experienced them yet. Also, with out background of much of the Cylon reasoning for their actions, most of the film will be lost.
What we were given was a wonderful Appendix to the Galactica story and one that focuses primarily on the Cylons and their actions. We see more of the attack on the colonies. More of survivors on Caprica and many questions that were left somewhat unanswered are dealt with in acceptable manners. Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) went behind the camera again and directed a tight piece that at times felt disjointed but at the end it all came together perfectly.
Some fans might consider this appendix to be a retconn or just made up to fill holes that the story was too weak to earlier explain. To them I say hogwash, you guys are just bitter that the ending of Galactica wasn't what you wanted it to be. Me, I felt it was perfect.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
mini movie review:
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Well I will say this for sure, it did not fail at being GI Joe.
The military tech was cool. The story was...well, it was. But its GI freaking Joe.
Well I will say this for sure, it did not fail at being GI Joe.
The military tech was cool. The story was...well, it was. But its GI freaking Joe.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Lack of education scares me
During this weeks Top Chef, Natalie Portman guest starred as a judge. One of the younger chefs in a off camera comment proclaimed:
"Wow I get to cook for Natalie Portman. The only important thing she ever did was Star Wars and really thats all that matters."
o_O
The only important thing she as ever done? How about a little thing in her career called Leon (aka The Professional)?
The state of today's youth. Makes a man weep.
Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek even yelled at the TV "Oh my god... I would totally punch that guy if he said that to me"
"Wow I get to cook for Natalie Portman. The only important thing she ever did was Star Wars and really thats all that matters."
o_O
The only important thing she as ever done? How about a little thing in her career called Leon (aka The Professional)?
The state of today's youth. Makes a man weep.
Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek even yelled at the TV "Oh my god... I would totally punch that guy if he said that to me"
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Review Dump
Been watching a few random things lately so here two mini reviews.
Adam and Steve
A quirky indie film about a gay couple in NY who had a disastrous* first date in 1987 and then met again in 2004. Way more entertaining than I thought it was going to be and for the first time ever Chris Kattan made me not want to put my fist through his face. The film unfortunately plays into a few too many gay stereotypes but manages to make them fairly funny. It does manage to take a step into surreal territory with a Gay Cowboy Dance Off near the end of the film that still has me wondering what the hell I just saw.
JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out
*I wont spoil how disastrous this date was. Its shocking nature worked in the film and should be experienced with eyes open.
Where the Wild Things Are
Let me get this out of the way right now. If you loved the book when you were a kid, do not fear this film will touch, alter, or change your love of the original book. The book and the film are not even in the same ball game. So in the book we have Max. A difficult child who gets sent to his room and then imagines a world where superb monsters live and he becomes their king and great monstrous things happen. Right there is where the similarities between the two end.
Visually the film does not disappoint. The monsters are exactly as the should be as if Sendak himself drew them on screen. The combination of practical and CGI for the beasts is amazing. The monsters island while quite desolate works perfectly and allows Max and his monsters to frolic as should be. The only thing that bothered me was that none of the monsters sounded like they were beasts. They all sounded like humans inside. At first this bothered me but when I realized what Jonze (director) and Eggers (screen writer) were doing with this story it all fell into place.
The film expands upon the 9 sentence long children's book by taking numerous points of Max's Id and transferring them to each monster. Dealing with many issues that children must face the monsters represent all that Max can't handle. This is not a film for children. At least not young ones that the book is normally targeted to. Whereas Terry Gilliam gave us the Imagination Trilogy with Time Bandits, Brazil and Munchasen I would say that Where the Wild Things are goes hand in hand with Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind as Jonze's own foray into the way mans mind works.
JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out but put aside all feelings you may have towards the original book
Adam and Steve
A quirky indie film about a gay couple in NY who had a disastrous* first date in 1987 and then met again in 2004. Way more entertaining than I thought it was going to be and for the first time ever Chris Kattan made me not want to put my fist through his face. The film unfortunately plays into a few too many gay stereotypes but manages to make them fairly funny. It does manage to take a step into surreal territory with a Gay Cowboy Dance Off near the end of the film that still has me wondering what the hell I just saw.
JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out
*I wont spoil how disastrous this date was. Its shocking nature worked in the film and should be experienced with eyes open.
Where the Wild Things Are
Let me get this out of the way right now. If you loved the book when you were a kid, do not fear this film will touch, alter, or change your love of the original book. The book and the film are not even in the same ball game. So in the book we have Max. A difficult child who gets sent to his room and then imagines a world where superb monsters live and he becomes their king and great monstrous things happen. Right there is where the similarities between the two end.
Visually the film does not disappoint. The monsters are exactly as the should be as if Sendak himself drew them on screen. The combination of practical and CGI for the beasts is amazing. The monsters island while quite desolate works perfectly and allows Max and his monsters to frolic as should be. The only thing that bothered me was that none of the monsters sounded like they were beasts. They all sounded like humans inside. At first this bothered me but when I realized what Jonze (director) and Eggers (screen writer) were doing with this story it all fell into place.
The film expands upon the 9 sentence long children's book by taking numerous points of Max's Id and transferring them to each monster. Dealing with many issues that children must face the monsters represent all that Max can't handle. This is not a film for children. At least not young ones that the book is normally targeted to. Whereas Terry Gilliam gave us the Imagination Trilogy with Time Bandits, Brazil and Munchasen I would say that Where the Wild Things are goes hand in hand with Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind as Jonze's own foray into the way mans mind works.
JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out but put aside all feelings you may have towards the original book
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
One of my fellow younger co-workers was severely lacking in some classic geek cinema so I felt I was required to help set him straight.
After loaning him a few titles he came back to me today with an ecstatic grin loving what I had given him.
Film 1: The Last Starfighter
He was amazed at the level of decent CGI for being a film from the 80s and found its innocent plot to be worthy of the praise. Success!
His favorite bit?
Alex Rogan: Wait a minute. We knock out the turret to get the fighters. But to get to the turret, we gotta get THROUGH the fighters. We're dead.
Grig: I'll have it all figured out by the time we reach the Frontier.
[alarm sounds and Grig's face falls]
Alex Rogan: What's that?
Grig: The Frontier.
I will report back on his findings on the other films I have loaned him but it warms this movie geeks heart to be able to share the cinematic love.
After loaning him a few titles he came back to me today with an ecstatic grin loving what I had given him.
Film 1: The Last Starfighter
He was amazed at the level of decent CGI for being a film from the 80s and found its innocent plot to be worthy of the praise. Success!
His favorite bit?
Alex Rogan: Wait a minute. We knock out the turret to get the fighters. But to get to the turret, we gotta get THROUGH the fighters. We're dead.
Grig: I'll have it all figured out by the time we reach the Frontier.
[alarm sounds and Grig's face falls]
Alex Rogan: What's that?
Grig: The Frontier.
I will report back on his findings on the other films I have loaned him but it warms this movie geeks heart to be able to share the cinematic love.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
For the future of Doctor Who
The following is posted as speculation/theory only. More than likely I am reading way too much into things but I believe I am onto something.
If you are a fan of the new Doctor Who, then you probably know by now that David Tennant only has a few more goes in him this year as the Doctor. Next year we will be given new adventures with the "11th" Doctor.
However, I am not convinced that we will actually be seeing the 11th Doctor at all. My feeling is that we will be seeing the 1st Doctor again and that the BBC is "rebooting" the whole show.
Let's review some facts that have led me to this line of thinking.
FACT 1: "The Doctor's Song is ending" The Ood told him this, as did the psychic woman in "The Planet of the Dead." Now, this can mean many things but it pointing to the Doctor finally dying and not regenerating could easily be considered. And with SPOILER the rumored return of John Simm in the final Tennant episode END SPOILER who else could kill him completely.
FACT 2: The new actor playing the Doctor is the youngest ever. Normally this wouldn't give me pause since the age of the actors from Doctor to Doctor has varied over the last 40+ years. But take a look at the following shot of him from the set:
Wearing what I call a "1950's professor chic" look, Matt Smith gives us an interesting look for this incarnation. It just seems younger and more representative of the time when Doctor Who first aired.
FACT 3: The TARDIS looks shiny and new. Another shot from the set:
Technically, one could easily theorize that the Doctor has repaired the long broken chameleon circuit and makes the box look a bit nicer but still retaining it's classic look. But one could also theorize that this TARDIS was recently stolen from the Time Lords and doesn't have many miles on it.
FACT 4: A certain symbol is back on the TARDIS.
Take a look at this shot of the original first doctor and his TARDIS:
Now, look at this close up of the new TARDIS:
That is the St. Johns Ambulance symbol that was only on the first Doctors TARDIS.
OTHER POINTS OF SPECULATION:
SPECULATION 1: The Sonic Screwdriver looks a bit "retro"
Again, could easily be considered a new Doctor makes a new driver (wouldn't be the first time) but the potential for a younger Doctors tool is there.
SPECULATION 2: It's now the 21st century, everything changes. Captain Jack's famous lines from the opening of Torchwood. And after everything the earth has gone through recently (Cybermen/Dalek, Children of Earth aliens, Daleks moving the earth across the Galaxy) I think it is safe to assume that the earth of Doctor Who is well aware they are no longer alone in the universe. This changes everything in how the story progresses. The Doctor is no longer a secret myth, everyone can know about him. Not much potential for good storytelling there in my opinion. As grand as RTD's stories have been these last few years, they do seem to write themselves into a corner. Moving the show back into "the past" has potential.
SPECULATION 3: If we are to accept the mythos that a Time Lord only has 13 re-gens available that means we only have 3 more Doctors to see. The BBC could very easily be looking ahead at its most popular property and sees a need for a reboot to protect the life of the franchise.
So all in all I have no idea what truly is going to happen. This is all theoretical based off of what I am seeing from set photos only and my own imagination. What ever direction the show goes I am excited to see it and can't wait.
ADDENDUM:
The following additional speculation is based off of the 15/11/09 airing of the episode of Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" the following is considered spoiler based off of this episode.
SPECULATION 4:
At the end of the episode "The Waters of Mars" the Doctor starts to go a little nutty. He is upset with viewing so many "fixed" points in time and not being able to do anything about it so he decides to take time and fate into his own hands and becoming a walking god. Due to the actions of one "stupid ape" he is then shocked to realize that perhaps he can't change things at all. But I do not see this happening. I feel he is going to continue on this path. With the final episodes being labeled as "The End of Time" and now with confirmed proof of the return of the Master (he who will knock 4 times) I feel we are on course for a major cataclysm in the universe of Doctor Who that can result in a reboot of the franchise. Or something along those lines.
If you are a fan of the new Doctor Who, then you probably know by now that David Tennant only has a few more goes in him this year as the Doctor. Next year we will be given new adventures with the "11th" Doctor.
However, I am not convinced that we will actually be seeing the 11th Doctor at all. My feeling is that we will be seeing the 1st Doctor again and that the BBC is "rebooting" the whole show.
Let's review some facts that have led me to this line of thinking.
FACT 1: "The Doctor's Song is ending" The Ood told him this, as did the psychic woman in "The Planet of the Dead." Now, this can mean many things but it pointing to the Doctor finally dying and not regenerating could easily be considered. And with SPOILER the rumored return of John Simm in the final Tennant episode END SPOILER who else could kill him completely.
FACT 2: The new actor playing the Doctor is the youngest ever. Normally this wouldn't give me pause since the age of the actors from Doctor to Doctor has varied over the last 40+ years. But take a look at the following shot of him from the set:
Wearing what I call a "1950's professor chic" look, Matt Smith gives us an interesting look for this incarnation. It just seems younger and more representative of the time when Doctor Who first aired.
FACT 3: The TARDIS looks shiny and new. Another shot from the set:
Technically, one could easily theorize that the Doctor has repaired the long broken chameleon circuit and makes the box look a bit nicer but still retaining it's classic look. But one could also theorize that this TARDIS was recently stolen from the Time Lords and doesn't have many miles on it.
FACT 4: A certain symbol is back on the TARDIS.
Take a look at this shot of the original first doctor and his TARDIS:
Now, look at this close up of the new TARDIS:
That is the St. Johns Ambulance symbol that was only on the first Doctors TARDIS.
OTHER POINTS OF SPECULATION:
SPECULATION 1: The Sonic Screwdriver looks a bit "retro"
Again, could easily be considered a new Doctor makes a new driver (wouldn't be the first time) but the potential for a younger Doctors tool is there.
SPECULATION 2: It's now the 21st century, everything changes. Captain Jack's famous lines from the opening of Torchwood. And after everything the earth has gone through recently (Cybermen/Dalek, Children of Earth aliens, Daleks moving the earth across the Galaxy) I think it is safe to assume that the earth of Doctor Who is well aware they are no longer alone in the universe. This changes everything in how the story progresses. The Doctor is no longer a secret myth, everyone can know about him. Not much potential for good storytelling there in my opinion. As grand as RTD's stories have been these last few years, they do seem to write themselves into a corner. Moving the show back into "the past" has potential.
SPECULATION 3: If we are to accept the mythos that a Time Lord only has 13 re-gens available that means we only have 3 more Doctors to see. The BBC could very easily be looking ahead at its most popular property and sees a need for a reboot to protect the life of the franchise.
So all in all I have no idea what truly is going to happen. This is all theoretical based off of what I am seeing from set photos only and my own imagination. What ever direction the show goes I am excited to see it and can't wait.
ADDENDUM:
The following additional speculation is based off of the 15/11/09 airing of the episode of Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" the following is considered spoiler based off of this episode.
SPECULATION 4:
At the end of the episode "The Waters of Mars" the Doctor starts to go a little nutty. He is upset with viewing so many "fixed" points in time and not being able to do anything about it so he decides to take time and fate into his own hands and becoming a walking god. Due to the actions of one "stupid ape" he is then shocked to realize that perhaps he can't change things at all. But I do not see this happening. I feel he is going to continue on this path. With the final episodes being labeled as "The End of Time" and now with confirmed proof of the return of the Master (he who will knock 4 times) I feel we are on course for a major cataclysm in the universe of Doctor Who that can result in a reboot of the franchise. Or something along those lines.
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