talkingsoup (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
talkingsoup) wrote2007-07-05 11:13 pm
talkingsoup) wrote2007-07-05 11:13 pm
Entry tags:
Global Warming? What Global Warming?
So we've entered the infamous California summer now. It's been over 100 degrees for the past two days. It's kind of insane. I can't even step outside without wanting to drink a whole shitload of lemonade. And we don't have any lemonade. And one of the teeth that had a cavity is now sensitive to cold, so I wouldn't be able to drink it anyway.
Fortunately there's a very nice air conditioner at Blockbuster. I worked today and yesterday and I'll be back tomorrow. I think I'm finally in the system too, so I should be able to start training tomorrow. Never mind that I still don't have a shirt. Lol, but I like it there. I've been doing mostly gopher work but my boss is nice and so are my coworkers, plus it's been pretty easy going the past few days. It'll probably be busier tomorrow since I'm working a late shift, but ah well.
I don't think I mentioned this before, but my brother's girlfriend bought a bunny at the fair and it is currently living at our house. Which means of course that me and Ben are the ones who are mainly taking care of it. He's a very nice bunny, and a color I've never seen on a rabbit, but he's still a bit timid and he always pees on me.
I'm thinking of getting another tattoo. Don't know what or where on me, though.
Okay, so. The other night I went to see Transformers. Actually I went to the 8:35 showing but they were sold out until 11:05 so I hung around the Game Stop and Best Buy until then. We even had to wait in line for 45 minutes--and this wasn't even on opening night either! But I broke down and got Pokemon Pearl at Game Stop--I've decided to fully embrace my inner dork, thank you--so that and Ezili kept me occupied.
But. Dude. There was this...trailer. Attached to the movie. It...well, I'm not going to explain it because that would ruin it, but it was probably the most perfect trailer I've ever seen. I'm not saying that the movie it was for necessarily looked awesome, though it did, muchly so, but the trailer was just so well done. Which makes sense when you look at who's doing the movie.
The movie is by J.J. Abrams. The guy who does Lost.
Which explains why the title of the movie is being kept secret.
And the premise.
And the plot.
All we know is it's some kind of monster movie. Shot with camcorders and handhelds. There are two codenames going around for it--"Cloverfield" and "The Parasite."
Damn does JJ know how to hook 'em. I've gotta fucking see this movie.
And now for movie reviews.
Transformers
Probably one of the best nonstop-action movies I've ever seen, mostly because it actually had a plot and substance. Though admittedly, the plot and substance were already built in.
Personally, I've never watched/played with Transformers. I did see an episode or two of Transformers that I think was "Beast Wars" generation where they were all animals instead of robots. I remember Optimus Prime was a gorilla, and there was also a velociraptor, I think named Silver Bullet. *shrug*
The premise is that there are two kinds of Transformers, the Autobots and the Decepticons (yay Eighties!) who are from a distant planet. Their homeworld has been destroyed and an artifact known as the All Spark (sp?) has been lost. The All Spark is this cube with the power to bring machines to life and such. Anyway, the bots find their way to Earth, where the All Spark has landed, and they have to find the cube before the other side does. Meanwhile, Sam, an average teenager, has just bought a strange yellow car that turns out to be one of the Autobots, and he and his family and friends get pulled into the robot war.
In general I tend to like Michael Bay's movies, though they all kind of feel the same. Lots of action, lots of drama, lots of explosions. This one was like the rest of them, except that it actually had substance, though that's because the Transformers toys and show have both been around for about two decades. Bay just made it all come to life.
And, wow. Not exactly movie gold, but this was a damn fun movie. It was literally nonstop action the whole way through, and I'll tell you right now, it's not easy to make a movie that has both nonstop action and substance. The visual effects were absolutely incredible. The Transformers themselves were so awesomely badass, and they all had their own personalities. The fight scenes were simply amazing. I don't usually cringe or yelp at fight scenes and such, but this movie had me doing just that. Probably the surround sound and because the audience was really fired up, but it was still a lot of fun.
One thing I really liked about this movie was the dialogue. Usually in movies like this you have really forced dialogue with forced humor, but for the most part people talked to each other like real people. Like conversation you could hear anywhere. Some of it was incredibly cheesy though, I have to admit. But for the most part I thought the dialogue was really well done.
As for the characters, well, counting the robots, I think it was about 50/50. Shia LaBouf, and I can never spell that kid's name right, was absolutely amazing as Sam. For someone who started out on the Disney Channel, I am continually surprised by Shia's acting ability. Ever since he broke away from Disney he's done some really good work, and he was great in this movie. But he was also pretty much the strong point. The army guys were good, Mikaela was pretty good, Sam's parents were pretty good, but I dunno, they were a bit two dimensional at times, especially Mikaela. I feel almost like they tried too hard to give her substance, but then again, I know nothing about the history of Transformers. I dunno if Sam and Mikaela ever appeared on any of the shows (in Beast Wars I'm pretty sure they were on another planet).
In short, this was the epitome of a summer movie--fun, action-packed, and it even had a little bit of substance in it. It's a summer movie, so don't go to it for philosophy lessons or anything, but go to it if you want to have a really good time.
And also, go to it to see that JJ Abrams trailer, it's the FUCKING SHIT.
Score: 8 out of 10
Well I also got my hands on a couple of movies from Blockbuster. I'll probably have watched every movie on my to-see list by the time I'm done working there, lol. I grabbed The Last Mimzy, Layer Cake, The Squid and the Whale, and Capote all of which I've wanted to see for some time. Only got one in tonight, though.
The Last Mimzy
I saw the trailer for this and thought "Wow, what a cool idea." It's a family/kid movie, but I thought it looked decent enough that I wanted to pick it up. Plus it has the woman who plays Lily on Crossing Jordan, which answers the question of where she disappeared to, lol.
The movie is about these two children, Noah and Emma, who find a strange box on the beach during their Easter vacation. They open the box and find all kinds of strange things inside, including spinning rocks that float and create a sort of vortex of light, and a stuffed bunny that Emma says is called Mimzy. They bring the box home and all sorts of strange things start happening. Noah begins to draw mandalas, which are traditional designs from Asia (usually associated with Buddhism) that he has never seen. Emma starts to be able to tell the future, thanks to Mimzy. All these changes start to worry their parents, excite their teacher and his wife (Lily) who are somewhat spiritual, and eventually get the notice of the FBI.
This movie is really quite awesome. It's well acted, well written, and well filmed. It's also another really good example of excellent dialogue. The movie mostly focuses on the kids and their adventures with the strange box and its contents, but it also has snippets of their parents, the teacher and his wife, and other people--so not only do you get a more adult side of things, you also get a sense of a bigger picture. There's this one really good shot toward the beginning. Noah's sitting on the bus playing with his cell phone, and then the camera cuts to a more distant shot and you see that everyone on the bus has some sort of technology with them. Cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, that kind of thing.
Somehow this movie isn't like other "kids go on magical journey" movies. I guess because of the incorporation of Buddhism, Eastern spirituality, the mandalas, science, technology and all those kinds of things, which aren't things you usually see in kids' movies. It's also really good at doing things very subtly. For instance, there's a bit of a twist at the end that some people might see coming, but that I certainly didn't--and the thing is, you don't quite notice the twist until a moment after it's gone by, and then it's like, "oh wow!" And also, on a somewhat more obvious level though not by much, this is a movie about environmental and self consciousness and the ways that all things, people included, are connected.
A very good movie overall, and don't listen to the whole "it's a kid's movie" thing, because this movie has something for everyone. Anyone with any sense of spirituality or imagination will enjoy it.
Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Julie, you're not going to believe this, but I missed the last two 4400's! I was even here for them, but I just totally forgot they were on. Sunday+summer scheduling=fuck you, viewers.
I am very, very slowly getting back into the writing groove, but the muse is still reluctant. I've got some ideas for Mot. And I still really, really need to finish the last bit of the fic chapter. And I'm still waiting to hear back from the 100 Situations people, so I haven't started any of the prompts yet. Hmph.
I had the weirdest dream last night, and I don't remember much of it, except that there were all these rooms and hallways and doors that led to different places. And at one point there were furry river dolphins. And they weren't friendly like your average oceanic dolphins. A river dolphin is one mean motherfucker. These guys were nice to me, but they were still pretty badass. And furry.
Fortunately there's a very nice air conditioner at Blockbuster. I worked today and yesterday and I'll be back tomorrow. I think I'm finally in the system too, so I should be able to start training tomorrow. Never mind that I still don't have a shirt. Lol, but I like it there. I've been doing mostly gopher work but my boss is nice and so are my coworkers, plus it's been pretty easy going the past few days. It'll probably be busier tomorrow since I'm working a late shift, but ah well.
I don't think I mentioned this before, but my brother's girlfriend bought a bunny at the fair and it is currently living at our house. Which means of course that me and Ben are the ones who are mainly taking care of it. He's a very nice bunny, and a color I've never seen on a rabbit, but he's still a bit timid and he always pees on me.
I'm thinking of getting another tattoo. Don't know what or where on me, though.
Okay, so. The other night I went to see Transformers. Actually I went to the 8:35 showing but they were sold out until 11:05 so I hung around the Game Stop and Best Buy until then. We even had to wait in line for 45 minutes--and this wasn't even on opening night either! But I broke down and got Pokemon Pearl at Game Stop--I've decided to fully embrace my inner dork, thank you--so that and Ezili kept me occupied.
But. Dude. There was this...trailer. Attached to the movie. It...well, I'm not going to explain it because that would ruin it, but it was probably the most perfect trailer I've ever seen. I'm not saying that the movie it was for necessarily looked awesome, though it did, muchly so, but the trailer was just so well done. Which makes sense when you look at who's doing the movie.
The movie is by J.J. Abrams. The guy who does Lost.
Which explains why the title of the movie is being kept secret.
And the premise.
And the plot.
All we know is it's some kind of monster movie. Shot with camcorders and handhelds. There are two codenames going around for it--"Cloverfield" and "The Parasite."
Damn does JJ know how to hook 'em. I've gotta fucking see this movie.
And now for movie reviews.
Transformers
Probably one of the best nonstop-action movies I've ever seen, mostly because it actually had a plot and substance. Though admittedly, the plot and substance were already built in.
Personally, I've never watched/played with Transformers. I did see an episode or two of Transformers that I think was "Beast Wars" generation where they were all animals instead of robots. I remember Optimus Prime was a gorilla, and there was also a velociraptor, I think named Silver Bullet. *shrug*
The premise is that there are two kinds of Transformers, the Autobots and the Decepticons (yay Eighties!) who are from a distant planet. Their homeworld has been destroyed and an artifact known as the All Spark (sp?) has been lost. The All Spark is this cube with the power to bring machines to life and such. Anyway, the bots find their way to Earth, where the All Spark has landed, and they have to find the cube before the other side does. Meanwhile, Sam, an average teenager, has just bought a strange yellow car that turns out to be one of the Autobots, and he and his family and friends get pulled into the robot war.
In general I tend to like Michael Bay's movies, though they all kind of feel the same. Lots of action, lots of drama, lots of explosions. This one was like the rest of them, except that it actually had substance, though that's because the Transformers toys and show have both been around for about two decades. Bay just made it all come to life.
And, wow. Not exactly movie gold, but this was a damn fun movie. It was literally nonstop action the whole way through, and I'll tell you right now, it's not easy to make a movie that has both nonstop action and substance. The visual effects were absolutely incredible. The Transformers themselves were so awesomely badass, and they all had their own personalities. The fight scenes were simply amazing. I don't usually cringe or yelp at fight scenes and such, but this movie had me doing just that. Probably the surround sound and because the audience was really fired up, but it was still a lot of fun.
One thing I really liked about this movie was the dialogue. Usually in movies like this you have really forced dialogue with forced humor, but for the most part people talked to each other like real people. Like conversation you could hear anywhere. Some of it was incredibly cheesy though, I have to admit. But for the most part I thought the dialogue was really well done.
As for the characters, well, counting the robots, I think it was about 50/50. Shia LaBouf, and I can never spell that kid's name right, was absolutely amazing as Sam. For someone who started out on the Disney Channel, I am continually surprised by Shia's acting ability. Ever since he broke away from Disney he's done some really good work, and he was great in this movie. But he was also pretty much the strong point. The army guys were good, Mikaela was pretty good, Sam's parents were pretty good, but I dunno, they were a bit two dimensional at times, especially Mikaela. I feel almost like they tried too hard to give her substance, but then again, I know nothing about the history of Transformers. I dunno if Sam and Mikaela ever appeared on any of the shows (in Beast Wars I'm pretty sure they were on another planet).
In short, this was the epitome of a summer movie--fun, action-packed, and it even had a little bit of substance in it. It's a summer movie, so don't go to it for philosophy lessons or anything, but go to it if you want to have a really good time.
And also, go to it to see that JJ Abrams trailer, it's the FUCKING SHIT.
Score: 8 out of 10
Well I also got my hands on a couple of movies from Blockbuster. I'll probably have watched every movie on my to-see list by the time I'm done working there, lol. I grabbed The Last Mimzy, Layer Cake, The Squid and the Whale, and Capote all of which I've wanted to see for some time. Only got one in tonight, though.
The Last Mimzy
I saw the trailer for this and thought "Wow, what a cool idea." It's a family/kid movie, but I thought it looked decent enough that I wanted to pick it up. Plus it has the woman who plays Lily on Crossing Jordan, which answers the question of where she disappeared to, lol.
The movie is about these two children, Noah and Emma, who find a strange box on the beach during their Easter vacation. They open the box and find all kinds of strange things inside, including spinning rocks that float and create a sort of vortex of light, and a stuffed bunny that Emma says is called Mimzy. They bring the box home and all sorts of strange things start happening. Noah begins to draw mandalas, which are traditional designs from Asia (usually associated with Buddhism) that he has never seen. Emma starts to be able to tell the future, thanks to Mimzy. All these changes start to worry their parents, excite their teacher and his wife (Lily) who are somewhat spiritual, and eventually get the notice of the FBI.
This movie is really quite awesome. It's well acted, well written, and well filmed. It's also another really good example of excellent dialogue. The movie mostly focuses on the kids and their adventures with the strange box and its contents, but it also has snippets of their parents, the teacher and his wife, and other people--so not only do you get a more adult side of things, you also get a sense of a bigger picture. There's this one really good shot toward the beginning. Noah's sitting on the bus playing with his cell phone, and then the camera cuts to a more distant shot and you see that everyone on the bus has some sort of technology with them. Cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, that kind of thing.
Somehow this movie isn't like other "kids go on magical journey" movies. I guess because of the incorporation of Buddhism, Eastern spirituality, the mandalas, science, technology and all those kinds of things, which aren't things you usually see in kids' movies. It's also really good at doing things very subtly. For instance, there's a bit of a twist at the end that some people might see coming, but that I certainly didn't--and the thing is, you don't quite notice the twist until a moment after it's gone by, and then it's like, "oh wow!" And also, on a somewhat more obvious level though not by much, this is a movie about environmental and self consciousness and the ways that all things, people included, are connected.
A very good movie overall, and don't listen to the whole "it's a kid's movie" thing, because this movie has something for everyone. Anyone with any sense of spirituality or imagination will enjoy it.
Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Julie, you're not going to believe this, but I missed the last two 4400's! I was even here for them, but I just totally forgot they were on. Sunday+summer scheduling=fuck you, viewers.
I am very, very slowly getting back into the writing groove, but the muse is still reluctant. I've got some ideas for Mot. And I still really, really need to finish the last bit of the fic chapter. And I'm still waiting to hear back from the 100 Situations people, so I haven't started any of the prompts yet. Hmph.
I had the weirdest dream last night, and I don't remember much of it, except that there were all these rooms and hallways and doors that led to different places. And at one point there were furry river dolphins. And they weren't friendly like your average oceanic dolphins. A river dolphin is one mean motherfucker. These guys were nice to me, but they were still pretty badass. And furry.