Movie Review: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

Incredible. Amazing. Disturbing. Powerful...

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a VERY long time.

It was also the most emotionally draining movie I have seen in a VERY long time. The film takes you up and down and keeps you on the edge of your seat and and struggling to keep up for the full 2.5 hours. It is so well written and so well executed that time stops, the adrenaline takes over and you never quite know where this is going. Christopher Nolan is my new screenwriting idol.

Every performance was very good. I was skeptical about the buzz around Heath Ledger's 'Oscar worthy performance'. I thought it's all just hype and people are only saying that because he passed away and it's just a ploy by Warner Bros. Marketing department... But as I watched him, I was disturbed, as was intended and I actually agree. It really was an Oscar worthy performance. Watching him, and knowing he is no longer alive certainly makes his performance more powerful, but I think I would have still been moved even if he was still alive.

The story is exceptional. This movie is the new standard for the Superhero movie. The bar has just been raised. They take classic Batman characters and situations and modernize them. They make it feel so real and so relevent that the plot and themes really hit home. Go see it. Then go see Tropic Thunder to clear your emotional pallet!!

9.5 out of 10

Movie Review: Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder

Loved it.

Ben Stiller returns to directing for the first time (I believe) since Zoolander (also one of my favorite films).

Tropic Thunder is very funny, mildly demented, a little crude, but totally fun. The story unfolds nicely and keep you laughing and totally entertained from start to finish. Everyone does a great job.

The stand out performance is Tom Cruise! He was hysterical! If they gave out Oscars for Comedy Tom would be nominated for this movie. I loved that they don’t even advertise him as being in the movie (smart) and then he delivers the best performance in the movie.

I definitely recommend this film, especially if you like Ben Stiller style (dark and slap-sticky) comedy.
9 out of 10

Show Biz Idiots

Show Biz Idiots

Add Shia LaDoof to the list of Show Biz idiots.

I was a big fan of him. He is a good actor and had so much promise. But I have no respect for people that drink and drive. I have even less respect for people that drink and drive and then put hundreds (if not thoudsands) of people out of work. Production for Transformers 2 was halted because of Shia’s idiocracy. The selfishness, shamelessness and total immaturity of people that have the world at there finger tips is incredible to me.

I sincerely hope Shia does not develop ‘Paris Hilton syndrome’. That’s when you get a sense of entitlement and feelings like you are above the law, followed by elevated drug and alcohol use. Soon you become totally worthless to society.
It kills me to see young people that have so much and see so little. Why they don’t see the need to give back to a world that has given them so much. How come they can’t see that they are (were) role models for people and that they uniquely have the power to make the world a better place.

It kills me to watch them do the exact opposite.

It kills me to see the decline of America in the faces and actions of the Paris Hiltons, Shia LeBoufs, and Kardashians…
Can somebody please turn it off?

Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest
You cannot at once be for ‘Off Shore Drilling’ and slowing Climate Change.
You cannot be for moving away from oil and spending billions for FIND and drill for it.
You cannot simultaneously prepare for and prevent war.
You can’t be moving away from oil and be searching for more.
It is possible to have a Green, Oil Free, Energy Independent economy.
It’s insane to believe Obama is to blame for high oil prices.
It’s well established Dick Cheney met with big Oil in 2001 when America created it’s new energy policy that lowered the MPG of cars and discouraged conservation.
Raising the MPG by 2 in 2001 would have saved more than double the oil in ANWR.
America can lead the world.
The world needs to go green; before it goes dead.
The world has 6 billion people, and will have 9 billion by 2025. That’s a lot of carbon emissions from just there breathing.
Green technology is the future.
Black technology (coal, oil) is the past.
We can’t dwell in the past.
We must move into the future.
If we had started moving into the future in 2001 (not the past) I would easily have $200 extra dollars a month (gas savings) in my pocket.
I want an electric car that I can charge from the Solar Panels on my roof.
I don’t want to spend money on oil anymore.
Even if it is from the US.
Why does McCain want me to keep spending money on oil?
I would rather spend my money on me.
America should be the future, not the past.
America should be looking for renewable energy, not polluting energy.
You can’t be for a better world, cleaner air and enviornments, higher quality of life and drilling for more oil. It’s a conflict of interest.
Demand a better world, demand that America lead the way.

Review: The Dark Knight

Incredible. Amazing. Disturbing. Powerful...

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a VERY long time.

It was also the most emotionally draining movie I have seen in a VERY long time. The film takes you up and down and keeps you on the edge of your seat and and struggling to keep up for the full 2.5 hours. It is so well written and so well executed that time stops, the adrenaline takes over and you never quite know where this is going. Christopher Nolan is my new screenwriting idol.

Every performance was very good. I was skeptical about the buzz around Heath Ledger's 'Oscar worthy performance'. I thought it's all just hype and people are only saying that because he passed away and it's just a ploy by Warner Bros. Marketing department... But as I watched him, I was disturbed, as was intended and I actually agree. It really was an oscar worthy performance. Watching him, and knowing he is no longer alive certainly makes his performance more powerful, but I think I would have still been moved even if he was still alive.

The story is exceptional. This movie is the new standard for the Superhero movie. The bar has just been raised.

They take classic Batman characters and situations and modernize them. They make it feel so real and so relevent that the plot and themes really hit home.

Go see it. Then go see Tropic Thunder to clear your emotional pallet!!

Movie Review: Get Smart

Movie Review: Get Smart

Your classic summer film. Advertised and hyped like crazy. Full of stars, big action sequences, and funny one liners.

Parts of the film felt forced to me. I felt there was too much reliance on gag humor, but that’s how the original series was so…
I thought it was fun, but I also felt it was weak in a few ways. The story wasn’t that great, but it wasn’t bad either. The twists were predicable and I knew how the film would end half way through it.

Anne Hathaway did well; not great or particularly exciting. Steve Carell was fun, he was a perfect match for the character and gave the lines well. Nothing struck me as great about any of the other performances.

I give it a 6.5 out of 10.

Movie Review: Wanted

Movie Review: Wanted

Fast. Fun. Furious. Over the top.

I liked it but I thought it was a bit over blown at times. It basically works in the context of the story, but it left me with a feeling of ‘wow that was out of control’.

Angelina Jolie gave a great performance. She was definitely in her element in this film. Everyone else had a pretty solid performance as well.

The film has fun twists and will keep you entertained. I recommend it.

I give it 8 out of 10.

Drilling

Oil

Oil is a dirty business.

It always has been, and always will be. People are killed drilling it. People are killed fighting over it. Environments are killed when it’s refined, when it spills and especially when it’s burned.

It is widely known that there are alternatives for almost every use for oil. Cars can run on electricity, hydrogen, water and even sunlight. Starbucks is developing ‘plastic’ cups made from corn, that are biodegradable. Heating can come from wind power. So with so many alternatives for oil on the table why are we still using it?

Politics mostly. Money follows closely. Greed and power are not far behind. Remember how oil is a dirty business; well it’s dealings are just as dirty as it’s spills and stains.
Did you know a solar array about 40 miles in diameter could power our entire power grid?

America could have been halfway or possibly totally cured of it’s addiction to oil today had actions been taken in 2000. But we cannot go back. We must move forward. America cannot drill it’s way out of it’s oil addiction/problem any more than alcohol can cure the alcoholic. So why is there even a debate about drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge?

Politics mostly. Money follows closely. Greed and power are not far behind.

The arguments for drilling there are:

1. It will lower the Price of oil
2. It will lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
3. It won’t effect the wildlife or enviornment
4. There are 10 billion barrels of oil that are a boon for the economy

A closer look at the facts reveals the truth:

The Energy Information Administration does not feel ANWR will affect the global price of oil when past behaviors of the oil market are considered. "The opening of ANWR is projected to have its largest oil price reduction impacts as follows: a reduction in low-sulfur, light crude oil prices of $0.41 per barrel (2006 dollars) in 2026 for the low oil resource case, $0.75 per barrel in 2025 for the mean oil resource case, and $1.44 per barrel in 2027 for the high oil resource case, relative to the reference case."
"Assuming that world oil markets continue to work as they do today, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could neutralize any potential price impact of ANWR oil production by reducing its oil exports by an equal amount."

In conclusion; it will NOT lower the price of oil anytime soon, and when it does (if it does) it will at most be $1.44 a barrel which translates to pennies per gallon. Literally no more than 7 cents!!!

So will it lessen our dependence on foreign oil? Not anytime soon. And if they drilled in ANWR the oil would be sold on the oil market to the highest bidder. The oil is not just given to the US government or citizens to solve it’s oil woes. The oil is owned by the company that drilled for it. They will sell it much the same way a foreign oil company does.

Let’s pretend you have a field you raise cattle on. Then an oil company wants to drill on it. They say they only need a tiny patch. You say ‘okay’. Once they get the okay, they say ‘well we’ll need to build a road to the drill site. So they build a road that cuts your field in half, scaring the cattle and disrupting their migration route; even occasionally hitting a few. Then when they are shipping the oil away from the ‘small drill site’ it spills and contaminates the only watering hole on the field. The oil company promises to clean it up, but in the mean time you cattle have nowhere to get water, many of the cattle die and get sick or leave your field. You want to stop the oil company but you can’t, you want them to clean up the mess, but they won’t. Now you have nothing, the land you leased them is ruined. So now they want to build a pipeline that will officially divide the land and alter the landscape… The cattle and most other animals are gone and it will cost more to restore it (if you can) than the oil coming out of it is worth. So what can you do? Nothing. The only thing you can do is not let it happen.

When oil companies tell you there will be no impact, or that drilling will be clean, it’s a lie. There is no such thing as a clean drilling and shipping process. Spills continue to happen to this day. Not even six months ago there was a spill in the San Francisco bay. There was a large oil spill in Prudhoe Bay in 2006. Tar still washes up on the shores of Santa Barbara from the oil rigs off it’s coast. The oil rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara were promised and contracted to be removed once the project was done. That was over ten years ago and they are all still there. The cost of removing them rivals the amount of money the oil they produced. Why should we believe Alaska will be treated differently? The actions of the oil companies speak louder than their words, and there actions show destruction and messes everywhere.

The oil companies try and tell us that this oil will be a boon to our economy. They say that 10 billion barrels is enough money to balance our budget and bring thousands of jobs. But again, the jobs will go to the lowest bidder, and the money will go to the oil company. They do not drill out of the goodness of their hearts to help working class Americans. They drill for money. They get over 70% of the profits from drilling the oil leaving ‘America’ with an expensive mess and a small stipend that won’t do anything for the economy.

It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to drill in ANWR. If we put that money into clean energy. If we focused on the solutions we could be 70% off of oil in ten years; before a drop of ANWR oil hits the market.

The bottom line is WE DON’T NEED IT.

Oil is the problem, NOT the solution!

Clean, renewable (already existing) energies are the solution. Lets put our time money and energy into them. That will create millions of new jobs, be a huge boon to our economy and put America once again at the forefront of the technology and moral world stage.

Don’t be fooled by the million dollar publicity campaigns of big oil. Don’t buy into the lies.

The Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge is one of America’s greatest treasures and a special place on the Earth.

Let’s keep it that way.

Review: The Chronicles of Nariana: Prince Caspian

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

By the time it was over, I liked it. I am a huge fan of the series and I think it is the perfect book to film series. I would like to see it a more refined and concerted effort in the films… where is Peter Jackson when you need him? But over all I thought it pulled through well.

I thought it was slow to start and awkward in the beginning. The set up for Prince Caspian was weak and unsubstantial. I would have liked to see his past and place established much cleaner, mainly the importance of the relationship with his ‘half dwarf’ professor shown firmly.

I also thought the re-introduction of the kids was also weak and sloppy. The set up that brought them to Nariana was cheesy it could have been much more graceful, not so childish. After that I thought there were only a few clunky plot points before I began to enjoy the story.

The film is beautiful. There are a few sequences that I really enjoyed. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch was definitely the highlight of the film for me. There are a few artistic choices I thought were bad, some of the creatures were very poorly done but other parts I really liked. I saw some Lord of the Rings sets mixed in there for sure.

I thought the guy who played Caspian did very good. The evil Uncle did pretty good also, but I thought that the girl who played Lucy was the only one of the kids to give a genuine performance.

The film flowed well once it got going and was over all enjoyable.

Indiana Jones Four

Indiana Jones Four

In a word: Entertaining

In many words, convoluted, disjunct, fun, exciting, overblown, confusing, imaginative…

While I thought it is fun, in the beginning it packs a lot of punch, as it goes on it starts to fizzle out for me. The movie begins seemingly in the middle, I felt like I missed something. Then begins the total suspension of my disbelief. Much of the action is borderline hooky, and too much of it is far to unbelievable for me to connect with or enjoy. I know it’s a sort of fantasy but it goes way too far to many times.

This film lacks the fun and wit of the originals and attempts to substitute CGI and elaborate sets instead. It doesn’t really work. There is very little dialogue and the story is almost impossible to follow. I couldn’t explain it to you if I tried. They try to include too many elements and that don’t really come together or fit together in any discernable way. The ending was far too over the top for me. It leaves far more questions and plot holes than it solves. I felt the movie tries to appeal to kids, but they will be bored by the story and dialogue. But it also tries to appeal to adults who will put off by the gag humor and childish antics. In trying to appeal to both I feel the film does neither very well.

I thought Harrison Fords performance was ‘okay’. Not bad, not great. I would give it a C grade. Passing, but not A game. Cate Blanchet did a good job, she had fun with her character and was consistent, she also hardly spoke. Shia LeBouf did a good job as well, the greaser in him came out nicely. Karen Allen was a little flat for me, but it wasn’t bad. Everyone else did pretty well I thought.

I will admit I was slightly disappointed. They had 19 years and this is the best they came up with? I was a little surprised. I need a good story, good dialogue and it was certainly lacking. It makes me think that Speilberg and Lucas are falling out of touch. Past there peak maybe. With the money and power at there disposal it’s hard to fail, but it’s not as hard as it seems to fall flat.

Iron Man

I liked it.

Quick, witty and thoroughly enjoyable. A little predicable and cheesey, and not always well explained, but it is a superhero movie...

I thought Robert Downey Jr. did a good job. He made the character his own, a la like himself. Gwen Paltro did a good job as well. Her character worked very well.

Very well done. I still rank Spiderman 1 as the best Superhero movie followed now by Iron Man.

Show Biz

Show Biz…

I have found the Entertainment business today to be an exciting and very challenging field of work and study. It is, at once, vibrant and exciting, but can also be cut-throat and brutal. It’s a game with rules, key players and a distinct hierarchy. It can be all fun and games, or pain and suffering… it’s all in how you play; like football. Once you get on a good team and start winning, you start making the big bucks. If you fumble or make a bad play, it’s not over for you, it’s only over if you get to hurt to play.

The rules of the business are written in the sand and change with each new wave. It’s easy to drown, get washed away, or lost at sea in this business. If you want to survive or play you are going to need to find a rock to stand on or a crew to boat with. You need to be skilled, Talented and sharp; with something to bring to the table. Being drop dead gorgeous can also help, but alone is not a guarantee for success. You need to be likeable, passionate and informed at least until you establish yourself. Everybody knows that movies are not made by one person, so learn to put up with massive egos, scummy superstars and needy producers. The movie business brings together quite a cast of characters, so be prepared to deal with all types of people. From polished agents, to dirty crew hands; everyone has a place and a part to play; find yours.

In the postmodern era Hollywood rules the media world. It’s the Hegemonic authority of the visual arts. Hollywood is the place where movie style dreams actually do come true. We know this because we see it on TV! And nobody doubts the authenticity of TV; right?

In Hollywood the sun shines on everyone, and potentially anyone could be the next big thing and hit the big time; i.e. make a sh*t load of money. It's a quasi residential/social/superficial lottery! It’s about 50% who you know, 30% what you can do, and 20% being in the right place at the right time. Always be nice to people too! You never know when you are going to need something from them, or be working under them. The tables turn fast. Don’t get to lofty when you’re and high or too low when down. You should stay level at all times; poker face, bluff how good or bad you are doing and people will always assume the best. It is show business, so naturally it’s all a show, all about image and perception.

If you want to really make it in the film business today however you have to be able to do many things everything. Because of recent transformations, globalization, and general cross promotion you have to be able to do more than just act or sing or write these days. On the flips side you need to be able to do more than answer phones and get coffee, you have to be able to do many things with an effective degree of competence, and still have ability to know how you can do those things and then more things; better. It is a creative business and is always looking for and rewarding creativity on all fronts. After all it is the imaginings of people that is remaking the world as we know it…

The internet and new media has dramatically changed the structure and employment practices of the entertainment world. Competition is now global, decentralized, and has thus has gotten stiff. You are essentially competing with talent from all over the world. These days you will do better if you are able to create jobs not just get them for yourself. If you are not exceptionally talented without training (or after training) they you really need to know somebody. And even knowing somebody is not a guarantee of success. You have to offer something new and something fresh, you have to demonstrate that you can bring a new approach, a new idea, and an ability to tell the difference between the new and old.

If you want to be a Power Player in the biz today you need to be aware of what that takes; a lot. It takes more than just talent, smarts, money or good looks. It takes guts, imagination, intuition and determination. You also need to know the market and trends and how they are changing. You need to understand the business and it’s unconventional operations.

The point is, is that today the media needs artists! People in media today must have the creative ability to express themselves and what they can do. It needs designers with imagination and expression, using computers and market intuition. Being able to artistically express yourself and then sell your creations (stories, scripts, paintings, websites, clothing designs, ect) to people or sell your image to people is the name of the game. Unless of course you work in Administration in which case your job is to spot these people and put them to work for you!

A sign of the times is that big musicians today make much of their money from clothes and products –branding-, not CD's. Actors are following a similar path, getting into fashion design or other arts --or are becoming philanthropists. Postmodern Artists build their empire on their name. They use there name to sell products the have little to do with, or films they were not involved in. They use the aura of there brand to collect tons of money without even doing anything. It’s all about image… reality is irrelevant. Image is all that matters.

How can the used/done be made new and marketable? How is what I bring going to benefit or inspire people? If people like it, if it touches or entertains them, they'll use it. Why would people want to buy what I have? This is what we must begin to ask ourselves in our quest to build an Entertainment. Ask yourself what you want and then listen for the answer; and then go and get it.

Flava flave and Danny Boniduchy...

Disgust me.

Movie: Across the Universe

I liked it.

It didn't quite match the hype I had going in, but I enjoyed it.

Postmodern film making always excites me. I liked the reinvention of songs, the musical, and an over used storyline.

I found the story week but the effects and style redeeming.

I love the music of the Beatles and that's reason enough to watch and listen.

Shows I am liking

Dexter -- Really like it. Great watchable characters, simple and intriguing stories.

The Tudors -- Great casting, historical value, sex, power and the crown... love it. Showtime's coming back!

The Riches -- Really liking it, gonna watch more.

Nip Tuck -- Saw a few of the last season, I liked it. Fun and addictive.

Dirt -- Only seen parts, but I love Cortney Cox

Weeds -- Saw the first two seasons on DVD, really liked it.

60 Minutes -- I like a good news show. Andy Rooney scares me but the journalism in the show is there.

Bill O'Riley -- While I don't always agree with his views or many of his guests I will say he has become more fair and I like the incorporation of obscure words.

The Real Housewives of Orange County -- Got hooked on it, some characters remind me of friends.

20 /20 -- I love the "What would you do" shows and the feel good journalism. Medical mysteries open your eyes to all that can go wrong with the human body and make me scared to have children. It's almost a freak show but they pretty much succeed in giving it a heart and not make it exploitive.

Simpsons -- Always a fan.

American Idol -- This is the first year I have followed it from the beginning and I have grown to understand the players. Before I always just liked the first three episodes.

History Channel -- Always love Modern Marvels, Engineering and Empire, and the shows on Weaponology.

National Geographic Channel -- good shows here and there.

The Adventure of English -- on at 4am, it's the most interesting and informative show on TV. The history of the English language is fascinating to me.

Keeping up with the Kardashians

This is the stupidest show ever.

Alright I have never actually watched it but judging by what I have seen from clips on Talk Soup I can tell it's awful.

Kim Kardashian is disgusting to me. A classic example of a no talent, self obsesses no scruples person who will never understand what life is about.

It used to be that people became famous for doing something good, or something heroic.

These days people become famous for doing something shameful, like making a sex tape with another disgusting self obsessed no brain. Or going to rehab, or something like that...

Kim represents the decline of television and even the decline America...

so sad.

John McCain

I think John McCain is good man; an honorable man and a true patriot.

But he is not the President that we need in this time of great change.

McCain is not knowledgeable on the main issues that this country is facing: Health Care, the Economy, the Environment...

McCain is a war guy. He likes the war, he wants it to go on because like Bush Co, he gets his strength from it. The trouble is, it needs to end. America cannot afford it in it's present state. A base there is inescapable, but a protracted occupation like we have now is not sustainable.

Because McCain is not very knowledgeable on the economy and health care he is not prepared to address the problems with vision, and this is when the corporations provide one for you a la Bush's Prescription drug benefit Plan that cost the tax payers billions needlessly.

McCain is not a bad guy, but not the man America needs right now.

SNL

SNL is coming back slightly I think. It is still a far cry from the Will Ferrell days but I am really likeing Kristin Wig, I like Amy Pohler and a couple of the guys. I don't really like or get Will Forte.

Lasts night's SNL however was bad. Super Bad's Johah Hill was not good at all. I actually can't stand him after watching the episode. My fears that he is just like the characters he plays was realized. He is just like the characters he plays. He is not really an actor he is just playing himself. I find him gross, crude and horribly crass and almost disturbing. Not funny at all, he had no chemistry with the cast. He dominated the scenes in a bad way. One schetch was him talking non stop about how he is six years old, no one else really spoke... it was practically unwatchable.

Movie: Jumper

On a scale of 1 to 10... I give it a 5.

Hayden Christensin (or whatever) is the worst actor. Horrible delivery, totally unbelievable as any character. Rachel Bilson (who I like) is still stuck as 'Summer' from The OC. She had a few good moments but is really not a great actress either. Samuel L. Jackson also always plays an angry black man. All his roles are the same as well, this time they changed his hair color to make him seem different.... didn't work.

The effects were nice, it is the only redeaming element of the film. The plot was full of holes and clunky, the back story was hard, but poorly explained.

The story is sort of fun, it looked like a great movie to work on, great locations, some great shots, but the film was flat, oddly dull.

The Academy Awards: Revival Plan

The Oscars have been in rating free fall since 1998, that 'Titanic' year.
--Entertainment Weekly reports that the show is badly in need of a revival plan--

I would like to take this opportunity to put in my two cents:

In the postmodern times the film industry has gone global.. All the best acting gold this year went to foreigners. Many of the other talent are not Americans either. This has been happening for a while now but it is now really beginning to disconnect the heart of America from the elite Academy members.

It is essencial that Hollywood embrace talent from all over the world. It is important fot Hollywood that it remains the motion picture capital of the world and as such it must constantly acknowledge and find new talent. While this may alienate Americans it pleases foriengers. So while American viewer ship has been slipping global viewership has gone up. Awarding foriegners makes Hollywood global wich is certianly good for business.

American actors and big studio films need to get better. The problem is the average American consumer would see Saw 5 instead of There Will be Blood, and the studio's play to this. Because the average movie goer does not like, or can't follow a well done movie, it makes it hard for commercial success and critical success or academy praise to go hand in hand.

My solution for this is as follows.

Before the Academy announces it's nominations, a seperate group should begin the process of polling and asking regular Americans there choices for best movie of the year, best actor, best actress ect. They could have a website where after January 1st people can regisiter to vote and people can vote for their favorites pics for all the major catagories. The Academy would then make it's own announcements and both would be announced at the awards show. The First 3o minutes of the show would be a compilation of the best moments of the years movies, and the results of Americas votes would be announced.* This would provide insight for the academy (on it's connect or disconnect for the year), interest for the masses, reason for then to tune in, and would seek to promote more movies making the award show about all movies, making the studios and the networks happy as well. The awards would still only be for Academy pics but it would help give praise for the Will Ferrels and other comedic types who do great work but are not recognized.

*It would not be a 'Peoples choice' type thing, it could be done with class.

I would also condiser adding a comedy catagory. it could be for men and women combined, i would love to see comedians acknowledged for there contribution.