More Movies and Media Fun

Hey all you out there in TV land, here are a few more reviews on some of my recent watchings:

Movies

Let's start off with with a crossword puzzle clue. What's 9 letter long and causes your IQ to drop by at least 9 points? That's right, it's...

MacGruber: Those who know me know I'm pretty much open to watching any movie and even for those that don't quite make it to my top list, I can usually find some redeeming feature. Sadly, (I'm not really sad) MacGruber just delivered nothing. From the unnecessary male nudity to the wasted plot time, it just went on and on, sometimes literally ad nauseum. Yes I'm being a little harsh, but let's step back and look at expectations versus delivery. Take for instance a movie like Harry Potter (take your pick. From the hype and previews, I expect a movie about wizarding and magic. No mater what the other merits or drawbacks, at least it delivered exactly what I expected. On the other end of the spectrum comes Macgruber. From the name, the hype, and the previews I expected a silly MacGuyver parody. Instead, there were literally 2 scenes which parodied MacGuyver (with the exception of the running theme of his refusal to use a gun), and each of those scenes were 20 seconds or less and poorly done. All that was delivered was a mind numbingly dumb plot with interspersed homo-eroticism and long segments where nothing happens. Really all I can say is poor Val Kilmer, oh how you've fallen.

Prince of Persia: Another example of delivering on expectations. Decent action, wonderful cast (Alfred Molina steals the show) and just enough game similarities to satisfy fans of the franchise. I know some will disagree, but I just think the Jerry Bruckheimer/Disney combination is a match made in heaven. From the Pirates franchise, to National Treasure, to Prince of Persia, they consistently deliver on family friendly action/adventure fun. One last note, although parts of the film were rushed, I think making it any longer would would have taken away from the movie as a whole.

Green Zone: I think I just plain like Matt Damon (even puppet versions of him). The film is chocked full of liberal propaganda, but I really expected no less. Despite its heavy left leanings, the movie was enjoyable as well as innovative in its depiction of the war in Iraq. I would have loved to have seen a little more action, especially from the special forces unit, but that's just my opinion. More objectively, the extremely dark lighting in much of the movie did detract some. It was so dark that even despite being shot on film there is an extreme amount of film noise that gets bad enough to be distracting. I think with the technology available today and 100 million dollar budget they could afford to light this and avoid the consumer video camera look.

TV

Well, fall TV is almost back and I'm ready for it, but until it actually returns here are some reviews/updates on a few viewing options.

OZ (season 1): I had heard alot about this show back when I was in school, but I never had the chance to watch it so I thought I'd give it a chance. It's not half bad although I feel like every show on HBO from that time just felt obligated to throw in extra nudity for no real purpose. The characters have a little depth and it's fun to see your alliances shift nearly by the minute as prisoners go from "good" to "bad" and back again. I am however sick of the narrator character and his inane "thought provoking" lectures. Whenever he's giving a speech that's not a character background I just fast forward.

Avoda Aravit (season 2): Season one was a barrel of laughs. Maybe that's because much of the humor was resorting tot he lowest common denominator of Palestinian stereotypes, but I enjoyed it (perhaps moreso for just that reason). The episodes ran like a typical sitcom with a little bit of character development and a short story that was resolved with a quirky and funny solution by the end of the episode. Season 2 is not quite the same. It's true there are still some laughs and certain episodes have really gotten me chortling heartily, but there just seems to be much more of a running political agenda this season. perhaps the director/writer felt he had to play it safe in season one to get public acceptance and now he's letting loose. I don't know, but I'm just not as fond of Amjad's ongoing plight of his continual dark realization that Arab Israeli citizens are not treaded as equals. I'll give it to the end of the season, but if it doesn't lighten up, that will be the last season for me.

Disney

Well, this is a kind of Disney, kind of TV post. I just watched the first episode of the old Mortal Kombat Conquest show and what do you know? Apparently it was almost entirely filmed at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida! Why do they brag on tours about random animal planet shows and a few scenes from Passenger 57, but leave out Mortal Kombat!?

"Music"

You'll notice I put music in parentheses and it's because I'm not reviewing actual music as those who know me could guess. Instead I'm reviewing other audio about music.

Great American Music - Broadway: I just finished listening to a wonderful lecture series by the Teaching Company on the history of Broadway musicals in America. It was absolutely wonderful and just really interesting. Although I would have liked a little more on recent musicals, (only 1 lecture was reserved for all of 1970 to the present,) I still loved the entire series. The professor is extremely knowledgeable and has some wonderful rare recordings. Who knew that Abraham Lincoln considered the reclaiming of the song Dixie to be the "spoils" of the Civil War? If you like musicals or Broadway it's certainly worth your while.

And, for your random factoid of the day: Although people hated Windows Vista, truly the most despised version of windows would be Windows Bob. Yes, Windows Bob was a terrible mistake in Microsoft's race against Apple. Thinking people wanted a truly user friendly computer experience they released a modified version of Windows 95 that had helpful little Bob every step of the way. Bob was kind of that annoying paper-clip from Microsoft Word, only on extreme crack -- and you couldn't close him.

A silly question of law

While I realize I am probably off base with my conclusion here, hear out my logic. I'm going to try to put together a simple Aristotelian syllogism:

1) All U.S. felonies have a parallel misdemeanor or felonious "attempted" crime (e.g. attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, etc.)

2) Assault is the crime of intentionally causing apprehension of harm, physical, mental, etc.

3) Therefore, attempted assault is the crime of trying to scare someone and failing :-)

Seems like attempted assault would make a great title for a dumb gangster movie.

Hey, I don't have to answer to you people, I'll post when I'm darn ready to post . . . and I'm ready to post.

Movies

There are 2 additions I'd like to contribute this week, both of which are slightly off the beaten hollywood path.

The Brothers Bloom: Honestly I don't even remember how I stumbled upon this one, but you know me, if it's not some zero budget Afghani movie about a goat then I'll give it a shot. Sometimes these ventures of mine just lend themselves to wasted hours of my life. This one for some reason I "believed in" so it became our Saturday night movie. While there were some complaints afterward about a little bit of visible ex-corporeal blood, the movie was mostly a good laugh with a little thriller thrown in. Usually I can't stand Adrien Brody, (yes that's right, you tell John Williams to stop playing and you're on my naughty list forever) but I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. His character was still the same meek typecast he's always thrown into, but the dynamic just worked. In any case, if you're looking for some quirky laughs with a just barely cliffhanger ending, pick this one up.

The Infidel: You all know I'm not the world's greatest fan of Muslims, but I try to be open minded (heck, this week it feels like all I'm watching is Muslim made media, see below). This movie however was just wonderful. A very simple premise: lazy Muslim finds out he's actually Jewish. I've always read from the imagineers at Disney that any good story, (usually they're referring to a ride back story,) can be easily said in one sentence. Of course a good idea is just half the work of a good movie. Although there are a few slow minutes (really it's just minutes), it got me laughing at least every 5 minutes. I have to give some props out here. Although I basically knew from the genre that there was going to be a happy resolution, the path the "wrap-up" took was rather unexpected and totally wonderful. This may be one of those films that can only be appreciated by either a Muslim or a Jew, but if you find yourself to be part of one of those groups, get yourself a copy of this one.

TV

Being the summer, we all know that TV takes a turn for the worst, but it can be a fun time to try out some new shows.

Royal Pains: One word, "eh". We've been catching up on this one on demand, and although there's nothing to write home about it's enjoyable enough to take the place of M*A*S*H reruns. Plots are relatively predictable and do sometimes move backwards, but I take pride in watching self-proclaimed Jews on TV.

Burn Notice: I'm torn as to whether I want to shout from the rooftops "why can't other networks be as smart as USA!?". On one hand, BN gets incredible viewership due to it being nearly the only new show on during season breaks. On the other hand, there are plenty more open nights during the week. Anyways, as for the show, this season started off slow, but the last few weeks have brought back the team we know and love, and this past week, just vunderbar! Not-stop plot movement through all the intertwined stories leading up to a great (although very expected) cliffhanger. I can't wait for the finale next week -- and who knows, with how terrible some of the network lineups have been recently, I may be counting down the days to the mid season break.

Avoda Aravit (Arab Labor): I must just really love watching things about Muslims :-) Since Srugim had it's season finale I've been looking for something to fill my "Hebrew" void. I first found Hayisraelim, but the lack of Hebrew subtitles means I only get 75% of the sketches (although those have been pretty good). I really can't wait for some more Lo Lifnei Hayeladim, but it looks like they're also on break. Avoda Aravit however, stands and delivers. It takes a humorous look at the condition of an arab family living outside Yerushalayim. From the Quran shouting little girl to the secular Israeli-wannabe father to the always scheming grandfather it's a hilarious delight. It takes a bit of concentration to read the subtitles so fast, (normally I can balance the audio and the subtitles, but most of the audio is in Arabic,) but once you get accustomed to that, it's smooth sailing. I've only seen a couple of episodes so far, but I look forward to seeing the rest of season one and the beginning of season 2.

Futurama: The Futurama reboot had a slow start in my opinion, but now it's moving at light speed (go buy the briefs!). I absolutely loved the eye-phone episode as well as the DaVinci and Evolution ones. Not much more to say here, Futurama is back and hopefully here to stay. David Cohen, you've done your people proud (again).

No real Disney updates at the moment since they announced Golden Oaks but you never know what will pop up.

In closing I'll leave you all with another factoid. I was working at Disney recently and a discussion came up on the uses of Metric vs. English Standard (because we had a lot of foreign interns). First off, I learned something new. I never knew that a liter was a kilogram of water (who knew). Second, I got to chime in as mr smarty pants and tell them that English standard isn't the proper name, it should be avoirdupois. Enoy your new know-it-allness!

As a final note, my company is on a hiring binge so if you think you're qualified feel free to tell them I sent you. Check out the jobs at www.edaptivesys.com

Let's dabble in politics

I'm not going to pretend that this is the beginning of a newfound love of posting and that I'm actually going to start posting regularly. No, this is simply I suppose what blogs are for -- to vent our internal frustrations to anyone willing to listen, no matter how much we babble or rant.

I don't usually touch politics but being the staunch fat-headed republican that I'm known to be, I thought that maybe I should just put some thoughts or perceptions that I have out there in the ether and someone can enlighten me or reaffirm what I think I know.

I have not read Obama's healthcare bill. Perhaps at some point I will but it will have to be a realllllly slow day at work. Until then I am resigned to the bits and pieces presented to me by all the media outlets. So let's begin:

1) I feel no moral obligation to provide any more than "life or death" medical treatment to illegal aliens. If an alien has a gunshot wound, then feel free to make use of our ERs, but be aware, after you are treated you may be subject to deportation. I know that many people are critical of me for this position for wanting to deport illegal aliens, but the fact is you broke the rules. Frankly, even if you break the rules, America grants amenesties on a "regular" basis, so I invite you to break the rules and stay under the radar until you can apply for amnesty and citizenship, just don't spit in my face and ask me to pay for your medical treatment.

Mr. Obama, we are a country of citizens and you were elected to represent the interest of the citizens, you have no responsibilities towards illegal aliens. Additionally, it seems that no matter which side the information comes from everyone agrees that this mystical number of "Americans without coverage" includes some percentage of illegal aliens. The fact remains Mr. Obama, if you want me to pay for the illegals, then you do not represent me and do not have my vote.

2) I have a soft side, and I understand from a very personal place not being able to afford health insurance. No one is disputing that it's prohibitively expensive. However, just because you can afford it and I can't is no reason to punish you. The notion of taxing or (let's call a spade a spade) fining individuals for choosing private insurace is extortion. I think the concept of a catch-all plan to cover the needy is wonderful, but those that were lucky enough to be successful in this country deserve the right to pay for better care. Do we fine people for buying Starbuck's coffee when then could get the same product for less at 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts? Again Mr. Obama, don't punish the wealthy just becasue they were able to rise above the herd. If you really belive in these tactics, perhaps you should tax on both ends of the socioeconomic scale and tax the poor more. We can then bring the rich down, and bring the poor up (they'll try harder if they can avoid being taxed) and have us all reside in some mediocre middle class clump. Again, if this is what is is your bill, you do not represent me.

Beyond these specific points , I only have a questioning observation: I hate having to pay doctors so much, but if you set the fee schedule, won't there be less doctors since they will have more difficulty paying back their student loans?

I'm sure there's plenty more, but these points have really stuck out to me. Ok, I'm done ranting.

Now for a quick factoid: Why do we call it a Cab or a taxi? Well it's short for Taximeter Cabriolet. Cabriolet being the french for cabin or compartment and taximeter meaning a measure of distance. Enjoy!

GOBid, Pretty Fun

So there's a new penny auction site called GoBid that's pretty cool.  Check it out at http://www.gobid.com

Links now in session

Although reading my wonderful rants may be the high point of your day, there is such a plethora of useful tools and sites on the internet that I just have to share them with you -- thus the links section. I'll post my favorites, and if you have one you'd like to share, please let me know. Starting us off is:

Qipit - www.qipit.com

I often find myself in class and at work involved in some sort of group work. Inevitably, only one person takes notes or acts as a scribe and then we're stuck with one copy of our work and no copier in sight. For this situation and others I've been turning for a few years now to Qipit. Its a free service that will take a picture you send them either via phone or e-mail and turn it into a handy PDF and JPEG. Just snap a picture of a paper, a whiteboard or a note and send it to their free e-mail. *TIP* make sure there is plenty of light on the picture, especially if your phone doesn't have a flash.

Yeah, I know its been a while

Ok, so the last time I tried this, not so successful in the follow through, but here we go again.

First off -
Recent movie watchings:

Underworld Rise of the Lycans: Such fun trash to sit through, but no I could not accept an award for this movie even if I had directed it. Before any critiques, yes it is eons better than the last film, we're all still trying to forget that one. As for the acting, nothing truly spectacular, but it draws you into the story enough. I must admit, I just love Kevin Grevioux's voice, its just superb. In any case, nothing wonderful, but if you've got 2 hours to kill, its better than that family guy episode you've seen 8,000,000 times.

Futurama Into the Wild Green Yonder: yes it hasn't come out yet, and I know, surprise surprise, I haven't seen it yet. This is just a post saying how excited I am to see it after the last DVD, Bender's Game, as I really enjoyed that one. I did however just recently see all the special features off of Bender's Big Score and boy were they great. Everybody love's Hypnotoad didn;t dissappoint, and now I just have to find some suckers to show it to. The star was Bite My Shiny Metal X, a look at some of the mathematics in Futurama. I'm a sucker for extras like these where you get a glimpse at all the inside jokes and references put into a show. I used to have a teacher who knew everything in the Simpsons - it was kind of creepy.

Tech

So the MWC - Mobile World Congress is next week in Barcelona. I'm really excited as we should see the first real user experience with the Palm Pre (My next phone :-) ). The cell phone world in general is really changing, I think most notably in America. I was never, and still remain not a huge fan of the Iphone (although I must give props where props are due - Kudos Steve), but the huge demand and price wars with this phone have changed cell phone pricing dynamics. Now the the Pre is on the verge of release as an Iphone competitor, Palm - i.e. Sprint has had to lower their general smart phone prices so the legendary Treo 755P as well as the newer 800W are both down to $99 with new contract. This is of course in line with the Pre's intended launch price somewhere below that of the Iphone ($175ish). On the verizon side, I just saw the Blackberry bold going for $99 on Amazon with new contract. I'm liking this trend towards lowering prices (not that I think this economy could support a new $400 Iphone craze), but I'm also scared of being hoodwinked. Hoodwinked? By whom? Well the cell phone carriers of course. The average plan rate is up to nearly $60 with all the standard bells and whistles today (and yet people still act surprised when I tell them their phone has redial). Does this mean we'll save a whopping $100 on the price of a phone just to pay over $1000 extra in services we won't use? Just something to watch.

Disney

Even Disney is feeling the tension on the purse strings in this economy. The verdict is still out whether this will be good or bad for us Joe Shmoe consumers. On the one hand, they are offering some ridiculous deals from now until August (buy 4 days get 3 free on rooms and tickets), but on the other reports continue to pour out that new projects and developments have been frozen. All the current budget us going towards refurbs. Now while I understand that the paint on the carousel needs to be perfect so that Disney keeps it image. Do space mountain and the Frontierland Fry cart really need a makeover? This mouseketeer says no.

Family

I'll try to keep our personal lives off the internet, but e-mail me if you have questions :)