Christiana Talks About Stuff -

Ayn Rand Vs. Robert Heinlein

There's a fantastic post and subsequent discussion going on over at Dean's World regarding the philosophical differences and similarities between these two very influential writers.

You can find the post right here. Check it out. Some fascinating stuff there.

.

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 30, 2005 at 8:53pm. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Movie Review: War of the Worlds

As my friend and I sat watching the end credits of Spielberg's latest, War of the Worlds, one word immediately came to mind: Intense. For a while, we were so shell-shocked that we lacked any other words to describe the film, so we just kept saying "intense" over and over again. After giving it some more thought, I've decided to add "amazing" to the mix.

Note that neither "intense" nor "amazing" mean perfect. The film has flaws. The characters aren't terribly deep. The first two-thirds are better than the last one. A hide-and -seek sequence goes on so long that it begins to defy plausibility. A few plot elements feel unnecessary.

Finally, the movie makes the interesting and original move of making the protagonist just an average Joe, rather than a top scientist or a soldier or a government official. This is good. It puts a fresh spin on the film and adds some tension by virtue of the fact that we don't really know what's going on beyond what we can see right in front of us. The downside, however, of this laudable storytelling move is that it lets the movie aliens get away with all sorts of things that don't really make any sense, and the justification is that "we don't understand" their motives. That's a little frustrating.

All of that said, if you're like me, you got goosebumps during the trailers and TV spots for this film. And you know what? As I sat there watching the trailers, I was not thinking: "Gosh, I bet the character interactions in that are going to be deep and nuanced!" Likewise, I was not thinking: "You know, I think the actions and motives of those aliens are all going to be coherent and plausible according to modern scientific theories."

No. What I was thinking was: "Holy S#!@, that movie looks kick-ass! Did you see that freakin' highway overpass flying through the air? That looks awesome!"

On that level, this movie delivers in spades. It's intense... and amazing.

Seriously, you may not actually be prepared for how scary this is. DO NOT take little kids to this movie! I'd say no younger than 10, and only if those ten-year-olds are pretty mature for their age.

The slow build at the beginning is... um... intense and amazing. Some of the big action sequences and effects? Intense and amazing.

Basically, the point is that you should see this movie on a big screen with kick-ass sound or you really might as well not bother. Spielberg is a freakin' genius at making films that are, well, intense and amazing.

Note: I'd advise against reading a lot of reviews for this before seeing it. Lets face it, your mind is already made up anyway, and it's just a matter of timing. And a lot of supposedly non-spoiler reviews are giving away things that I wish I hadn't known going in, so just head on out to the theater before you accidentally ruin a couple of the surprises for yourself.

.

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 30, 2005 at 2:16pm. 1 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Usually you don't want to be one, but in this case,

Posted by Christiana on Wednesday June 29, 2005 at 3:24pm. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Good to the Universe

I had meant to post about this a couple of days ago, but for some reason it slipped my mind...

Anyway, a friend and co-worker of mine, by the name of Joe Mall, has got a band called "paYne".

They're really pretty good in a hard rock kind of way and they're actually getting some attention. With the help of a friend at a major record label, they've got a demo CD put together that they'll be sending out, and they're getting gigs too! It's pretty exciting.

Check out their site right here: paYne

They've got a blog, and MP3 clips of some of their songs. Check it out!

.

Posted by Christiana on Wednesday June 29, 2005 at 2:27pm. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Note To Self...

2 Tbsp. Chili Powder does not equal 2 Tbsp. Cayenne Pepper

That is all.

.

Posted by Christiana on Tuesday June 28, 2005 at 10:49pm. 3 Comments 0 Trackbacks

EEEEEE!!!! ZOMBIE DOGS!!!!

Ladies and Gentleman, I am in the state commonly referred to as "buggin'".

According to this news story, scientists have successfully reanimated dogs after several hours of being "scientifically dead".

That means no breathing, no heartbeat, and no brain activity.

During the procedure blood is replaced with saline solution at a few degrees above zero. The dogs' body temperature drops to only 7C, compared with the usual 37C, inducing a state of hypothermia before death.

Although the animals are clinically dead, their tissues and organs are perfectly preserved.

Damaged blood vessels and tissues can then be repaired via surgery. The dogs are brought back to life by returning the blood to their bodies,giving them 100 per cent oxygen and applying electric shocks to restart their hearts.

Tests show they are perfectly normal, with no brain damage.

Now, a few months ago, they announced that they had induced hibernation in mice, but this is such a dramatic breakthrough that frankly, I have some doubts about whether the story is even real.

After doing a little digging, I found that the place that has supposedly done this is real. The Safar Center For Rescusitation Research, and also check this out. It's old, but it seems to be talking about exactly this sort of thing.

So if it is real, it's pretty fookin' amazing!

P.S. Also have to laugh at the picture they chose for that story.

.

Posted by Christiana on Monday June 27, 2005 at 9:23pm. 4 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Unlimited Powah!!!

I haven't commented publicly on Tom Cruise and his recent wackiness here, so let me just state briefly that, as an actor, I like him a lot. I think he's great, and the key is that he is extremely charming and charismatic.

That said, Scientology, more specifically, the Church of Scientology is an extremely scary organization. Read all about it at Operation Clambake.

Further, Tom Cruise apparently fired his old long-time publicist and replaced her with his sister.

...

Bad move, Tom. At least in the sense that your old publicist kept you seeming like an appealing movie star and not so much like a crazy person.

That said, this video is something you all really need to watch. It is not the clip from the Matt Lauer show, it's... well, you just need to watch.

Click here to watch it.
.

Posted by Christiana on Monday June 27, 2005 at 11:32am. 2 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Signs of Intelligence

Dean over at Dean's World has got a really interesting post up that makes a point that I've heard before, but still think is pretty cool.

Mispronouncing words is often a sign of intelligence.

Basically, using a vocabulary word correctly suggests that the person may have read the word before they ever heard it in conversation, meaning that they are well-read. An interesting idea I think. Check it out. (Lots of good discussion in the comments section too.

.

Posted by Christiana on Sunday June 26, 2005 at 1:33pm. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

An Adventurer is Me!

Ever wanted to join one of those MMORPG's but don't care about all those unnecessary bells and whistles like animated graphics and programmers that give a damn?

Well, Kingdom of Loathing is for you!

It's a turn-based multiplayer online RPG with stick figure graphics and a twisted sense of humor. It's totally free, so go on and check it out.

My character is Clarissa the Flighty.

She's a level three Disco Bandit. I wear the crown of the Dolphin King, (who wore it until he was caught in a tuna net,) and I wield a deadly pair of Hobo Gloves. Inhale their fearsome stench, ye mighty, and despair!

I have a familiar too.

Gonald, the two-pound mosquito!

So go on over there, and let me know if you create a character!

.

Posted by Christiana on Wednesday June 22, 2005 at 7:11pm. 0 Comments 6 Trackbacks

Just remember, if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

Here's a couple of funny emails my mom sent me.

REAL DILBERT QUOTES
>
> A MAGAZINE RECENTLY RAN A "DILBERT QUOTES" CONTEST.
> THEY WERE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO SUBMIT QUOTES FROM
> THEIR REAL-LIFE, DILBERT-TYPE MANAGERS.

(Click here to read it.)

The second one, Thoughts for People Who Take Life Too Seriously (The title comes from this one):

(Click here to read it.)

.

Posted by Christiana on Tuesday June 21, 2005 at 10:48pm. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Animation is hard!

Well, I've actually been asked offline by a couple of people, so I thought I'd go ahead and update everyone with the status of my Flash cartoon in progress.

Still in progress.

Seriously though, I'm getting into the more fun part now though. I've been working pretty hard doing the character design and actually creating the parts used for animation. (Think of the characters like puppets. I have to draw the pieces and then I can use the software to move them around.) It's a lot of work, because, for example, to animate the mouth for dialogue, I need separate images for when the mouth is open, when it's closed, when it's in the "O" shape, and the "E" shape, and so on.

Part of the reason that it's taking so long is that I've got a couple of things working against each other.

1. I've set high standards and expectations for myself.
2. I suck at drawing.

That said, I've got a lot of that initial drawing done for the first "scene" of a four-scene cartoon. That means I can actually start putting the pieces together and animating them. It will still be a long while before I have the finished project I think, but to tide you over, here are a few screen-shots of what I've got so far.

(Click the thumbnail for a larger version)

(Note to those who have read the story this is based on, the redhaired girl in the last pic is Claire, a new character created for the cartoon. Kelly won't appear in this episode, but if all goes well with the first episode, I may try to do the whole story.)

Related Posts (on one page):

Posted by Christiana on Tuesday June 21, 2005 at 12:21pm. 3 Comments 0 Trackbacks

OoooOOOOooooh! It's MaaaAAAAaaagiiiic!

Check this out! They can read your mind!

Cave of Magic

Can you figure out what it is they're doing? It's a pretty good trick.

I'd put it here in hidden text or something but I think you can get it if you really try. Check it out!

Thanks to Rantings of a Space Cadet!

.

Posted by Christiana on Sunday June 19, 2005 at 8:28pm. 5 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Movie Review: Howl's Moving Castle

If you're a regular reader here, then you definitely know that I'm a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. (If you're not, read this post.) So I've been really looking forward to his latest film:

Howl's Moving Castle.

As I read reviews of it, some of them suggested that, while the animation is glorious to behold, the story itself is a bit overcomplex and murky. So I went in a little wary, but I made the conscious decision to not have specific expectations and to just trust in the film that Miyazaki had prepared for me. (He's one of the few filmmakers who has earned that level of trust for me.)

What's it about? Well, Sophie is a young woman who, convinced that she's too ordinary to be interesting to anyone, mostly keeps to herself. She doesn't even worry about going out alone when rumors suggest that a heart-eating wizard named Howl is in the area, because, as she puts it: "He only does that to pretty girls."

So when she actually runs into him, and he's cute and kind and cool and saves her from some obnoxious soldiers, she's not sure what to think. Unfortunately, his attention inspires jealousy in a nasty character known as the Witch of the Waste, who takes revenge on Sophie by cursing her into the form of an old woman. So stuck in this elderly body, Sophie travels out to the waste, hoping to find someone who can restore her.

So now that I've seen it, I can indeed verify that the animation is glorious. The visual inventiveness, the sheer joy of motion, the character design, everything you see is a delight. (Note: This means you should see it on a big screen if at all possible!)

As for the story, frankly I think those reviews I mentioned above were either being over-critical or they, for whatever reason, just didn't understand what was happening. I'll concede that the story doesn't have the same level of... focus that most of Miyazaki's films have. With most of his films, as complicated as the stories may get, there is a definite objective that the characters are striving for. In this one, that's a little fuzzier. But just as something can be damned with faint praise, I want this film to be glorified with faint criticism.

I loved it. When it comes to comparing it against other films, I'm reminded of a good line from Kill Bill Volume 2. When asked about a Hattori Hanzo sword, Budd comments: "If you're gonna compare a Hanzo sword, you compare it to every other sword ever made... that wasn't made by Hattori Hanzo." In trying to compare it to other Miyazaki films, well, I'll have to see it again to see how it stands up to repeat viewings. But when it comes to comparing it to any other animated film, it stacks up pretty damn well.

Go see it.

P.S. As an interesting bit of synchronicity, I saw this the same day as Batman Begins which stars Christian Bale. He also provides the English-language voice of Howl.

.

Posted by Christiana on Sunday June 19, 2005 at 1:16pm. 2 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Movie Review: Batman Begins

Earlier in the morning before seeing this movie, I caught the second half of the old Michael Keaton / Jack Nicholson Batman film on TV. You know what? Hasn't aged very well. Just felt kind of cheesy.

(Side Note: For all those people who like to complain about CGI effects, claiming that they don't look "real", check out a movie like this, done pre-CGI and tell me that you think those effects look better than CGI would have.)

But forget about all that, how is the new Batman?

The answer?

Very, very good.

It's the best of all the Batman films by a very wide margin. Every single element is handled extremely well. The cast is excellent. The writing intelligent and interesting. The direction moody and effective. Extremely high marks all across the board.

Let me start with Christian Bale. Truth is, I didn't like American Psycho all that much. Just didn't really find anything to latch onto in that film. Not that that was Christian Bale's fault, but it was the only thing I really knew him from, so when I heard that he'd been cast as Batman, I wasn't really that excited.

Turns out he was an excellent choice. He can do some really great things with his "scary voice" when he's Batman. The look in his eyes during some intense scenes is pretty impressive. He pulls off the humor (what there is of it) really well, and he has good chemistry with all the other actors.

The rest of the cast is excellent as well. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, and on and on. They're all great.

And the screenplay is really quite impressive in the way that it simultaneously refreshes the origin story we all know and shows us elements of it that we've never seen before. Christopher Nolan's direction really pulls everything together into a coherent effective story.

So I'll leave it at that then. I can't imagine anyone remotely interested in Batman not liking it. (Perhaps not suitable for little kids though. The Scarecrow in particular is pretty scary.)

.

Posted by Christiana on Sunday June 19, 2005 at 12:15pm. 1 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Next time you're taking that important photo, better get your thumb in the picture.

Because apparently, if your photos are too good, Wal-Mart (and others) won't print them.

"Copyright law requires photo labs to be on the lookout for portraits and other professional work that should not be duplicated without a photographer's permission. In the old days, questions about an image's provenance could be settled with a negative. If you had it, you probably had the right to reproduce it. Now, when images are submitted on CDs or memory cards or over the Web, photofinishers often have to guess whether a picture was truly taken by the customer -- or whether it was scanned into a computer or pilfered off the Internet. That leads to some awkward moments at photo desks when customers' images get barred for essentially looking too good."

Now I'm all for respecting copyrights. For example, I've made the personal decision not to illegally download music or movies. Even when it comes to enforcement, I'm in favor of laws that make illegally recording a film with a camcorder into a felony, etc. But it reaches a point where it's not just silly, but actually stupid.

It's already pretty easy to get high quality prints from a home printer. If photo labs want to retain any of their market share, then putting decisions like this in the hands of the part-time high-school kid who runs the register seems like a pretty bad move.

.

Posted by Christiana on Friday June 17, 2005 at 12:54pm. 3 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Now don't get emotional...

But this website has more emotional content than I've seen in a long time. Anger, happiness, panic, bemused resignation, motherly love, and stomach cramps, all from the same guy! And that's not all!

Check it out right here!

Thanks to Dean's World.

.

Posted by Christiana on Friday June 17, 2005 at 11:23am. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Geeking Out Vs. Vegging Out

Neal Stephanson has an interesting Op-Ed in the NYTimes Online today.

He discusses changing culture using the Star Wars films as an example. He defines "Geeking Out" and "Vegging Out" as follows:

Modern English has given us two terms we need to explain this phenomenon: "geeking out" and "vegging out." To geek out on something means to immerse yourself in its details to an extent that is distinctly abnormal - and to have a good time doing it. To veg out, by contrast, means to enter a passive state and allow sounds and images to wash over you without troubling yourself too much about what it all means.

He observes that the recent Star Wars Episode III contains a number of plot points that do not make much sense unless the viewer has seen a number of other supplemental materials. (The novelization, or the Clone Wars cartoon, for example.) Yet people who have not seen these supplemental materials don't sit and scratch their heads about who owns the ship that Anakin and Obi-Wan infiltrate in the opening sequence. Instead, they just "Veg Out" and enjoy the action.

From this observation, he suggests that whereas movies used to contain both "geek out" and "veg out" content, the recent movies have had all their "geek out" content outsourced to supplemental areas, so that the films themselves are left with nothing but "veg out" content.

I certainly agree with his initial observation, but I dispute his conclusion that this is driven by the public's desire to veg out and not have to think during their entertainment. While this may be the desire of some, I think that the real driving force for this is not one of increasing simplicity, but rather one of increasing complexity.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding his intention with the essay, but if he wants to claim that the original trilogy contains more intellectual content than the prequels, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree. Whatever criticisms one might want to make about the prequels, overly simplistic is not one of them.

He seems to suggest that the intent is to please both the main-stream and the geeks by moving the "geek" content out of the film itself so that the geek contingent can still find it, but so that the mass public doesn't have to be burdened by it. While there may be some truth to that, I think that the larger phenomenon is that, with the advent of DVD, (Hollywood makes WAY more money on DVD sales than ticket sales, btw,) movie studios now have a financial incentive to make stories that invite repeated viewings.

The intent then, is not to "dumb down" the viewing experience for the mass public, but rather to make a film that, while it can be enjoyed on a single viewing, actually rewards the viewer who watches it more than once, and buys the Clone Wars DVD and "Art of..." books. This holds true for non-Star Wars media too.

Check out my earlier post on Stephen Johnson's book, Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today's Pop Culture is Making Us Smarter. In that book, he makes the case, (pretty persuasively, I might add,) that pop culture is being driven toward increasing complexity by market forces. A TV show that is more complex and with a richer texture will inspire more repeated viewings and more purchases on DVD. A simple "easy" show where you just "veg out" while watching may be entertaining for an evening, but how likely are you to buy it on DVD?

Same goes for the Star Wars prequels. Now, whether or not you feel they were successful in this attempt, I think that the intent is clear. The prevalence of supplemental materials is not to outsource the geek content and make the viewing experience easier for the masses, in order to simply increase ticket sales. It is to make the entire Star Wars experience a richer one. If the story is complex enough that it rewards further study, (i.e. purchasing supplemental books and DVDs) then the studio makes more money that way.

That's what I think anyway.

Related Posts (on one page):

Geeking Out Vs. Vegging Out
A Return to Civilization
The Mental See-Saw: Counterintuitive Trends
I Knew it! Watching TV Makes You Smarter!

Posted by Christiana on Friday June 17, 2005 at 10:50am. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

There's a lot of dirty stuff out there...

So lets start fresh. In fact, as a symbolic gesture, let's all clean our computer screens. Don't worry, you don't need any special supplies. Just click right here:

Clean Your Computer Screen Free

There now, don't you feel better?

Thanks to Dean's World
.

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 16, 2005 at 11:37pm. 1 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Well, it's confirmed: I'm defective

Or at least, my thyroid appears to be.

After the initial test results indicated an underactive thyroid, known as Hypothyroidism, I had some additional tests taken a week ago Monday. I got the results today.

(Click here for discussion of my results and some thoughts that occurred to me while thinking about them.)

.

Related Posts (on one page):

Well, it's confirmed: I'm defective
Well, what do you know? Maybe it IS glandular!

Posted by Christiana on Tuesday June 14, 2005 at 11:52pm. 2 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Dolphins Learn to Wear Sea Sponges on their Noses

No, seriously!

According to this Nature.com article:

Sponge-using dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were first described in 1997 in Shark Bay, 850 kilometres north of Perth, Australia. Since then, all dolphins known to use this tool have come from the same bay, and the vast majority have been female. Direct observations have been rare, but researchers think the dolphins use the marine sponges to disturb the sandy sea bottom in their search for prey, while protecting their beaks from abrasion.

And since the only dolphins that seem to do this are the ones living in this particular area, that strongly suggests a learned behavior, rather than an instinctive one.

Pretty cool, but I wonder what the other dolphins think. Swimming around with a sponge on your nose. Is that the dolphin equivalent of bling or is it a porpoise pocket protector?

Related Posts (on one page):

Freeze! Or I'll jump through a hoop for fish and go ee-ee-ee-ee!
Dolphins Learn to Wear Sea Sponges on their Noses

Posted by Christiana on Monday June 13, 2005 at 3:54pm. 3 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Hayao Miyazaki: A Name You Should Know

The New York Times Online has a good article up about Hayao Miyazaki.

If you don't already know, he's basically the best animation director working today. (I might even suggest that he's the best ever.) His films are consistently wonderful, and I don't use that word lightly.

Of his eight feature films that I've seen, (I haven't seen his newest, Howl's Moving Castle, because it is only in limited release with a wider release scheduled for this Friday,) each and every one of them is simply breathtaking.

Even my least favorite (Princess Mononoke,) is fantastic. It is only the least due to issues of personal taste, rather than any deficit in quality. It's a brilliantly created film, it just doesn't mesh as well with my own likes and dislikes as his other films. It's a story set in feudal Japan, about a young man who seeks to find the source of a curse that is driving the animal spirits mad. His journey leads him to two women, one a leader who strives to serve her people with compassion, even at the cost of the environment, and another who is so in touch with nature that she has rejected her very humanity.

The next four:

(Castle of Cagliostro is a wild, joyful adventure movie about Lupin III, a world-renowned (and infamous) thief. Check out my review.

Castle in the Sky, follows a young boy as he tries to solve the mystery of a girl who simply floats down to him out of the sky. Features tremendous action (Robots! Giant airships! A chase on elevated train tracks!), plenty of slapstick and some really amazing sights.

Porco Rosso is about a dashing Seaplane pilot who is torn between his love for a beautiful woman and the feelings of isolation that come from being the last surviving member of his unit. And oh yeah, he has the head of a pig. Check out my review.

Kiki's Delivery Service) a charming coming-of-age story about a young witch who must move to a new town and make a name for herself, so she decides to start a business delivering packages on her broom.

I absolutely love each of these and would strongly recommend them to anyone.

The remaining three...

To say I love them would be an understatement, because we sometimes use that word cheaply, as in, "I love that Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich!"

Those three films, well, I treasure them. Not only do I love watching them, but they continue to live in my head and my heart long after I've last seen them. I could sit and watch them over and over again in one sitting and never get bored.

My Neighbor Totoro is a simple story about two girls moving to a new house with their father, so they can be closer to the hospital where their mother is staying. The reasons for the move are sad, but they are determined to make the best of things, and things become magical when the younger sister discovers that the nearby woods are inhabited by a family of "Totoro", magical creatures that ride the wind and make things grow. Equally suitable for small children or adults, it's a wonderful fable about the importance of a sense of wonder.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a far-future sci-fantasy about striving to protect the important things while surrounded by a storm of adversity. Check out my review.

Spirited Away is the story of a spoiled crybaby of a girl who discovers more strength and courage within herself than she ever could have imagined when her family stumbles upon a bath house for spirits and her parents are turned into pigs. Check out my review...

Anyone who likes movies should make a strong effort to see at least those three. You may not love them like I do, but I doubt you'll regret seeing them. For that matter, you wouldn't regret seeing the others either.

Anyway, one of the things I really enjoy about his films is the moral complexity. Even when someone is in the wrong, that doesn't make them a "bad guy". Many of his films don't even include any sort of antagonist at all.

The NY Times article has a great section:

His power to enchant can seem unlimited - the wizards, witches and sorcerers who bedevil, beguile and befriend his heroes are less his alter egos than his kinfolk - but it arises from and communicates an equally powerful sense of disenchantment.

It is not that Mr. Miyazaki's films are pessimistic, exactly; being fairy tales, they do arrive at happy endings. ("I'm not going to make movies that tell children, 'You should despair and run away,' " he said.) But the route he chooses toward happiness can be troubling, perhaps especially to an American audience that expects sentimental affirmations based on clear demarcations between good and evil. The division of the world into heroes and villains is a habit Mr. Miyazaki regards with suspicion. "The concept of portraying evil and then destroying it - I know this is considered mainstream, but I think it's rotten," he said. "This idea that whenever something evil happens someone particular can be blamed and punished for it, in life and in politics, it's hopeless."

...

But it may just be that he reveals, in his quiet, moving, haunted pictures, the hidden senses of the word "animation," which after all means not only to set things in motion, but also, more profoundly, to bring them to life.

His films are about people learning the values of courage, compassion, and wisdom. They are uplifting and a little sad, all at the same time. And he does it all with a true sense of wonder.

So I'm really looking forward to Howl's Moving Castle. I'd encourage all of you to seek that one out, as well as picking up a few of his other films on DVD. They're really quite wonderful.

.

Posted by Christiana on Monday June 13, 2005 at 3:39pm. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Movie Review: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

I hadn't exactly been that excited about this film. The whole premise didn't necessarily sound that interesting, and given all the other high-profile movies coming out, I didn't think much of it.

Then I realized it was directed by Doug Liman, who I've really started to respect as a director. His past films include Swingers, Go, and the Bourne Identity. You've likely heard of the last one, but if you haven't seen Swingers or Go, I highly recommend each of them, Swingers as a fun dating comedy, and Go as a Gen-X cousin of Pulp Fiction.

So the director caught my interest, but basically the reason I made my way to the theater last night was simply that the advance reviews were all pretty positive, so I thought heck, it'll probably be fun.

And it most definitely is that. The movie doesn't have high ambitions; all it wants to be is an exciting popcorn Summer action flick, but on that score, it delivers exceptionally well.

It helps that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have the ability to pull off bad-ass and sexy as hell at the same time. It helps that petty bickering during a shootout is inherently funny. It helps that Doug Liman is pretty good at choreographing kick-ass action sequences. It helps that the dialogue is snappy and the characters interesting and well-developed.

...

Hmm, well, that's it, really. The movie delivers on every level. For a Summer Popcorn Action Flick, four stars. Easy.

.

Posted by Christiana on Sunday June 12, 2005 at 2:02pm. 2 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Movie Review: Kung Fu Hustle

I actually saw this movie last weekend, and it wasn't new then, but I wanted to go ahead and get a review up so that maybe I can play some small role in getting more people to see this wonderful film.

A few weeks back, I caught Shaolin Soccer on TV, and absolutely loved it. (Check out my review here) So I was really looking forward to seeing Stephen Chow's follow-up: Kung Fu Hustle. (Of course, I didn't actually end up seeing it right away, but that's beside the point.)

The point is that this movie is an awful lot of fun.

It begins with a city in turmoil. (Somewhere in China, I guess, though it doesn't much matter.) Viscous gangs control pretty much everything. Worst of them all is the dreaded axe gang. Tough, ruthless, the scourge of the city. The only way to be safe is to be so poor that you don't have anything they want.

For the residents of the local flea-bag tenement, (Actually named Pig Sty!), that's not a problem. One day, two men show up, claiming to be members of the axe gang and trying to extort whatever they can. Their performance is less than convincing, (they demand free haircuts,) but unfortunately, the incident ends up drawing the ire of the real axe gang. In order to save the innocents, three kung fu masters, who had been living humbly incognito, must reveal themselves.

The situation escalates, as the axe gang brings in assassins, and the whole thing just gets bigger and bigger.

But that's just the plot. The reason to see the movie is the pinball sounds when a super-duper kung-fu punch sends a dozen men flying into the air. The reason is the way one of the punks, (Stephen Chow), when trying to throw a knife at someone, ends up with not one, not two, but three blades stuck in his own arms. The reason is the way the loud, scary landlady, with her hair in curlers and a cigarette perpetually hanging off her lip, makes her point to the leader of the axe gang with a series of simple hand gestures.

Check out the trailer here to see what I mean.

The movie is gloriously silly, with special effects used very efficiently to exaggerate the kung-fu fighting to cartoon proportions. I don't know what else to say about it except watch the trailer. If you can watch that trailer without a grin on your face, then you should probably just assume that we do not share the same taste in movies.

.

Posted by Christiana on Sunday June 12, 2005 at 1:39pm. 1 Comments 0 Trackbacks

For Future Reference

Note to anyone using the phrase "scene-stealing" with regards to TV/film/theater/novels:

The definition of "scene-stealing" is to distract attention from what would have otherwise been the central focus of the scene. This phrase is most often used when a supporting character is more appealing or entertaining than the primary character, thus attracting more of the viewer's interest and "stealing" a scene that would have normally belonged to the star.

Therefore, the star or central character of a story, by definition, cannot steal scenes.

That is all.

.

Posted by Christiana on Friday June 10, 2005 at 2:55pm. 2 Comments 0 Trackbacks

We Apologize for the Disruption...

... in this blog's normal posting routine. I'm currently in Virginia for at least the week for work, so I don't have as much Internet access here and won't be able to post as frequently. Just wanted to let everyone know so they didn't think there was something wrong.

.

Posted by Christiana on Tuesday June 7, 2005 at 8:54am. 4 Comments 0 Trackbacks

The Bunnies Do Pulp Fiction!

Are you aware of the 30-Second Bunny Theater?

They do famous movies in just 30 seconds. Re-enacted by bunnies.

They've got a new one up: Pulp Fiction

Also, if you haven't already, check out their others. They are Hi-larious.

.

Related Posts (on one page):

The Big Chill... in 30 seconds... re-enacted by Bunnies.
The Bunnies Do Pulp Fiction!

Posted by Christiana on Friday June 3, 2005 at 11:57am. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

DOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Dean's World has got a good rant up about the tendency of many people in all parts of the political spectrum to assume that things are progressively getting worse and that we are perpetually at the tipping point above an abyss of despair and destruction.

Though I may disagree with him on some of the fine points, to a large extent, it follows right along with what I've been thinking and feeling lately. Check it out.

P.S. I assert that the word "doom" has lost every bit of its serious connotation, and that it can no longer be used in a straight context. It can only now be used for irony.

.

Related Posts (on one page):

DOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
Nostalgia

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 2, 2005 at 2:24pm. 5 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Misleading Gillette Advertising Shock Horror!

A judge has ruled that some of the advertising for Gillette's M3Power razor were "greatly exaggerated" and "literally false".

Gillette Co. ads claiming its M3Power razor raises hair up and away from the skin are "unsubstantiated and inaccurate," a federal judge said in siding with Gillette's chief competitor, Schick-Wilkinson Sword.

U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in Connecticut granted Schick a preliminary injunction prohibiting the use of the television and print ads. Gillette was also ordered to change packaging for the product and remove in-store displays that feature the false claims.

And for extra fun:

But Szynal said the computer-generated image of the razor lifting hair away from the skin was never meant to be taken literally.

Clearly, the issue here is that they are trying to attack the stubble problem with a dramatically underpowered razor. What they need is a nuclear powered razor with seventeen blades that can shave the whole face in a single stroke. Then they can make a pink one for ladies.

.

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 2, 2005 at 2:18pm. 1 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Well, what do you know? Maybe it IS glandular!

I just got the results of some blood work I had done a while back, and it looks like I might have hypothyroidism.

I'm going back in for more tests just to be sure, but I suspect it's true, because frankly, it explains a number of things that I had been trying to assign to other causes.

Not just weight gain, but also the fact that it's been harder and harder for me to get up in the morning. Higher cholesterol, increased sensitivity to cold, and so on.

Honestly, it's just a little bit scary to be suddenly told I may have to take thyroid medicine for the rest of my life, but truthfully, if it makes me feel better and prevents it from getting even worse, then there's no question that it's worth it.

There's also a little bit of a feeling of relief that the weight gain may not be entirely my own fault. Now, that doesn't let me off the hook of having to eat right and exercise, not by any means. However, it may be that I was trying to play against a stacked deck, so perhaps, it will get a little easier. Hard to say at this point, but it's possible.

Anyway, that's all for now. If there are any other major developments, I may post about it again, but in the meantime... well, I guess nothing is really any different. After all, a diagnosis is not the same as "getting" a condition. If it's true, it means I've probably had it for some time, so the only change I'm likely to see is improvement if I get treatment.

.

Related Posts (on one page):

Well, it's confirmed: I'm defective
Well, what do you know? Maybe it IS glandular!

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 2, 2005 at 12:25pm. 4 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Christiana Ellis: Trouper

Or is it "Trooper"? I've seen it both ways. Regardless, I am one.

Why, you ask? Well, my ankle isn't completely healed yet, but we didn't have enough players last night, and we would have had to forfeit if not for me stepping up.

But step up I did. Played catcher for the whole game even. We still lost in a heart-breaker though. Ugh.

.

Related Posts (on one page):

Posted by Christiana on Thursday June 2, 2005 at 10:18am. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks

Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Categories

Contact

Subscribe

Archives

Blogroll