D-Wars review

So while I have been preparing for the move in two weeks, I have had my TV on and seen some just really bad movies.  The most recent was D-Wars: Dragon Wars.  I am serious...that's the movie's name.  You know it isn't going to be all that great right off the bat, but you never really know what to expect.

Well, guess what? The movie is REALLY bad.  Not just kinda bad and underwhelming like "The Host" a recent monster movie that spent more time telling us about how the American government is bad that actually dealing with the monster and mysterious disease it may or may not carry.  No, this film is abysmal.  

The film is about this guy who was told by some old Korean guy that he is supposed to protect this girl named Sarah (doesn't give him a last name so as to provide drama for the first act and a half).  Oh and that when she turns 20, dragons are going to kill her.  These are led by a guy who looks a little like Malcolm McDowell but not enough to actually make you think its him, wearing armor like a Power Ranger villain.  

The main dragon is a big snake thing.  There are also dragon tanks (which fight american tanks) and flying dragons (that fight apaches) and a bunch of warrior humanoid things that are made of dust...or ink or something.  Anyways, they are trying to hunt this Sarah girl...who is also being hunted by the main character who has the Pendant of Anti Climax.  Seriously, the hero and Sarah are tied up and suddenly, the hero gets upset (though I am not certain with his wooden acting) and the pendant glows and kills EVERYTHING but the main bad dragon...not the same dragon from before, but one that looks just like it. 

When, after everything is said and done, Sarah STILL dies so this second (or is it third?) dragon that is in no way different from the others can transform into a chinese dragon and proceeds to easily dispatch the main bad dragon.  Then, in spiritual form, Sarah informs the main character who she has known for a total of 24 hours that she will love him for all eternity!

Do I really have to go on into why this movie is so bad?  I will say the special effects are, at times, surprisingly good.  But the action sequences with the military fighting the dragons are completely poorly staged and piss me off...but then this is a constant complaint I have with monster movies...the military is completely underpowered.  The US government sends about 20 or so each of soldiers,tanks and apaches to fight monsters?  Really?  I don't even mind it if the military is slowly losing but don't give us this nonsense.  One of the few great things about Cloverfield was that the military kicked ass, even though it was losing.

I am going to try posting more here again.  Sorry for the long delay.

Rock the Dragon!

Well, we are getting our first look at next year's Dragon Ball film. The picture here is from Weekly Young Jump and we get our first official look at Justin Chatwin as Goku and Emmy Rossum as Bulma.

My reaction: *ahem* FUCK YES! Chatwin looks JUST LIKE Goku! They did a great job adapting Goku's bizzare hairstyle into a live action form. I also like that Bulma doesn't have green or blue or purple hair, at least not all over. She has a bit running on her left side but not more than that. If they gave her anime styled crazy colored hair, she would look more alien than Goku! That isn't right, not one bit!

Oh, and that isn't a ki attack in his hand, its a Dragon Ball. While it is a promotional shot, it is probably representing when Goku first gets a Dragon Ball from his dying grandfather, Gohan.

Source: http://dbthemovie.com/

I AM IRON MAN!

Last year, the summer movie season began with Spider-Man 3, which was so bad; it actually kept me out of the theaters for several months. I was blown away! I spent the next 2 months watching the theaters carefully, waiting for something to revitalize me. It wasn’t until Transformers that I was willing to give the summer another chance.

This summer, Marvel once again kicks off the movie season with Iron Man. For months, I set my expectations low, much like when I went to see Fantastic Four in 2005. Sure, this summer has the possibility to be the best summer for movie goers for a long time, especially nerds, with great movies such as The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2: the Golden Army, Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Incredible Hulk just to name a few. But I had no reason to expect anything exceptional from Iron Man. Boy was I wrong!

Sure, Iron Man is a fun movie, but it does something that summer movies have seem to forgotten on the whole…have a brain! Sure, movies like Transformers can provide stupid fun where you leave your brain at the door, but this is what we really want from a Summer Film. The story was great! The characters were wonderful! The casting was perfect! Not to mention a wonderful amount of nods to the fans.

The film follows the story of weapons designer and billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.), kidnapped while in Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration, he is forced by a terrorist group to build for them a missile. Knowing full well that they will kill him as soon as he is done, he instead builds a robotic exo-suilt and escapes. Back in the states, Stark vows to rid the world of the evils he has created and expands on his design. In the meantime, his business partner (Jeff Bridges) has found the remains of the first suit and decides to build a suit to sell back to the Military and the Terrorists. The film climaxes as the two clash in the streets.

The main reason, however, to see this movie is Robert Downy Jr. He not only looks just like the comic book character and shares a common history (substance abuse), but is unbelievably charming as Tony Stark. The character is often a bit of a sleaze and cocky jackass, yet Downy plays him so likeable you laugh with him rather than despise him like we probably should. The rest of the cast do an excellent job as well, but are upstaged at all times by Downy (if it is possible to upstage as well as be the star). Also, his Bond/Moneypenny style relationship with his personal assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) adds just that perfect bit of romance to the film without becoming a love story.

The score is great, a sort of Hans Zimmerman style but with rock guitars! Oh, and yes, a little Black Sabbath, cued in by the inevitable “I am Iron Man.”

So go see Iron Man. It will definitely put you into the mood for the rest of the summer. And stick around after the credits for a little Easter Egg with Samuel L. Jackson wrapping up a subplot with a government agent who appears off and on throughout the film. It will make comic book fans cheer, and add a little bit of intrigue for everyone else!

Sorry for the delay. I will do my best to get the reviews out quicker.

Lost and found...

So today, my bluetooth headset disappeared. It can tend to fall out of my pocket when I pull my iPod touch out, though I usually notice it. I even ran home durring my lunch to see if I had left it there and I just couldn't find it. The only thing that was neat about it was that it was turned on by opening it and it would automatically answer. It worked but was pretty slow to connect.

So I did some research and found a nice little headset for $80 at Office Depot. It even came with a dock! (A dock? Where? I LOVE DOCKS!) Of course, as soon as I got home, there is my bluetooth headset. Zod must have been playing with it , knocked it off the counter and had been playing with it like a mouse all day. It was probably lost somewhere under something when I was home. He can play with something for a while, get bored, then play again.

So now I have two. I am going to give the other to girlfriend, Nyssa. Its still a pretty nice one, I am sure she is going to love it. I know I love HER! :-P

What's coming up

Greetings all,

I just thought I would pop back for a moment to say to not worry, I have not forgotten my blog, I have just been busy for a while. Really, I have been having a great time and just enjoying things in general. You will see more posts in April, drawings and sketches.

Starting in May, I am going to start posting movie reviews for the various summer nerd films coming out (and there will be plenty). Lets hope for more Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard's and less Spider-Man 3's. Iron Man will be first up. I am not much of a fan but this film has me excited, which tells me the marketing machine is definitely doing its job.

With my new laptop/tablet, I should be able to compose posts more often.

I should post again soon.

Mac vs PC?

You know, I have been around this crazy interweb for quite some time now. I have seen many things and people fight over many subjects. Perhaps the most ravenous is:

Mac vs PC

This seem to be the single greatest issue ever to be discussed online. PC users will take any chance to bash a Mac user for its lack of gaming software or ease of hardware upgradability. Mac users will never hesitate to point out the abundance of viruses and instability of Windows. I see the word hate on both sides.

Now, I use both. At home I have my 24" iMac and at work I use an XP station. Next week, I will be getting my first tablet PC and thus, my first Vista machine. I am looking forward to the computer as it will replace the need for me to use a paper sketchbook as well as allow me to work on screenplays (and yes, blog) on the go. So what sort of insight can I offer?

Well, it depends on how you cut it. In terms of OS, while I do prefer OSX...I have no problem with Windows and think they are both excellent systems...even Vista. The only problem with Vista is that it didn't push far enough. It is XP with a shiney new coat and demanding hardware requirements. Most people will get Vista with a new computer, otherwise there isn't much reason to upgrade.

When it comes in terms of hardware, this becomes tricky...yet I think Apple comes out there winner here.

Apple isn't only dealing with Microsoft but with a much larger market with people like HP, Gateway, Acer, Asus, Dell ect. There are a lot of cheaper options out there for PCs than Macs. Yet, the premium for a Mac isn't that much more than a comprable PC. Yet PCs get their prices down by including all that crapware that is on the harddrive when you first buy a computer. You know, all those free trials and adds and crap like that. The OEMs get paid to put those on there, and they can cut cost that way. Apple doesn't roll like that.

This is where stability comes into question as well. Apple has complete control over the hardware that runs OSX. They don't have a thousand different combinations and variations to program for. Thus their systems become much more stable. Sure, issues can arise but since Apple has complete control over the whole process, they are extremely prepared to deal with it.

Do I think Apple is a better company that Microsoft or HP or Dell or anyone else? No...well, better than Dell...but then everyone is better than Dell......DELL COMPUTERS SUCK!

So I say to my fellow Mac users, my fellow PC users let us not fight! We should join together, embrace one another, and respect someone else's choice. Because someone uses a Mac doesn't mean they are a yuppy. Just because someone uses a PC doesn't mean they are a...well, everyone else. Let us join together...and hate on the people who deserve it. The Linux users.

Bastards!

Terminated!

OK, so I was watching the Super Bowl with my girlfriend's family today. Now, Fox had that weird, robot Football player that I just hated really quickly. As we saw more and more of it and a few ads for Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles (great show by the by) I said "You know what? I really want the Terminator robot to come kill that robot!"  And you know what? IT DID!

Sara Connor Chronicles - Terminator vs Foxbot #1

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Oh my GOD! I was so happy! Until the Giants won...we were rooting for the Patriots. Oh well!