Based on the reaction I’ve heard from people when I told them I wanted to see this movie, it doesn’t seem to be one that is on many people’s radar even though it is heralded as a “near perfect war film“. The Hurt Locker follows 3 soldiers in Iraq as they perform their duties as a bomb disposal unit. The trailer has a wonderful visualization that is seen in the poster above.
The Hurt Locker is a very good film but it is slow which will bother many people. The two hour plus timespan does feel like it but you find yourself wanting to finish to see how these characters turn out, particularly Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner). Of course, it’s also fun to see who might pop up next in the movie if you want a few name droppers: Lord Voldermort (Ralph Fiennes), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Leonard from Memento (Guy Pearce), or Cmdr Adam Beck from The Negotiator (David Morse).
As the movie begins, the presented quote that “war is a drug” really sets the statge for wanting to discover what makes Staff Sergeant James, pardon the pun, tick. Renner doesn’t have long dramatic dialogue but he does have everything he needs to make you understand what is possibly going on in his head. Why does he face his life ending job with such disregard? Why does he seem a half a step away from really losing it and making his unit hating the fact that they ever were assigned to each other? So far this has been the best character I’ve seen this year (that’s not saying much) but here’s hoping at least a nomination is in his future.
Don’t get your hopes up WordPress users. I have not fixed the Facebook Comments plugin. I’ve received countless comments and emails regarding the plugin so I decided the best I could do for now is to aid the community by passing out more of the work I have performed in order to get this plugin working.
Currently, the plugin pulls back information from Facebook for the Notes comments, but the values stored in the WordPress database are not correct because of the regular expressions used and Facebook’s constant HTML updates.
However, I have added a feature so that you can see what the plugin does return in order to give a way of visually testing the plugin without harming your WordPress database. Hopefully someone else can take a look at the plugin, much like I did originally, and offer a solution. Keep the community updated on changes and fixes and perhaps we can get this plugin going again. If you find fixes, I’ll add them here or update with links to your own site.
Change Log;
0.38D – July 30, 2009 – Let’s term this version as D for Development. It’s far from working that it isn’t good enough for a Beta or Alpha label for now. Utilizing the “Test Import” function one can see what the plugin returns from Facebook.
Update for April 30, 2010: I have decided to end all development and future development related to this plugin. The reasoning for this change can be found here. I have closed the ability to post comments to this post and hope any further comments will be directed at my reasoning post.
Ever since Vick’s release and rumored NFL reinstatement, I have wanted to share my views to a wider range of people. When I say “welcome back” I really mean it. I hope Vick takes full advantage of this second chance and that others allow him the second chance that he deserves (that means you PETA). Ray Lewis took full advantage of his second chance and has been the model NFL citizen since that run in with the law.
I am glad that he has been reinstated, but I don’t agree with the “conditional” terms of the arrangement. Vick participated in the legal process and lost. He was found guilty and served his time. For those people to state he should not be allowed back in the NFL are being ridiculous. Not allowing Vick to return is stating that one does not believe in the legal process and rehabilitation. Don’t even begin to convince yourself that the NFL is a privilege. It isn’t. It’s a job. It’s a job that comes with more money than most normal jobs, but it is still a job. Football is something that came natural to Vick and he should be allowed to continue to showcase that skill.
I’ve said it many times to many different people, but Vick would have been better off if he had killed a human being. Yeah I said that. What he did was terrible, but the lengths people are going with their disgust is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, why should this player suffer worse criticism than a Donte Stallworth or Pacman Jones? Donte killed a human being while driving drunk and only sat in jail for 30 days. Is Donte’s incident acceptable because he didn’t lie about it? If that’s the case then that is just as ridiculous. How many people actually followed the aftermath of the Vick case and the lives of the dogs? The dogs were euthanized because no homes were found for them.
As a Falcon fan, I do not want Vick back on my team. I think it is in his best interest as well as the best interest of the team to move forward away from this terrible incident. Returning to the same stomping ground will just remind everyone of what happened and no growth will result. Therefore, I look forward to the market (NFL or UFL, not the CFL) offering Michael a second chance and the opportunity to get his life back together. Vick was an explosive and entertaining player and here’s hoping he can return to form. Good luck Mike.
For quite some time I’ve wanted to write about something dealing with Green Lantern. He (or they) is (are) a superhero within the DC universe and is easily my favorite of all the superheroes. Well, it now seems that I can post some interesting news thanks to a wonderful week of many new notes concerning the Emerald Knight(s).
Movies
We all know that superhero movies are in high demand thanks to the wonderful successes over the years of X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman, and many more that are in development. The movie industry has been trying for a number of years to put together a Green Lantern movie. Originally slated as a comedy with Jack Black (worst idea ever), the execs finally decided to take a serious approach. A director was quickly named (Martin Campbell of Casino Royale and Goldeneye fame) and the search for the lead began. Several names were thrown out (Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, and Justin Timberlake (on second thought, this is the worst idea ever)), but in the end, the role went to………..Ryan Reynolds.
I can’t say I’m completely thrilled over the casting, but Ryan Reynolds brings a name to the screen and that might bring in the money to finance the movie and make a big sci-fi blockbuster. Ryan’s also a comic book fan and usually makes it known that he wants to stay real to the literature that is already out there. Hopefully this will be more evidence of that. Now that we have our hero, we need our future villain in Sinestro. My possible choices (if they have the money) are Alan Cumming, Hugo Weaving, or James Marsters.
Based on this fan made trailer, I’m hoping for something along the lines of the new Star Trek movie for sci-fi action.
Music
I know you are already questioning this section because you are scared of what a green lantern can offer in terms of music. Well, thanks to a Green Lantern Message board (yes, I am that much of a dork) I stumbled across a band (Kirby Krackle) that centers around video games, pop culture, and comic books. It’s indie/rock/comedy but the lyrics are well thought out in my eyes. Basically it’s Weird Al but with a band.
The GL factor is from their summer release titled, “Ring Capacity.” I’m in love with this song. It’s my new favorite even if that tells too much about me. However, “Up Down Up Down” and “Back to the Beginning (Mark Kart Song)” are growing on me quickly as well. For those that play Mario Kart, you just can’t beat lyrics such as:
There’s nothing better than a Blue Shell,
Send it off yeah and send the leader straight to hell
Somebody help me, I’m trying to get back to the beginning!
or
I’ve got a princess in my rear view mirror,
I’ve got Italians on either side,
I’ve got a feeling things aren’t gonna get better,
so I ride!
Comics
Now I can’t get out of here without mentioning the art of comic books. I’m not going to get into storylines or anything like that. I want to stick to the art itself. I’m a sucker for good cover art, evident by my recent purchase of the Green Lantern #43 variant by Rodolfo Migliari below (click for a larger version).
The week prior I was also given a great cover for Captain America Reborn 1 by Alex Ross. Ross is one of my favorites thanks to his realistic depictions of the superheroes. While I’m here, I figure I can share some of my other favorite covers. Most of them are quite recent and are based on what covers I can remember that stood out or I could find.
For all that know me, I am not a fan of any and all “chick flicks.” I can probably count on one hand the number of romantic comedies that I have actually enjoyed. Therefore, it should come as quite a surprise that I actually chose to go see this movie over The Hangover. The main reason was the feeling that The Hangover was starting to get the over-hype treatment with me.
Overall, I’d say I was quite pleased with The Proposal. It’s nothing more than your simple “can love find its way” moving picture. You throw in the lovable Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, add some crazy Betty White, and the laughs will begin to appear.
The story is simple. Crazy, work first boss Margaret is being deported back to Canada until she forces her assistant to admit that they are getting married. The threat of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and years in prison cannot qwell Andrew’s commitment to his boss and the possibility of a huge promotion. Man you have to love the American business world. First step in committing this fraud is to tell Andrew’s parents and of course his father who wants him to just take over the family business. Oh no…conflict….
Betty White steals the show as the crazy grandmother but Ryan and Sandra are entertaining in their own right. There are times when the movie gets too serious for how it starts, but it passes in time. Make certain you stay after with the credits for the funny post interviews with the Immigrations officer.
While setting up shop back home for a few days post vacation, I ran across the latest Time magazine that was showcasing an article entitled “How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live“. In this article, Johnson made a case for why twitter is relevant, currently, and his initial hesitation to join. This case may have been enough to encourage others that twitter is more than a reverse peep hole into one’s life, but I still think of Twitter as my own personal archnemesis.
I have friends who have twitter accounts and “tweet” often, but I just don’t get it. I don’t care what you had for breakfast. I’m not really up to share my daily bowel movements or steps I take with my right foot. Twitter could possibly maybe have more functions than this but that’s all I see it. Hell, it’s almost becoming MySpace as the older generation continues to join (Oprah, Larry King, Tony Kornheiser, and etc.) Even without Ashton being the main twitterer I wouldn’t join. Besides, if I have to hear about the next technology bringing about hyper-local marketing, I’m going to scream. It’s just another buzz word that’s still years away thanks to the terrible cell phone infrastructure (conversation for another day).
Anyway, back to the title of this post. The Time article mentioned above in passing context the idea of a Twitter spawn that would be based around the use of nothing but punctuation. Why does this sound so strange while typing only 140 characters is a 500 million dollar idea?
Therefore, let me introduce you to the next internet phenomenon, Punct. The name is based on a play of Ashton’s famous Punk’d and what the new service will be used to convey feelings/thoughts, punctuation. The rules are simple:
Only the basic set of punctuation characters can be used in order to keep global appeal high . , ? ! ; : – ( ) [ ] { } | \ / < > ‘ ~ @ # $ % ^ & * + = ” …
Each “punct” must be no more than 10 characters in length
“Puncts” can only be single lines, which means no ASCII art or cool bunnies (Sorry Will)
Overall goal is to show your emotion, thoughts, or current state with only punctuation. With enough people being creative, a whole new language could be created for those with severe ADD and not enough time to read messages that are longer than 10 characters.
Four simple rules for an even simpler concept. Still confused at the depth you could take this? It’s simple. The rules of punctuation already dictate emotion/thoughts. Here are a few samples:
period (.) ==> a declaration, the end of a thought
exclamation point (!) ==> excitement, loudness
comma (,) ==> taking a break, listing of items, separation of thought
question mark (?) ==> questioning, confusion, thinking
ellipsis (…) ==> statement of things left unsaid, annoyance
semi-colon (;) or colon (:)==> linking multiple similar thoughts, clarifying confusing lists
braces ({}) ==> new dental braces or leg injury
I’ll even allow text based emoticons since those were always fun during the mid 90’s. Here‘s another great site of someones emoticon creations.
Now that my million dollar idea is out there, I’ll sit back and wait for the money to be sent. Here’s a final honest thought for this post.
The spy genre is back and better than ever as Michael Westen shows that spies are always cool.
Now for those select few who don’t know who he is, you are missing out on one of the best new shows out there. New might be a relative term since Burn Notice is about to start its 3rd season, but the seasons are short so we will keep using the term “new” for at least a few more weeks. Anyway, the basic story is simple: Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) was a spy who had a burn notice placed on him. In even more simple terms, he was fired. He is now stuck in Miami with his trigger happy ex-girlfriend Fionna (Gabrielle Anwar), an FBI informant buddy Sam (Bruce Campbell), and his mom (Sharon Gless).
I would describe Burn Notice as James Bond meets MacGyver meets A-Team. Each episode furthers Michael’s hunt for those that burned him as well as helpful spy tips to help you get out of any situation. I mean, who wouldn’t want to know that the best way to beat a cell phone jammer is to connect your cell antennae to an ethernet connection of a computer to boost its power. And might I add that he is one sharply dressed unemployed individual.
I get more excited about new or old episodes of Burn Notice than I do any other show. June 4th, here I come. If you care to catch up for the new season, it looks like a few mini-marathons are coming up.
Here’s the next set of reviews from my Netflix queue.
Revolution OS
A geek’s movie about Linux. Too bad it doesn’t go far enough to make it interesting to non-geek’s.
[Rating: 2.5/5]
The Italian Job
I didn’t enjoy it as much as the new version, but it still had its moments and it was cool for its time period. That and everyone loves Michael Caine.
[Rating: 3/5]
Inside Man
Another great thriller but the ending went farther than it really needed to go.
[Rating: 4.5/5]
Memoirs of a Geisha
It just jumped around too much for my taste. Others seem to like it.
[Rating: 3/5]
Who Killed The Electric Car?
Whoever did should have also tried to kill this movie. Must see.
[Rating: 5/5]
Charlie Bartlett
Anton Yelchin is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors to see on the big screen. This kid’s got talent and so did this movie.
[Rating: 4.5/5]
I’m not going to hide from the fact that I was never really a fan of the other films. Sure, T2 was a marvel of modern technology at the time, but that was about it for me. Something about this film seemed interesting to me and that was just enough to get me to shell out the money to see Batman beat up some machines.
Salvation is set in the year 2018 where the war against the machines has begun (but not in a Matrix sort of way). John Connor (Christian Bale) is not the leader of the resistance, but he certainly leads his own team. Over the course of the war, the Resistance has found a signal that will act as an off switch for the machines and allow the humans to win the war. However, things change when a new man is saved and is discovered to be one of the machines. Marcus Wright believes he is human but slowly learns that he is nothing more than a project for a woman after he was put to death for past crimes.
Salvation is simply another post apocalyptic movie of the future where both Sony and Seven 11 are still around. Remind me to invest in both soon rather than later. The graphics are simply amazing throughout. The Terminator movies always excelled in this category and this movie doesn’t disappoint. I’d say the highlight of the film is known to some and others of us are kept in the dark about a special appearance. Take a shot in the dark and you will get it. Let’s just say what they can do with graphics today is shocking. It’s just too bad that X-Men and Wolverine just made it look weird.
Overall I was pleased with this movie more than the others (minus T2), but it’s not great. McG plus some horrible out of nowhere love story makes the movie fall short. That and a post apocalyptic world that has a gas station sign set at 1.89 just doesn’t make me believe it is going to end like that. Someone call Mad Max and maybe John Connor can fight it out for the new world.
J. J. Abrams prequel is a hit in my eyes. This movie starts us at the very beginning of James T. Kirk’s birth and moves forward from there. We see him join the Star Fleet Academy and slowly are introduced to the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprises’ future crew. From Spock to Sulu to McCoy to Checkov, all characters are perfectly cast and you get a good feeling of the original actors that made these characters famous.
The story is your typical time space dealings of old returns to young to right some wrongs. Sure it’s a cliche in itself but you don’t care. You are interested in seeing the characters grow in order to win whatever conflict is ahead of them. It’s also nice to watch some space action along the way. Star Trek, unlike the new Star Wars movies, doesn’t look cheesy or fake (for as real as computer graphics can become).
For those worried that you need to have seen prior Star Trek movies or tv series, no more need to worry. I believe the movie gives those of us with prior knowledge the small tidbits we need to enjoy it further but not enough of them that those who are clueless of what has come before will not enjoy the movie. One of the guys in my group had never seen any of the movies and he enjoyed it just as much as I did.
