Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: REVIEW

...There are only three Indy films as far as I am concerned. End review.

Turning to Ice

With the Suns and Nuggets both down 2 games, I just may turn to hockey. Where, at least the Avalanche have gotten past the first round. They face bitter rivals, the Red Wings.

We're Ready...

So excited.

Climbing

The Nugs have climbed into the eighth, and final, spot of the playoffs with their win over Golden State. Will they fall? They've been climbing and falling all season. They better keep climbing if they want to get anywhere!

And all this talk about MVPs and not a mention of Iverson or Melo!? C'mon, fools! The best scoring duo in the NBA. Number 5 and number 6, respectively, in PPG, RBG, and AST. That's alright. The dusty, old cowtown is used to it. Don't even get me started on the team that's been to six Super Bowls, and just finally got a second member in the Hall of Fame. Pssshh!

FIFF

Showtime

What happens if we lose?

Nothing! There's nothing at stake, and no threat. Beyond the shame of defeat.

Now all the planets are going to start cracking wise about our mothers.

[tearfully] I'm just glad my fat ugly momma isn't alive to see this.

Boycott

When you ask for volunteers to screen films, how do you keep quality control? Who's to stop an entrant from gathering an army of biased supporters? Maybe you do have some sort of checks and balances. Is there a grudge, then?

MVP

Aaaaaallllright, folks. Time to call your picks. Let's discuss who is walking away with the MVP this year, why and if they deserve it. Do you have any thoughts on who will win? Is it the same person who deserves it?

I'm calling Kobe Bryant. You could argue that he's virtually toe to toe with Lebron James and that therefore, James deserves it equally. But, aside from stats, look at what Kobe has done for the Lakers: he brought that team together. He is a fantastic player, but a better leader. And I think he's walking away with MVP because of it. Besides, James still has plenty to win.

Welcome to the West...

...ya arrogant snots. Lot harder than the East, huh?

Not as easy as it used to be...

This is EXACTLY what I needed to get pumped before the 48-hour competition. Yeaaaaaahhh....

Shaq Attack

Sheer brilliance? Or utter stupidity...?

Kerr's argument for adding him to the team is compelling and makes sense in theory, but we'll see. Let's just hope he can hold the middle court and give Nash and Stoudemire the freedom they need to be as offensive as possible.

The Scramble, The Catch

One of the best Super Bowls ever. Next to when John Elway finally won his first, of course. ;-)
With all apologies to Josh, Angie, and Jeremy...if the Patriots had won, I would have labeled it, one of the worst Super Bowls ever. Next to when the Broncos got trounced 55-10, of course.

Weird Fish on Arpeggi Bread

Shhh...don't tell them I did it.

Buy the ticket, take the ride...

Review: Cloverfield

I’d wager that most people have been to an amusement park at some point in their lives. My family was particularly into Disneyland (probably because we’re from suburbia). Now, when you think about it, Disneyland is actually more of a THEME park than an amusement park. There’s a difference between the two. What is that difference? A thin layer of exposition.
You see, when you take a ride at an amusement park, there really isn’t a whole lot of ceremony involved. There are a ton of roller coasters at Six Flags. Riding one of those is basically like picking up a prostitute: You both know what you’re there for, so let’s just get to it.
A theme park is something else though…at a theme park, most of the rides you get on are story based. What I mean is that sure, you still get on the ride, but not before being subjected to some thin layer of exposition as to WHY you’re getting on the ride. For example: in Disneyland’s “California Adventure” theme park, they have a ride dedicated to the Twilight Zone – the Tower of Terror. They strap you into a metal box, shoot you up into the air and then drop you back down. Lots of theme parks have this ride – in fact, the Tower of Terror is pretty tame in comparison to the versions other parks have. What separates it is this narrative you’re forced to listen to before you board the ride. Rod Serling comes out and does his little spiel from the show, telling you that the Tower was once home to famous celebrities but that something bad happened. The narrative continues as you board the ride, ending with him saying something like, “tonight, you, the audience, are part of the show…”

And then they drop you a few stories and you feel like you’re going to die.

That’s Cloverfield in a nutshell.

Now I’m not knocking the film, because I liked it quite a bit. I like going on rides at Disneyland too, but that doesn’t change the fact that the thin narrative before every ride is just a device meant to keep you and your group waiting while the ride cycles through the previous group.
What is the film about? Well, it centers around Rob and Beth, two friends living in Manhattan with a serious crush on one another. At the onset, Rob and Beth have sex, causing a whole bunch of awkwardness when Rob states that he’s heading off to Japan for some major promotion. Beth wants Rob to stay in New York, and Rob has no idea how to express his feelings for Beth. So he basically tells her to get lost at his own going away party.
After that, all hell breaks loose. Manhattan is being attacked. The military sweeps in urging everyone to evacuate. And it is in the midst of this evacuation that Rob gets a frantic call: Beth is trapped in her apartment and she can’t get out. So Rob decides to turn around and head back into the city in an attempt to undo the damage he has wrought on the girl he loves.
It’s funny too, because Rob and his friends are basically you and your friends. I feel that if the film succeeds on any level beyond the sheer thrill of its premise, it will be because these characters are just archetypes lifted from the myspace generation. They’re not particularly clever characters, but they are true to some extent.
I do have a large gripe with Rob though: Rob’s the world’s greatest bad decision maker. I once wrote a film along the lines of something like that, but I never intended people to like my character. The filmmakers WANT you to like Rob. They want him to really click with the audience – and he doesn’t. He’s a real bastard – the film even says so itself at one point. He’s resourceful and determined, but beyond that, not very likable…He’s just some self-serving jerk who decides, “hey, what the hell, I’d like to sleep with this girl again, so I’m gonna go back and get her.” You can get away with a real jerk of a character in your film, believe it or not. But the character has to be really freaking good at what he does. Rob isn’t…he’s just that guy in your group every Friday night who heckles prog-rock. I think part of suspension of disbelief allows us to have moments in films where characters do incredibly stupid things that pay off in unreal ways. The characters themselves literally state, “there’s no way in hell this is going to work, but here goes…” and then it does work. And yeah, you’re crying out “no way”, but you’re also with the character because they can’t believe it either. Rob’s just like that, minus the “it works” part.
Beth also isn’t terribly likable. There’s a girl like her in every group too: the pretty girl who contributes nothing. Her and your other friend have this “thing”, and he’s totally into her because she’s waaaaaaay out of his league and he’s pretty sure he can’t get anything better than that… I mean, why do we even let Beth hang out in this group? She doesn’t bring anything to the table – PLUS, we’re sick of all the drama she drags along.

Okay, sorry…got caught up in the film’s style for a moment there.

One of the better aspects to this film is its commentary on “the group” and on my totally useless generation. At Rob’s party, everyone’s buzzing about the weird relationship between Rob and Beth. They’re also doing shots of jagermeister and listening to Spoon, effectively doing nothing but idly gossiping about one another’s lives. There are a few stark moments in particular when the city is first attacked that basically sums up this youtube/text message culture in all its bloated self-interest. It’s hilariously human. Spielberg would be proud.

All 80 minutes of the film are a great way to spend your evening. It’s a real trip from beginning to end and it isn’t terribly consuming, so count me a fan. But still, like most rides, you can’t help but walk away saying, “huh – I’m not sure if I’d get back in line for that again.” Therein lies the difference between the greats like Spielberg and the new kids like Abrams. Spielberg never told you he was taking you on a ride. He never told you his characters were just like you and your friends. Goddard? Abrams? Reeves? They’re right there, telling you the entire way.

Live from the Emerald City

Yes, I'm blogging from cold, rainy Seattle, Washington. Not so emerald right now, but I've enjoyed the cold and rain...the first two days! Now I'm tired of it. How do people live here? Probably because the nice days make up for it, like enduring the heat in Phoenix for the mild winter.

We came up for a wedding, which was very nice. We took extra days to take in the city. The most interesting part for me, was being in a "football town" where the home team was hosting the playoffs. My first time. I mean, the Broncos went to the playoffs many times when I was in Colorado, but I never was in Denver. You could definitely feel the electricty among the locals, especially when Redskins fans walked the streets. I briefly thought of trying to get tickets.

We've done the Space Needle, and today we're going to the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (they're in the same building). I look forward to that. And tonight, we come home.

Wildlifeless screening

Well friends, it is official.

The Almost Famous International Short Film Festival, in their infinite wisdom, has selected Wildlifeless for screening. You hear that Phoenix-dwellers? This is the first official non-private screening of the short film – so for those who have yet to see the flick or want to catch it again – check it out. The jury looks to have selected a great list of other short films as well from various filmmaking communities around the globe. Very cool.

Year End List?

I'm afraid you won't see a "Best Albums of 2007" list from me. Mainly because I have only, about, four albums from this year. A dissapointing year in music for me personally. I did listen to a lot of songs from albums of this year, but nothing really grabbed me. Although, I very much liked Battles' Mirrored, an electronic/guitar type album. How can you not like an album with the drummer from Helmet?

It seems there were a lot of electronic, mash-ups, hip-hop, and "noise" albums this year. And being that I'm mostly a guitar-oriented, rock kind-of-guy, there wasn't much to tantalize my senses. That being said, though, The White Stripes and Dinosaur Jr. had very good albums. Of course, there's Radiohead, but I've been meaning to post about that. I think Brock has too.

So, whilst I hang my head and kick the nearest pebble, I look forward to 2008. Especially since My Brightest Diamond and Able Baker Fox are slated for releases (however, I do have the pre-release of Able Baker Fox now, more on that later). And, Sufjan Stevens is due, hopefully!

Throw me the idol! I'll throw you the whip...

My house is being torn up right now (a brother is installing tile and carpet)...so I am posting this from Marco's house. Aaaaand...I only have a few minutes to post this, but I had to. It's for the new Indy flick.



I think that as far as recreating the feel of the original films they've done a brilliant job. The film itself may suck, but at the moment, we can look at this poster and pretend we're at a multiplex in the 80's. And yeah, I'm gonna say it - as excited as I was for the Star Wars prequels (which turned out to be unfounded excitement) I much prefer Indy. But then, anyone who has seen Wildlifeless can tell you that.

My Brightest Diamond

Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond is truly unique. Her bio at Asthmatic Kitty says it all. Her uniqueness transcends into her music. Interesting guitar lines, strings, various percussion, and an operatically trained voice makes for an album that sometimes repeats on end in my players. I’ve meant to write a post about MBD for a while now. But I’m newly inspired by excited anticipation for their upcoming album. Check them out.

Oh, I should also mention that Brock and I had the wonderful privilege to see her, minus band, earlier this year. We were both mesmerized.

Also, I should be receiving the new album from Able Baker Fox any day now. This is a combination of two of my favorite rock bands ever, The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike. What I’ve already heard, has blown me away. I believe in rock again.

Take Away Shows!

Clearly, there are numerous ways to pass time away on the Internet. Especially when searching for new music. Most of them are a waste. One of the best ways to make that slow day at work go by (or, if you're at home waiting for the souffle to rise), go to http://www.blogotheque.net/takeawayshows/!

My personal faves:
Sufjan Stevens & Friends
The Dirty Projectors
Menomena (Mostly for the dancing kids)

There are many I have yet to see.