If you are a big Jaws fan like I am, you know that the book and the movie originated from an incident(s) in New Jersey round about 1916. There were a few shark attacks off the coast and at some point a shark swam up a stream and also killed a few people.
Scary stuff. But also just the kind of incident that would be the fuel for one tremendous book and one tremendous movie.
So imagine my surprise when I was running through my Blockbuster account and I stumbled across a little gem called 12 Days of Terror. Essentially this movie deals specifically with those incidents in New Jersey nearly 100 years ago, following the protagonist of a lifeguard at the small Jersey town of...while...somewhere.
I'm going to be honest. I wasn't expecting a whole lot with this movie. The title doesn't exactly inspire a whole lot of confience. Don't let it fool you.
With its 1916 setting, the movie benefits from not needing a whole lot of flash-bang special effects and instead benefits from some pretty solid acting performances, including John Rhys-Davies (of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Lord of the Rings triology fame) who is solid as always.
One interesting thing about this movie is how many elements of Jaws resurface. For instance, after the first shark attack, it is covered up so the beach dollars don't dry up.
But all in all, the movie is certainly better than you would think, the shark effects are limited, but stand up (more so than most shark movies) and the movie also raises an interesting question: why is it so hard to believe that two sharks were to blame?
Sure it could have been a great white shark that attacked people along the coast, but it is the calling card of the bull shark to be in freshwater. Bull sharks are certainly nothing to mess around with and have a real ugly attitude - yet it is the great whites that always get tagged as man-killers.
All in all, this movie made a bit of an impression on me. I would certainly suggest anyone who enjoys shark movies to give it a watch. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Mowing the Lawn
So what is it about mowing the lawn that attracts me?
Maybe it is caring for my own property. Maybe the appeal is getting outdoors during nice weather. Maybe the appeal is I am the proud owner of an electric mower. Maybe it is that said electric mower isn't self propelled and so mowing the lawn constitutes a bit of a workout. I dunno. But I sure do enjoy it.
Mowing my yard takes somewhere in the realm of 45 minutes to an hour. It is the smallest yard I have ever mowed. It is just enough of a commitment to where I have to decide that I'm going to do it and it is going to take a little while. But it isn't like it is going to take up an evening or an afternoon or whatever.
I am in no way endorsing that you go out and get an electric mower. Seriously, for some people/yards, they just might not work out. But for mine, it is perfect. I mow, the battery doesn't ever run out and when I'm all said and done, I go plug it in and charge the bad boy up for another round.
With $4 gas, I can now afford to mow my lawn every day if I was so inclined. And while I'm not THAT GUY (you know the one), I'm that GUY (about halfway there I suppose where I'm probably not THE first, but I'm one of the first guys to mow on the block). And I laugh when I think of the money my electric mower is saving. And I laugh (muahahahahaha).
But when I'm mowing, like today for example, I can't help but wonder why it is I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
Maybe it is caring for my own property. Maybe the appeal is getting outdoors during nice weather. Maybe the appeal is I am the proud owner of an electric mower. Maybe it is that said electric mower isn't self propelled and so mowing the lawn constitutes a bit of a workout. I dunno. But I sure do enjoy it.
Mowing my yard takes somewhere in the realm of 45 minutes to an hour. It is the smallest yard I have ever mowed. It is just enough of a commitment to where I have to decide that I'm going to do it and it is going to take a little while. But it isn't like it is going to take up an evening or an afternoon or whatever.
I am in no way endorsing that you go out and get an electric mower. Seriously, for some people/yards, they just might not work out. But for mine, it is perfect. I mow, the battery doesn't ever run out and when I'm all said and done, I go plug it in and charge the bad boy up for another round.
With $4 gas, I can now afford to mow my lawn every day if I was so inclined. And while I'm not THAT GUY (you know the one), I'm that GUY (about halfway there I suppose where I'm probably not THE first, but I'm one of the first guys to mow on the block). And I laugh when I think of the money my electric mower is saving. And I laugh (muahahahahaha).
But when I'm mowing, like today for example, I can't help but wonder why it is I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
When You Need Time Off
I've been thinking about something lately - isn't it kind of crazy how we've evolved from a society that can't wait until the weekend to a society that takes work home?
Maybe that isn't the norm, but it is how I have evolved anyway. For some reason I went from 'my job is 40 hours out of my week and that is it' to 'work comes before life and wife'. I don't really know when it happened, or how it happened.
Maybe it is technology. The ability to 'easily' do work is just too tantilizing - you get random project x finished, or can put more time into it and make it better. Maybe working at home is just more comfortable than working in the office.
The end result of this, though, certainly isn't good. Maybe you get tired, maybe you get burnt out and sloppy, maybe feel like your job owes you something for the time you put in.
I'm sure there was probably a host of studies done and going on right now that figure a healthy amount of someone's work week. I'd be curious to know what the studies say about what working 50 or 60 or 70 hours a week does to your body compared to when you work 40 hours a week.
At some point, I figured I was doing the right thing...being a model employee. But, I would have to believe that companies want you to stay in your job for an extended time, so they can see the pay off of the time and resources they have put into you.
So maybe being the best employee you can be is to work your 40 hours and then just walk away.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Thoughts?
Maybe that isn't the norm, but it is how I have evolved anyway. For some reason I went from 'my job is 40 hours out of my week and that is it' to 'work comes before life and wife'. I don't really know when it happened, or how it happened.
Maybe it is technology. The ability to 'easily' do work is just too tantilizing - you get random project x finished, or can put more time into it and make it better. Maybe working at home is just more comfortable than working in the office.
The end result of this, though, certainly isn't good. Maybe you get tired, maybe you get burnt out and sloppy, maybe feel like your job owes you something for the time you put in.
I'm sure there was probably a host of studies done and going on right now that figure a healthy amount of someone's work week. I'd be curious to know what the studies say about what working 50 or 60 or 70 hours a week does to your body compared to when you work 40 hours a week.
At some point, I figured I was doing the right thing...being a model employee. But, I would have to believe that companies want you to stay in your job for an extended time, so they can see the pay off of the time and resources they have put into you.
So maybe being the best employee you can be is to work your 40 hours and then just walk away.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Thoughts?
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Adoption
The crazy thing about adoption is the waiting. I would have never guessed there would be so much waiting. And while normally I can just kind of roll with it, it is days like today, that would be Father's Day, when the wait becomes quite a bit harder.
See, the mind has this quirky ability of going all merc on you. You can't exactly control where it is going and what it is going to come up with.
Take today for example.
Eh...maybe I should back up a bit.
A little history on this whole situation is as follows: My wife and I decided we were going to adopt a couple of years ago. We first started in an international program, but basically there was a bit of difference in opinion between myself and Russia on the stabilizing effects of anti-depressants. So, my wife and I decided to point ourselves toward in-state adoption. It has been somewhere in the realm of two years since we first started this whole crazy thing. And as of a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I finished off putting together our 'Dear Birthmother' packate. So we are now officially waiting. Anyway, back to today.
Today for example, I started kind of wondering if my kid had been born yet. I'm guessing that he or she hasn't. But you never really know. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a phone call saying my son or daughter is waiting at a hospital to come home. That is the part that is pretty much unreal about the whole thing. You just never know.
Talking with my dad this year about Father's Day, he told me about the day I was born. It was a perfect day he said. And he talked about how I was born and just how his life pretty much changed from that day on.
And it got me kind of thinking about my own situation. The whole parenting thing is kind of a trip...I was an only child basically and so the only kind of experience I had with babies or young kids are with nieces and nephews. And while I'm excited about being a parent, there is all the underlying fears about having a kid and all of these brand new things that you can never really be prepared for becoming a part of your life.
So, it kind of got me wondering if little Ost Jr had burst onto the scene.
If you have shown up kiddo, welcome. Don't really know what to tell you yet. It is kind of hard having never seen you. I've heard that about males that are adopting...they aren't usually able to claim ownership of a kid until they have seen him or her. At least I know I'm normal, I guess.
If you haven't shown up just yet, don't worry. There are plenty of perfect days left in the bag.
See, the mind has this quirky ability of going all merc on you. You can't exactly control where it is going and what it is going to come up with.
Take today for example.
Eh...maybe I should back up a bit.
A little history on this whole situation is as follows: My wife and I decided we were going to adopt a couple of years ago. We first started in an international program, but basically there was a bit of difference in opinion between myself and Russia on the stabilizing effects of anti-depressants. So, my wife and I decided to point ourselves toward in-state adoption. It has been somewhere in the realm of two years since we first started this whole crazy thing. And as of a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I finished off putting together our 'Dear Birthmother' packate. So we are now officially waiting. Anyway, back to today.
Today for example, I started kind of wondering if my kid had been born yet. I'm guessing that he or she hasn't. But you never really know. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a phone call saying my son or daughter is waiting at a hospital to come home. That is the part that is pretty much unreal about the whole thing. You just never know.
Talking with my dad this year about Father's Day, he told me about the day I was born. It was a perfect day he said. And he talked about how I was born and just how his life pretty much changed from that day on.
And it got me kind of thinking about my own situation. The whole parenting thing is kind of a trip...I was an only child basically and so the only kind of experience I had with babies or young kids are with nieces and nephews. And while I'm excited about being a parent, there is all the underlying fears about having a kid and all of these brand new things that you can never really be prepared for becoming a part of your life.
So, it kind of got me wondering if little Ost Jr had burst onto the scene.
If you have shown up kiddo, welcome. Don't really know what to tell you yet. It is kind of hard having never seen you. I've heard that about males that are adopting...they aren't usually able to claim ownership of a kid until they have seen him or her. At least I know I'm normal, I guess.
If you haven't shown up just yet, don't worry. There are plenty of perfect days left in the bag.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Is There Anything Better...
...than a DVR?
I hesitate to name anything better in recent technology advances than this little box of joy.
Why you ask?
I am learning the joy of a DVR this weekend, which is a free preview weekend of basically every movie channel availalble through DirecTV. That turns out to be somewhere in the realm of 50-some-odd movie channels, each showing new flics every couple of hours.
And so it is like free movies for me this weekend, all recorded and archived and viewable on my TV. So far this weekend I have recorded Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Disturbia, Premonition, Next, Major Payne, The Negoitator, Rocky Balboa, The Guardian, Conan The Barbarian, They Live, Trainspotting, Spider-Man 3, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and The Evil Dead.
As luck would have it, the free preview runs through Sunday and I have a few more movies on tap. And still 75 percent or so of the DVR's memory (I think 100 hours or so of programming...yipee) available to use.
Now, if I had a way to make my DVR portable so I could take it out of my den, I would be set.
I hesitate to name anything better in recent technology advances than this little box of joy.
Why you ask?
I am learning the joy of a DVR this weekend, which is a free preview weekend of basically every movie channel availalble through DirecTV. That turns out to be somewhere in the realm of 50-some-odd movie channels, each showing new flics every couple of hours.
And so it is like free movies for me this weekend, all recorded and archived and viewable on my TV. So far this weekend I have recorded Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Disturbia, Premonition, Next, Major Payne, The Negoitator, Rocky Balboa, The Guardian, Conan The Barbarian, They Live, Trainspotting, Spider-Man 3, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and The Evil Dead.
As luck would have it, the free preview runs through Sunday and I have a few more movies on tap. And still 75 percent or so of the DVR's memory (I think 100 hours or so of programming...yipee) available to use.
Now, if I had a way to make my DVR portable so I could take it out of my den, I would be set.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Happy Birthday To Me
So yeah, I'm officially done with this whole being 27 stuff...it got old so I decided to get older.
I can't help but think about the past year every time early June rolls around...think about all the screwups and successes I've had, all the changes and all the things that haven't changed that much.
For me this year, the last couple weeks have been full of change. Between taking a different job, to my wife and I finishing off our packate for our adoption and as of last Friday now "officially waiting for a call" and us moving into a new house at the beginning of the year...and and and.
As far as the actual day went, it was pretty low-key...just the way I like it. My wife and I went out to the kite festival later in the morning. My dad and his fiance and her granddaughter came up for a bit and so we got to teach her how to fly a kite. She's coming up on her third birthday, so basically she was a riot. I'd get the kite up in the air, hand her the spool and we'd just go running across the open park. Pretty good times.
Then we grabbed some lunch at Sergios (chips are free and so is your meal if it is your b-day) and the folks headed back home as dad was going to help work some cows for another guy. Both he and I were talking about the very real possibility of snagging a nap at some point today and when I got home, I folded out the trusty click-clack (a couch that is a futon, but not really a futon, but kind of) and the wife and I promptly took a nap to Alien Nation (the movie, not the TV show).
After a couple-hour snooze, we worked on the basement a bit, I set up my Soloflex that I have meant to get working on again, set up my Slam Man and got my weight bench back in order. We also put a lot of stuff away that had kind of overflowed onto the floor and made everything accessible.
Tired of moving stuff around, I got my DVR issues figured out on the DirecTV, and now I can pause and rewind live TV and stuff. I can't wait to record a baseball game on Monday or Tuesday. As I write this, I've got about 45 minutes until I call it a night.
And that would be how I rang in my first day of 28-ness. Probably not the over-the-top nature way I've celebrated some birthdays in the past, but at the end of the day, it was a good day and I enjoyed it. Only 360-some days to go and then the countdown is on to the big 3-0. I'm suppose I'm dreading it already.
I can't help but think about the past year every time early June rolls around...think about all the screwups and successes I've had, all the changes and all the things that haven't changed that much.
For me this year, the last couple weeks have been full of change. Between taking a different job, to my wife and I finishing off our packate for our adoption and as of last Friday now "officially waiting for a call" and us moving into a new house at the beginning of the year...and and and.
As far as the actual day went, it was pretty low-key...just the way I like it. My wife and I went out to the kite festival later in the morning. My dad and his fiance and her granddaughter came up for a bit and so we got to teach her how to fly a kite. She's coming up on her third birthday, so basically she was a riot. I'd get the kite up in the air, hand her the spool and we'd just go running across the open park. Pretty good times.
Then we grabbed some lunch at Sergios (chips are free and so is your meal if it is your b-day) and the folks headed back home as dad was going to help work some cows for another guy. Both he and I were talking about the very real possibility of snagging a nap at some point today and when I got home, I folded out the trusty click-clack (a couch that is a futon, but not really a futon, but kind of) and the wife and I promptly took a nap to Alien Nation (the movie, not the TV show).
After a couple-hour snooze, we worked on the basement a bit, I set up my Soloflex that I have meant to get working on again, set up my Slam Man and got my weight bench back in order. We also put a lot of stuff away that had kind of overflowed onto the floor and made everything accessible.
Tired of moving stuff around, I got my DVR issues figured out on the DirecTV, and now I can pause and rewind live TV and stuff. I can't wait to record a baseball game on Monday or Tuesday. As I write this, I've got about 45 minutes until I call it a night.
And that would be how I rang in my first day of 28-ness. Probably not the over-the-top nature way I've celebrated some birthdays in the past, but at the end of the day, it was a good day and I enjoyed it. Only 360-some days to go and then the countdown is on to the big 3-0. I'm suppose I'm dreading it already.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Brewers Draft Brett Lawrie
Well, if you were anxiously chewing your finger nails today, wondering who the Crew would select in the 2008 MLB draft, let me end your suffering.
Milwaukee selected Brett Lawrie.
Lawrie is an 18-year old from British Columbia and played for Team Canada, winning a bronze medal at the 2007 World Junior Championships.
As far as measurables, Lawrie goes 5-11 or 6-0 and is between 190 and 200 pounds. He throws and hits right (versus left...not wrong). Apparently he is the first catcher selected in the first round by the Crew since BJ Surhoff in 1985...wowie.
Basically the Brewers have been looking for a consistant catcher for years without success and recently have turned to plugging in free agents while they try and progress some prospects through the minors. They supposively had a real legit prospect in AA ball, Angel Salome. But if I remember correctly, I think that he had a suspension for steroids last season and I do not know how much that has hurt him. There is also a guy in West Virginia (Class A), Jonathan Lucroy, but I know very little about him .
Accoring to this MiLB link, he has a quick bat, and power to spare but is a pull hiter. They call him an average runner, which to me is a plus for a catcher. He has a good arm and quick feet, but his catching skills are still pretty basic, which to me says he was probably a very good high school catcher. My guess is that the mental part of the game is what will be his first task, and a continual learning curve for him. All in all, to me it looks like he projects as an above-average offensive catcher and average defensive catcher. My looks around the internet found one scout that said he hit the ball with more authority than Justin Morneau in his draft year.
This Q&A with Lawrie is pretty interesting. Apparently he was 17-for-35 (.486), with 8 home runs and 24 RBI on Team Canada's national junior team's spring tour in the Dominican Republic.
My guess is you won't see Lawrie in the majors any time soon. He likely won't be at AA or AAA ball for a few years, but if you like minor league ball and keeping track of prospects before they are on TV and playing in front of 40,000 fans, this guy might be one to keep an eye on.
Milwaukee selected Brett Lawrie.
Lawrie is an 18-year old from British Columbia and played for Team Canada, winning a bronze medal at the 2007 World Junior Championships.
As far as measurables, Lawrie goes 5-11 or 6-0 and is between 190 and 200 pounds. He throws and hits right (versus left...not wrong). Apparently he is the first catcher selected in the first round by the Crew since BJ Surhoff in 1985...wowie.
Basically the Brewers have been looking for a consistant catcher for years without success and recently have turned to plugging in free agents while they try and progress some prospects through the minors. They supposively had a real legit prospect in AA ball, Angel Salome. But if I remember correctly, I think that he had a suspension for steroids last season and I do not know how much that has hurt him. There is also a guy in West Virginia (Class A), Jonathan Lucroy, but I know very little about him .
Accoring to this MiLB link, he has a quick bat, and power to spare but is a pull hiter. They call him an average runner, which to me is a plus for a catcher. He has a good arm and quick feet, but his catching skills are still pretty basic, which to me says he was probably a very good high school catcher. My guess is that the mental part of the game is what will be his first task, and a continual learning curve for him. All in all, to me it looks like he projects as an above-average offensive catcher and average defensive catcher. My looks around the internet found one scout that said he hit the ball with more authority than Justin Morneau in his draft year.
This Q&A with Lawrie is pretty interesting. Apparently he was 17-for-35 (.486), with 8 home runs and 24 RBI on Team Canada's national junior team's spring tour in the Dominican Republic.
My guess is you won't see Lawrie in the majors any time soon. He likely won't be at AA or AAA ball for a few years, but if you like minor league ball and keeping track of prospects before they are on TV and playing in front of 40,000 fans, this guy might be one to keep an eye on.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Today Is The Day
If you are reading this on June 4 and you haven't sent off your application for deer season (with a gun), get on it man. Those babies have to be in mach schnell...they need to be postmarked June 4 and basically you be out of luck if you don't get it in.
I tried calling the Game and Fish 800 number on June 3 to get it done, but apparently they were having some problems with their credit card machine, so likely you are in the same boat as I am. You need to go over to the ND Game and Fish website, print off a hard copy of the lottery application, fill it out with a pen and mail it off. Yeah, I know...technology is the downfall of all society and all of that, but deer season is one of the great experiences in life, so if you want to partake, you best get on it.
If you are reading this after June 4...sorry.
I tried calling the Game and Fish 800 number on June 3 to get it done, but apparently they were having some problems with their credit card machine, so likely you are in the same boat as I am. You need to go over to the ND Game and Fish website, print off a hard copy of the lottery application, fill it out with a pen and mail it off. Yeah, I know...technology is the downfall of all society and all of that, but deer season is one of the great experiences in life, so if you want to partake, you best get on it.
If you are reading this after June 4...sorry.
Book Review - Choke
You may not immediately recognize the name Chuck Palahniuk, but I'm fairly sure you know his work. If I mention the movie Fight Club, I'm pretty sure you have seen it, or at least heard of it.
Well, Palahniuk is the guy who wrote the book that the movie was based on.
My brother-in-law turned me on to Palahniuk a month or two ago. He has been an avid fan of Palahniuk for quite a while, but I hadn't made a purchase of any of his work. After a little review from my BIL, I purchased the book Choke.
Here is the summary from the back of the book:
Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. H then allows himself to be "saved" by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor's life, go on to send checks to support him. When he's not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. His creator, Chuck Palahniuk, is the visionary we need and the satirist we deserve.
Quite the summary.
I think what attracts me to Palahniuk's work (now that I've read Choke and Fight Club) is that he writes raw. Basically the world(s) he creates is incredibly loud and emotional. There is always a twist and you are left wondering if your mind has just been screwed with on more than one level.
I'm not even going to begin trying to dig into an explanation of this book - there is way too much to deal with. But it is a solid read and could be enjoyable by a wide swath of people. That said, if you didn't like Fight Club, you may want to steer clear. If you dug on it, though, purchase it, get it from the library, whatever. Enjoy it.
I got the paperback for $13.95 (the book goes for $21 in Canada), but it gets the Burnt Ost thumbs up seal of I likes it.
Well, Palahniuk is the guy who wrote the book that the movie was based on.
My brother-in-law turned me on to Palahniuk a month or two ago. He has been an avid fan of Palahniuk for quite a while, but I hadn't made a purchase of any of his work. After a little review from my BIL, I purchased the book Choke.
Here is the summary from the back of the book:
Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. H then allows himself to be "saved" by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor's life, go on to send checks to support him. When he's not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. His creator, Chuck Palahniuk, is the visionary we need and the satirist we deserve.
Quite the summary.
I think what attracts me to Palahniuk's work (now that I've read Choke and Fight Club) is that he writes raw. Basically the world(s) he creates is incredibly loud and emotional. There is always a twist and you are left wondering if your mind has just been screwed with on more than one level.
I'm not even going to begin trying to dig into an explanation of this book - there is way too much to deal with. But it is a solid read and could be enjoyable by a wide swath of people. That said, if you didn't like Fight Club, you may want to steer clear. If you dug on it, though, purchase it, get it from the library, whatever. Enjoy it.
I got the paperback for $13.95 (the book goes for $21 in Canada), but it gets the Burnt Ost thumbs up seal of I likes it.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Movie Review - Predator
It is rare when a movie can be viewed 20 years after it was made and not appear dated. It is a special kind of movie.
And while it might sound kind of strange to put Predator in this category, the truth is pretty undeniable. If you put this movie up against movies with the benefit of far advanced special effects available, AVP and AVP:R for example, Predator is far away a more enjoyable experience.
The movie is a showcase of what made Arnold Schwarzenegger such a strong action actor. He is imposing physically, slightly brooding, and completely realistic as someone who can carry fully-automatic guns and create havoc in a jungle.
Schwarzenegger was just one of a handful of brilliant casting choices in the movie. Carl Weathers plays the stock 'warrior turned ripped deskie that has an alterior agenda but finds redemption' character. Former governor Jesse Ventura plays Blain, the stock 'MTV t-shirt wearing, large gun brandishing badass' character. And Kevin Peter Hall (Harry from Harry and the Hendersons) pulls off a daunting task of playing a character (the Predator) that has to impose a presence with nearly no lines of dialogue.
The movie could be split into two parts, the first half of the movie in which Schwarzenegger's band of merry men aren't aware they are being hunted, and the second half in which that becomes a very grim reality. What makes the movie memerable to me is something often overlooked in movies of this ilk: character development.
This movie gives you small, but extremely effective glimpses, into characters that could have been easily brushed off because they were simply fodder. Instead, you felt the loss of each character.
What I find interesting about the predator species is the code they live by. At its most simple definition, it is about honor. The pursuit of honor is akin to a holy journey and the weak are not regarded as worthy of the predator's time. He will not kill unless someone is armed with a weapon or has attacked him.
The predator is primal, Schwarzenneger is reduced to making most of his weapons and to me, the movie has a bit of a brutal hand-to-hand feel to it. There aren't a ton of high-tech weapons in this movie, basically it amounts to two species slugging it out in the middle of a jungle. It kind of toes the line of over-the-top alpha, but in the case of the protagonist and antagonist, both have their strengths exploited and both species have to use cunning and intellect, not just brute braun. That made it more enjoyable for me. It wasn't about who had the biggest gun. It was about who used the available resources, who found something that could push himself that little bit further, who clung to life harder.
I don't know of too many big bang movies that can be pealed apart like this one. If you want to kill a Saturday in January, watch the four movies that deal with the Predator franchise. If you watch Predator first, it will likely stand out as the most polished of the four, the one you will want to watch again and again.
5 stars out of 5.
And while it might sound kind of strange to put Predator in this category, the truth is pretty undeniable. If you put this movie up against movies with the benefit of far advanced special effects available, AVP and AVP:R for example, Predator is far away a more enjoyable experience.
The movie is a showcase of what made Arnold Schwarzenegger such a strong action actor. He is imposing physically, slightly brooding, and completely realistic as someone who can carry fully-automatic guns and create havoc in a jungle.
Schwarzenegger was just one of a handful of brilliant casting choices in the movie. Carl Weathers plays the stock 'warrior turned ripped deskie that has an alterior agenda but finds redemption' character. Former governor Jesse Ventura plays Blain, the stock 'MTV t-shirt wearing, large gun brandishing badass' character. And Kevin Peter Hall (Harry from Harry and the Hendersons) pulls off a daunting task of playing a character (the Predator) that has to impose a presence with nearly no lines of dialogue.
The movie could be split into two parts, the first half of the movie in which Schwarzenegger's band of merry men aren't aware they are being hunted, and the second half in which that becomes a very grim reality. What makes the movie memerable to me is something often overlooked in movies of this ilk: character development.
This movie gives you small, but extremely effective glimpses, into characters that could have been easily brushed off because they were simply fodder. Instead, you felt the loss of each character.
What I find interesting about the predator species is the code they live by. At its most simple definition, it is about honor. The pursuit of honor is akin to a holy journey and the weak are not regarded as worthy of the predator's time. He will not kill unless someone is armed with a weapon or has attacked him.
The predator is primal, Schwarzenneger is reduced to making most of his weapons and to me, the movie has a bit of a brutal hand-to-hand feel to it. There aren't a ton of high-tech weapons in this movie, basically it amounts to two species slugging it out in the middle of a jungle. It kind of toes the line of over-the-top alpha, but in the case of the protagonist and antagonist, both have their strengths exploited and both species have to use cunning and intellect, not just brute braun. That made it more enjoyable for me. It wasn't about who had the biggest gun. It was about who used the available resources, who found something that could push himself that little bit further, who clung to life harder.
I don't know of too many big bang movies that can be pealed apart like this one. If you want to kill a Saturday in January, watch the four movies that deal with the Predator franchise. If you watch Predator first, it will likely stand out as the most polished of the four, the one you will want to watch again and again.
5 stars out of 5.
Movie Review - Boondock Saints
So here's a question. What happens when you take the driving force behind The Punisher, take it times two and turn the protagonists into Irish brothers? Toss in a cross-dressing Willem Dafoe, and you have the recipe for the Boondock Saints.
What probably should have been a cheesy movie was pulled off fairly effectively, partially because I'm partial to a couple of Irish guys swearing at each other and deciding they are going to make the world right by extinguishing untouchable bad guys.
A quick imdb.com check revealed the f-word is said a total of 246 times. That in itself is an accomplishment of some kind considering the movie is 110 minutes (I'm guessing that includes the time at the end of the movie when credits are rolling). So basically, if swearing gets on your nerves, I think it might be best to pass up this movie. If not, enjoy.
Long story short: Two Irish brothers decide they are on a mission from God to clean up the city in which they live. Willem Defoe is the cop trying to figure out who is pulling off these murders, all the while sympathizing and empathizing with the brothers' cause.
The movie turns into a hail of bullets, followed by some relatively dark humor about life, death, and the quick exit the brothers are inflicting on some bad guys.
-----------------------------------
Spoiler Alert
Something I didn't care for with the movie was how the brothers square off with a character that turns out to be their father in a gun battle, yet the brothers fail to recognize him. Maybe I missed something important, but I couldn't ever figure out why they didn't recognize him. Seemed like a bit of a reach to me. But other than that, the movie was full of good stuff, as the ending turned into a family affair with the mission from God.
-------------------------------------
It's rated R, it's funny and there is some real good gun play. Basically, for my money, it doesn't get much better than that. Save for a minor complaint here and there, the movie is worth a watch. While seeing Defoe in a dress is something I care not to repeat any time in the near future, it did not effect my rating.
4 stars out of 5. You could rent it, you could own it. Either way you will enjoy it.
What probably should have been a cheesy movie was pulled off fairly effectively, partially because I'm partial to a couple of Irish guys swearing at each other and deciding they are going to make the world right by extinguishing untouchable bad guys.
A quick imdb.com check revealed the f-word is said a total of 246 times. That in itself is an accomplishment of some kind considering the movie is 110 minutes (I'm guessing that includes the time at the end of the movie when credits are rolling). So basically, if swearing gets on your nerves, I think it might be best to pass up this movie. If not, enjoy.
Long story short: Two Irish brothers decide they are on a mission from God to clean up the city in which they live. Willem Defoe is the cop trying to figure out who is pulling off these murders, all the while sympathizing and empathizing with the brothers' cause.
The movie turns into a hail of bullets, followed by some relatively dark humor about life, death, and the quick exit the brothers are inflicting on some bad guys.
-----------------------------------
Spoiler Alert
Something I didn't care for with the movie was how the brothers square off with a character that turns out to be their father in a gun battle, yet the brothers fail to recognize him. Maybe I missed something important, but I couldn't ever figure out why they didn't recognize him. Seemed like a bit of a reach to me. But other than that, the movie was full of good stuff, as the ending turned into a family affair with the mission from God.
-------------------------------------
It's rated R, it's funny and there is some real good gun play. Basically, for my money, it doesn't get much better than that. Save for a minor complaint here and there, the movie is worth a watch. While seeing Defoe in a dress is something I care not to repeat any time in the near future, it did not effect my rating.
4 stars out of 5. You could rent it, you could own it. Either way you will enjoy it.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Movie Review - Rambo
Sometimes it is beter to leave a sleeping dog lie.
Sylvester Stallonlone had a pretty decent thing going with his Rambo franchise. There is nothing quite like a movie where the bad guy is so easy to hate, creating a hero that fights these bad men while saving someone really innocent like a kid, or a doctor helping kids, whatever. If only war/life was that simple.
I actually thought Rambo III would be the end of the franchise. Dedicated 'to the brave Afganese people' or some such thing, the movie certainly felt dated after the September 11 attacks. Kind of the same thing with Rocky IV...anymore there just isn't quite that fear of Russia in this country and so the movie lost a little bit from one generation to the next. Such is life I suppose.
Anyway, Rambo is probably non-stop roller coaster ride of adrenaline or some such nonsense. To me, the 'one-man force' movie has been done to death and likely through no fault of its own, the Rambo franchise just isn't quite as effective as it once was.
Stallone is a bit bulkier than he was in the previous installments (he was 62 when he made the movie and with that in mind he looks nothing short of amazing) and seems to be a little darker and a little less human than he was in the previous movies. To me, he just wasn't quite the guy I was pulling for in First Blood. I empathized with a war vet who was trying to make his life his own again after coming home. To me, that person was someone I could know.
The movie also certainly took advantage of new technologies not available in the 1980s. In the previous three movies there was plenty of shooting, plenty of violence, etc., but Rambo seemed to take it to another level. CG work now blew off heads, chopped off arms or legs, seemed to make the violence a bit more over the top (clever Stallone reference).
I can't exactly say I liked this movie, it just didn't do much for me. Rambo was a bit more hands-on with his killing craft, a bit bloodier with the end result and while it wasn't a horrible waste of time, it seemed a bit too much of a very simple action movie.
---------------------
Spoiler Alert
But as far as the franchise goes, I did enjoy how the John Rambo character finally went home at the movie's conclusion. That, to me anyway, went back to the First Blood roots. That seemed to make the Rambo character someone I could cheer for. It seemed completely appropriate, and I was actually caught off guard by it, while enjoying it all at the same time.
-------
As far as a rating, it is farily mindless, fairly stock, but with the ending being what sticks in my mind, it gets a bit of a waivering 2.5 stars out of 5, leaning a bit towards 2 stars.
Sylvester Stallonlone had a pretty decent thing going with his Rambo franchise. There is nothing quite like a movie where the bad guy is so easy to hate, creating a hero that fights these bad men while saving someone really innocent like a kid, or a doctor helping kids, whatever. If only war/life was that simple.
I actually thought Rambo III would be the end of the franchise. Dedicated 'to the brave Afganese people' or some such thing, the movie certainly felt dated after the September 11 attacks. Kind of the same thing with Rocky IV...anymore there just isn't quite that fear of Russia in this country and so the movie lost a little bit from one generation to the next. Such is life I suppose.
Anyway, Rambo is probably non-stop roller coaster ride of adrenaline or some such nonsense. To me, the 'one-man force' movie has been done to death and likely through no fault of its own, the Rambo franchise just isn't quite as effective as it once was.
Stallone is a bit bulkier than he was in the previous installments (he was 62 when he made the movie and with that in mind he looks nothing short of amazing) and seems to be a little darker and a little less human than he was in the previous movies. To me, he just wasn't quite the guy I was pulling for in First Blood. I empathized with a war vet who was trying to make his life his own again after coming home. To me, that person was someone I could know.
The movie also certainly took advantage of new technologies not available in the 1980s. In the previous three movies there was plenty of shooting, plenty of violence, etc., but Rambo seemed to take it to another level. CG work now blew off heads, chopped off arms or legs, seemed to make the violence a bit more over the top (clever Stallone reference).
I can't exactly say I liked this movie, it just didn't do much for me. Rambo was a bit more hands-on with his killing craft, a bit bloodier with the end result and while it wasn't a horrible waste of time, it seemed a bit too much of a very simple action movie.
---------------------
Spoiler Alert
But as far as the franchise goes, I did enjoy how the John Rambo character finally went home at the movie's conclusion. That, to me anyway, went back to the First Blood roots. That seemed to make the Rambo character someone I could cheer for. It seemed completely appropriate, and I was actually caught off guard by it, while enjoying it all at the same time.
-------
As far as a rating, it is farily mindless, fairly stock, but with the ending being what sticks in my mind, it gets a bit of a waivering 2.5 stars out of 5, leaning a bit towards 2 stars.
Movie Review - Jaws
When it comes to really great horror movies, Jaws is a movie that has been redone in one form or another. It is brilliant in its pacing, story telling and intricacies. While three subpar sequels kind of made the franchise lose a bit of steam, there is no doubt the first movie was groundbreaking.
I'm certainly not going to ignore that this is a movie that came from a book. Peter Benchley's book is pretty captivating, but for me, the movie takes my entertainment of the story to a whole new level. Benchley also wrote the screenplay and in that way, I don't really feel like anyone stole his ideas. Instead, he just built a more visual story, versus a story built in the framework of your mind's eye.
The story revolves around Roy Scheider as Martin Brody, the reluctant hero, a police chief who had been worked in the big city before moving his family to the summer East Coast travel destination of Amity. The move is all good and fine, right up until a 25-foot Great White takes up shop and begins devouring swimmers/boaters/dogs/boats/etc.
Scheider plays the role of an aquaphobe to a 'T', and is right at home with his interpretation of someone out of his element. Really, the casting of the movie could not be better. Robert Shaw just 'is' that gnarled salty sea dog, Quint, whose cursing and old-school ways make him someone that you laugh at for his over-the-top hatred of city-folk, women, and anything other than sea life. Richard Dreyfuss plays Hooper, the second-generation rich kid (immediately the natural arch enemy of Quint) who is the shark expert.
Basically the movie feels like it split between two parts: when the three main characters are on land, trying to decide how to fight the shark, and then when Brody, Quint and Hooper get on Quint's boat, Orca, and take the fight to the shark.
Likely one of the single most powerful scenes in the movie has nothing to do with the movie's shark (named Bruce by the filming crew, in 'honor' of Steven Spielberg's lawyer). Instead it is when Quint relays a story of when he was on the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Basically, in that three or four minutes, the camera is just on him, and he relays a story about the ship that delivered the Hiroshima bomb, was sunk by a submarine, and had hundreds of crew members eaten by sharks as they waited for rescue.
This movie may have been one of the single-largest killers of sharks in the last 30 years, but basically I think that is because it was done so well. A poorly-done movie wouldn't generate this kind of response. But because it captures a real fear, bottles it, and hits you with it over the course of three hours, sharks are branded killers. I guess I'm not going to go into my feelings on the issue any more than that sharks are wild animals and should be treated as such. They are just doing what they are do.
You don't actually see the shark until midway through the movie, likely one of the better movie decisions or blunders (the shark machine didn't react well to salt water) of all time. Your mind creates a lot of suspense and a lot of anticipation throughout the first half of the movie because you never actually see the beast. It isn't until Brody is chumming when he and the audience first see the shark. Scheider then produces one of the all-time great on-the-fly movie quotes in 'We're going to need a bigger boat...'.
Music-wise, this is about as rich as a score can be. It is full symphony, it conveys mystery, horror, suspsense, all of it. Appropriately for the subject matter, there is a lot of what sounds like harp involvement in the music. To me it sounds very fluid, very appropriate for a movie on the sea.
Spoiler Alert
I find the different endings of the book and movie pretty interesting. In the book, Brody ends up in the water with the shark (Hooper and Quint have both been killed by this point). The shark is approaching Brody and basically just stops and dies. For a fairly tremendous book, I found this to be one of the all-time great letdowns. Maybe it was trying to get at a larger point (even forces of nature are subject to their own mortality or something along those lines) but for the most part, I left the book feeling disapointed.
The movie more than made up for that blah ending. Brody faces the approaching shark with gun in hand, shooting an airtank in the animal's mouth and blowing the shark into 8590487857483849494959585 pieces (approximately). It is a great movie moment. Hooper (who had a little more character development in the book) lives in the movie version...It didn't seem quite right, but then again Dryfuss is a pretty decent guy.
With this franchise, I am a pretty big believer that the cumulative stars given to Jaws 2, Jaws 3 and Jaws 4 don't add up to the amount of stars given to the first movie. Jaws is as good as horror movies get.
5 stars out of 5.
The musical score is for the ages.
I'm certainly not going to ignore that this is a movie that came from a book. Peter Benchley's book is pretty captivating, but for me, the movie takes my entertainment of the story to a whole new level. Benchley also wrote the screenplay and in that way, I don't really feel like anyone stole his ideas. Instead, he just built a more visual story, versus a story built in the framework of your mind's eye.
The story revolves around Roy Scheider as Martin Brody, the reluctant hero, a police chief who had been worked in the big city before moving his family to the summer East Coast travel destination of Amity. The move is all good and fine, right up until a 25-foot Great White takes up shop and begins devouring swimmers/boaters/dogs/boats/etc.
Scheider plays the role of an aquaphobe to a 'T', and is right at home with his interpretation of someone out of his element. Really, the casting of the movie could not be better. Robert Shaw just 'is' that gnarled salty sea dog, Quint, whose cursing and old-school ways make him someone that you laugh at for his over-the-top hatred of city-folk, women, and anything other than sea life. Richard Dreyfuss plays Hooper, the second-generation rich kid (immediately the natural arch enemy of Quint) who is the shark expert.
Basically the movie feels like it split between two parts: when the three main characters are on land, trying to decide how to fight the shark, and then when Brody, Quint and Hooper get on Quint's boat, Orca, and take the fight to the shark.
Likely one of the single most powerful scenes in the movie has nothing to do with the movie's shark (named Bruce by the filming crew, in 'honor' of Steven Spielberg's lawyer). Instead it is when Quint relays a story of when he was on the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Basically, in that three or four minutes, the camera is just on him, and he relays a story about the ship that delivered the Hiroshima bomb, was sunk by a submarine, and had hundreds of crew members eaten by sharks as they waited for rescue.
This movie may have been one of the single-largest killers of sharks in the last 30 years, but basically I think that is because it was done so well. A poorly-done movie wouldn't generate this kind of response. But because it captures a real fear, bottles it, and hits you with it over the course of three hours, sharks are branded killers. I guess I'm not going to go into my feelings on the issue any more than that sharks are wild animals and should be treated as such. They are just doing what they are do.
You don't actually see the shark until midway through the movie, likely one of the better movie decisions or blunders (the shark machine didn't react well to salt water) of all time. Your mind creates a lot of suspense and a lot of anticipation throughout the first half of the movie because you never actually see the beast. It isn't until Brody is chumming when he and the audience first see the shark. Scheider then produces one of the all-time great on-the-fly movie quotes in 'We're going to need a bigger boat...'.
Music-wise, this is about as rich as a score can be. It is full symphony, it conveys mystery, horror, suspsense, all of it. Appropriately for the subject matter, there is a lot of what sounds like harp involvement in the music. To me it sounds very fluid, very appropriate for a movie on the sea.
Spoiler Alert
I find the different endings of the book and movie pretty interesting. In the book, Brody ends up in the water with the shark (Hooper and Quint have both been killed by this point). The shark is approaching Brody and basically just stops and dies. For a fairly tremendous book, I found this to be one of the all-time great letdowns. Maybe it was trying to get at a larger point (even forces of nature are subject to their own mortality or something along those lines) but for the most part, I left the book feeling disapointed.
The movie more than made up for that blah ending. Brody faces the approaching shark with gun in hand, shooting an airtank in the animal's mouth and blowing the shark into 8590487857483849494959585 pieces (approximately). It is a great movie moment. Hooper (who had a little more character development in the book) lives in the movie version...It didn't seem quite right, but then again Dryfuss is a pretty decent guy.
With this franchise, I am a pretty big believer that the cumulative stars given to Jaws 2, Jaws 3 and Jaws 4 don't add up to the amount of stars given to the first movie. Jaws is as good as horror movies get.
5 stars out of 5.
The musical score is for the ages.
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