Watchmen Doesn’t Work For Me
Posted by admin | Filed under Movie Review
Zack Snyder’s Watchmen looks visually amazing but the characters are thin and the underlying dystopian vision lacks the impactful nuance of Blade Runner. Maybe I am just not in the mood right now for a film that paints people essentially as heartless bugs. Are we capable as a species of mindless acts of selfish violence? Yes, but I don’t need a 3 hour film to remind me of this. That’s what CNN does most nights and I avoid that too. What I crave and films like Blade Runner, The Martix and 28 Days Later deliver is the dystopian vision coupled with characters that reflect humanities potential. Not because I can’t handle the darkness but because total darkness is no more real than a vision where everything is sweetness and light.
Tags: media, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized
Just Like That
Posted by admin | Filed under Current Events
Back in November I predicted that in 2009 the market would close out at 6,800. I did not expect my prediction to come to pass the first week of March 2009. I had that dire prediction penciled in for the end of the year. I will stop predicting and instead begin burying bars of gold in the yard and stockpiling crackers and water as the end times are near. I kid… I kid. Look if the stocks have to fall let’s just get this over with and see what happens.
Invisible hand of the market please don’t move the market back up to 7,200 for a couple of weeks only to drop it to 5,000 right before the 4th of July weekend. It messes with people and we have been messed with enough. Take it down as low as it needs to go and then begin the long slow climb up to something approaching the actual value for goods and services. Is that too much to ask?
Invisible hand of the market please don’t move the market back up to 7,200 for a couple of weeks only to drop it to 5,000 right before the 4th of July weekend. It messes with people and we have been messed with enough. Take it down as low as it needs to go and then begin the long slow climb up to something approaching the actual value for goods and services. Is that too much to ask?
Tags: Uncategorized
Top 25 Active Film Directors List
Posted by admin | Filed under Film
EW.com (like AFI before them) loves their lists.
Check out their list of the 25 Greatest Active Film Directors.
25 Greatest Active Film Directors
I can’t fault their top 10. Actually I can only find two in the whole list of 25 that really bug me.
Call me crazy but Tim Burton at #13 and Sam Raimi at #15 both seem too high. Tim Burton is an exceptional Art Director/DP but his inability to consistently build stories as stunning as his visuals should push him lower down the list. Raimi is solid but I’d bump him entirely for Kevin Smith. I am reserving judgment on Zack Snyder until I see Watchmen.
Firstshowing.net has a nice discussion about the list in the comments and manages to put the list all on one page.
(Caution: The EW write up is one of those annoying page view generating 25 pages for 25 directors things that makes EW look like they don’t understand the internet.)
Check out their list of the 25 Greatest Active Film Directors.
25 Greatest Active Film Directors
I can’t fault their top 10. Actually I can only find two in the whole list of 25 that really bug me.
Call me crazy but Tim Burton at #13 and Sam Raimi at #15 both seem too high. Tim Burton is an exceptional Art Director/DP but his inability to consistently build stories as stunning as his visuals should push him lower down the list. Raimi is solid but I’d bump him entirely for Kevin Smith. I am reserving judgment on Zack Snyder until I see Watchmen.
Firstshowing.net has a nice discussion about the list in the comments and manages to put the list all on one page.
(Caution: The EW write up is one of those annoying page view generating 25 pages for 25 directors things that makes EW look like they don’t understand the internet.)
Tags: Uncategorized
Judgemental Busy Bodies
Posted by admin | Filed under Current Events
The most recent stories about Michael Phelps (Olympic swimmer and photographed pot smoker) and Nadya Suleman (mother of six artificially-conceived children and recently a full set of octuplets) have me wondering if the news cycles from here on out are going to be consumed with ‘shame on you’ stories and moral exemplar tales (Sully the wonder pilot). Some might say the press has always had this sort of focus but I am feeling generous.
The press is turning into that person you bump into at church that sees every problem or milestone that somebody in the community faces as a morality play. This sort of tone enables busy bodies from one end of the country to the other to shake their heads in disgust at the decisions/behavior of others. To what end? If the stories must be covered, cover them once in a neutral tone and move on to more pressing matters. We are blessed/cursed to live in a time with no shortage of news to be covered. Stop focusing on stories that enable a portion of your readership (with little basis) to feel morally superior. We are neither morally superior nor inferior to most of our neighbors, co-workers or fellow citizens, but a collection of human beings each trying to do their best, no more and no less. Every story that reinforces that fundamental reality is true and real. News stories that try to convince you otherwise are the mainstream media equivalent of ‘link bait’ and a disservice to the public as a whole.
The press is turning into that person you bump into at church that sees every problem or milestone that somebody in the community faces as a morality play. This sort of tone enables busy bodies from one end of the country to the other to shake their heads in disgust at the decisions/behavior of others. To what end? If the stories must be covered, cover them once in a neutral tone and move on to more pressing matters. We are blessed/cursed to live in a time with no shortage of news to be covered. Stop focusing on stories that enable a portion of your readership (with little basis) to feel morally superior. We are neither morally superior nor inferior to most of our neighbors, co-workers or fellow citizens, but a collection of human beings each trying to do their best, no more and no less. Every story that reinforces that fundamental reality is true and real. News stories that try to convince you otherwise are the mainstream media equivalent of ‘link bait’ and a disservice to the public as a whole.
Tags: Uncategorized
An Argument for Public Transportation
Posted by admin | Filed under Videos
Tags: Uncategorized
Seasons Change
Posted by admin | Filed under Lifestream
In the Chicago area the seasons change. This is a good thing. I like to look forward to the first snow or the first warm Spring day. This morning I awoke to a chilly house for the first time since probably May and that is a little preview of what is to come in September. This week is back to school week too so the Summer is all but over and thoughts now turn to school buses and (dare I say it) Halloween decorations. Oh and the new Fall TV season. A season that this year will be supported by a brand new Tivo HD. I have been testing it out now for about 2 weeks and (excluding the Comcast piece of the puzzle) the experience has been extremely positive. I will write up my review in the days to come.
Tags: Uncategorized
Chocolate Rain
Posted by admin | Filed under Photos
Tags: Uncategorized
A Storm Rolls In
Posted by admin | Filed under Lifestream, Photos, Uncategorized
This storm roared through the Chicago metro area in early July and I had to move quickly to capture the leading edge. No hail but lots of rain and wind.
Tags: Uncategorized
George Lucas in Carbonite
Posted by admin | Filed under Film, Photos, Web Goodness
Tags: Uncategorized
Be Careful
Posted by admin | Filed under Videos
lightning strike on camera, originally uploaded by SLOWLORIS.
Lightning doesn’t just strike trees and golfers. I didn’t see anything in the seconds leading up to the lightning strike in this clip that would have made me put down the camera and head for shelter. Going forward… I think I will take my storm pictures from behind glass inside a house or inside a car.
Tags: Uncategorized
