It's been almost three months since the last update and I have 16 movies here so it looks like I average just over one movie a week.
The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave - Â I loved the Super Dave shorts when I was a kid so when this came on I had to watch it. The original cast is all still there and the stunts are rediculous, but the parts that work keep it flowing enough. I'd just like to add that Super Dave has a herd of mimes.
Kung Fu Panda - Â The art style is great, the fu is good. It ends up being similar to Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon and I don't consider that a bad thing.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria - The description was just that a village tries to hide their wine from the Nazis. It has that but it also brings the small Italian town and it's residents to life. Â I suppose I should mention that it's mostly comedicthough there are heavy moments.
Darkon - Â A documentary on LARPers in Maryland. Darkon is the land that all the LARPing nations inhabit and war in. You get to see alliances and conflict and people trying to come out on top in and out of Darkon. It doesn't tend to get too uncomfortable with the level of involvement they have. At least they're being social instead of sitting at home alone.
The Man From Earth - A thought experiment portrayed as a thought experiment in a movie. I don't always understand the reactions of some of the characters in the movie but the story holds up fairly well I think.
Enchanted - Crossovers between the cartoon and real world are usually to the cartoon world or a small managable space. I guess it's not so much a crossover as it is a parallel universe story. Anyway, the end result really came out well from the fish out of water moments to the songs!
Kinky Boots - In a depressed town, a few people decide to take a risk that make people think they are crazy or get looked down upon before the town rallies behind them to success. This fits that English film class and like most of the others it does it well and is very entertaining.
Hancock - This definitely didn't go where I was expecting it to based on trailers or even the first part of the movie. There are hero rehabilitation stories, but not many about super heroes. This manages that well and throws on an interesting and fairly unique back-story.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Â Nice art style in the opening story. This movie is all about enjoying the characters from the first movie. It works as that though I would have shortened one of the fight scenes.
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D - I wanted to see this fow two reasons, Brendan Fraser, and new 3D technology. Brendan Fraser was fun and the 3D was really good! There were some 3D trailers and if you have a chance to see "Fly Me to the Moon" in 3D, skip it. They were forcing the effect enough to hurt your eyes. This uses a new radial polarization technique so you can rotate your head and not lose the effect as you do with traditional polarized lenses. The 3D at times made you feel like you were in the middle of it and at other times looking at something with wonderful depth. It starts with a few things flying at you that every 3D movie has to do to make you flinch. The worst 3D effect was the last one in the movie. All that stuff you just watched and then you wonder how that scene could have made it into the movie. The movie itself is a fun modern tour through Vernes' center of the earth.
The Mummy & The Mummy Returns - Nicole hadn't seen these and since the third one was coming up we deciced to see them. The Mummy holds up well, effects and all. The Mummy Returns doesn;t look as good effects-wise, maybe they were trying too much? Also it's not consistent with the fist movie. They say he won't be as powerful and isn't at full power yet even though he is doing more than he did in the first movie.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - The first third or half of this movie irritated me. I really didn't see Evelyn's character ending up where it was or their son's conflict with them as fitting. Once all the action started it settled into a comfortable groove and hey, there are yetis! I think I have to rank it about even with The Mummy Returns. The high are higher but the lows are lower.
China's First Emperor - Â This was a documentary on tv recently and it was interesting because it it showed me where various stories surrounding that period were based on fact and where liberties were taken for the story. I knew he unified the language. I didn't know he unified currency and weights and measures but that makes sense. I didn't know about his early life or how he ended up. Also seeing the scale of his burial city was very impressing. All those terracotta soldiers only come from a small part of the entire site. There was an indication that they are not going to explore that until preservation can be done. Apparently there are rivers and an ocean made of mercury in the scale-model china inside. Since there is evidence that mercury is leaking out slowly, it is thought that the description of the inside is accurate.
Mongol - This is a look at what led Ghengis Kahn to become what he was. The movie feels like it's missing quite a bit, like it was cut down to be about 2 hours when it really wanted to be 2.5. I hope that extra time is on the DVD version when that comes out, but considering it's a foreign film there's probably not much chance of that. I'll still ok forward to picking it up when it comes out.
Starman - Â An alien comes down to play the fish out of water game and offer insights into humanity. I think this probably played better in the 80s though I think with a few minor changes it would work just as well today were it to be remade. That's not a suggestion that it should be remade. Jeff Bridges plays the star man well, and Karen Allen is good as usual.
Kaw - Â Killer ravens are attacking a small town! Since you probably aren't going to see it I'll just say that it's because they ate some cow that died from mad cow disease and now they're going to take out all the people. Despite being obviously low budget, they actually had a number of trained ravens and decent production value. Worth seeing? Maybe if you're bored or want a background movie.
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Buffalo burgers
We tried buffalo burgers recently and I was surprised at the difference between it and beef. The texture in handling it feels sort of clean and loose but it all holds together well. In cooking it seemed to want to brown faster than beef and in spite of it having less fat there is still plenty and it's wasn't dry. Flavor wise it didn't have a gamey flavor but it was different. Smell wise it wasn't too strong to me but I think GRover was about ready to climb down my throat to get some.
Chicken rub
Another day as I was trying to figure out how I wanted to make some chicken, I ended up with the following spice rub:
Haagen Dazs chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
I had never had this version and decided it was time to try it. The vanilla ice cream part of it is I think the strongest vanilla I've ever had and I'd be happy with just that. The cookie dough part tasted to me more like real cookie dough than the Ben & Jerry's variety. This is now my new favorite version of this flavor.
]]>"When was the last time you were at a wedding that had a death defying hike, rogue waves, a luau, ultimate fighting, a presidential candidate and a budding bromance?" asks Papi Chulo. For most of us, the answer is never, but luckily, Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch took the time to Vox all the amazing moments during their unforgettable Hawaiian wedding on 08.08.08 so we could all take part in the festivities.
The story began last February, when Papi Chulo popped the question and Secret Agent Scotch said yes! Since then, they've kept us in the loop about all the details, from the bride's veil to the wedding song to the final To-Do List. And throughout it all, they inspired us with their love for each other. (I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better than knowing your future husband thinks you are The Perfect Girl.)
It's an amazing love story and we are thrilled they shared it with us. Watch the video of the ceremony and please join us in wishing Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch the fairytale ending they deserve.
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Congratulations again to Secret Agent Scotch and Papi Chulo! Enjoy the Honeymoon!
My harmless flirting is about to become full-fledged cheating...
...after about a month, I am around 200 pages into Quicksilver. And I love it.
But...like a drive across Texas, for all my traveling, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I prepared really well for the trip, too! I got a nice, compact British edition. I finished off all the other books I was reading to dedicate my full attention to Mr. Stephenson's beautiful prose. I have even recently re-watched The Day the Universe Changed which actually inspired me to finally start reading The Baroque Cycle. I was ready! Full tank of gas, snacks from Trader Joe's, an awesome mix tape...
But after making nary a dent in the first of three giant tomes, my gaze began to wander. The rationale was easy at first: reading a comic is hardly cheating. It's just a comic...
...Scott Pilgrim Volume 3 is just a comic. Invincible Books 5 & 6 are just comics. Buffy Season 8 Books 1 & 2 are just comics. What started as flirting, became heavy petting. I did go back to Quicksilver after each, but felt guilty and kinda dirty each time.
So, I'm coming clean. I am asking Quicksilver for a trial separation. It doesn't mean I love Quicksilver any less, it's just that I need things that it just won't, or can't do for me. Tonight, I'm seeing an old love that I haven't seen for a while, and frankly, probably wasn't ready for the last time I did. Tonight, I go to bed with Stranger in a Strange Land.
I will be back, Quicksilver, and I know you will wait for me. The way that Cryptonomicon waited for me...
So, I won't be going to L.A. for SIGGRAPH next week. It's the first year for a long time that I haven't gone. There's too much going on at the studio right now for me to get away for a week of SIGGRAPH and the week at the Lucas Homeworld that would help make the 16 hour flight from Singapore worth it.
Between working at ILM and teaching, my connections to the world animation, visual effects and video game development increase exponentially every year. Last year, SIGGRAPH was almost comical as I walked around the San Diego Convention Center and stopped every ten feet to chat with a former coworker from ILM or Academy of Art, a former (or current student), or a professor from another school. I joked with some friends that next time I woud just bring a card table and set up in the lobby and chat with folks as they walked by.
It will be wierd not to have my annual high-density friend catch-up opportunity.
Of course, if everyone comes to the first annual SIGGRAPH Asia in Singapore this December they can see me all over the place. No, seriously, you should all come!
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So, we're getting our television from a wider variety of sources than ever nowadays. DVDs, iTunes, streaming video, and IPTV have all invaded our livingroom (and iPhones and Macs). Not much of it originates from the American networks or cable channels, especially during the Summer.
A recent discovery is one of ABC's new shows. That's the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, by the way, not to be confused with the American Bradcasting Corporation or ABC, Martin Fry's pop band from the '80s. You see, unlike the American Broadcasting Corporation, the Austrailian Broadcasting Corporation makes their program streams availaible internationally (in Singapore at any rate).
That new show is called The Hollowmen, not to be confused with T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" or the short-lived sketch comedy show The Hollow Men from Comedy Central.
The Hollowmen is a sort of a combination of The West Wing, The Office and Flight of the Conchords with a dash of Mad Men and a nod to Office Space. It's not as overtly preachy as The West Wing, not as cringey as The Office, not as surreal as Conchords, and not as stylish as Mad Men, but has some of the better qualities of each.
The show is about the folks who make the Austrailian PM and his policies look good and polish them for public consumption. As an American, much of it feels familiar, but foreign at the same time...more so than English shows and less so than Canadian. The production value, acting and writing are excellent and is making me curious what other gems of Austrailan TV I've missed.
Anyhow, each week's episode is up on ABC's website and they are only half an hour long. Try one and see what you think. They make for nice Summer viewing...er, I mean Winter viewing.