Movies

Just finished watching a movie called The Other Guys, and I must say: while I thought it was rather retarded at first, by the end game I was thoroughly enjoying the film.

Well, give or take nearly getting into a wreck because ma needed to hit Burger King, today has been a fairly productive day and it’s only half done. Was able to get down to the postal facility ~10 minutes away and turn in the application for my passport. With luck I should be able to start booking stuff in a few weeks if financial issues go according to estimates, well, suitably so. It’s kind of my nature to plan a triade: worst case, probable, and best case, and operate accordingly between the worst and probable cases. But I am very glad that the passport is about done, even if it took weeks for a Saturday appointment lol.

The sad thing, is I’m enjoying the new A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I can’t even remember much of the original! I’ve had some horrible dreams in my time, usually I enjoy them, but I think I would worry if I woke up with claw marks >_>. So far though, it’s quite good, as long as there are no weak stomachs involved, hehehehehe.

Was just watching an odd film, while Repo Men is probably not going to win any wards, I at least found it interesting. Regardless of ones view points on research and cloning, unless you are the “If GOD had meant man to fly, HE would have given him wings” type—using bio-technology to replace present day organ transplants is a good thing. After all, how many of us would want to watch someone we care for die just because they need a new heart, or something like that? I could totally see myself ending up in John Q‘s boots.

Spent yesterday trying to get back into the swing of things, first time I’ve actually logged on comms in a few days lol.

Last night I was watching The Others and Surrogates. The others might make some people feel creeped out but I only found its plot a bit overly clichéd. If the ending isn’t obvious by first leg of the  movie, it is by the half way point o/. It does pose an interessting thought though. What if “Disturbances” that people feel are ghosts and hauntings and all that sort of stuff, is really just a conflict of matter? Where the living and the dead have crossed paths but nether know one is dead, or perhaps it’s not death but something whacko in the space time continuum. Who knows, I still maintain that if ghosts exist, you’re more likely to die in the bath tub than experience something like Poltergeist. I don’t rule out the possibilities of ghosts, I just don’t expect to ever see one ^_^.

The surrogates on the other hand, is an interesting sci fi flick. Basically people no longer “Go out” but instead control an avatar via remote. It follows a detectives hunt for a weapon that is able to kill the human operators behind their “Surrogates”.  While not exactly a spectacular movie, it explores an interesting concept, well interesting in light of the modern Internet. Being able to do anything without risk of life and limb, is an interesting idea, but I would argue that’s part of what makes life worth living. After all, if you’re going to go sky diving , what good is it, if you can’t *really* experience it? It’s only a facsimile of the real thing. For something like a fire fighter, IMHO it would be perfect but the ideal of living every day life through a surrogate, just, doesn’t feel right to me.

Just saw last years Sherlock Holmes flick, and I must say, that it’s both stimulating and bloody brilliant! While Basil Rathbone’s portrayals typically come to mind when I think of Holmes, I must admit that I loved the take spun on the original duo ;).

Can you ask for more than the master detective and the dear doctor, pitted against a super-genius and the black arts? Even better the films constructed so you can follow it, even with varying levels of intellect. Of course the obvious question is who the heck is Blackwood but it makes sense. Unless you’re able to connect the Holmesian dots in your brains background thread, rather then wait for Irene Adler to spell it out at the end: even the biggest surprise is revealed, superbly I might add.

Although I do enjoy a stimulating mystery, I’ve never been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes or the genre. I do however, admire such a mind :-). I reckon that would be obvious, for anyone knowing parts of mine lol.

Caught most of an interesting film today, called Chain of Command. The jist of it, is during talks at sea with Taiwan, the U.S. president is kidnapped in order to use his football to attack China. Since President Eisenhower, there’s been an attaché case that an aide carries for the C’ in C’ in case of all heck breaking lose. Basically it’s a way for our President to say nuke the bastards and do it yesterday.

So, during a meeting with the president of Taiwan, the secret service detail is wiped out… except for one luckly stiff who walked off to take a leak before the shooting started. To bad he didn’t take the nuclear football along lol. One lone secret service agent on football duty, has to outsmart a bunch of AK knock off packing goons, stop the ship, rescue the president, and recover the football. Of course being a day where it doesn’t pay to get out of bed, agent Connelly ends up in Hong Kong when things get even worse. To top it all of, the bastards manage to launch an American ICBM against Beijing, causing the Chinese to retaliate with an “Eye for an eye”, targeting D.C. Both cities get toasted in short terminator’esque clips.

Finding himself with the lead villain holding the president hostage on his 12, and a traitorous agent on his flank, our hero does exactly what I would’ve done: remember the first rule of a no win situation—change the rules! So he shoots the president in the leg, and caps the two bad guys while getting himself shot in the process. Since the Commander in Chief is killed during subsequent cross fire, the poor sap has to find his way back to the states with the football.

Mean while the Chinese have decided to drop nukes all over the U.S.A. believing that our arsenal is hopelessly in terrorist hands. I don’t know how high tech the nuclear football has become, other than that it isn’t nearly so powerful as in this film… even we’re not nuts enough to give one person the ability to launch nukes. But seriously, I would hope that if the President had that much power to trigger a launch, that Standard Operating Procedure would mean: if the president is compromised, cut off the footballs ability to order or launch a strike! For corn sake…!!

The movies ending, however is quite American at heart: after regaining control of our launch systems, the Vice President tells the Chinese to blow their missiles and they refuse, thinking it’s a bluff. That being an obvious problem, as acting C-in-C she orders a stage one nuclear strike against China and threatens to take it to the next level unless the Chinese self destruct their missiles in flight, ours will be sprouting mushrooms all over their lawn ^_^. Obviously the bastards in charge are forced to back down, when they see a mass of American warheads touch off, and their one minute deadline ticks past fast, hehe.

That’s how the United States of America is, you fuck with us and you won’t have a pot left to piss in. 😉

I missed my intended travel window for hitting the library, but on the upside, for the first time in a long time, I *really* enjoyed a good film—Zombieland!

The jist of it, is “Mad cow disease became mad person”. It’s also the first and only zombie flick I’ve seen that makes note, that the fatties got eaten first xD. Combine a hopeless idiot whose just lucky to be alive with a zombie killing machine searching for Twinkee’s, and you’ve got a recipe of some kind. Add in two sister con artists heading for an amusement park and it gets better :-).

The thing that surprised me is Bill Murray showing up in the middle of it all. Just priceless!

Nothing quite like McLintock! to make me laugh until it hurts, even on such a sour day. While arguably it twinges but troubles,  the one to the left and to the right, it’s just such a great western :-D. I do enjoy, a well crafted application of humour. Combine John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, and you have a good recipe on it’s own lol.