I hate the word "Blog"

So, It's been a while since I blogged about anything. Yea I know - what have I been thinking? I need to make up for my lack of blog contribution; I guess I'll just write a new post every 5 minutes for the next three weeks. Ok I'm not going to do that...but I did watch 6 movies at the same time yesterday.

Six movies that I had already seen.

Because they were all on TV at once.

Independence Day.
National Treasure.
Apollo 13.
Happy Gilmore.
Waiting.
Waterworld.

I could follow most of the story lines by flipping around between commercials. It was pretty smooth sailing until all the movies started climaxing at the same time; it got pretty messy at that point. White stuff shot out of the lunar lander...Will Smith had a "close encounter"...Adam Sandler got a hole in one...and Nicolas Cage found a secret cave of treasure.

I know I talk about Independence Day a lot...but man that movie is just full of fun. One thing has been bothering me however: when Jeff Goldblum flies to the mother ship to implant the virus that brings down the alien's shields...don't you think it is a little too easy? I mean...I would think that aliens with advanced technology would at least have their WiFi server password protected. It would have been a little more realistic if Goldblum had to sit there and guess the code:

"Uhhh...k-i-l-l-h-u-m-a-n-s"
"Damn"
"d-e-a-t-h-t-o-m-a-n-k-i-n-d"
"Shit."
"Must go faster."

BOB  (Click Me!)

Don't watch me.

"Don't watch me, watch the road. That's how accidents happen."
-John Rambo

Thanks for your concern Rambo.



"ALWAYS PRACTICE SAFE DRIVING!!!"

So I watched Rambo: First Blood this week. I think I had seen it before because I remember it not making sense. Unfortunately I missed the first 15 minutes of the movie this time, and having watched it in its entirety - it still doesn't make sense. I never figured out why he was running from the police. It doesn't matter, because I realized the whole point of the movie was just to be bad ass. I saw the latest installment in the Rambo series when it came out...the one titled Rambo: Extreme Gratuitous Violence. I thought it had a pretty solid story line. Anyway, I think Bill Murry does a pretty solid Sylvester Stallone impression:











































All right...maybe not so much the last one.

Must go faster.

Hello Internet. 

This week I read two articles: "After the Death of Film: Writing the 

Natural World In the Digital Age" by Tess Takahashi, and "Resolutions: Contemporary Video Practices Ch5" by John Belton. Both readings were interesting but the first was a little hard to get through. The main thesis of the article is that digital technology takes a dump all over traditional celluloid film. I don't necessarily disagree with this premise, but I was a little sore by the time I reached the last page. Takahashi kind of beats his ideas into you and uses lots of fancy words that I had to look up.

I agree with Takahashi somewhat, but my interest is limited to animation; I know little about general film aesthetics. The fall of cell animation to fancy-pants computer-generation angers my inner "wish I was a Disney animator" child. I think hand-drawn critters are far more engaging than super shiny and/or furry digital robots and/or squirrels. I do, however, support digital animation in live action films. It took a few years to get it right but I think we've reached the point where digital composites are seamless and not so distracting. 

The second article is about the difference between video and cinema...and television and VCR's and some guy named Dolby.

Pretty interesting article, talks about lots of technical stuff I didn't know before. Belton spends a good amount of time talking about sound and the different layers of quality used with different film formats. "Recent technology, in the form of Digital Theater Sound, which was used for Jurassic Park [1993], has expanded the number of tracks that can accompany 35mm films from four to six." This brings us to my topic of choice: Jeff Goldblum.  

Yea I'm a little scared too. 

The theme for this week's movie time was alien invasion. Two movies that were on TV repeatedly this week were M. Night. Shamalamalan's Signs and Jeff Goldblum in: Independence Day: Fourth of July (or ID4 as its known on the street). Both movies have a similar theme, but are vastly different in style, mood, and creepiness. If you've seen Independence Day 37 times like I have you're probably intimately familiar with its plot and characters. Even so, I keep noticing new things every time I watch it. For Example: the character Dr. Brakish Okun (the crazy scientist with the long hair who lives in Area 51) is played by Brent Spiner - A.K.A. Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek. Who apparently is a poet : 

"Ode to Spot"

By Lt.Cmdr DATA
USS ENTERPRISE NCC-17-1-D

Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature

An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature

Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses

contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses

I find myself intrigued by your sub-vocal oscillations
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array
And though you are not sentient (1), Spot, and do not comprehend
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend

Who Knew? Anyway. Did you know that Will Smith's character's name is Steve? That doesn't fit at all. I also recognized a familiar quote from the scene where Will and Jeff blow up the alien Mothership: "Must go faster." Hey that sounds familiar...didn't you say that in Jurassic Park? One of the first films to make use of Digital Theater Sound Technology? I thought so. Jurassic park III was also on TV this week. No Jeff Goldblum.  

Must go faster.