Spider-Man 2
A lot has changed since we last left Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). He's in college now pursuing his love for science while work, school, and being Spider-Man preclude him from persuing his love for Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). MJ is the star of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" while friend Harry (James Franco) runs the company inherited from his father. Harry is currently funding the project of Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is which his fusion project would generate massive amounts of energy if harnassed correctly. Yet the demonstration goes awry and Dr. Octavius is stuck with the robotic arms needed to control his project. Without the inhibitor chip, it is more correct to say the robotic arms control him. As a result, he decides to build his project again. Meanwhile, MJ is put off by Peter's lack of attention for her and runs off with an astronaut. All of this has a profound effect on Peter, affecting his senses and webbing and considers giving it up. But will the lure of fighting crime be enough to bring him back?
While billed as an action movie, director Sam Raimi and the screenwriters were obsessed with teasing the love story between MJ and Peter. Yes, it is necessary to tell, but it soon came to the point where I was indifferent to what happened to them. And one of my pet peeves about movies is when they foreshadow to the next movie and here in this film, it is obviously blatant. Yet, one look at Spider-Man shooting webs at buildings and flying right past them will have you hooked. I mentioned in the first film that if the sequel could get a villain better than the Green Goblin, the movie would be better and Dr. Octavius is a better one at that, even if his screen time is limited. Molina makes the most of his Gollum-like performance and the fighting scenes at times exceed the level of the first, but you'll have to wait a little while for them. It is a fine sequel with its trademark humor, some nice special-effects wizardry, and Spider-Man himself. Can't wait for the third one; at least we know what the story will be. 3 stars
6/28/2004
Fahrenheit 9/11
For full disclosure, I must say, yes, I'm a Republican supporting George W. Bush. Going to Berkeley for 4 years didn't convince me to join the other side. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of liberal writers like Michael Moore and Al Franken. They're two of the best political humorists out there, even if Republicans are the butt of most of their jokes. So I was at a crossroads when I began watching this documentary. "Fahrenheit 9/11" goes about trying to explain how the Bush Administration deceived the American people by explaining first how Bush won the election, showing the ties Bush had to Saudi Arabia, emhasizing Bush's slow response in reacting to the World Trade Center hits, and showing off the war in Iraq.
Moore does an effective job in telling the stories of the documentary. The mother who lost her son in Iraq. Kids in the inner city being recruited to join the military. That sorta thing. The weak part is the non-stop facts that attack the President. Maybe I'm looking at it like a journalist would, but Moore fails to show any response by the other side to defend themselves. Yes, I'm sure they would have rejected his requests for an interview, but he at least should have shown himself trying, like he has done in previous movies. It's like in public, we're seeing a kinder, gentler Michael Moore. But in the comforts of a voiceover while making President Bush look like a fool, it makes the first half degenerate into "Crossfire" except that Paul Begala and James Carville keep screaming at you without Tucker Carlson and Robert Novak there to calm them down. There are some cheap shots and, dare I say, inaccurate or at least stretched comments among his facts he uses throughout the film, the frequency of which makes the attacks repetitive, but what Moore presents does raise some good questions; questions I wish he could have gotten some Republican to answer. 2.5 stars
For full disclosure, I must say, yes, I'm a Republican supporting George W. Bush. Going to Berkeley for 4 years didn't convince me to join the other side. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of liberal writers like Michael Moore and Al Franken. They're two of the best political humorists out there, even if Republicans are the butt of most of their jokes. So I was at a crossroads when I began watching this documentary. "Fahrenheit 9/11" goes about trying to explain how the Bush Administration deceived the American people by explaining first how Bush won the election, showing the ties Bush had to Saudi Arabia, emhasizing Bush's slow response in reacting to the World Trade Center hits, and showing off the war in Iraq.
Moore does an effective job in telling the stories of the documentary. The mother who lost her son in Iraq. Kids in the inner city being recruited to join the military. That sorta thing. The weak part is the non-stop facts that attack the President. Maybe I'm looking at it like a journalist would, but Moore fails to show any response by the other side to defend themselves. Yes, I'm sure they would have rejected his requests for an interview, but he at least should have shown himself trying, like he has done in previous movies. It's like in public, we're seeing a kinder, gentler Michael Moore. But in the comforts of a voiceover while making President Bush look like a fool, it makes the first half degenerate into "Crossfire" except that Paul Begala and James Carville keep screaming at you without Tucker Carlson and Robert Novak there to calm them down. There are some cheap shots and, dare I say, inaccurate or at least stretched comments among his facts he uses throughout the film, the frequency of which makes the attacks repetitive, but what Moore presents does raise some good questions; questions I wish he could have gotten some Republican to answer. 2.5 stars
The Stepford Wives
Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has, in some respects, lost it. Her controversial reality shows has gotten her fired from her job as a network executive and has left her depressed. Husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) feels the only way to let her recover is a change of scenery. So the family moves to Connecticut to the town of Stepford. It seems like a fantasy-land with its cavernous mansions and numerous amenities, but something seems odd: the wives. They are the perfect companions to the generally nerdy male population. Once she changes to people right before her very eyes, Joanna is suspicious of all around her including Walter and the leaders of the community, Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken), and sets out to discover the truth.
This odd movie directed by Frank Oz sets down one path but winds up on another. It starts out as a comedy, which was fine. I laughed out loud a few times. Making fun of reality shows may be a tired subject, but it was humorous. So were the actions of the wives of Stepford along with Joanna's reactions. But as Joanna discovers more and more about what's really going on, the movie loses its light touch and descends upon a murky path that is a heavy contrast in tone and difficult to believe. It would have been better to continue the light-heartedness and lengthen the scenes of Joanna adjusting to knowing the truth in the end, especially considering the film is only 90 minutes long and with the lack of moral implications. Alas, a movie with good intentions has gone sour. Performances by all the top stars were otherwise top-notch. 2.5 stars
Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has, in some respects, lost it. Her controversial reality shows has gotten her fired from her job as a network executive and has left her depressed. Husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) feels the only way to let her recover is a change of scenery. So the family moves to Connecticut to the town of Stepford. It seems like a fantasy-land with its cavernous mansions and numerous amenities, but something seems odd: the wives. They are the perfect companions to the generally nerdy male population. Once she changes to people right before her very eyes, Joanna is suspicious of all around her including Walter and the leaders of the community, Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken), and sets out to discover the truth.
This odd movie directed by Frank Oz sets down one path but winds up on another. It starts out as a comedy, which was fine. I laughed out loud a few times. Making fun of reality shows may be a tired subject, but it was humorous. So were the actions of the wives of Stepford along with Joanna's reactions. But as Joanna discovers more and more about what's really going on, the movie loses its light touch and descends upon a murky path that is a heavy contrast in tone and difficult to believe. It would have been better to continue the light-heartedness and lengthen the scenes of Joanna adjusting to knowing the truth in the end, especially considering the film is only 90 minutes long and with the lack of moral implications. Alas, a movie with good intentions has gone sour. Performances by all the top stars were otherwise top-notch. 2.5 stars
6/26/2004
My new laptop is finally performing as it should. You see, the wireless internet was acting a bit odd on my computer. The router and the desktop was working fine before. The laptop and some wireless networks in Berkeley were also good. But my laptop with the router was just terrible. The connection would drop about every 5 minutes and then you had to manually reconnect. After a month of this and some research, I finally found a fix to the problem. All I had to do was turn off 802.1x authentication and voila, no more drops. If only I knew it was that easy...
My work office became somewhat complete with the nameplate that is next to my door. Three days later, I get a survey about the nameplate including: Was the service prompt? Was the job performed to your satisfaction? Well, let's see. I got a knock on the door. The guy asks, is this your name? I say yes. He slides the nameplate in. Done. Probably took 10 seconds.
So at work, there are numerous safety signs in the bathroom. You know, the usual things, but one thing that stands out is that it says not to stand on the toilet seat. While this seems funny by itself just to tell adults this, the kicker is the accompanying illustation of what not to do, including the faceless body standing on the toilet seat.
Thursday was a change of pace as I went to a symposium about supply chain optimization at the Santa Clara Marriott. Of course, it was advertised to me as free food for both breakfast and lunch. The people from the sponsoring company were so eager to give you their business card. Even me, who has pretty much zero influence in the ability of getting their business. But you can tell it was awfully boring. The guy next to me was drawing triangles of all different sizes. And that was one of their representatives. But hey, it ended early and I had the rest of the day off.
My mom bought these fruit snacks that described the flavors as mixed berries. You've got your strawberries and blueberries and whatnot. But I've never seen a berry that's blue green before.
I stumbled by the Daily Cal website and I see serious journalism is still the name of the game over there. Did you see that hard-hitting piece on drinking fountains?
Last Monday, CNN headquarters was struck by lightning, leaving it without audio for 15 minutes. But even though its audience dropped to a quarter of its normal viewership, it almost matched the audience watching MSNBC at the same time. You have to wonder why MSNBC still manages to exist. Maybe its for their consistent audio.
My work office became somewhat complete with the nameplate that is next to my door. Three days later, I get a survey about the nameplate including: Was the service prompt? Was the job performed to your satisfaction? Well, let's see. I got a knock on the door. The guy asks, is this your name? I say yes. He slides the nameplate in. Done. Probably took 10 seconds.
So at work, there are numerous safety signs in the bathroom. You know, the usual things, but one thing that stands out is that it says not to stand on the toilet seat. While this seems funny by itself just to tell adults this, the kicker is the accompanying illustation of what not to do, including the faceless body standing on the toilet seat.
Thursday was a change of pace as I went to a symposium about supply chain optimization at the Santa Clara Marriott. Of course, it was advertised to me as free food for both breakfast and lunch. The people from the sponsoring company were so eager to give you their business card. Even me, who has pretty much zero influence in the ability of getting their business. But you can tell it was awfully boring. The guy next to me was drawing triangles of all different sizes. And that was one of their representatives. But hey, it ended early and I had the rest of the day off.
My mom bought these fruit snacks that described the flavors as mixed berries. You've got your strawberries and blueberries and whatnot. But I've never seen a berry that's blue green before.
I stumbled by the Daily Cal website and I see serious journalism is still the name of the game over there. Did you see that hard-hitting piece on drinking fountains?
Last Monday, CNN headquarters was struck by lightning, leaving it without audio for 15 minutes. But even though its audience dropped to a quarter of its normal viewership, it almost matched the audience watching MSNBC at the same time. You have to wonder why MSNBC still manages to exist. Maybe its for their consistent audio.
6/23/2004
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Vince Vaughn plays Peter LaFleur, the owner of Average Joe’s Gym, a mom-and-pop type health gym which doesn’t force its fitness ideals on its customers. Instead, it lets them choose the regiment they feel like doing. This is possibly due to LaFleur’s laid-back management style, but nonetheless, financially, it isn’t working. Across the street, the behemoth Globo-Gym run by White Goodman (Ben Stiller) stands and is just waiting to buy up Average Joe’s and monopolize the market. As a result, Vaughn needs to come up with $50,000 to save his business. As luck would have it, a dodgeball competition with a top prize of $50,000 is going to begin in Las Vegas. So LaFleur and his rag-tag team of workers begin on this journey filled with dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging.
Dodgeball is the name of the game in this movie. It’s this film’s biggest plot mover. When it strays from it, the movie slows and most of it is just forced laughter. Even the motivation for dodgeball, Globo Gym’s acquisition of Average Joe’s, is a non-starter. But once the training begins and the balls go flying, the physical comedy is at its best and the one-liners are sharp. It’s led by a great performance from Rip Torn as the wheelchair bound former dodgeball champion Patches O’Houlihan. Also of note are the cameos in the film (Lance Armstrong, William Shatner, Chuck Norris, among others), which contribute greatly to the film’s comedic success. Overall, this overly physical and sometimes ironic comedy is certainly one of the funnier movies to come out in recent memory. 3 stars
Vince Vaughn plays Peter LaFleur, the owner of Average Joe’s Gym, a mom-and-pop type health gym which doesn’t force its fitness ideals on its customers. Instead, it lets them choose the regiment they feel like doing. This is possibly due to LaFleur’s laid-back management style, but nonetheless, financially, it isn’t working. Across the street, the behemoth Globo-Gym run by White Goodman (Ben Stiller) stands and is just waiting to buy up Average Joe’s and monopolize the market. As a result, Vaughn needs to come up with $50,000 to save his business. As luck would have it, a dodgeball competition with a top prize of $50,000 is going to begin in Las Vegas. So LaFleur and his rag-tag team of workers begin on this journey filled with dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging.
Dodgeball is the name of the game in this movie. It’s this film’s biggest plot mover. When it strays from it, the movie slows and most of it is just forced laughter. Even the motivation for dodgeball, Globo Gym’s acquisition of Average Joe’s, is a non-starter. But once the training begins and the balls go flying, the physical comedy is at its best and the one-liners are sharp. It’s led by a great performance from Rip Torn as the wheelchair bound former dodgeball champion Patches O’Houlihan. Also of note are the cameos in the film (Lance Armstrong, William Shatner, Chuck Norris, among others), which contribute greatly to the film’s comedic success. Overall, this overly physical and sometimes ironic comedy is certainly one of the funnier movies to come out in recent memory. 3 stars
6/19/2004
This week was my first week on the job at Hitachi. Many people kept asking me, so what are you going to do there? And you know what, I had no clue. Even after this week, I only have a vague notion of what I'm gonna do. In any case, Hitachi makes all kinds of things but in San Jose, they make hard drives, a product from buying out IBM's hard drive business. I'm in what they call the Mobile BU (Business Unit). They are in the business side of selling mobile hard drives to distributors and manufacturers which includes the pricing and allocating and forecasting, etc. So again, what do I do? Well, let's see. This week, I didn't do much as they wanted to ease me in to everything. So my week consisted of reading the basic files they use and running around meeting the other team members and having them explain these basic files to me. My manager is a young guy who's about to temporarily leave soon as his wife is gonna have a baby. He got lots of keys and stamps around a lot so you can hear him coming a mile away. I've got a cheap laptop in my very own office. How cheap? It couldn't run one of the files they gave me so they're requisitioning another one. At times, it got very boring. Even fell asleep once in that white-walled dungeon. But hey, soon I'll do something. Apparently, I'll be responsible for two things in the short term: in-quarter forecasting and maintenance of the main file used to keep track of sales.
So, it's been a week. What have I missed?
Last Comic Standing whittled down the competitors to 10 from 20. This was the episode where the celebrity judges complained the wrong people were being chosen to enter the house while more deserving comedians were being left out. Dan Ahdoot, Monty Hoffman, Kerri Louise, Dan Naturman, and Jim Wiggins all deserved to get in while Ant and a couple of others obviously did not. According to Jay Mohr though, each celebrity judge got to pick 10 of their favorites of the 20 and if at least 3 of the 4 celebrity judges agreed on a comedian, they would get in. This applied to 7 of them, meaning NBC and the producers of the show got to choose the other 3. Man, as long as they can get a better comedian than Dat Phan, then I'll be happy. And from the looks of it, that should be easy.
I'm unhappy though that they've taken out Dave Mordal's rants about this season. Mordal was the funniest of the bunch in Last Comic Standing last year. He said some things about Ant and the talent scouts but those were edited out a few days later. And now, they've completely taken his comments out. What's the deal?
My sister discovered Nick GaS at her friend's house. Apparently, they show old Nickelodeon game shows and other things. You remember, shows like Finders Keepers, the Legend of the Hidden Temple, Guts, Double Dare, etc. So then, they were talking about game shows and she remembered a show where one half of a duo would pick out prizes and then they would get those prizes if the other half picked the same things, but she couldn't remember the title, so she came to me. I remember it too, but I don't remember the title. Anyone??
They've announced the dates and times of the presidential debates and one thing caught my eye. The second debate, which is a town hall meeting, is going to be on a Friday. Friday!!! It's bad enough barely anyone watches the debates, but you had to put it on Friday?
Long live Camera One and Camera 3. Both theatres in Downtown San Jose are closing and being consolidated into the old Pavilion which was an 8-screen theatre by United Artists. Camera is re-opening it up as a 12-screen theatre. Good for them. I never did like the empty feeling the area had out there.
You would think I would have officially moved out of the Berkeley apartment but no. One bill still remains. I got sent a $60 bill from Comcast. My internet account was apparently still active. So I call them up and they say this is normal. NORMAL? I cancelled my account in May! They said the accounting will reflect that, but until they physically disconnect my account, billing will go on. When will the disconnect happen? Early July. Please, they should really get their act together.
So, it's been a week. What have I missed?
Last Comic Standing whittled down the competitors to 10 from 20. This was the episode where the celebrity judges complained the wrong people were being chosen to enter the house while more deserving comedians were being left out. Dan Ahdoot, Monty Hoffman, Kerri Louise, Dan Naturman, and Jim Wiggins all deserved to get in while Ant and a couple of others obviously did not. According to Jay Mohr though, each celebrity judge got to pick 10 of their favorites of the 20 and if at least 3 of the 4 celebrity judges agreed on a comedian, they would get in. This applied to 7 of them, meaning NBC and the producers of the show got to choose the other 3. Man, as long as they can get a better comedian than Dat Phan, then I'll be happy. And from the looks of it, that should be easy.
I'm unhappy though that they've taken out Dave Mordal's rants about this season. Mordal was the funniest of the bunch in Last Comic Standing last year. He said some things about Ant and the talent scouts but those were edited out a few days later. And now, they've completely taken his comments out. What's the deal?
My sister discovered Nick GaS at her friend's house. Apparently, they show old Nickelodeon game shows and other things. You remember, shows like Finders Keepers, the Legend of the Hidden Temple, Guts, Double Dare, etc. So then, they were talking about game shows and she remembered a show where one half of a duo would pick out prizes and then they would get those prizes if the other half picked the same things, but she couldn't remember the title, so she came to me. I remember it too, but I don't remember the title. Anyone??
They've announced the dates and times of the presidential debates and one thing caught my eye. The second debate, which is a town hall meeting, is going to be on a Friday. Friday!!! It's bad enough barely anyone watches the debates, but you had to put it on Friday?
Long live Camera One and Camera 3. Both theatres in Downtown San Jose are closing and being consolidated into the old Pavilion which was an 8-screen theatre by United Artists. Camera is re-opening it up as a 12-screen theatre. Good for them. I never did like the empty feeling the area had out there.
You would think I would have officially moved out of the Berkeley apartment but no. One bill still remains. I got sent a $60 bill from Comcast. My internet account was apparently still active. So I call them up and they say this is normal. NORMAL? I cancelled my account in May! They said the accounting will reflect that, but until they physically disconnect my account, billing will go on. When will the disconnect happen? Early July. Please, they should really get their act together.
Before I get to my first week on the job, I just got an interesting call on the cell. I didn't recognize the number but it did have a 972 prefix like my home number, so I answered.
Him: Hey, it's (inaudible).
Me: Who?
Him: Stop fooling around.
Me: I'm sorry, who's this?
Him: I need a ride.
Me: (Long pause)
Him: You still there?
Me: Yeah.
Him: So are you comin' or what?
Me: Not til I know who you are.
Him: Fine, mother fu...(click)
Him: Hey, it's (inaudible).
Me: Who?
Him: Stop fooling around.
Me: I'm sorry, who's this?
Him: I need a ride.
Me: (Long pause)
Him: You still there?
Me: Yeah.
Him: So are you comin' or what?
Me: Not til I know who you are.
Him: Fine, mother fu...(click)
6/13/2004
Certainly, not much has changed since I graduated three weeks ago. Sleeping is still down to a minimum. My room is still the mess I made it when I moved back. My time since moving back has been mostly spent on the computer. In the future, these things will probably be unchanged with the exception that I'll be paid. My job at Hitachi begins in earnest tomorrow at 8:30 am. I don't know much about it. I do know it's a full time adventure complete with numbers to put into spreadsheets in order to analyze them and find patterns and whatnot. I really didn't like how my new boss said that this kind of job is usually given to people with 10 years experience. My only thought was how crazy could they be by giving the job to me? Hopefully, I'll be up to the task or else they'll fire my ass very quickly. I'll let you know about my trials and tribulations in the coming weeks.
What does this mean for you? I'm going to be really busy so I probably won't have time to hang out with you. This is different from before in that I had nothing to do but I still didn't want to hang out with you.
So anyway...
Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, which continues the streak of San Jose being an accurate predictor of who won't win the Cup. The team which eliminates the Sharks (the Flames this year) has never gone on to win the championship. Over in basketball, the Pistons are up 3-1 on the Lakers in their championship series. No team down 3-1 has ever won the series. These Lakers are acting much like this year's Avalanche in the NHL. Both teams signed veterans, arguably past their prime, who contributed little to the team. The Avs' Paul Kariya was injured most of the season and Teemu Selanne had his worst year ever. The Lakers' Karl Malone was injured most of the season and Gary Payton is struggling mightily in the face of the team's established stars in Kobe and Shaq. The Avs were eliminated early in the Stanley Cup playoffs but the Lakers are still in it, but are on life support. Never in this series has the Lakers shown the dominance of years past and when the series is over, win or lose, most likely lose, the Lakers really need to dismantle the team and rebuild because this isn't working.
What does this mean for you? I'm going to be really busy so I probably won't have time to hang out with you. This is different from before in that I had nothing to do but I still didn't want to hang out with you.
So anyway...
Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, which continues the streak of San Jose being an accurate predictor of who won't win the Cup. The team which eliminates the Sharks (the Flames this year) has never gone on to win the championship. Over in basketball, the Pistons are up 3-1 on the Lakers in their championship series. No team down 3-1 has ever won the series. These Lakers are acting much like this year's Avalanche in the NHL. Both teams signed veterans, arguably past their prime, who contributed little to the team. The Avs' Paul Kariya was injured most of the season and Teemu Selanne had his worst year ever. The Lakers' Karl Malone was injured most of the season and Gary Payton is struggling mightily in the face of the team's established stars in Kobe and Shaq. The Avs were eliminated early in the Stanley Cup playoffs but the Lakers are still in it, but are on life support. Never in this series has the Lakers shown the dominance of years past and when the series is over, win or lose, most likely lose, the Lakers really need to dismantle the team and rebuild because this isn't working.
6/12/2004
Super Size Me
The story begins with two girls who are suing McDonalds for causing their weight gain. However, the judge strikes down the case, stating no such link could be found. Enter Morgan Spurlock. He decides to run an experiment in which his diet would consist of only McDonald's products. Lasting 30 days and under the supervision of 3 doctors and his vegan chef girlfriend, Spurlock soon begins to notice a significant change. He has gained weight, his cholesterol is up, he has headaches and chest pains, and, most importantly, his sex drive is down. Doctors soon predict death if he doesn't stop the experiment. But Spurlock makes it while telling us the story of how McDonald's, and fast food in general, is hurting American physical fitness through its fattening simplicity and the manipulation of our kids.
After watching the film, I guess it's clear what we have to do...eat at Burger King. But seriously, nothing Spurlock told us is shocking. We all know what is offered at these fast food outlets are fattening and bad for you. It's the way he shows how none of us seems to mind that is informative. His little experiment is compelling and a riot to watch. The way he admires the food and makes little jokes about the scheme of things before eventually throwing it up or sitting lazily while digesting it is kinda sick to see but all so perfect in communicating the fact that fast food isn't the best of things to have. Just remember, if you must, always take it in moderation. 3 stars
The story begins with two girls who are suing McDonalds for causing their weight gain. However, the judge strikes down the case, stating no such link could be found. Enter Morgan Spurlock. He decides to run an experiment in which his diet would consist of only McDonald's products. Lasting 30 days and under the supervision of 3 doctors and his vegan chef girlfriend, Spurlock soon begins to notice a significant change. He has gained weight, his cholesterol is up, he has headaches and chest pains, and, most importantly, his sex drive is down. Doctors soon predict death if he doesn't stop the experiment. But Spurlock makes it while telling us the story of how McDonald's, and fast food in general, is hurting American physical fitness through its fattening simplicity and the manipulation of our kids.
After watching the film, I guess it's clear what we have to do...eat at Burger King. But seriously, nothing Spurlock told us is shocking. We all know what is offered at these fast food outlets are fattening and bad for you. It's the way he shows how none of us seems to mind that is informative. His little experiment is compelling and a riot to watch. The way he admires the food and makes little jokes about the scheme of things before eventually throwing it up or sitting lazily while digesting it is kinda sick to see but all so perfect in communicating the fact that fast food isn't the best of things to have. Just remember, if you must, always take it in moderation. 3 stars
6/10/2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
As we arrive at the third installment of the Harry Potter series, we find the familiar pieces of the puzzle still in place. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is disgruntled when he's away from Hogwarts. Some weird things happen at his home, forcing his removal, but alas, it's time for school. The school year is off to an inauspicious start as news spreads that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from prison. Harry is warned that Black is after him. But with his close friends Hermoine (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) by his side, those worries are far away from him until Black arrives on campus. The danger is so grave that the prison sent its guards, soul-searching Dementors to find him. A new professor of the dark arts (David Thewlis) helps Harry should he ever confront the Dementors or Sirius Black, but all are not who they seem to be.
The Harry Potter films have been characterized as too faithful to the source material, seeking to satisfy their fans' need to see what they've read come to life, sacrificing any dramatic tension the film would hope to drive itself. Those tendencies are still present in this film, catering to specific audiences little tidbits of eye candy mentioned in the story that will certainly thrill them. But it's limited, giving way to a grander and darker cinematic style for a production that is easily the best of the three. Credit goes to Alfonso Cuaron, director of the fantastic "Y Tu Mama Tambien", for this, showing that his creativity lends itself to both adult films and children's films. Extraneous pieces of the story were reportedly thrown out, keeping the storytelling tight and compelling. The cinematography was excellent, matching the darker tones of the story with scenes in dark corridors and dingy exteriors. The actors have certainly grown into their characters so to keep the high level of quality going in the Harry Potter series, all of them must be kept on to the bitter end. 3.5 stars
As we arrive at the third installment of the Harry Potter series, we find the familiar pieces of the puzzle still in place. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is disgruntled when he's away from Hogwarts. Some weird things happen at his home, forcing his removal, but alas, it's time for school. The school year is off to an inauspicious start as news spreads that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from prison. Harry is warned that Black is after him. But with his close friends Hermoine (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) by his side, those worries are far away from him until Black arrives on campus. The danger is so grave that the prison sent its guards, soul-searching Dementors to find him. A new professor of the dark arts (David Thewlis) helps Harry should he ever confront the Dementors or Sirius Black, but all are not who they seem to be.
The Harry Potter films have been characterized as too faithful to the source material, seeking to satisfy their fans' need to see what they've read come to life, sacrificing any dramatic tension the film would hope to drive itself. Those tendencies are still present in this film, catering to specific audiences little tidbits of eye candy mentioned in the story that will certainly thrill them. But it's limited, giving way to a grander and darker cinematic style for a production that is easily the best of the three. Credit goes to Alfonso Cuaron, director of the fantastic "Y Tu Mama Tambien", for this, showing that his creativity lends itself to both adult films and children's films. Extraneous pieces of the story were reportedly thrown out, keeping the storytelling tight and compelling. The cinematography was excellent, matching the darker tones of the story with scenes in dark corridors and dingy exteriors. The actors have certainly grown into their characters so to keep the high level of quality going in the Harry Potter series, all of them must be kept on to the bitter end. 3.5 stars
6/09/2004
Yeah, so I have a gmail account. What's the big deal? Some sites I visit nowadays now offer membership in exchange for a gmail account. Guys are selling gmail accounts. Gmail is an email service that allows for up to 1 GB of email storage. Compare that to Hotmail at 2 MB. While it is in its testing phase, it faces a controversial aspect in that Google's search engine will scan your email and produce ads that's specific to the message.
It doesn't matter to me. I'll still use Hotmail regularly. The 2 MB limit is the only thing that motivates me to read my email; to stay under the limit. Gmail will be for attachments obviously. If you've got a pic to send me or a virus you just want my system to get, send it to that address. Of course with spam all the rage, I can't just tell you my email address, but suffice it to say, it's just the same username as my Hotmail account @gmail.com.
See the email address I offer in the upper left? 30-50 spam messages a day now when there used to be none. If you ever sent a message to that, I do check it but it easily gets lost in all the junk. Of course, your message might be junk too.
It doesn't matter to me. I'll still use Hotmail regularly. The 2 MB limit is the only thing that motivates me to read my email; to stay under the limit. Gmail will be for attachments obviously. If you've got a pic to send me or a virus you just want my system to get, send it to that address. Of course with spam all the rage, I can't just tell you my email address, but suffice it to say, it's just the same username as my Hotmail account @gmail.com.
See the email address I offer in the upper left? 30-50 spam messages a day now when there used to be none. If you ever sent a message to that, I do check it but it easily gets lost in all the junk. Of course, your message might be junk too.
6/08/2004
It's been a slow week this week with nothing major happening. Could someone please break my menacing boredom?
Other than a trip to Berkeley on Friday to sign for a paycheck I never picked up, Wednesday sees the graduation of my sister Nancy from high school. Yes, you read correctly. As, umm, what's the right wording...less intelligent Nancy is, she did get above a 3.0 and is headed to San Jose State come the fall. It was a long, difficult journey, and it's only going to get more difficult. So congrats to my sis for making it this far.
But there's still school on Thursday. Why is graduation Wednesday with school the day after?
Other than a trip to Berkeley on Friday to sign for a paycheck I never picked up, Wednesday sees the graduation of my sister Nancy from high school. Yes, you read correctly. As, umm, what's the right wording...less intelligent Nancy is, she did get above a 3.0 and is headed to San Jose State come the fall. It was a long, difficult journey, and it's only going to get more difficult. So congrats to my sis for making it this far.
But there's still school on Thursday. Why is graduation Wednesday with school the day after?
6/05/2004
It's a sad day for America as the Great Communicator and the 40th President, Ronald Reagan, passed away. He was 93. No one could believe an actor could become President, but it happened, and to the surprise of many, he was an effective leader who used his skills as an actor to convince the American people that he was up to the job. Yes, Iran-Contra happened under his watch. And deficits began to mount during his two terms in office. But he was popular as he won re-election convincingly, winning 49 out of 50 states. Californians liked him when he was governor from 1967-1975. He managed to push the Germans and the Communists to tear down the Berlin Wall and make peace with the Russians and their leader Mikhail Gorbachev. His influence is far and wide, most evident in the policies of our current President, whose values and core beliefs mimic Reagan's moreso than his father's. After leaving office in 1989, he led a quiet life with his wife Nancy, but it wasn't until 1994 when he wrote a poignant letter stating that he had Alzheimer's Disease when news of his life faded in the sunset. He stayed in his California compound and only seen rarely since. This morning, news came out that Reagan's condition had worsened. The source had stated Reagan would live for a few weeks or months. Instead, pneumonia ended Reagan's life at 1:09 pm.
As his re-election campaign so often said, it's morning again in America, but more accurately, there's mourning again in America as it loses one fine President.
As his re-election campaign so often said, it's morning again in America, but more accurately, there's mourning again in America as it loses one fine President.
6/04/2004
The Day After Tomorrow
So what does a few degrees matter in the course of human events? Apparently, in "The Day After Tomorrow", it means everything. Global warming has caused the Arctic Ice Shelf to break off into the ocean, creating an influx of fresh water into the ocean that wreaks havoc on the world's weather. Hail in Tokyo, snow in New Delhi, and tornadoes in Los Angeles. It all leads up to the big one, some kind of ice hurricane headed toward New York with an eye that will freeze people to death. At the center of it all? Dennis Quaid, of course. He is Dr. Jack Hall, a paleoclimatologist who predicted this would happen, albeit at a much slower pace. His son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is in New York for an academic competition intended to woo a girl. After unsuccessfully convincing the Vice President of the effects of global warming and informing the President of the consequences, Jack races to Sam before it's too late.
Isn't it amazing how these weather phenomena know to target major human landmarks? The Hollywood sign gets destroyed. We see pictures of a snow-covered Taj Mahal. A hurricane formed hundreds of miles away sets its sights on Manhattan. Yes, the weather is the main story, but the human story seems a bit more implausible too. Jack walking the way to Manhattan from Washington D.C? Even his fellow colleagues thought he was mad. Overlooking this and many other plot points that don't make sense, the film by Roland Emmerich dazzles on-screen with its special effects with very well done depictions of tornadoes, floods, and giant hailstorms. But unlike even Independence Day, these characters are too predictable to make us care for them. It's also really quite depressing, with very few light-hearted moments. But in the end, the disaster begins to pass so that there will be a tomorrow, and even a day after tomorrow. 2 stars
So what does a few degrees matter in the course of human events? Apparently, in "The Day After Tomorrow", it means everything. Global warming has caused the Arctic Ice Shelf to break off into the ocean, creating an influx of fresh water into the ocean that wreaks havoc on the world's weather. Hail in Tokyo, snow in New Delhi, and tornadoes in Los Angeles. It all leads up to the big one, some kind of ice hurricane headed toward New York with an eye that will freeze people to death. At the center of it all? Dennis Quaid, of course. He is Dr. Jack Hall, a paleoclimatologist who predicted this would happen, albeit at a much slower pace. His son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is in New York for an academic competition intended to woo a girl. After unsuccessfully convincing the Vice President of the effects of global warming and informing the President of the consequences, Jack races to Sam before it's too late.
Isn't it amazing how these weather phenomena know to target major human landmarks? The Hollywood sign gets destroyed. We see pictures of a snow-covered Taj Mahal. A hurricane formed hundreds of miles away sets its sights on Manhattan. Yes, the weather is the main story, but the human story seems a bit more implausible too. Jack walking the way to Manhattan from Washington D.C? Even his fellow colleagues thought he was mad. Overlooking this and many other plot points that don't make sense, the film by Roland Emmerich dazzles on-screen with its special effects with very well done depictions of tornadoes, floods, and giant hailstorms. But unlike even Independence Day, these characters are too predictable to make us care for them. It's also really quite depressing, with very few light-hearted moments. But in the end, the disaster begins to pass so that there will be a tomorrow, and even a day after tomorrow. 2 stars
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
With love sorta at first sight, Joel and Clementine (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) seemed like a match made in heaven. But hey, times change. And with it, the inevitable break-up occurs. And how one person deals with it will be different from the next. Clementine took the extraordinary step of having all memories of Joel erased. By accident, Joel finds out about this and wants to undergo the same procedure. So under the guidance of Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and his assistants (Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, and Kirsten Dunst), Joel starts the procedure. But in his dream state, he sees the bad memories fade away along with the good and soon realizes that they were too good to give up.
Writer Charlie Kaufman is such an imaginative guy to begin with, the idea itself should be up for awards. But it's amazing to see that the execution involved in seeing his creation come to life matches it. The tangled, and sometimes confusing, web that Kaufman and director Michael Gondry weave is held together by the emotional impact given by the main characters and by the innovative way Joel outwits the doctors to keep Clementine in his mind. You might not need Carrey and Winslet in the main roles, but it makes the movie that much better. However, only briefly do the ethical arguments of such a procedure are argued. Is it right to toy with somebody's head? That's for another, probably boring, movie to discuss. Instead, we get to enjoy a delightful romantic comedy that's probably the weirdest romantic comedy you'll ever see. 3.5 stars
With love sorta at first sight, Joel and Clementine (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) seemed like a match made in heaven. But hey, times change. And with it, the inevitable break-up occurs. And how one person deals with it will be different from the next. Clementine took the extraordinary step of having all memories of Joel erased. By accident, Joel finds out about this and wants to undergo the same procedure. So under the guidance of Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and his assistants (Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, and Kirsten Dunst), Joel starts the procedure. But in his dream state, he sees the bad memories fade away along with the good and soon realizes that they were too good to give up.
Writer Charlie Kaufman is such an imaginative guy to begin with, the idea itself should be up for awards. But it's amazing to see that the execution involved in seeing his creation come to life matches it. The tangled, and sometimes confusing, web that Kaufman and director Michael Gondry weave is held together by the emotional impact given by the main characters and by the innovative way Joel outwits the doctors to keep Clementine in his mind. You might not need Carrey and Winslet in the main roles, but it makes the movie that much better. However, only briefly do the ethical arguments of such a procedure are argued. Is it right to toy with somebody's head? That's for another, probably boring, movie to discuss. Instead, we get to enjoy a delightful romantic comedy that's probably the weirdest romantic comedy you'll ever see. 3.5 stars
Mean Girls
Can you imagine being fresh meat about to be thrown to a pack of wolves? Lindsay Lohan's Cady Heron certainly can. After being home-schooled in Africa, Cady's family moves back to the United States, which forces Cady to attend school for the first time. Soon, two groups accept her, a duo (Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese) who seem to be on the outside looking in, and the Plastics, pretty, dumb, and pretty dumb girls who were led by Regina (Rachel McAdams). While at first it was a joke to be with the Plastics, soon Cady realized she was becoming just like them. What drove this and Cady's desire to bring Regina down was, of course, their love for Aaron Samuels played by Jonathan Bennett. As a result, it's up to her to combine her experiences with her core values to salvage the relationships she has made thus far so that it'll make the next year a livable place.
Written by rising SNL star Tina Fey, "Mean Girls" puts all the other teen movies released recently to shame. Containing an accurate portrayal of the high school scene and some quick wit, Fey has delivered on creating a smart teen comedy on a subject that's already been done many times over and without the cliches attached to it. Of course, writing is only half the battle. The teens comprise a superb cast led by Lohan and McAdams, conveying the sense of realism that Fey has written in the script. In some scenes, things could have been taken further for comedic effect or for story purposes, but for now, it's just right. 3 stars
Can you imagine being fresh meat about to be thrown to a pack of wolves? Lindsay Lohan's Cady Heron certainly can. After being home-schooled in Africa, Cady's family moves back to the United States, which forces Cady to attend school for the first time. Soon, two groups accept her, a duo (Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese) who seem to be on the outside looking in, and the Plastics, pretty, dumb, and pretty dumb girls who were led by Regina (Rachel McAdams). While at first it was a joke to be with the Plastics, soon Cady realized she was becoming just like them. What drove this and Cady's desire to bring Regina down was, of course, their love for Aaron Samuels played by Jonathan Bennett. As a result, it's up to her to combine her experiences with her core values to salvage the relationships she has made thus far so that it'll make the next year a livable place.
Written by rising SNL star Tina Fey, "Mean Girls" puts all the other teen movies released recently to shame. Containing an accurate portrayal of the high school scene and some quick wit, Fey has delivered on creating a smart teen comedy on a subject that's already been done many times over and without the cliches attached to it. Of course, writing is only half the battle. The teens comprise a superb cast led by Lohan and McAdams, conveying the sense of realism that Fey has written in the script. In some scenes, things could have been taken further for comedic effect or for story purposes, but for now, it's just right. 3 stars
6/03/2004
6/02/2004
Graduation talk has dominated this blog in recent posts, raising the question, did I actually graduate? Well, yes. The only question was the math class I took and you know what, I believe I actually did fail the final. But my final grade was good enough that I don't have to repeat the course. Plus, it all balanced out by the A in California Politics and the A- in Game Theory (I know that last one by heart because of the constant emails I'm getting about the mistake the GSI made by accidentally putting B+ on the sheet and spending the last week trying to fix it on BearFacts, though as of now, still not fixed). So yes, 146 units later, I've officially graduated in Math and Econ.
So without further ado, things can get back to normal around here, talking about the most obscure of things, and of course, the movies. I've only watched two movies this summer season, so there's some catching up to do. I finally watched Mean Girls and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, both fine films to be reviewed later. The Day After Tomorrow will be screened today. I also got to watch Mindhunters, delayed from the winter. But after I watched it, the studio delayed the film again until next year. It has some of the funniest ways to kill people, each time trying to top the last. This mystery has the potential to confuse everyone who watches it. I think it confused themselves too, since the ending takes about 5 minutes showing step-by-step how the killer did what he did. As a result, thumbs down. An official review comes out when the film does, in early 2005. I'm still waiting to see Super Size Me, the much talked about documentary, and of course, this weekend sees the arrival of Harry Potter 3, which I will see this weekend one way or another.
Finally, with the Spelling Bee going on, I would recommend "Spellbound" a documentary released a couple of years back that followed the fortunes of six spellers in the National Spelling Bee. They range from the prodigies to the lucky ones to the ones where it's more of a parents' dream than a child's dream to win the spelling bee. It's entertaining to watch but fails in the nerve-racking experience of actually competing. The filmmakers probably did this intentionally, leaving the nerves to the actual competition and focusing on the stories instead. Tomorrow morning, watch on ESPN as 50 or so spellers battle it out to become champion. More mind-boggling is the MATHCOUNTS competition that follows. It's basically who can do calculus problems the fastest, it seems. Watch as people with thick glasses wearing provided math clothing scratch equations out on paper and hit the buzzer to announce their answer. Did I mention these are on ESPN??? Yes, very weird.
So without further ado, things can get back to normal around here, talking about the most obscure of things, and of course, the movies. I've only watched two movies this summer season, so there's some catching up to do. I finally watched Mean Girls and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, both fine films to be reviewed later. The Day After Tomorrow will be screened today. I also got to watch Mindhunters, delayed from the winter. But after I watched it, the studio delayed the film again until next year. It has some of the funniest ways to kill people, each time trying to top the last. This mystery has the potential to confuse everyone who watches it. I think it confused themselves too, since the ending takes about 5 minutes showing step-by-step how the killer did what he did. As a result, thumbs down. An official review comes out when the film does, in early 2005. I'm still waiting to see Super Size Me, the much talked about documentary, and of course, this weekend sees the arrival of Harry Potter 3, which I will see this weekend one way or another.
Finally, with the Spelling Bee going on, I would recommend "Spellbound" a documentary released a couple of years back that followed the fortunes of six spellers in the National Spelling Bee. They range from the prodigies to the lucky ones to the ones where it's more of a parents' dream than a child's dream to win the spelling bee. It's entertaining to watch but fails in the nerve-racking experience of actually competing. The filmmakers probably did this intentionally, leaving the nerves to the actual competition and focusing on the stories instead. Tomorrow morning, watch on ESPN as 50 or so spellers battle it out to become champion. More mind-boggling is the MATHCOUNTS competition that follows. It's basically who can do calculus problems the fastest, it seems. Watch as people with thick glasses wearing provided math clothing scratch equations out on paper and hit the buzzer to announce their answer. Did I mention these are on ESPN??? Yes, very weird.
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