April 2007

It has been a continued struggle to balance my time among my many projects. So my blogging posts have become sparse. Here's an update. During a recent heavy snowfall, I went out to get your standard postcard snow shots. Here are some Ice Waterfalls along the Mississippi, including Minnehaha falls.
Along the river, I saw a couple of Bald Eagles, one happened to fly over me.


Here are my Current Faves for April 2007

DVD

Looney Tunes DVD Collection. I am currently watching Volume 3 in the DVD collection. I use Amazon.com as data source in figuring out which of the 60 cartoons in the collection are the best. In doing so, you find that the written synopsis of a cartoon makes the story seem, well, a hard sell. Here is the synopsis of the Porky Pig cartoon "Bye, Bye Bluebeard":

Bluebeard the killer is at large, and in Porky Pig's home, a crafty mouse disguises himself as Bluebeard to scare Porky into providing him with a generous serving of food. Just as Porky realizes the mouse is too tiny to be Bluebeard, the real Bluebeard appears and ties Porky onto a rocket, intending to blast the pig into orbit! But when Bluebeard is distracted by Porky's food and decides to help himself to it, he his challenged by the mouse, who leads him on a chase.

I can see a big budget remake of this film with Bruce Willis as Bluebeard. Andy Richter as Porky. The crafty mouse is played by Steve Buscemi (using CGI). They can get a food tie-in with McDonalds.

Speaking of which, I foresaw the new big budget remake of Underdog. Here was the story synopsis I wrote:

Arnold Schwarzenneger as Underdog, Jennifer Lopez as Sweet Polly Purebread, Jack Nicholson as Simon Bar Sinister. Arnold is know to others as Shoeshine Boy. while Shoeshine Boy is buffing the Mayor's shoes, he overhears that Simon bar Sinister is threatening to evaporate the entire country's water supply, unless he is paid 3 billion dollars. Shoeshine Boy needs to save the entire population, but must not miss dinner with his sweetie, Sweet Polly Purebread, lest she discover his secret identity.

At the Dinner Club, they both have just been seated at the table. They are about to be served some water.

Shoeshine:
"My after such a tough day shining shoes, I am sure looking forward to drinking this ice cold glass of water."

Polly:
"What are you, some kind of idiot? That's MY water, don't you have no respect for my ass?"

Shoeshine: (sheepishly)
"Sorry Dear".

All of a sudden, Simon Bar Sinister and his gang come crashing through the windows. Simon is carrying an evaporator machine on his back. Simon uses the hose attached to the machine to suck up water. He comes up to Shoeshine and Polly's table and points his hose at the water glass. As the machine slurps up the water, Simon gives a sinister laugh. He pulls out a tiny bottle and examines it. He puts a label on it that says "Dinner Club", and places it alongside a number of other bottles saying "Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, City pool", etc.

Simon:
"Sorry, looks like we're out of water. You'll just have to suck air! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Shoeshine:
"Listen, you no good person dere. You are upsetting my girlfriend here. It is not nice."

Polly:
"Don't just sit there there, stupid, do something! (taunting) C'mon Shoeshine Boy, are you gonna let him come and take our water? I wan-ted some wa-ter, get it back from him!"

Shoeshine:
"Now you have done it, you are upsetting me."

Simon:
"Oh Yeah? well, see if this might upset you"

Simon grabs Polly and handles here roughly. His helpers subdue Shoeshine Boy. Shoeshine has a dilemma: If he uses his special powers to stop Simon Bar sinister from perpetrating his evil deeds, then his wife will know his secret identity.

Shoeshine:
"Um, I need to go use the bathroom"

Shoeshine slips away.

Polly:
"What!?! Are you just putting your tail between your legs and running away? Don't you have ANY cajongas?"

Simon:
"And you my pretty, your ass is coming with me".

Simon's gang grabs Polly and takes them back to their hideout. Shoeshine Boy, who finally re-emerges from the bathroom after changing into his Underdog outfit, comes out to see that Polly has been kidnapped.

Underdog:
"Oh I am too late, what can Underdog do now?"

Then, we hear Polly bitching out Simon from way off in the distance. Underdog perks his super sensitive ears as he picks up her.

Polly:
"Let go of me! Do you know who I am? You better let go of me now or I'll kick your ass into tomorrow! Where the hell is that good for nothing Shoeshine Boy!"

Underdog has been running at high speed, to the point he becomes just a white streak. He arrives at Simon's hideout. Simon is stunned to see Underdog come crashing through the window.

Underdog:
"There is no need to fear this thing that is happening to you now. I, the Underdog, am here now. "

Simon:
Curses! Underdog!

Underdog knocks off all his gang, apprehends Simon, and frees Polly. However, in the ensuing struggle, Underdog knocks over the large storage structure that contains all the glass bottles of water. We see broken bottles labelled "Niagra Falls" and "Los Angeles water supply" scattered on the floor.

Epilogue.... Sweet Polly, still furious at Shoeshine boy for disappearing at the Dinner Club, throws all of Shoeshine Boy's clothes out into the street. Underdog, returning home after changing back into Shoeshine Boy, sees that he is being tossed out of Polly's house. Dejected, he starts dating loose women at bars.

Master and Commander - Special Edition. Included on the special edition are about 20 minutes of deleted scenes. I could easily see these scenes fitting right in the final cut. So think of this as the director's cut (although the deleted scenes are on a separate disc). There is an interesting subtext about how the rest of the crew regards the Doctor. We get to understand the fundamental differences in their philosophy about killing. The crew are soldiers and must train to shoot (using birds as targets), the doctor is trained to save lives (and discourages senseless killing). We also get additional scenes exploring the wonders of the Galapagos Islands. This is one of Peter Weir's best films, and the big budget adventure breathes so much atmosphere, you can almost smell the sea salt. Story is tightly paced as Captain Jack and his crew aboard the H.M.S. Surprise chase the French rival ship Acheron. Through the documentary we learn that Weir deliberately starts this film with the ship already at sea, as if it is their only home. That also helps transports the audience into this period piece, and lets us live a moment in history. Since this is more of an ensemble piece, Russell Crowe is not mugging every scene. The film is oozing with character as we see the Captain and the Doctor join together to play string duets. We see a slice of life of the crew going about their paces. We also learn naval fighting tactics. All the research is so well displayed that this film almost feels like a documentary.


Below. A criminally overlooked thriller involving a crippled World War II U.S Submarine. This is the most original submarine tale of the genre, and offers original insights into Submarine life not seen before. It features the horror of depth charges, torpedoes, fire, and other mechanical malfunctions and their consequences. It also successfully plays up the common superstitions, such as a lady on board a ship being bad luck. The third act takes a dark turn as we discover a secret that the captain has been keeping from everyone. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes, including a heart-pounding scene as a faulty torpedo threatens to blow-up inside the submarine. Well shot, well acted, well cast, and an original story makes this a memorable film.

TV


X Files. This show always elevated their scripts by jumping over the expected plot basics, and worked past them to the next level. That's why this show keeps you wondering what will happen next. Another perk of watching these re-runs is the elevated budget it enjoyed in it's heyday. There are truly cinematic scenes, with beautiful cinematography and set design. It's funny how Vancouver supposedly doubles for locations across North America.

Planet Earth (Discovery Channel). It's like Imax on cable. Lush nature photography using the latest camera technology turns our planet into a sweeping epic.

The Colbert Report. Now achieving fanatical cult status, Colbert has let the power of loud opinions get to his head. He has been touting his Ice Cream, Hockey Team, Comic Hero, Green Screen Hero, Eagle, Bridge, Wikipedia Entries, Political Attention, and he's just building up steam. What drives the energy of this show's momentum is Colbert confronting the final shreds of sanity as he tries to dissect the logic of GOP talking points. Wrapped up in a nice suit, tie, and glasses, nerdy looking Colbert appears as conservative as his character. Which makes it even more the twisted as he makes fun of his own schtick.


MOVIES

Grindhouse. Director Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino revive the 70s drive-in cinema with two separate features that pay homage to exploitation films. Both directors have their own approach to this homage, with Rodriguez going for the Zombie / Explosions / Bruce Willis action flick to outdo all B-Movie action flicks. He also uses the damaged film look to dramatic use, almost as if you start to black out from the extreme scenes. Tarantino goes for the gab. He has a great sense of hip language and makes a Lynchian seduction of the Big Bad Wolf an two sets of 3 lovely girls. This is not really an action flick, although there is an extended car chase in the third act. Both have a pretty decent pace so it is not as much of a really butt-numbing 3 hours as you might think.

300. Well, everyone has seen this already, but I just want to mention what I thought about the showing I went to. I went to an Imax showing, and there were college age guys drinking next to me (this theatre allows alcohol). They were whooping it up during the fight scenes, but more like they did in the Matrix, not like NWA Wrestling. Very stylish, but also strong acting by Gerard Butler and others plucked from the cast of "Lord of the Rings" (no complaint there). This is the follow-up to the genre-bending "Sin City", cartoon violence with cartoon blood. The violence is less realistic and more artistic. The key to this movie's appeal is the simplicity of story. There are very shallow sub-plots, and they never wander far from the main thrust of the film, the heroic stand of the 300 Spartan fighters against the thousands of Persion soldiers. This lends to a lean script and lots of action. What is all the more remarkable, is that this film was made for less than half the price of most big action spectacles like this. Proving once again, it's not the size of the budget as much as the quality of the material that makes a notable film.

Zodiac. I went to see this mainly because I still believe that David Fincher is capable of making an original film. He certainly enjoys gritty atmosphere. Most (if not all) of his films have a greenish alien tint to them. In this film, we are transported back to the 70's, and find ourselves following the not-so-sensational story of the Zodiac killer. Sure, it was sensational then, but there have been numerous serial killers and numerous serial killer movies since the 70's. What drew me into this film was walking through this detective story, and following Jake Gyllenhaal's point of view as he obsesses over all the evidence. I read a few reviews after a couple advance screenings, and there was "concern" over the ending, which was not considered satisfying. Would Fincher re-edit and go for some Hollywood type of closure? Judging by the final product, Fincher didn't blink. No, we aren't given the type of closure you'd expect in something like "Silence of the Lambs", but this movie wants to go by the numbers with it's realism. Bravo.


MUSIC

Amon Tobin - Supermodified. A hybrid of mixing jazz - electronic - blues - Middle eastern and other influences into one fluid stream-of-consciousness. It takes quite a mastery of the language to combine these disparate elements and make the whole greater than the sum of it's parts. Good for repeated listenings, great soundtrack for an adventure.

Gong - You Remixed. Gong is a space-rock group from the late sixties. They are obscure as far as know, but have followers out there. In 1999, a few fans remixed this album from 1974. They include Orb, The Shamen, Youth, System 7, 808 State, you know... Trance is still my main music to work to, and it is always nice to come across some fresh material.

Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place. Born out of my synth-pop dreams, Schnauss starts with Tangerine Dream, takes the best of OMD, and transports you into trance-like analog beats a la Orb. But the best part of this synthetic dream is that it sounds like it came from your run-of-the-mill sequencer in a PC, a humble familiarity. It only shows that it's not the quality of the instrument as much as the quality of the musician that makes notable music.