Yay! Thank God for the Internet!

Good news Americans! I just read that One Life to Live and All My Children will be given new life on the Internet. No, I won’t start watching them but I am grateful that this little bit of America will continue to live.

This is also a testimony to the value of the Internet. Television is expensive, partially because you have to broadcast it. The Internet is much more economically viable. Here you post the videos and people come to you. Thank God for the Internet.

Let me know what you think of this development. One reason I chose WordPress.com is the ability to post a comment without registering. So let me know what you think of this.

Thor and Charlie’s Angels

Well I saw Thor this week and I have to save its just about the decentest movie I’ve seen in a while. It has an appeal for guys and girls, lots of action, humor and even just a little sappy romance. Very well written, very well shot and the special effects are incredible. Definitely something to see once maybe twice.

Heard a remake  of Charlie’s Angels was coming out. I sure hope they do this right, but fear they won’t. I mean, face it, there are some  have been some really good female agents. And with all due respect to her, not all of them looked like the late Farah Fawcett. Julia Childs actually worked for the Office of Strategic Services in Southeast Asia during World War II. (Precursor to the CIA.) Harriet Tubman worked for Union intelligence during the civil war.

Intelligence, special operations and boutique security is a tough, gritty job with long hours, low pay and life threatening situations. It also makes great television and film. Could the networks please emphasize the business side and show a little less skin. I know I’d be appreciative.

Another loss, this one cuts deeper

Well I just  was on IMDB.com and saw that James Arness died. Mr. Arness is most famous for his role in Gunsmoke. But to  me he will best known as one of the original Men in Black, FBI Agent Robert Graham of the movie THEM!. This is my favorite film and he played a great role in it. I will miss Mr. Arness.

Do you YouTube?

Yesterday USA Today had a cover article about YouTube and how it was changing entertainment. Well, what do you think? What do you watch on YouTube and how do you think it will change entertainment. Is it becoming the go-to place for entertainment. Tell me what you think by posting your comments.

One thing I don’t like about YouTube is the fact I would have to register to post a comment on a video. That’s why I blog at WordPress.com. Here anyone can post any comment without registering. So exercise your right to comment without registering and tell me what you think.

UNSTOPPABLE PART THREE

So, let’s get back to our marathon eye-rolling session where I will gush over Unstoppable. As a reminder, this is the movie about the runaway train starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. Last time I blogged about this movie I discussed how it was similar to Star Wars and how it met certain archetypical storytelling themes. Now we’re going to discuss why the lead actor had to be Denzel Washington and how the film relates to downsizing.

But first, everybody roll your eyes. Good. Got that out of the way.

This is a film about downsizing. Denzel’s character is being downsized. The company is taking away the sense of value that his job gave him. He is a highly skilled highly paid worker. I mean, who doesn’t think its prestigious to be working for the railroad. And now that is being taken away.

Right now there are literally millions who face this same scenario. They’ve been working at a company for years. Granted, it may not be the railroad, but it was their job. White collar, blue collar, light blue collar, no collar, it makes no difference. People are losing their jobs. And today, of course, it not just men. Everybody has been affected. This film resonates with so many right now. (If you want to further delve into this subject check out The Company Men with Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck and Chris Cooper.)

I mentioned that the leading actor had to be Denzel. Why? Denzel combines cockiness with a Everyman feel. He won’t be broken, but he’s not going to annoying about it. He can pull off this character. (I’m not saying other actors can’t, but Mr. Washington does a great job of it.)

In this film you had to have a character who personified this. He’s already down— his wife is dead and he’s being retired— so he has to have a reservoir of internal strength. If he was unbreakable —-Unstoppable, if you will— he would not have saved the day. But, if he didn’t have a certain everyman humility about himself then he wouldn’t have been as nice as he was to Chris Pine’s character.

In closing I’d like to mention Dr. Elizabeth Vandiver’s lecture on the Iliad. (This is one of the Great Lectures Series from the Teaching Company “The Iliad of Homer.”) In this lecture she discusses the Greek concepts of honor, which in ancient Greek is called time(that’s pronounced tee-may). Time (pronounced tee-may) is honor that can be given, but that also can be taken away. Time(all together now, tee-may) is part of what Dr. Vandiver referred to as a culture of shame. In a culture of shame your sense of well-being and honor come from what others say about you. In a culture of guilt, however, your sense of self worth comes from the inside.

(Let me take a moment to recommend The Teaching Company’s Great Lectures to everybody. No matter what the subject, they are incredible and worth the price.)

Yes, the names are a bit confusing—and this blog is getting too long— but I figured its a good thing for all of us to keep in mind. We all face people and individuals  who want to belittle us and make us smaller than them. They can’t derive honor —time(tee-may) — without taking it from someone else. To them its a zero-sum game. Only if we refuse to play their game can we have a true sense of self-worth that is unassailable by others. Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said, you are the only one who came make yourself feel bad. Or something like that.

Well, now that I am waxing philosophic it is time for me to go. Next time I discuss how Unstoppable is a guy’s movie.

Just saw HOP

Well, I saw Hop yesterday. I’d have to say its not a bad movie. I’m also going to wager its not for everyone. While it isn’t a serious movie, it does tackle some rather serious issues. And it is a well written script with excellent CGI. I’m not a big fan of what I’m going to refer as rude humor, but even that is rare.

Now lets get to the real reason I went to see it. So I was doing some research the other week about X3, the third in the X-Men trilogy when I came across an interesting review. Here’s the link. It does have a bit of language I’m not a fan of but the idea is sold.

http://io9.com/5790329/why-hop-is-the-unofficial-sequel-to-x+men-3

While I’m going to call this more of an interpretation of Hop it still holds water. I can see how this would work.

As far as Hop itself goes, catch it on DVD. Or, if you’re lucky enough, catch it in the second run theaters like I did. It should be there at least this week. It is a very good movie, especially if you’re a fan of Elf, or The Santa Clause series, or even the Kirstie Alley movie Toothless.

Two good movies (well, one good one okay)

Alright, new movie recommendations, with caveats included.

First, RED. This is the film with Willis, Freeman, Mirren, Malkovich and Urban in it. When I got it out I knew it was a gamble. I was disappointed by some of the language, but overall very pleased. SPOILER ALERT!!!  I like the fact that even though these are trained killers they only knock off bad guys. I like the fact nobody undresses and the worst you’ll see happening is kissing. The language is not what I would have written by far, but compared to Unstoppable, it is good.  For a film this big with a cast this great and with this much action, the language is better than it could have been.  The good guys are good the bad guys aren’t and its funny. So, if you watched Unstoppable this film is probably one you can handle. Once again, for a film of this type and caliber(no pun intended) it is very good.

Second, Wyvern. This movie is incredible. Yes, there is some objectionable language in it, but it is far and few. The plot revolves around an ancient dragon released from the arctic ice cap by global warming. This movie works. The strength here is not the special effects—which are great— but the characters. All the characters are good but I want to mention two in particular.

First, I have to mention Barry Corbin as Haas. Barry Corbin is an incredible actor I’ve seen before in Ben Ten: Alien Swarm(Incredible movie, by the way. One of my favorites) and Command And Conquer(yes, the video game).  You may know him from The Closer, where I’ve also seen him. He’s an incredible actor and I’ve got to look up more of his work.(I’m pretty certain I caught a glimpse of him in The Unit once.) I still don’t understand why they treated the character the way they did. I would say more, but it would be a spoiler. Still, he plays an integral, essential role in the film and no one could have done it better.

Secondly, I was pleased to see the late  Don Davies as the Colonel. This is especially endearing to those of us who watched Stargate. One can almost imagine his character from Stargate retiring or visiting the middle-of-nowhere Alaska. Especially with some of the dialogue they give the character. If you like westerns, sci-fi or dragons you should watch Wyvern. Its part of the Maneater series of films. I think they’re direct to DVD(hey, don’t knock it, some of my favorites are). Of course, I’d recommend watching it anyway.

Well, I’ve got to run. Have a great week.

UNSTOPPABLE PART TWO

The movie is called Unstoppable. If you can watch it you should. But the more I thought about the movie the more I realized what a gem it was. So I’m going to start with the really boring analysis and go to the good stuff. Lets…. oh wait. Everybody roll their eyes. Done? Good. Got that out of the way.

I’m about to compare Unstoppable to Star Wars Episode Three. Yes. You heard right. I’m doing this because SW: Episode Three (the first one ever made) was written to include classic elements of storytelling as defined by Joseph Campbell. George Lucas’ daughter attended Sarah Lawrence College where Campbell(an expert on anthropology and mythic legend from around the globe) taught. She introduced her father to Campbell’s ideas and Lucas used them to write Star Wars. What I am about to share with you comes from a online course I took with a man named Skip Press.

NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD

Okay, so we open with Chris Pine’s character—Will Colson– in his world—-like Luke Skywalker on Tattooine. Like Luke met Obi-Wan Kenobi, Will Colson meets Frank Barnes—played by Denzel Washington. Frank will be Will’s mentor. He will guide into the world beyond his own. But like Luke it will be up to Will to make the final conquest and return to his world—his estranged wife and child— with the prize he has won.
The Death Star is, of course, train 777. We see Connie Hooper—played very well by Rosario Dawson— arriving at the yard. She is greeted by Dewey and Gilleece with news of 777. This is the equivalent of CP30 and R2D2 meeting Princess Leia. (Okay, everybody roll thier eyes again.)

Ned Oldham, the guy in the “dualie” red pickup(think Millenium Falcon) who chases the train—is Hans Solo. (No, he doesn’t marry Connie Hooper. Yes, this is a limited analogy.) He is the the archetypical character known as the coyote. A bit rough aroudn the edges, full of himself, but capable. he seems unreliable but he will pull through. A real character.
Then we have the FRA safety inspector who is magically in the office and dispenses kindly—but essential— wisdom throughout the film. This is the archetypical character of the wizard.
Consider him Yoda.

Okay, lets speed this up, you’re yawning. Throughout the day Frank sizes up and trains a reluctant but ultimately capable Will—his apprentice. Several conventional large scale
assaults are made on “The Death Star” and they fail. Finally “one ship” goes in on a unconventional attack relying on feeling, hunches and “the Force.” Will is acknowledged as having completed his training—Frank makes him take off his yellow vest— then makes a final quest to prove himself and —literally, “blood” himself.

Frank tries to stop the train but due to forces out of his control, is unable to. Just when all hope is lost Ned—Hans Solo—comes out of the sun, and takes Will—Luke Skywalker— up to
front of the train and Will saves the day. Okay, nuff said this has been long enough. ome back next time to learn how Unstoppable is actually a film about the economy and downsizing and why it had to be Denzel.

UNSTOPPABLE PART ONE

Okay, I want everyone reading this to roll their eyes. Done? Gooood. Now that we’ve got that out of the way prepare for me to gush. I watched Unstoppable the other day and it incredible. I’ve worked in a similar plant/skilled trade/union environment as the railroad(although not the railroad) and the personalities of the characters are spot on. Whoever wrote this film either had a father or relative who worked in one of these environments or this is how they worked through screen writing school. Believe me, when you watch/watched this movie these characters are the real deal.

(DISCLAIMER: To my former/present employers, I am discussing personality. I am not implying I ever worked at a place where this could/would/did happen. To my former/present colleagues and coworkers. I am discussing personality. I’m not matching any person to any character. Seriously. I’m not.)

Besides, if you look up the actually Crazy Eights incident it is really nowhere near the movie. The train’s high speed was 47 miles per hour, it went up a hill and slowed and a railroad
employee just stepped on board. Further, the federal government investigated it fully and found no fault. Okay, just getting that out of the way.
So, I’m suggesting you watch UNSTOPPABLE if you haven’t already. There is language in it, but its no more than you’ll hear on 90% of plant/shop floors around America.(And I assume the world.) I don’t like it, I don’t think it should be there, but they could have done worse. I recommend the movie because of the incredible writing, the incredible acting and the well done story.

Next time we’ll delve into why the title is especially apt.

A classic is gone from our midst

Today I come to you with a very, very heavy heart. I was logging onto my e-mail when I discovered that Elisabeth Sladen had died. I now turn to perhaps the best source for information on the Internet, Wikipedia. The following is drawn from their site.

Elisabeth Sladen, aged 63, died on April 19, 2011 after a battle with cancer. She was beloved

for her role on Dr. Who as Sarah Jane Smith. Ms. Sladen reprised the role both in the show Dr. Who and

in her own program, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She is survived by her husband, Brian Miller and her

daughter, Sadie Miller.  Words fail to describe the sorrow that the passing of Ms. Sladen brings to us. Her career

was long and full but she will be remembered for her role not only as The Doctor’s companion but also as a

Protector of Earth in her own right. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to any secondary

character is for them to successfully spin off their own show. Well, in this case it wasn’t the character that

spun off the show, but rather the actor. Elisabeth Sladen found a place in all of our hearts. That place is

empty today, but we sincerely hope she is in a better place. Our Movie Idea extends our deepest

condolences to Brian and Sadie Miller. You are in our thoughts and prayers. We celebrate the life of

your wife and mother yet grieve with you. We won’t pretend to understand what you’re going through

but instead offer a sincere ‘I’m sorry’ from this side of the Atlantic. We hope you will take some succor

from the fact that Elisabeth will be remembered and those memories cherished.