February 2008

There were 28 posts published in February 2008 (this is page 3 of 4).

The War is Over

Finally, this drawn-out, pointless conflict has come to an end. No, not the War on Terror, or any of the other really important battles being fought right now. I’m talking about the High Definition DVD war. Today Toshiba finally conceded the battle; HD-DVD has died at the feet of BluRay.

What does this mean for you? Probably nothing. Not many people have BluRay players and even fewer have HD-DVD players. In fact, most people don’t even have the HDTVs required to really notice the difference these discs make. Down the line, you will probably switch over to BluRay. Knowing my family, we’ll probably upgrade by the end of this year.
BluRay is a mightier disc, but ultimately, will better picture and audio sway consumers? Not many. So I’m gonna guess BluRay is going to start getting more and more exclusive content while DVD gets the shaft in the coming months. But will you “rebuy” the movies you already own on DVD? I don’t see myself doing that. Except Star Wars, of course, whenever that six-pack comes out…

Three Heads are Better than One

Since the death of Heath Ledger “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” has been thrown into obscurity, but according to many sources, it is possible that Ledger’s final role will be completed by three other actors playing transformations of Ledger’s character.

Colin Farrel, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp have reportedly signed on to be in the film with a release date set for 2009. I like the idea and look forward to Gilliam’s film. Also, this is the first collaboration with Gilliam and screenwriter Charles Mckeown since The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Additionally, they worked together on the screenplay for Brazil.

I look forward to the new additions. Johnny Depp is always welcome when it comes to weird projects, and you just don’t get enough Jude Law these days. A lot of people give Colin Farrell a hard time for some poor career decisions but I think he’s a great actor. I’m looking forward to seeing them all work with Gilliam.

Going Solo

I guess my first blog entry will be about something pretty insignificant. Well, I was playing rock band on just guitar today at Sean’s today and I noticed that you can just play the entire songs on the solo buttons (but you can’t tap the whole song). I guess I’m just curious as to whether Sean had already brought attention to this fact, or if I’m the first to discover it, ’cause I think it does make the game slightly easier even if it doesn’t quite feel right playing the whole songs up there.

Welcome back Boone.

Bret Boone signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals today. That gives him a crack to break camp with the big league club in April. At 38 years old he’ll probably be competing for a bench/utility job since Ron Belliard and Felipe Lopez are already competing for the everyday second base job. At first I thought, hmm well he’s been retired for 3+ years, he was terrible even back to ’03, who could possibly want to sign him?

Turns out his dad. His father is currently the assistant general manager of the Nat’s, so that could help with the signing. Not to mention his brother Aaron is the starting third basemen.

But with all bad blood aside, I’m actually excited. I used to be a huge Bret Boone fan, and the fact that he wasn’t in the Mitchell Report has to make me think, “Maybe he’s clean?” I mean, probably not, but I’d still like to see him do well. I’m a sucker for come backers.

Dead Tired


Diary of the Dead

It’s hard to believe that almost 40 years ago, George Romero made the cult classic Night of the Living Dead and some of the other great installments that would follow. I got to give it to the guy, I’m impressed that he’s still dishing out these zombie movies after all this time, but after viewing his latest work Diary of the Dead, I can’t help but feel ultimately disappointed.

Here we have Romero offering us a modern day reboot of the series shot on handheld cameras. What starts with a group of college students making a horror flick soon turns into a real horror movie as the dead start to come back to life to feed on the living. Right off the bat I don’t really care for the concept, handheld cameras didn’t really add much to the experience and unlike Cloverfield I couldn’t find myself liking our main protagonist (by which I mean the cameraman) at all. The acting was melodramatic and cheesy and the cliches were non-stop. “Ha Ha their teacher is a British alcoholic who was in the war and is good with a bow and arrow” I couldn’t believe he actually reminisced about “The War” They used that corny gimmick in From Dusk Till Dawn as a joke for god’s sake.

Though I must admit Diary does have it’s moments, there is a pretty cool Amish guy with dynamite and some of the gore is entertaining, so it wasn’t a complete failure. What’s Diary of the Dead’s biggest problem? It’s just boring, the characters don’t really do much of anything or have any depth. Romero’s dialogue is dry and tiresome and really seems to be “Out of touch” with today’s modern youth. This wasn’t quite as bad as anything you’d see on the Sci-Fi Channel but not quite worthy of the big screen. I just hope Romero has got another good horror movie in him before he calls it quits.

…And We Got to Get Ourselves Back to the Garden

Stardust

Now, I don’t know about you people, but for me, Stardust was just supposed to be that movie that has Robert De Niro as a gay pirate.  Yet, it got some pretty good reviews, so I was always a little intrigued with the film.  This weekend Blockbuster had there “3 $15 DVDs for $20” sale and I took that opportunity to pick it up, along with 3:10 to Yuma and Eastern Promises.  I’m glad I did.  Stardust is the first film in a long time to really recapture the feel of the fantasy adventure films of the 1980s.  Tristan Thorne is a young man living in the town of Wall, named for the large wall that the town lies adjacent to.  In an attempt to win the heart of his beloved Victoria, Tristan sets out on a journey to retrieve a fallen star on the other side of the wall.  What he doesn’t know is just how dangerous an undertaking that is.  You see, the other side of the wall is a completely different world, and a wicked witch and several desperate princes are after that star.  This story is from a book by Neil Gaiman that I don’t think any of us have read.  People often compare Stardust to the classic The Princess Bride, and while it’s not quite that good, the comparison is acceptable.  The story is fun and funny, the cast all clearly had a great time with their roles, it all just works really well.  If you’re in the mood for a good time, you might want to give this film a chance.
I’ve just reread this and am aware that my writing here is pretty horrible.  But you know what?  I’m not gonna do this over.  Suck on that, world!

Something to Sink Your Teeth Into


Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

So I’ve been spending most of this week listening to the debut album from Vampire Weekend and I have to say it’s really grown on me. A simplistic sound but with some infectious melodies resulting in some very pleasant pop music. The arrangements are basic but memorable and quick to the point. (The album only clocks in at about 34 minutes) The 60s sounding keyboards produce a nice vintage sound and are well complimented by the full bass and some nice n’ choppy guitar work. The Drum parts give off somewhat of an Island rhythm vibe and are always inventive. The songs here range from speedy indie rock to laid back alternative. Overall it’s a very respectable debut album and I look forward to what these lads will do next.

Favorite Tracks: “A-Punk”, “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance”, “Oxford Comma”,