Semaj's Blog your Blog

Slither Slither is one of those movies that I find difficult to put into one category, because it’s not exactly a straight horror movie, but it isn’t fully a comedy. There were times when I would laugh and times when I had to look away. For the most part, Slither handles this balance fairly well. And, the best way to balance the horror/comedy elements is to bring in an actor that has had years of this experience on a show called Firefly , Nathan Fillion . Fillion adds the right amount of wit when needed and the seriousness when the scene calls for it. The main plot of the story is that an alien blob comes to Earth and takes over a Human by the name of Grant. Grant then goes out kidnaps a local woman and infects her with a virus that makes her eat everything living around her. That is until she becomes fat and has hundreds of these little alien worms. Then these worms force themselves into the mouths of every living thing in the area. The worms take over the bod...

Well, here’s the Hollywood Box Office round up. Happy Feet : With around 99 million grossed, not even FOX news can stop this movie from making money, and trust me they’ve tried. It’s a good movie and you should check it out. Casino Royale : Mr. Bond will not go away without a fight, and his movie is pulling 94 million. Deja Vu : I got the feeling that I’ve seen this movie in the line up before. Hmm… Deck the Halls : I hated this movie when it was called Jingle All The Way . Sorry, moving on. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan : I like the character of Borat, but I’m not sure I can take an entire movie about him. This probably won’t be the last time we see Borat, because he’s coming in at 109 million.

Useless fact: Even though Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first film in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was in fact a prequel to the first film, so it happened before Raiders. Temple of Doom is set in 1935, and Lost Ark is set in 1936, a year later. The biggest question about this fact is this: Why was this movie a prequel to begin with? It could have easily been a sequel. I’m also shocked that many fans of the series don’t know about this fact.

Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit after all? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10412968 A few days ago, it was reported by Jackson himself that he had a falling out with New Line and he would not return as director of the Lord of the Rings prequel. Yet, there is still hope out there. And, since his Halo movie has gone back into developmental hell, I wouldn’t mind him going around for another try at the Series. (( Zaentz has told The Sun newspaper the rights to The Hobbit fall back to his company next year and when that happens, Jackson will be back on the project. Jackson and New Line are embroiled in legal action, with Jackson alleging the company owes him money for his work on The Fellowship of the Ring . )) For a while, I liked New Line and the way they gave Jackson creative control, but they’re acting like asses at the moment with all this legal stuff. Pay the man his money. I still believe this is all up in the air....

Busted again http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/11/29/snoop-dog.html Snoop Dogg just can’t seem to keep out of trouble. He just got arrested again… ((Rapper Snoop Dogg was arrested Tuesday in Burbank, Calif., after leaving NBC Studios where he had taped a performance for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.)) So, are the police just posted outside Jay Leno Studio all the time? ((Police seized a handgun, cocaine and marijuana after searching his home and car, said Sgt. Kevin Grandalski.)) It looks like Mr. Dogg was in for a long party. You would think Snoop would get his act together by now. I guess not.

More Terms to learn about thanks to Urban Dictionary. (urbandictionary.com) FOD: Foreign Object Debris. For those of you who were in an air force(any air force, not strictly the US or Canadian's) that was a vital and necessary duty before a tactical fighter squadron's jet fighters could be launched. It consists of walking from one end of the runway to the other in search of nuts, bolts, tools ANY loose objects of any size that could be easily sucked up by the jet engines... This was not to be allowed to happen because it is dangerous for the pilot and the aircraft... If you work in any airline type company, you will know about this FOD. People are supposed to pick up any FOD around the airport. riding neons: To be riding in a car equipped with neon lights on the rims or undercarriage of the car. Comment: Okay, I hear this in songs all the time and I always wonder they’re talking about. Sorry, I can’t afford to ‘ride on neons’. They do look sweet in a B...

Well, it looks like Ron Moore is adding another “Thing” to his career. http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=3759 Comment: THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD: Ron Moore will be writing the remake screenplay for this upcoming movie. Generally speaking, most of Ron Moore’s movie scripts get rewritten. His script to Freddy vs. Jason was shelved, and his MI:2 script was so completely rewritten that almost nothing from his screenplay made it to screen. Here’s hoping that he has success.

Random Thoughts ~Next semester I start my classes at U of L, and I am looking forward to the change. I will be going to School as an Upper classmen, and I could get out of there within 2 ½ years. Then hopefully I can quit my job at UPS. ~I had a weak back a week back. Sorry, that was a very strange Power Rangers: The Movie reference ~Pretty much everyone around me knows me as The Movie Guy. They will ask me interesting movie questions. Such as, “Hey James, what was the name of Eddie Murphy’s character name in Beverly Hills Cop ?” Simple, Axel Foley. ~I wonder if Michael Bay dreams the way he directs movies: overused slow motion shots and bad dialogue. Don’t forget the Microsoft ads. ~I drove into downtown and saw a truck driver sideswipe a woman’s car in the middle of the intersection. Remember, truck always win in a car wreck. ~Speaking of Power Rangers, if you closely at some of the early episodes the Yellow Ranger (Woman), was played in some clips by a man! WTF?

http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/article.asp?Id=michael-jacksons-ghosts The agonybooth.com has another funny review. This time they take on the terrible movie/music video Michael Jackson's "Ghosts". This movie/video is bad folks and I believe this is Jackson version 5.6. MJ acting is just creepy, but not in good way. Watch the bad movie yourself. http://youtube.com/watch?v=UwOA8H5Vaak

Happy Feet I knew going into the movie that this was a kid movie about dancing penguins. I went into the movie wanting to hate it. Here’s the surprise, I enjoyed the movie. It’s a fun movie, and the music is very good. The movie forced me to smile more than a few times. The movie is about a colony of Emperor Penguins, and their way of meeting each other is to sing big song numbers, but dancing is forbidden. Mumble ( Elijah Wood ) is one penguin that’s different than the other ones, because he likes to dance but can’t sing. Of course the dancing forces him out of his community, and he goes out on his own. This is when he meets up with some smaller penguins and they befriend him. For a kids’ movie, I was shocked how well written the movie was overall. The animation is so spot-on that you can see Elijah Wood’s facial expressions on Mumble’s face. The landscape shots are truly amazing, but that’s always where CGI shines anyway. The dance and song numbers ar...

Things you can’t do while blogging in a public location Because my computer is in the crapper, I am forced to go to public places to do my blogging, and I’ve had to adjust my blogging ways... 1 You can’t type in your underwear : I’m sure people will have problems with me sitting in my underwear while typing this entry. Not that that's what I do when I'm at home… 2 You can’t laugh out laud at people’s blogs or videos : People would look at me strangely if I started busted out laughing for no reason. 3 I can’t sing old 80s songs or play my music as loud as I want to anymore : If I did this, I would get a visit from a tall bald cop that’s sitting at one of the computers across from me. 4 Can’t eat a full course meal in front of the computer with one hand, while typing with the other hand: I’m not sure if I can bring a plate of food into the library. I’m sure people would have a problem with it, including the bald cop.

No more Updates until Monday. I’ll answer comments on Monday. But, I would like to wish everyone Happy Thanksgivings. Or Happy T!

Lost Season 1 Soundtrack review Since google has sent me a lot of hits to my first LOST music CD review, I feel compelled to round it off with my take on Season 1. When LOST first came on to the scene, many people where talking about the breath-taking pilot. I didn’t start watching the show until after the 1 st season wrapped, thus watching it on DVD. One of the things that stood out in the opening episode was Michael Giacchino’s sweeping music to the scene where Jack is walking on the beach surveying the destruction of crash and the music swells and takes over the speakers. That was when I knew that the music to LOST was something special. Plus, the best part was that Giacchino’s music was recorded with a live orchestra. Most TV shows use only synthetic sounds for musical cues nowadays. The reason music plays such a large role in LOST is because JJ Abrams respects the role that music plays on an emotional level to what is happing on screen. Abrams and Giacchino ...

Where's the silly hair? Kramer loses it There are certain things you can say and certain things you can’t say. Michael Richards crossed that line with his racist comments. I didn’t know about the incident until someone asked me about it at work, and they had to explain it to me, that was when I went home and looked for it on CNN. Who knew Kramer was a bitter washed up stand-up that loses his cool by shouting out racist comments to black people. ((Michael Richards, best know for his role as Kramer in the TV series Seinfeld , has apologised for his expletive-laden racist tirade during a stand-up performance at a Los Angeles comedy club.)) Uh, best known ONLY for his role as Kramer. ((''I was at the comedy club trying to do my act and got heckled and I took it badly and went into a rage,'' Richards said.)) Part of being a comedian is knowing how to come back from being heckled. Most comedians have had bad encounters from hecklers, but the best o...

I would like to thank the people who gave me return Favorites in Technorati sites. Maiev : I used to play FFXI like crazy, and this blog helps me remember all the friends and playing experiences I left behind in that game. AnthonyP : He has one of the best Star Trek blogs out there and he updates with new information all the time. Go by and visit… http://trekmovie.com/ Nektros : She’s a good friend and a good writer, hopefully she’ll return to the blog sphere soon. Also, I’m sorry that I can’t keep up with everyone’s blogs, but having limited computer time isn’t easy on me. I hope to have the computer fixed in another week or so.

The Break-Up This movie stars Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in a romantic comedy about breaking up. The trailers would have you believe that the movie is a fun stupid comedy about breaking up, but there are some disturbing things in the movie that make them both look like appalling characters. So, you end up hating both of them in the end, and people should shout at their screens saying, “It’s over, get over it you two.” And, this is logical problem with the movie, because these two will not move out of their joint-ownership apartment, and it’s really sad to see these two go at it for the entire movie. As far as acting goes, most of it is fair to good, Jason Bateman , Jon Favreau , John Michael Higgins being the ‘break’ out performances in the movie. Jennifer Aniston looks good naked and that’s pretty much all you can say for her performance. Vaughn merely is pretty much playing another version of himself; look at Swingers and The Wedding Crashers for similar p...

Casino Royale James Bond is back, well sort of back. The latest Bond movie is a reboot of sorts, and a new leading man is in the James Bond role. And, it’s a role Daniel Craig fills extremely well too; actually he’s freaking great in the role. James Bond this time is more edgy and cold blooded. He doesn’t think twice about shooting people. He’s rougher around the edges, than the Bonds of the 80s and 90s. This version of Bond could only be played masterfully by Mr. Craig. He is the new Bond! Casino Royale is a fun movie that has some well directed action scenes that build upon it each passing minute. One of the best action scenes has Bond chasing a guy through an African village leaping through buildings and Cranes. This type of action puts Michael Bay to shame. The Airport chase shouldn’t be overlooked either. Of course, there has to be some type of love interest in a Bond movie, and The Bond women aren’t too shabby either, actually the first lady Bond comes across in the mo...

MTV Party Go, Vol 2 review Part 1 of 2 While digging through some boxes, I came across a CD that my brother owned called MTV Party Go, Vol 2. Now, I pretty much hate everything that MTV shoves out of in the last ten years, MTV2, their movies, and most of their ‘reality shows’. They also release a lot Mix CDs. This was one of their early ones from the early 90s. I popped the CD in and listened to the music, so I figured I’d review all the songs on this crappy CD, enjoy. (Note: All the songs bleed into the next song.) 1 Sadness Part 1 Trance Mix by Enigma: Okay, I remember this song; it was mostly made up of chant and mixed in the some really bad trance computer beats. There is a female who whispers in some language, (French?), and she acts like she’s in the middle of a sexual act when she says her lines. This song has been in many bad movies during the 90s. Grade D- 2 Set Adrift On Memory Bliss by P.M. Dawn: Now this is more like. MIA P.M. Dawn created this laid back song and it blew up...

Okay, head over to AV’s blog and check out these pictures. I simply said, “WTF?” http://ayland.blogspot.com/2006/11/no-need-to-write-for-this-blog.html The second pic is just Disturbing

Prison Break (1st Season) There are many TV shows that I often ignore because I usually don’t like watching Prime Time TV, and I simply distain the crap-filled ads. However, because of good word of mouth, I decided to rent Prison Break (PB) on DVD. Given that it was on FOX, I sort of already had my mind made up on the show, because FOX is not known for really good programming. I was pleasantly surprised on how good the show really was. After watching years of another prison show, OZ, I didn’t think they could find a unique way of showing prison life, but the writers somehow managed to do it, and they did it well. Plus, it was fun watching Michael Scofield figure out a complex way of breaking out of prison was fun to watch. However, like I said in an earlier review, PB works best when we see the conspiracy unfold over the season. I also enjoyed watching the interaction between the Breaking Out Group, each one brought their personal skills to the break out. Theodore "T-Bag" Ba...

Because my computer is on the ‘Craps’, I’ve been knee deep into Final Fantasy XII. I really love this game a great deal. I’d like to give you some thoughts on the game. ~The gameplay is cool. I really like that the series has moved toward a more North American action-based battle system, and Final Fantasy XIII will continue with this action based system. ~If I had one complaint, it would be that the music isn’t as good as FFX or even FFXI. Strangely enough, I found Final Fantasy Tactics to have better music. Nobuo Uematsu ’s sweeping music is greatly missed. ~This game has MANY similarities to the Star Wars movies. ~I’m really attracted to Fran and her English voice actress isn’t too bad to look at either… Nicole Fantl ~The Giza Plains completely change when the rain season starts and different and more powerful creatures roam the area. The pathways are different as well. If you’re in the nearby area when the rain season starts, it will rain in the areas closest to the Giza Pla...

James Update Well, I am not dead or dying, but my computer sort of died. And, I haven’t had a chance to update my blog. I need to get it repaired, but I’ve had to get things done for my schooling at UofL next Semester. So, where am I currently? I am sitting in my old school’s library on one of their computers. I just looked up to see a picture of Margaret Cho looking back at me. I’m not sure why she's on a wall in my library, but there she is… I will try to update as much as I can, but weekends probably are not an option. Sorry about keeping everyone in the dark for so long. BTW, using IE sucks…

You know, every time I look at Karl Rove, I think there's something wrong with his oversize dome. Then I realized that his enormous head reminds me of that first Star Trek Pilot episode way back in the 60s. He reminded me of those Talosians (A race with huge heads that spoke telepathically instead of with their mouths.) The Talosians were able to create a false reality for Captain Pike. All around, not a bad episode, which was rejected by NBC. Now, it all makes sense. Rove, a Talosian, created this false reality where we all believed that Mr. Bush was and is a good President. Very clever, Rove. Check out the picture below to compare it to the one above. Useless fact, these male aliens were played by old ladies, with men recording the voices in post-production, creepy.

Maharishi Fattifatbastard’s Guide to Zen Rico had this sent to him, and it’s a funny list. I loved 4 the most. Don’t take my word for it: Read the page! (Sorry about the Reading Rainbow thing.)

So long Mr. Eko Well, it looks like Mr. Eko has been killed by Lostzilla. Of all the newer characters, I liked Eko the most. I always felt he was an interesting counterpoint to Locke, plus he had some cool flashbacks. However, with his death, now we know that Lostzilla can take the form of dead people, and that Jack's vision of his dad on the island was probably Lostzilla in another form. I really hate to see Eko go, but I heard that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje wanted out of the show, and he wasn't suppose to have a long term commitment. You have to love the fact that he carried around a 'Jesus Stick' and beat people with it. Note: He also ended up dying in the show OZ as well.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=3&aid=64138 Sometimes when people are fired there is reason to be joyful, and this is one of them. Seeing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld get canned is just an early Holiday gift. ((Democrats have long called for Rumsfeld's removal, criticizing his handling of troops in Iraq, but just last week, President George W. Bush said the secretary would stay on for as long as he is in office.)) Hey, getting raped in the Elections will change anyone's mind real quick This has been one of the few decisions I support Bush on. Rumsfeld needed to go. Hell, he needed to go when he first got the job. So long Rumsfeld and thanks for all the fish. Donald Rumsfeld holding back tears of joy. Rumsfeld: “Finally, I can put food on my family.” _________________________________________ Rummy realizing he needs fill out applications to Wendy's and Walmart (store greeter) _________________________________________ Saddam and Rumsf...

More K-Fed junk http://youtube.com/watch?v=qkq0w6ua_Sg This is the video Glitch was talking about with K-Fed getting a message that he was getting divorced through text messaging. I loved how he was bragging about his marriage earlier and then got a text message about it at dinner. His reaction, classic. He's not done yet . Burning questions... Was it really Mrs. Spears Text Messaging him? Or, Perhaps it was Mark Foley... In the clip, he talks about his marriage and all the girls in the crowd sigh. Why is marriage such a big deal with the ladies? You don't hear too many guys sigh when their friends talk about their old ladies. And I got a good laugh out of one of the comments from youtube about the video. Here it is... ((This is so sad I feel sorry for him,it's also sad how you people are talking and making jokes about someone like he don't have feelings when he do,what if this was yall and the person u was with broke up with yall how would yall feel?...a...

So, Batman walks in on this so-called mind wiping and he’s not a happy about it. One of best comments comes in the form of Flash (II), telling the future Flash (III) that he’d never seen Batman so pissed before. The rest of the League had to restrain Batman. However, this was when these League members decided to make of the biggest controversial decisions ever. They decide, with force, to wipe Batman’s mind of the incident. I found this whole Batman angle to be surprising indeed. I’m not going to tell you how Superman is factored into all this, but it’s a very small detail. This whole cover up would begin to come apart in the major DC shake up Infinite Crisis . That’s when Batman begins to realize that he has some missing memories. I won’t discuss any of that here. However, I’m surprised that a large company would let their franchise heroes go down such a dark path. Usually, these suits don’t like taking chances, but I guess getting their collective asses kic...

Britney Spears Fed-up with K-Fed ((Pop princess Britney Spears has dumped her husband, wannabe-rapper Kevin Federline, according to court documents obtained Tuesday.) ) Yeah, more like has-been dancer who starred in You Got Served. ((The Los Angeles County Superior Court filing cites "irreconcilable differences,'' court spokeswoman Kathy Roberts told The Associated Press.)) Irreconcilable Differences? More like ‘I married a bum that wouldn’t get off his ass and get a damn job’. ((Lui believes the divorce is a good move for the pop star. "There is probably no other couple in showbiz who are as hated as them... He's been seen as a gold-digger, an opportunist, using her to further his own career.")) Then I counter with, what career? He had many failed attempts at it, but he really couldn’t use Spears as a springboard. Maybe it was the CSI appearance that was her final straw.

Just some Random FFVII stuff Here is a link to a FAQ that details the differences between the various FFVII games. http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/final_fantasy_vii_changes.txt Comment: This writer did his homework. It’s worth reading, and I’d like to get my hands on the Playstation Underground Demo of FFVII. (Note: I fondly remember the Square Demo for FFVIII being very different from the final game, and that the GCI work was different as well.) The writer then goes into great detail into why FFVII was incomplete. One of the biggest mysteries was the dropped bonus character by the name of ‘Boxer’. I wonder how along was his development before they dropped him completely. This Proto Cloud was also interesting as well. Then there was the dropped Summon called Golem. It was deemed too powerful and dropped by the company. Another interesting thing was that Tifa was brought in late in the development and originally the game had only three characters...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SK3wh37RZIw Speaking of Army recruitment…. I love this Family Guy clip about the subject below.

Unless it’s StarFleet, I’m not interested. Okay, things must be going bad... Because I sleep a lot during the day, I receive a few phone calls while I’m asleep. One day, while half asleep, I picked up the ringing phone. “Hello, is this James?” a male voice said on the other end of the line said. Still hazy, “Yeah, hi.” “How are you doing, James?” he asked in a stock question mode. “Sleepy…” I answers, wishing I were still sleep. He chuckled. “Are you in school?” he asked. Well, that was random. “Yeah, I’m in school,” I answered. This was when I began to lose it and fall back to sleep, barely hanging on. He started talking about career opportunities and shit about my future. None of it made much sense in my jumbled sleepy hazed mind. That was until one word woke me up real quick. Army … “Well, I’m from the Army Recruiting Center, and I’d like to talk you about joining up,” he said. My eyes widened, as I sat up on my bed. “I’m not interested.” There was a...

Babel Last Wednesday, I got a free ticket into a not released movie by the name of Babel . After reading the back of the handout, I still wasn’t sure what the movie was about. Hell, I never even heard of the movie before I got the ticket. So, I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the movie. In Morocco, an American couple is vacationing when something tragic happens to one of them. We, the moviegoers, get to see the lives of the people involved in this tragic incident from around the world. We observe how this American couple deals with incident, while also looking at the lives of two young Moroccan boys whom were involved in the incident. In Japan, we get a glimpse into a deaf young Japanese woman’s life, and we get to find out how her father is involved in the story in Morocco. In Mexico, a Mexican woman tries to get to young American children across the border to the United States. The movie handles the shifting storylines in a respectable way, yet som...

Doogie Howser is gay http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-11/05/content_5291432.htm (( BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Neil Patrick Harris, 33, currently starring in the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, acknowledged that he is a gay and wants to quell any rumors to the contrary. "I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest," Harris tells People magazine's Web site. )) Like we didn’t know in the first place, just like Lance Bass. You see there is a difference between coming out on your own, and being forced out by a bigheaded angry monster named Rosie. BTW, I never found the whole Doogie Howser show believable or interesting. But, Harris kicked ass in Starship Troopers .

So, what’s been keeping me from updating my blog? Well, Final Fantasy XII of course. This game is so freaking good that it’s kept me up at night, playing it for hours. Like Glitch mentioned in his blog, the game is well-crafted and just downright fun. It fells like an Online game that’s offline. Think of this game as FFXI-2. The Voice Acting The voice acting is right up there with the MGS series. While FFX had some awkward moments during some of the dialogue, this game feels like a Fantasy movie. All round, the acting is top notch and the lip-synching actually fits with the words. Square went all out for this one. License system This is where FFXII feels like FFX. This system is sort of like FFX’s sphere grid, but on a chessboard. You get your License points from battles as well as XP. It gives you more freedom to shape your character. The Battlefield This is the really cool part about the game. Once you reach outside, you can freely roam around th...

A look back at The Mummy score During 1999, a remake to the old Mummy movie was released to the theaters. This new movie used top of the line CGI work and a wisecracking script. One of the things that stood out the most was Jerry Goldsmith’s amazing score to the film. Just like the 13 th Warrior, Goldsmith was able to fuse Middle Eastern drums and strings with the Western style of music. Only someone as skillful as Goldsmith could pull this off. (Also, listen to the score to Congo for an African fusion). The sweeping score was a call back to Goldsmith’s earlier work, while also using some interesting new synthetic elements in the music as well. The score worked within the film. While The 13 th Warrior is a better score, his work here shouldn’t be overlooked. However, Jerry Goldsmith was not happy with the actual film. He made it clear in many interviews that he hated the film and distanced himself from the movie. With this major falling out with the make...

Warning: Spoilers about the plot. The Attack/flashback Sue Dibny was Elongated Man ’s loving wife. Many in the Justice League considered her part of their extended family. Even after all those years, Sue loved her husband greatly and even waited for him up in the League’s Space Station. During one of these waiting periods, a Villain named Dr. Light came aboard the station. He discovered Sue and brutally raped her. Some of the members of JL returned to see Sue’s still alive, but broken body. Bloodied and tearful, she called out to her husband. The league discovered Dr. Light hiding on the station, as Elongated Man braced his wife. Dr. Light bragged about the entire evil act to the League members. Because Dr. Light could manipulate light, he showed the league the entire deed. That was when League decided to do something about it. They let Zatanna magically wipe Dr. Light’s mind of the entire incident and changed his personality, making him weaker and le...