I am Legend

I am Legend

Vampires, deer and Shrek, oh my.

Yes, all these things are in the movie. The movie is much better than I thought it was going to be. Sure, the CGI vampires in some shots are a bit cheap and needed to be run through the computers a few more times. However, the vampires are only one factor in the movie. And, best thing about this movie is Will Smith.

It amazes me how well Mr. Smith handled himself in all these scenes, with only him interacting with only a dog, his only companion. Will does a masterful job as a man that hasn’t seen a human being in three years. Smith’s character, Robert Neville, is a man that needs support from his dog, whom he treats as almost human, and interacts with lifeless mannequins when he goes to the local video store. He goes through a routine everyday in order to keep himself from loosing his mind.

There is a sad but touching moment between his dog and him toward the middle of the film that will almost make you cry. The long quiet scenes between Will and his dog are the reason to watch this movie. This is probably Will best performance ever. He’s certainly come a long way from his Fresh Prince days.

The FX on the other hand ranges from bad to fair. There are some good CGI moments, the zombie dogs, one attack at night, and few places here and there. But, they needed to spend a bit more time on the effects though, because we are fully aware there are some compelling CGI characters in other movies these days.

However, that shouldn’t take away from the good storytelling in this remake from two older films. (I would also like to note that this is a very violent PG-13 film and probably isn’t suitable for young children.) The story is more Sci-fi than horror, but it does retain a few horror elements.

Despite its CGI flaws, this well-acted and well-directed movie shouldn’t be missed. Depending on the ending you decide to watch, you’ll get a better if different understanding on what happens in the movie.

Grade: B+

Note: On the DVD, there are two equally compelling endings to the film. I actually like the dropped ending better than the theatrical ending, but the theatrical ending isn’t weak by any standards. They both work for different reasons.

Here are the different endings, but don’t watch them unless you’ve seen the movie. (Though both endings in the link aren’t complete)

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809768369/info

Insert your own Fresh Prince joke...

Random Bits

Random Bits

~There’s something pleasing about President Bush getting booed by a baseball crowd. He tries his best to play it off too, as do the TV guys. What a douche bag, yes I just called the President a douche bag.

~The Speed Racer trailer: Well, I'm not sure what to make of this thing. It seems a bit much. But I do like the bright colors. I think the videogame feel is just too much for me. While I think movie aspects should be incorporated into videogames, videogame aspects shouldn't be mixed into movies. Crank almost became too much for me. Wachowski brothers (and sister) directed this film. We all have our feelings on the Matrix trilogy.

~Busta Rhymes may beat up people who spit on his car, but he gets major cool points for this encounter with a British woman that calls him 'ignorant'. Busta seems to have some super hearing, because he was a good distance from the woman. The best part is when the embarrassed woman tries to make it about the children and that he shouldn't cuss around them. Lady, don't use the children defense after Busta just owned you.

I'm all about famous people treating their fans with respect, but making snide remarks to Busta when he needs to take dump is a bit much.

Maybe she should have gone flip-mode on him.

Battlestar Galactica: Saga of a Star World Part 2 and 3

Saga of a Star World Part 2 and 3

These episodes are a bit of a letdown compared to the first episode, but it is still a not bad. The storyline is carried over from the first episode and deals with the problems behind food and supplies. Again, the acting by the guest actors is horrendous. But, there are hints of the military forcefully taking items and supplies. The casino planet idea is a little dated here with disco-dancing aliens, and it comes across silly. This was probably where the studio should have chipped in and given more money to the already expensive production.

I didn’t really like the people in charge of the civilian government in the refugee fleet. I have to agree with Ron Moore on this flaw on the old show. The council comes across being stupid and out of touch. It feels like Glen A. Larson is almost attacking liberals in his story here, making them foolish.

Not a signal person on the council disagrees with the majority view. Having Commander Adama always portrayed as seemingly smarter than the council each time makes the show a bit stale. We would see the council come up with a stupid idea and Adama disagrees, and Adama is proven right.

But, I do like that Adama takes an active role in making sure hi’s crew is prepared for the double cross. The show ends with another space battle and one version of the Imperious Leader killed. And, a base ship is destroyed. In the process, we get an entire planet blow up in front of the fleet…just like the Death Star hit it. (Lucas still doesn’t have a point in suing the makers of this show though.)

Not too bad, and I can see why they released all three episodes as a feature movie. The quality of these first three episodes is even astounding today. I just wish there was a way to edit out those disco alien singers.

Grade: C+

Note: Baltar receives a reprieve from the new Imperious Leader. We get our first view of Lucifer, Baltar’s right-hand man, er I mean robot. The scene at the end was a re-shoot directed by Glen A. Larson himself.

American Gangster (Extended Cut)

American Gangster (Extended Cut)

Well, it is certainly better than “Kingdom of Heaven”, Ridley Scott’s other film.

American Gangster tells the story of the rise and fall of the heroin drug lord Frank Lucas that is loosely based on a real story. The film tells two stories; Lucas’s drive to become the top drug dealer in New York, and the story behind the police that want to put him in jail.

With Ridley Scott at the helm, you already know that the movie will have some quality to it. But adding Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe to the game, it becomes a better movie. These two actors are at the top of their game. While I don’t care much for Crowe as a person, he sure as hell knows how to act. He basically steals the show away from Washington. Crowe is an impressive sight to watch in the movie as the lead detective in special anti-drug law enforcement squad.

Washington is also good, but his story isn’t nearly as compelling as Crowe’s story, but he’s still amazing as the cold-blooded drug lord that has to fight crooked cops and rival drug leaders. (Chiwetel Ejiofor works with Washington again after working together in Inside Man.)

With the exception of Cuba Gooding Jr., the rest of the cast is in top form here. Yet, the only main problem with the movie is there are times when it feels a bit rushed and sometimes disjointed in a few places. Did we really need to see Frank Lucas’s wife argue with him? How many times do we need to see an arguing married couple in film? Crowe’s wife is divorcing him, big deal. Stay with the war on drugs, because that’s where the story is interesting. If I wanted to see the other stuff, I’d get married.

I liked how the film shows us how these drug leaders get their connections to drug supplies outside the US. In this movie, it is Vietnam. The Vietnam stuff is pretty fascinating to watch.

There are some really good standout scenes in this movie. One scene involves a gun battle between the cops and the drug dealers, ending in a chase through the projects. Scott does a great job with this scene. There’s another scene where we see Frank Lucas killing a rival gang member in cold blood that is just chilling. Crowe’s character has his moments as well.

With a few problems here and there, this movie is still a good movie to watch. It is an interesting look inside the early days of the War on Drugs. (The show The Wire does a good job showing us the modern war.) With a strong R-rating (U-rated extended cut), the movie has a few violent scenes and a few nude scenes and heavy drug use. I can’t say this is Scott’s best movie, but it isn’t his worst movie either. I still recommend this flick.

Grade: B

___________________________________________________________

Think of Frank Lucas as the anti-Malcolm X. He’s everything Malcolm was against.

_______________________________________________

Crowe is waiting to be entertained and echoing for all eternity.

_______________________________________________

Denzel: “Look, we were both in Virtuosity.”

Mother kills her kids...

As I drove into school today, I was listening to NPR on the radio like I usually do. Well the news reported that there was a hostage situation at U of L, the very school I was going to.

http://www.kxmc.com/News/223156.asp

Gail Lynn Coontz, student at U of L, went into the medical center with a gun out and took a person hostage.

Taken from the link above…

((The university says police were called to the school health services building this morning after a female student entered carrying a gun. Officials say that within about a half-hour, a counselor had managed to persuade Gail Lynn Coontz to hand over the gun, and no one was harmed on the campus.))

Here’s where it gets worst folks…

((University police then asked city police to check on an off-campus home where the children were found. Louisville police say the victims are 14-year-old Greg Coontz and 10-year-old Nikki Coontz.))

She killed her two children with the gun, and I guess she was going to go to campus and take out a few more people. What kind of madness is this? Your mother is supposed to be the one person you can count on in protecting you.

My website development teacher told me the alert came out on everyone’s cell phones in his class room at the same time. It was strange.

Here’s the e-mail alert…

((A hostage situation this morning at the Belknap Campus Student Health Services building has been resolved peacefully.
At about 9 a.m., University of Louisville police responded to a request from the Counseling Center in the Health Services building to escort a student from that facility to a mental health facility. Upon arrival, the officer found the student was holding a counselor hostage. The student was brandishing a handgun.
The police secured the area, made the necessary evacuations and contacted the Louisville Metro Police Department. Within moments, University Police reentered the room. Prior to the arrival of the negotiation team, the situation was under control.
The student has been taken to University Hospital for evaluation.
More details will be provided later.))

I just want to know why this happened.

Update: Before her name is removed, Gail was honored for high academic achievement from the AS department. This means she was a model student.

Battlestar Galactica: Saga of a Star World Part I

Battlestar Galactica (Original show) Saga of a Star World Part I (TV version)

People tend to totally forget about the original series. And, in a lot of ways, I still think the old show is better than Moore’s newer BSG, even though NuBSG is a better written show. I still remember watching this first episode on a Saturday morning and being blown away at how serious this first episode really is.

On the eve of peace, the 12 colonies send out their Battlestar fleet to sign a peace treaty with the Cylons. The Cylons double cross the 12 colonies and destroy all the colonies.

As I said before, the actual tone of the first episode is very serious. Remember, this is 70s TV where TV wasn’t at the same level as feature films at the time. We witness entire cities being destroyed by the Cylons. This stuff is intense for an era of TV filled with formulaic cop shows and safe sitcoms.

Some of the acting from the secondary characters is a little off in this episode, but the actual main stars are good. Richard Hatch is fine as Capt. Apollo and a bit restrained in this pilot episode. Lorne Greene was a TV legend and he proves his worth here in some of the more emotional scenes. Here’s one example, He stands in his burnt out house looking at his wife’s photo, knowing that she died in their house. His son comes in to comfort him. It’s a touching moment.

The first few episodes were filmed together and then broken up into 50-minute episodes. (Then edited back together for a feature film release with one major continuity change; Baltar dies in the feature version, but lives in the TV version.) I am amazed how well produced these first episodes really were. From the movie quality FX to the amazing score by Stu Phillips, almost everything in this opening episode is grand.

Cool moments…

~Battlestar Atlantia being blown apart by Cylon ships: This was a chilling moment, yet nicely directed moment.

~The late John Colicos as Baltar is the best villain actor ever. What a great actor he was! He will be missed.

~The space battle between the Battlestars and the Cylons is still an amazing sight to see today. John Dykstra (Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture) did a wonderful job with the FX.

~The opening title sequences are completely different from the normal TV show opening titles. The music is also different too.

Grade: B+

Random Bunch

Random Bunch

~I wish the weather would make up its mind, because these hot/cold days are driving me crazy. I am generally a heat guy, which has something to do with the fact that I sweat very little.

~Crank 2: I wasn't the biggest fan of the movie Crank, and I'm a little confused as to why there is another movie in the works, considering the main guy shouldn't even be walking after what happens to him the last 2-minutes. I thought the first movie was enjoyable, and it got a little better in a second viewing, but I still wasn't blown away by it, except for that scene in Chinatown.

~Don't piss off Matlock Ever!: My mother was a huge Matlock fan, so I had to watch hundreds of episodes during my teenage years.

~Speaking of Matlock the show, Kene Holiday played Tyler Hudson, a PI, on the show. They fired him because of his heavy drug use. Kene Holiday also played the popular character Roadblock on the GI Joe cartoon show. I never knew that.

~Remember that Break the Ice song by Britney Spears? Well, someone decided to write and play a piano version. I think she could do a piano remix and sing over it. I think it could over well as neat trick. It sounds much better as piano piece than a shitty techno song. This guy has some skills, yo.

~Bonus: Pirates of the Caribbean III (Drink up me Hearties) piano version. Here's a better version.

Here's the original version.

No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men

Based on the novel of the same name, this movie is raw, but stylistically raw. The opening shots in the desert and the combination of Tommy Lee Jones’ narration simply works for the film. The Coen brothers have style and know how to brought out a lot in a script. But, this movie is both a good and frustrating movie.

The storytelling is so different and unconventional that some people will be angry over certain portions of the film, and a few shockers too. The story never shows you everything is happening. It only gives you enough for you figure out what happened. (Watching a scene with a person walking out of a house checking their shoes means a lot in this movie.) That’s part of the charm and it weakness of this film. Sometimes you want more.

The basic plot of the film is that a guy (Josh Brolin) comes across a drug deal gone bad. He finds that pretty much everyone is dead, except for one guy. He finds a suitcase full of cash ($2 million). He’s then on the run with the money with both the Mexican drug gang and a crazy hitman after him.

The best and unique performance is Javier Bardem’s role as Anton Chigurh, the hitman. Bardem brings so much to this strange character that you can’t cheer against this guy. His methods are violent but distinctive. The man uses a shotgun with a huge silencer on the end of it. He also uses a captive bolt pistol to kill people and to knockout locks on doors. Just having him talk to his victims before he murders them is chilling. He has got to be one of the best villains I’ve seen in a while.

The action in the film is amazingly bloody and raw. The editing of the firefights is very good. One scene worth noting is Brolin and Bardem running between streets trying to kill each other, and the entire sequence is great. The tension is felt through the sheer brilliance of the editing and directing. Almost no one speaks during this scene.

I was with the film all the way up to the last two minutes of the film. The ending isn’t my favorite thing about the movie. The movie simply ends on a speech, which is the same way the book ends. I just wanted more tied up with the Tommy Lee Jones story. (BTW, Jones’ character is really the star of the film.) In the end, don’t let the shaky ending keep you away from this enjoyable, yet bloody film.

Grade: A-

_______________________________________________________Nice shot

The Vice Guide to North Korea

North Korea

http://www.vbs.tv/shows.php?show=1442318652

The Vice Guide to North Korea: I saw this linked at TMB. You have see this mini-documentary. It is definitely eye-opening.

North Korea is such an Isolated place that it isn’t easy to get inside. These folks found a way inside with their camera. What they see is a little shocking…

~Hotels that are nearly empty

~ A lot of fake smiles and happy faces from the people that work from the government

~It’s as if everyone there is putting on a show.

~There is an almost religious view of their leader Kim Jong-il and his father. You can’t stand in front of an image of Jong-il if you’re taking a picture.

~You have to check out the library scene. Freaking amazing

~During their visit, there is no sight of the thousands starving and dying anywhere

~One of the loose places in actually the check points, where on the other side the American/South Korean check points are very restrictive. (You can't point at a North Korean soldier on the South Korean side.)

Gen 13: The movie

Gen 13: The movie

Parts 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9,

Based on the comic book of the same name, this animated movie was never released in the US. It was only released on video in EU and a few other English. Why was this movie never released in the US? Simple, studios mistrust. Disney refused to release this movie when DC took control of Wildstorm (the company that owned the rights to the characters.) “Why should we make a movie for the WB company?” So, Disney buried it.

The character design is very similar to the early Batman The Animated Series. And, there is a reason for that. Some of the people behind the Batman series worked on this film. Kevin Altieri directed the movie, a director for the Batman series, and his Batman influence can be seen throughout the movie. The animation ranges from bad to good. And the acting, for the most part is good. (John de Lancie and Mark Hamill and Alicia Witt are great, but Flea is pretty annoying)

This movie is NOT for children. There is nudity, and tons of shots of female body parts. There is violence and cussing.

With a bit of re-tooling, this could be released today. (Note: the movie sets it up for a series that never happened.)

Snake Eyes

New GI Joe picture

http://www.themovieblog.com/2008/03/new-snake-eyes-pics-from-%e2%80%98gi-joe%e2%80%99

The Movie Blog has two pictures of Snake Eyes up, and I have to say they look real good. They certainly got the appearance right with this character. I think every boy wanted to be Snake Eyes. Hell, I still want to be Snake Eyes.

I’m still not sure I like the direction the project is taking though.

Btw, Ray Park (Star Wars episode I) is playing this character.

Crazy Beetlejuice girl steals again (Winona Ryder)

Nope, not crazy...
_____________________________________

Someone needs to stop Winona Ryder fast before she steals an entire store.

This girl can’t stop stealing. I swear she must get off stealing crap that she can otherwise afford.

She tried to walk out of the store and the alarm went off.

(("When a security guard stopped her, he found make-up she had not paid for." When asked about the products, Ryder responded: "I don't know how that happened."))

I like the “I don’t know” statement. Well, she could have been caught stealing a copy of Girl, Interrupted. I wonder if the guard asked her for an autograph.

As you know, this hasn’t been her first time being caught stealing. Back in Dec 12, 2001, she stole over $5,500 worth of clothing. I’m sorry, but she has a major problem. (Video of her stealing) Man, I miss that crazy gothic chick from Beetlejuice. Now she’s just a crazy, shoplifting woman, with stupid hats, that nearly ruined the Alien franchise with her bad acting.

Here’s what she needs to do: Buy her own clothing/makeup store and simply steal stuff from her own shop. So, that way it won’t be considered stealing, but with all the thrills of stealing.

Of course, she’s not the only celebrity that’s been caught stealing.

Remember Zach Galligan? He was the main actor in “Gremlins and Gremlins II” and pretty nothing else. Well, he was caught stealing a Deep Purple CD. I don’t even know who Deep Purple is. Why not steal something cool like an Ice Cube or Gun & Roses CD?

Were times that bad for Zach?

Maybe Galligan and Ryder can team up for a stealing spree…

Update: Though I've never heard of the Deep Purple band, MC brought it to my attention that I've heard one of their songs. check them out here (Song 1 and Song II).

Couldn't Zach Galligan have grabbed a copy from one of his friends?

What the heck happened to the Gremlins dude?

Smack talk

Best Space Battle Smack Talk: These are great choices. Every sci-fi show has one of these smack talk secessions.

Here are the best,

Star Trek II: I love Kirk’s smugness when he contacts Khan’s ship.

Galaxy Quest: Yep, the one they mention is very cool. Hey, why not have a million mines following behind your ship. But, I like how the movie shifts from serious to funny from minute to minute. A great tribute to fanboys everywhere…

Babylon 5: Yeah, JMS sometimes has shaky dialogue, but the moment where Susan Ivanova gives a bone-chilling speech is priceless. She’s a strong woman that’s for sure.

extra lyrics from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Full theme song

Missing Fresh Prince lines

As you remember, I posted the uncut Fresh Prince intro a while back; well I discovered that there are a few more lines missing!

Here they are

But wait I hear there're prissy, wine all that
Is Bel-Air the type of place they send this cool cat?
I don't think sow
I'll see when I get there
I hope they're prepared for the prince of Bel-Air

Well, the plane landed and when I came out
There was a dude who looked like a cop standing there with my name out
I ain't trying to get arrested
I just got here
I sprang with the quickness like lightening, disappeared

Here’s the full song.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=V3C6BQzJFgY&feature=related

Enjoy the extra lyrics

Britney Spears: Break the Ice (a fair review)

Break the Ice

Britney Spears: Break the Ice

(Source http://forcesofgood.com/2008/03/12/britney-spears-discovers-anime/)

Lookie what we have here…a cartoon Britney.

That crazy Britney has decided that it would be cheaper and better for her to make anime music videos instead of doing stupid live ones. This time she can’t bang the closest extra on the set, because lonely animators surround her now.

I think it’s a smart move by her because she’s always in rehab or hitting someone with her car. There’s no way she could stay on an actually video set without having a meltdown. Plus we know that she’s been eating too many Taco Bell items, so in animation, she’s can always look her “hit me baby one more time” shape.

The Music

To put it bluntly, the music is bad. It sounds like she got a hold of one of Madonna’s crappy DJs and went to town. Can anyone really dance to this? Her voice is over-produced and filtered worst than that Forgers coffee you had this morning. It really sounds like she’s trying the Daft Punk angle, but she doesn’t have the talent to pull it off.

The Animation

I actually liked the animation and wished she looked like that and kicked ass.

Her animation version is an Amazon that wears hot pants.

Does this mean Britney is a terrorist now? She did blow up hundreds of copies of herself in the building. On second thought, ridding the world of Britney Spears clones is a hero move I’d say. We can all breath a little easier knowing that we only have to deal with one crazy Britney Spears.

I wanted to see an animated K-Fed in the video.

At the end of the video, did she just give the cyborg dude a STD? A cybernetic STD?

Video Grade: B

Music Grade: C-

Heck Wyrm (He's hell)

Hell Wyrm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoVjQv_FaSU

Yeah, this dragon (optional boss) battle will take you hours to complete. Why is the battle so long? Well, because this dragon has 8.5 million hit points. Yes, he is only the second creature in the game that has the highest amount of HP. I still haven’t defeated him yet, but I will. I’ve barely taken off any HP from this bad boy.

Good news is this; you can leave the battle at anytime and save your game, or go on with your game. That means his HP won’t restore over time, and you can finish the battle at anytime.

He’s not too hard, but he does tend to attack one character non-stop until they die.

This is preparing me for a bigger battle (more HPs) coming up ahead with another side boss.

(Note: Omega Mark XII in the Japanese version had over 10 million HP, but the North American version has been reduced to one million.)

Random Bunch

Random Bunch

~I interviewed another person last week. The interview turned out good. I’ve learned about China before the economic reforms than I ever did in school. This had some interesting stories and insights into the Asia market.

~J-Lo married this guy? Really? I guess looks don’t cost a thing. I know she didn’t marry him for his money because she makes more than him. So, it might be true love. But she has to wake up to this zombie-face everyday.

~That Spitzer call girl seems to be making some major cash now. I’ll have more on her some time later, because she seems to really be into the hip-hop scene and is trying to sell her ‘songs’. Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s 15 minutes of fame should be up soon.

~Have you ever wanted to make a duck tape top hat? I certainly have. Now, I just need a duck tape suit to go with it.

~Tom Cruise is one crazy mofo. You have to wonder if Paramount really likes how much the Scientology folks use the Mission Impossible music. Check out those dance moves. Tom is a tool and the Scientology folks are assholes. Tom is such a blowhole.

~In L. Ron Hubbard’s words, you can hear his stupid views on the world. In all his ramblings, you can hear a truly racist and mad man.

~Scientology's famous Bull Baiting techniques: Part 2 and Part 3. They used a bumping into technique to call the cops on him. The cops actually handle the situation fairly well. Watch as the Scientology guy completely lies about it.

~Here's an interesting comparison between the two versions of Spiderman II, theatrical and extended. If I'm not mistaken, a similar extended cut shows up on FX a lot.

Medal of Honor: Frontline Soundtrack Review (Part 3 of 3)

The tracks are harder to review as standalone songs because many of them are connected to next track and the track after that. All the tracks are good, but here are a few tracks that are the best ones.

Operation Market Garden: This is track opens on a strong drumbeat and gives us our first introduction to the young male soloist. His voice is haunting as he sings the MOH series theme. A muted trumpet and strings take over with a new theme. Giacchino does a wonderful bit of foreshadowing with the ‘Panzer Attack’ theme being played on the Timpani drums. We also get a sad theme on the clarinet, and the rest orchestra joins in. It keeps building and building. We then hear the proud MOH theme build to a nice finish with the ‘Panzer’ drum solo ending the track. This leads to…

Border Town: I like how this track opens up with the same Panzer drum solo, and the track already uses one of the new themes in this score. There is a great trumpet solo here.

After the Drop: This is probably one of the best tracks on the score. The young boy returns for another solo, hitting very high notes. You have to listen to it feel the passion in this piece. There are some amazing chorus parts in here. Again, Giacchino writes the chorus section as he would a pipe organ. I also like his strong use of the French horns as a counter melody. The track ends on the child again and an uneasy MOH theme. Simply beautiful…

The Rowhouses: Okay, I really love this track a lot. My favorite theme from the first game, Panzer Attack, makes a grand appearance. There’s a powerful tuba solo and cool use of a freaking anvil. Yes, they use an anvil. The Panzer theme gets louder and louder. Damn I love this theme. The track starts to get interesting around the 2:00 mark.

Arnhem: What can’t I say about this track? This is the reason to get this score. This track alone is single-handily the best track period. The child singer returns and this is pretty much his song. The rest of the chorus comes in both the boy and adult groups and it builds until it reaches it peak. (Around the 4:13 mark listen for a restrained group of male voices, you can almost miss it.) You will have to hear this one.

Sturmgeist's Armored Train: There are two tracks that are before this one, and they are combined to make a suite. The one will remind people of some of the chase themes Williams used for Superman: The Movie.

Overall Grade: A-

Medal of Honor: Frontline Soundtrack Review (Part 2 of 3)

In order to fully understand the score, I do recommend that people listen to the first MOH score, because most of the main themes that are carried over from that score. We get the return of the Nazis theme in a few places, as well as the central hero theme. The Panzer Attack theme also makes a huge appearance, which is one of my favorite themes.

This time around the various tracks are interconnected and bleed into each other. So, the score is comprised of suites. Each suite does a have main theme that carries over to the other tracks with that certain suite. However, there’s more to the score than merely wonderfully comprised musical suites.

There are stand-alone tracks that are choir-heavy. And, these are some of the prettiest songs you’ll ever hear from a videogame. You can listen to these tracks and force yourself to believe that these songs didn’t come from a videogame. The descending chords feel like they are written for a pipe organ, but he used a choir instead.

Despite the heavy use of both children and adult choirs, this is a brass-centric score. Strings take a backseat to mostly brass solos. (Michael Giacchino would go for a more string-based group when he scores for the show LOST.) And, being a low brass player myself, this pleases me greatly.

As I stated before, Giacchino’s work will remind most people of John Williams’ work from the 70-80s. Many reviewers have stated that there is certainly an Indiana Jones influence in his music in Frontline, and I have to agree with them. Many of the chase cues do have that feel to it.

End of part 2

(Next up, I’ll go through my favorite tracks.)

Medal of Honor: Frontline Soundtrack Review (Part 1 of 3)

Medal of Honor: Frontline (Part 1 of 3)

There comes a point in an artist’s life when they know they’ve put out a piece work that is probably one of their best works ever created. For Michael Giacchino, MOH: Frontline is probably it.

Before composing Frontline, he worked on two other scores from the WWII videogame series. Critics hailed both scores as being some of the best music ever produced for videogames. However, Giaccchino proved them wrong by making his third scoring project for the series one of the best score in movies or videogames period.

Using his the strong brassy John Williams style of scoring, he was able to build on themes from the first two games and add brand new themes into the mix as well. I mean Williams’s style has been felt since the first game, but it is strongly felt in Frontline. Saving Private Ryan is probably Giacchino’s strongest influence.

Giacchino took Frontline a step further by not only having a choir in his music, like MOH: Underground, but he made the choir an important part of the music tapestry of the overall score. Adding a young boy as one of the main soloists in the score is a stroke of brilliance that hasn’t been duplicated in videogames. It’s videogame music that rises above the background and takes a life of its own.

As I stated before, Giacchino doesn’t simply throw aside all of his former themes from earlier in the series, he actually improves upon them. We hear the themes return like old friends that were gone for a period of time.

End of Part 1

Ferraro and Keith Olbermann

A conservative history once told me this, “A society isn’t fully at its potential until everyone is free and able to add their unique abilities to it. A society can only move forward when everyone moves forward.”

Keith Olbermann says it right about Ferraro

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xtAja20kTCA

At this point, I don’t care who becomes President, because no one can be worst than Bush. Anything else is better than Dick/Bush. That being said, I’m really not liking the way Clinton is handling her campaign. And, I don’t like some of the people behind her camp like Geraldine Ferraro.

What pisses me off even more are the remarks from Ferraro.

(("If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman [of any color] he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."))

While there is a fraction of people that see this as groundbreaking, it is not the overall thing has people talking about Obama. Americans are sick of the war and sick of the current people in charge, race really doesn’t factor into this campaign. If it did, and Obama kept hammering home he is a person of color, he would have gotten far at all.

White people are voting for him.

Ferraro’s remarks sound like something coming from the other side.

To even bring up the racial issues sounds like the Clinton campaign want to make it a race issue and divide his support. I think it backfired.

If someone came up to me and said, “You’re real lucky to be in the position your in because of who you are,” I’d probably hit them. Being black hasn’t helped me open any doors. Everything I’ve done is because of my actions, hard work, and not my skin color. To read these words coming from a Democrat is just troubling and scary. Are the Clinton people that scared of Obama that they have to stoop that low?

Because, he’s black and people of all colors identify with him should show us that we’ve come a long way, and it is not an issue folks. People are willing to look past skin color and gender and vote on the issues is an appealing concept, and not because he is merely black.

Again, I don’t care who wins, anything is better than Bush.

Geraldine Ferraro: “Remember this and remember it well, there will be no peace as long as Kirk lives.” (I’m sorry; I had to add a Star Trek remark.)

Random Bits (Spring break)

Hmm, okay, I'm not saying he should have cheated on his wife, but this girl is light-years beyond Monica Lewinsky.

Random Bits

~Everything you ever wanted to know about prostitution: I've never understood people paying for a prostitute when someone can find a slut for free. This link clears it up (like a STD) for me, but still, I simply couldn't pay for it, especially at 1k a pop (pun intended). Listen, I'm all for sex with no strings attached (strings might be your thing though), but paying that much money for it is nuts. When you're in a position (hee-hee) of power, do you really have to pay for it? Look at Bill Clinton, okay bad example.

Speaking of prostitution...

~ Take a good look at the woman behind the Spitzer scandal. She is cute, I'll give that. So, she's the other woman in Spitzer's life. She wanted to be a RB singer, but probably instead was probably getting paid for services by RB singers. Being a prostitute probably wasn't on her “what I want to be when I grow up” list. However, her fee was pretty high. Did Spitzer have a Governor special discount? (Btw, of course she had a myspace. Myspace is evil.)

She knows how to pick them too, ((she was worried about how she would pay her rent since the man she was living with “walked out on me” after she discovered he had fathered two children. ))

There is a way to make money: Write a book.

~MC has a post involving a pair of dedicated fact checkers. Bill Murray is a lonely man and you'll have to see the video to see why I said that. This one is brilliant. “Fact checked.”

~Nothing pleases me more than seeing Tucker Carlson get another show canceled. You know why your shows keep getting canceled, Tucker? You wear a bow-tie. I'm all for good conservative people on TV, but Tucker isn't one of them. After getting p'wned by Jon Stewart, I don't think he's ever been the same.

Stupid Thug

I received this crime e-mail from school. I think you'll enjoy it.
(The University of Louisville Police Department received a report March 12 of a cell phone theft by physical force at the Health Sciences Center.

At about 9:48 a.m., a suspect approached a UofL visitor who was talking on his cell phone in the 500 block of Preston Street near the School of Dentistry building.

The suspect slapped the victim in the face, grabbed his cell phone and started to run off, but fell down. The victim grabbed his cell phone, and the suspect fled on foot running east on Abraham Flexner Way.

The suspect is described as being a black male, mid-20s, approximately 140 pounds, wearing a blue jacket, blue toboggan, with white or light-colored pants.

The UofL Police Department asks anyone with information on this case to call the department at)
Now, this has to be one of the worst criminals in the world. He can't even get his get away right. I would have picked up my cell phone and slapped him back.

Lost Boys 2: The Tribe: trailer found

The Lost Boys 2 Trailer

I absolutely loved the first movie. It's one of those movies that defined a generation, plus provided us with the sight of a maggot filled Chinese take-out cup. This was when director Joel Schumacher was in his prime, and I can't believe he went from this to Batman & Robin. (With a young Kiefer Sutherland as one of the main vamps)

This is the sequel to Lost Boys, so why does it look like it was cheaply done? Come on, direct-to-DVD on a cheap budget. The first one had a good mixture of seasoned actors and young actors. This new one looks like it's been cast for the WB crowd. (White bread and lame)

At first, it was looking like Corey Haim wasn't going to be in the film, due to his heavy drug use. But, he cleaned himself up and rejoined Corey Feldman to reprise their roles. Feldman and Haim certainly need the work.

Doing some research into this project, I discovered that this movie sequel has been in development hell for nearly 15-18 years.

I'll probably rent it, but I just wished the studio would have gotten better actors and put more money into the project.

300 Part II?

300 Part II?

I'm not a 100% against this at all.

Now, I wasn’t a huge fan of the first movie, but I thought it was an entertainingly violent R-rated film. (I saw it free too). But, I thought it was the History channel on MTV speed. It was a movie that did have a lot of style.

This news of another movie is both troubling and fascinating. I’d like to see the Spartans go against the other Greek states and actually become villains themselves. The first movie implied that these Spartans were the only thing between Greek independence and slavery, when in fact the Spartans themselves ended up becoming a dominating force and threat to the Athens state.

It depends on where they take this story, because it did take the Spartans and Athenians a while to defeat the Persians.

great

I’m seeing a trend here with Harry Knowles. I’m noticing he likes posing with women he’ll never have a chance with…ever. But, I will give him this, Pop culture Internet and news would not be where it is today without him starting his site.

So, I generally have a love and hate view of the big guy. But, there is an interesting article on the big redheaded fanboy Right here.

Stuntwomen like Harry too. I guess her stunt training helped her withstand the smell seeping from Harry. (There was a guy five times bigger than Harry and he worked at my job for a few weeks. He stunk to high heaven. My boss had to have a talk with him about taking showers. He asked, "Everyday?")

Nice colorful shirts you have here.

_________________________________________________

Skulls and roses? Again, where is he getting these shirts.

Random Bits

Fair and stupid

Random Bits

~I still have a mild cough that I still haven't gotten rid of since the major cold I had. I'm hoping it will go away with me having to use more medication.

~Also, after having bad weather for about a week now, I am thrilled we're getting warmer weather during spring break. I'm going to the river front and walk along the river bank, even though it will probably be flooded in some parts.

~Edward Norton and the studio are disagreeing on the edit of the film it seems. This doesn't sound good. Norton's done this before, taking a film away from a director. While I think he's a good actor, I don't like the sound of this at all. However, I have very little faith in Marvel Studios either.

~Montel Williams slams Fox News on Fox News: While I am not the biggest fan Mr. Williams or his talk show, but he does have a point about the focus of the news stories. I don't the fact that it seems after this aired, Fox dropped his show on some of its stations. You can tell someone is saying, “Cut him off, go to commercial!” Fox better be careful, because Montel could very well 'blow you up'.

This of course led to his talk show being canned completely after that. It pisses me off when a company uses it muscle to get back at someone that disagrees with them. I hate Fox news.

not again...AVP the 3rd

Another Alien vs. Predator: Really, Fox is considering another movie?

The first one was too tame with a PG-13 rating, and the second one supposedly had a weak script. Do we really need another film? This is Fox we're talking about here.

Fox seems to love running franchises into the ground.

I do feel there is a good story and movie in the franchise somewhere. These creative people aren’t it though. I think a completely different approach is needed for the next film.

Here’s a clear timeline the two franchises have in their shared universe.

And how about another stand-alone Predator film?

Random Bits

Random Bits

~Baby Shower as a first date?: I don’t think so. I’m not sure being surrounded by a bunch of women all wanting to have children sounds like an appealing first date. Then again, neither is a wedding. I’m usually not a fan of children, even though I am a man-child myself. Now if it were a slumber party as a first date, with me being the only guy, I’d be there.

~I’m still getting hits on that Emily Hall DUI crash. There hasn’t been that much more news in the story other than the police released a disc full of evidence. Supposedly, one of her former boyfriends left a comment in my post. She goes back to court in May, but something tells me there will be a plea deal. She’s out and has to live with this mistake for the rest of her life.

~While I’m no sports fan, I always like when these sports guys meltdown on national TV. Check these clips out. One of the best ones has to be Bobby Knight making fun of one reporter. Herm Edwards: That one is pretty funny. And, I can go on and on about the Mike Gundy one, which is probably one of best rants ever. I love his dig about the writer not having kids. He seems to know something about Jenni Carlson that some people don’t know. Yeah, her dig about the football player eating fried chicken was a bit much.

Why does she have the Spock eyebrows?

Winnie Cooper grown up

Check out everything you ever wanted to know about Winnie Cooper.

When I was a kid, I used to have the biggest crush on Winnie Cooper back in those Wonder Years days. She was like the ultimate girlfriend. Well, she's all grown up now and looking hot. I think I have crush on her now. You can check out how hot she's become with the Stuff magazine spread she did. (And I do mean spread)

Her real name is Danica Mae McKellar. But, she will always be Winnie Cooper.

Not only is she still cute, but she also is an extremely smart girl. She got a degree in mathematics and ended up writing a book on the subject. (Book: Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail )

She still acts too, and actually has a better career than Fred Savage.

Smart and cute, that is a winning combo. Now, I just have to convince her that marrying me will boost her career.

Luckiest white sheet ever...

We are VR (The Virtual Boy )

The Angry Nintendo Nerd video (The Virtual Boy)

Virtual Boy: Man, this was really a bad system. I remember playing this game system in a toy store and saying, “This sucks.” I didn't know it was considered a portable system. Really? Would you want to walk around with this thing?

The Wikki page states the Nintendo forced the VR Boy into the stores unfinished, which says a lot about the quality of games. Then they blamed the failure on the designer after its failure. Smooth move, Nintendo.

I'm so glad I never had the guts to buy this thing. And, for some reason, the Virtual Boy never seemed like an Nintendo product anyway. It felt like the shovel-ware that Sega put out to support their old systems. Nintendo dropped the system a year later like Microsoft dropped the HD DVD format.

Videos

Anyway, here's a promotional ad for the launch of the VR Boy. You have to love that they hyped it up like it had groundbreaking 3D graphics. Someone should have asked why everything in the game is red and black?

How to put together your VR boy...

A Retrospective on the damn system:

Another ad, but this one is like a killer machine: Why is there a caveman-like guy being chased around by a walking VR Boy?

Wario Land ad: First he's real, then he's a cartoon character in the ad.

(Note: Wario Land seems to be the best game on the system and probably should have been released on the N64 or Super NES instead. )Hey, red and black are my favorite colors, but this is a bit much. You can't expect people to buy something like this with only two colors...wait a minute, people did buy something like this; The old Gameboy with its green and black colors. Damn it...