Yeah, so, two posts in 24 hours time. It's an amazing world after all.
I just finished watching Extras, the new comedy series by Ricky Gervais, the guy behind The Office. I loved The Office and so I was a little apprehensive about Extras. Wow. The first two shows weren't that great, but, oh man, the last four just killed me. Kate Winslet's episode was so funny that I nearly had a stroke. The next two were really funny, too, and the last one, with Patrick Stewart, was so funny I had tears in my eyes. Wow.
The first two episodes reminded me of The Office because of that "painful" feeling you get watching it, but later episodes mixed that and just straight-out humor. Just amazingly good stuff.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Friday, September 30, 2005
Serenity = Okay
Yeah, so, I went and saw Serenity today. I gave in. And it was, as you can see above, okay. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It ranks about where Batman Begins did.
I loved the dialogue, and picked up a few new terms, including the expletive "God's Balls." Yeah, that one's getting used tonight. But...
Wash and Book died, and they were two characters that I really liked. Also, I liked Mal in the show, but there was just something...odd about him in the movie. Inara was included simply to "get the band back together." Simon and Kaylee getting together was nice, but it didn't feel like a real payoff. Wash's death was quick and mean, something you don't see much in films, but completely unnecessary. Book's death was appropriate, I'll give you that, but I do want to know his backstory, which was hinted at so much without payoff so far. Jayne was just there to deliver funny lines and as an enforcer. I'll give you the fact that he was that in the show, but it was just one-note to me. It reminded me of the X-Files movie, where everything that happened there could happen on the show proper. True, Firefly was cancelled, but this would have worked just as well as a mini-series in the vein of Farscape's The Peacekeeper Wars. It was all payoff for what happened on the show, felt a little less rushed, and still told a sweeping storyline that could stand on its own. With Serenity, there was so much catch-up for the one new guy in the theater (who probably wandered in by mistake) that it hindered the movie a bit. To me, the movie needs a viewing of the show to really understand a lot of what's going on. Luckily, I did that. What about the people who didn't.
Oh, and how can Mal have received an honor for valor at the Battle of Serenity Valley? It was the final, crushing battle in the war, so are you telling me that the Browncoats had a meeting to give out awards and then disbanded? That's like a Confederate getting an award for being at the Battle of Palmito Ranch (the last actual land battle of the American Civil War. The winner? The Rebels. Heh).
Anyway, I thought the movie was alright. I went in with mediocre expectations. I got roughly what I expected.
Other than that, I guess there isn't much to say.
I loved the dialogue, and picked up a few new terms, including the expletive "God's Balls." Yeah, that one's getting used tonight. But...
Wash and Book died, and they were two characters that I really liked. Also, I liked Mal in the show, but there was just something...odd about him in the movie. Inara was included simply to "get the band back together." Simon and Kaylee getting together was nice, but it didn't feel like a real payoff. Wash's death was quick and mean, something you don't see much in films, but completely unnecessary. Book's death was appropriate, I'll give you that, but I do want to know his backstory, which was hinted at so much without payoff so far. Jayne was just there to deliver funny lines and as an enforcer. I'll give you the fact that he was that in the show, but it was just one-note to me. It reminded me of the X-Files movie, where everything that happened there could happen on the show proper. True, Firefly was cancelled, but this would have worked just as well as a mini-series in the vein of Farscape's The Peacekeeper Wars. It was all payoff for what happened on the show, felt a little less rushed, and still told a sweeping storyline that could stand on its own. With Serenity, there was so much catch-up for the one new guy in the theater (who probably wandered in by mistake) that it hindered the movie a bit. To me, the movie needs a viewing of the show to really understand a lot of what's going on. Luckily, I did that. What about the people who didn't.
Oh, and how can Mal have received an honor for valor at the Battle of Serenity Valley? It was the final, crushing battle in the war, so are you telling me that the Browncoats had a meeting to give out awards and then disbanded? That's like a Confederate getting an award for being at the Battle of Palmito Ranch (the last actual land battle of the American Civil War. The winner? The Rebels. Heh).
Anyway, I thought the movie was alright. I went in with mediocre expectations. I got roughly what I expected.
Other than that, I guess there isn't much to say.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock
No, this isn't the end of an episode of 24.
I realized that time is quietly slipping away from me while I'm at work, losing 8 hours of my life for shitty pay and no real service to anyone.
Also, I recently did this online survey that gave statistics on how longs I've done certain activities in my life. I know that it's really wrong, though, since it would require me to have spent over half of my life asleep. It also said that I would have spent over 1.7 years on the toilet, which is a statistic that I'm uncertain to the validity of. Oddly enough, I searched for "average time spent on a toilet" in various forms on google and yahoo, and even asked Jeeves "How long does the average person spend on the toilet in their lifetime," to which he had no answer. Psh.
Anyway, I was stumbling today and found this interesting website that lets you make a face out of pre-existing parts, like eyes, hair, noses, etc. I made my own face and had difficulty choosing a nose and a mouth. In the end, it seemed pretty dead-on. Of course, it looks like a wanted poster. Heh. That gives me a couple of ideas, actually.
So, when I'm in Hell, and I get pissed at someone, where should I tell them to go?
I stumbled on another funny quote site today and it has a couple of good one. For example, I know it's illegal to park in a handicapped parking spot, but is it illegal for me to use a handicapped toilet? Or, when French people curse, do they say "Pardon my English?" Or, why do you click on start to exit Windows? Yeah, they're bad, but a little bit funny, too.
So, I was reading this kid's short story prologue earlier today and realized that people need to stop writing high fantasy. At this point, the market is oversaturated with high fantasy stories that are all essentially the same. I understand that a 14-year-old kid is writing this crap, but it really drove the point home for me. There's a mysterious child/savior, the gruff, strong hero that doesn't smile but has a heart of gold, the mysterious prophet, and a dwarf in dwarven armor. God. I really blame LotR movies for this, because they really simplified the whole ideal of high fantasy and put it out there for every Tom(my), Dick, and Hairy Dork to replicate in a really poor manner. I like the movies, but this is one of those sad aftereffects that just make me sorry they were ever made. High fantasy is suffering from franchise fatigue.
So, I'm a little torn. This coming weekend, Serenity comes out in theaters. I'm not a die-hard fan of Firefly, but the show had some good dialogue and interesting concepts. It was also unique, something that's hard to come by on television these days. Yet, most of the stories were crap, I didn't like several characters, and two that I do like get killed off in the movie. So I'm torn.
The main thing about the show that really gets me is the backstory of Mal, the captain. He fought in a civil war and lost. There's just something powerful to me about being on the losing side in a civil war. I am not a supporter of the Confederacy at all, yet it's never touched on about how people in that era felt when they lost. It's crushing to believe in a cause and then to have that cause be overpowered. As Americans, we're often told that "no one can ever take your beliefs from you," and that "dreams don't die." The problem with that is that the American government doesn't really care about the beliefs of its people, and that we are on the losing side of many battles with the government because it's a republic and not a democracy. I was watching a video the other day where I guy claimed that "In a democracy, the will of the majority of the people rules. In a republic, the minority's voice matters just as much as the majority's." In a way, that's true, but that's also a point where the system gets bogged down. Anyway, I look at Mal, whose spirit has been crushed by this loss, who strives to be free of the iron clasp of the government that he fought against, and I feel a true connection to him. I look at him and wonder, if the US ever fell into civil war again (as it very well might) and I fought for a group that eventually lost, would I end up like him? In a way, I hope so. His hope is gone, but his spirit is defiant nonetheless, and he is, in his own way, free.
Bah.
I realized that time is quietly slipping away from me while I'm at work, losing 8 hours of my life for shitty pay and no real service to anyone.
Also, I recently did this online survey that gave statistics on how longs I've done certain activities in my life. I know that it's really wrong, though, since it would require me to have spent over half of my life asleep. It also said that I would have spent over 1.7 years on the toilet, which is a statistic that I'm uncertain to the validity of. Oddly enough, I searched for "average time spent on a toilet" in various forms on google and yahoo, and even asked Jeeves "How long does the average person spend on the toilet in their lifetime," to which he had no answer. Psh.
Anyway, I was stumbling today and found this interesting website that lets you make a face out of pre-existing parts, like eyes, hair, noses, etc. I made my own face and had difficulty choosing a nose and a mouth. In the end, it seemed pretty dead-on. Of course, it looks like a wanted poster. Heh. That gives me a couple of ideas, actually.
So, when I'm in Hell, and I get pissed at someone, where should I tell them to go?
I stumbled on another funny quote site today and it has a couple of good one. For example, I know it's illegal to park in a handicapped parking spot, but is it illegal for me to use a handicapped toilet? Or, when French people curse, do they say "Pardon my English?" Or, why do you click on start to exit Windows? Yeah, they're bad, but a little bit funny, too.
So, I was reading this kid's short story prologue earlier today and realized that people need to stop writing high fantasy. At this point, the market is oversaturated with high fantasy stories that are all essentially the same. I understand that a 14-year-old kid is writing this crap, but it really drove the point home for me. There's a mysterious child/savior, the gruff, strong hero that doesn't smile but has a heart of gold, the mysterious prophet, and a dwarf in dwarven armor. God. I really blame LotR movies for this, because they really simplified the whole ideal of high fantasy and put it out there for every Tom(my), Dick, and Hairy Dork to replicate in a really poor manner. I like the movies, but this is one of those sad aftereffects that just make me sorry they were ever made. High fantasy is suffering from franchise fatigue.
So, I'm a little torn. This coming weekend, Serenity comes out in theaters. I'm not a die-hard fan of Firefly, but the show had some good dialogue and interesting concepts. It was also unique, something that's hard to come by on television these days. Yet, most of the stories were crap, I didn't like several characters, and two that I do like get killed off in the movie. So I'm torn.
The main thing about the show that really gets me is the backstory of Mal, the captain. He fought in a civil war and lost. There's just something powerful to me about being on the losing side in a civil war. I am not a supporter of the Confederacy at all, yet it's never touched on about how people in that era felt when they lost. It's crushing to believe in a cause and then to have that cause be overpowered. As Americans, we're often told that "no one can ever take your beliefs from you," and that "dreams don't die." The problem with that is that the American government doesn't really care about the beliefs of its people, and that we are on the losing side of many battles with the government because it's a republic and not a democracy. I was watching a video the other day where I guy claimed that "In a democracy, the will of the majority of the people rules. In a republic, the minority's voice matters just as much as the majority's." In a way, that's true, but that's also a point where the system gets bogged down. Anyway, I look at Mal, whose spirit has been crushed by this loss, who strives to be free of the iron clasp of the government that he fought against, and I feel a true connection to him. I look at him and wonder, if the US ever fell into civil war again (as it very well might) and I fought for a group that eventually lost, would I end up like him? In a way, I hope so. His hope is gone, but his spirit is defiant nonetheless, and he is, in his own way, free.
Bah.
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