Month: July 2016

Movies

Star Trek Beyond

startrekbeyondposter-4
I don’t love but don’t mind the new Star Trek:

Not Because the Federation is really eager to send its best captain and starship on a ridiculously risky mission they know almost nothing about.

Not because Idris Elba is fully utilized as the villain, or that his worldview and rationale for universal destruction make much sense or matter.

Not because it’s that much fun to watch the Enterprise get systematically shredded, or that the swarming action scenes match the “zen chaos”  that Lin has offered elsewhere.

But…

Because fan service was (seemed to be?) kept to a minimum.

Because even though Lin is intent on pure action escapism over commentary about “the times we live in,” you can’t dismiss it spirit and optimism despite the times we live in.

Because I just like this crew. And I like the actors playing them. Pine, Quinto, Urban, Saldana, Yelchin, Pegg, Cho. They work. Together, separate, in pairs. By plot design, the Kirk-Spock dynamic – my favorite part of these new Trek movies – is missing here, but that’s offset by the amplified Bones-Spock dynamic and the greater utilization of the rest of the ensemble. It’s not surprising that the guy behind the latest batch of F&F movies transforms this collective into a family. Which means secrets, things unspoken.

Technology

The iPad Paradox

I’m getting closer and closer to replace my trusty old macbook with an iPad. Articles like this push me even closer to the ledge. Michael Gartenberg over at iMore:

With some products… there’s a distinct conflict between consumer understanding of the features and the value assigned to those features. While the internet was filled with a rabid fan base of customers who loved and praised TiVo at every opportunity, most consumers didn’t understand the value of a $500 “digital VCR.”

In short, if you met a TiVo owner at a party, they were rabid…. When most people tried it, the lightbulb turned on. TiVo was not an expensive VCR — it redefined watching TV. I suspect iPad is suffering from the same paradox. Customers who buy an iPad Pro understand the power it unlocks relative to a Mac. The more they use it, the more it displaces their Mac. They “get it,” but most folks just don’t.

This is the conundrum. So many people who try to use the iPad Pro to get work done just seem to have that light bulb turn on over their head. They get it. It doesn’t happen for everyone, but it happens for a lot of people it seems. I’m jealous as I’ve been looking to replace my laptop for years. Anyways, great article if your interested.

Read the rest here

Family, Videos

Luca – Newborn

When Lindsey told me she was pregnant with Luca, it was a very different situation then Liam. We had semi-planned the timing and were really just at a different stage in our life together. We were ready to grow our family and were excited for the future.

When Luca finally came into this world, he was and still very much is a big, lovable bundle of joy. Even strangers have commented to me what a “happy baby he is.” After you spend just a little bit of time around him, thats not hard to see. He’s a huge blessing that Lindsey and I certainly don’t deserve.

Luca’s first year brought laughter, smiles and pudgy jokes daily. He is without a doubt the least serious in our family and has a smile that simply lights up any room he’s rolling around in. He has already earned the “not serious brother” badge and constantly is playing jokes on Liam.

Unfortunately he can’t stay little for long. In his case it wasn’t very long at all. He’s very round if you know what I mean. But he’s a perfect addition to our family that only God could have mapped out. It’s been an amazing first year with Luca. Happy Birthday little buddy.

Making your video constantly put a smile on my face daily.

Life, Movies

What Makes a Movie Good?

After I posted my Lovely Bones review, my email got slammed with comments. Mostly compiled of many of you claiming that I lost my edge deciphering what a good movie is. This got me thinking… What actually is a good movie and why do people care so much?

Just to be clear in my humble opinion; there is no such thing as a “good” movie. If there was how would you identify it? By the # of oscars that film won? I will point you to “Chicago” and “Shakespeare in Love“. Or “How Green was My Valley” beat cinephile favorite, “Citizen Kane” at the 14th Oscars. But we don’t talk about that. Some of my favorite films were not received well by others. If I didn’t experience them based on others opinions, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Anytime you take popular opinion and morph it into fact is a dangerous walk. Do the legwork yourself. Find out who you are based on your true feelings. But thats for another blog post…

You see calling a movie good is simply just saying you’ve enjoy it. There is no universal formula on how to make a good film. Example: Lindsey and I go to the theaters. We see a “her” type of film. We leave, she asks me how I liked it. I didn’t. She loved it. Does this make it a bad movie? Nonsense. Not to her.

If you fancy yourself on calling a movie bad, you are utterly underselling the art. Why are movies special? Or more importantly why are movies special to you? Think about it.. I’ll tell you why, because they connect, in other words they are intimate. And when a film reaches that point of intimacy it immediately crosses over to an experience. It elevates over the good or bad tag. It’s something bigger. When you lose that, you lose the magic of movies and your place in the experience.

So to say me liking The Lovely Bones is equal to “losing” my eye is a little idiotic and more so of a ignorant statement. The fact that The Lovely Bones moved me and not you is fine. That’s ok. Life goes on.

I bet every single person in the world has a movie they enjoy that the majority doesn’t. Are they wrong for liking it? Of course not. Opinions can’t be wrong. Just defended and hopefully given the chance to be understood by the opposite party.

Regardless of what the world would have you to believe, we all don’t have to think alike. That would be crazy. Right?

 

Movies

The Lovely Bones (2009)

lovely_bones.jpgThe Lovely Bones was a film I’ve wanted to see since hearing about the book back when. For whatever reason I never got to the theater and then life kind of happened and well, I just never got around to seeing it.

Recently I finally caught up with Peter’s Jackson in-between the Lord of the Rings film. I was well aware of the negativity around it and unfortunately in recent days, political power plays will skew this film’s lasting impression. But I continued on and went in with fair expectations.

The truth is, I really enjoying The Lovely Bones. Sure it has it’s flaws, but none more overpowering of it’s pros, which are vast. You could sit and dissect film all you want, but if you fail to open up and leave yourself vulnerable, you’ve missed the boat entirely. I fear many people have done just that with The Lovely Bones. Here you have truly a tragic incident happening to an innocent girl. A family in intense grieving and so much more meat to chew on for your brain and emotional depth. And the majority of opinions I’ve read is about political agenda and self righteousness.

Look, Im not saying The Lovely Bones is great film. But it provides a unique look into a major moment in all our lives, death. And an exceptional moments of hardship a family goes through involving a death of a loved one. The older I get I appreciate films like this. They challenge and then give. But only if your open to let them.

I’m guilty to have not read the book so I can imagine where the book strives and the film fails (well documented by the critics). But for the life of me, I can’t grasp where all the negativity circulating this movie is coming from. I truly had one of those: “Am I watching the same movie as them moments.”

I guess I can only speak for myself, but count me in as an enjoyer of The Lovely Bones. I was emotionally invested, felt many similarities involving emotions with my own family. And felt supremely sympathetic to what happened to Susie Salmon (like the fish).

I hate doing this, but to get technical for a second, the camerawork was absolutely phenomenal. You can tell Peter Jackson was still in his Lord of the Ring mode. Sweeping landscapes and fluid camera movements where all present. Also Saoirse Ronan was breathtaking. I couldn’t place her at first but she looked super familiar. Afterwords, I realized she starred in “Brooklyn” which was also outstanding.

I’m not implying The Lovely Bones should have won an oscar. But I want to push this on you, where do you draw the line between “good” and enjoyable. For me. this movie was both. But as a movie watcher/lover, if you get to the place where good and enjoyable have to be in unison every single time, I would ask the person next to you to check your pulse.

To be clear, I thought The Lovely Bones was both  good and enjoyable. And I don’t mind saying it.

Links, Movies

A Deeper Look into The Darjeeling Limited

About a year ago I posted a video analysis of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. A lot of you really enjoyed seeing a fresh take on a film that got slammed by critics for no apparent good reason. So when I came across this yesterday, I wanted to put it up also.

Nerdwriter is slowly becoming my favorite youtube channel. His film analysis are really top notch. Like me, he has a affinity for Wes Anderson. Below is his latest video that explores Anderson’s least successful film; The Darjeeling Limited. Not my favorite but still worthy of a view, TDL is a piece of art just like any Anderson film. I think Nerdwriter hits the nail on the head multiple times during his video and I most certainly thinks its worth a watch if you have any interest in film or Wes Anderson.

Links

Thomas Jefferson & July 4th?

Great post by Thomas DeLorenzo regarding the relevancy of July 4th and the original intentions of our forefathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson:

“That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other things which independent states may of right do.”

To Thomas Jefferson July 4th was always Happy Secession Day.

Read the rest here.

Life

The Founding Father, Kevin Durant

Well, if you follow basketball you’ve no doubt heard by now Kevin Durant has left Oklahoma City to Play for the 73 game winning Golden State Warriors. I have been reading a bunch of stuff lately on why he may have left and so on. Some people call him a coward and some people agree with his decision. But no explanation I’ve read yet intellectually makes a case. Linked below is Chris Ryan’s take. Ryan focuses on the weight Durant may have been feeling from the franchise. Interesting take.

Shortly after Durant announced his decision to leave Oklahoma City on The Players’ Tribune today, the Thunder released a statement. In his remarks, general manager Sam Presti called Durant “a founding father of this franchise.”

This statement is true, and remarkable. There were no Thunder before Durant. To a lot of people, even outside of Seattle, this was a franchise born of theft. Durant has done a lot of amazing things during his time in Oklahoma City, but making and keeping this team likable was perhaps his greatest achievement. Along with Russell Westbrook, Durant made Oklahoma City into a viable and successful NBA organization, despite some of the organization’s self-sabotaging moves.

Read Ryan’s take here.