Well Summer is FINALLY here (though I think the heat of Spring kind of stole its thunder). I’ve been busy these last few weeks, mostly trying to enjoy the season while not getting killed by oncoming traffic. So far in the last month or two I’ve been pulled over twice for incredibly minor stuff and have had my car crunched on from each end (fortunately I’ve had very minimal damage). I don’t seem to have incurred any injuries, so that’s good.
On the topic of relaxing, I attempted to attend Crystal City’s showing of Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan out of doors (which was also attended by Think Geek). I say attempted because I made it all the way down there, but just as the movie was starting, it began to really pour and soggied up the ground. While Wrath of Khan is a great film, it wasn’t quite worth it to sit on wet ground for two hours, so the trip was aborted. Don’t worry, though, I later watched it on Netflix streaming in all of its glory (and I got some Think Geek/NASA swag before I left the showing)!
Speaking of the internets, I have been kind of a busy blogger recently. I wrote a few more stories for GeeksAreSexy.net this last month and have also realigned myself with BrightHub.com. The latter is network for bloggers to write more “Googleable” stories. Essentially the idea is to answer those questions that people ask directly of the Google search box. It’s a great little site because even though the per article pay is fairly low, you get a large part of the revenue from long-term ad sales. So far I’ve made a noticeable amount from the 14 stories I wrote two years ago, so I’m willing to give it another go!
Anyway, I’ve got some more stuff to share on the ol’ blog, but this post would be too long if I crammed it all in, so I’ll update it again in a short while. Have a nice Thursday!
Well today was a pretty tiresome day for me personally. Where I would have rather have been researching and obsessing over WWDC’s iPhone launch (look for my take on that later), I was instead trapped in a body shop and then a auto repair garage getting all of the many things that are wrong with my car fixed. Even so, here’s my take on two recent movies:
A few weeks ago, I saw Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. I have to say I was very impressed. While it was certainly not the greatest movie of all time, for a video game movie it did very well. I’ve never played the game upon which it was based, but I found the plot very interesting and approachable.
The action sequences were great and many of the chase scenes mirror (some very closely) the chases in the animated Aladdin movie of yesteryear. As a child of that time period, these chases had a very strong appeal. Think throwing apples at bushy-bearded guards with scimitars and you’ll generally get the idea. Oh and it always helps when the leading man and lady are both fairly attractive!
I would have to say there is some complexity in the plot, but only from the mystery and sharp turns in the plot, not from any deep philosophy. That being said, it’s nice to have a fun action/adventure movie unburdened by the dark overtones or deep psychology that has become some common among modern movies. Also, it’s family friendly without losing its edge. Definitely see it with friends or family before it leaves theaters!
Also in the theaters this week was Splice, starring Adrien Brody. I saw it with @jbrown915 on Friday and it’s hard to even describe this one. The story follows a couple of scientists (both in the plural and dating sense of the word) who are working on creating new life forms. This iteration of “artificial life” (which might be better described as “synthetic life” because it just borrows from nature) combines the genes of several different organisms to form these gelatinous blobs. These early creations don’t look very good, but they produce proteins important for pharmacology. Things go awry when they add in human DNA and all of a sudden things get out of control.
My first big problem with this movie is that ALL of the science is essentially a distillation of public misconceptions about genetic science. They make most of their discoveries over the course of a busy week (which pushed forward the idea that “scientists just need to work harder!”) and it also proposes that there is something magical about human DNA. For some reason splicing in DNA from people is WAY harder than DNA from closely related mammals, and once they succeed, it turns into a horrible humaniod monster!
The real reason NOT to see this movie is the middle to second half of it. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers to the poor souls who subject themselves to this film, but essentially the female lead develops this VERY creepy maternal complex that her boyfriend (husband?) never notices. After this, the plot begins to follow the same lines of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, only with graphic detail where the cult classic leaves much to the imagination. The circumstances, stupidity of the characters, and the incestuous suggestions really take the more visceral scenes way beyond the pale of a normal scifi thriller and into the realm of “why did I pay to watch this?” Overall, unless you’re needing a feature film that feels like two B movies crammed together, skip Splice and don’t even rent it.
Hope you enjoyed my doling out reviews and general wisdom. Let me know if you agree OR disagree in the comments!
I wanted to take a break from the humdrum of my grad school life to share my thoughts on the newest iteration of the Stargate anthology…
If you haven’t heard about it by now, Stargate: Universe (SGU) is a show that takes place in the world of Stargate, but adds in the Voyager-esque element of being “lost in space.” It’s understandable if this show slipped under your radar. With the return of the big fall shows on the major networks, and the noticeable increase in shows that target the geek demographic, SGU has a lot more competition for interested viewers. Even long-time Stargate fans probably thought “Oh, just another Stargate, will this even be worth my time?” After viewing the pilot, I can tell you that this is not so.
The third version of something is often the LAST version of it. While I LOVED The Matrix Trilogy, I will admit that the second and third movies were less and less popular as they got away from the central theme of The Matrix. Stargate: Atlantis was arguably worse than the original series, not because it was so particularly bad, but because it brought nothing new to the table. The writers and directors essentially made carbon copies of each Stargate: SG1 character and stuck them in a slightly different universe. This third try at the Stargate franchise seems to be not a rerun, but a re-imagining of what Stargate can be.
Remember, Stargate is a very old show by scifi standards, so some of the original styling has become a bit dated. Atlantis tried to address this by making everything all wacky and “Atlantisy,” but that just made it say “sequel” even more. SGU takes steps to make the plot of the pilot fall in line with what Stargate viewers expect, but still offer something new. That newness comes in the form of character depth and a coherent framing of the story.
First, when it comes to character development, SGU is clearly trying to speed up the pace. The original Stargate didn’t really get into serious characters until after the first several seasons. In contrast, this pilot is chock FULL of backstory, emotional tension, and foreshadowing. This is clearly a reaction to the new wave of scifi shows (Battlestar, Heroes, Lost) that focus much more on WHO is playing out the story, not just WHAT they’re doing. In fact, SGU still has the option to make the show more like a serial than Stargate’s “single episode story” model (though I don’t expect they will).
The other value-add for me was the architecture of SGU. While the first two series focused on the “we know nothing, not even sure where we are” aspect of exploration, this show dispenses with a lot of that.
[Spoiler Alert]In the pilot alone, the new “crew” has been given a map with their precise location, efficient communication with Earth, and a fairly strong knowledge of Ancient tech. Also, the ship is “aware” of their needs and every episode (presumably) takes them to a new planet with a convenient Stargate already installed. There’s even a handy clock informing them of how long they have for each away mission! [/Spoiler Alert]
I like this new setup, not because it adds a formulaic aspect to the show (which it definitely does), but because it allows the show to get off to a strong start without messing about in the procedures of figuring out how to drive the ship, make food, etc.
My fears for this show were that it would either be lame and out of place like Voyager largely was or overly dark and gritty like Battlestar was/is. I was pleasantly surprised by how strong this pilot came across. It is a smart balance of familiar mythology, complex character design, and endless possibilities. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I!
My name is Jimmy Rogers and I'm here to bring you lovely stories from and about the internet. I love technology and the sciences that are very big and very small. Currently I'm studying Microbiology at the graduate level (hoping to earn a PhD).
A few weeks ago, I saw Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. I have to say I was very impressed. While it was certainly not the greatest movie of all time, for a video game movie it did very well. I’ve never played the game upon which it was based, but I found the plot very interesting and approachable.
Also in the theaters this week was Splice, starring Adrien Brody. I saw it with 
