Stuff Reviewed here....
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I have read a couple books, seen a couple movies
and listened to a few recordings. It is because of this that I think I am
qualified to critique the work of people who've made careers in the film,
writing and recording businesses.... That's fair, huh?
It is with that in mind that I begin the beguine.... no, that's not right... I
begin an attempt to make sense of all the prattle out there and help you decide
what is worth pumping into your head and what is not... again, I AM qualified,
because I SAID SO!!!
Movies:
I've seen quite a few movies.... I'm no Leonard Maltin or ... who's the fat guy
in the balcony?... Jay Sherman.... But I can tell a winner from a stinker....
except when it comes to movies my wife likes... then I have no taste at all...
I'll be rating movies on a three zone, 5-star scale. Each movie will be rated
on "Visual Appeal", "Audio Appeal" and "Story Appeal". Each of these three
zones can be rated up to 5 stars (or asterisks.... they load faster than
.GIFs)
V: ****
A: ****
S: ****
Synopsis: A Matrtial Arts master seeks to recover a powerful sword from
the killer of his mentor.
Thoughts: In general a very good film... The wire work, while very good,
got a little outlandish at times. Perhaps it's because I didn't grow up on
B-grade Martial Arts movies. The plot moved a bit slowly at times, then at
other times, it raced along. CTHD has a stirring soundtrack and some rather
significant philosophical themes. Chow Yun Fat's character represented the
utmost confidence and humility. He knew how to use a twig!! The ending was
rather a bitter pill to swallow, but it did satisfy in the end. All in all, a
solid 4 out of 5 asterisks
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V: ***
A: **
S: ***
Synopsis: A young Southern Belle searches for happiness and security
during and following the Civil War / War Between The States.
Thoughts: OK... I admit, this is a film from a different time, when, for
example, it was not uncommon for the orchestra to roll on and on under dialogue
through the whole movie. Certainly, at the time GWTW was filmed/produced, Color
was an exciting thing in the cinema and the enormity of all the sweeping shots
seemed a little bragadocious.... a bit over-done... over the top. Add to this
the "Overture", "Intermission" and "Exit Music", which... are ... fine for a
theatrical viewing of such a long film, but for those of us watching on home
video... It would be nice to be able to just skip right over that stuff. At
nearly four hours long, GWTW is difficult to bear, expecially for someone who
doesn't have a great deal of patience for soap-opera-esque stories (such as
yours truly).
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V: *****
A: *****
S: ***
Synopsis: Two boyhood friends find romance (not with each other) and
opporunities for heroism in the Army Air Corps before, during and after the
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, HI.
Thoughts: Pearl Harbor is a film which contains thrilling combat
sequences and some gripping "Military Command" drama, but the majority of the
film does not focus on this. Instead, it focuses on the romantic relationship
between Ben Affleck's character and Kate Beckinsale's. This plopping of a
fictional romantic subplot into the context of an historic event was not as
compelling for me as, for example, the execution of the same concept in James
Cameron's Titanic. Michael Bay achieved a massive and exquisitely executed
assault on the senses in the combat sequences of Pearl Harbor. Armageddon
(another Bruckheimer/Bay flick) was riddled with logical and scientific flaws,
but Pearl Harbor seems to have overcome this. I've heard that Pearl Harbor does
fall a little short in historical accuracy... but then it was never touted as a
documentary, and as long as people keep that in mind it'll be OK.
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V: ******
A: ******
S: ******
Synopsis: By ciruitous cicumstances, an ogre and a princess meet and
discover they have a great deal more in common than their outward appearances
lead them to believe
Thoughts: Yes, you read right. There's SIX
ASTERISKS up there. This movie was that good. It's not really a
children's movie, though. Kids are not going to see anything "bad" that
they don't already see on TV... such as barechested men (Well, an ogre,
actually), and bit of plumbers' crack, some sports-style violence. There is
some "Fill-in-the-blank" adult humor... such as in the "Merry Men" song and the
"Welcome To DuLoc" song. But the story is fresh and a bit more complex than you
might expect from an animated film. The dialog lacks the sing-songy fairytale
quality one might expect from "A Bug's Life". There are some rather direct
descriptions of brutal and horrifying acts, but for the most part they're
contained in hypothetical discussions. Most parents I know would not be
enthused about having to explain to little Johnny what it means to "..decapitate
an entire village and put their heads on a pike...". That aside, aproaching
this as a film for mature adults, it's a gem! The score is stirring, the songs
(and editing thereof) are perfectly chosen and because this movie is completely
CGI, it can be made to fit the rhythms and cues of the songs perfectly. The
scenery is lush and alive, the movement is smooth and organic. The facial
expressions on the principal characters are very very keen. Watch the fur on
Donkey's cheeks when Shrek roars at him. Shrek could get by just as an audio
play (with a little narration for scene setup), or even as a silent movie (with
some placards for dialogue, although you can lip-read a lot of it)... but
the confluenece of the sound (voice acting, music and sound effects) and the
imagery (character animation, visual effects, "camera" work, scenery) is over
the top.... and yet credible, natural and transparent. So there.
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V: ***
A: ****
S: **
Synopsis: A career confidence man assembles a team to pull an elaborate
casino robbery in Las Vegas.
Thoughts: Ocean's Eleven has a sort of MTV/Matrix style of production,
with a swanky-smooth lounge flavor. It was OK. The climax of the robbery was,
for me, the best part. There was a lot of quasi-neo-sci-fi James-Bond-type
gadgetry, which, if I was a little less informed, would be really cool. It sort
of had a "Sneakers" feel to it but without the good music. All in all, it was an
inoffensive film, but not especially gripping. Having seen it in a theatre
(something I RARELY do) I've seen it enough to not need to see it again.
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V: ****
A: ***
S: *****
Synopsis: An unlikely group of motorists learn of a huge fortune burried
in a park and race to get to it first.
Thoughts: It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is one of those movies you
either love or don't get. The all-star cast is enormous and the list of cameos
stretches for miles. The wide shots (in "Ultra-Panavision") are spectacular.
The stunts are great and the driving is fantastic. Terry-Thomas, Milton Berle
and Ethel Merman make an exquisite trinity of discontent. Mickey Rooney and
Buddy Hackett make an oddly fitting Abbott and Costello sort of pair, and when
mixed with Jim Backus' drunken aristocrat and dropped in the cockpit of a
private plane things get downright frightening. Sid Caesar is remarkable. The
chemistry between Jonathan Winters and Phil Silver is priceless. While some of
the jokes are a bit predicable (now... let's not forget that this movie was made
in the mid-sixties!) and the movie is a bit long, it is well worth setting aside
two and a half hours and shutting off the ringer on the phone.
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V: ****
A: ***
S: *****
Synopsis: During the Cold-War, paranoid SAC Base Commander, General Jack
D. Ripper, launches a pre-emptive nuclear attack against The U.S.S.R. and his
second-in-command, a British RAF Group-Captain, Lionel Mandrake, serving in an
officer exchange program struggles to get the recall codes from him; all the
while, the President and his top advisors delicately try to inform the Premier
of the U.S.S.R. of the problem, yet keep him calm.
Thoughts: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The
Bomb is quite a film. Produced during the absolute peak of the Cold War, it
presented an all-too-real paralyzingly terrifying possibility to a nation ready
to "Duck and Cover" at a moment's notice. Peter Sellers, famous for his
"Inspector Clouseau", plays 3 roles in Dr. Strangelove: Lionel Mandrake, U.S.
President Murkin Muffley, and the title role, capture Nazi scientist Dr.
Strangelove. Stanley Kubrick, better known for such films as "2001: A Space
Odyssy", "Full Metal Jacket" and "A Clockwork Orange", directed this film in
black and white, and used the medium to its full effect. Sterling Hayden put in
a fantastic performance as General Jack D. Ripper, the paranoid SAC Commander
who initiated the attack in the first place. George C. Scott plays the
disturbingly enthusiastic Air Force General Buck Turgidson, an adviser to the
President in the War Room. DSL is a movie whose story advances more through
dialog than action, making it a bit tough for people raised on MTV to sit
through, but it is well-worth watching.
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M*A*S*H
(30th anniversary restored special edition DVD)
V: ****
A: ***
S: ****
Synopsis: We follow the efforts of drafted doctors in wartime Korea to
dispense good medicine and retain their own sanity.
Thoughts: When one looks at how the movie came to be (in the special
features on the DVD) there is an enormous difference between the book and the
screenplay, and a further enormous difference between the screenplay and the
film. The movie portrayed war without the John Wayne/George C.Scott
testosterone-fueled church-reinforced rabid patriotism so common in other war
films. In M*A*S*H, we see doctors ankle-deep in the blood of soldiers who've
barely graduated high school. Through all of this, the staff of the 4077th
M*A*S*H struggle to not get sucked into the insanity of war; not to take it too
seriously. If you grew up thinking M*A*S*H started as a TV series, you are
sadly mistaken. See this. See it on the Special Edition DVD. The restoration
is grand.
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Brazil
(The Criterion Collection DVD edition)
V: *****
A: ****
S: *****
Synopsis: At some unspecified time and place in the 20th century, a
nondescript bureaucrat becomes involved with a woman he has seen in his dreams,
and in doing so, jeopardizes his otherwise stable and boring life.
Thoughts: Brazil is quite a flick. There's a lot going on. Directed and
co-written by ex-Python Terry Gilliam, Brazil is an assault on the senses....
How's that for an original notion? Brazil takes a grim look at how our world
might look in the not-too-distant-future if the tendancy toward totalitarian
government, blind faith in authority and the all-too-human preoccupation with
matters of vanity are allowed to run their course unchecked. Sam, our hero,
struggles, both in the fantasy world of his dreams and in the nightmare of
reality, against faceless but immensely powerful opposition, hoping to free the
girl of his dreams and escape to a peaceful and self-sufficient existence far
removed from from the life he knew. Beyond the film itself, Brazil represents a
triumph of artistic vision over blind adherance to corporate dogma. Director
Terry Gilliam battled Universal Studios for months over the release of the film
in the United States. The Criterion Collection edition of Brazil includes the
"Director's Final Cut", a very-slightly-altered version of the 142 minute
release the rest of the world saw, and which was ultimately released in the US,
as well as the 94 minute "Love Conquers All" Univeral Studios re-edit, with its
altered opening, "happy ending" and without most of the dream sequences. The
Criterion Collection edition also has one entire DVD with special features,
including a blow-for blow account of the struggle to release Brazil.
In the context of of being an anti-utopian black comedy, Brazil is a
masterpiece. As a social commentary, Brazil hits its mark. If that was all
there was to it, that would be enough, but Brazil is also monument to
perseverence. Brazil is not for everyone, that's for sure... but it does say a
lot about people and about society and is, IMHO, as significant a story as 1984.
The nature of the story is different to be sure; certainly 1984 wasn't very
funny.
***UPDATE*** At the time I'd written the above
review, I'd not listened to the commentaries, nor had I watched the "Love
Conquers All" edit as it appears in this edition. Gilliam's commentary is
almost as dense with information as the movie itself. One theme that keeps
coming up in Gilliam's commentary is that critics and the general population
frequently remarked at how "ahead of its time" Brazil was, but it wasn't really.
The shoe-hats and the plastic surgery and the ducts all had a place in
contemporary reality in 1983. They still do. If you're a Gilliam fan, or just
a general movie buff, this edition of Brazil is wonderful, if a little
pricey....
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Tron 20th
anniversary special edition DVD
V: ****
A: ****
S: ****
Synopsis: A disgruntled former employee breaks into ENCOM's computer
system hoping to recover evidence which would prove his wrongful termintation,
but is, instead, pulled into the computer, where elements of the games he'd
written are used against him.
Thoughts: Tron is a niche movie. If you like it, you love it. If you
don't like it, you hate it. Tron's dialoge has a sappy sort of quality,
particulary Alan Bradley's (Bruce Boxleitner) "real world" dialog. When you
look at other "Pop" movies of that era, like Xanadu and Grease... they were
pretty much all in the same boat with regard to dialoge and fashion.
In its day Tron was dazzling, not just because of the special effects, but
because the story so deeply involved computers. In 1982, computers were still
big scary things that took up entire rooms and required special climate controls
and flooring. Now, 20 years later, computers have become far more pervasive in
our society, but, strangely, people, in general, aren't much more at ease around
them. In that sense, Tron has not lost its visceral, base appeal. Where Tron
has slipped over time is in its frame of reference. Nowadays, a "PocketPC" has
more computing power than a VAX, which, 20 years ago, was a pretty hot computer.
The common idea of computers has changed, and so Tron has lost some of its
bite.
This edition of Tron is great. The movie, itself, has been cleaned up and
restored immensely. Prior to this release, I'd only seen Tron on videotape, so
the transfers I'm used to watching have been pretty bad. This one is
stupefyingly good. In addition to the quality of the movie itself, the special
features on the DVD are very engaging. When Tron was first released, I was 13
or 14. The special effects were amazing, but I had no idea how much work was
involved. Now, in the documentaries included with this DVD edition, I've seen
for the first time how much work went into making Tron. That was an insanely
ambitious project.... and they pulled it off.
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V: ***
A: ***
S: ***
Synopsis: The death of a friend brings photographer Robert Garfield back
to the town he left at the age of 11, where he recalls the last summer of his
childhood.
Thoughts: Based on a Stephen King story, Hearts In Atlantis touches on
matters of trust, faith, goodwill, cruelty and freedom. There is a supernatural
element which initially turned me off. Many of Stephen Kings stories are, to
some degree or another, rooted in supernatural stuff, and for that reason, I
tend to shy away from most of his stuff. Hearts In Atlantis had a sort of
Stand By Me quality to it about 50% of the time, and that was what kept me
interested. The "special ability" of the stranger who moves in upstairs turned
me off, and since it was so pivotal to the basis of the story it made watching
the movie a tad tedious. He appeared wise at first, but in the context of the
story, his wisdom lacked credibility until his "special ability" is revealed.
That annoyed me.
Taking an unbiased view of the film, it was OK... Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin
and Mika Boorem put in admirable performances.
As movies based on Stephen King stories go, Stand By Me and The Shawshank
Redemption are my faves. This was OK, although I'm not in any hurry to see it
again.
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V: ****
A: ***
S: ****
Synopsis: Derek Zoolander, an iconic, legendary male model comes to the
realization that younger, more in-touch models may soon displace him. He
retires, and is called out of retirement by a sinister fashion designer to,
ostensibly be the signature model for his new collection, but he (the sinister
designer) really has other plans.
Thoughts: Zoolander is funny. Is that enough? Yes. That's enough. But
the movie
doesn't stop there. There is significant commentary on how our society values
vanity, youth and novelty. Owen Wilson is fantastic as Hansel, the young
upstart model who threatens to unseat Derek Zoolander from his throne as the
greatest male model the world has known. Will Farrell is a frightening, yet
strangely ineffective villain, as Mugatu. Milla Jovovich, who you may recalls
was "Leeloo" in the remarkable freakfest "The Fifth Element" played a delightful
"Mustafa" to Farrell's "Doctor Evil" as Katinka.
Ben Stiller stars in, directs, co-writes and co-produces this gem. Cameos from
Donald Trump, Billy Zane, David Duchovney, Jon Voight, Anne Miera and a mountain
of others (just watch for all the "Himself"s and "Herself"s in the credits) kept
me guessing... While this was not Stiller's Directorial debut (his first
feature-length film was "Reality Bites"), it's certainly a film for which he'll
be long remembered.
Even though Zoolander was something of a sleeper at the box office (grossing
$45M on a $28M budget) I suspect it will do very well in home video, as it is
the slow word-of-mouth buddy-system grass-roots propagation that will keep
people watching Zoolander. I hope Stiller got a good deal on the residuals, cuz
he could retire on this one...
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V: ****
A: ***
S: ****
Synopsis: An incarcerated pair of bank robbers breaks out of prison,
takes on a "voluntary hostage" and develops a reputation as "The Sleepover
Bandits".
Thoughts: I'll try not to give too much of the movie away... Barry
Levinson hit quite a home run on this one. The movie opens as we learn The
Sleepover Bandits have been killed in a bloody gunbattle while attempting to rob
an LA bank. From there, we enjoy a brief "America's Most Wanted"-like expose on
The Sleepover Bandits, which leads us into their story, starting the day of
their prison break and ending where we started.
The story is a rollercoaster full of stuff that's hard to reconcile emotionally;
things that you think you should feel bad about, but you end up laughing
about... or vice-versa... All-in-all a solid film with a great twist at the end.
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V: *****
A: ****
S: *****
Synopsis: An unlikely 'herd' of ice-age-era animals comes together to return a lost human baby to its tribe.
Thoughts: The trio of star voice talent that heads up Ice Age is just about as unlikely as the animals to which they supply voices. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Dennis Leary voice a mammoth, a sloth and a saber-toothed tiger, respectively. Ice Age is not really a dialog-heavy film, although the dialog that is there is relevant, fitting and quite often funny. Ice Age is quite well stacked with sight gags and slapstick, but is also bristling with stunning landscapes, fluid, lifelike animation and remarkably evident emotion in the characters' faces. I'll admit it... I choked back a few tears at various points through the film. Sadly, I saw it on a plane during a transcontinental flight, so I missed most of the real subtlety; still an excellent flick... I can't wait for it to come out on DVD this fall!! .
UPDATE!!! The DVD release of Ice Age ROCKS!!! "Bunny" is included!! There's an extra "Scrat" short!!! The Special Features are very cool!! Get it!! Now!!!
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V: *****
A: *****
S: ****
Synopsis: A "parallel Universe" populated by monsters and powered by the screams of nightmare-afflicted children in our world is turned upside down when a child sneaks through the the portal the monsters use to come and collect her screams.
Thoughts: Pixar magic of the highest order. What more do I have to say? Yet another fantastic Randy Newman score. A great story with a great twist. The one Pixar offering to date that really didn't do it for me (A Bug's Life) was a bit too kiddish for my taste. While "Monsters, Inc" is no "Shrek", it does seem to be the most adult-targeting feature from Pixar to date.
While the story, music, sound editing and voice-acting were all top-notch, it really is the character design, animation and simulation (Sully's fur and Boo's t-shirt, for the most part) that give this movie it's heart. Like the two previous Toy Story films, this is a buddy movie in which the buddies learn something about each other and themselves through some unexpected trial. With each successive film, Pixar's capacity for subtle, expressive facial animation grows by leaps and bounds.
Since PDI-Dreamworks' "Shrek" is something of a benchmark CA film for me, I'll mention a few areas where PDI-Dreamworks and Pixar seem to diverge: 1) Realism. From what I've seen from the two studios, PDI-Dreamworks has the market cornered. Pixar seems to be content with a certain doll-like aspect to its characters, whereas PDI-Dreamworks seems to focus on skin texture and tone, pliability of skin and plausable deformation in forming facial expressions. There are too many looks and expressions in Shrek for me to count, which set me off laughing or getting all misty-eyed. 2) Story. Monsters, Inc. is something of a departure from the common Pixar formula, in which the thematic content is mostly light. This is the first Pixar film I've seen with believably sinister bad guys and starkly dark and frightening content. "A Bug's Life" discussed death, and I think an ant or two may have gone over the horizon, never to return, but that was nothing compared to the termite battle in "Antz" from PDI-Dreamworks. Personally, I like a little dues-paying in movies I watch. The thing that got me in "Monsters, Inc." was when Sully was coerced into giving a scare demonstration by Mr. Waternoose, and he inadvertantly exposed Boo to his "Game Face". This, to me, is like a child seeing what his or her dad REALLY does (or is trained to do) for a living, and dad is a soldier, or special forces type, or some other "ugly" occupation. 3) Characters. PDI-Dreamworks characters, even their fairy-tail creatures, are typically cynical, pragmatic and/or pensive. Pixar's characters are typically a bit less three-dimensional, although Sully from "Monsters, Inc." seems to be something of a departure
All-in-all a great flick, one to keep on the shelf at home, even if you have no kids.
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V: *******
A: *******
S: *******
Synopsis: Life, The Universe and Everything.... By the way, there are 21 asterisks up there!!
Thoughts:
When I was a kid, around 13 or 14 years old, I saw the science series "Cosmos" on PBS, presented by the late Dr. Carl Sagan. As a much younger boy, I had been exposed to some scientific thoughts and notions which set me off on the course of curiosity and a quest for understanding. Science fascinated me. It still does. When I first saw Cosmos, something else in me was awakened, beyond scientific curiosity. I became aware of the interconnectedness of everything. A sense of abject humility as well as a seemingly contradictory feeling of pride permeated me. In the years since the first time I viewed Cosmos, I have read the book of the same title by Carl Sagan, as well as several others of his books.
Carl Sagan was much more than an extraordinary popularizer of science. He made science universally and irrefutably relevant. He was ridiculously intelligent, frightfully passionate and dangerously engaging. He understood history, biology, religion, physics, planetary science, mathematics, cosmology, psychology, philosophy, sociology and any number of other disciplines, but what was, to me, most extraordinary about Carl Sagan was the way he could connect all these understandings and construct an enormous, beautiful, joyful and compelling comprehension. Cosmos weaves all the aforementioned disciplines into thirteen broadly appetizing narratives, each with striking imagery and surprisingly emotive music. Cosmos is neither condescending nor dumbed-down. It requires your attention, but its meaning is not elusive or buried in jargon and technobabble.
The thirteen episode series Cosmos were written and produced during a time of great discovery (the Voyager and Viking missions, among others) and great peril (lest we forget the Cold War). Fortunately Dr. Sagan dwelt much longer on the discovery than on the peril, although he did not dismiss the possibility of human self-extinction. Instead, he occasionally made remarks which indicated that our continued growth and discovery was contingent upon our refraining from blowing ourselves up.
If you have never seen Cosmos, see it as soon as you can. If you have seen it, it is time for you to see it again. If you don't already own the seven-disc twentieth anniversary DVD release of Cosmos, you must buy it now and watch it often.
Kudos to Ann Druyan (Dr. Sagan's widow) and company at Cosmos Studios for the remastering and re-release this beautiful and important work.
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V: ****
A: ***
S: ***.5
Synopsis: An orphaned Cro-Magnon girl is taken in and raised by a Neandethal Medicine Woman.
Thoughts:
Many times I had seen VHS and DVD copies of Clan of the Cave Bear in stores, and was curious.... it had a certain B-Movie air about it that left me thinking it probably wasn't all that good. Daryl Hannah is not one of my favorite actresses. And, more times than I can count, I've seen good intentioned attempts at portraying primitive or aboriginal peoples botched to the point of being unwatchable. Recently, I saw a copy on DVD for $6.99, and I finally decided to give it a chance.
Clan of the Cave Bear is the story of a little girl who gets separated from her own people and ends up being adopted by another group. It would be one thing if she was just another race... but the girl was Cro-Magnon and the people who adpted her were Neanderthal. This posed some deep conflict issues, and presented some serious challenges.
My initial suspicions about the B-Movie feel were somewhat allayed, and the portrayal of the culture and people was reasonably plausable. The story had some meat to it, and there were some worthy themes. The score, by Alan Silvestri, was, for the most part, fitting and mostly transparent.
One thing I found enjoyable about the movie, and this may just be me, is the fact that the Clan had their own language, which consisted of a combination of utterances and gestures. The viewer's window into the meaning of the language was sparse subtitles. Once a basic gesture or utterance was presented a few times, the subtitles for it seemed to taper off. More involved "dialog" still had the subtitles, which was very helpful.
Over all, I found Clan of the Cave Bear engaging and satisfying. If you can find it at a reasonable price (I'd say $6.99 is pretty darned reasonable), I'd recommend it.
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BOOKS!!! Yes, I DO READ!!
I don't read a lot of novels. Most of what I read for fun is either satire or
scientific/philosophical non-fiction. I also paruse a lot of computer reference
works, although I don't plan to review those here (unless they are exceptional),
as they are mostly very boring.
Thoughts on Al
Franken's:
"Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (and
other
observations)"
As I sat in the airport in
Detroit,
waiting for a connecting flight, I read a significant portion of RLIABFI. I
became
engrossed enough to not notice an elderly couple sitting across from me. They
were clad in
the obligatory pastel polyester sans-a-belt garb of their contemporaries. The
older man
said to me, in a polite enough tone, "Do you beleive everything you read in
that
book?"
The cover of the book, although it is a paperback, is boldly emblazoned with
the title.
I replied, "I've made it a point to not fully believe anything I've not
personally
experienced."
That seemed to silence their concern over the possibility that I might have
been sucked
into the frightfully inescapable vortex of liberal thought. The old man's fear
was
unfounded. I am not about to be swayed to the radical left, nor to the radical
right. I am
unshakably rooted in the middle of the road. But enough about me, what about
Al's book?!
RLABFI is an entertaining book. It's also a bit disturbing on a couple of
fronts. It's
entertaining in that it brings out Gingrich, Robertson, Fallwell, Limbaugh and
the rest of
the right-wing nutcase crowd as the hypocritical ideologues they are. The thing
that I
found disturbing was the endless rallying behing President Clinton, as the
greatest
President of this century. While ol' Bill has done some good stuff, and as
President, he
doesn't do too bad, over all, I don't know if I'd trust him to babysit my
daughter (if I
had one).
It's the political agenda I can do without.
I'm all for driving clowns like Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell into the
political
ground, because they have no business in governing the people of this country.
By taking
the oath of office, these clowns would self-annihilate, because the oath of
office
requires them to (paraphrasing) uphold the Constitution of the United States,
and the
Constitution (the first amendment, specifically) states that, "Congress
shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof..." In a roundabout way, this means, to me, that you just don't
elect a
"man of god" (preacher, priest, father, rabbi, monk, whatever) to
public office,
because of his loyalty, first, to god. The man already has an agenda, and is
taking orders
from god (supposedly), rather than his constituents. If this is supposed to be a
theocracy, why do we bother with the elections. Let's let god pick who we should
follow.
Uh, no.
But Franken swings a little to far to the left for me, at times. He's a
well-off
Harvard graduate who considers himself middle-class. Uh... no pity from me. I
don't think
I'm ready to canonize Bill Clinton. Then again, I'm definately not ready to
invite Rush,
Newt and friends for a nice, cozy dinner at my place.
The political satire is biting. Deservedly so. The pontification about the
virtues of
liberalism is... fatiguing. I'm what you might call a Secular Humanist. I
suppose.
Actually, I'm not really crazy about what people (as a mass) have done with the
world.
Maybe I'm just a Realist. But enought about me! What about Al's book?!
"Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" is an engaging read. I thoroughly
enjoyed it.
I recommend the book to Republicans and Democrats alike, because I still hold
out a tiny
bit of hope that individual citizens will snap out of their glazed-over,
deer-in-the-headlights hypnotic trance and realize that both political parties
are
thoroughly corrupt and should be disbanded immediately, in favor of the
establishment of 5
New political parties, each with a County/Municipal, State/Legislative,
State/Executive,
Federal/Legislative and Federal/Executive tier, and requiring that an individual
start at
the County/Municipal tier, get elected to office, and maintain the office for
one full
term before trying for a higher tiered office. No individual may skip tiers.
This would
make the Eisenhower presidency an impossibility in the future, but so be it. It
would also
keep morons like Fallwell and Robertson out of Beltway for at least another 20
years. This
way, you can't just turn on the charisma, spread a few simoleons around and buy
a
Congressional Seat.
Oh, and Lobbying? No more. If you're not in the direct employ of the federal
government, or a certified "Private Citizen" with no nore political
clout than
your single vote, you can't get in to Washington, DC. Please check all payment
instruments
at the door! No single items valued at over $500 allowed. No individual may
carry more
than $1500 worth of goods (including personal electronics (such as Cel Phones,
Laptop PCs,
et cetera) and Italian Suits) into Washington, DC.
Oh, while I'm restructuring the government... If you get a government position..
from
streetsweeper to President of the United States, you are treated like the rest
of our most
revered public servants: You get a set of uniforms when you join the government,
and a
clothing allowance every year, thereafter. You get three square meals a day,
housing (open
bay barracks for the single folk, "Family Housing" for those with
families (one
family per person, please). You are subject to the Uniform Code of Military
Justice. It's
a little more harsh than civilian law, but they really need it. Oh, and pay...
standard
military E/O pay. Functionary positions are subject to Enlisted Salaries,
Elected
Officials are entitled to Officer Salaries. Finally, mandatory retirement at 25
years of
service or 65 years of age, whichever comes first.
What was that I was saying about political grandstanding?
Oh, yeah... the book... uh, read it.
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Paul's thoughts on George Carlin's
"BrainDroppings"
I recently picked up a copy of George Carlin's book Brain Droppings.
Since I am
already a fan, I guess I could say I relate to his material. Some of the
stuff is
familiar material from his stand-up routines.. "A Place for My Stuff"
is
revamped for the 90's, but thematically it's pretty much the same. There
is lots of
material that has never found its way into his stand-up. One piece that
almost
killed me was a bit on how to have fun in restaurants. In one passage, he
says to
order "Fillet of Bone with diced peas." I couldn't inhale for
almost a
minute.
I'm now about half-way through the book. It's very choppy, so it's
great toilet
reading. I'll update this when I finish the book. For now, let me
just say
that if you're already a GC fan, you MUST get
this book
If you are not a GC fan ... nay, if you dislike GC and what he
has to say,
get this book anyway and keep hitt yourself in the head with the spine of the
book, until
you come to your senses.
***Update***
I have finished the book. As with all of GC's material from the
last
fifteen to twenty years, he's a bit... bitter. It shows.
Unfortunately for the
general human population, most of Carlin's points present stinging truth.
He
presents observations of human behavior we've all made ourselves, but have been
in denial
over. Language use, Victims, Human innocence, greed, political corruption,
corporate
trickery, war, religion... all these and more are viable targets for scorn, as
far as
Carlin is concerned. He doesn't have a lot of patience for Human Stupidity
or Human
Arrogance. Frankly I don't blame him. If you ewre not a member of
our species,
you would not file Brain Droppings under "Humor", you'd file it in the
"Reference Section" under Human Sociology.
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The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Synopsis: The fundamental principles of Taoism are brought to light in
the context of exerpts from the Winnie the Pooh stories by A. A. Milne
Thoughts: Well, if you're a Taoist, or you've, in passing, considered
looking into Taoism, "The Tao of Pooh" is a wonderful first foray. Inner Nature
and the principle of the Uncarved Block are brought to light in the context of
stories many of us grew up with. Hoff approaches the subject matter simply
without being simplistic. He is "teachy" withouth being "preachy". "The Tao of
Pooh" is not a "Taoist Scripture", nor is it a book of humor or fiction. It is
not a children's book. It is, instead, a book aimed at cogent adults. The
language is, for the most part, uncomplicated, but uncommonly concise. As you
may know, I've found that I am a Taoist, quite by accident. "The Tao of Pooh"
was one of the works that helped me to relate to some of the finer and more
fundamental aspects of the Tao. Overall, this is an excellent text.
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Sound Recordings
Yes, that includes CDs with music on them... although I don't often
feel compelled to review a recording unless it's in the extremes of my taste (I
REALLY like it or I REALLY hate it) or unless it is an unusual release or from a
less-popular artist but still deserving of merit.....
Like the film
ratings, I will be rating recordings on a 5-asterisk scale, but only an over-all
rating... no breakdown. So there!!
On to the reviews!!!!....
Artist: George Carlin
Title: Complaints and Grievances
Release Date: 2001
Label: Atlantic/Eardrum/HBO
Format: Compact Disc
Genre: Standup Comedy
Overall Rating: ****.5 (That's four-and-a-half, folks...)
Thoughts: Some things get better with age, others don't. Wine, with some
exceptions and within certain limitations gets better with age; bread,
generally, doesn't. George seems to be doing fine. He hasn't lost his bitter,
cranky edge nor his keen eye for social WTFs. This CD was recorded in November
of 2001, and as such, George does acknowledge the events of 9/11/01... which...
in case you've been under a rock....
....three passenger jets were hi-jacked on the morning of September 11, 2001.
Two of these jets crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in
Lower Manhattan in New York City. This resulted in the collapse of the twin
towers and collapse or serious damage to several other buildings in the
immediately surrounding area. The third crashed into The Pentagaon in
Washington, D.C. A fourth plane was hijacked, but aparently due to efforts of
passengers, the plane was diverted to crash in an unpopulated area in Western
Pennsylvania....
Carlin, fortunately, did not dwell on the topic. He acknowledged the events,
made a few brief and... dare I say ... suspicious ... remarks about "survival"
and its connection with "cooperating with the Federal Government".... did he get
a phone call or a visit? Anyhow, he moved on. Some of the material on the CD,
such as his remarks on Motivation Seminars, are re-toolings or expansions on
material he's done before. I generally don't mind this if there is something
fresh about it (for example a new context or a more historically relevant spin)
and he does that well... although... toward the end of the "You & Me (Things
That Come Off Your Body)" segment, he realizes he "...may have gone too far..."
and made a hard left turn in to a piece of material... a very brief bit ...
from... oh, gosh, it's gotta be close to 20 years ago by now... and did it
practically verbatim. It seemed like a fumble-recovery sort of thing to me....
Hey, I guess it shows he's human...
All in all, though, this is a continuation of a great American institution, and
it's in fine form. When you consier that Carlin has been doing this stuff for
... well... making albums for 30 years... he's been doing stand-up for over
40.... the fact that he hasn't either run out of new stuff to talk about or lost
his edge is truly remarkable. Complaints and Grievances is a testament to how
hosed up our culture is and how little people actually think about what they're
doing in spite of Carlin's complaining and grieving, which, as I said, he's been
doing for quite some time...
Bottom line? If you're a George Carlin, fan and you haven't picked this one up
yet, what are you waiting for? If you're not a CG fan, well.... you should be.
;-)
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