Archive for October 6th, 2003

2003.10.06

more site work

everyone will have to forgive me as i continue to beat up this site with new “enhancements” which, while i’m not entirely sure they will work, are none-the-less highly entertaining for me to attempt. the latest is a relinking of images to a static site so spookee can run dynamically. this will be alot of fun once i get everything working, but for now is causing some problems. like all the entries with pictures suddenly showing up at the top there… oh well.

2003.10.06

star trek: enterprise

the latest incarnation of the star trek universe. though started off rocky and took a huge hiatus in the middle of the season, the stories are strong and the acting is good, and can only get better.

2003.10.06

step into liquid

a surfing documentary shot following several prominent and not so prominent figures in the field in a documentary fashion. though some of the stories were quite good, the best part of this movie, in my opinion, was the photography. simply amazing some of the shots. in the picture to the left you might notice a surfer on that wave. that was/is a real picture, and the wave is probably 50 feet (13 meters) tall.

i wasn’t sure what the point of the movie was supposed to be. if it was to show that surfing is a serious endeavour or that it’s not all about, “hey, dude, surf’s up.” it seemed to lack a premise, though it did cover alot of ground -from surfing in ireland, to riding wake-waves in texas, surfing in lake michigan or 100 miles out from chile- and seemed to want to touch a spirituality that surfing can engender. sentimental at times, sometimes too much so, it could have definately toned back on in-your-face toying with emotions through narration and just let the stories speak for themselves.

regardless, i did like the movie. i was truly impressed with the simple visuals, like a six foot man on a seven foot board riding a 60 foot wave, or the blue of the . the power of the ocean speaks louder than the narrator.

2003.10.06

barbershop

so many movies i’ve seen rarely show blacks poking fun at each other except in a slapstick sort of way. this movie manages it with such honesty and good humor, even when things are at it’s worst, that it’s hard to believe it didn’t garner any real critical acclaim (in the form of awards). perhaps because in parts it was too honest (and thus not politically correct). i think that in time this movie will develop quite a cult following and get its due.

2003.10.06

cowboy bebop the movie

cowboy bebop the movie… it’s hard to talk too much about the movie without giving away much of the plot. suffice it to say that the characters lose none of their charm, the animation is amazing, the music is wonderful, and the story draws you in and holds you till the end. while little new is revealed about the characters themselves, this is not important. look for greater roles of the three old guys, ein showing more of his intelligence, jet only getting in one fight, ed being briefly stumped at hacking, faye revealing even more skin, and spike to get the fsck kicked out of him. when someone tries to take out a planet with a new and devestating biowarfare agent, trust our cowboys to get their man… or not.

2003.10.06

cowboy bebop the series

nothing to say. simply the best animated series i have ever seen to date (that being up to 2003.03). great story archs, great characterizations, above par animation, phenomenal music… just go get it.

2003.10.06

read or die; R.O.D.

read or die; R.O.D.

someone has plans to kill most of the people on the planet by… stealing books. who do you call? agent paper of section A of library special operations! she takes on cloned figures from history embued with outrageous super powers, discovers a read friend, and all because someone stole her book. whatever you do, never steal her book! the animation is good (even has jiggle-vision, which i haven’t seen in some time) and the opening theme has some wonderful strains of secret agent-ness. the DVD has all three episodes with a few extras. great fun.

2003.10.06

animatrix

nine beatifully animated and smartly written stories based on the matrix. each has a different style, and each has it’s merits. my least favorite was program, the japanese feudal samurai styled anime. the story was ok, but the animation style is one that i am not a big fan of, perhaps because of the very clamp style characters. my favorite? perhaps kid’s story for the animation (the skating scenes are amazingly dynamic and the falling scene is just like a dream), and either beyond or matriculated for their stories. a great DVD for fans of the matrix, though i am not sure how well the stories would stand if you hadn’t seen the movie already.

2003.10.06

The Wedding Present. George Best.

The Wedding Present. George Best.

the wedding present. what a band. nigel introduced me to them in college and i’ve picked up several of their albums. george best is my favorite. as someone once said, david gedge’s songs are all about the same thing; how shitty it is to lose the one you love. i couldn’t agree more, and the music and lyrics build always (?) towards this same climax. be warned that there are no breaks on this album. there are no slow parts. it comes at you and keeps coming at you, not so hard that it’s difficult to listen to, but with a relentlessness that is similar to the topic all the songs reflect.