Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Movies Review: Hulk, Happening, Onion
I gorged myself on movies this weekend. On Friday I treated myself to a double feature: The Incredible Hulk, followed by The Happening. Sunday I then watched The Onion Movie.
The Incredible Hulk
This is the latest film from the new Marvel Studios - their first being Iron Man. Now, you need to know that this movie is not connected in any way with the 2003 Hulk film (which I have not seen) with the exception that they share the same characters. This is not a sequel. What this film is is a new story loosely connected to the 1970s TV series and building on a new theatrical Marvel universe which will - presumably - see all of the new movies connected.
This movie starts out with a quick telling of the origin of the Hulk (in this version it's connected to the Super Soldier program experiment (i.e. Captain America) and not a Gamma Bomb explosion) in the opening credits, followed by finding Bruce Banner hiding from General Ross (head of the super soldier project) in Brazil and working with an anonymous "Mr. Blue" over the net to find a cure for Bruce's gamma irradiated blood. What follows is a man hunt and some great Hulk action as he makes his way back to the US to retrieve data from the experiments but bumps into his only girlfriend, Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross. Meanwhile, a soldier is given some injections to help him fight the Hulk, but these end up going wrong and lead to the creation of the Hulk's antithesis, The Abomination. These two end up having a battle royal in the streets of New York that shows that the Hulk is a force of nature that will not be stopped.
In the end the Hulk escapes again. General Ross is seen later in a bar sulking over some drinks and approached by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in regards to Project Avenger thus connecting the two movies and foreshadowing Marvel Studios next project, Captain America: the first Avenger. Woot!
The Happening
M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie is about an event that is causing people to kill themselves. At first it's called a terrorist attack, then it is suggested that it may be a CIA experiment gone wrong, or maybe it's some form of radiation, or is it the plants? But that's just the catalyst for the story of two very innocent people trying to escape whatever it is that is happening. I'm not all that sure about the actors direction in the film, they all seemed a bit flat, but that my just be the type of people Night wanted them to come across as.
The movie starts with the Happening occurring in Central Park and spreading into the city. Then we move to a classroom in a New Jersey high school where Mark Wahlberg's character, a science teacher) is discussing the disappearance of bees all across America before the school is dismissed due to the event in New York. At this point the main characters start their trek west to escape the ever increasing area being affected by the mysterious events. Theories are tossed about until one is somewhat proven by the scientist character to be the most logical cause.
I can't really say to much without giving everything away, but I will say that this movie makes for a good creepy story that doesn't degrade itself into a huge gore fest. I found it slow, but enjoyable.
The Onion Movie
I was hoping for something akin to the Kentucky Fried Movie. At heart it was, but not as good. A lot of the news parody seemed old and overdone.
You will probably be better off renting this before committing to buying it (like I did)...
The Incredible Hulk
This is the latest film from the new Marvel Studios - their first being Iron Man. Now, you need to know that this movie is not connected in any way with the 2003 Hulk film (which I have not seen) with the exception that they share the same characters. This is not a sequel. What this film is is a new story loosely connected to the 1970s TV series and building on a new theatrical Marvel universe which will - presumably - see all of the new movies connected.
This movie starts out with a quick telling of the origin of the Hulk (in this version it's connected to the Super Soldier program experiment (i.e. Captain America) and not a Gamma Bomb explosion) in the opening credits, followed by finding Bruce Banner hiding from General Ross (head of the super soldier project) in Brazil and working with an anonymous "Mr. Blue" over the net to find a cure for Bruce's gamma irradiated blood. What follows is a man hunt and some great Hulk action as he makes his way back to the US to retrieve data from the experiments but bumps into his only girlfriend, Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross. Meanwhile, a soldier is given some injections to help him fight the Hulk, but these end up going wrong and lead to the creation of the Hulk's antithesis, The Abomination. These two end up having a battle royal in the streets of New York that shows that the Hulk is a force of nature that will not be stopped.
In the end the Hulk escapes again. General Ross is seen later in a bar sulking over some drinks and approached by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in regards to Project Avenger thus connecting the two movies and foreshadowing Marvel Studios next project, Captain America: the first Avenger. Woot!
The Happening
M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie is about an event that is causing people to kill themselves. At first it's called a terrorist attack, then it is suggested that it may be a CIA experiment gone wrong, or maybe it's some form of radiation, or is it the plants? But that's just the catalyst for the story of two very innocent people trying to escape whatever it is that is happening. I'm not all that sure about the actors direction in the film, they all seemed a bit flat, but that my just be the type of people Night wanted them to come across as.
The movie starts with the Happening occurring in Central Park and spreading into the city. Then we move to a classroom in a New Jersey high school where Mark Wahlberg's character, a science teacher) is discussing the disappearance of bees all across America before the school is dismissed due to the event in New York. At this point the main characters start their trek west to escape the ever increasing area being affected by the mysterious events. Theories are tossed about until one is somewhat proven by the scientist character to be the most logical cause.
I can't really say to much without giving everything away, but I will say that this movie makes for a good creepy story that doesn't degrade itself into a huge gore fest. I found it slow, but enjoyable.
The Onion Movie
I was hoping for something akin to the Kentucky Fried Movie. At heart it was, but not as good. A lot of the news parody seemed old and overdone.
You will probably be better off renting this before committing to buying it (like I did)...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Stormy Week
We've been having wet weather since this past weekend. Put together a slide show of some of the pictures I've taken:
Monday, June 9, 2008
RIP: Erick Wujcik
Erick passed away this weekend at the age of 57.His fight with cancer ended Saturday evening.
Erick is one of those people who has inspired me over the years and it is a great loss to hear of his passing.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Robotic Prosthetic Arm
I was quite impressed with this video. How much longer until we can build a cybernetic arm or rebuild an organic arm from scratch that can be reattached to the body?
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