MOVIE: Predators

Another movie I saw at the  local cheap-o theater.  Another movie that Chris told me was not that good ("it had no story" and "the cop-character from Predator 2 was in it").  Well, I had to disagree with him on both counts.

I did not like the attempt at a twist they introduced where (supposedly) there are (at least) two clans of Predators and the bigger ones were being mean to the smaller ones (or the fact that a human who had no clue would even come up with that idea).  The character Chris thought was the cop from P2 was NOT that character.

The movie served it's purpose, however.  It was a decent story with new twists about Predators abducting people and tossing them (literally) onto a "game perserve planet" to hunt them (instead of hunting them on their own planet).  It had "enough story" to keep me entertained.  The ending was as many movies do these days... a setup for more movies.  I thought it worth even regular movie prices to see, personally.  I'd definitely recommend it to people who enjoy the Predator (or Alien) movies (there was a vague indirect reference to Alien with a victim who had a chest hole representative of the Alien franchise).

MOVIE: Prince Of Persia - The Sands Of Time

Went to see this Disney flick with Chris at the local cheap-o theater.  Chris has told me it was not that good, but went with me anyway.

It certainly was not anything that evoked thoughts of "accuracy" (I almost expected to find Eddie Murphy playing a talking Jackal or Seth Rogen selling goods at a Bazaar).  However, this is a movie based on a video game franchise, and for that, it was pretty decent.  It was certainly better than that loss-of-time called Clash Of The Titans.  I can't really comment much on story, as it was not Oscar material.

I am not a Prince Of Persia game purist, so the complaints I recall people having about the movie versus the game series are lost on me.  I enjoyed the movie... it had a predictable ending... it had a (fairly) pretty lady in it... it had some good special effects (again, better than that loss called "Clash"). 

Rent the DVD if you get the chance.  It's fun.

The Google Picasa / Band Photographer Pitfall

Google Picasa is an awesome photo management system, combined with their photo hosting (free, or pay insanely cheap money for tons of extra storage), making it a great way to store photos, tag faces, edit pictures and more.

However, BE WARNED.  If you photograph large groups of people frequently (as I do for Spruce Creek High School's music program) you may NEVER get all your faces "tagged or ignored".  I have yet to put a dent into my collection, because every time I photograph an event, hundreds, if not thousands, more faces end up  in the queue to be tagged.   I'm once again back down to 47,000+ faces to be handled.  Ugh.

But it's all good.  :-)

MOVIE: Inception

I was not interested in seeing this movie beyond perhaps a matinee or it moving to the cheapo theater, as the commercials just didn't do anything for me.  My girlfriend had other intentions as she repeatedly mentioned it as something she wanted to see... so, we went to see it last night.  I ended up happy that we did, as it was a very interesting and "fairly unique" story (minor spoilers ahead).

The basic story is not new, and the beginning-of-movie reveal of the end of the movie plot is done to death any more.

But besides these points, the story was actually very interesting in the depth which they went and the detail given.  I found myself analyzing every scene looking for hints as to what was to come.  That alone told me it was an engrossing movie.  The "final scene" was no surprise (to me at least) as the movie blatantly made it clear something would happen in regards to Leonardo's character and his "totem".  This wasn't disappointing, just a little predictable.  It does make you rethink the entire movie and what really happened, though.  So I have to give this movie a thumbs-up.  Good stuff.

The Beginning Of The End -- Band, High School, Etc.

This week marked the "final Band camp" for my youngest "child" Chris... and for me.  Chris is a senior and will be going in the Army if current plans stay as-is in July of 2011.  I look forward to his immersion in the adult world, the opportunities he will have, while at the same time being apprehensive about the last of the Mighty Four going the way all children must go.  (sigh)

I attended three days of Band Camp for brief periods (several hours on the final day), taking pictures and shooting video as is my norm for the band.  I'm in the middle of producing the "Football Program" which is a huge fundraiser for the band, as well.  It's odd to consider that I've been officially a part of the band program for the past six years (and been "around" the year before that) and that it's coming to an end.

I consider the possibility that maybe I will get involved again in 15+ years, whenever my kids start having their own kids.  But that's too far to really take seriously at this point.  I do have hopes, though.  :-)

MOVIE: Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Chris and I attended an evening showing of this movie tonight, with hope that it would be as good as the commercials tried to make it look (I was a bit fearful it was going to be a bit too childish).   I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the movie, the intelligence that went into the off-kilter "video gamey" effects, and how much I simply laughed out loud during the whole movie.  I know I'm a geek, and that I have some childish tendencies (which I happen to like about myself), and given that I've been a lifelong comic collector, I probably would have enjoyed this movie even if it were not that good, but it really was fun and enjoyable!

I would highly recommend this movie to most people.  It's a blast, and there are quite a few little "easter eggs" (inside jokes, what have you...) to be found (Flash Gordon among them).  :-)  Check it out!!