E.R. Torre's Blog, page 153

Because you had to know! (part the seventh)

How to Fart in Public and Get Away With It

The article linked to above is by Patrick Allan and appears on lifehacker.com.

Hilarious, hilarious -yet informative!- stuff.  I laughed out loud (yeah, that kind of humor appeals to me…what can I say) just by the opening graphic:

Click the link and get to know such wonderful terms as “crop dusting” and understand the “rule of three or more”.

And remember…whoever smelt it dealt it.

Invaluable stuff!

X-Box One vs. Playstation 4

For those interested, Thorin Klosowski for lifehacker.com offers a comparison between the X-Box One and the Playstation 4, now that two years have passed since their respective releases:

http://lifehacker.com/xbox-one-vs-playstation-4-two-years-later-1738166534

If you haven’t bought either system and are considering doing so, the article offers an interesting comparison between the systems.

Not a terribly big shock to find (SPOILERS!) they’re very comparable in many respects.

The 1938 Aircraft That Came From The Future…

I love love love seeing “futuristic” material created in the 1930’s.  Something about the flights of fancy (pardon the pun) of that epoch really hits me.  From the art deco designs to the futuristic musings of authors and artists, there’s a reason that era’s sci-fi works were considered a “golden age”.

Back in 1938 Ettore Bugatti and Louise De Monge designed a futuristic aircraft that, because of the advent of World War II, never made it beyond a single model that was created and never flown before being cut up and hidden from the Nazi’s.

However, though never flown the model was not forgotten and a model has been created and shown to fly and a full sized replica created, which will be flown very soon, and you can read all about it in the article below, found on kotaku.com and written by Luke Plunkett…

The 1938 Aircraft That Came From The Future

In that link you’ll see images of both the full sized replica as well as see a video of the smaller model in flight.  I won’t post both here, but I will post this beautiful painting of the plane in flight as envisioned by an artist…

Great, great stuff.

Is Luke evil…?

So my hunch following seeing the full trailer for the new Star Wars film that Luke Skywalker might be evil was (shock of shocks) not a terribly original idea (you can read those mutterings here).

Forrest Wickman for browbeat has also heard the fan musings and offers a strong rebuttal against the idea that Luke Skywalker is evil in the upcoming film.

Incredibly, he bases his idea on… Luke’s clothing?!?

I kid you not…read for yourselves:

Sorry, Star Wars fans, Luke Probably Isn’t Evil in The Force Awakens.  Here’s How We Know

While on the surface the idea that we can assume Luke isn’t evil in the new Star Wars film based on his clothing -more specifically clothing color– may seem a silly thing, I have to give Mr. Wickman all the credit in the world for his forceful (pardon the pun) argument.

For the color of clothing plays a strong role in the Star Wars films.  It allows viewers to instantly identify evil and good characters not unlike the westerns of yesteryear, where characters in black were evil while those in lighter colors were good.

Mr. Wickman’s strongest argument, to me, in that respect revolves around this leaked picture of Mark Hamill as the older Luke Skywalker:

As Mr. Wickman states: Have you ever seen a Star Wars villain wear a robe like that?

Kudos, Mr. Wickman.  I say this without tongue in cheek: I believe you are on to something!

Adaptive Learning Software…

I found the article below, written by Will Oremus for Slate.com, a fascinating look behind what may be the future of education:

No More Pencils, No More Books:  Adaptive Learning Software is Replacing Textbooks and Upending American Education

As a father whose children are finishing up High School and in College, respectively, I’ve been amazed at the differences between their education and mine.  At the High School Parent/Teacher meet up this year, everything from the classroom design -including some truly comfortable new seats!- was a revelation.

But what continues to amaze me is how few textbooks these students need.  In this particular school they use Google laptops and all lessons/homework flows through there.  Some teachers, we found, quickly adapted to this new system while others are less inclined to do so yet I couldn’t help but marvel at how the computer and internet have again wormed their way into another aspect of our lives.

For the better, I feel.

However, just because something is new and shiny doesn’t mean it works perfectly out of the gate, and Mr. Oremus’ article goes very deep into the pros and cons of these new systems.

Perhaps the biggest “pro” is the fact that we can have classrooms where students are learning at their own pace, each receiving work that fits in with their individual needs and speed at learning.

But the negatives have to be considered as well and Mr. Oremus gives readers a robust look at the negatives as well as positives regarding the direction of our education system in the age of the computer.

Taken 3 (2014) a (mildly) belated review

Back when it was released, someone said of Taken 3, the (obviously) third film in the surprisingly popular (at least until this point) Taken series:

Taken 3 makes Taken 2 look like Taken.

In other words, as bad as Taken 2 was, and many thought it was a big step down from the original, this one was far worse.

As for me, I agree with the sentiment that the first Taken was the best of the (so far) three made.  However, as much of a step down as the second film was, it did have its pluses.  I wouldn’t rank it among the best action films I’ve ever seen, but neither would I put it among the worst (my full review of Taken 2 can be read here).

And then there’s Taken 3…

If you were to see the film in a vacuum without comparing and/or thinking about the previous Taken films, you might find it a passable time-killer and not much else.  As I wasn’t too invested (or, frankly, could remember) all that many details of the previous Taken films other than general plotlines, I was able to watch this movie in that frame of mind and found it an ok time killer and nothing more.

The plot goes like this (some SPOILERS follow, though they are from the start of the film):

Bryan Mills () continues living his life.  We find he’s still dealing with his daughter Kim (), whom he cares deeply about even while he stumbles about on dealing with the fact that she is no longer a child but a woman.  In the movie’s opening act we find she is pregnant and, while Mills isn’t aware of this, it doesn’t figure too much into the movie’s story.  Mills also finds time to be a shoulder to lean on for his beautiful ex-wife, Leonore St. Cloud ().  In those opening minutes we also find that something preoccupies her, and it may relate to her current husband and the souring of their relationship.

When Mills receives a text to come see his ex-wife at his apartment, Mills buys some bagels (this turns out to be ridiculously important to the movie’s plot), heads home, and finds his wife on his bed…dead.  Her throat has been slashed.

Mere seconds after arriving and finding her dead, a pair of police officers bust into the apartment and Mills, right away, is their main suspect in his ex-wife’s murder.

Mills gets away and a Fugitive-like storyline plays out with Mills searching for whodunnit while the cops, including one allegedly super intelligent cop named Franck Dotzler () nip at his heels.

As I said before, if you were to enter this film without any predispositions or memories for the previous films -along with a willingness to ignore a storyline lifted almost whole from so many other films/TV shows/books, etc- you’ll find Taken 3 is at best a mildly diverting action/adventure film.  It moves along at a fair clip though one gets the feeling the people behind the scenes involved in it didn’t quite give it their all.

Mind you, I’m not knocking the work of Liam Neeson, Forrest Whitaker, Maggie Grace, and Famke Janssen (in what amounted to a cameo).  They deliver their characterizations well.  Unfortunately, the people who produced/directed the film, I suspect, were more interested in making a quick and cheap work, one that would hit the theaters fast and make them some profit.  The storyline, as I mentioned before, is hardly anything new or original.  The action sequences are decent but nothing extraordinary.  The special effects, on the other hand, are mostly cheap.  Two in particular, involving a container rolling along a highway and a car smashing into an aircraft, are almost laughable.

But as with most underperforming movies, the main fault always lies in the story/script.  The movie’s worst offense is turning the Bryan Mills’ character into a standard action hero.  What made him unique and interesting in the first Taken film, in my opinion, was the startling lengths he was willing to go to get his daughter.  At one point in the film he visits an old police friend in France who welcomes him into his house with open arms.  During the course of what appeared to be an amicable visit, Mills shows his teeth.  He knows his friend has knowledge of who the bad guys are that he’s looking for and when his police friend is unwilling to give him that information, Mills brutally threatens the man’s wife to get what he wants.

This, to me, was what made Mills such a unique action hero.  He’s a shark and he’ll do whatever the hell he has to, including not just burning but nuking bridges to get to his goal.

In Taken 3, though, he’s become an ordinary hero, one who even has time for some levity/one liners.  While the use of one-liners can be groan inducing, I have to give the filmmakers credit for at least one thing here: The moment I enjoyed most in the film, the one that made me laugh out loud, was when you have a police officer delivering your typical cliched “You have no hope/we will hunt you down/you should give up right now” speech and Mills replying with something along the lines of “don’t be so pessimistic”.

So, in sum, Taken 3 is, at best, an OK time killer that feels like a lazy effort by those who made it, if not those who acted in it.  I suppose the original adage is correct.  Taken 3 is easily the least of the three Taken films and, based on the critical reaction, perhaps the series will die with it.

In that case, it might be a merciful end.

And now for something completely different…Liam Neeson is absolutely hilarious here:

…and I thought the trailer looked kinda funny…

This, from Will Leitch from The Concourse:

Rock The Kasbah Might Be Bill Murray’s Worst Movie Ever

Ouch.

Read the article.  It offers its very strong opinion and backs it up with plenty of facts.

As I said in the header, I thought the trailer for the film (there are several and the one below looks like the one I recall originally seeing) made it look like the movie could be funny but after reading this review, it sounds like its nothing short of a train wreck.

And, by the way, not only does it have a strong cast, directed it.  While he’s certainly had his ups and downs, he’s made some very strong films.

Over at RottenTomatoes.com, Rock the Kasbah thus far is suffering the same critical fate, though there aren’t enough critical reactions for the folks behind the site to offer a definitive overview.  Still, of the 25 critics thus far weighing in, the film has a miserable 8% approval.

We’re still early regarding critical/audience reaction and the ratings may change but it would appear this might be a case where the trailer is funnier than the movie it is trying to sell…

Back to the Future…!

On Jimmy Kimmel and on Back to the Future day (ie, the day Marty and Doc traveled to the future, according to the movies)…

Very amusing.  Thought the best overall joke was “Marty McFly’s” reaction to being told, at the end of the skit, that Micheal J. Fox would be a guest on the show.

Pardon the pun, but how time flies!  I remember going to the theaters to see the original Back to the Future in 1985 and being blown away by it.  Wasn’t as impressed with the two sequels (BTFII had some very funny scenes taking place within the context of the first movie but the ending was so clearly “to be continued” that it annoyed me.  BTFIII closed out the series well but the characters went back in time so far, to the wild west, that it lost the sense of immediacy the original had.  What made the original so cool was to see Marty meeting up with his parents when they were his age.  He knew them, but he didn’t really know them.  In BTFIII, while we see distant relatives of some original characters, we never felt the same closeness to them as the original movie’s plot had).

Nonetheless, if nothing else, this makes me want to watch the movies again.

In praise of Continuum (2012-15)

A short while back it was announced the upcoming season, number five, of Person of Interest, a favorite show of mine, would be its last one and, further, it would have only 13 episodes versus the usual 22-23 allotment.  Fans of the show were distressed but I noted that sometimes its a good thing when a show lasts a fairly long time (As noted, this would be the fifth season of the show) and is then allowed to gracefully exit (you can read my full comments about that here).

Since that time, it was announced that two other shows I enjoy, both on the Sci-Fy network, would also be finishing up after this season.  One, Haven, has just begun airing while the other, Continuum, wrapped up its shortened 6 episode conclusion season just a short while ago.

Continuum’s story involved a dystopic future where corporations are essentially king and capitalism’s dark side is in full evidence.  The police force of the future, called “Protectors”, are a tool of the corporations to keep common citizens trampled under foot.

A rebel group, known as Liber8, fights the power but their members, including the brother of one of the corporate class’ most powerful men, are imprisoned and, on the eve of their execution, all, including a Protector named Kiera Cameron () are mysteriously sent back to our present time.

The members of Liber8 realize this offers them an opportunity to re-set the timeline and negate the dystopia that’s to come while Kiera fights them, certain they remain a menace to society regardless of the time they are now in while longing to return to her previous life and the child she left behind.

What made the show so fascinating is that, as presented, the violent, at times homicidal members of Liber8 nonetheless pursue a noble goal: They fight against a future society we as viewers are increasingly clued into as being a very terrible one while Kiera, the show’s protagonist, fights -sometimes obliviously to that fact- for that grim future that’s to come.

I won’t get into too many details regarding the storylines presented, but in four seasons the show managed to walk fascinating line with viewer’s sympathies.  As viewers we feared what the members (and, increasingly, ex-members) of Liber8 were up to yet couldn’t help but think at times that their struggle, in any other series, might have made them the heroes of the show!

And Kiera Cameron, the show’s Hamlet-like protagonist, was presented as a sympathetic figure yet displayed tendencies that in other characters might have been viewed as major weakness or worse.  She constantly lamented her fate and her losses, especially toward the end of the show, and could have appeared self-interested, indeed selfish, to the point of risking others’ lives for her own determined pursuit to get back to her future.  And, as mentioned, her fight against Liber8, by its very nature, was a fight for the status quo which might eventually bring about a very unpleasant and dark future.

Again, this was our hero!

While the too-short six episode final season (previous seasons ran 10, 13, and 13 episodes long) pushed several plotlines out of the way or into a too-quick resolution, I’m thankful we got what we did.

Like many shows, Continuum certainly had its ups and downs but when all was said and done, the highs were far greater than any lows and those final few minutes of the series wrapped its storyline in an incredibly satisfactory way.

Much like the show in general, it managed to manipulate our emotions, offering us a hopeful, optimistic ending that was nonetheless wrapped in considerable sadness.

When the end comes for Person of Interest and Haven, it is my hope they can exit as gracefully.

Star Wars musings…

Yesterday, during the Monday Night Football game, Disney released the official trailer for Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens.  If you’re one of the very few out there who haven’t yet seen it, here it is…

Not too bad, right?  Some of the special effects shots are impressive although the story/character stuff, to my eyes, hints at a Star Wars for this particular generation, one that’s inspired more by The Hunger Games than the original Star Wars.  Then again, maybe I’m seeing more into this than there is.

I’ve noted before my curious feelings regarding Star Wars.  To know me, you would figure I’d be a fanatic of the series.  I was 11 years old when the original Star Wars was released way back in 1977.  Before -and after!- the movie’s release I was a big fan of all things sci-fi.  I loved the original Star Trek.  I caught every science fictional show or cartoon I could on TV or at the movies.  I loved reading science fictional stories both in novel and comic book form.

And when Star Wars was released, like so many others my age, I was dying to get into the theater to see it.  I did so, perhaps in the first week or so of its release and to this day I remember the energy within that filled-to-the-brim theater.  The theater was teeming with with boys (for the most part) not all that much older than me.  When the movie began, they screamed and clapped and loved every single second…

…while for the life of me I couldn’t –still can’t– understand what it was that appealed to them.

As Star Wars played out, I found myself curiously detached from the experience.  While others were going out of their minds, I was unimpressed.  Sure, the movie’s effects were quite stunning, but the story didn’t engage me.  In fact, I found the whole thing rather…dull.  Toward the end, when we see Darth Vader flying away in his crippled fighter, a scene designed to clearly set up a sequel, I finally had some emotions regarding the film: I was livid.

How could the film’s makers (George Lucas was yet to become a household name) have the balls to make a movie yet clearly set up a sequel?

Bear in mind, back in 1977 movie sequels were an incredible rarity.  Other than the James Bond movies, there were very, very few sequels or series of movies.  Therefore 11 year old me expected a movie to be self-contained and, at the very least -and again, this was in my mind- not make reference to a continuation that may never happen.

So I walked out of the theater feeling rather odd.  Everyone around me loved Star Wars just as clearly as I did not.  And, being a sci-fi fan, I just couldn’t understand what it was I missed.

I would go on to catch the film again a month or so later when I took my sister to see it.  That experience proved to be a repeat of my first experience.  Filled theater, high energy, audience love.

And then there was me, still not feeling it.

Now please, don’t take my feelings regarding Star Wars as some kind of put down of everyone else’s.  My personal opinions aren’t any more “right” than the vast majority of people out there who obviously loved the film,

The bottom line is that Star Wars simply wasn’t my cup of tea even though, perplexingly, by all rights it should have been.

So unimpressed with Star Wars was I that I skipped the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, when it hit theaters.  The first time I saw it was when it aired on TV some time later.  As for Return of the Jedi, I caught that one in the theaters and found it to be a more entertaining experience though I felt Harrison Ford looked pained being in this film.  By that time he was quite the rising star and perhaps wanted to put these movies behind him.  Who knows.

I didn’t think all that much of the Star Wars prequels, none of which I saw in theaters, but in this respect my opinion probably falls in line with most others.

Which brings us back to Star Wars VII and its trailer.

Is it just me or does it seem painfully obvious who the “big bad” is?

Used to be old time murder mystery films/TV shows would show us a hand holding a gun or some such to hide who the killer was.  In those instances the killer was obviously someone else in the film, someone we knew, and the shock of that realization was kept from us by showing a hand or feet or a back and not showing us the killer’s face until the very end.

So with this Star Wars VII trailer we see a villain who wears a mask (hiding his/her face) and also speaks with a distorted voice.  The voice thing is particularly intriguing: Here we have a villain we may know just by their non-distorted speech.

Add to the fact this villain carries around Darth Vader’s nearly melted mask and clearly has some kind of affinity for him.

By the way, which of the characters from the original trilogy don’t we see in this commercial?  Why…Luke Skywalker.

….Hmmmmm….

Is that the big reveal?

That Luke Skywalker is the movie’s villain?

Could these films, therefore, be something of a repeat of the original Star Wars trilogy but instead of a Darth Vader going from evil to, by the end, good, we have Luke Skywalker starting out as bad and, by the end, becoming good?  Following the path of his father?

It would be a gutsy thing to do, I suppose, given the way things were left in Return of the Jedi.

I suppose we’ll see in December.