I hate news like this. David Holmes, a stuntman who was working on a scene in the preproduction of Deathly Hallows was seriously injured when he fell to the ground in a controled explosion, even though he was wearing a harness. He reported said that he couldn't feel his legs, leading me to believe that he could be paralyzed. Please keep him in your mind and prayers.
Now, the thing that angers me about this kind of thing is when I read comments and people say things like, "That could have been Dan!" and, "At least it wasn't an actor!" Come on, people! The stuntmen are just as important as the actors. And this is the guy who makes sure it's okay for Radcliffe to do the stunts later, if they're even safe enough for untrained actor to take on. Every member of a film's crew is very important, whether you're the first DA or the production assistant, the director or the producer. This is something I learned early on when my film instructor and life-long friend was a producer for independent films.
On a moral issue, you shouldn't value one's life over another anyway.
Rant over, and time to share the sources of this tragic news. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4394912/Harry-Potter-stuntman-to-learn-extent-of-injuries.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1131383/Daniel-Radcliffes-stunt-double-paralysed-explosion-film-set-Harry-Potter-And-The-Deathly-Hallows.html
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Site Update!
It seems that my political articles of late have been overtaking the blog, so I've started a purely political blog called Political Retreat. I've imported all the politic-related posts from here to there, so if you're particularly interested, head on over.
In the meantime, this means that you'll probably find a lot more commentary regarding movie news, games, software, etc. on here. I know, it's not as interesting, but I'm trying to make everything as best I can. There may also be a few more personal stories, but, as I said in my introduction, it will be minimal, and it won't sound like an adventure. I know, I don't like reading about everything that happens in peoples' days either!
In the meantime, this means that you'll probably find a lot more commentary regarding movie news, games, software, etc. on here. I know, it's not as interesting, but I'm trying to make everything as best I can. There may also be a few more personal stories, but, as I said in my introduction, it will be minimal, and it won't sound like an adventure. I know, I don't like reading about everything that happens in peoples' days either!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Which Country is Obama Presient Of?
I pulled this article off of Prison Planet. I know, I know, it's a bunch of conspiracy stuff. Yes, Prison Planet excells in conspiracies, but I also have some respect for Alex Jones. He covered the inauguration perfectly!
Anyway, according to this article, our taxpayer money "to fund international 'family planning' groups who counsel women and perform abortions around the world, but mainly in Africa."
Here's a quick exerpt from it:
So, I'm pretty sure that funding internation abortions specifically is still illegal, but this is certainly a gateway, and it's indirectly doing so. I could very easily go on a pro-life rant (although I'd say that I'm technically pro-choice, since I feel that the choice part comes before you decide to have unprotected sex), but the real problem here is why we're funding this overseas operation to begin with!
Obama is America's president, is he not? This is just more wasteful government spending, using our money to manage the lives of people who aren't even Americans. Can we not encourage other governments and nations to do this for their own people without us having to fund or subsidize everything? Amazingly, people don't seem to know that he plans to do this; everyone is still excited that he closed down Guantanamo Bay, and that he plans to close other secret prisons.
Granted, he's done a few good things in office, but his overall plan is downright disgusting! And this current peice of work is wasteful, immoral (strictly my opinion), and has nothing to do with our people. I'm not against helping people who need help, such as in the case of an emergency, but I believe charities and non-government organizations should do it, as they don't steal the money for themselves. "All aid is fungeable," Ron Paul once said. Yes, it is, especially in the hands of beaurocrats who like to pretend that they're helping the suffering. Church groups and other charities do more good overseas than them!
Anyway, according to this article, our taxpayer money "to fund international 'family planning' groups who counsel women and perform abortions around the world, but mainly in Africa."
Here's a quick exerpt from it:
Obama will reverse the so-called Mexico City policy, the federal rule prohibiting aid to family planning groups which was instituted by Ronald Reagan in 1984. The policy does not apply to abortions carried out in cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening conditions. Obama’s executive order will pass almost exactly 36 years to the day since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.
So, I'm pretty sure that funding internation abortions specifically is still illegal, but this is certainly a gateway, and it's indirectly doing so. I could very easily go on a pro-life rant (although I'd say that I'm technically pro-choice, since I feel that the choice part comes before you decide to have unprotected sex), but the real problem here is why we're funding this overseas operation to begin with!
Obama is America's president, is he not? This is just more wasteful government spending, using our money to manage the lives of people who aren't even Americans. Can we not encourage other governments and nations to do this for their own people without us having to fund or subsidize everything? Amazingly, people don't seem to know that he plans to do this; everyone is still excited that he closed down Guantanamo Bay, and that he plans to close other secret prisons.
Granted, he's done a few good things in office, but his overall plan is downright disgusting! And this current peice of work is wasteful, immoral (strictly my opinion), and has nothing to do with our people. I'm not against helping people who need help, such as in the case of an emergency, but I believe charities and non-government organizations should do it, as they don't steal the money for themselves. "All aid is fungeable," Ron Paul once said. Yes, it is, especially in the hands of beaurocrats who like to pretend that they're helping the suffering. Church groups and other charities do more good overseas than them!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Our New King, Barack Obama
I'm extremely furious right now, so I might seem a bit incoherent at times. Forgive me, I'll have a better post coming up soon, but I just had to express my freedom of speech on this historical day of epic disappointment.
So, let's take the meat of this speech and we'll see what it boils down to.
"Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
He means the Founders, right? Those were the days when we were free, but I hardly consider our current state "free". We're close to a military state, and Obama holds in his hands bill on what can be considered Thought Crime. That's not freedom. Freedom is the ability to express ourselves, make our own choices, even if they may not necessarily be the best, and to live our lives. The government is not a babysitter, it is merely a protector from our enemies.
"They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."
Socialist, anyone?
"We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished."
Okay, there's all kinds of things wrong with this. We are not the most prosperous nation on Earth any longer. Heck, we'd be bankrupt if we weren't printing off money at the speed of light and borrowing from China. If we followed a standard (say the gold standard) and spent the way we do, we'd never see the light of day!
Also, our military is stretched so thin that if someone were to attack us right now, we'd never ever be able to defend ourselves. We aren't strong, we're weak; but we insist on pretending that we're strong to remain somewhat intimidating. We want to be a force to be reckoned with, but right now we're little more than bullies and aggressors.
Let's not even get started on our capacity! Has anyone been keeping track of the unemployment rates?
"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
Yeah, if we had Ron Paul this may be a possibility. Pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and let the free world work its wonders! Wait a minute... Huh? Obama wants us to work towards a socialist ideal? He wants to get the government totally involved in our lives? That's not in this transcript, but anyone who has ever heard the guy speak in other speeches will know this to be true.
"The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth."
Does this involve letting more people keep their money by, say, sacking the income tax? Or maybe it means getting the government out of the market and letting it do what it's got to do to return to normalcy? Let me guess, it means pumping money into the market, creating bubbles and inflation, then hoping it evens out.
"We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality..."
Yeah, I've been waiting to see Dr. McCoy's little gadgets in action. So, where does holistic medicine lie in this crazy plan?
"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age."
I actually don't mind the quest for alternative energy if it's done by private companies, but it sounds to me like he really wants more government involvement in education. Hey, Obama! Did you know schools are failing because of these government standards? Individualized education is undermined, teachers spend way too much time trying to pick out students with "mental illness", and lessons are rushed through. Don't even get me started on education!
"All this we can do. All this we will do."
Lord, please help us. They know not what they do!
"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage."
Yeah, because our government isn't supposed to be involved in everything! The governments role is a) secure our borders, and b) secure our liberties. I see no room for "big plans" on a federal level.
Oh, and my memory isn't short. I've seen what our country has already done and the mess it's gotten us into. And free men and women joining for a common purpose is contradictory, because this purpose is a government mandate.
"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."
Wow, just a few paragraphs ago, he praised the Founders for creating such a prosperous government. Now he's saying that it may not work? Also, it's not the governments job to ensure my comfort, it's mine. I live in poverty, and I intend to pull myself out all by myself. I don't need Obama to subsidize me, and I don't need him to tell me how to take care of myself.
"But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous."
Again, this is a problem created by government intervention, namely by letting the Federal Reserve do as it pleases. The gold standard would fix this, the market doesn't need a watchful eye.
"The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good."
Dear me, more socialsim. This guy sounds like he grew up on Star Trek. As much as I love the show, let's not let it influence us politically. I intend on writing an article about this in the future. Maybe one for Avatar and its freedom positions as a contrast.
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."
Then why, pray tell, did he vote for extending the Patriot Act?
"And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more."
Something finally made sense! It's contradictory to some of his other statements made of seperate occasions, but at least he's trying to play the role of a peace-keeper and not a war monger. How long before the true colors shine, I wonder.
"We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan."
Dang, he just contradicted himself. Here I thought we'd have a non-intervention foreign policy that promoted free trade and mutal respect.
"With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet."
Ignoring the warming planet bogus, it sounds like he's trying to contract himself yet again! Then again, maybe this falls into his intervention plan, too.
"And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, 'Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.'"
You know, for a guy trying to make peace with former foes, he certainly knows how to play the intimidation card, doesn't he?
"And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."
Sounds like a New World Order, doesn't it? I refuse to cooperate.
"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
So this means that when I pass out my pamphlets and articles tomorrow morning to high school students, I won't be stopped? Great!
"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."
We can start by breaking down those unneeded bases that use up their resources and poison their land. Then, we can let the Red Cross and other charity organizations help these poor people out. I'm not against helping the needy, but the government has a habbit of embezelling that money.
"As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
"We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves."
More socialist ideals permeating the brains of Americans. Besides, they aren't guarding our liberty or anyone else's - they're working to protect our overseas interests, which don't include our liberties, and to topple leaders and prop up new ones. We shouldn't be there in the first place.
"Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old."
The challenges are old, too. Doesn't anyone study history?
Well, those are all the interesting exerpts. Why was this a great speech? For a guy who wants to be like Honest Abe, I half expected his speech to begin with, "Four score and seven years ago..." Unfortunately, it wasn't that intelligent.
More on this later, though. I need to cool down a bit.
So, let's take the meat of this speech and we'll see what it boils down to.
"Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
He means the Founders, right? Those were the days when we were free, but I hardly consider our current state "free". We're close to a military state, and Obama holds in his hands bill on what can be considered Thought Crime. That's not freedom. Freedom is the ability to express ourselves, make our own choices, even if they may not necessarily be the best, and to live our lives. The government is not a babysitter, it is merely a protector from our enemies.
"They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."
Socialist, anyone?
"We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished."
Okay, there's all kinds of things wrong with this. We are not the most prosperous nation on Earth any longer. Heck, we'd be bankrupt if we weren't printing off money at the speed of light and borrowing from China. If we followed a standard (say the gold standard) and spent the way we do, we'd never see the light of day!
Also, our military is stretched so thin that if someone were to attack us right now, we'd never ever be able to defend ourselves. We aren't strong, we're weak; but we insist on pretending that we're strong to remain somewhat intimidating. We want to be a force to be reckoned with, but right now we're little more than bullies and aggressors.
Let's not even get started on our capacity! Has anyone been keeping track of the unemployment rates?
"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
Yeah, if we had Ron Paul this may be a possibility. Pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and let the free world work its wonders! Wait a minute... Huh? Obama wants us to work towards a socialist ideal? He wants to get the government totally involved in our lives? That's not in this transcript, but anyone who has ever heard the guy speak in other speeches will know this to be true.
"The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth."
Does this involve letting more people keep their money by, say, sacking the income tax? Or maybe it means getting the government out of the market and letting it do what it's got to do to return to normalcy? Let me guess, it means pumping money into the market, creating bubbles and inflation, then hoping it evens out.
"We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality..."
Yeah, I've been waiting to see Dr. McCoy's little gadgets in action. So, where does holistic medicine lie in this crazy plan?
"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age."
I actually don't mind the quest for alternative energy if it's done by private companies, but it sounds to me like he really wants more government involvement in education. Hey, Obama! Did you know schools are failing because of these government standards? Individualized education is undermined, teachers spend way too much time trying to pick out students with "mental illness", and lessons are rushed through. Don't even get me started on education!
"All this we can do. All this we will do."
Lord, please help us. They know not what they do!
"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage."
Yeah, because our government isn't supposed to be involved in everything! The governments role is a) secure our borders, and b) secure our liberties. I see no room for "big plans" on a federal level.
Oh, and my memory isn't short. I've seen what our country has already done and the mess it's gotten us into. And free men and women joining for a common purpose is contradictory, because this purpose is a government mandate.
"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."
Wow, just a few paragraphs ago, he praised the Founders for creating such a prosperous government. Now he's saying that it may not work? Also, it's not the governments job to ensure my comfort, it's mine. I live in poverty, and I intend to pull myself out all by myself. I don't need Obama to subsidize me, and I don't need him to tell me how to take care of myself.
"But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous."
Again, this is a problem created by government intervention, namely by letting the Federal Reserve do as it pleases. The gold standard would fix this, the market doesn't need a watchful eye.
"The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good."
Dear me, more socialsim. This guy sounds like he grew up on Star Trek. As much as I love the show, let's not let it influence us politically. I intend on writing an article about this in the future. Maybe one for Avatar and its freedom positions as a contrast.
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."
Then why, pray tell, did he vote for extending the Patriot Act?
"And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more."
Something finally made sense! It's contradictory to some of his other statements made of seperate occasions, but at least he's trying to play the role of a peace-keeper and not a war monger. How long before the true colors shine, I wonder.
"We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan."
Dang, he just contradicted himself. Here I thought we'd have a non-intervention foreign policy that promoted free trade and mutal respect.
"With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet."
Ignoring the warming planet bogus, it sounds like he's trying to contract himself yet again! Then again, maybe this falls into his intervention plan, too.
"And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, 'Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.'"
You know, for a guy trying to make peace with former foes, he certainly knows how to play the intimidation card, doesn't he?
"And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."
Sounds like a New World Order, doesn't it? I refuse to cooperate.
"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
So this means that when I pass out my pamphlets and articles tomorrow morning to high school students, I won't be stopped? Great!
"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."
We can start by breaking down those unneeded bases that use up their resources and poison their land. Then, we can let the Red Cross and other charity organizations help these poor people out. I'm not against helping the needy, but the government has a habbit of embezelling that money.
"As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
"We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves."
More socialist ideals permeating the brains of Americans. Besides, they aren't guarding our liberty or anyone else's - they're working to protect our overseas interests, which don't include our liberties, and to topple leaders and prop up new ones. We shouldn't be there in the first place.
"Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old."
The challenges are old, too. Doesn't anyone study history?
Well, those are all the interesting exerpts. Why was this a great speech? For a guy who wants to be like Honest Abe, I half expected his speech to begin with, "Four score and seven years ago..." Unfortunately, it wasn't that intelligent.
More on this later, though. I need to cool down a bit.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Why Harvest Moon is Better than Real Life
I was playing Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility today (I promise to do a review for it soon on Genki), and I was thinking, it really is a wonderful life, pun intended. The big question now is why.
I'm on the winter season of my first year, and coincidentally it's also winter here in the Northwoods of Minnesota. As I worked the farm, went to give gifts to the girl at Brownie Ranch, fished, and mined, I was thinking about how great everything is in this game. Whenever the snow falls, no matter how feircely, you can still see the roads. You also never have to shovel your way to the barn or coop, and your grass still grows green, the tips of the blades forcing their way through even the thickest blanket of snow.
You can always find herbs on the ground, your watering trough never freezes and the lakes never freeze (although it would be neat to have to buy and set up a fish house, but ice fishing would be boring in comparison), and you never have to worry about your livestock getting too cold, or, in the summer, too hot.
On that same note, your coop and barn are always clean! No poop to scrape up, no muddy hoof prints, and no stray chicken feathers to mess up that beautiful clean floor.
It's also amazingly easy to turn wool and silk into yarn, milk into butter, etc. All you have to do is buy a maker, pop the animal product into it, and it's done! It also takes a mere two seconds to dye your yarn if you choose to do so. How amazing! Waffle Island is going to lead the way to a new Industrial Revolution.
Finding a spouse is also easy. Just pick any girl (or guy) and give her junk you find laying around, stuff out of the mines, etc. She's easy to please, and it doesn't really matter if she's not your type. Moreover, once you're married, she'll never talk your ear off, throw various cooking utensils at you, or go on insane shopping sprees to spend all your hard-earned cash. Instead, she'll be the perfect housewife. Just keep giving her junk you find laying around.
Well, this was a pointless post. I bet I could keep going on it, too!
I'm on the winter season of my first year, and coincidentally it's also winter here in the Northwoods of Minnesota. As I worked the farm, went to give gifts to the girl at Brownie Ranch, fished, and mined, I was thinking about how great everything is in this game. Whenever the snow falls, no matter how feircely, you can still see the roads. You also never have to shovel your way to the barn or coop, and your grass still grows green, the tips of the blades forcing their way through even the thickest blanket of snow.
You can always find herbs on the ground, your watering trough never freezes and the lakes never freeze (although it would be neat to have to buy and set up a fish house, but ice fishing would be boring in comparison), and you never have to worry about your livestock getting too cold, or, in the summer, too hot.
On that same note, your coop and barn are always clean! No poop to scrape up, no muddy hoof prints, and no stray chicken feathers to mess up that beautiful clean floor.
It's also amazingly easy to turn wool and silk into yarn, milk into butter, etc. All you have to do is buy a maker, pop the animal product into it, and it's done! It also takes a mere two seconds to dye your yarn if you choose to do so. How amazing! Waffle Island is going to lead the way to a new Industrial Revolution.
Finding a spouse is also easy. Just pick any girl (or guy) and give her junk you find laying around, stuff out of the mines, etc. She's easy to please, and it doesn't really matter if she's not your type. Moreover, once you're married, she'll never talk your ear off, throw various cooking utensils at you, or go on insane shopping sprees to spend all your hard-earned cash. Instead, she'll be the perfect housewife. Just keep giving her junk you find laying around.
Well, this was a pointless post. I bet I could keep going on it, too!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Time for a quick review for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm trying to get all the films reviewed before the debut of Half Blood Prince, so here comes the first one.You might also notice on my Genki Blog (link on the left) that I've changed the format in which I review animation. I'll be changing the format for video games as well, but not live-action. So don't worry, because I'll have carried this trend over to this blog shortly. Now, without further ado, here comes the actual review.
This was the film that dragged me into the world of Harry Potter. It's all thanks to a very good friend of mine whom I could always find sitting in a corner with his nose stuck in one of the books. I declared once that I would never be a fan of the books, as the hype was too much for me, but I agreed to go to the film with him and shortly after, I bought myself copies of all the books that had been published at that time.
So what about the film was so great? First of all, it's a pretty good book-to-screen adaptation. It's very, very faithful to its source material (whatever was changed, no matter how trivial, was pointed out to me by my friend at the theater), and it manages to capture the atmosphere of Hogwarts well.
The costuming was also great! The school uniforms should have been the biggest Halloween costumes out there, and all of the teachers and faculty looked amazing. They had personalities and quirks we could all relate to, yet they looked like they lived in a different world. McGonagall was great, Dumbledore was amazing, and Hagrid blew me away! The only character I had to get used to was Snape, and that was only because of his hair.
The acting was good as well, particularly the three heroes. I don't have to say much for the veteran actors, because they were all amazing in their respective roles, but the child stars were really good, too. Daniel Radcliffe was exactly as I pictured Harry when I finally read the books, although that could be because I already had movie Harry in my mind while doing so. Rupert Grint as loveable as Harry's best friend, Ron. I also thought that Emma Watson made a strong impression in this film because she had that snooty voice down so well! And the fact that opened her mouth very wide when speaking only made her that much more fun to watch.
The only adult actor I'm really going to mention is Richard Harris as Dumbledore, because he was very good. I've only ever seen him in one thing other than Harry Potter, and that was as King Arthur in the musical Camelot. He had a lot more energy back then, but he managed to bring that wise, safety-net feeling to Dumbledore in a way few other actors could.
The special effects in the first film are probably the least spectacular, and it was easy to tell that Quidditch matches were mostly CG, but that's all right. I don't go to movies for their special effects, and I can't say that this film's were particularly bad. They were all great, save for the Quidditch sequence and Longbottom's flying mishap. I don't know why, but I always cringe when I see it.
I also have to mention the troll scene, because there was another movie coming to theaters at the same time that also featured a troll scene: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings. I'm not going to lie, I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and since I had already read the book by the time the first film came out, I was looking forward to seeing how it would stand up against Potter at the box office. I actually wanted poor little Harry to crash and burn, but after I saw the movie, I was very glad it didn't!
Anyway, deep in the Mines of Moria, it would seem that the Orcs have a Cave Troll to do their intimidating for them. At the same time, wandering aimlessly and haphazardly into a girls' bathroom is Potter's Mountain Troll (see, there's a difference). So, how do these trolls match up?
Both of them were very good, but I do prefer the Cave Troll, if only because it was scarier and seemed more real to me appearance-wise. However, I prefer Harry Potter when it comes to judging how the troll interacts with the characters and environments. The Cave Troll didn't do much except thrash around, throwing people all over, and getting arrows shot at it by a very fake-looking Legolas. The Mountain Troll, however, smashed stalls, broke some sinks, toyed with Harry, and eventually got a wand stuck up its nose and was knocked out by its own club. How awesome is that? He wasn't as much of a threat as the Cave Troll, which looks far scarier, but he was much more entertaining to watch, and he really stole everyone's attention. The Cave Troll would have fared better if we (the audience) wasn't constantly looking out for Orcs as well. That and he didn't smash any bathroom stalls, nor did he wander into a girls' restroom.
Well, that's all for this review. It's late, I'm tired, and I kind of rushed through. I'll look back on it tomorrow and my face will turn white and aghast at all the mistakes I've undoubtedly made.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
HBP To Be Rated PG?
I just found this article on The Leaky Cauldron, and apparently Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is being given a mere PG rating after both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were given PG-13 ratings and still were toned down.
Now, I have mixed feelings about this one. A PG rating isn't inherently bad - in fact, many of my favorite movies are PG or even G - it's just that Half Blood Prince comes off as being much darker, and, well, it has scenes in it that warrant a PG-13 rating, probably along with one of those "Parents Strongly Cautioned" tags on it. I'm half afraid that this is how executives plan on expanding their audience, but if they actually keep certain scenes from the book in the film, and especially if they don't tone them down, then we're going to have a lot of angry parents.
On the other hand, if they tone it down so that young children can watch it and not be traumatized by the rather graphic nature of said certain scenes, then they risk alienating the fan base. The Harry Potter series has a ton of older fans as well, and they want to see the harshness of the books shine through into the movie. The books mature as the series progresses, but for a lot of people, it seems as though the movies don't want to follow in that tradition.
As for me, I don't have very high expectations for the film, but I'd like to be pleasantly surprised. I got my hopes up really high for Prisoner of Azkaban despite all the warning signs telling me that I probably wouldn't like the film, and I just wound up disappointed. The first two films were great, but ever since then the characters have been written wrong, the magical feeling that permeated the first two films has been traded for something us Muggles would better relate to, and a lot of juicy plot points have been left of the cutting room floor. Thus, I'll go see the film, but Prisoner of Azkaban has killed my enthusiasm, I'm afraid.
Hmmm, I should start reviewing the films for my Friday Review series...
Anyway, so that this isn't a completely negative post, here's some pictures of Luna Lovegood in her infamous lion's hat in the film. At the very least I can say that they're not cutting out one of my favorite Luna scenes, they're just placing it in the wrong film!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Update
The holidays were a hectic time for me, so I'm just on here to give a quick update and talk for a second about the highlights of Christmas this year.
First of all, I stepped on a rake, making a nice walnut-sized bump on my head. I didn't go unconscious, though, just stumbled forward and blanked for a few seconds before laughing at my stupidity. I guess I should count my lucky stars that I don't have a cracked skull, although I still have a small bump.
After that mess, I got the flu. It was a strange Illinois flu that traveled up to my safe little spot in Northern Minnesota, and I just got over it. So now you all know why I haven't been updating, and without further ado, here's some of the stuff I got for Christmas that I'll probably come back to talk about on my blogs in the future.
First of all, I recieved The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy, which is a collection of essays written by academics, professors, and pretty much anyone else with a background in philosophy, and it's all about the Zelda series. How cool is that? I've only read a bit of it, but it's been interesting so far. I probably wouldn't have picked this series to write a philosophy book about (the Chrono series, or perhaps Oblivion), but it's Zelda, so it's in my collection!
I also got a little book called Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks don't tell You, which sets out to clear up a lot of stuff that stumps people learning Japanese, and so far I like it very much. Anyone following my Genki blog will probably see this little gem show up in the future.
I got a bunch of other stuff, too, that was just awesome, but since I'm still deliberating whether or not I'll ever talk about them in the future, I won't mention them in this post.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all that jazz. ...I never use that phrase.
First of all, I stepped on a rake, making a nice walnut-sized bump on my head. I didn't go unconscious, though, just stumbled forward and blanked for a few seconds before laughing at my stupidity. I guess I should count my lucky stars that I don't have a cracked skull, although I still have a small bump.
After that mess, I got the flu. It was a strange Illinois flu that traveled up to my safe little spot in Northern Minnesota, and I just got over it. So now you all know why I haven't been updating, and without further ado, here's some of the stuff I got for Christmas that I'll probably come back to talk about on my blogs in the future.
First of all, I recieved The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy, which is a collection of essays written by academics, professors, and pretty much anyone else with a background in philosophy, and it's all about the Zelda series. How cool is that? I've only read a bit of it, but it's been interesting so far. I probably wouldn't have picked this series to write a philosophy book about (the Chrono series, or perhaps Oblivion), but it's Zelda, so it's in my collection!
I also got a little book called Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks don't tell You, which sets out to clear up a lot of stuff that stumps people learning Japanese, and so far I like it very much. Anyone following my Genki blog will probably see this little gem show up in the future.
I got a bunch of other stuff, too, that was just awesome, but since I'm still deliberating whether or not I'll ever talk about them in the future, I won't mention them in this post.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all that jazz. ...I never use that phrase.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
