where ideas go to die
Overall a very nice job from Mr. Clooney. The actors are all terrific and the feeling of period is very well-executed. And, of course, the relevance of the subject matter to tday’s world cannot be questioned. What Edward R. Murrow stood for, both on the civil liberties front and on the front of quality in television is just as valid now as it was then.
Good Night, and Good Luck
***1/2 (out of five)
Not only have several of my friends raved over this show it also gets consistently high marks in magazines like Entertainment Weekly. I figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about. While I didn’t enjoy “Galactica” as much as Firefly I did like it quite a bit. Firefly is a show about a relatively small group of people that you get to know and like. “Galactica” has a much colder, more military feel and has a huge ensemble cast. I did like it quite a bit however and am willing to order up the “Season One” DVDs on Netflix to see where things head.
(For those of you around in the early 80s who’re wondering how much this new show has in common with the original “Galactica” the answer is “not a whole lot”. While it shares the same basic structure, it’s considerably more sophisticated and narratively more complex. And, so far, there’s nary a single robot dog in sight.)
Battlestar Galactica: The Mini-series
*** (out of five)
[Update 09.16.06: I stalled out on this show completely once I began watching the episodes. Is it bad? Not per se, but I certainly wasn't as interested in the characters as I was when I was watching Firely. I stopped watching a few episodes in and never looked back.]
[Edited by the author...
This post was meant as an overview of the last three years of my life and, yes, there was some editorializing. To me that was sort of the point of having a blog in the first place. However, the piece has stirred up some unexpected controversy. I kept my views deliberately vague partly for legal reasons and partly to avoid the very controversy to which I refer. Perhaps therein was the problem. Since I am not in the business of hurting feelings or ruffling feathers I finally decided that it was less trouble to remove the post than to persist in keeping it up.
All prior comments have also been deleted.]
Serenity of course is the follow-up film to the Firefly TV series so now my journey with those characters is complete. Does it wrap up every loose end? Does it manage to appeal to someone who hasn’t seen all the episodes of the TV show? Does it work completely? Well, “no” across the board, but I must say I was fairly impressed. At first it was a little strange to re-enter the world of the television program in widescreen and at an obviously higher budget. Once you get over that hurdle, it’s a good ride. Remember how I said in my Firefly review that the show embraced change? Well, Serenity takes that concept and runs with it. I’m not going to spoil anything here for the few of you who might be considering a visit to the Firefly universe, but there are scenes in the movie that not only surprise but also pack an emotional wallop. When all was said and done, I felt like I’d watched a really strong 16 hour mini-series. One that I’ll probably revisit again in the not-too-distant future.
Serenity
***1/2 (out of five)
I think I know why Firefly was cancelled. The overarching plot actually embraced change and the characters were funny and fallible. Americans don’t want that. They want inane sitcoms and dramas where the counter is reset to zero at the end of every episode.
Watching Firefly reminded me why I hate another well-known science fiction show. Trekkers, cover your pointy little ears; you’re not gonna like what I’m about to say: Star Trek: The Next Generation blows ass. It’s not even a proper show. If Drama is Conflict (and it is) then “Generation” isn’t even a story. If everyone gets along and all external problems are solved by some ridiculous bit of techno babble in the last five minutes then what you have is not drama. I don’t know what it is, but it ain’t drama. So, keep your happy little jammie wearin’ space sissies. I don’t need ‘em.
I deliberately didn’t watch Firefly for the longest time. It had the sort of grassroots support after its cancellation that smacked of “nerdy-ism”. I had a couple of friends who I trust recommend the show and I couldn’t have been more surprised by what I saw. Is it Shakespeare? No, certainly not, but it is real drama. All of the characters are distinct and complex, the plot twists are often surprising, the villains are truly heinous, and the show is very funny. By the end of the fourteen episode run, I felt like I knew the characters well and I enjoyed spending time with them. That’s a pretty rare thing in television.
So, a pleasantly surprised thumbs-up from yours truly.
Firefly
**** (out of five)
Time to let the cat out of the bag –at least partially anyway; I’m still going to be a little cagey, so get over it.
It would seem that the freelance project I was working on sparked a need. Once my clients read my document they realized they wanted someone in-house doing that sort of work on a full-time basis. I went in last Friday for an interview lunch and hit it off pretty well with their crew. Over the last week, they’ve been doing whatever they needed to do to create the position. Yesterday they called me up and made me an offer which I accepted. The money was generous and it couldn’t have come at a better time (what with the twins on the way and all).
So, some time in the next couple of weeks, I’ll be starting work on a really cool (and really big) entertainment product due out some time in the next 2-3 years. I’m still having a hard time believing that I’m going to be paid to write. I always enjoyed animation but I’ll be honest: I’ve always felt more confident about my writing.
So, there it is. Wish me luck.
I’ve had this game for quite some time. I even played it part-way through once before but I got distracted somewhere along the way. I loaded Half-life 2 onto “Stacy” in part to see how the title looked on my new, more powerful graphics hardware. In a word it looks stunning. This is simply one of the best looking games of all time. It’s also one of the best designed. The levels are logical and often ingenious. And thus it is that I played almost non-stop the past several days until I reached the end just a few moments ago. I would have given Half-life 2 five stars had the ending been a little bit more substantial. After a hard-fought campaign we’re given little more than a cryptic teaser for what must be the forthcoming Part Three. They had me in the palm of their hand until the last ten minutes and then they lost me.
Oh, well, it was still a helluva ride.
Half-life 2
****1/2 (out of five)
Right at the moment, I find myself in a bit of a holding pattern. Big things are afoot and I can do nothing to speed their progress. I’m not a good waiter. Ask the people who know me: I’m actually fairly neurotic when it comes to cooling my heels. As the days wear on and no word is forthcoming, I tend to spin every conceivable doom-and-gloom scenario. It’s just one of the many chinks in my armor and I imagine I’m not that much fun to be around when I’m forced to wait.
Note to self: on the way home, buy more beer.
Well, the freelance project has gotten a shade more complicated. It would be irresponsible (and premature) of me to elaborate any further at this point. To the two or three people out there who are actually interested: stay tuned…
Go here for some pics of Charlie Hustle playing a gig at Atlanta’s Darkside Club…
Well, no word yet from my contact. I told my wife this could be for one of two reasons:
1) The guy just got back from 2 weeks out of town and was probably swamped with work stuff.
or 2) The document was so poorly recieved that the entire staff of the company emmasculated themselves, burned down their own building and then committed ritual suicide.
My wife thinks it was #1 but I’m not so sure.
I think I alluded to getting more personal a post or two back and haven’t yet followed through. Consider this “State of the Union” address a clumsy stab at that idea.
Let’s see… I’m 39 years old and I’ll be turning 40 this summer. Scary. My favorite color is purple. I’m 6′2″ and weigh about 205 (which I realize is about 20 pounds too much, but I’m working on it). I’m married and have been for almost three years. My wife is good people. Outstanding, really. She’s been incredibly supportive and puts up with all of my potty humor for which I am grateful. Little did she know she was actually marrying an arrested nine year old. (Oh, well, too late now!) We’re expecting twins some time between late June and early August. Twins tend to come a little early –thus the uncertainty. A week or two ago, my wife was told to stop working and go on total bedrest. Needless to say, she’s starting to go a little stir-crazy. I think part of the reason we got the new Dell laptop was so that she could play World of Warcraft from a prone position. Can’t say as I blame her. (I tried to get the OBGYN to put me on total bedrest too but she wouldn’t go for it.)
I was employed for seven or eight years as an artist in video games. I worked on some really shitty games and had two companies fold underneath me. Since the last layoff, I’ve been trying out a few different things (video editing, Development work, freelance graphics, etc.) but I’m starting to get a little antsy for regular full-time employment again –especially with a ready-made family on the way.
A lot of changes this summer, a lot of changes.
Well, I’ve completed draft two of my freelance project pretty much on schedule. My contact is out of town and doesn’t get back until late tomorrow. This buys me an additional day to sit on the piece and see if there’s anything I want to change. This time out, I’ve included a seperate document of notes and it’s this that’s most likely to be added to in the next twenty four hours.
Of course I had a fair amount of changes to makes and I feel like I integrated the new material fairly well. I’ll know for sure when I get the client’s reaction Tuesday or Wednesday. I owe them one more draft but I’m getting itchy to explore some other corners of their fairly expansive intellectual property. Hopefully this first work will lead to more in the immediate future…
The Aristocrats has an amusing premise and much of it is quite funny, but it’s marred in three ways. 1) It’s too long. There’s just not enough good material to sustain feature length. Which brings us to: 2) Some of the comedians are just not funny. There’s a wide variation in quality from one comedian to the next. Some are hilarious; many others are merely tedious. 3) This is hands-down the worst edited documentary I’ve ever seen. Although the movie is essentially talking heads, there are no held shots at all. We’re constantly cutting –to the extent that I thought I was going to have an epileptic fit five minutes into the film.
The movie definitely has some laughs but Netflix it if you can. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to purchase it.
The Aristocrats
**1/2 (out of five)
Whenever I express an affection for Prince’s music people always ask me why. Implicit in their question are two deeper questions, I think. 1) What does a suburban white kid from Ohio see in the funky stylings of a vertically-challenged black dude from Minneapolis? 2) Isn’t Prince past his prime? –The answer to question #1 is quite simply “talent”. It was always remarkable to me to see in the liner notes “Written, Produced, and Performed by Prince”. The guy’s, more often than not, responsible for every sound you hear. And the sounds’re good too –or at least they used to be. Which brings us to question #2. Is Prince past his prime? No question about it. 3121, the new record, is a 50-50 proposition. None of the songs are bad per se but many of them trod down well-worn paths. There’s very much a been-there-done-that feel to about half of the record. And that’s the sad lot of the loyal Prince fan: for at least the last ten years or so we’ve been waiting for him to make another truly great album. We’re still waiting. So, what about the other half of the songs? Well, that’s the good news. There is actually some fun stuff to be had here. Songs like “Black Sweat” flash us back to a better era. In fact, I’d say this track is the most Prince-like song Prince has done in many a year; not only catchy but interesting. Other songs like “Love”, “Fury” and “The Word” either have unusual production or are hook-y and appealing.
3121 actually debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart last week. Amazingly, this is a first in Prince’s long career. A lot of people bought the record and I imagine most of them are probably skipping around to the good tracks.
My mixed review of 3121 notwithstanding, here’s a piece of advice for you: if Prince tours in support of the record, go! I’ve seen His Royal Badness four or five times and I’ve never seen anyone more in command of a stage. If you’ll forgive my getting all Urban for a second, when Prince plays live, it’s His House. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I’ve hung in all these years; for those sporadic occasions when I get to see the man play.
3121
*** (out of five)
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