Movies that make you go "oh yeah": 9

I saw the movie 9 when it came out. The animated film about how machines wiped out humanity because humanity thought it was a good idea to create super intelligent machines to be their servants. When in human history has anything we’ve tried to enslave ever NOT bitten us back? Will we learn? Well there is a slew of sci-fi movies predicting what would happen should such and such take place. And I must say, sci-fi is dang near never wrong.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen this movie, and want to, don’t read this…


This movie has significance for me because it was a study on character. The movie had 9 basic characters that moved the plot along. They were brought together to try to save themselves and eventually what was left of humanity. They were of varying character types, and as a movie fan, I rooted for the hero, I booed the antagonist of the group, and I was awed at the perseverance of all the little rag dolls. One of the morals of the story was that all 9 of the rag doll characters were a part of a whole. They made up the soul of their creator. Ah ha moment! There were some of them I liked, some I didn’t, and some I thought were useless. However they all were needed to get the job done. Just like in me…there are parts of me I would marry, parts I want to punch in the mouth, and parts I want to go on a diet and stop being such a dead weight. But I need all those parts if I’m going to make it through this crazy world. I may not be saving humanity, but I have to live and work with humanity, and that’s a battle all unto itself.

There were also some religious undertones as well, but I’m not talking about that. You’ll have to see the movie to capture all of the morals. I’ve already said too much. This movie was awesome. It was well written, well animated and was just awesome! Go see it! Believe it! Live it! We all have to get along, we may not have to agree with one another, but we all are here together. We may as well be useful to one another, help fulfill our purpose (here goes the religious undertones) be good to our fellow man (free healthcare!).

Be blessed people!

Movies that make you go “oh yeah that’s right!”: Fight Club

This week we will be looking at movies that remind us of what the heck we are supposed to be doing with our lives, or remind us of some goal or ideal we believed in a long time ago that we’ve forgotten. The movie doesn’t have to be new, just something we’ve seen recently that made us go “oh yeah that’s right…”.

I’ll start this week off with Fight Club.

I saw this movie about 2 weeks ago at The Plaza in Atlanta (they show old movies in a vintage theater). I haven’t seen this movie completely since it came out in 1999, while I was in college. It was great then, its great now. As you know, in the beginning, Ed Norton’s character muses depressingly over his furniture purchases from Ikea and flits around his grandly purchased box in the sky, also known as a condo. Ok ladies and gents, as I was watching this 2 weeks ago, I began to choke on my reeses pieces. My mind instantly flashed to the new Ikea catalog on my kitchen table, pages neatly folded in the corner notifying which pieces I wanted to see in person as I scheduled some time early on Saturday morning to brave the crowds and get my Ikea shopping on, complete with a jumbo hotdog and a 50¢ Pepsi. Then my mind pinged to the listings of condos I had bookmarked on my computer, and flashed to the appointment I had with my realtor. I slowly slid down in my seat. Then they blew the condo up, I slid further in my seat. Then fight club was established and the systematic f u to the establishment committed by the fight club members once indoctrinated by Tyler made my heart both burst and shrivel. I’d remembered how much I couldn’t stand the establishment and conformity. How much I did NOT want to be a buppie, a young money hungry capitalistic neck stomping corporate drone. How I rebelled against all things I was “supposed” to do. Where had I gone wrong? What happened to my inner rebel? Had I chocked her into submission? Had turning 30 erased any memory of the rebellious devil-may-care wild child I’d vowed to always be? Had I grown up and was this the result of it? Well the flaws in Tyler and Ed Norton’s plan were clearly evident by the end of the movie, but it still had me shook as I walked out of the theater, still clutching my reeses pieces. Had I sold out? and when did it happen? Am I the conformist drone I once hated? This movie had me lost. I threw out my Ikea catalogue. I’m only half heartedly looking for a condo. I’m so confused.

Thanks Fight Club!

Movie Review: Star Trek

It’s about that time again so lets pull out our pointy ears and hold up our Vulcan gang signs, hold em high and wave them from side to side, its Star Trek time!
As someone who is a proud trekkie, a serious sci-fi enthusiast AND someone just loves creativity, I give 2 thumbs way up to the newest installment if the Star Trek franchise. This does NOT disappoint, by no means (not like Wolverine). This Star Trek is true to trekkie form, it has plot, it has starships, it has pissed off aliens, it has old heads and new, it is the bomb! And what’s better is that it is easy to follow along for those who have lived under a rock for years and have not seen a single star trek. I went with one of these under rock dwellers, someone who didn’t know their Kirks from their Picards and they were able to follow, enjoy, and cheer for the characters! Star Trek made easy but with substance, who knew you could still make a movie like that?

Yay Star Trek!

Who Watched the Watchmen?

Time for a cube break injection of movie madness. This week’s movie for thought is The Watchmen.

Anyone who saw this movie probably knows exactly where I’m going with this. This movie traumatized me, plain and simple. I’m an avid fan of sci-fi, horror, and action movies, there isn’t too much I haven’t seen as far as violent and gory. BUT the Watchmen had a little (big) something extra that I haven’t seen in awhile on the big screen, not since seeing Forgetting Sara Marshal and even then that was little. The Watchmen had almost 3 hours worth of peek a boo big blue p*nis. Apparently one of the characters, coincidently the big blue guy, didn’t like pants, boxers or briefs. And apparently the camera liked to pan out and get him below the belt. The combo left me distracted and mesmerized all at the same time. I tried to pay attention to the movie, honestly I did, but come on, after 1 hr + of background and dialogue the movie puts you through, your going to want to see some action. Its not my fault I got my action kicks from seeing how many times I was going to see Dr. Manhattan’s little Hattan per scene.

I’m still trying to process the movie to see if I actually liked it. The full male frontal and back nudity still has me tripping though. I thought I was seeing a pron. Please believe, Dr. Manhattan wasn’t the only one streaking across the screen in slow motion.

From all the people I know who have seen the movie, they all brought up little Hattan’s appearance as a distraction. Did anyone else experience this trauma while watching the Watchmen?

MIA: Originality

*homemade originality

While watching commercials the other night, I saw an advertisement for an upcoming sci fi/horror movie with Keanu Reeves, The Day the Earth Stood Still. I almost screamed. Actually I think I did scream, then I grabbed a pen and paper and jotted some notes for this blog. Why am I so agitated by this soon to be released movie? what’s the big dang deal? I’ll tell you what my dang problem is, I am so sick and tired of nothing new being produced by movie makers. Of course this movie is a remake, and if you’re a sci-fi buff like me, you’ve probably already seen it, in its black and white form, you may have already read the book. And it aggravates me because not only are these movies remade(The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I Robot), but they are made worse than their original form, nothing is enhanced, nothing is gained, nothing is made richer by remaking these classics. People new to the genre or are just now getting into sci-fi walk away from these big budget disasters with a warped view of what real sci fi is. This new stuff right here, isn’t true to the game. It isn’t sci-fi, its commercialized crap.

Reminds me of what has been done to hip hop, you knew this was coming. People aren’t even sampling anymore, like Wu-tang and Puffy (the producer), they are just flat out taking whole songs like Puffy (the rapper) and Kanye, yeah I said it Kanye West. Where is the originality? I don’t want to hear anything else made by a beat maker calling themselves a producer, I want to hear musical composition combined with strong lyrics and interesting delivery. I want to see original plots and thought provoking stories with my sci-fi movie. I think the last good sci-fi/horror movie I saw was 28 Days Later (and the sequel). Although this movie sampled Night of the Living Dead, it still can hold its own. Yes it has zombies, but my goodness, these aint your typical stiff legged brain eating zombies, and the zombies weren’t all you had to worry about. I simply love this movie, but I’ll stop gushing.

Where is the originality ya’ll? Did we lose it in a secret war? Is it being held for a ransom we cant afford because all of our money is going to bail out Wall Street and the Big Three? I think our priorities are messed up. I don’t need a Ford, and I don’t trust the stocks, I want to spend my money at the movie theaters and on good music. Can we invest in that?