I have to admit to being slightly bent out of shape...
I was turned down to be a Gothic model.... me! I mean, come ON. How much more goth do I have to be??
Speaking of goth... the movie Gothic starring Gabriel Byrne and Julian Sands is starting... more later.
Friday, May 17, 2002
Hours ago, in a town about an hour away....
We gathered in front of the cineplex, the only place in our area that had digital capabilities to show the digital release of Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones. We got in line, got center row seating, and second-rate popcorn. The movie began, and for the next two hours I tried to forget my hatred for George Lucas and enjoy the show.
Believe it or not, I actually DID like the movie. It was better than that last emission he called a film. The story was better, although it had more twists than your average rollercoaster (my suggestion to prepare for this: watch soap operas), and the characters, although at points somewhat stiff, were better than last time.
I watched both formats of the film, meaning both digital showing, and regular film in a regular theatre. My main problem with the digital release is this: the real characters were out of focus for most of the film, while the computer generated characters seemed to refuse to go out of focus (for example, a scene where Yoda is walking away from a meeting, and the real people are walking through the door, Yoda stayed in focus while he reached the point of the people at the door, who were all completely blurry; another issue was the clarity of the computer generated backgrounds while the foreground was blurred). My solution to this would have been deep focus shots, where EVERYTHING is in focus, but I guess Orson Welles must seem passe in light of the digital revolution. And no, it wasn't the theatre's fault for the lack of focus, I saw it twice, and both times, in different formats, it was still blurry. The film version was more forgiving in that aspect, however, because it softened the definition of the digital images, bringing them more to a level with the 'real' images.
Another issue I had was with the stiffness during certain parts as far as acting. For this, I do not blame the actors, I blame the director. During a diner scene, Ewan McGregor hugs this massive alien, but it LOOKS staged, his arms open wider than the alien and his acting seems to lack the interaction of someone in a suit. The same can be said with some of the more seasoned actors' interactions with Yoda. George couldn't afford to dust off the old muppet and have Frank Oz sit there and say the lines so these poor people would have something to work with?? At other points in the movie some of the lines just sounded like so much reading from a script, as if there had not been enough time to rehearse.
My next gripe: Lighting. When you're going to mix digital scenes with real ones on a green screen, you'd better make sure you have the lighting perfected or it's just going to look like actors superimposed on the scene. Which is exactly how it looked at points, I'm sad to say. Coloration was another issue with some of the monsters. There was a point where this creature was soooo green, I couldn't take my eyes off of it, and I missed most of the content of the scene.
AUDIENCE AND LUCAS REVIEW:
On the whole, the movie was entertaining. For adults. Why these parents seem to believe that their children should be mimicking Annikin Skywalker-- soon-to-be Darth Vader, one of the most sinister villains of all time-- I don't know. Why George Lucas made that first film so damned kiddie-accessible, I don't know. It's not a child's story! It's dark, it's twisted, it's about war, for God's sake. Nowhere in that title did it suggest Star Happiness. So now he made a "new generation" of Star Wars fans... but at what price? What will happen to these five and six year olds when they find out their child hero becomes a super villain and mass murderer? So the next film is going to be darker, great. Now we've traumatized the children of the world so this guy can make more money.
Message to the parents: leave your kids home. If they're not old enough to sit quietly for a little over two hours and watch the movie, or if they're in a baby seat-- leave them with a sitter. Don't ruin it for the rest of the movie-going public. You want to share your Star Wars experience with the kids, that's great, but what about the rest of the childless people in the theatre? Do WE want to share your kids' crying and bitching and talking during the show? Do WE want to watch you run to the bathroom to change your baby's diaper in the most exciting part of the movie? Do WE think your kid dressed up as Annikin Skywalker and waving his homemade light saber in front of everyone's line of sight is absolutely PRECIOUS? Honestly.. NO.
Although I have to say... it gave me a warm and tender feeling to watch these same parents trying to explain to their teary-eyed shock-ridden youngsters exactly what just happened, and what ever happened to Jar Jar Binks. But I'm just sick like that.... >:)
We gathered in front of the cineplex, the only place in our area that had digital capabilities to show the digital release of Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones. We got in line, got center row seating, and second-rate popcorn. The movie began, and for the next two hours I tried to forget my hatred for George Lucas and enjoy the show.
Believe it or not, I actually DID like the movie. It was better than that last emission he called a film. The story was better, although it had more twists than your average rollercoaster (my suggestion to prepare for this: watch soap operas), and the characters, although at points somewhat stiff, were better than last time.
I watched both formats of the film, meaning both digital showing, and regular film in a regular theatre. My main problem with the digital release is this: the real characters were out of focus for most of the film, while the computer generated characters seemed to refuse to go out of focus (for example, a scene where Yoda is walking away from a meeting, and the real people are walking through the door, Yoda stayed in focus while he reached the point of the people at the door, who were all completely blurry; another issue was the clarity of the computer generated backgrounds while the foreground was blurred). My solution to this would have been deep focus shots, where EVERYTHING is in focus, but I guess Orson Welles must seem passe in light of the digital revolution. And no, it wasn't the theatre's fault for the lack of focus, I saw it twice, and both times, in different formats, it was still blurry. The film version was more forgiving in that aspect, however, because it softened the definition of the digital images, bringing them more to a level with the 'real' images.
Another issue I had was with the stiffness during certain parts as far as acting. For this, I do not blame the actors, I blame the director. During a diner scene, Ewan McGregor hugs this massive alien, but it LOOKS staged, his arms open wider than the alien and his acting seems to lack the interaction of someone in a suit. The same can be said with some of the more seasoned actors' interactions with Yoda. George couldn't afford to dust off the old muppet and have Frank Oz sit there and say the lines so these poor people would have something to work with?? At other points in the movie some of the lines just sounded like so much reading from a script, as if there had not been enough time to rehearse.
My next gripe: Lighting. When you're going to mix digital scenes with real ones on a green screen, you'd better make sure you have the lighting perfected or it's just going to look like actors superimposed on the scene. Which is exactly how it looked at points, I'm sad to say. Coloration was another issue with some of the monsters. There was a point where this creature was soooo green, I couldn't take my eyes off of it, and I missed most of the content of the scene.
AUDIENCE AND LUCAS REVIEW:
On the whole, the movie was entertaining. For adults. Why these parents seem to believe that their children should be mimicking Annikin Skywalker-- soon-to-be Darth Vader, one of the most sinister villains of all time-- I don't know. Why George Lucas made that first film so damned kiddie-accessible, I don't know. It's not a child's story! It's dark, it's twisted, it's about war, for God's sake. Nowhere in that title did it suggest Star Happiness. So now he made a "new generation" of Star Wars fans... but at what price? What will happen to these five and six year olds when they find out their child hero becomes a super villain and mass murderer? So the next film is going to be darker, great. Now we've traumatized the children of the world so this guy can make more money.
Message to the parents: leave your kids home. If they're not old enough to sit quietly for a little over two hours and watch the movie, or if they're in a baby seat-- leave them with a sitter. Don't ruin it for the rest of the movie-going public. You want to share your Star Wars experience with the kids, that's great, but what about the rest of the childless people in the theatre? Do WE want to share your kids' crying and bitching and talking during the show? Do WE want to watch you run to the bathroom to change your baby's diaper in the most exciting part of the movie? Do WE think your kid dressed up as Annikin Skywalker and waving his homemade light saber in front of everyone's line of sight is absolutely PRECIOUS? Honestly.. NO.
Although I have to say... it gave me a warm and tender feeling to watch these same parents trying to explain to their teary-eyed shock-ridden youngsters exactly what just happened, and what ever happened to Jar Jar Binks. But I'm just sick like that.... >:)
Tuesday, May 14, 2002
5/14/02
6:20pm
Choices choices choices.. to watch the Simpsons or Star Trek?
Simpsons wins. I already saw that Star Trek episode..
Getting tired of playing housewife. Cleaning the house is all I have to do all day. This no job thing is driving me nuts. I planted an entire garden today. A GARDEN. I need a job-- or at least money-- in a bad way.
On a side note... I just saw the commercial for Sketchers 4 wheelers... I believe we used to call them ROLLERSKATES.
Expired food, idiot gene pools, mass murder... how we've made it this far, I have no idea...
6:20pm
Choices choices choices.. to watch the Simpsons or Star Trek?
Simpsons wins. I already saw that Star Trek episode..
Getting tired of playing housewife. Cleaning the house is all I have to do all day. This no job thing is driving me nuts. I planted an entire garden today. A GARDEN. I need a job-- or at least money-- in a bad way.
On a side note... I just saw the commercial for Sketchers 4 wheelers... I believe we used to call them ROLLERSKATES.
Expired food, idiot gene pools, mass murder... how we've made it this far, I have no idea...
Monday, May 13, 2002
Stats:
Age: over 21
Sign: Pisces
Occupation: consultant, instructional designer/technical writer, currently unemployed
Hobbies: film, photography, art in various forms, writing and reading, good video games
I run a web site in my spare time (which I find myself having far too much of these days). Click the pic and you can visit.
Buy my books.
I'll be putting on my film critic's cap this Thursday, as soon as I get back from the theatre, you'll have a review. It will be an informed review, not the stuff of Hollywood puppets. So tune in and find out what the Smiling Goth thinks of George Lucas' latest.. ahem... effort. It might just be the most realistic one out there.
Age: over 21
Sign: Pisces
Occupation: consultant, instructional designer/technical writer, currently unemployed
Hobbies: film, photography, art in various forms, writing and reading, good video games
I run a web site in my spare time (which I find myself having far too much of these days). Click the pic and you can visit.
Buy my books.
I'll be putting on my film critic's cap this Thursday, as soon as I get back from the theatre, you'll have a review. It will be an informed review, not the stuff of Hollywood puppets. So tune in and find out what the Smiling Goth thinks of George Lucas' latest.. ahem... effort. It might just be the most realistic one out there.
10:21pm
When do you know you're a pseudo-celebrity? When you find your pictures being used as either someone else's entry for a beauty contest (isn't the net FUN?), an advertisement for a porn site-- without your permission, or posted without your permission onto some little mansonite's online journal.
I would take it as a compliment, but it's getting annoying. I foound some of my New York City skyline pics being posted in someone
else's online portfolio, which was kind of funny. I wrote to the guy, asked him to give credit where it was due, he never wrote back, and he
was leeching the pic off my site... so I made a new picture with the same name and address as the leeched one. Now he has a huge
8X10 ad of my website on his site. :)
This other guy used my pic as if I were a model on his porn site... I'd at least like to see a cut of it. With the mansonite, I actually had to contact her provider because she's being a bitch about it and telling me the pics aren't mine-- when _I'm_ the model... People kill me.
How would THEY feel if it was their faces being thrown across the net for something they normally wouldn't endorse? Or if someone stole their work to label as their own. The hours of waiting for the sunrise on the skyline when the Trade Centers were still standing, watching the Hudson River freeze while you wait for the perfect shot-- it's all stolen when some asshole comes along and uses it like they did all the work.
I guess the amusing part is that in light of my epiphany/theory, they have all the right to use my pics, since they're me. LOL.
When do you know you're a pseudo-celebrity? When you find your pictures being used as either someone else's entry for a beauty contest (isn't the net FUN?), an advertisement for a porn site-- without your permission, or posted without your permission onto some little mansonite's online journal.
I would take it as a compliment, but it's getting annoying. I foound some of my New York City skyline pics being posted in someone
else's online portfolio, which was kind of funny. I wrote to the guy, asked him to give credit where it was due, he never wrote back, and he
was leeching the pic off my site... so I made a new picture with the same name and address as the leeched one. Now he has a huge
8X10 ad of my website on his site. :)
This other guy used my pic as if I were a model on his porn site... I'd at least like to see a cut of it. With the mansonite, I actually had to contact her provider because she's being a bitch about it and telling me the pics aren't mine-- when _I'm_ the model... People kill me.
How would THEY feel if it was their faces being thrown across the net for something they normally wouldn't endorse? Or if someone stole their work to label as their own. The hours of waiting for the sunrise on the skyline when the Trade Centers were still standing, watching the Hudson River freeze while you wait for the perfect shot-- it's all stolen when some asshole comes along and uses it like they did all the work.
I guess the amusing part is that in light of my epiphany/theory, they have all the right to use my pics, since they're me. LOL.
5:10pm
Now I'm starting to feel like that guy in the movie "Pi". The thought crept up on me and now it won't let me go. I asked for enlightenment,
and I got it. More questions came from the potential answer. Wondering if psychotropic drug users somehow tap into the god part of
the subconscious, and realize that everything's the same thing. No one wants to hear it. Religions only touch on the actual truth, they say
that god is in us and all around us, but they never say god IS us, and god IS everything around us. It could explain how matter can pop
in and out of a pure vaccum in a lab environment, because the fragments are still undergoing the initial Big Bang of pure energy converting
to matter.
Now I'm starting to feel like that guy in the movie "Pi". The thought crept up on me and now it won't let me go. I asked for enlightenment,
and I got it. More questions came from the potential answer. Wondering if psychotropic drug users somehow tap into the god part of
the subconscious, and realize that everything's the same thing. No one wants to hear it. Religions only touch on the actual truth, they say
that god is in us and all around us, but they never say god IS us, and god IS everything around us. It could explain how matter can pop
in and out of a pure vaccum in a lab environment, because the fragments are still undergoing the initial Big Bang of pure energy converting
to matter.
5/13/02
5:02pm EST
The epiphany continueth. Chatted on the phone with the Wenchling for about an hour, told her about my epiphany. We discussed the good points and the swiss cheese holes throughout. Dante got home, and I chatted with him about said epiphany. Got us talking stoner talk.
I suggested that various cultures had discovered the secret of what they actually were, and therefore the experiment was no longer a
valid one, so they had to be taken out of existence.
Another idea was that the Big Bang was a result of god, the pure energy being, transferring itself to matter. Makes a pretty big explosion,
I hear. And what if crazy people aren't crazy, they just realized that they're gods...
And what if ghosts are merely god's memories?
5:02pm EST
The epiphany continueth. Chatted on the phone with the Wenchling for about an hour, told her about my epiphany. We discussed the good points and the swiss cheese holes throughout. Dante got home, and I chatted with him about said epiphany. Got us talking stoner talk.
I suggested that various cultures had discovered the secret of what they actually were, and therefore the experiment was no longer a
valid one, so they had to be taken out of existence.
Another idea was that the Big Bang was a result of god, the pure energy being, transferring itself to matter. Makes a pretty big explosion,
I hear. And what if crazy people aren't crazy, they just realized that they're gods...
And what if ghosts are merely god's memories?
Epiphany continued:
My theory was that God wanted to experience EVERYTHING, so it BECAME EVERYTHING. By the same reasoning, we are all the same person, so it's pointless to hate and kill. Each of us is an alternate universe of one being... which would explain psychic phenomenon, talking to the "dead", and even reincarnation... Just God living out various forms, be it trees, planet, animal, human. It's all one and the same. It sounded so much better in the post that was lost...
My theory was that God wanted to experience EVERYTHING, so it BECAME EVERYTHING. By the same reasoning, we are all the same person, so it's pointless to hate and kill. Each of us is an alternate universe of one being... which would explain psychic phenomenon, talking to the "dead", and even reincarnation... Just God living out various forms, be it trees, planet, animal, human. It's all one and the same. It sounded so much better in the post that was lost...
OK.. So clearly my epiphany post was just not meant to be seen by anyone... Damnit. I guess This one's going to have to be epiphany in a nutshell. My epiphany was this:
the being called God is actually everything. I mean, EVERYTHING. We're all a part of the same initial being. Now it just seems so stupid, considering I had this wonderfully literate entry explaining all the intricacies of my theory and now I just sound like some jesus-freak... *sigh*
the being called God is actually everything. I mean, EVERYTHING. We're all a part of the same initial being. Now it just seems so stupid, considering I had this wonderfully literate entry explaining all the intricacies of my theory and now I just sound like some jesus-freak... *sigh*
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