Friday, October 27, 2006

Movies, Movies, Movies

My, my. It's getting to be that time of year again. The antithesis of the summer-blockbuster season -- the winter-blockbuster season -- is readily upon us. Shall we start with some simple (mini) reviews of movies seen lately and then meander onto what I'm currently frothing at the mouth to see?

Employee of the Month: Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson star in this Costco romantic comedy. Cook is funny but not at his best, and Simpson sports some really big ... ears. Not even joking about that one. Rental only (You probably will have trouble finding it in theaters anyway, at this point).

The Departed: Scorsese has returned to his former glory with this film that is endearingly being referred to as Irish-fellas. If you don't get that joke, you may not want to see it. The cast is too great and too large to list, but Jack Nicholson does some of his best work, I think, since Batman -- the man is a genius anyway. Matt Damon's (authentic) Boston accent makes me want to stick scissors in my ears, however. The movie is a little graphic with the language and the visuals -- you have been warned. See it in theaters and buy it on DVD.

The Prestige: Wolverine joins the cast and crew of Batman Begins in this magician extravaganza. This film is beautiful to watch and listen to, Michael Caine is a gem of modern film-making, and you will now doubt leave the theater with plenty to discuss. See it in theaters and buy it on DVD.

Thank You For Smoking: A well done, intelligent satirical comedy that will leave you laughing and thinking. On DVD now - rent, perhaps purchase.



And now -- what can't I wait to see over the next month and a half?

Casino Royale: If you've followed my blog at all, you know that I'm dying to see this movie. Just over a year ago, Daniel Craig was announced as the man-who-would-be-Bond, and my initial reaction was a bit hesitant. But every day since, I have found myself getting more and more excited. The advertising campaign is romping up, and we have exactly three (3) weeks to go!

I want to make this bet right now: I think one of the (if not the) last lines in the film is going to be the iconic "Bond. James Bond" line, quickly followed by the first notes of the Barry's James Bond theme. And, I also think that Craig will not utter its smooth cadence until such time.

Also, the new Spider-man 3 trailer will be attached, showcasing the world's first glimpse (I hope and assume) at Spidey's arch-nemesis, Venom.

I. Can. Not. Wait.

Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny: Gotta love Jack Black doing what he knows best: Rocking out hardcore. I was a bit worried about this movie based upon the less-than-stellar trailers that have been up, but Harry over at AIC news is still gushing about it, and he knows his stuff fairly well. I'm assuming it will bleed Rock and Roll and make my brain melt. Anything less will be a disappointment!

Eragon: This looks like Lord of the Rings with lots and lots of dragons. From what I understand, it is based on the first of a trilogy of books, which my wonderful girlfriend tells me are some of the best books ever. I hope this movie lives up to her expectations (assuming I can get her to see it with me). It looks pretty fantastic from what I've seen. New trailer at Apple here.

Stranger Than Fiction: I've wanted to see this odd movie about a man whose life is being written by a real-life writer since the first time I saw the trailer. I have, however, seen this trailer about 800 times more since that initial offering, and fear that if I see it again, I will never want to hear Emma Thompson speak again.

Other honorable mentions and movies coming out farther along the road: Flushed Away, Happy Feet, Charlotte's Web, Pan's Labyrinth, The Good Shepard, and Bridge to Terabithia.

And now, I'll leave you with a GREAT YouTube Video by Jack Black, reminding you that stealing movies is wrong :D

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Monday, October 09, 2006

Trailer: 300


Frank Miller has done it again. You may remember the name from a little known blockbuster, Frank Miller's Sin City.

Well Frank has a new movie on the docket, 300, that is an adaptation of his graphic novel of the same name which tells the story of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae. Here is the synopsis snipped from the official website:

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller’s (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.


The trailer, which looks gorgeous, can be found living here at Apple.

Also, here is a neat side-by-side graphic novel versus movie comparison. You will find, much like Sin City prior, this will be a very faithful adaptation of Miller's work.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie when it hits in 2007.

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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Impressive Card Trick



<3 Magic

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On Foot Shooting, a Programmer's Guide

Here is some quality humor for you coder's out there. It is an extensive, multilingual guide to shooting yourself in the foot. Never forget that there are only 10 types of people in the world ...

Some of my favs are:

C
You shoot yourself in the foot.

C++
You accidentally create a dozen clones of yourself and shoot them all in the foot. Providing emergency medical assistance is impossible since you can’t tell which are bitwise copies and which are just pointing at others and saying, “That’s me, over there.”

JAVA
After importing java.awt.right.foot.* and java.awt.gun.right.hand.*, and writing the classes and methods of those classes needed, you’ve forgotten what the hell you’re doing.


But my personal favorite is

Unix
% ls
foot.c foot.h foot.o toe.c toe.o
% rm * .o
rm: .o: No such file or directory
% ls
%


See the link for more fun :)

[UPDATE: Link now included. Thanks to Rhazes for pointing out that I forgot]

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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

The Glory of Music



This made me fairly speechless when I first saw it. I was inspired yesterday to look it up, so here it is for your enjoyment.

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