Saturday, March 31, 2007
Stainboy!
Atom Films has posted a bunch of Tim Burton's Stainboy animated cartoons! They are super rad!
Here's the first one:
Check them all out!
Here's the first one:
Check them all out!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Dallas Just Opened a Bag of Awesome.
FINALLY, Dallas is getting a House of Blues. It's slated to open in May of this year. WOOT WOOT!
The Reverend Horton Heat is playing there in August and I'm SO there.
And Ben can FINALLY get his Elwood sandwich again!
The Reverend Horton Heat is playing there in August and I'm SO there.
And Ben can FINALLY get his Elwood sandwich again!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
New Coral City
Ryan and I have been hard at work getting the Coral City Aeronauts web comic up and running. The first two pages are up for your viewing pleasure!
Head on over and check it out!
Coral City Aeronauts!
Head on over and check it out!
Coral City Aeronauts!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Science of Sleep
Ben and I saw a trailer for Science of Sleep a long time ago at one of the indy art theatres in Dallas and we IMMEDIATELY wanted to see it.
Alas, time went by, and since it's REALLY hard for us to get out to the indy art houses in Dallas for movies, there was no seeing Science of Sleep in the theatre for us.
Thankfully, it just came out on DVD and we got to rent it. And it was RAD! It was written and directed by Michel Gondry and if you've seen his other fantasy dreamlike movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, then this will give you an idea of how this movie plays out.
Here's the plot synopsis from IMDB:
This film is funny, eccentric and beautiful. If you liked Eternal Sunshine, you will certainly like this. It follows about the same landscape and takes the same twists and turns leaving you wondering where you've been and where you're going.
I actually liked this better than Eternal Sunshine, because the French are just cool, and Mexican-French dudes are UBER cool...
I recommend everyone go out and rent this movie. It's the cat's pajamas.
Alas, time went by, and since it's REALLY hard for us to get out to the indy art houses in Dallas for movies, there was no seeing Science of Sleep in the theatre for us.
Thankfully, it just came out on DVD and we got to rent it. And it was RAD! It was written and directed by Michel Gondry and if you've seen his other fantasy dreamlike movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, then this will give you an idea of how this movie plays out.
Here's the plot synopsis from IMDB:
"Following the death of his father in Mexico, Stéphane Miroux, a shy insecure young man, agrees to come to Paris to draw closer to his widowed mother Christine. He lands a boring job at a calendar-making firm and falls in love with his charming neighbor Stéphanie. But conquering her is no bed of roses for the young man and the only solution he finds to put up with the difficulties he is going through is escape into a dream world."
This film is funny, eccentric and beautiful. If you liked Eternal Sunshine, you will certainly like this. It follows about the same landscape and takes the same twists and turns leaving you wondering where you've been and where you're going.
I actually liked this better than Eternal Sunshine, because the French are just cool, and Mexican-French dudes are UBER cool...
I recommend everyone go out and rent this movie. It's the cat's pajamas.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Oh SitePoint, Funny AND Informative.
Ok, so I subscribe to this newsletter from SitePoint, a company that publishes geek books and articles about nerdy tech stuff. Usually it's chock full of information about website design, Photoshop techniques and SEO mumbo jumbo.
Today I opened up my email to the latest newsletter and the editor's perspective gave me this gem:
Thank you SitePoint. You made my day.
Today I opened up my email to the latest newsletter and the editor's perspective gave me this gem:
Pamela Anderson has long been portrayed as a dumb, blonde bimbo -- in fact, she's made a career out of it. But Pammy is smarter than she makes out. This quote is taken from her web site, in a discussion about Ugg boots:ZING!
"I used to wear them with my red swim suit to keep warm -- never realizing that they were SKIN! I thought they were shaved kindly?"
"People like to tell me all the time that I started that trend -- yikes! Well let's start a new one -- do NOT buy Uggs!"
Who'd have thought it? Incredibly, sheepskin boots are made from sheep skin! That's crazy! Next they'll be telling us that apple juice is made from the juice of apples. Ha, as if!
Pamela was seen as the poster child for ugg boot wearers worldwide. So those comments attracted a lot of coverage, most of it poking fun at her for not realizing that sheepskin boots are made from -- yes -- the skins of sheep.
But Pamela isn't stupid. In fact, I think she's a very, very smart woman. I think that because of what she said next:
"I'm looking for alternatives myself for my boys and the men in my life! I'm designing some right now for my family and will try and have some available on my web sites soon."
First, she says something that gains worldwide media attention. Then, she says she'll be making her own brand of products available for sale shortly. It's beautiful, beautiful work!
Thank you SitePoint. You made my day.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
This movie sunk like a...
Brick.
Ben and I rented this movie last week and hadn't had a chance to watch it, but it was due back to Blockbuster today so we had to buckle down and watch it last night. I must say that I went into this movie with high hopes. Everyone I know that has seen it has loved it, so I thought it was going to be really good. Unfortunately, the target was there, the ammunition was right, but for me, it just missed the mark completely.
Here's the plot summary from IMDB:
That more or less is what the movie is about, but I found that the plot synopsis makes the movie appear to be WAY more interesting than it really is.
I appreciated the story and what it was trying to accomplish. A film noir detective epic centered around high school students using the same acting style and dialogue that you'd expect to find in something like L.A. Confidential but not in a movie about the trials and tribulations of teenagers. Unfortunately, the movie seemed to be trying way too hard to be something that it clearly was not and had no business being.
The movie took itself MUCH too seriously and had it had more scenes like the ones with Lukas Haas and Richard Roundtree (shut yo' mouth!) I think it probably would have become one of my favorite movies. The scenes with them in it were awesome because they played up the ridiculousness of the situations the movie was to have us believe that these kids were caught up in.
Lukas Haas plays "The Pin" a drug dealing crime lord of the sleepy stuck-up California neighborhood these kids live in. He has this underground lair where he does his dealings, which happens to reside in his parent's basement. In one scene, after our hero, Brendan played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (who I usually like but seemed to have phoned in his part, I'm sure, because he was trying to play the part strictly deadpan and by the book, but rushed through so much of his dialogue that I hardly knew what he was saying half the time...) gets the snot beat out of him by one of the Pin's thugs, the aptly named, Tug, the Pin's mother offers him some juice and a bowl of cereal as if the trio were just a couple of friends horsing around in her kid's bedroom. Rad.
Those scenes were the only enjoyable ones in the whole movie. I would have you all rent this movie just to watch those scenes, they're gold. I laughed out loud several times because they were so well done. I know the writer/director (always the kiss of death in bad movies!) probably didn't mean for those scenes to be hilarious, but that's what made them great. That's why Wes Anderson movies work so well is because they ARE ridiculous and when the serious and absurd come together, it's something that can't be explained in words. It just WORKS.
The other problem I had with the movie was that the love interest of Brendan who he's sticking his neck out to protect and discover the reason for her murder had no redeeming qualities about her whatsoever. Her character was a piece of garbage that got herself into trouble and then couldn't get herself out of it and got killed for it. Which is sad, but usually in film noir detective movies, the love interest, whether she be dead or alive, is someone that the audience should identify with and want the hero to help. We want to see him solve her murder or get her out of the trouble she's in, because we care about her as a person. Not so in Brick. But that could just be me, I don't have a soft spot in me for degenerates, even if they are mixed up teenagers who we're supposed to see as adults. That's just my opinion, though, so take it or leave it. I was even a bit on the fence about her up until the very end. In the last scene Brendan learns a last tidbit about his wayward dead ex-girlfriend that probably would have made me kill myself had I learned this information about the person I had just wrecked my life over. I won't ruin it for you, and it's said in almost passing so you might miss it, just watch out for it if you've got two hours of your life that you're OK with not getting back and you decide to rent Brick.
So yeah, Brick totally sunk to the bottom of a stink pit for me and is now on my list of other movies that had a really good concept, some redeeming moments, but all in all, was just poorly executed.
Ben and I rented this movie last week and hadn't had a chance to watch it, but it was due back to Blockbuster today so we had to buckle down and watch it last night. I must say that I went into this movie with high hopes. Everyone I know that has seen it has loved it, so I thought it was going to be really good. Unfortunately, the target was there, the ammunition was right, but for me, it just missed the mark completely.
Here's the plot summary from IMDB:
"In a modern-day Southern California neighborhood and high school, student Brendan Frye's piercing intelligence spares no one. He's not afraid to back up his words with actions, and knows all the angles; yet he prefers to stay an outsider, and does - until the day that his ex-girlfriend, Emily, reaches out to him unexpectedly and then vanishes. His feelings for her still run deep; so much so, that he becomes consumed with finding his troubled inamorata. To find her, he enlists the aid of his only true peer, the Brain, while keeping the assistant vice principal only occasionally informed of what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation. Brendan's single-minded unearthing of students' secrets thrusts him headlong into the colliding social orbits of rich-girl sophisticate Laura, intimidating Tugger, substance-abusing Dode, seductive Kara, jock Brad and - most ominously - non-student the Pin. Only by gaining acceptance into the Pin's closely guarded inner circle of crime and punishment that Brendan will be able to uncover hard truths about himself, Emily and the suspects that he is getting closer to."
That more or less is what the movie is about, but I found that the plot synopsis makes the movie appear to be WAY more interesting than it really is.
I appreciated the story and what it was trying to accomplish. A film noir detective epic centered around high school students using the same acting style and dialogue that you'd expect to find in something like L.A. Confidential but not in a movie about the trials and tribulations of teenagers. Unfortunately, the movie seemed to be trying way too hard to be something that it clearly was not and had no business being.
The movie took itself MUCH too seriously and had it had more scenes like the ones with Lukas Haas and Richard Roundtree (shut yo' mouth!) I think it probably would have become one of my favorite movies. The scenes with them in it were awesome because they played up the ridiculousness of the situations the movie was to have us believe that these kids were caught up in.
Lukas Haas plays "The Pin" a drug dealing crime lord of the sleepy stuck-up California neighborhood these kids live in. He has this underground lair where he does his dealings, which happens to reside in his parent's basement. In one scene, after our hero, Brendan played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (who I usually like but seemed to have phoned in his part, I'm sure, because he was trying to play the part strictly deadpan and by the book, but rushed through so much of his dialogue that I hardly knew what he was saying half the time...) gets the snot beat out of him by one of the Pin's thugs, the aptly named, Tug, the Pin's mother offers him some juice and a bowl of cereal as if the trio were just a couple of friends horsing around in her kid's bedroom. Rad.
Those scenes were the only enjoyable ones in the whole movie. I would have you all rent this movie just to watch those scenes, they're gold. I laughed out loud several times because they were so well done. I know the writer/director (always the kiss of death in bad movies!) probably didn't mean for those scenes to be hilarious, but that's what made them great. That's why Wes Anderson movies work so well is because they ARE ridiculous and when the serious and absurd come together, it's something that can't be explained in words. It just WORKS.
The other problem I had with the movie was that the love interest of Brendan who he's sticking his neck out to protect and discover the reason for her murder had no redeeming qualities about her whatsoever. Her character was a piece of garbage that got herself into trouble and then couldn't get herself out of it and got killed for it. Which is sad, but usually in film noir detective movies, the love interest, whether she be dead or alive, is someone that the audience should identify with and want the hero to help. We want to see him solve her murder or get her out of the trouble she's in, because we care about her as a person. Not so in Brick. But that could just be me, I don't have a soft spot in me for degenerates, even if they are mixed up teenagers who we're supposed to see as adults. That's just my opinion, though, so take it or leave it. I was even a bit on the fence about her up until the very end. In the last scene Brendan learns a last tidbit about his wayward dead ex-girlfriend that probably would have made me kill myself had I learned this information about the person I had just wrecked my life over. I won't ruin it for you, and it's said in almost passing so you might miss it, just watch out for it if you've got two hours of your life that you're OK with not getting back and you decide to rent Brick.
So yeah, Brick totally sunk to the bottom of a stink pit for me and is now on my list of other movies that had a really good concept, some redeeming moments, but all in all, was just poorly executed.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
300
Ben and I just got home from seeing Frank Miller's 300. And holy crap this was a great movie.
I had only read 300 once, as a graphic novel, a LONG time ago, so I didn't really remember much about the storyline, but I remembered the gist of it enough to realize what a good job they did with this.
So far, I have been super pleased with the screen adaptations of Frank Miller's visions, so way to go Hollywood! Ben and I were talking about how he got screwed on Robocop in the past, so hopefully, he's been pleased with these movies as well.
Visually, I can't imagine this comic coming to life any better than it did. I'm not a huge fan of CGI and bluescreen stuff, but I loved it in 300 and in Sin City. And Lena Headey is AWESOME as Queen Gorgo. I loved her in The Brothers Grimm, so I was really happy to see her do such an rad job in this. Here's also hoping to Zack Snyder doing an equally awesome job on the Watchmen movie, which will make me cry if he doesn't.
I recommend it to everyone who enjoys bloody battle movies, crazy madmen kings in their skivvies, and queens who don't take crap from anyone. I also recommend it, of course, to comic fans everywhere.
I had only read 300 once, as a graphic novel, a LONG time ago, so I didn't really remember much about the storyline, but I remembered the gist of it enough to realize what a good job they did with this.
So far, I have been super pleased with the screen adaptations of Frank Miller's visions, so way to go Hollywood! Ben and I were talking about how he got screwed on Robocop in the past, so hopefully, he's been pleased with these movies as well.
Visually, I can't imagine this comic coming to life any better than it did. I'm not a huge fan of CGI and bluescreen stuff, but I loved it in 300 and in Sin City. And Lena Headey is AWESOME as Queen Gorgo. I loved her in The Brothers Grimm, so I was really happy to see her do such an rad job in this. Here's also hoping to Zack Snyder doing an equally awesome job on the Watchmen movie, which will make me cry if he doesn't.
I recommend it to everyone who enjoys bloody battle movies, crazy madmen kings in their skivvies, and queens who don't take crap from anyone. I also recommend it, of course, to comic fans everywhere.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Family Feud en la CASA!!!!
Sometimes I revel in the fact that Ben and I don't have cable. Because if we did, then we'd miss out on some of the rad gems that basic TV has to offer.
Namely this:
That's right. Family Feud, Mexican style. Which translates to Mexican Wrestlers, Luchadores, VS. Ballerinas, or Bailarinas.
Behold:
This ballerina didn't have a clue, so the luchadores gear up for the steal! Solar and this other guy (I can't remember this one's name, it was long and random) brainstorm.
I think they've got a good one!
These other luchadores aren't as confident as the rest of their team:
It's left up to team captain Mano Negra (or The Black Hand, he even wore a black glove, it was GOLD!) to make the final call for their answer!
Needless to say, the ballerinas won the game and went on to the lightning round. Unfortunately my Spanish isn't good enough for me to understand what all of the questions were, but I figured out most of the answers. Good job, ladies!
Thank goodness for the Spanish channel. It provides much needed comic relief when there's nothing American on TV that's entertaining.
Namely this:
That's right. Family Feud, Mexican style. Which translates to Mexican Wrestlers, Luchadores, VS. Ballerinas, or Bailarinas.Behold:
This ballerina didn't have a clue, so the luchadores gear up for the steal! Solar and this other guy (I can't remember this one's name, it was long and random) brainstorm.I think they've got a good one!These other luchadores aren't as confident as the rest of their team:It's left up to team captain Mano Negra (or The Black Hand, he even wore a black glove, it was GOLD!) to make the final call for their answer!Needless to say, the ballerinas won the game and went on to the lightning round. Unfortunately my Spanish isn't good enough for me to understand what all of the questions were, but I figured out most of the answers. Good job, ladies!Thank goodness for the Spanish channel. It provides much needed comic relief when there's nothing American on TV that's entertaining.Archives
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