NYC Bomb Scare.

As most of you know, there was a potentially lethal bomb scare Saturday in times square. There are a few things that I find interesting about this but this will be a short post. Just trying to show some insight on my side and some possible leads.

1. I was in NYC this Saturday cruising around the Tribeca Film Festival with some friends (NO I did not see any films as I'm sure Adrian will point out down bellow in comments). I left at around 5:30 and this scare happened about an hour later. If I had been there an hour later I would have been stuck because Grand Central Station is right buy there. So that's interesting.

2. The "bomb" was right near the Viacom building. What's interesting about this is that there were recent death threats towards Viacom because they own South Park. The death threats came in from Muslim Extremists for South Park depicted Muhammad in a comical way which, as everyone knows, is a big no-no. Whether this is any relation is only speculatory but it IS fascinating (to me anyway).

3. I do not think the bomb was by any sort of terrorist group only because of how amateurish the bomb was. This kind of proves point 2.

Anyway, that's all. Be safe. Kisses.

Martin.

Geekdom: Avengers director!!! (hopefully?)

Being a huge fan of things like Firefly, Serenity, and Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog, it is no mystery that I am a huge fan of everything Joss Whedon. It was mentioned a while back that he may be directing the new Avengers movie. I didn't really hope on this because Whedon doesn't really have the recognized talent he deserves among Hollywood. But thank God, because he is in final negotiations to direct the new superhero team up, The Avengers!

Joyous day! Watch Firefly (there are only about nine episodes) then watch its film Serenity and you can see that he is a very capable director of film/tv shows specializing in an ensemble cast, action, and heart. He is the perfect choice for a film I now have high hopes for.

But who knows, because of the unreliability of Hollywood, this may change tomorrow. Let's hope it doesn't

Martin.

PS: You can watch Firefly and Dr. Horrible on Hulu.com. Go. Now.

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

Now...this sentence may shock you...but I absolutely LOVED this film.

Everything just works here: the voice acting, the amazing animation, the right use of 3d, the good story, and the endearing message. Believe me, it surprises me too for Dreamworks has never been Pixar good, dribbling out films like the Shrek sequels, Sinbad, the Cat in the Hat, Shark Tale, and Madagascar. Recently however, they have shown promise in 2008's Kung Fu Panda, which I thought was awesome. I'm glad to see that they're putting effort and love into their films now and that they're finally a contender with the Pixar giant (not that I have anything against Pixar).

One of the deciding factors for an animated film is the voice acting and here, it is of the highest order. Our lead character (adorably named Hiccup) is voiced by the awkward comedic actor Jay Baruchel who works well in his role. His friends are voiced by America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher "Mclovin" Mintz Plasse, and Kristen Wiig. The only other main characters are Hiccup's father played by Gerard Butler and the dragon slaying coach voiced by talk show host Craig Ferguson. They both surprised me in how good they were in their characters. Butler surprised me because normally I can't stand the man. Ferguson because he is not an actor, but he was lively and great. They all play Scottish vikings so you'd think that the young Americans would detract from the viewing but it is not the case only because the plot is so engaging.

You would also think that you would be able to predict what would happen but you don't really think about it because you care so much about the characters and the plot. Hiccup is a scrawny, useless, teenager in a town of large, fearless vikings. He really wants to be who is father is and to please him but it's just not who it is. He wants to be someone he's not which is sad but rewarding when he finds himself at the end of the film. The relationships with his father and his "friends" are sad but engaging throughout the film and the confrontations he has with his father are real. But it is not all sad sub context the film is also funny and full of heart especially in the relationship between Hiccup and the dragon he befriends who he names Toothless.

I didn't review Avatar because it took a long time for me to see it in the Imax and I thought I should only review it if I saw it in its meant to be seen form. The 3d looked good yes but I preferred the 3d in Dragon more because a. it wasn't distracting b. you could tell what was going on and c. Dragon has better things going on, on the screen. The animation really is terrific from the texture of the dragons/landscape to the detail on the characters. I found myself saying out loud, "That looks SO good!" Aloud in the theater.


I can't recomend this enough, in 3d of course, and I look forward to what DreamWorks will put out in the future.

Martin.

Giggles: Dogs are fucking hilarious!...right...

Owen Wilson is a likable guy. I've enjoyed his stuff with Wes Anderson, some of his comedies, and he just seems like an all around good dude. After his unfortunate suicide attempt a few summers ago, I was ready to see him back on the screen. Only, he chooses to spend his efforts on fucking dog movies, such as Marley and Me.

First of all, shouldn't be Marley and I? Just a thought. Anyway, this summer he will be voicing the Great Dane Marmaduke, from the popular comic.
You can check out that trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXXzwy7lDtI

I'll wait...Done? Did you see the hilarious Hispanic stereotype dog voiced by the unfunny George Lopez? Did you see the female stereotype voiced by Fergie? Did you see the cringing dance sequence? The bad acting by William H. Macy/live action cast? The fucking surfing scene?!
It's not like dogs have been a strict land animal for hundreds of years and making them surf is pretty inhumane, someone call the ASPCA.

Dog movies suck.
Dogs, rule.

Martin.

Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland isn't Alice in Wonderland.

I had faith in Mr. Burton (being Tim), and his creativity. Even though I told myself that his "reimaginings"/remakes are always shit (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), I still had faith that maybe, just maybe, this would be good. After all, Alice in Wonderland was the movie he was made to make. And yet, he wasted this opportunity, and turned it into a complete waste. Alice is a waste of talent, time, money, and the chance to recreate the classic tale with the actors and technology we have today.

The fact of the matter (hatter) is that it's not Alice in Wonderland, despite being called and advertised as such. This story involves Alice returning to Wonderland. Oh wait, sorry, UNDERLAND. Yeah. In this fucking movie they call it UNDERLAND. WHY.
Apparently, Alice, took a journey there when she was younger and went through the classic story as told by the fantastic animated Disney film. I don't know, because she's stupid I guess, she thought it was called Wonderland. It's not. It's called Underland. Stupid.

Anyway, there's convoluted junk about destiny and such and blah blah which is fine, because they already screwed up the story. The major thing I have issues about is how it slanders the story and characters. The biggest crime here being Johnny Depp's interpretation of the Mad Hatter. It wasn't the Mad Hatter. It wasn't. It was some weird, Jack Sparrow, Scottish, creepy, sword-wielding, asshole. NONE of those things have ANYTHING to do with the character. The point of the character is this: he is a hat maker who has serious mental illness and is so wrapped up in what his only world and what he's saying that he's incapable of relating and dealing with people. The stuff he says makes sense to him and he's just simply mad. In this, he is an inconsistent mess that's weird in all the wrong ways and not Mad enough. The Mad Hatter SHOULD NEVER fight Crispin Glover with a huge sword in a battle. He should stick to drinking half cups of tea and making hats.

The only performances I enjoyed were those of Alice (Mia Wasikowska), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), and the Red Queen (Helen Bonham Carter). Others like Anne Hathaway's White Queen (who can put in a good performance) and Crispin Glover were strange and boring.

The one thing I think about when it comes to Alice is color and a sense of awe. We don't get either. Alice goes to Wonder-sorry-Underland and just shrugs it off and thinks it's a dream. This isn't the actresses fault, as I stated I enjoyed her, it's the script that needed work. We also don't get color. Because of the story, the Red Queen has taken over and everything's barren and such. Which makes sense. But it never once looks like Wonderland, everything has a gray shade to it. Yes, occasionally it's nice to look at, but you're so confused (not in a good way) and bewildered about the choices the actors and the director are making that it detracts from the visuals.

Alright, these next points are nitpicking (I guess) but they severely took away from my experience. The first, is after the ridiculous battle, the Mad Hatter does something so out of character, out of the setting and time frame (being based in the 1800s), and just...fucking ridiculous. Basically, the Mad Hatter breakdances.
...

...

...Oh, no I'm not kidding. The Mad Hatter breakdances. That sentence makes me cringe.

The second point is that of the Jabberwocky. It's supposed to be a terrifying creature, and yet looks like a Chinese dragon shown on the New Year and it shoots purple lighting out of it's mouth. I'm serious. Another complaint is that they got Christopher Lee to voice it. This would be amazing. If the Jabberwocky had more than one line. They spent money and Mr. Lee's time for him to say one line. You have one of the greatest sounding voices at your disposal, and you give him one fucking line? Bullshit.

That's all I have to say.
That was bullshit.
Underland.
Fuckerland.
-Martin.

Haiti.

Sorry for the lack of posts but this is important.

If you like this silly Blog or if you don't (that's fine too), please make this the most important/relevant post you read because in the grand scheme of things, movie reviews and Geeky culture aren't important. Lives are.

As I'm sure you know, Haiti, has been struck by a 7.0 earthquake. An earthquake of a 7.0 impact is the most catastrophic earthquake event that could happen. And the worst possible earthquake has happened in the worst possible place a 7.0 earthquake could occur: the poorest nation on the western hemisphere, Haiti.

Now I'm sure you care and I'm sure you've been hit over the head with donation pleas but you must realize the importance of you, an individual, and your impact to a country holding thousands of individuals who are homeless, poor, hungry, and dying.

Please, donate as much as you can to any organization. Anything helps.

xo
Martin.

Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. R.I.P

*I'm aware he died days before this post, I started it and never finished it*
The title of this post is the last two lines of the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, a book that changed the way I read books and the way I look at the people in my life. Required for my freshmen English class, Catcher, profoundly moved me. I read it at a strange time in my life. A time where I had just entered High School and started to feel the woes of adolescence. A character who I identified with and cared for was Holden Caulfield, the "protagonist" of Catcher. The book quickly became one of my favorites and pushed me even further into wanting to pursue my own written endeavors.

The author of one of my favorite books, J.D. Salinger, has passed on.

Rest in peace Mr. Salinger.

silence.

Top 15 of 2009!

Originally, I had planned on doing a mere Top 5 of 2009 but looking at all the films that have come in this year, it proved too difficult to narrow it down that much. So, I boosted it up to a list of my Top 15 favorite films of the year. This list might be controversial because it's not the BEST films of the year, it's my favorite.

Before we start, I must give a list of films I HAVE NOT SEEN but films that if I had, would have probably made it on the list. Those films are:
-Drag Me to Hell
-In the Loop
-Big Fan
-Fish Story
-Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
-Zombieland
-A Serious Man
-Bronson
-An Education
-Precious
-The Messenger
-The Road (I must read the book first)
-Invictus
-Crazy heart
-Fish Story

I know there are many movies on that list, but that should give you an answer to why some films are missing from this list.

Also, it's interesting to see coincidences on my list, which were purely accidental. Three science fiction films back to back, two teen angst films back to back, three "kids" films in the top ten, and two "war" films in the top five, and two George Clooney films SAY WHAT.

Also, some films I will list will have no explanation along with them, either I've already reviewed them, or they've shown up on some list or what have you.

15. Sherlock Holmes: One of the most entertaining movies I've seen, it would be higher if we didn't get the more entertaining films on the list.

14. Funny People: I still stand by this film as a great film, drama and comedy. I see the complaints people give it but I ignore them and will heavily enjoy owning it on DVD (thanks Max).

13. 500 Days of Summer

12.Lymelife: I'll probably give this film a full review but you should really seek this film out. It's an angst ridden film, but angst not just from teens but from adults. It's a film that shows the kids acting more adult than the adults. It's a little indie film that deserves attention.

11. Adventureland: I love this film. See it, but don't expect an uproarious comedy. This and Lymelife were swapping each others places for a while and I figured that this was just more entertaining, with Lyme being more disturbing.

10. District 9: If I see this film again I think I'll enjoy it more but as of now it's kind of distant with me, like I'm already remembering the sour parts. I still do love the movie.

9. Moon: SEE MOON.

8. Star Trek

7. Up

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox: Full review coming for this, it's a great Wes Anderson film. Inventive, charming, and quite entertaining.

5. Away We Go

4. Where the Wild Things Are

3. Inglorious Basterds: this had the number 1 spot for a while and it's a film I must see again because the film does have flaws but the more I remember it the more I love the hell out of it.

2. Up in the Air

1. The Hurt Locker: A film that I personally haven't given enough recognition. It's a fantastic, fantastic film that puts war films to shame and shows characters we haven't necessarily seen before.


HAPPY 2010!!!!

Movie Review: Up In The Air.

Jason Reitman has slowly been slowly creeping up on the front of directors to watch. With Thank You For Smoking and Juno, two films worthy of their praise, Reitman has shown us what he can do in a minimal body of work. With Up in the Air, Reitman has solidified the claim of one of the most important directors today.

Air focuses on Ryan Bingham, a man who's job it is to fly all around America and fire the people whose company doesn't have the stomach to fire. Spending the majority of his life on the road and on a plane may seem unappealing and unlivable but Ryan loves the life he leads; a life of solitude, loneliness, and without relations.

His life of isolation quickly becomes threatened when Natalie Keener (relativley newcomer Anna Kendrick) enters his companies life and suggests the idea of firing people via web cam. Now Ryan, and the audience, finds this method without dignity and a cold inhumane way to go about the expulsion of an employee. Ryan's boss (Jason Bateman) decides to send Natalie off with Ryan on the road to see what Ryan does. Along the way Natalie sees Ryan's disconnected life, his bizarre relationship with fellow frequent traveler Alex (The Departed's Vera Farmiga), and how Ryan's job affects the people he is firing.

What's interesting about the film's opening is that we see several people's reaction to being fired. They are all heartbreaking and real in an unsettling way. This is because all of these people are not actors, they are real people who really got let go because of the economic situation (another reason on why this film is so relevant). They were brought in by the filmmakers who posed as documentary directors and asked around America for people, who have been recently fired, to come in and talk to an "interviewer" as they would want to talk to the person who has let them go. This is why these segments are so powerful and raw and why it gives the film a whole other dimension.

When you leave the theater or turn off your DVD player (without spoiling anything) you will be most likely feel really depressed about the situation of the world and desperatley feel bad for Clooney's character. This is not an uplifting film. Nonetheless, seek it out.

Hopefully this review has shown why it got the number 2 spot on my best of 2009 list.

Martin.

Important Thing: Movie Review Updates.

I've been regretfully behind on reviewing some films that I've seen recently. This is unfortunate but also good for you because you get to receive a plethora of movie critiques all coincidentally around the holiday season!

I just got back from seeing Avatar however I don't want to review now until I see it in IMax (more on my reasoning in the review).
So until I see it in IMax we'll all have to wait.
In the meantime, some films that will be reviewed shortly are:
-Up in the Air
-Fantastic Mr. Fox
-Manic
-Top 5 of 2009
-Top 10 of the decade
-Top 5 Christmas movies of all time

Happy Holidays, I hope you spend it with the people you enjoy (or try to enjoy) and give to ye' ol holiday spirit.

Bah humbug.

Martin.

Geekdom: NEW TRAILERS, good and bad news.

On the Geeky side of trailers there's been quite a number. Two that have caught my eye have been the new Alice in Wonderland and the new Iron Man 2 trailer WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT IRON MAN 2?!?!??!??!??!?!?! That's right. Iron. Man. 2. Trailer. Oh. My. Holy. Lord.
These two come with good and bad sides.

The good side is (thankfully) the Iron Man 2 trailer because OH MY GOD does it look fantastic.
We see everything: Mickey Rourke as Russian villain Whiplash, S.H.I.E.L.D operator Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson, Scarrlet Johansson (oh my god) as Black Widow, Don Cheadle as the new Jim Rhodes/War Machine, and some speculative soldier robot things that Iron Man fights. I have much faith in this film. Jon Favereau did a fantastic job with the first one and the cast looks outstanding. Take a look: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/

On the otherside...there's the new Alice trailer. And to be honest...its underwhelming.
The first one looked cool enough but now....ugh...Its difficult, because I really don't know how to react. On one hand the atmosphere looks cool, on the other, some of the animation (march hare, big dog thing) looks cartoonish. Also, his revisions tend to be very weak (see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Planet of the Apes).
Also with all the originality that comes with a Tim Burton film, also comes some unoriginality.
Oh, Johnny Depp is in a Tim Burton film? Oh, he's kooky and has an awkward, annoying, high pitched voice? I've never seen that before...




Anyway, yah, Iron Man 2, Awesome, Alice, Weak.

Martin.

Movie Reivews: Do Movie Critics Matter Anymore?

I thought about the idea of this post after seeing the New Moon boxoffice. New Moon, is the latest in the twilight (ugh) "saga", I say "saga" because four shitty books is hardly a saga. Anyway, the New Moon numbers were outrageously high, which was, to be expected. This was DESPITE critics bashing the movie and DESPITE critics bashing the first "film", I say "film because two abercrombie models complaining and playing vampire baseball and then having a contrived climax is hardly a film. I pose the question, do movie critics matter anymore? Well, yes and no. Mostly no.

No, is evident from not only the twlight "saga" but also from things like Tyler Perry movies, or Uwe Boll flicks, or Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer movie, movies (date movie, epic movie, disaster movie). All of these filmakers, no matter how universally hated by universal movie critics, continue to find money and reap money for the drool they put out on screens (with the exception of Uwe Boll, he hardly makes any money). I think the downfall of movie criticism started with the death of Gene Siskel. Siskel, was part of the famous movie review duo Siskel and Ebert. When he died of complications from surgery due to brain cancer, there were several review shows that tried to follow their infamous claim to fame. Sadly, none succeeded. Maybe people stopped caring what critics said, and they'd see it and see if they'd like it.

Yes, is evident by the fact that there are people like me. People, who review films on YouTube or other sites or on TV who review it because they WANT to. Because they love movies. And because they enjoy to show their opinions.

I do know that I don't write reviews because I want to show people how to think, I just write it because I love reviewing movies and I love film. If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing it.


Kisses.

Martin.

PS: Look out for the next film review: Fantastic Mr. Fox, as well as the next Top Five.

Important Thing: CALVIN HUTCHINS.

A while back my friend Calvin and I were having a conversation about, well I don't remember but it was a conversation. Calvin, along with very few other people, mentioned that he is a reader of the blog. I thanked him and he said in a joking manner that I should write a whole blog post specifically about him. I didn't take this seriously until he KEPT bugging me about it. So I told him-regular readers can stop reading this is just for Calvin-that I would write a post about him IF AND ONLY IF he made a blogger account and followed me. He did. This is me holding up my end of the bargain.
Calvin Hutchins, this one was for you.

<3

IMPORTANT THING: OH MY GOD 50 POSTS 50 POSTS OH MY GOD.

HEY!
So this post is a celebratory one in honor of Martin Dreams of Electric Sheep's 50th post! I will be posting more often and will try to add a little variety into the blog. I hope you (whoever is reading) have enjoyed your stay at Martin Dreams and I encourage you to keep on dreaming! Corny? Yes.

That is all.
*party blower*
*general jubilation*

Martin.

Life: 1000 ways to die/The Darwin Awards.

The entertainment industry are constantly trying to come up with a new form of entertainment or a new laugh. I have no problems with this constant quest for entertainment, however, I do have a problem when the powers at hand/creators cross a line of morality. Such is the case of the FX show 1000 Ways to Die and the internet phenomenon The Darwin Awards.

Both are public displays of the disregard for the fragility of our race and the blatant disregard for those who've past.

1000 Ways to Die is a nonfiction show centered around different stories from REAL life incidents where REAL life people have died in quirky or bizarre ways. Now, I've caught this show a few times and the deceases depicted are quirky and bizarre but what got me was when it boils down to it the show is based around making money and air time off of the often tragic deaths hundreds of people. I don't believe displaying the deaths of people is entertaining or funny and the fact that the show is STILL on the air and people are STILL watching it disgusts me.

The Darwin Awards is an internet based "project". I say "project" because it's not as much of a project as it is taking the odd deaths of people (much like 1000 ways) and showcasing them in such a way that ridicules the deceased person in subject and going further to say that the human race is better off without these people. Darwin Awards=Survival of the fittest, adaptation, so on so forth. It was all good and fine when the Darwin Awards was a little thing, until it became somewhat of a following. This is when the family members of the deceased heard about the DA and were highly offended and threatened to go to court. The founder of the site, a college girl named Wendy Northcutt, said she never wanted to hurt anyone and was just having fun with the site. She got away with it, and the site is still going strong. I believe that if you enjoy reading and laughing at the deaths of innocent people, people who may have made some bad judgments, than you have a mental illness of apathy and disregard. And to think that so many people enjoy the Darwin Awards makes me fear that our once healthy conscious' are being poisoned.

Here's a quote from the front page of the DA website: Honoring those who improve our species...by accidentally removing themselves from it!

Disgusting.

Martin.

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are.

This is not a kids film. This is not a film about a kid. This is a film about childhood. A film, made supremely well, and a film that captures the nostalgic wonder, freedom, growth, and emotions associated with childhood.

Needless to say, I loved Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are:

Spike Jonze's body of work is mostly music videos and skater videos. Besides this, he has directed two other feature films, both for the brilliant writer Charlie Kaufman. Those films being: Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. Two films which are on my top favorites of all time. So yeah, I love Mr. Jonze. What he has done here, is take Maurice Sendak's beloved book, and turn it into an intense, fantastic, melancholic, wild, and nostalgic look at the intense emotions of a child and what it means to be immersed in the childhood experience.

Let's kiss Spike's ass a little more and talk about everything involved in his creative direction.
1. The detail in this film is such a treat for the eye. There's always something little to pick up in every shot, and he clearly has such a distinct vision that he does not want to be messed with.
2.On the other side, the scope and cinematography is just awe-inspiring. This land of where the wild things are is beautiful, dark, vast, and a great imaginative surrounding.
3. His ideas are so precise and creative that you can tell that he loves making films and putting all of his creative juice into them, something, I highly look up to.
4.Watching "makings of" on the film shows me the effort he puts into getting things right. The little things he did for Max Records, who plays Max, are so touching and inspiring and to such a point that they built a strong relationship which, if they hadn't, I don't think the movie would've succeeded.

One of the things that Jonze talked about when starting this piece, is that he wanted to have the wild things to be mock ups of wild human emotions. We see these in the different characters who embody emotions Max and the people around him have. Before the film kicks off with Max going to where the wild things are, we're given only about twenty minutes of exposition seeing what Max's life is like in reality, at home. And in these short minutes we see just glimpses of what his life is like, however these glimpses show everything we need to see in order to draw parallels between the wild world Max imagines and the real one. We see his relationship with his mother, with his older sister, with school, with the older kids on the block, and the way he sees the "boring" world, and all of this in under twenty minutes. Looking at the way the real world is shot is also beautiful, but beautiful in it's own way, and not fantastical as is the wild world is. And this is all due to, once again, Jonze's directing.

Most complaints I've heard about this film are that when we get to the land of where the wild things are, it looses it's story, and looses it's narrative. I think that, that was the point. When Max get's to this land, it's a full escapism into childhood. It's incoherent, crazy, wild, sad, confusing, strange, new, and exciting. And that's what childhood is to many of us, and that's what I think Spike Jonze recognized with this. That's why the movie is mostly the wild things interacting with each other and dealing with emotions new and old, and that's why it ends up being a great mediation on childhood feeling and life.

I can't say enough good about this film. Some of the things I haven't touched on, but are to be recognized are:
-the great voice work by the wild things
-the superb work by Max Records playing Max
-the effects and how they worked with their amount of money and made it fantastic
-the amazing soundtrack by The Yeah Yeah Yeah's lead singer Karen O
-the amazing costume department for creating the wild thing suits and making them work

See this film and think about when you were younger and what a simple, confusing, and fantastic time that was.

Martin.

Life: Kirk Cameron (ass from growing pains) and religious propagation NOW WITH %100 MORE CONTRADICTIONS!!

This post is not me spouting hate or ranting about religion. The fact of the matter is, is that I do not care what you believe in. Do what you believe to be right and true and whichever god or whichever faith or whichever inevitability you believe in will judge you in that way. This is simply to show the BULLSHIT that is Kirk Cameron and people like him. Not people who believe in his beliefs, people who share the same "theories" and their way of going about preaching them to the world.

I am not religious. I was not raised religious, and have never felt a divine prescence or calling in my life. I was raised in a much spiritual back round however, that being said, I do feel there is maybe some spiritual connection between beings and the world. However I believe that this connection is the powerful human interactions and connections we share, and that is what gives us this spiritual connection throughout us all. Now that that's out of the way, let me talk about freedom of religion.
In this country, it is a right to practice and believe in any religion you see fit. Now unfortunately, this right does not stop prejudice and hate towards different religious and ethnic groups. Even slight differences under the branch of Catholicism. Hate is most evidently shown towards various Muslim beliefs and peoples. I don't see why people can't accept the way others think and choose to act, but this is not what this post is about. This post is about the preaching propagation and contradictions of Kirk Cameron.
This guy:


Okay, well, he's grown up now but I'm sure you recognize him from the sitcom Growing Pains. I loved that show when I was a kid. Do I love Kirk Cameron? Not so much.

Cameron was once an atheist, converting to become a Christian evangelist in his late teens. He now spends his days trying (and failing) to disprove the theory of evolution, Darwin's origin of species, and atheist/agnostic beliefs. It is not his beliefs that bother me, it is the way he goes about preaching them and the lazy, contradictory information he blurts out.

Bill O'Reilly had Cameron on his show, O'Reilly probably inviting him because they share the same beliefs and well that's just easy. Cameron and O'Reilly both agree that us "scientists", us "atheists" say we have no idea of how we got here, how it all started, we have no idea.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIG BANG THEORY IS. It is a THEORY but it is still an IDEA of how THIS all started. First there were chemicals and compounds and elements, WE KNOW THIS STUFF, GET YOUR SHIT RIGHT! IT'S YOUR SHIT!

Cameron says, and I quote, "nothing becoming something, blowing up and becoming an organized everything just doesn't fit logic with me." THAT'S NOT WHAT EVOLUTIONISTS BELIEVE. YOU'RE GOING ALONG WITH CREATIONISTS THEORY, SOMETHING COMING FROM NOTHING. YOU CAN'T TRY TO DISPROVE SOMETHING IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT SOMETHING IS!!!! Evolution is the natural progression of adapting species coming from other species. He goes onto say that to prove evolution you have to be able to see transitional forms and we just don't have that......
...
..
.
YES WE DO!!!! WE CAN SEE PLAIN BEFORE OUR EYES THE TEMPORARY TRANSITIONAL ANIMAL FORMS IN THE FOSSIL RECORDS. WE HAVE MOCKED UP WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE THE SKIN AND MAKE UP OF THESE FORMS TO GIVE THEM SHAPE AND APPEARANCE BUT WE STILL HAVE THE FOSSILS TO PROVE TRANSITIONAL PROGRESSION.
You can literally see the bone transformation and adaptation in fossil records. You can literally see the crossover "in-betweens" of certain species.

When we celebrated the Origin of Species anniversery Cameron and a friend published a 50 page long introduction to the book, added it on, and gave it out at universities. Apparently, this introduction includes such facts as: the similarities and cross overs from Darwin to Hitler, Darwin's racism and discrimination towards woman, and various other "facts" about Darwin hating God. Darwin, did not hate God. He did not believe in the theory that there is an omniscient being controlling everything. Just like Cameron and O'Reilly do not believe in the big bang THEORY. Also, he says that we shouldn't agree with Darwin because of his racist antics and discrimination towards woman. Oh, but the thousands of years of discrimination of woman in the church and christian philosophy is okay. Oh, and the discrimination and hate towards homosexuals is okay. Oh, and starting a fucking war based on religious convictions and an ethnicity is okay (see the Crusades). Good job guys, you really know your facts.

Cameron's propaganda and contradictions run as thick as the dramatic story lines in Growing Pains (possibly thicker?). I'm only scratching the tip of the iceberg and only dealing with Cameron's O'Reilly appearance but there is evidence of his BULLSHIT in his daily life.

Proof read your fucking ideologies.


Martin.

Movie Review: The Invention of Lying.

Lying is a funny thing, and so is truth. I could say The Invention of Lying is the funniest film of the year. But alas, that would a lie. The new film by British comedian Ricky Gervais deals with a parallel universe in which no one has ever told a lie. Not only that, but humans are incapable of lying. So, everyone tells the truth all the time. Then one day, a pudgy loser with a snub nose (as he's described in pretty much ever scene in the movie...we get it) discovers the invention of lying. So now that everyone excepts everything as the truth, they will believe anything this pudgy loser with a snub nose says.

That sounds like an awesome, original premise. Unfortunately, the film is bland, dull, not very funny, and pretty depressing. That being said, the film does have some funny moments. However they are mere chuckles, and most of which are found in the trailer. Also, the premise has plot holes: why are people honest about only uncomfertable, mean, and awkward things? If everyone tells the truth, shouldn't everyone be used to it? Because Gervais's character seems to be put down by anything anyone says to him.

Ricky Gervais is known for his UK sitcoms The Office and Extras, both, which I highly enjoy. However the film is more like Extras and less like The Office which isn't really a good thing. Extras is great, don't get me wrong, and even though it is funny, it can be insanely depressing as well (see the Christmas special). It seems like Mr. Gervais has taken the: this-guy's-life-sucks and look-at-these-crappy-situations-good-grief scenarios out of Extras and has left out the hilarity.

This is Mr. Gervais's directorial debut and that fact is very evident when looking at the film. There's hardly any color, the camera shots are bland, and everyone seems to be wearing these gray/brown colors that just depress your movie experience. Sure, some of these faults are due to the cinematography and costume design (or lack there of) but as a director, Gervais should be able to control the look of his movie. This would work...if it wasn't a comedy...Unless, this was the look he wanted and in that case, he's probably not the best director.

I hate ragging on the guy, I love his comedy, and I love him, but this is just a weak movie. They had so much going for it: a great concept, great comedic thinkers behind it, and an AMAZING cast, yet none of it is used to its potential. When I saw AMAZING cast, it's no exaggeration. Besides Ricky, we have the great comedian Louis C.K (check out his standup and specials), Tina Fey, Jeffery Tambour, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, and cameos from comedic actors and serious actors like Jason Batmen, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Edward Norton. WE HAVE A MOVIE WITH CAPOTE AND THE HULK and yet they're all under played.

Overall, I DID get chuckles out of the film. It's not horrible. But they just use depressing situations and try to make them funny...but they're just not...Maybe rent it, maybe you'll enjoy it. Maybe I'm being too harsh, maybe I'm too cynical...but probably not.

Martin.

Movie Reveiw: Titanic

In several posts I have stated my hate for the 2000 film Titanic. I have never really backed my points up so now, I'll take the time to do that.

James Cameron, in my eyes, is a fantastic director. Terminator, T-2, Aliens, and True Lies are some of the best action pictures I have ever seen. And then he did this: This bland, predictable, shit storm that is Titanic.

Titanic is the highest grossing movie...ever...IT BEAT THE DARK KNIGHT. FUCK. I saw that it was on TV the other night, and because I'm a masochist and I wanted to procrastinate, I decided to watch a little. And it amazed me when I was finished and saw SEVERAL Facebook status's from girls 15-17 saying things like, "Omg Titanic is my fav movie everrrr!" Or, "Leo Decaprio is so sexy! Lolz." Or, "Is watching my fav movie Titanic with my loverrr Leonardo!"

...

IT'S NOT A GOOD FILM. IT'S JUST NOT! This film is weak sauce. It had potential, but fell flat on many levels.

First off, the film is called Titanic. Nothing more, nothing less than Titanic. So, shouldn't it be about the terrible disaster that was the sinking Titanic? Oh we're gonna focus on two people who we don't care about and watch them run around the ship and giggle? Then, oh no! The ship sinks threatening their love?! Fuck that shit. If a movie is called TITANIC it should be about the TITANIC. Not about too bland characters we DO NOT care about. She's rich, he's poor blah blah blah they over come their financial differences blah blah he's artsy he draws her blah blah they prance around the boat blah blah her parents don't approve blah blah Celine Dion. The script SHOULD HAVE focused on some real stories of the Titanic: maybe about the mail men who drowned while trying to fulfill their duties of hauling heavy mail bags or the workers in the engine room who drowned trying to keep the ship going. Now we do get non-fictional characters but they're there mostly to fill the scenery and for Cameron to say, "Look, Look! Non-fiction that's interesting but were not going to focus on let's cut to Jack doing a jigg and Rose laughing! That's romantic, right?"
So Instead of interesting plot we focus on these pretty douchebags:


Now, I like both Kate Winslet and Leo Decaprio but they both do such a mediocre job in this.
There's a scene involving the contrivance of some guy we don't spend much time on, chaining Jack up to a pole for some reason we don't really care about. He leaves, and Rose enters to see her lover in peril.
This is their conversation.
-Jack!
-Rose!
-Jack!!
-Rose!
-You're chained Jack!
-Get me out of these chains Rose!
-Jack oh no!
-Get the axe Rose!
-Jack Jack Jack!
-Rose! Rose!
-Jack!
-Hit the chain with the axe Rose!
-Okay Jack! (she hits the chain with the axe, freeing Jack thus making this scene entirely pointless).

The film was hailed for its effects upon it's release. Uh, why? The effects do not hold up a bit to today's standards and that would be fine if it wasn't made in the 2000's. Jurassic Park came out in the 90s and it's effects kicks Titanic's ass.

This film has been kind of the poster child for romanticism but I can't see why. The lead's romance never feels real, never organic. The dialogue is pushed and the characters are forced.
When Jack is freezing in the water and says, "Never let go." and Rose says, "I won't!" And she let's go isn't romantic. It's stupid. Maybe if he told her to let go And she said, "Never." Talking about their love...or some shit...uh...football....And she let him drift away MAYBE that would work. But probably not.

Anyway, this was a spontaneous post and I'm probably gonna get a lot of hate from it but, it really did not deserve the attention, Oscars, nor the acclaim it got.

Weak Sauce.

Martin.

Important Thing: No excuses here, I'm just lazy.

So, a couple things.
I posted something talking about how school would delay me from blog posts blah blah blah blah, which was true but not the main reason why I haven't posted anything in...two weeks? Go. Me.
I haven't even kept my promise of having the WEEKLY top five. Clearly, I don't know what weekly means.
There's no, a boo hoo family tragedy, or I got in a car accident and am now a vegtable, no no, none of that, I'm just lazy. So, for anyone who reads this and cares, sorry. Mainly, this was just for me so I can apologize and feel better about myself.

Also, there are many movies coming out soon as well as ones that I've seen but haven't gotten around to reviewing, again, lazy. So expect movie reviews of:
-The Invention of Lying
-Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
-Where the Wild Things Are
-Zombieland

Plus others seen on DVD and such.

That is all.

Martin.