Sunday, March 4, 2018

Jurassic Park 1, 2, 3/ Max Payne/ Gran Torino

Dec. 24, 2017: Most of my shows are on hiatus right now and there is a bit of a break (like a week) before new shows come on.  That's why I'm writing about these movies.

Jurassic Park: I saw this movie on Feb. 2016.  I saw the beginning of this movie in 1998.  I went to San Francisco with my family when I was in gr. 7 during spring break.  I saw this at my family's friend's house.  Now I got to watch the whole movie when it came on TV.

"During a preview tour, a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok."

Why did you watch it?: It seemed interesting.

Pros:

1. It was fun and entertaining to watch humans interact with dinosaurs.  It's a crazy adventure.

2. 30 min in, there was a good exposition on how dinosaurs are recreated.

3. There is good drama, conflict, and tension because dinosaurs are dangerous.  There is lots of suspense.

4. It's got mass appeal with the kids and the adults.  All kinds of people will watch this movie. 
 
5. I like the line "Creation is the act of sheer will."  I'm going to put that in my inspirational quotes.

6. It was a actually pretty smart movie when the characters talk about the morals of bringing animals that are extinct.

Cons: None.

Would you watch it again?: There is a low chance I would watch it again.  I thought it was a solid average movie.  I was interested in watching the sequels.



Dec. 25, 2017 The Lost World: Jurassic Park: I saw this movie in Mar. 2016.


"A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda."

Why did you watch it?: I saw the first one and liked it.

Pros: 

1. They do up the ante.  On this island there are no fences in a new island.

2. Good special effects of the dinosaurs.  I like it when they're running with the dinosaurs.

3. There is the mass appeal with a kid in there with the adults.

4. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) was from the first movie.  He is a likeable character.

5. There is good drama, conflict, and tension because dinosaurs are dangerous.  There is lots of suspense.

Spoiler alert: There is a scene where there are 2 T-Rexes on both sides.  They push the trailer off the cliff.  The characters are stuck in the trailer and they hand onto something.

Cons: None.


My opinion: There isn't a pro or a con about it, but I noticed a satellite phone in a bag.  


Would you watch it again?: There is a low chance I would watch it again.  I thought it was a solid average movie. 



Dec. 26, 2017 Jurassic Park III: I watched this move on Mar. 2016.

"A decidedly odd couple with ulterior motives convince Dr. Alan Grant to go to Isla Sorna (the second InGen dinosaur lab.), resulting in an unexpected landing...and unexpected new inhabitants on the island."

Why did you watch it?: It seemed interesting.


Pros:

1. Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is a likable character.  He was in the first movie.

2. The couple does have a very good and deep reason for wanting to be on the island.

3. There is the mass appeal with a kid in there with the adults.

4. There is an interesting part with the dinosaur eggs.

5. There is good drama, conflict, and tension because dinosaurs are dangerous.  There is lots of suspense.  

It is scary.  I jumped once.

6. It's unpredictable.  Spoiler alert: They hear a ringing sound.  It leads to the phone inside a dinosaur.

7. It was fun to watch as they run all around the island with dinosaurs chasing after them.

Cons: None.

Would you watch it again?: There is a low chance I would watch it again.  I thought it was a solid average movie. 




Dec. 27, 2017 Max Payne: I saw this movie back in May 2016.

"Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a police detective whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation."

It's based on a video game.

Why did you watch it?: It was an action movie.

Pros: 

1. Mark Wahlberg was good as the cop Max Payne.  Mila Kunis was good as an assassin Mona.

2. There is a good flashback scene of how three guys murdered his family.

3. There are good action sequences like a slow motion shoot out.

4. Spoiler alert: It leads to a drug for super soldiers.  Super soldiers have been done before like on the TV show Dark Angel.

5. Cool graphics of these birds around Max. 

Cons: None.

My opinion: This isn't a pro or a con. 

There are a lot of movies where characters have to solve a family member, friend or loved one's death/ murder. 

A character has to avenge a family member, friend or loved one's death/ murder. 

Would you watch it again?: There is a low chance I would watch it again.  It was average at best, mediocre at worst.


Dec. 28, 2017 Gran Torino: I saw this movie in Aug. 2016.  

"Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino."

Why did you watch it?: I don't really watch dramas.  However, this did seem interesting.

Pros: 

1. Clint Eastwood as the lead Walt Kowalski was good.  It shows his transformation as racist and mean, to a nice and understanding guy.

2. Thao (Bee Vang) as a young guy who needs direction and gets that from Walt is good.

Ahney Her as Sue, a smart young woman is good.

3. There is good ethnic diversity with lots of Asians.

4. There is drama, conflict and tension because Thao is pressured to join a gang.

There are dangerous situations as the gang closes in.

The community is too scared to go against the gang.

5. A good line about being a soldier: "Ordered to kill, killing to save yourself, killing to save others."

Walt: The things that haunt a man the most or what isn't ordered to do.

6. There is a good ending.

Cons: None.

Comparisons:

A movie about neighbors and race: There was the movie Lakeview Terrace.

Would you watch it again?: There is a low chance I would watch it again.  I liked it.  It was a movie that was good at best, and average at worst.


Dec. 29. 2017 Johnny Mnemonic: I got this movie on my 90s movies channel free preview. I saw the 1st 20 min. of it and I found myself cringing when I was watching it.  This was supposed to be set in the future, but it looked so dated.

It came out in 1995.  I may have liked it if I saw it when I was a teen.  I didn't watch anymore of it.

I watched the beginning because I like action movies, but this doesn't seem that good.

"A data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza."



The whole plot is on Wikipedia.  Here's part of it:

Johnny Mnemonic is a short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, which served as inspiration for the 1995 film of the same name. The short story first appeared in Omni magazine in May 1981,[1] and was subsequently included in 1986's Burning Chrome, a collection of Gibson's short fiction. It takes place in the world of Gibson's cyberpunk novels, predating them by some years, and introduces the character Molly Millions, who plays a prominent role in Gibson's Sprawl trilogy of novels.

The film plot differs considerably from the short story, and a novelization of William Gibson's screenplay written by Terry Bisson was published in 1995 under the title of Johnny Mnemonic.[2] In 1996 a film tie-in edition of Gibson's original short story was published as a standalone book.[3]
"Johnny Mnemonic" is a data trafficker who has undergone cybernetic surgery to have a data storage system implanted in his head. The system allows him to store digital data too sensitive to risk transmission on computer networks. To keep the cargo secure, the data is locked by a password known only to the intended recipient. Johnny enters a trance-like state while the data is being transferred or the password is being set, making him unaware of the contents and unable to retrieve it. He makes a modest living in the Sprawl by physically transporting sensitive information for corporations, underworld crime rings or wealthy individuals.

Street Cents: I remember watching this show in elementary school.  There was a part about movie theatres.  You can watch 15 min. of a movie, and if you don't like it, you can get a refund.

This may vary from different movie theatres.

Flashback: I'm getting another flashback of my friend Yasmine in jr. high school.  She and her mom walked out of the movie Blues Brothers 2000 and got a refund.  They then watched the movie Simply Irresistible

I'm sure some of you guys are like: "How do you remember that?"

It's TV and movies.  I can remember that.

Mar. 3, 2018: I guess I'm posting this now because the Oscars awards show is on this weekend.  Also the TV show Timeless is coming on for season 2 on Sun. Mar. 11, 2018.

I don't watch the Oscars, but I'm looking forward to Timeless.

"An unlikely trio travel through time in order to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it." 


My week:


Feb. 21, 2018 "First, you must suffer": Today I found this life essay by Greg Blanchette in the Globe and Mail.  It is about how he struggles to live in Tofino, BC:


"I have observed Tofino for 20 years and lived here for nine, and I too feel the brunt of the housing situation. In 2017, between house-sits, pet-sits and couch-surfs, I moved 19 times, and it's not unusual for me to jolt awake at 5 a.m. in a panic about where I'll be living next month."


Feb. 24, 2018 "Cruise Control": Today I found this in-depth article about working on a huge cruise called Harmony of the Seas.

It was really fun to read like "There is a cruise ship burn book" about people who ask really dumb questions like: "How long does it take the crew to get home every night?"

There is this one comment:


ADM 24 Feb 2018 10:36 AMFollow
This article has been floating around news papers for months How many times are you going to publish this bore? Come on post media! Get some quality in your life.


My opinion: It was really fun to read the article because it talks about what goes on behind the scenes.  Also it talks about all these fun activities like restaurants, shopping, ice skating, etc.  It reminded me of going to West Ed mall.


Feb. 25, 2018: The last 2 weeks were so busy.  I was working full-time and hardly looked for a job on the internet.

Writing event: My friend Sherry sent me this:

Unblocking: a look at writers’ reluctance and ways of circumventing it.

Candas Jane Dorsey will use a variety of media and techniques to help participants unlock creativity and circumvent temporary writers’ blocks. A combination of exercises, writing prompts, short readings and Q&A will allow participants to address particular problems in their own practice.
My opinion: Dorsey was one of my teachers at the Professional Writing program at MacEwan.

Feb. 27, 2018 Asian restaurant job interview: I did an interview last week.  I had passed my resume to them last year.

Pros:

1. It was in downtown.

2. It was weekday hours and daytime.

3. I can do the job.

Cons:

1. You have to be able to read and write in Chinese because the cooks only know that.
I have done a lot of interviews at Asian restaurants and not all said that you have to be able to do that.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired, but I won't be hired because I can't read and write Chinese.  The boss seemed nice and all.  Also my brother said he went there to eat and it was good.

The Olympics on The Simpsons: I remember an ep where Lisa wrote a letter to the UN and brought the Olympics to town.

Marge: That's great that you brought the Olympics to Springfield Lisa.
Lisa: Yeah, well it was for school.  Everybody else wrote to the Backstreet Boys.

The choir of kids sing: Children, children.  Future, future.

My brother P told me about the ep where Homer steals the Olympics torch so it won't be lit.  Homer was mad that the Olympics make all the other TV shows he watches go on break.  Here's the ep:


Mar. 1, 2018 My Pet store closed at WEM: I found this article by Juris Graney in the Edmonton Journal:
A member of the public alerted society staff earlier this week that animals may have been abandoned at the My Pet store in West Edmonton Mall.
Peace officer Danika Bodnarchuk, the society’s supervisor of animal protection services, said Wednesday the concern was deemed justified and the seizure began. It did not involve any cats or dogs.
Early Tuesday, 10 humane society staff members — including a specialist vet — went to the store and began shuttling the animals to the society’s shelter in north Edmonton, where another 20 staff were waiting to sign the animals into care, Bodnarchuk said.
The pet store is no longer open.


Egyptian singer jailed over "sexually suggestive" music video: I found this in the National Post in the Edmonton Journal:
Egyptian pop singer Laila Amer has been sentenced two years in prison for a "sexually suggestive" music video. The sentence has since been reduced to one year after an appeal on Monday.

Amer appears on a video for her song called "Bos Omak (Look At Your Mother)," dancing while a man, clearly titillated by her dance moves, watches her on a TV screen.
Ahmed Mahran, the lawyer who filed a complaint, was quoted by various websites saying that video was a "great risk" to Egypt and that it was a "moral disaster." He pointed out that the song's title rhymes with "Kus Emek," which is an Arabic insult, meaning "Your mom's pussy."


My opinion: There is the video on the page.  I thought the video was low-budget and kind of boring with images of her cooking and cleaning in a house.  A little sexy dancing.

It was so tame compared to these music videos:

Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda":


Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea's "Booty":


This sure makes me appreciate that in Canada and the US, we can have as sexually suggestive music videos as we want.

I find that it is funny and stupid and sad and unfair that a singer is going to jail for releasing a music video.

http://www.okayafrica.com/laila-amer-jailed-over-video/

"How we became a 0 waste family": Today I found this article by Alex Mlynek in the Edmonton Journal.  It's very good about saving the environment.  There is some work, creativity, but after awhile it's a good habit. 

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