The Straight Story - Movie Review

I don't even remember how I heard of this movie. I'm pretty sure it must have come up in my Netflix recommendation list, but I wouldn't swear to that. Regardless, this movie has stuck with me all last night and most of today. I keep thinking of it, which means it must have been a good movie.
The movie is called "The Straight Story" (imdb). It is based on a TRUE story which just blows my mind. Not to give too much away, as the story is a fairly simple one... A man, Alvin Straight in his 70's (73?) learns that his brother has taken ill. So he decides to visit him... problem is, he has bad hips, poor eyesight, and due to this he does not have a driver's license. So what does he do? He builds himself a trailer, and hooks it up to a 30 year old riding mower, and proceeds to drive approx 240 MILES to see his brother!
The acting was terrific by Richard Farnsworth (imdb), who I learned today, that there is more to this story that is unsettling. I won't post the events about which I'm hinting to in case you want to watch this movie. I think It might ruin the movie if you knew about Richard beforehand. IF you think you won't be watching the movie, then click here to go to the wikipedia page about this movie and scroll down to read about Richard. It's a sad tale.
Back to the movie...
I did have a few complaints... although I'm sure it was intentional, but the film moved at a slow pace. Like I said, I'm sure this was an intentional edit on the parts of David Lynch, to really exagerate the fact that Alvin was moving along so slowly. There were a few scenes, that again bothered me for some reason, where David, chose to shoot from a distance away from the actors... So you can't hear the audio. At first, I thought there was something wrong with the audio on the DVD, but then I realized it was intentional. It bothered me because I felt like I was missing part of the conversation.
There was one line that really stood out for me...
Alvin had been making his way across Iowa towards Wisconsin, and had been pulling off the side of the road to camp in the farmer's fields. When he explained this to one woman asking about the trip, she said "But aren't you afraid out there in those fields all by yourself? There are a lot of crazy people in this world." To which Alvin replied "I fought in the trenches of war world 2, I don't think I need to be afraid of some farmers field in Iowa."
What also made this film strange, was that it was an odd mix of cast and crew. David Lynch is known for other works a little more... disturbing shall we say. Films like; lost highway, Mullholland Drive, Twin Peaks (tv show), and Blue Velvet, to name a few. Yet this movie was a real departure from those. In addition it was a "G" rating, and it was produced by Disney! Disney and Lynch, just don't go together in my mind.
My only other complaint... The movie didn't go into any details that I think were important. It wasn't until I looked it up on the web, that I learned some interesting facts like, it was 240 miles. The average speed was 5 miles per hour, the trip took him about 6 weeks! and then what happened when the two brothers met? I know, the movie was supposed to be about the journey but still.
All in all, a strange film, that probably only a handful of other people have seen. It's not really a pick-me-up film either. But it's a film and character that will probably stick with me now, and I have nothing but admiration for the stubbornness of this ol' codger (I mean that in a nice way). It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but he made up his mind and stuck to it.
Check it out if you get the chance.

movie review - 21

I SO wanted to like this movie but it had a bit too many flaws for me. The movie is called 21 (imdb)(official Sony website here). I mean c'mon, it has Kevin Spacey in it! He's a great actor and he usually picks awesome movies to star in. (Spacey was good in this, just not good enough to save the entire movie.)
A little background first... The movie is based on true events. I first read of this group of "kids" from MIT in the pages of Wired magazine. (You can read it online here). It was a really interesting story! Nutshell... these mathematical wizards who went to MIT figured out a card-counting scheme to win big at blackjack. Card-counting is NOT illegal. But... the Casino's don't like it when you count. So if you're caught, they basically ban you from the Casino (not to mention a possible beat-down). So the trick is, how do you count cards, and not get caught? That's what the story is about.
Well, my biggest complaint about the movie, was the fact that I felt like it was produced by Mtv! It seemed like there would be 5 minutes of dialog which would then be followed by a 4 minute music video. The licensing fees must have been enormous for this movie what with all the songs they used. It all just felt a bit too forced with trying to be seen as "young and hip".
In writing this post and grabbing a few websites about the film, I'm also seeing that the "MIT gang" reportedly took/won millions! from the Casinos. The movie never made it clear how much money was being won or lost. It seemed to only be a few hundred thousand doallars at stake. There were so many interesting details left out of the story, to make room for the "glitz", that the story really lacked. I'll take a good story over glitz any day.
So, my advice... probably better off waiting for the DVD on this one. It wasn't horrible, it just could have been so much better.
PS> I also have to add... I predict Aaron Yoo (imdb) will go places. His role was as a supporting character, but he stole the attention almost every time he was on screen. I think he's got potential. I didn't recognize him, but he was also in Transformers.

Tech Tags: 21 blackjack movie kevin+spacey Aaron+yoo MIT Gambling Vegas

Faith in Humanity

So every once in a blue moon, a story comes along that just restores one's faith in humanity. A story where someone "does the right thing" (that's a vague interpretation sometimes) and it simply pays off.
Today, one of those stories made it to the homepage of reddit where it caught my attention. What a FANTASTIC story.
Please read this story on NPR.
And my personal thanks to Julio Diaz.

Tech Tags: NPR Humanity Faith Mugging Robbery Social+worker diner dinner knife golden+rule

Earth Hour 2008

I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Sure, at first it seems like a great idea! I mean anything to conserve energy is a good thing right?
But for some reason, this also saddens me... one hour, out of an entire year, and we're supposed to feel good about this?
I also don't like how the video uses scare tactics about global warming. You can't just suggest "global warming" then show a bunch of tornadoes ripping buildings apart. It's a false image, tornadoes have been around since we've had weather!
So amidst a message that overall I agree with (helping the planet), I'm reluctantly posting this youtube video to encourage you to join in. This Saturday, from 8pm - 9pm - turn off all your lights and as many electronic devices as you can.
One more troll like comment...
The video shows everyone gathering around candles. Candles pollute too! In fact they are worse than a light bulb. I hope people don't jump in their SUV's to run to the store and buy a bunch of candles and matches to do this. I have a feeling it would be defeating the purpose. That said, If you already have a candle(s) in your house, I'm sure lighting it for an hour would be better for the planet then a house full of lights.
What encourages me the most about this "movement" is that corporations are doing this also. Now that I see as a benefit. These high rise office buildings who keep their lights on all night long is something people should notice and do something about.
Ok, I'm stepping down off my soapbox now.

Tech Tags: earth+hour energy environment globa+warming

Amazon - wag of the finger

I like Amazon.com.
They've always been reliable (a few hiccups over the years, but overall, I don't have much to complain about).
Well, today is a "wag of the finger" for Amazon.
I've noticed over the years, that when an item is low in stock, it usually means they are out of stock. I've been excited to buy a new toy... a KP3 Korg. I could not justify purchasing this expensive toy. But, just last week, In a strange twist of events, I recieved a check from my life insurance company. The company has been going through upheaval and bankruptcy, etc... so this check was a complete surprise to me. I had not been expecting it at all. Well, guess what... it just so happened to be the same amount as what a Kp3 costs! In my book, that counts as "answered prayer" and a sign from the cosmos that I was meant to purchase this item.
So I head over to amazon (so I can get my points), and proceed to order it. I had a few choices to purchase the item from, and they all said "had one in stock". I picked a reputable company.
Well, today, I got an email that said "we're sorry for the inconvenience, but we're out of stock". RATS!!!
I was able to cancel the order though with no problems at all (kudo's to 8th street music). And within an hour, I found another website that had 4 of these items in stock! (woohoo). It ended up costing me an extra $40, for shipping, and tax, but I'm really psyched to get this thing. And since I can't seem to find it ANYWHERE else, I felt I had better snap this thing up quickly.
So stay tuned... I HOPE to create some cool electronic music with this thing, and maybe post on youtube (if I feel it anywhere close to being good).
Amazon - you should fix your "stock" algorithms...I'm pretty sure this was not the fault of 8th Street music, but with Amazon. If I'm wrong, I apologize ahead of time Amazon.

X-Files movie! Trailer leaked online

media blackout

You may have noticed (or not) that I have not had a rant lately about some crazy news story, or politics in general. Over the past few days I've decided to take a break from the media. I was getting tired of all the death and financial worries. All of which I am powerless to do anything about. I'm still checking reddit and digg, and maybe a quick glance at google news, but I haven't watched any faux news, or cnn, or even npr on the radio. I gotta say, its been nice.
In other news...
I'm thinking about checking out a free 3d program called "blender". I would LOVE getting involved with a 3d program, but I've tried in the past and am met with frustration on the complications and lack of resources (ie: clear manual). Perhaps the opensource program will be better? We'll see. (oops. their website appears to be undergoing maintenance now, I'll check back later).

Almost Friday!