The Sixth Estate
Monday, September 27, 2004
QUOTE OF THE DAY :"When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear." -Mark Twain
SONG OF THE DAY : Main Theme - OldBoy
LINK OF THE DAY : Only in the US would someone suggest nuking a hurricane to get rid of it.
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight?
You sir are an asshole. But I'm stating the obvious.
Dear Bill O'Reilly
Why won't you ever learn? You've finally made it onto my page. I shouldn't even be writing this, but here I am... And there you are. I'm doing you a favour by even writing about you.
Now I know that you, as a member of the media, must be politically unbiased. However , since just last year you were a registered Republican voter. You also work for a little company called FOX News, and we all know how fair their reporting is. Believe me, it's not your political views I take issue with: it's the fact that you comment and interview under the auspices that you are in fact politically unbiased. You claim to be something your not, and that sir is called hypocrisy.
Sorry Bill, I'm ranting again. Perhaps I'm wrong about you. After all, I think a man who was a senior correspondent for a fine program like Inside Edition, must know a little bit about journalistic integrity. Your job is to report and interview without letting your personal views interfere, any good journalist would do this... As you no doubt already know.
So why am I writing this letter? Well I've taken issue with a few of the things you've said as of late. I make no claims that I'm politically fair, this is a blog after all, not a major network. I, like you, have my opinions. I'm entitled to express them here, because that's what a blog is : One giant opinion piece. Apparently people like to hear your opinions, and that's fine; but quit calling it journalism when it's actually just a veiled opinion piece. Just get a blog, and opinionate there if it will make you happy.
Wow... You sure do have some choice words for Canada.
"Now if your government harbours these two deserters, doesn't send them back . . . There will be a boycott of your country which will hurt your country enormously. France is now feeling that sting."
-- April 27, 2004, on air, after two U.S. soldiers fled to Canada to avoid serving in Iraq
God forbid a country is not in favour with the U.S.. If you have such an issue with France, why don't you go bomb them too? Could it be that the soldiers that deserted might have had a change of heart? Maybe they thought that blowing shit up isn't always the best course of action if you don't really have a good (or true!) reason.
"I got nothing against the Canadian people, but in the last few years you've swung dramatically to the left. And we in America have some questions about that."
-- April 30, to Canadian Press
Question away my Southern brothers! I have my own issues with the Liberal party, but my opinion is not at issue Mr. O'Reilly. We have moved a little bit to the left, but I think that "swinging dramatically to the left" you describe is more a case of the U.S. drooping perilously to the right. Since when was social moderation a bad thing? We'd still be burning people at the stake for witchcraft if we hadn't moderated a little.
"If you had us up there to balance CNN, you'd give people a choice, they'd hear other points of view. Not conservative points of view -- this is not a conservative network."
-- April 30, to Canadian Press
This so-called Liberal media bias you refer to is just untrue. As an outside observer, and former CNN junkie I know what to believe and not to believe on the network. I don't need to hear Neo-Conservatives on FOX News reporting about how liberally biased CNN is, I want them to report the news to me. Be the big man FOX News! Give me the news without a conservative spin or quit complaining about the other guys. You can't have it both ways.
"The truth is that the U.S.A. has freed more human beings in 230 years than the rest of the world combined. France has freed almost no one. Ditto Canada . . . I object to the anti-American foreign press and bums like Chirac in France and Chrétien in Canada."
-- July 8, on air
Oh Mr. O'Reilly, you're not very well informed. I'm not denying the great efforts and sacrifices made by the United States in both World Wars, the Korean War, The Gulf War and various other conflicts. I'd like to note though, that the U.S. did very little in these conflicts until it's interests were directly in jeopardy.
At the outbreak of World War One, the United States were neutral. The government did provide supplies, equipment and support to Britain, France and their allies (Canada among them), but let them fight the war on their own for 3 years! It was only when Germany threatened to reinstate its policy of unrestricted U-Boat warfare, (Something that would have jeopardized the U.S's commercial shipping interests) and the threat of a German-Mexican alliance(Endangering the U.S. proper of course), that the U.S. declared war on Germany... In 1917.
Again in World War Two, the United States provided support for the allies. The Lends Lease act was a great help. But the U.S. still remained legally neutral, for 3 years. While Britain, Canada, Russia and others fought the Nazi war machine head on. In October of 1941 the destroyer USS Reuben James was sunk by a German U-Boat, but even then the U.S. did not enter the war. It took Pearl Harbour to get you guys into the war. After all the 3000 people killed in Hawaii, were worth more than the 115 on the Reuben James.
The Korean War. We were all fighting the great beast of Communism. Spearheaded by the US, the war was aimed at keeping the South Korean puppet government in place, and two spread American style democracy. As we all know that conflict worked out well.
And ahhh the first Gulf War. Of course, eager to protect it's interests, the U.S. was eager to look out for it's two key allies in the region. Israel, a bastion of democracy in the middle-east : definitely good for the United States. And of course, Saudi Arabia, with their oil. Given the close relationship between the Bush and Saudi family, U.S. airforce planes were sent to Saudi Arabia 4 days after Iraq invaded Kuwait. However, it would take 6 months for the conflict-proper to begin, as the Iraqi military raped and ravaged their way through Kuwait with weapons and equipment paid for by the U.S. Only when SCUD missiles were positioned within striking distance of Israel and Saudi Arabia did the U.S. go in.
If by 'Freeing more human beings than anyone else combined' you mean assassinating democratically elected leaders and installing puppet dictators more in tune with U.S. policy, and carpet bombing, napalming and irradiating civilians in Vietnam and elsewhere... By all means call it that. The benevolent Americans freeing the world! SAVE US! SAVE US ALL!
Maybe the foreign press, and other world leaders wouldn't hold this opinion of the U.S. if you stopped pursuing this aggressive, unilateral foreign policy. Which world leader ever had a bad thing to say about Clinton? Not many did, because he was a multilateralist, which is seems most democrats are. I don't like people who are anti-American. I don't like Chirac, and I didn't like Chretien. I call many U.S. citizens friends. Why can't you see that when we question what you do, it's not necessarily out of anti-Americanism, but more because we're your friends, and want what's best for you and everyone else.
I can't write anymore, I don't want to waste anymore of my time on this.
Bill O'Reilly you need some sense punched into you. I'm not the biggest fan of Michael Moore, but he had a good point when he debated you at the Democratic National Convention. He asked you if you would send your own child to fight in Iraq given what you know now. You said you would go yourself.
If you don't want your child to fight knowing what you know... Why would you ask someone to send their own child? Or support someone who would ask the same thing?
All ranted out.
- Will Perkins
Monday, September 27, 2004
0 comments
SONG OF THE DAY : Main Theme - OldBoy
LINK OF THE DAY : Only in the US would someone suggest nuking a hurricane to get rid of it.
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight?
You sir are an asshole. But I'm stating the obvious.
Dear Bill O'Reilly
Why won't you ever learn? You've finally made it onto my page. I shouldn't even be writing this, but here I am... And there you are. I'm doing you a favour by even writing about you.
Now I know that you, as a member of the media, must be politically unbiased. However , since just last year you were a registered Republican voter. You also work for a little company called FOX News, and we all know how fair their reporting is. Believe me, it's not your political views I take issue with: it's the fact that you comment and interview under the auspices that you are in fact politically unbiased. You claim to be something your not, and that sir is called hypocrisy.
Sorry Bill, I'm ranting again. Perhaps I'm wrong about you. After all, I think a man who was a senior correspondent for a fine program like Inside Edition, must know a little bit about journalistic integrity. Your job is to report and interview without letting your personal views interfere, any good journalist would do this... As you no doubt already know.
So why am I writing this letter? Well I've taken issue with a few of the things you've said as of late. I make no claims that I'm politically fair, this is a blog after all, not a major network. I, like you, have my opinions. I'm entitled to express them here, because that's what a blog is : One giant opinion piece. Apparently people like to hear your opinions, and that's fine; but quit calling it journalism when it's actually just a veiled opinion piece. Just get a blog, and opinionate there if it will make you happy.
Wow... You sure do have some choice words for Canada.
"Now if your government harbours these two deserters, doesn't send them back . . . There will be a boycott of your country which will hurt your country enormously. France is now feeling that sting."
-- April 27, 2004, on air, after two U.S. soldiers fled to Canada to avoid serving in Iraq
God forbid a country is not in favour with the U.S.. If you have such an issue with France, why don't you go bomb them too? Could it be that the soldiers that deserted might have had a change of heart? Maybe they thought that blowing shit up isn't always the best course of action if you don't really have a good (or true!) reason.
"I got nothing against the Canadian people, but in the last few years you've swung dramatically to the left. And we in America have some questions about that."
-- April 30, to Canadian Press
Question away my Southern brothers! I have my own issues with the Liberal party, but my opinion is not at issue Mr. O'Reilly. We have moved a little bit to the left, but I think that "swinging dramatically to the left" you describe is more a case of the U.S. drooping perilously to the right. Since when was social moderation a bad thing? We'd still be burning people at the stake for witchcraft if we hadn't moderated a little.
"If you had us up there to balance CNN, you'd give people a choice, they'd hear other points of view. Not conservative points of view -- this is not a conservative network."
-- April 30, to Canadian Press
This so-called Liberal media bias you refer to is just untrue. As an outside observer, and former CNN junkie I know what to believe and not to believe on the network. I don't need to hear Neo-Conservatives on FOX News reporting about how liberally biased CNN is, I want them to report the news to me. Be the big man FOX News! Give me the news without a conservative spin or quit complaining about the other guys. You can't have it both ways.
"The truth is that the U.S.A. has freed more human beings in 230 years than the rest of the world combined. France has freed almost no one. Ditto Canada . . . I object to the anti-American foreign press and bums like Chirac in France and Chrétien in Canada."
-- July 8, on air
Oh Mr. O'Reilly, you're not very well informed. I'm not denying the great efforts and sacrifices made by the United States in both World Wars, the Korean War, The Gulf War and various other conflicts. I'd like to note though, that the U.S. did very little in these conflicts until it's interests were directly in jeopardy.
At the outbreak of World War One, the United States were neutral. The government did provide supplies, equipment and support to Britain, France and their allies (Canada among them), but let them fight the war on their own for 3 years! It was only when Germany threatened to reinstate its policy of unrestricted U-Boat warfare, (Something that would have jeopardized the U.S's commercial shipping interests) and the threat of a German-Mexican alliance(Endangering the U.S. proper of course), that the U.S. declared war on Germany... In 1917.
Again in World War Two, the United States provided support for the allies. The Lends Lease act was a great help. But the U.S. still remained legally neutral, for 3 years. While Britain, Canada, Russia and others fought the Nazi war machine head on. In October of 1941 the destroyer USS Reuben James was sunk by a German U-Boat, but even then the U.S. did not enter the war. It took Pearl Harbour to get you guys into the war. After all the 3000 people killed in Hawaii, were worth more than the 115 on the Reuben James.
The Korean War. We were all fighting the great beast of Communism. Spearheaded by the US, the war was aimed at keeping the South Korean puppet government in place, and two spread American style democracy. As we all know that conflict worked out well.
And ahhh the first Gulf War. Of course, eager to protect it's interests, the U.S. was eager to look out for it's two key allies in the region. Israel, a bastion of democracy in the middle-east : definitely good for the United States. And of course, Saudi Arabia, with their oil. Given the close relationship between the Bush and Saudi family, U.S. airforce planes were sent to Saudi Arabia 4 days after Iraq invaded Kuwait. However, it would take 6 months for the conflict-proper to begin, as the Iraqi military raped and ravaged their way through Kuwait with weapons and equipment paid for by the U.S. Only when SCUD missiles were positioned within striking distance of Israel and Saudi Arabia did the U.S. go in.
If by 'Freeing more human beings than anyone else combined' you mean assassinating democratically elected leaders and installing puppet dictators more in tune with U.S. policy, and carpet bombing, napalming and irradiating civilians in Vietnam and elsewhere... By all means call it that. The benevolent Americans freeing the world! SAVE US! SAVE US ALL!
Maybe the foreign press, and other world leaders wouldn't hold this opinion of the U.S. if you stopped pursuing this aggressive, unilateral foreign policy. Which world leader ever had a bad thing to say about Clinton? Not many did, because he was a multilateralist, which is seems most democrats are. I don't like people who are anti-American. I don't like Chirac, and I didn't like Chretien. I call many U.S. citizens friends. Why can't you see that when we question what you do, it's not necessarily out of anti-Americanism, but more because we're your friends, and want what's best for you and everyone else.
I can't write anymore, I don't want to waste anymore of my time on this.
Bill O'Reilly you need some sense punched into you. I'm not the biggest fan of Michael Moore, but he had a good point when he debated you at the Democratic National Convention. He asked you if you would send your own child to fight in Iraq given what you know now. You said you would go yourself.
If you don't want your child to fight knowing what you know... Why would you ask someone to send their own child? Or support someone who would ask the same thing?
All ranted out.
- Will Perkins
Monday, September 27, 2004
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
QUOTE OF THE DAY : "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha
SONG OF THE DAY : The Stills - Gender Bombs
LINK OF THE DAY : FAS.ORG
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray s
In deepest consequence.
The end of the world : One man's perspective.
IT'S OVER!
Well the film festival is over for another year. Went to see a lot of great movies, and a few "unique" movies. Here's what I saw, in chronological order.
Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence
House of Flying Daggers
Calvaire
Kung Fu Hustle
OldBoy
Kontroll
The Brood
Saw
GITS 2, Calvaire, Kontroll and Saw were all Midnight Madness movies. While the content may be suspect, particularly in the case of Calvaire(Deliverance meets Misery in Belgium), the experience is always great. You're with hundreds of other hardcore movie fans, and you tend to meet some cool people.
House of Flying Daggers and Kung Fu Hustle were both Press Screenings. I had intended to go to another press screening... Zebraman to be exact, but it was too early and I missed it. You always see the same group of people at the press screenings, various internet, TV, radio and newspaper critics. Caught a glimpse of Roger Ebert before I went into Kung Fu Hustle, and met Danny Glover on my way out.
OldBoy was the only normal evening screening I went to. Awesome movie from South Korea, check it out if you can. Any attempt I make at explaining the plot would fail... I'm going to attempt to review it at some point.
Finally, David Cronenberg's The Brood. This 1979 cult horror movie, starring Oliver Reed and many familiar Canadian actors was something else. It was the first old school Cronenberg flick I'd seen. It was interesting to say the least. Actor/Director Don McKellar presented the movie and had lots of cool stuff to say about the movie and it's influences on him.
Now the Toronto Film Festival isn't all about movies... Well yes it is, but with all the films being shown there are quite a few celebrities in town.
Celebrities = Ritzy parties with open-bar's held nightly.
I went to one such party. The Premiere Magazine party. Open-bar, free Cuban Cigars, X-box's with flat screen monitors everywhere. How could you go wrong? Cuba Gooding Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Richard Roeper, Eric from That 70's Show (Topher Grace) and K-OS were there, to name a few. I met some of them, and a good time was had by all... As you can see in these pictures.
Everyone was quite drunk.
Now I have to wait another year for the 2005 Film Festival. CURSE YOU TIME!!! *SHAKES FIST*
- Will Tuesday, September 21, 2004
0 comments
SONG OF THE DAY : The Stills - Gender Bombs
LINK OF THE DAY : FAS.ORG
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray s
In deepest consequence.
The end of the world : One man's perspective.
IT'S OVER!
Well the film festival is over for another year. Went to see a lot of great movies, and a few "unique" movies. Here's what I saw, in chronological order.
Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence
House of Flying Daggers
Calvaire
Kung Fu Hustle
OldBoy
Kontroll
The Brood
Saw
GITS 2, Calvaire, Kontroll and Saw were all Midnight Madness movies. While the content may be suspect, particularly in the case of Calvaire(Deliverance meets Misery in Belgium), the experience is always great. You're with hundreds of other hardcore movie fans, and you tend to meet some cool people.
House of Flying Daggers and Kung Fu Hustle were both Press Screenings. I had intended to go to another press screening... Zebraman to be exact, but it was too early and I missed it. You always see the same group of people at the press screenings, various internet, TV, radio and newspaper critics. Caught a glimpse of Roger Ebert before I went into Kung Fu Hustle, and met Danny Glover on my way out.
OldBoy was the only normal evening screening I went to. Awesome movie from South Korea, check it out if you can. Any attempt I make at explaining the plot would fail... I'm going to attempt to review it at some point.
Finally, David Cronenberg's The Brood. This 1979 cult horror movie, starring Oliver Reed and many familiar Canadian actors was something else. It was the first old school Cronenberg flick I'd seen. It was interesting to say the least. Actor/Director Don McKellar presented the movie and had lots of cool stuff to say about the movie and it's influences on him.
Now the Toronto Film Festival isn't all about movies... Well yes it is, but with all the films being shown there are quite a few celebrities in town.
Celebrities = Ritzy parties with open-bar's held nightly.
I went to one such party. The Premiere Magazine party. Open-bar, free Cuban Cigars, X-box's with flat screen monitors everywhere. How could you go wrong? Cuba Gooding Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Richard Roeper, Eric from That 70's Show (Topher Grace) and K-OS were there, to name a few. I met some of them, and a good time was had by all... As you can see in these pictures.
Everyone was quite drunk.
Now I have to wait another year for the 2005 Film Festival. CURSE YOU TIME!!! *SHAKES FIST*
- Will Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Monday, September 13, 2004
QUOTE OF THE DAY : "So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?" - Christina Aguilera
SONG OF THE DAY : Line and Sinker - Billy Talent
LINK OF THE DAY : The new home of The Log of a Gamer
Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.
No has made fun of Kenny G since he joined G-Unit.
Moved The Log of a Gamer to the Gamespot Journals area. I figured it would fit in better there.
I start at the University of Toronto, Tuesday. Twenty years old and finally getting around to university... yep that's me. I'm doing an English-History major, which means lots of writing. It also means it will be damn interesting, they were always my best subjects.
Class from 6pm to 9pm. I'll finish just in time to see the 3rd period of the World Cup Hockey final. Canada vs Finland. I wish I could go to the game, but the tickets sold out months ago. Then I have a TO Film Fest midnight madness screening of Calvaire. I have no clue what it's about, but I'm sure it will be interesting.
The main reason for even writing this post was to show off my Kenny G-Unit photoshop, the idea came up in buzzed conversation the other night. Also I wanted to mention the Log of a Gamer thing.
Vado Itum Deus, Amicum.
-Will Monday, September 13, 2004
0 comments
SONG OF THE DAY : Line and Sinker - Billy Talent
LINK OF THE DAY : The new home of The Log of a Gamer
Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.
No has made fun of Kenny G since he joined G-Unit.
Moved The Log of a Gamer to the Gamespot Journals area. I figured it would fit in better there.
I start at the University of Toronto, Tuesday. Twenty years old and finally getting around to university... yep that's me. I'm doing an English-History major, which means lots of writing. It also means it will be damn interesting, they were always my best subjects.
Class from 6pm to 9pm. I'll finish just in time to see the 3rd period of the World Cup Hockey final. Canada vs Finland. I wish I could go to the game, but the tickets sold out months ago. Then I have a TO Film Fest midnight madness screening of Calvaire. I have no clue what it's about, but I'm sure it will be interesting.
The main reason for even writing this post was to show off my Kenny G-Unit photoshop, the idea came up in buzzed conversation the other night. Also I wanted to mention the Log of a Gamer thing.
Vado Itum Deus, Amicum.
-Will Monday, September 13, 2004
Friday, September 10, 2004
QUOTE OF THE DAY : "If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law." - Winston Churchill
SONG OF THE DAY : The Crystal Method - Name Of The Game
LINK OF THE DAY : THX 1138
Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake.
Well it's that time again. The Toronto International Film Festival 2004 is upon us.
I've already seen a few cool movies, with many more to come. Accidentally saw the first 15 minutes of the new Neve Campbell movie When Will I Be Loved, 5 minutes of which are her naked in the shower. It was a good mistake to make. After that I saw Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence, sequel to the popular anime film from the mid 90's. Then tonight I went to a press screening of House of Flying Daggers, Zhang Yimou's follow up to HERO. Cool flicks I thought.
But before any of this, I saw Resident Evil 2! Underwhelming, but fun.
REVIEW
RESIDENT EVIL : APOCALYPSE
6/10 STARS
Alright... I'll watch your movie... But only if you put the gun down.
Milla Jovovich returns as Alice in Resident Evil : Apocalypse, sequel to the surprisingly successful Resident Evil. Both films have been adapted from the popular Capcom video game series of the same name. Apocalypse starts off right where the first film ended, having survived the Raccoon Forest incident Alice finds herself in downtown Raccoon City, now seemingly devoid of anything living. There are plenty of zombies roaming the streets though. As it turns out the mega-conglomerate Umbrella Corporation accidentally unleashed the T-Virus on the unsuspecting citizens of Raccoon City. The T-Virus is a bio-weapon, it re-animates dead cells; which invariable results in hordes of zombies. What would a zombie movie be without a rag-tag band of heavily armed survivors? Not much of a zombie movie. A mysterious Umbrella scientist, Dr Ashford (Jared Harris) enlists the help of the survivors in an effort to find his young daughter. Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) a beautiful and hard-as-nails cop. Carlos Olivera an abandoned Umbrella mercenary. Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) a TV weather reporter, and L.J. (Mike Epps) a wise-cracking criminal. Alice and company fight off wave after wave of zombies throughout the city in their search for Dr. Ashford's daughter. All the while the group is being stalked by Umbrella's ultimate bio-weapon: Nemesis, a hulking, mutant behemoth armed with a minigun and rocket launcher. Things get interesting to say the least.
Resident Evil : Apocalypse is better than it's predecessor, but that isn't really saying much. The film is more akin to the Capcom video games, which fans of the series will appreciate. The movie doesn't revolutionize the zombie-movie genre by any means, but it's still a fun ride. I did actually find myself caring about what happened to some of the characters, because for the most part they were generally likeable. Milla Jovovich, having played Alice twice now, really knows her character and does a good job with the role. Mike Epps as L.J., the film's comic relief will have you laughing throughout. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, so you can laugh at many of the ridiculous and implausible situations the characters find themselves in. This is a zombie movie after all, you're going to have to suspend your disbelief right from the get-go.
Almost all of the movie takes place at night, this can make it difficult to make out exactly what's going on in some scenes. This problem was especially present in the fight scenes. The shaky cameras combined with the blindingly fast martial arts (Yes, karate works on zombies) make it hard enough to tell friend from foe, and the darkness just compounds the problem. The script was written by Paul W.S. Anderson, director of the first Resident Evil, and it's actually pretty good for what it is. Anderson was busy directing Alien vs Predator, so this time the directorial reigns go to Alexander Witt. Witt succeeds with Apocalypse, where the first one failed... Actually making you care to a certain degree. The characters had some time to develop, instead of becoming zombie fodder instantly. No effort was made to disguise the city of Toronto where the film was shot, the cities famous landmark the CN Tower is seen in 2 scenes but never shown again in distant shots of the city. Toronto's City Hall also stood in for Raccoon City Hall. Toronto is the sixth largest city in North America, give people some credit.
If you liked the first film, or you're a fan of the games you'll enjoy this movie. If you didn't see the first one you'll probably be at a loss, though it's not too hard to follow, just a typical zombie flick. Didn't like the first one? Don't see the sequel, it's more of the same. Resident Evil : Apocalypse is a fun zombie movie, that doesn't take itself too seriously. You're in for a good time if you go in with low expectations. Friday, September 10, 2004
0 comments
SONG OF THE DAY : The Crystal Method - Name Of The Game
LINK OF THE DAY : THX 1138
Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake.
Well it's that time again. The Toronto International Film Festival 2004 is upon us.
I've already seen a few cool movies, with many more to come. Accidentally saw the first 15 minutes of the new Neve Campbell movie When Will I Be Loved, 5 minutes of which are her naked in the shower. It was a good mistake to make. After that I saw Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence, sequel to the popular anime film from the mid 90's. Then tonight I went to a press screening of House of Flying Daggers, Zhang Yimou's follow up to HERO. Cool flicks I thought.
But before any of this, I saw Resident Evil 2! Underwhelming, but fun.
REVIEW
RESIDENT EVIL : APOCALYPSE
6/10 STARS
Alright... I'll watch your movie... But only if you put the gun down.
Milla Jovovich returns as Alice in Resident Evil : Apocalypse, sequel to the surprisingly successful Resident Evil. Both films have been adapted from the popular Capcom video game series of the same name. Apocalypse starts off right where the first film ended, having survived the Raccoon Forest incident Alice finds herself in downtown Raccoon City, now seemingly devoid of anything living. There are plenty of zombies roaming the streets though. As it turns out the mega-conglomerate Umbrella Corporation accidentally unleashed the T-Virus on the unsuspecting citizens of Raccoon City. The T-Virus is a bio-weapon, it re-animates dead cells; which invariable results in hordes of zombies. What would a zombie movie be without a rag-tag band of heavily armed survivors? Not much of a zombie movie. A mysterious Umbrella scientist, Dr Ashford (Jared Harris) enlists the help of the survivors in an effort to find his young daughter. Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) a beautiful and hard-as-nails cop. Carlos Olivera an abandoned Umbrella mercenary. Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) a TV weather reporter, and L.J. (Mike Epps) a wise-cracking criminal. Alice and company fight off wave after wave of zombies throughout the city in their search for Dr. Ashford's daughter. All the while the group is being stalked by Umbrella's ultimate bio-weapon: Nemesis, a hulking, mutant behemoth armed with a minigun and rocket launcher. Things get interesting to say the least.
Resident Evil : Apocalypse is better than it's predecessor, but that isn't really saying much. The film is more akin to the Capcom video games, which fans of the series will appreciate. The movie doesn't revolutionize the zombie-movie genre by any means, but it's still a fun ride. I did actually find myself caring about what happened to some of the characters, because for the most part they were generally likeable. Milla Jovovich, having played Alice twice now, really knows her character and does a good job with the role. Mike Epps as L.J., the film's comic relief will have you laughing throughout. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, so you can laugh at many of the ridiculous and implausible situations the characters find themselves in. This is a zombie movie after all, you're going to have to suspend your disbelief right from the get-go.
Almost all of the movie takes place at night, this can make it difficult to make out exactly what's going on in some scenes. This problem was especially present in the fight scenes. The shaky cameras combined with the blindingly fast martial arts (Yes, karate works on zombies) make it hard enough to tell friend from foe, and the darkness just compounds the problem. The script was written by Paul W.S. Anderson, director of the first Resident Evil, and it's actually pretty good for what it is. Anderson was busy directing Alien vs Predator, so this time the directorial reigns go to Alexander Witt. Witt succeeds with Apocalypse, where the first one failed... Actually making you care to a certain degree. The characters had some time to develop, instead of becoming zombie fodder instantly. No effort was made to disguise the city of Toronto where the film was shot, the cities famous landmark the CN Tower is seen in 2 scenes but never shown again in distant shots of the city. Toronto's City Hall also stood in for Raccoon City Hall. Toronto is the sixth largest city in North America, give people some credit.
If you liked the first film, or you're a fan of the games you'll enjoy this movie. If you didn't see the first one you'll probably be at a loss, though it's not too hard to follow, just a typical zombie flick. Didn't like the first one? Don't see the sequel, it's more of the same. Resident Evil : Apocalypse is a fun zombie movie, that doesn't take itself too seriously. You're in for a good time if you go in with low expectations. Friday, September 10, 2004
Monday, September 06, 2004
QUOTE OF THE DAY : "Wit is educated insolence." - Aristotle
SONG OF THE DAY : The Streets - Dry Your Eyes
LINK OF THE DAY : Official Toronto Film Fest Website
You sign your place and calling, in full seeming,
With meekness and humility; but your heart
Is cramm'd with arrogancy, spleen, and pride.
Las Vegas was great. A good time was had by all.
I broke even playing blackjack, roulette and the slots. Some of my friends did well, others... not so good.
Between walking the strip, hitting the casinos and bars we barely had a moment to spare. We needed to take a break every once in a while just because the brutal desert heat is enough to drain the life out of you.
And now some pictures.
Caesar's Palace
Jeff, Craig and Will below the 2/3rds size Eiffel Tower in Vegas.
Paris Hotel and Casino
Will vs The Burger
The Bite Offensive
Taking a break to give thumbs up
More at some point.
- Will Monday, September 06, 2004
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