Sean Maher Talks About Serenity Sequel (Firefly)

I just read this article where Sean maher speculated about the possibility that Joss Whedon will make a sequel to Serenity.

http://screencrush.com/firefly-joss-whedon-serenity-sequel/

Frankly, I couldn't agree more with his thoughts.

Red Dawn---My Review

I just got back from seeing the movie Red Dawn, which was released today after a significant postponement (Official Move Website). 

To see the official trailer, click here (Official Trailer)

For those who weren't aware, this movie was originally scheduled to come out last November.  In the version they originally shot, they had China as the villain who invades the U.S., but they realized after production that they stood to loose huge DVD sales in China.  To remedy that, they switched it so that North Korea was the villain.

This movie was done in a similar style to the Red Dawn I grew up watching, which was released back in 1984 (IMBD http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087985/), which had a host of future celebrities in it, including Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, and Lea Thompson.

The new version features most of the same characters, with Jed Ekert (Chris Hemsworth/Patrick Swayze) as the leader of a band of insurgents, fighting the army that has invaded our country.  Matt, Robert, Erica, Toni, Danny, and Daryl are all still there.  The character known only as Aardvark has been replaced by a couple named Greg and Julie.

The movie was heavy on action, as you would expect. All of it was very well done, with good production work that looks much better than the original.

The theme of the movie was drastically different.  The original movie was really about the futility of war, and while there is a sense that the Wolverines are making a difference, the futility and attrition ultimately win out as two survivors escape to Free America.  Colonel Bella in the end has a chance to kill Jed (Patrick Swayze) but seesthe futility of that and instead turns away (and we never do find out what happened to Jed).  The new movie has a stronger sense of duty to fight the invaders, and the sense that they are making a clear and significant difference is portrayed in a much stronger fashion.  War is not portayed as a futile effort, but instead as an unavoidable and necessary effort given the circumstances.  The sense of constant danger is very well done as well.

The storyline was good, and much more developed than the original.  Among action movies, it was one of the deeper storylines that I've seen.  It was also an original storyline, and not a retelling of the original storyline (a.k.a. Footloose, which was redone in a horrible fashion)  I won't give away any details, but I will say they did a good job with it.  The ending fits with the theme of this version (I won't give it away, don't worry).  I will tell you that more of the Wolverines are alive at the end of the movie, though several have died, and the final battle surprised me.

The movie ended in a way were the possibility that the story could continue exists, and I wouldn't mind seeing the story continue.

I probably will see this movie again in the theaters, and Igive it 4 stars (on a 1-5 scale) for a movie of its genre.

Lastly, and most importantly...

The chair is against the wall
The chair is against the wall
John has a long mustache
John has a long mustache
(Yes, we hear those lines again)

Author Page on Amazon.com

I have now set up an author page at Amazon.com.  You can find it at
https://www.amazon.com/author/daviddrizzit.  I'll ue this page as another source for sending out information about my books and ebooks.

Song of the Lonely Mountain---From The Hobbit

This link (http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/neilfinn.html) will take you to a page that has the offical ballad of the upcoming Hobbit movie, which is called Song of the Lonely Mountain.  It is performed by Neil Finn.

My initial reaction upon hearing the song is that it has a very interesting feel to it.  The song seems to give the impression of someone on a rugged and grueling adventure (matching the theme of the movie well).  I enjoyed it.

For those who don't remember the ballads from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, they were:

• May It Be---Fellowship of the Ring (Enya) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljm5225B_cg
• Gollum's Song---The Two Towers (Emillana Torinni) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkXbzffVl44
• Into The West---Return of the King (Annie Lennox) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24fGmWG6kpg

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Jurney (Trailer)---Updated

Here is a link to the yahoo movie page that has the trailers for the upcoming Lord Of The Rings movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Here is the link (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/trailers/).

From the official website, regarding the schedule for future movies:

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” will be released on December 14, 2012, with the second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” releasing December 13, 2013, andthe third film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” slated for July 18, 2014

Enjoy, it looks like it should be a great movie.

Settlers of Catan Table

Every now and then I find something that is really cool, and have to share it.  Today I found this cool gaming table built to serve as either ageneral board game table, or as a table for the board game Settlers of Catan.

At $330, the table is a good value.  You can find it at http://www.tableofcatan.com/tables/settlement-series/settlement-series-table-color-stained-birch.  Upgraded tables are available for a little bit more money.

Of course, if you have no idea what Settlers of Catan is, you need to go to your nearest retailer and check it out immeditely.  Even Target and Toys R Us are now selling it, along with Barnes and Noble and most board game stores.  Here's a link to the game on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/MayFair-Games-MFG3061-Settlers-Catan/dp/B000W7JWUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353270403&sr=8-1&keywords=settlers+of+catan)

World War Z---Trailer (Zombie Movie)

OK, I just found out about this movie, saw the trailer and it does look very good.  It is called World War Z, and the Z stands for Zombie.  The movie has Brad Pitt as the major character, which is a high profile choice, even though he's notoneof my favorite actors.

You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aALfQZMgI2s.

The movie comes out in June of 2013.

Excellent Zombie Movie

I just watched an excellent zombie movie, Zombie Apocalypse.  The movie was made in 2011, and is very realistic.  No cheese, just pure adventure as a group of survivors makes their way through Los Angeles, trying to get to the last safehaven, Catalina Island.

Here is a link to the movie's listing on IMDB---http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1876547/

The most notable cast members are Ving Rhames and Taryn Manning.  Check it out if you dare.

If you like this movie, something else you might enjoy: Finding a Safe-haven (Brenna's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse, Book 1), by Amber Starks

Also, see my list with the rules for surviving Zombieland from the movie and related commercials.

Red Dawn---Theatrical trailer

This link(http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/red-dawn-2010-2/trailers/) will take you to the trailer for the upcoming movie, Red Dawn. 

This is a remake of sorts, though unlike many remakes it seems from the previews that they have made a mucher deeper plot than the original.  Most remakes turn out to be disappointing word-for-word reproductions of the original, lacking the zesk that made the original so good (consider The Karate Kid or Footloose).  So needless to say I am pumped to see this movie.

The original was set in the early 80s, with a schlew of stars including Patrick Schwazi, Charlee Sheen, and Jennifer Grey.  Their townin Oklahoma is invaded by Cubans and El Salvidorians, part of a Russian invasion of the American midwest.  Seige is laid to cities like Denver, while small towns see all of their key people locked up in "re-education camps."  The high school students, 8 of them, fight the invaders and slowly die off, until only 2 escape to Free America.

Chris Hemsworth leads this bunch, and based on the previews it should be quite a show.  This time it's the North Koreans.  Originally they filmed it with the Chinese leading the invasion, but they wanted to sell themovie in China, which strictly regulates the content its citizens can see.

The movie comes out November 21, and is rated PG-13.

 

The Difference Between Science and Global Warming

Dear Mr. Al Gore

It's time we have a heart to heart discussion about the difference between science and global warming.

You say that most scientist agree that we are in the process of destroying the planet.  Unfortunately for you, science is not about the consensus of opinions of scientists, it's about cold hard scientific facts.  Remember just a few hundred years ago it was the consensus of all scientists, without exception, that the Earth was flat, and was the center of the universe.  The someone disagreed with that consensus,and ultimately proved everyone else wrong.

Gravity is scientific fact.  The theory behind gravity says that if I take a solid object, hold it 3 feet off the ground, and let go of the object, the object will fall.  Science (combined with math) will not only predict that the object will fall, it will tell us exactly how long it will take to fall, what speed it will achieve during the fall, etc...  It will not only predict these things, but these predictions will be precisely right, every single time, and the predictions will be made in advance of events, not in reaction to events..

Global warming has produced numerous predictions, but none of them so far have been accurate.  For example, after Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, Global Warming "scientists" predicted that we would continue to have more serious hurricane seasons each subsequent year.

That didn't happen.

Instead, we had several years of relatively mild hurricane activity.  The reactionary prediction of global warming "scientists" didn't come to fruition.  The "science" behind global warming failed to predict hurricane Katrina, and then failed to produce a predicable result subsequent to the hurricane.

Now, a category 1 hurricane arrived late in the season and met with a cold front.  After it hit a part of the country that rarely sees hurricanes, Mr. Gore is again making the prediction that global warming will cause more severe hurricane activity.  The problem is, yet again, the prediction is in reaction to events, rather than before events.  Moreover, a category 1 hurricane is not unusual activity.  Several category 1 hurricanes hit North America each year.

A review of historical data provided by the National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastint.shtml) shows that the most severe storm to hit the U.S. between 1851 and 2004 was in the year 1935.  Of the 18 category 4 and category 5 hurricanes to hit the U.S., only 3 occurred during my lifetime (I'm 40).  Katrina obviously need to be added to that list, but is still number 2 behind the 1935 hurricane (http://www.americasbestonline.com/index.php/pages/top10hurricanes.html).

Of course, global warming could not possibly have been the cause of the 1935 hurricane.

Of course, the ultimate proof that global warming is a farce is the name change.  First it was global cooling, then global warming, then global cooling, then global warming again.  Now, it is called global climate change to hide the fact that they don't know if the Earth is getting warmer or colder.

 

Another Opinion on Disney/Lucasfilm Deal

This article (http://www.egotastic.com/2012/11/the-5-best-and-5-worst-things-to-expect-from-a-disney-made-star-wars-movie/) on egotastic was interesting, the 5 best and 5 worst things about the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm.  It makes quite a few good points.

Other articles about the Disney Buyout of Lucasfilm:
http://whisperinspace.blogspot.com/2012/10/disney-buys-star-wars.html
http://whisperinspace.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-details-on-lucasfilmdisney-deal.html