Summer Blockbusters

Since I'm losing my Optimum Account when I move, I've been taking advantage of the free movies, and enjoying the Summer Blockbusters so far. Here are some quick reviews of what I've seen so far, and will add more if I see 'em.

Land of the Lost ***1/2

I've reviewed this earlier, and may hav ebeen a bit harsh. As I mentioned, the potential for greatness was there, but they fell short. A few dumb moments really took away from an otherwise fun movie. Worth seeing for the fun of it.

Star Trek****1/2

Much better than I thought it would be. I mean, the original Star Trek series was so long ago, and seems hokey upon viewing these days. Then again, Next Generation looks a bit hokey by today's standards. Still, once the movie started, it was exciting to see certain events coming together that any Star Trek Fan will know about from the famous first episode all those years ago.

Once the story deviates, however, expectations go out the window as the characters remind us "We're in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.", and things are now very different.

As a stand alone movie it rocks... exciting, and fun, and a fair addition to the Star Trek legacy. I believe that even a non Star Trek fan can appreciate this movie for its self.

Night at The Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian ****1/2

I may be being generous with my 4 and a half stars, but I really enjoyed this movie. As Johanna Carlson mentioned in her review, Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart really stole the show. Her character's spunkiness, and outgoing spirit were great, as was her mix of vocabularly that nicely shows her from another time, but still fiting in. Other critics have said the movie was crowded with all of the old characters appearing in this movie with a whole host of new characters, but I do not see this as a negative. It just added to the zaniness of the movie that I'm sure kids especially, but many movie-goers will love.

Special affects were nice, and even though reality was stretched a bit, and the villian conquered quite suddenly and easily, there is much to appreciate here.

Hank Azaria was a nice surprise, as he played the villian with a bit of an unsuspected twist. I'm glad I came into this film without any foreknowledge of the plot. Other actors all added to the movie, and I even like Ben Stiller in these movies.

I am not a Ben Stiller fan in general, nor am I a Will Ferrel fan, but I can appreciate these actors when they do such good jobs as they do in these movies.

UP was really well done, as expected. Very enjoyable, and there's a lot more going on than you see in the commercials. Not as good as Wall-e, perhaps, but top notch. Great animation... I really like the retro feel to the movie, and the blend of exxagerated cartoon and realism.

Watchmen (on DVD): Very good. True to the graphic novel in many ways, and thankfully left out much of the disgusting, long-winded stuff. Also, thank goodness, they changed the ending which probably would have been too hard for many people to understand. Captures the spirit of the comic well, and the characters are well done.

Time Traveler's Wife: absolutely one of the best movies I have EVER seen. Not only true to the book, but it really brings to life the very best of the book in a wonderful way, and leaves out the few weird little bits of the book that I prayed they would leave out. The editing, filming, casting... everything is perfect about this film. Tragically sad, wonderfully beautiful. Beautiful is the best word to describe this movie. I loved it.


Still to see.... Terminator, Harry Potter, and others.

I've heard mixed reviews for Terminator... none of them good, but I really love the franchise, so have to see this. Who knows? maybe I'll be surprised?

I'm a bit tired of Harry Potter, but I loved reading each book for the first time, and I will probably enjoy this movie when I see it, and the old fun comes back.



I'll let you know, and please, let me know if youv've seen any of these.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Math: The Necessary Evil

All right, I actually like math, but sometimes the details can bog you down when you'd rather be drawing or something else a bit more fun than calculations. However, as we've all been told, math really is a big part of life. Can you live without it? Maybe. You'll have a lot of problems, though. :0)

Now, I've gone on and on about the importance of learning to do things right, or do things the 'old fashioned way', or by hand. The reason is this: you learn why you are doing things, and in so doing, understand better how to do them. Okay, I'll admit that Paste Up and Mechanicals are a heck of a lot easier to do on the computer than by hand. Any of you taking Graphic Design can attest to that. All of that drawing fine lines in exacting places, and pasting your little registration marks, and all that stuff can be a real headache. In Pagemaker, Quark, or InDesign, you just type in a bunch of numbers, and voila... right?

Wrong. These programs are easy to use, but not totally intuitive. I've laid out several books by now, and of course each of them have to be different... different sizes, different margins, this one bleeds, that one doesn't. My problem is, at least with the current InDesign, I don't seem to have all the options I would like. The printer's specs have changed, and now I'm finding myself trying to change a full sized document midstream! Retroactively, it doesn't seem to be working. The program handles bleeds differently than the printer asks, so I'm finding myself working out the numbers myself, carefully checking that math, and now basically laying out the book on paper, the old fashioned way, and saying bugger all to the program.

So where are you when all you know is the computer and the program? Up a certain creek without a paddle, especialy if you have a deadline, and do not work well under pressure! :0) (I work well under pressure, but my math skills jump ship)

So here I am with my little calculator, my ruler and pencils, and heck, I may as well go get some graph paper, if they even make that anymore. Yep, the same tools that Cartoonists and Designers have used for the last century still do the job just right.

And best of all, these tools work when the power is out. :0)

Beat that, Bill Gates, Adobe, and the lot!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

PS I love my Adobe programs... mostly. I do.

What's on my iPod today? Crash Test Dummies, A Worm's Life and Genesis, Abacab