Movies

Sex Tape (ahem) underperforms…

So last weekend we had the release of the Jason Segel/Cameron Diaz comedy Sex Tape and, not too surprisingly to me, it wound up placing fourth in terms of box-office draw:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/20/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-box-office_n_5603792.html

It isn’t too often that I get a chance to head out to theaters and actually see a film during its initial release (hence my many *belated* movie reviews), but for whatever reason this summer I actually found time to see several new releases.

I believe it was when I went to see the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt sci-fi film Edge of Tomorrow that I first saw the theatrical trailer to Sex Tape.  Now, I distinctly recall none of the theatrical trailers that I saw were all that memorable or made me want to see the films they were peddling.  But while those film trailers are for the most part forgotten, I remembered the trailer for Sex Tape.

For all the wrong reasons.

When the trailer was done, I turned to my wife (she usually is up for romantic comedies) and the look on her face reflected my sentiments: This film looked awful.

Much has been talked about how John Carter was a victim of poor promotion, but in the case of Sex Tape, I couldn’t help but feel the promotion for this film probably was likely a good reflection on the film itself.  As such, I repeat: It looked awful.  Judge for yourself:

Where to start?  Jason Segel has obviously lost weight and, while sporting a toned body (I’m envious!), his face is gaunt to the point of distracting.  Cameron Diaz…well, she’s doing what looks to be her typical Cameron Diaz romantic comedy stuff.  She remains a very pretty woman and looks game for the shenanigans.

As I re-watched the above video, I couldn’t help but notice the time counter on the lower left side.  At about the one minute mark of the trailer we reach the point where the studios behind the film identify themselves.

And I realized that a whole minute had passed in a two minute thirty seven second trailer for a comedy and I hadn’t even cracked a smile, much less laughed.  It wasn’t until the 1:21 second mark, when Cameron Diaz offers a (cut) vulgar reaction to hearing about the “cloud” that I first smiled.  Didn’t laugh, but I enjoyed her reaction.

At about the 1:45 second mark we have the “Nobody understands the cloud” lines.  Again I smiled.  Amusing, but far from hilarious.

Finally, 2:19 seconds in we have the “Siri” joke.  This was, to me, the only really amusing part of the trailer and actually elicited a chuckle.  I seem to recall that the others in the theater also laughed.  I believe it was the only time anyone did during the trailer.

So, in sum: Two smiles and a laugh during a two minute, thirty seven second trailer.

Is it any wonder the film isn’t doing all that well?

Computers/Electronics

The Most Terrifying Thought Experiment of All Time…

…at least according to David Auerbach for Slate magazine, is Roko’s Basilisk.

Never heard of it?  I hadn’t either, until reading this article:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/07/roko-s-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.single.html

I have to say, this article fascinated the hell out of me.  The idea, if I read right, is that it is inevitable that in the near future we will develop an Artificial Intelligence supercomputer capable of…well, all kinds of things.

The question becomes, will this supercomputer be benevolent or malevolent toward her creators?

What if this incredible supercomputer of the future is malevolent and capable of punishing those who did not help in her creation?

There’s more, much more to this, including the concept of our lives being a computer simulation (!) and perhaps living in continual suffering for our choices…

In the end, it is a fascinating thought experiment with some decidedly Lovecraftian themes behind it.

Read at your own peril!

General

Wow…

…Israel invading Gaza, the taking down of the Malaysian airliner and loss of all aboard, Microsoft cutting 18,000 jobs…

A trifecta of absolutely terrible news.  It was like the world threw up on itself (though I could think of more colorful metaphors) yesterday.

Here’s hoping today isn’t quite so grim.

Books/Literature

Isaac Asimov’s ridiculous limericks…

Fun, though brief, article by Maddie Crum for The Huffington Post regarding one of the lesser known literary interests of proficient sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov.  Specifically, the fact that he penned several books on *ahem* dirty limericks:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/asimov-limericks_n_5523627.html

As big a fan as I am of Mr. Asimov’s classic sci-fi works (in particular the original Foundation series), when you write as much as he did in his lifetime, I suppose you’re going to find the oddball works here and there.  According to this article, Mr. Asimov wrote or “presented” at least 9 dirty limerick books!

 

As to how good or bad these particular works may be…based on the examples presented in the article, I doubt I’ll be headed to Amazon anytime in the near future to purchase any of those books! 😉

Books/Literature

Why do some Authors just fade away?

Interesting little blog entry for i09.com about the above, comparing the long term “fate”, as it were, of Robert Heinlein versus H. P. Lovecraft:

http://observationdeck.io9.com/why-do-some-authors-just-fade-away-1604291883/all

It is interesting how, during his lifetime, Robert Heinlein was one of THE most successful sci-fi authors of them all.  Yet after his death, his works have begun a long fade and today those who know him, if at all, are more familiar with the movie adaptation of the novel Starship Troopers rather than any of his actual works.

On the other hand, H. P. Lovecraft was barely recognized during his lifetime and died in poverty, yet since his death his stories have only grown in popularity.

I posted a response to one of the comments, which I reprint almost entirely here:

We don’t have to look far from the sci-fi genre to find examples of other authors who, in their prime, were extremely popular and today simply are not. When I was young, the steamy works of Harold Robbins were incredibly popular with adults. I don’t think today’s adults remember him, this despite having sold a whopping 750 million copies of his books! In the action/adventure genre, Alistair MacLean was the “go to” guy, with many of his novels being converted into film (the best remembered today probably being The Guns of Navarone, though I have a personal soft spot for the Richard Burton/Clint Eastwood Where Eagles Dare). In the hard boiled detective genre, you have Mickey Spillane and Ross MacDonald, the former of which created the very well known P.I. Mike Hammer but whose death in 2006 seemed to hardly be noticed by the public at large. Ross MacDonald, whose novels tended to read perhaps a little too much like those of author Raymond Chandler, nonetheless was a very popular author in his lifetime yet today Chandler remains well-known but MacDonald seems to have faded away. And on and on…

The big question of why authors who are very popular at one time start to fade while others do not, in my mind, relates to how “timeless” the individual works are.  While H. P. Lovecraft’s books were set -for the most part- in the author’s “present” time, they are works that have an eerie, nightmarish quality and linger in readers despite the chasm of time from their creation.

Heinlein, it seems to me, and most of the authors I mention in my comment above, were very much of their time.  Their works were great for those people reading them at the time of their release but in the intervening years whatever shock/surprise/interest they held has eroded.

For example, Harold Robbins’ stories were considered shocking and explicit to readers in the 1960’s and 70’s but are fairly tame by today’s standards.  So too were the early works of Mickey Spillane.  Alistair MacLean’s action novels were pulse pounding when they were released, but the action genre has moved on from his works and, today, they may seem a little too “sedate”.

In sum, there are authors whose works hit the ground running and are tied into the pulse of today’s readers but, as the years pass, their works may prove to be of their time.  There are others who create works that for whatever reason can be admired even as the years pass.

In the case of H. P. Lovecraft, perhaps his works were simply too good for “his” era, and this is why he never achieved the success he would until many years after his death.

In sum, don’t be too surprised if today’s “hot” author proves to be tomorrow’s forgotten author.

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights 7/10/14 update

Its been exactly one month since my last Corrosive Knights update.

Corrosive MACN Covers

First off, in that previous update I was guilty of being overly optimistic when I stated that I was about one draft away from finishing the fifth book in the Corrosive Knights saga.

Sometimes, writing a novel is like preparing a meal.  Every time you go over your work, its like a taste test.  Continuing on that metaphor, in my eyes I could feel the book’s second and climactic half was missing an ingredient.

The frustrating thing was that I wasn’t sure what that ingredient was.

I finished the 8 1/2 draft -really draft #9- and went into draft 10.  I finished that up just before going on a trip to England.  I left on my trip annoyed (you could even say pissed) that the book wasn’t finished, but that frustration about flying off for eight days turned out to be Godsend.

In brief, with my mind no longer focused nearly 24/7 on the book and able to relax and unwind, a few days passed before, out of left field, I had a brainstorm.  I discovered the novel’s “missing ingredient” and, in my head, the book’s climax finally came together in totto.

When I returned home, I quickly got to work and in short order produced drafts 11a, 11b, and 11c.  These drafts involved chapters 52 through 60 of the novel (the book runs 64 chapters followed by two epilogues), which constitutes much of the novel’s reveals/explanations.

Having finished draft 11c just a few minutes ago, I am very, very optimistic about the novel now being just about done.  So much so that I intend to print the whole thing out later today and give it one more complete read through.  If all looks good, draft 12 will be the novel’s last draft.

Estimated time to get it done?  Another week to a week and a half.

Keep your fingers crossed.  You know I will!

General

Worst fast-food burger?!

Over on Salon.com you can find this article by Allegra Kirkland concerning the above topic.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/09/which-fast-food-chain-makes-the-worst-burger-in-the-u-s-partner/

While perhaps giving the whole article away, toward the end of it they offer the following chart from Consumer Reports which lists the “Best” to “Worst” fast food burgers, as well as Chicken, Burritos, and Sandwiches/Subs:

I find the above chart a fascinating read as the more “popular” or well-known fast food restaurants appear to fall toward the end of each list.  Least tasty burger?  McDonalds.  Least tasty chicken? KFC.  Second least tasty sandwich/sub?  Subway.  Least tasty burritos?  Taco Bell.

Pretty much hits all the biggest chain names, right?

As for my own preferences towards burgers…well…I really don’t like the “big three” chains all that much.  Having said that, I’d be lying if I didn’t frequent them now and again, whenever I need a quick meal.  If I were to rank the three best known burger chains in order of my personal preference (given what I said above about not really liking any of them all that much), I’d go 1) Wendy’s, 2) McDonalds, and 3) Burger King.

Interestingly, I’ve only eaten at 12 of the 21 listed burger restaurants.  The others are not to be found in my area.

A couple of years ago Five Guys made their debut down here and word of mouth was very strong about how great their burgers were.  That restaurant is the highest ranked one that I’ve actually tried, coming in at #3 and beaten out by The Habit Burger Grill and In-N-Out Burger, neither chain of which is at present in my neck of the woods.

I think Five Guys is…ok.  I’d put it above the “big three” chains of Wendys, McDonalds, and Burger King, but I can’t say their burgers knock my socks off.  They tend to offer a more “stripped down” burger, giving you the standards (Onion, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo, mustard, ketchup) but not going too far afield into more extravagant or “experimental” burgers.

The next highest chain on the list that I’ve tried comes in at #5, Fuddruckers.  I like Fuddruckers, but whenever I go there (and its a bit of a drive) I tend to order their Ribeye Steak sandwich.  I think one of the first times I tried Fuddruckers I ordered a burger, but it was so long ago that I honestly don’t remember what it tasted like.

Next up, Steak ‘N Shake (#10 on the list and roughly in the middle of the pack) does offer some interesting variety to their burgers.  I happen to like their guacamole burger.

Some of the others: Checkers is Ok, though I tend to get their chili dog.  Their french fries, however, are quite terrible IMHO.  The last time I ate at Sonic, the food was horrible.  Still, I like their TV commercials.  Finally, Krystal isn’t bad, but it’s been a while since I ate there and the last time I did, I dimly recall, I didn’t like it all that much.

Whew.

I have to admit, seeing that list makes me curious as to the top two restaurants.  Maybe one day they’ll show up around my area and I’ll give them a try…

Movies

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) a (very mildly) belated review

Count me among the very few who are not big fans of the Bill Murray film Groundhog Day.

Blasphemy, you say?

I suppose.  Mind you, I like the movie’s concept and the fact that it presents a potentially fascinating story about how a self-centered person, through the magical repetition of a single day, becomes a better man.

But the film, for whatever reason, just didn’t do all that much for me.

In Edge of Tomorrow, we have Groundhog Day’s essential plot transposed into a sci-fi/action milieu.  In fact, the less charitable might say this film pretty boldly rips off Groundhog Day’s essential story to an almost alarming degree, and that its surprising lawyers aren’t swarming the studios for compensation.  I don’t know how closely the movie adheres to the novel it was based on, though my understanding is that the central conceit remains the same.

But that, in the end, didn’t bother me all that much.  In fact, as I sat back in a pretty empty theater and watched the film, I was pleasantly rocked by what may be the best Tom Cruise sci-fi films of them all.

By my count, Tom Cruise has starred in, including Edge of Tomorrow, five sci-fi films: Vanilla Sky, Minority Report, War of the Worlds, and Oblivion.  I consider Interview With A Vampire a “horror” film and Legend a “fantasy” film, thus do not include them in this list.  But even if you were to do so, Edge of Tomorrow still pulls ahead of the pack.

I liked it that much.

Tom Cruise is Cage, a military officer who is often found on the news “rah-rah”ing the military’s victories against a vicious alien menace that has taken down almost all of Europe, killing millions in the process.  In London, he meets up with the allies’ commander on the eve of a second Normandy Invasion.  If the allies successfully get a foothold into Europe, they can start the long process of kicking the aliens out of this world.

If they don’t…

Thing is, regardless of the outcome the Invasion occurring the next day will be heavy in casualties.  That’s why the commander wants Cage to be on the front lines (albeit in an area less fighting is expected) filming what’s going on.  If the beach landing fails, the commander will obviously be crucified, but it won’t matter as Earth, and humanity, will be decimated.

But the commander also knows that if the landing succeeds he may very well be crucified because of the expected amount of casualties.  So he wants Cage to document the events in a positive light and show that his decision to invade was a good one.

Only problem?  Cage is a sniveling coward.

He has no problem going in front of cameras and building up the military for the masses.  But he absolutely, positively, does not want to be anywhere near actual life-threatening danger.

He tries to sweet talk his way out of the assignment and, realizing this isn’t working, makes the mistake of trying to blackmail the commander.  Sure, Cage says, he can “rah-rah” the commander’s invasion from the front lines.  But he can also present the commander’s decisions in a far less pleasant light, so wouldn’t it be better if he weren’t there at all?

The commander, understandably, isn’t too happy to hear this.  He has Cage arrested and boots him down to a squad involved in the invasion’s first strike.  Most of the people he will fight with are not expected to survive.

The next day the barely fight-ready Cage is rigged to a metallic battle suit and dropped into the heart of the new Normandy Invasion.  He survives for a while out of sheer luck as his fellow soldiers are brutally cut down.  He even sees Rita (Emily Blunt), the allies’ almost mythical soldier who against all odds won a battle against the aliens, before seeing her also killed.

Cage huddles with the remains of his group but one particularly nasty alien appears in their foxhole.  It kills the rest of his fellow soldiers and sets its sites on Cage.  Trying to defend himself, Cage grabs a directional mine and holds it to his chest.  It explodes, killing the alien creature instantly but not quite killing Cage.  As he dies, the alien’s blood flows into him and…

…he awakens at the moment he is about to join his squad and the day before the deadly beach assault.  He comes to realize that every time he “dies”, he awakens at that moment, over and over again.

What follows is an at times riveting film where Cage slowly learns from each relived day and, in the process, discovers the secret as to why he’s reliving this experience over and over again.  The science of it may be hockey, but there is no denying the excitement generated.

But what is the most exciting, to me, was the evolution of Cage’s character.  When we first meet him, he is the walking definition of an empty suit.  He may look handsome on the outside and has a charming, camera ready smile, but he’s a coward and not a very pleasant character at all (shades of Groundhog Day).

It is his evolution into something else that is the heart of the film.  His interactions with the battle tested Rita further add to the fun as her character, we find, also has hidden layers and is a great foil to Cage.

In the end, Edge of Tomorrow is an easy recommendation.  No, it is not a “perfect” action film as there are a few minor things here and there that make no sense (I would point them out, but we might get a little too spoilery…well, without getting into too many details, one of the biggest issues is that the aliens should probably be a little more careful with the units they send into battle.  I’ll say no more.)

Ok, quibbles aside, check the film out.  It is a great piece of entertainment.

Music

New Pink Floyd album?!?!

Count me among those super excited to hear this news…until, that is, I read the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/06/pink-floyd-new-album-the-endless-river_n_5561346.html

If you’re not interested in clicking the above link, a brief summary: The Endless River, the “new” album by Pink Floyd, will be released in October.  However, it isn’t exactly a “new” work.  The album was originally recorded back in 1994 in the wake of The Division Bell, the last “official” Pink Floyd album released, which itself was the second of the Roger Waters-less/David Gilmour-led version of the band.

I have mixed feelings about Pink Floyd post-Roger Waters.  I feel David Gilmour is an absolutely terrific musician and one of the all time best guitarists ever.  I also feel he can sing the hell out of a song.  Having said all that, it can be argued that Roger Waters was the dominant creative force behind Pink Floyd’s biggest successes, from The Dark Side of the Moon to The Wall.

In the end it was the collaboration between the two, friction and all, that helped make them create such brilliant works together.

The Final Cut, the “last” Pink Floyd album to feature Roger Waters, was a good but, in my opinion, not a great Pink Floyd album.  Why?  Because it was essentially a Roger Waters solo album masquerading as a Pink Floyd album.  David Gilmour was barely involved in the work and his input was missed.

The problem with the albums that followed The Final Cut were both similar and opposite: A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell were essentially David Gilmour solo-albums masquerading as Pink Floyd albums and, in the case of those albums, it was Roger Waters’ input that was missed.

So now we have the upcoming The Endless River.  It appears this album will also not feature any input from Roger Waters, which is a shame.

Nonetheless, as with all things Pink Floyd, I’ll give it a listen.

Not to sound like too much of a pessimist but I do have a suspicion regarding this album: Given the fact that this work has been sitting unreleased since 1994 suggests that it may not be all that great.  If the studios and musicians involved in its production believed they had a truly seminal work in their hands, wouldn’t they have released it already?

I suppose we’ll find out in October.

Movies

The Lego Movie (2014) and 22 Jump Street (2014) a (mildly) belated two-fer review

Why put these two films together in one review?  The common denominator, for those unaware, is that the directors of both features were the duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.  In the case of The Lego Movie, these two very gifted individuals were also involved in the screenplay.

I suppose that last statement above gives away what I think about both films, but let me nonetheless elaborate a little.

When I first heard of The Lego Movie, I scoffed.

Seriously?  A film based on Lego toys?  How cheesy.  How corporate.  Just what the movie going audiences need: Another commercial for a toy line disguised as a kid’s film.

Yet once the film was released, I was more than a little surprised by the wealth of very positive reviews.  When I investigated the film some more and the people behind it (again, Mr. Lord and Miller), I was intrigued.  Not enough to catch the film during its theatrical run, but enough to give it a look when, and if, the opportunity presented itself.

While sitting on the very looong flight to England (if you get a chance to go there, take it.  Lovely place!) last week, the film was one of many available to be seen through the passenger entertainment system.  Opportunity, present!  I gave The Lego Movie a whirl.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Would the film be as good as others had said, or was this a case of mass exaggeration?  I had gone through that once before, with the first Charlie’s Angels movie.  It seemed every review was something along the lines of “It was actually good!  I expected total crap and it was actually very good!”  By the time I saw the movie, my expectations were high and, I found, the movie was a disappointment.

In this case, thought, I’m happy to say the critics were right on target.  The Lego Movie proved to far, far better than my low to cautiously optimistic expectations.  The film is a creative ball of wonder, one that uses astonishing lego scenery for just about everything frame of the film and every character within.  But astonishing visuals alone a good movie does not make, and it is the creativity in the script that really counts.

The story goes as follows: In Legotown, a worker drone (essentially a nobody) gets involved in the reality behind the scenes of his seeming placid world.  Evil doings are going on and, after bumping into the more than capable of defending herself WyldStyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), our reluctant would-be hero finds he might just be the savior of the entire Lego world.

I know, I know…if you think about it, the plot sounds suspiciously similar to that of The Matrix.  I’ll grant you this is indeed the case, but you’re in for so very much more.  The film takes you through delightful comedic stretches and worlds, bumping into an astonishing array of copyright characters while providing a healthy dose of laugh out loud moments.

But back to the characters encountered!

Where else do you have a film that features, I kid you not, Batman –THE Batman- along with several other superheroes (I won’t mention who as I don’t want to spoil things)?  Granted, Batman is a Lego version of the character, but he’s there.  Along with other superheroes are a host of well known and surprising characters.  How the studios managed to fit them all here in this one film (albeit in Lego form) is yet another thing of wonder.

So to those like me who scoffed at the idea of a Lego Movie, scoff no more.  If you still can’t believe this feature is as good as others say, give it five minutes.  If that doesn’t convince you to watch the rest, I don’t know what will.

So the ever active Mr. Lord and Miller followed up the impressive The Lego Movie with the sequel to their better than I thought it would be 21 Jump Street with… 22 Jump Street.

Now, mind you, I wasn’t in rapture with 21 Jump Street.  I thought it was a decent movie with some very funny humor but, overall, I thought it was a “good” but not “great” film.

Well, the boys behind that film probably felt the same -and decided to one up themselves- because 22 Jump Street is far, far better than the original film.

Years ago the movie Airplane! absolutely destroyed every cliche and situation regarding both disaster movies and airplane disaster movies in particular.  22 Jump Street does the same thing…but its focus is not only on buddy cop action films, it is on the very concept of movie sequels!

And what a skewering movie sequels get in this film!

From the sign next to the old 21 Jump Street church to the closing credits that effectively wring every last laugh on what sequels are like, 22 Jump Street hits every note and makes a meta-commentary on all it is to be a sequel, from the far larger budget to the fact that “you were lucky the first time”.

“How do we solve this crime?” one of the characters ask.  “How did we do it the last time?” the another deadpans.

And so it goes.  Self-referential and with tongue firmly in cheek, the hilarious 22 Jump Street might be one of the best comedies I’ve seen since the golden days of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker.

Seriously, its that good.

Both films are highly, highly recommended.

The Blog of E. R. Torre