Martian Child Review

I didn't know what to expect from this film. I did a little investigating beforehand and discovered that it was sort of a science fiction tale and starred John Cusack and his sister (playing his sister, so what a stretch) Joan Cusack. I also discovered that the movie was based on a story written by David Gerrold, best known to me as one of the writers of the original "Star Trek", so I was intrigued.



So it is a story of a small boy who claims to be from Mars and I won't spoil it by saying which way it goes, but I will say that it is very satisfying. Admittedly, the film volleyed dangerously close to being syrupy but it has enough humorous and harder situations to keep it on an even keel.



I will say that despite my respect for Mr. Gerrold, I realized after I saw the film that the story was not entirely unique. In fact, I figured out that it is awfully a lot like "Lilo and Stitch", the Disney animated movie from a few year's back!!



Ultimately, unless you don't like movies that are in the least bit heartwarming, I would give it a try. The film is nicely paced, and although it kind of wraps up a little too neatly, it leaves you with a nice, good feeling.



As a footnote, I saw the movie in a Palo Alto theater when a 5.6 earthquake hit. It's interesting to see how people react in different situations. I usually just take natural disasters in stride, but I did check around to see if I or anyone else was in danger of some chandelier falling or something, but this was one of those crummy box theaters, so I just sat there calmly, figuring that I'd duck beneath the seats if the shaking got heavier. Other people tended to be more vocal and when the shaking was done a few leaped out of their seats and onto their cell phones.

Bay Area Comic Book and Animation Group

This is the local group that was on Meet Up during the first half of
2007 designed to get all fans of comic books and animation of the San
Francisco Bay Area together to attend events or parties related to
comic books and animation. It can be an organized event like a comic
book convention, a tour of a museum like the Cartoon Art Museum in San
Francisco, or a film festival, or you can even host a party in your
own home.

Just so no one feels left out, we invite fans of all genres, not just
Marvel and DC. We encourage fans of Harvey, Archie, EC, etc. to join
as well. So let us know and on we go....

We're at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BACBAAG

Envy Review

I was recommended to see the movie "Envy" with Ben Stiller and Jack Black. While I liked the cast and the story, the execution was a little off. The movie had its moments and a few laughs, but it didn't grab me completely like some of their other movies. I did really like Christopher Walken who always seems to play some suitably creepy character. Stiller and Black did their usual shtick, so if you are not a fan of their previous work, this movie won't help.



The story as it is concerns Black inventing a dog poop spray that makes it disappear. Stiller claims that this is not possible. Black proves him wrong, becomes a zillionaire, and then the fun begins.



Rachel Weisz and Amy Poeler also star, though a friend of mine who watched it with me wondered what Weisz was doing in a film like this. I liked it better than she did.

30 Days of Night Review

Saw this and didn't know what to expect. What started out as a half-way decent vampire flick degenerated into a very stupid one. The main hero did something near the end of the movie that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, especially as it occurred near the end of the 30 days. They waited that long, they could have kept going.



It was strongly reminiscent of the original "Night of the Living Dead". So much so that it almost seemed cookie-cutter in its approach. Also, the vampires weren't terribly threatening. They just seemed to wander around and howl a bit, and occasionally feast. It seemed like you could overwhelm them rather easily.



Another thing, every so often the main character would say that everyone had to move from their hiding place. Why? Their hiding place wasn't discovered. Wouldn't they be discovered more easily by all that moving around? And also, early on in the movie, they announced that they would sleep in shifts. By the end of the month, they seemed to stay up all the time.



In another scene, an ultra-violet lamp was used to great effect until the vampires cut the power. This is Alaska. You would think that they would have an extra generator or two up there.



I like vampire films from "Nosferatu" to Lugosi "Dracula" to Lee "Dracula" to Coppola "Dracula", but this one was unfortunately stupid.

Haven't Posted in a while

Life has been a whirlwind as of late. After being completely out of work for over three months, I got a job and also a lot of projects are coming down the pike. This is good. You'll hear more about them as time goes on, I'm sure, but for now, I just wanted to post another blog before too long. I used to do these things every day, you know!