Erickson’s Exciting Exploits

Julie & Julia -

I love food.  This, of course, works out great because my wife is an amazing cook.  One of my friends calls her a cooking ninja.  When we saw the preview for this movie it seems like the ultimate combination–food and film.

Julie and Julia follows two different story lines.  The first is of Julie Powell, who works for an insurance agency supporting victims of 9/11.  The second storyline is that of Julia Child, the famous TV chef.  Julie has a mediocre life and decides that she must do something with it, that something is cooking through all 500 recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook.  The premise of this movie is very interesting and it sounds like there could be some very funny and meaningful life moments as both of these stories unfold.  We both went with great expectation for this and unfortunately I, at least, was let down.

I felt that Amy Adams (playing Julie Powell) was not really set up for success in this movie.  The way her storyline is told it has little actual substance.  There was no story arc for her character.  We should have felt a tension building and asking: How is she going to do this???  But instead of tension her storyline merely drags on, until you are blessed with a break into Julia Child’s life.  Meryl Streep is in prime form for this movie.  From the frist “Bon appetit!” to her character’s approach to life, she is fun to watch.  This movie would have been great if it had only been the story of Julia Child, but it was not and so I felt robbed half the time.  I felt torn between hoping that the Julie story would somehow pull out something interesting and really only wanting to watch the Julia parts.

Bottom Line: This movie is worth renting, but I would skip the theater.

There is a little bit of swearing and some implied sex between the two couples, but over all it is a pretty clean movie.  While I was hoping for more out of this movie it is still worth seeing for the story of Julia Child alone.  You can consider the rest a bonus if you want.  This movie did make you want to cook something fun afterward, or at least go to a fancy restaurant and have someone else cook something great.

I give this movie 3 bon appetits out of 5.

Watch Trailer

That’s it for now

-Zach

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra-
This movie was just plain fun. There were several plot holes, and some places where it required you to suspend belief quite a bit more then you are probably used to. There have been a whole glut of movies that are trying to cash in on my childhood. Whether you think that they ruined your childhood or merely exploited your innocent youth, one thing is clear: it seems to be working. Transformers 2 has made it into the top 10 grossing movies of all time and lets not even mention the planned remakes of Tron, Alien, and many more. The saddest part for me is not that they are doing it, but that I know what is going on and still I go. Did I mention that I liked it?

I was pleasantly surprised about this movie. I wasn’t nearly as excited about this as Transformers 2 and when it came out I didn’t even feel the need to see the first showing. This is why, when I walked out of the theater, I felt confused. This was supposed to be mediocre at best instead it was a pretty clean, sometimes funny action movie. There was even a bit of a plot to the movie. The ending was refreshing to me and I will be waiting in line for the second installment with, I hope, some of you. Those who are quicker on the uptake then me might have figured out how the movie was going to end, but I didn’t until it did before my eyes, and I liked it. This was another case where I was expecting a certain story to develop, like in Star Trek, where certain characters did certain things. The writers did a great job of bringing you to a place where you felt all was right with the world in the end, much like Star Trek.

The storyline follows Duke and Ripcord, two soldiers in the American special forces. They are assigned to carry a top secret weapon which a terrorist organization will surely want. As the movie progresses they are introduced to a covert elite multi-government organization called G.I. Joe. My only major complaint on the movie was the scene where they go to a particle accelerator and it is simply one room where they use some special lightning effects. I think some intern in research should loose their job over the poor representation of a particle accelerator, but maybe I’m being picky. If you could believe Iron Man you should have no problem with this movie–come on the guy flies around in a suit powered by a mini-nuclear Fusion powered generator, which keeps shrapnel away from his heart. Did I mention that Snake Eyes was awesome? And if you land on the Storm Shadow side of the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow coolness debate Storm Shadow was pretty burly as well. This movie definitely brought back some childhood memories.

Bottom Line: This movie is a Theater Movie all the way! Go, and take some friends.

I have a warning for parents this, like many of the summer’s block busters, is not a kids movie. There was a family who sat right behind me, and one of their children was no more then 7. They only made it 5 mins. into the movie before they left. It is rated PG-13 for good reason and my recommendation is to take them to see something else. The violence is not bloody, but there are lots of explosions and obvious deaths.

I give this movie 5 exploited childhood memories out of 5.

Watch the Trailer

That’s it for now.
-Zach

Hello Everyone,

Well this weekend is the big push for my homework so I’m going to be working on several papers.  (You can watch the progress bar shoot up if you want, just don’t break your F5 key)  I have seen both G.I. Joe and Julie & Julia so I plan on giving my full attention to reviews either tomorrow or the next day.  If you can’t wait for my review, all two of you, then I would say go see G.I. Joe it was quite fun.

I’ll be back on the other side of my Philosophical Hermeneutics paper.

-Zach

As I wait to see the new G.I. Joe movie, I figured I would make a post about my favorite TV shows and encourage people to see them.  As I began to write this though I came upon a problem: do I list my favorite top five still airing or both off air and on?  I couldn’t decide so I listed my top five currently airing and then a few more.  That means it really isn’t my top five but 8 or so.  Be warned there is lots of Sci-fi nerdiness to follow.  Here goes.

1. Dr. Who- Keep in mind that when I say Dr. Who I don’t mean the old Dr. Who, which had super cheesy special effects and a very random plot line.  No I mean the new Dr. Who which started up again in 2005 with a great new cast and an awesome plot line.  This show is about The Doctor, who is the last remaining Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey.  The Doctor travels through time and space, armed only with his sonic screwdriver, solving mysteries and crusading for the little guys.  I love not just the sci-fi nature of this show, but also the over arching concept of the show is magically delicious–to borrow the phrase from Lucky Charms.  I am not responsible for any addiction that arises from watching Dr. Who.  If you lose your job because you had to watch the next show don’t say I didn’t warn you.

2. Smallville- Superheroes have captivated me for quite some time.  I don’t read comic books, but I love how movies and TV have been able to capture some of the special effects needed to make superheroes come to life on screen.  Smallville has had its ups and downs and some seasons are not as good a others (recent ones have unfortunately fallen into this category).  Smallville follows the young Clark Kent as he goes through highschool and a sort of superhero puberty.  He doesn’t start off as the man of steel, but he can be hurt and doesn’t have any powers other then speed.  As the show progresses he begins to grow into his destiny.  I love the conept of this program and I have tuned in for each season to find out how he becomes Superman.  Even though the program should be ending soon the first four seasons are very good and worth a watch.  Even though the show has lost some budget it still holds a place in my heart.

3. Castle – I was first interested in this show because of Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fame).  He plays Richard Castle, a murder mystery author, who is looking for inspiration and finds it by joining forces with an attractive and mysterious detective.  Castle is a wonderful mix between Sherlock Holmes and CSI.  Like many of my favorite shows Castle is quirky and doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Fillion does a great job as the playboy single father who obviously likes the heroine, but just isn’t good enough, yet.  They only ran 12 episodes before the summer break so I am hoping for many more great episodes to come.

4. The Unusuals – This is a quirky cop drama that centers around the rookie cop Casey Shraeger as she joins a weird assortment of detectives in New York.  The Unsuals is a Drama/Comedy and the reason I love this show is because it has a strange sense of humor but it also mixes the serious issues we all face day to day within its bizarre fabric.  The Unusuals just finished its first season and I am looking forward to more from this fresh approach to the cop drama.

5. Big Bang Theory – This show is the perfect combination of Sitcom and all the things I hold dear (that is everything nerdy).  BBT follows the twisting turns in the social lives of four physicists and their attractive neighbor friend, which none of them can seem to ask out.  The humor of BBT is for nerds and those that love them, whom we subject endless amounts of trivial knowledge and sci-fi quotes to.  Both my wife and I love this show for that very reason.  Definitely a good one to catch.  Thanks for loving the nerd in me Sonja.

I know I said top five… But I just can’t narrow it down.  Here are some recommendations for those who have Netflix and want a few great TV shows to fill their queue over the coming months.  My top 3 off air shows:  (its like a bonus… no, really, it is.)

1. Firefly- Firefly has been off air for many years and Sci-fi junkies will know all about this show, but for those that don’t keep up on these sort of things this is one of the must see TV series.  Because it only ran for one season before it was canceled you may have feelings of abandonment and a longing for more Firefly.  This is normal.  It was this feeling, in-fact, that led the show’s fans to cry out for more, leading to the creation of movie Serenity.  The premise of the show is that group of travelers on the space ship Serenity move from place to place looking for work in a universe full of bounty hunters, heists, and general cowboyesque fun.  I found the TV show much better than the movie, therefore I would recommend watching the TV show and skipping the movie, but that longing for resolution may lead you to watch the movie, but be warned it is not like the show and it lacks the charm.

2. Farscape- Farscape ran for four seasons and like Firefly released a made for TV movie because of faithful fans.  Farscape follows the adventures of John Crichton, an astronaut from Earth who ends up flying into a wormhole that sending him across the galaxy.  As he begins to cope with the new environment he befriends several alien criminals on board a prison transport which is alive.  The first few episodes are hard to get used to, but if you stick it out this show will grow on you and you will fall in love with the bizarre and unusual in this wonderful Sci-fi adventure.

3. Stargate SG-1- Last and certainly not least is Stargate SG-1.  When I first learned about SG-1 I was bitter because they had canceled Farscape and replaced it with SG-1.  Once I started watching it, however, I begrudgingly discovered that I loved the concept of this show.  Richard Dean Anderson (McGuiver) really brings a very humorous perspective to this absurd combination of Sci-fi and ancient history.  Yes our 80s heroes can come back and still captivate us.

These are my favorite shows and I would love to know what other people’s favorite shows are so that I can add them to my list of things to see in the near future.

That’s it for now

-Zach

California has been extremely hot this week, and nothing was as hot as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HP&HBP).  Potter fans from around the US lined up to watch the newest installment of HP and I was one of them.  I didn’t go on opening night, which may shock some of you, and I did enjoy the sixth installment of the series.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

For those who have read the books this movie holds no surprises, thankfully.  The Harry Potter books have sparked debate, outrage, and a general sense of excitement ever since the first book came out. This movie is no exception to the mania that surrounds J.K. Rawlings’ creation. On a side note, people here just don’t get that into movies. Seattle was much more exuberant about summer blockbusters. Here, to their shame, there were no people dressed up as wizards, no long lines, not even an “Muggle’s just don’t understand” shirt at the Pasadena Paseo 16. It must have something to do with a tall, non-fat, Carmel Macciatto with extra-foam, and one packet of equal added for taste. Well, despite the lack of devoted fans on their 20th viewing, at the 9am Friday showing, it was still fun for Sonja and me.

For a person who has read the books, more than once, HP&HBP is sort of like a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans one moment it is a wonderful spectacle and everything you could hope for, but in another something seems just a little off, like a puke flavored bean.  I know that it is impossible to fit everything into a movie version of a book, and I am, for the most part, accepting of this.  However, why is it that movie makers feel the need to change small things that are easier left as described in the book?  Let me give an example that won’t spoil the movie, but will adequately demonstrate my point.  Take Lord of the Rings, why did they not give Strider Isildur’s sword?  That sword was Aragorn’s whole claim to be included in the fellowship, it was remade at Rivendell (In Fellowship of The Ring).  Why would they re-write that?  It would have been easier to keep it the way Tolkien had written it.  You get the point, these are the types of things that annoy me in movie adaptations.  There are several of these in the HP movies and, for me, they detract from the movie.  I’ll discuss two of them next, but don’t worry I won’t give away anything from the movie.

Books six and seven are much darker than the first five books.  HP&HBP, however, tries to keep things light as possible by balancing light-hearted teen romance and the dark nature of the story.  Tom Felton does a great job playing the sulking Draco Malfoy, and Rupert Grint(Ron Weasly) has turned into a much more interesting person to watch than Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter).  All-in-all the teens have really grown up and it shows well on screen, my only wish is that Ginny and Harry’s relationship would have had more screen time.

There are two main things that annoyed me about this movie, to the point where it detracted from my experience.  These were problems with the last HP movie as well, and I expected them in this one.  The first HP movie is one of the few movies (not just Harry Potter movies) that I think is as good if not better than the book. As Rawlings made her creation more elaborate, however, the movies began to leave things out.  I would be ok with most of this except for two glaring problems.  The first was unavoidable as a result of the passing of Richard Harris.  I, for one, think that he was excellent as Dumbledore and his death was truly a tragedy for the franchise.  Michael Gambon, who replaced Harris, simply doesn’t have the acting skill to be Dumbledore.  I am constantly disappointed by his portrayal of the most powerful wizard in the world.  I know this is on the fringe of what I should be dissapointed about in the movie, but it’s bothered me since Harris was replaced.  This movie is no exception, even though I would have to say that HP&HBP gives us Gambon’s best performance yet it still is just not good enough.

The second thing that has bothered me for several movies is the change in art direction. The change in the portrayal of the dementors as well as people flying by turning into smoke are just a few of the distracting changes made in art direction. What is with people turning into smoke to fly?  I will not demean the directory by asking if he read the books.  Rawlings made a big point to mention that the only wizard ever able to fly without a broomstick or portkey was Voldemort, but I’m sure he read that part so I won’t ask.  I know I’m being picky, but I want to see a wizard version of Christian Bale dualing like the gun battles in Equilibrium. Wizard duals that consist of smoke flying around on the screen with the random light flash is not what I was hoping for.  I don’t want to see people turn into smoke and flying around the screen, its boring and goes against the ground rules created by Rawlings.

A note to parents: There has been a rash of movies this year which seem like they would be acceptable for children to watch, this is one of those movies–it’s rated PG and it comes from a famous kids book. I would not, however, recommended HP&HBP for the normal audience that goes to see PG movies. This movie is scary, and has some vary intense scenes. The general content does not warrant a PG-13 rating, but I would think twice before bringing young kids to this movie–especially if they are easily scared. Better yet, watch the movie first before taking the kids.

Bottom Line: For HP fans this is a movie worth seeing in the theater and DVD (my review wouldn’t stop you from going anyway so why try?).

This movie, as with most of the other HP movies, is only able to give part of the plot and depth that the books have and it lacks because of it. I think that Rawlings is not the best at crafting words, but her ideas are amazingly unique and she is a great story teller. The writers of the HP screenplays are not. Maybe they will bring out an amazing show for the last two movies (book seven is going to be split into two movies), but I’m not holding my breath. I enjoyed the movie for what it was and didn’t feel like my money was wasted.

I give HP&HBP a four smokey bad guys out of five.

That’s it for now.

-Zach