Arizona

Mark Lindsay, lead singer of the 60's group "Paul Revere and the Raiders" tells Arizona to  "get rid of her hobo shoes, rainbow shades, and Indian braids.”  I honestly doubt that will happen. 



Just a few days ago, just over a mile from my home, Governor Jan Brewer created an uproar by wagging her finger at the President of The United States. 

On even sadder news, Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords resigned her seat in the House of Representatives on the 25th. After being part of the massacre on January 8th, 2011, her recovery, her life, and her legacy have become both a miracle and an inspiration to us all.  On even sadder news, Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords resigned her seat in the House of Representatives on the 25th. After being part of the massacre on January 8th, 2011, her recovery, her life, and her legacy have become both a miracle and an inspiration to us all.  

I had the pleasure of meeting her once, briefly, while attending a Christmas party at the Navy Reserve base located just outside of Davis Monthan AFB. I like her for her open mind and her wiliness to meet with the people in her constituency

Not too long ago, Maricopa Sherrif, Joe Arpaio, was given notice by the Federal Government that he better reign in his department.  Sherrif Joe, has, in the time I have lived in Arizona, changed the color of jail inmates attire, from scrubby looking clothes, to typical prison stripes. He also gave the inmates pink underwear, and died all the baloney green. For these changes, I applauded him.  He also made sure that there is plenty of room in his jails, by establishing "Tent City." The federal government's Department of Justice, has accused the sheriff of racial profiling, and other abuses of power. 

In July of 2010, State Bill 1070 went into effect. I am opposed to that bill as it seems to me that cracking down on illegal immigration gives too much power to people in power.  That in principle is not a good thing.  I am against the drug and gun running that occurs across the border.  I expressed my concerns in an article titled: When Arizona SB 1070 Goes into Effect on July 29, All Citizens Are Affected. 

If you watch any cop show or have been arrested (heaven forbid), you know that everybody is innocent until proven guilty.  The arresting officer has to inform you of your Miranda rights.  Now,  I am not talking about the infamous planet from the movie Serenity. I am talking about Ernesto Miranda, a Mesa resident who was arrested for rape in 1963 and confessed without legal counsel. He is too ugly for a picture, but here is a link.

I like my adopted state, and this year we are celebrating our 100 years as a state.  Oh by the way, the Arizona in the song is not the state.  It is the singer's girlfriend, her name is Arizona, and she is somewhat of a hippie.  

Rampage on a rampage.

I n June 2010, I was commissioned to review the latest film by Director Uwe Bolle's (In the Name of the King and BloodRayne films)  I noticed quite a few hits on this article during this month.  I assume that folks are searching for information about the director.  Most of his films are pretty bad in general.  However, I always say that for every film there is an audience.  Amazing but true, there are people who love bad films.  Either way, as I was lined up at Redbox this evening looking at the titles and noticed that In the Name of the King: Two Worlds is out for rental. I actually liked Rampage to a degree.
  
With a name like "Rampage," one would expect a mindless killer on the loose; however, I can assure that is not the case. Although Rampage exhibits video game like killing, there is a story, and engaging characters to go along with the story. Starring and co-producing Brendan Fletcher (Freddy vs. Jason) is Bill Williamson, a 23-year-old kid with too much time on his hands. Read more...

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Year:  2010

Staring:  Brendan Fletcher, Shaun Sipos, Michael Paré, Matt Frewer, Lynda Boyd, Robert Clarke

Director: Uwe Boll

Producer(s): Uwe Boll, Shawn Williamson

Writer: Uwe Boll

Rating: R

Running Time: 85 minutes

Release Date: 4/29/2010

New Prometheus clue arrives.

As the theatrical release date of June 8, 2012 draws near, two new trailers for Ridley Scott's addition to the Alien cannon.  take a look at these

Once there was the Nostromo now there is Prometheus: The new Uk trailer arrives: This new trailer shows gives a look at the Prometheus (the name of the ship), which is more of an exploration ship rather than a tow ship which the Nostromo was.  At least Ripley isn't around to blow this one up. Supposedly, according to Ridley Scott this is not a straight prequel, however, he does mention that fans will see strans of "Alien" DNA running throughout the film.  My bet is that it is more of a prequel than RS is actually wanting to admit.  Take a peek for yourself.   


Summer movie-goers should expect a block-buster Science Fiction film from director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner). Prometheus, rumored to be the prequel to Alien (1979).
                                                                                                                   

For the last 32 years, 7 months, and 7 days the world has been wondering about the "Alien Space Jockey", that Dallas and Kane found in the first Alien film. In the picture above, Noomi Rapce (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)  is seen here looking upon the giant head found in the "Ampule Room."  Prometheus News has additional details on the characters and hints of some form of terraforming incident going terribly wrong.  Shades of Miranda! (that's a Serenity reference) Either way, I am excited to see Prometheus  coming  out on June 8th, 2012.

Apollo 18 to the Moon and ....

S ometimes a film comes around where you are not sure if it is a joke or an earnest attempt to make a film that is both entertaining and yet artistically appealing.  Most people would look at Gonzalo López-Gallego's "Apollo 18" and say what a stupid movie.  How could you get found footage back from the moon if we haven't gone back since?  Yes, annoying questions nag at you in the back of your mind while watching this film.  I don't like "found footage" movies, cause they give the director and the writer a way out of delivering a complete story and an excuse for shoddy camera work, bad editing and bad dialog.  In the case of "Apollo 18" all these flaws are quite evident, however, there is a bit more about "Apollo 18" than the crap I just mentioned. 

To find out what I am talking about, watch the film with the commentary.  Director Gonzalo López-Gallego and Patrick Lussier ("Drive Angry, Cursed," and "Red Eye") walk us through the whole process of trying to get this film made.  Bob Weinstein calls upon Spanish born López-Gallego to work on a very low budget film about a conspiracy that takes place on the moon and do it less than three months.  If I were López-Gallego, I probably would have taken a hike.  However, López-Gallego takes on the challenge with the heart of an artist and a professional and makes the best of a crappy situation.  The plot has merit, along with many holes.  Three NASA astronauts are commissioned to go back to the moon after the Apollo project was officially cancelled and set up sensors on the moon.  During the height of the Space Race and the Cold War, the conspiracy theory becomes plausible.  Even finding two dead Russian Cosmonauts even seems believable.  With the release of information in March 2011 of audio of Soviet Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, crashing to the Earth in 1967 - the possibility of the Soviets making it to the Moon and failing to return would have been something they probably would have wanted to keep secret.  In the audio commentary, the director makes no bones about having to create the impression of found footage.  He goes into great detail on how they worked to get the look of film that has been sitting around for 30 years.  He even talks with Lussier about how hokey the original Moonster (as they call the Moon monsters) looked and why he went with the more subtle version. 

Working on limited funds, limited time, and limited resources, he takes Brian Miller's incomplete script and works with it and puts together a film that with all its faults has actually made money.  With a production budget only $5 million, Apollo 18 made $25,562,924 worldwide in 12 weeks in theaters.  I also want to note that for its first weeks in DVD release, I could not find the film in any of the Red Box kiosks in my area, as they were out of stock.  The honest truth is that if you want to see a movie about the Moon, take a look at Duncan Jones' debut film Moon, starring Sam Rockwell, and Kevin Spacey.  If you are a film student and want a look at what making a film in cramped claustrophobic conditions, with no time and no money then check out this film WITH the commentary ON.

Movie Data

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2011

Staring: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins

Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Producer(s): Timur Bekmambetov, Michele Wolkoff

Writer: Brian Miller

Rating: PG-13
Release Date: 9/2/2011

Running Time: 86 minutes

The Debt, An Act of Atonement

I was surprised to learn that John Madden's The Debt only made just over $31 million in domestic sales and a tad over $45 million in its worldwide release.  The film was out for just over two months.  I liked The Debt quite a bit.

In 1997 Sarah Gold, the daughter of former Mossad agent Rachel Singer (Mirren) has written a book about her mother, her father and their partner who in the 1960s while in their mid to late 20s were operatives in a mission to bring the Nazis to justice. National heroes, their story was now being told for all to hear. A problem arises as the time for the book's debut arrives,  Read More...

Movie Data

Genre:  Drama, Thriller

Year:  2010

Staring: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciarán Hinds,  Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, Sam Worthington

Director: John Madden
Producer(s): Eitan Evan, Eduardo Rossoff , Kris Thykier, Matthew Vaughn

Writer: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Straughan, Assaf Bernstein, Ido Rosenblum

Rating: R
Release Date: 8/21/2011
Running Time: 113 minutes

The Zombie Apocalypse, Metaphor For the Coming Collapse?

I know there are plenty of fans of the Walking Dead, or any film or TV Series that presents the horror of life we once had and considered sacred, as destroyed and defiled. I think it isn't so much that the world as we know it is long gone, but man's (I mean women too) journey to survive and overcome this disaster without losing what we consider just a precious - our humanity. 

In the last two seasons of the Walking Dead, we have seen a small group of characters, lie to each other, fight with each other, turn on each other, abandon members of their group, betray one another, and generally act human.  However, we have also seen our beloved characters, rise up and take a stand about being the type of people they want to be.  We see Rick not wanting to leave any members behind.  Last season, we saw Dale stand up to Shane, and Daryl earn the trust and respect of the group. 

The question I must ask as to why shows like Walking Dead tend to appeal to us?  Is it that we see these shows as just a metaphor for our current lives?  Is the Zombie Apocalypse just a metaphor for the what we fear will happen in the near future?  I am talking about the possibility of a general economic collapse; throwing our lives in to the toilet.  An allegory about our current civilization and the direction it is heading?  Is this show just a mirror and we see our awful reflections, causing us to seek to better ourselves as human beings? 

For a long time (four seasons) I thought Battlestar Galactica had a monopoly on stories about humans struggling to maintain their identity as a people, their culture, and their humanity.  One of my favorite quotes comes from the first night of the original mini-series in 2004.  Commander Adama, in his decommissioning ceremony says the following: "The Cylon War is long over, yet we must not forget the reasons why so many sacrificed so much in the cause of freedom. The cost of wearing the uniform can be high, but...sometimes it's too high. You know, when we fought the Cylons, we did it to save ourselves from extinction. But we never answered the question, why? Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we've done. Like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play God, create life. When that life turned against us, we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn't our fault, not really. You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore." 

You can replace the term Cylon with Zombie, Vampire, Un-dead, Walker, Racist, Enemy, or what ever term you like.   When we look back at the last decade we must think to ourselves.how much of this mess we are in is our fault and how far are we willing to go to survive?..