Pirate Victory

I'm not sure what brought this song to mind today, but I decided to track it down. It's from The Pirate Movie, which is basically an '80s rock opera version of The Pirates of Penzance. Some of the songs coincide, but some are new, and some are the old ones turned into rock opera. It was one of my favorite movies when I was little. This song isn't actually from the movie proper; it's before Mabel falls into the ocean and starts dreaming up the rest of the movie. Still, it's a fun one. I give you, Victory!

Song only

Jack Sparrow montage + Song (parts well done, other parts...meh...)

And finally, horriby misspelled lyrics!

Unfortunately, the only versions with footage from the actual Pirate Movie wouldn't load for me, or I wouldn't have bothered linking to the PotC one.

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More Pirates?

Well, the proposed fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean now has a name: On Stranger Tides. There's a Tim Powers book of the same name that involves pirates, so it's possible the story will have some connection, but it's also possible that they just liked the name.

It's not even in production yet, so anything can change, but it looks like Knightly (Elizabeth) and Bloom (Will) won't be returning. As their story is rather settled for the 10 years after World's End, that shouldn't cause significant story issues, though their characters will be missed. So far, it looks like the returning characters are planning to go with the hunt for the Fountain of Youth, as implied at the end of World's End. Taken on face-value, that sounds rather boring, but given what they've pulled off in the other three installments, I'm sure they'll find a way to make it bizarrely interesting. I just hope they find some more balancing characters to fill the gap left by Will and Elizabeth. Oh, and that they don't try to bring back the "same" characters played by different actors.

Speculation: We can probably count on undead monsters of some sort either guarding the Fountain of Youth or something needed to find the Fountain. Since they went over the edge of the world in the third film, I'm sure they'll try to find some metaphysical theme to match or top that. If they actually find the Fountain, it will probably be cursed. Assuming Bloom does not return, I would probably include a one-off scene where they see the Flying Dutchman (but not its captain). Not sure what else. Since the theme of World's End was that the world was becoming "smaller," and maybe too small for pirates, it's hard to say where they'll go overall.

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T4

I finally made it to see Terminator: Salvation. It was very nearly perfect. One thing that was done very very well was to pay attention to details and back-story from the previous movies, without being heavyhanded about it. Now, anyone who saw the previews (and paid any attention to the first five minutes of the movie) knew already that Marcus wasn't exactly human. The first time this becomes obvious on-screen is when a human punches him. You see the exact same head-deflection used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in T2. Another nod to T2 is that John Connor hacks into multiple "security" panels in a way very reminiscent of young John Connor hacking into ATMs in T2. Plus we finally get to see some of the massively huge Skynet machines in real action sequences, rather than just in short flashforwards.

The reason it was only nearly perfect relates to the very last scene. I think the sentiment could have been made to work, but as is, it came across as a bit, well, corny. It didn't help that the foreshadowing for it was a bit heavy-handed, to the point that I was going "Why do they keep bringing that up?" To be fair, there were at least two reasons to keep bringing it up, both of which show up near the end of the movie. The one that bugged me, though, was from the very last scene. Trying to describe this without actually spoiling it is a bit tricky. Okay, they kept bringing up X throughout the film. Suddenly X becomes important in the last scene, and it becomes obvious why they kept bringing it up. Then they produce a corny moral out of X.

They did something similar at the end of T2, with Sarah Connor's speech: "If a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of a human life, maybe we can too," (from memory, so it may not be exact). This could have been corny, but they actually made it work. I didn't think the attempt worked in T4. I didn't actually see T3, as the previews put me off, so I don't know if something similar was tried there. I think if it hadn't been so heavyhanded, it might have worked. It just didn't work as written.

FYI: Kyle Reese, aka John Connor's future, er, past, er... John Connor's eventual father is played by Anton Yelchin, who was also Chekov in the recent Star Trek film. He had more of a chance to shine here. Also, there is a T5 listed as "in development", with the same director at the helm.

And in the bizarre trivia department... Danny Elfman composed the score for T4. He also composed the score for Tim Burton's Batman movies (the two with Michael Keaton). When Hans Zimmer was asked to do the music for Batman Begins, he didn't want to compete with Elfman's haunting score, so he did a percussion heavy, "black on black" score. So now in T4, I hear Elfman doing a very similar "black on black" score, at least in some places. Not sure what to make of that. There's also a riff of melody that I finally figured out reminds me of the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack.

One (ranting) spoiler below the fold.

Above, X = Marcus' human heart. Several times in the film, someone comments on how "good and strong" it is. The first time, I was slightly weirded out by it. The second time, I was just confused. Then in the last scene, when someone else's heart was giving out, I just wanted to kick whoever had written those plants into the earlier part of the script. I mean, you don't need to bludgeon us with the foreshadowing, okay? And could we at least have had one of the foreshadowing references refer to his heart metaphorically, rather than solely to the literal, physical organ? That might have made the derived moral work a bit better. Maybe. When it comes out on DVD, I may try my hand at rephrasing the moral so that it doesn't come across as just weird. For now, I don't remember it well enough to make a useful attempt.

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Fourth Time's the Charm?

I wasn't sure whether or not to believe it when I ran across the rumor that they might make a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Now, I wouldn't complain overly much, so long is it was up to the standards of the first three, but...well... most of the loose ends were tied up at the end of 3, and the after-credits scene indicates that Will remains bound to the Dutchman for the 10 years immediately after 3. I suppose they could play with Jack going after the Fountain of Youth, and Will can contribute so long as he doesn't set foot on land... (and continues to do the duty of the Dutchman's Captain). I don't know.

Anyway, it's at least official enough to merit an announcement on imdb. Note that it is labeled as "announced", not even "pre-production", which probably means that they're floating ideas around, seeing who they might be able to get back, and probably seeing who's willing to fund it. Since this will likely change, here's a screen-capture from today:


Most of the links on that page either take you back to the same info, or require access to IMDB-Pro. So... assuming it makes it past "announced", I can't resist speculating on what plot points they'll focus on. Presumably, they'll try to make it feel like it was always intended to be four movies, so they'll want to continue on from existing loose ends.

(1) Jack going after the Fountain of Youth - happens at the very end, needs to either be continued or have an explanation as to why it didn't work out.
(2) Barbosa going after Jack to get his map back.
(3) Will, maybe, looking for a loophole in his Dutchman duties (he's so honor-bound, though, that this one seems a stretch to me)
(4) Elizabeth looking for a loophole in Will's duties (seems more likely than Will himself)
(5) Calypso/Tia Dalma... For her to be a major player, there would have to be something she wanted that her powers as the Sea would not get for her; otherwise, I'd expect a semi-random cameo from her if the actress were available.

I'll have to rewatch to movies to see if there are any random references that might provide future movie fodder, too. Still, the most obvious loose end is the whole doomed romance bit, and unless they set 4 at least 10 years after 3, I don't think that any fix can succeed without betraying the audience.

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Star Trek

I didn't know what to expect from the new movie. Yes, reviews were favorable, and previews looked promising, but there's nothing like actually seeing it. And I loved it. It manages to capture the flavor of the old while bringing in the technology of the new (in more ways than one). I'm not going to spoil any crucial plot points (though you can find a random, unhelpful spoiler and a discussion of time travel here), but I would like to point out two places where they gave the original series a nod, but tweaked it at the same time:

(1) I'm not going to look it up, but William Shatner was something of a glory hog, and there was a plot written specifically for Sulu involving swordplay that Shatner insisted be rewritten for Kirk. Well, there's a scene where Kirk is hanging off a ledge while Sulu gets to match swords with the bad guys.

(2) Kirk was the one who always got the girl in the original series. And he tries in this new movie. However, it's someone rather unexpected who actually gets the girl.

Also, the phrase "Why do they even have that on the ship?" came to mind at one point. It will be obvious when you see it. Probably.

But I was very impressed with the casting and the effects. I was surprised that they subverted a time-honored Star Trek tradition with the ending (explaining which one would be a spoiler). I approve. Everyone needs a new beginning, sometime.

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Random Linkage

Alligators in your backyard keep coming back? Don't despair: magnetize!

This morning I happened across an interesting blog at Discover Magazine, called Reality Base. The writer, Adam Frank, seems to be at least somewhat close to my own position on science/religion, though possibly a bit more sympathetic to religion than I am. I hadn't realized how many traditions had claimed Groundhog Day as connected to their own belief systems before reading his post on the movie. I can see the reincarnation aspect, I can see the mindfulness aspect ... I just stare at the screen and go "huh?" on the heavens/hells aspect.

Through that blog, I ran across Kira, which seems to be an organization devoted to exploring what, if anything, might be knowable but outside the reach of science. The little I've read sounds promising, with some epistemological ideas thrown in and some thought-experiments. I'm worried that it might descend into woo at some point, but so far so good.

Last up, Mind Hacks has an interesting post on the phenomenology of car crashes, and also on the brain physiology, but it's the phenomenological aspect that interests me. I've had two experiences that relate. In the first, some idiot was pulling through the parking spaces at the local Albertson's, going too fast and not watching where she was going. My old car, Louis, was nearly totaled. I remember realizing what had happened after I had already stopped the car. Then I became aware of the impact, the noise, the surprised yelp (presumably from me), but I had stopped the car before conscious awareness set in. Likewise, when I had a window blowout on the interstate, I had pulled over to the side before becoming consciously aware of what had happened. The body/mind can respond before the consciousness even knows there's anything to respond to. That's key in push-hands.

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Quite Villainous

Okay, I took this at work and got an 85% the first time through. The next time through I realized that I did recognize one particular name, and then the others I'd missed became obvious. I haven't seen every film they took villains from, but I at least recognized the character well enough to know what the movie was on all but one. I'd probably seen about half of the movies.

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Kung Fu Panda

Spencer finally climbed out of his World of Warcrack haze (no, that's not a typo), so I got to see him and Kim and the kids for the first time in roughly a year. Okay, there were also mega-family things going on, but the primary culprit was World of Warcrack. So we caught up yesterday, and went to see Kung Fu Panda at the $2 theater. It would have been worth a full price ticket, honestly.

The story will be instantly familiar. Clumsy nobody gets chosen to be the prophesied hero who must save the day. However, this version is unusually well done. The animation is superb, and the characters are a lot of fun. Also, the writers did at least some research, as all of the Fabulous Five represent actual styles of Kung Fu. You can see them in the picture above: Tiger, Crane, Mantis, Snake, and Monkey.

Some of these even show up in taiji. Legendarily, the founder of the original taiji was impressed by the fluidity of a snake who was fighting with a crane. In the Cheng Man-ch'ing form, we have poses called "snake strike", "embrace tiger; return to mountain", "white crane spreads wings", "step back to repel monkey". I can't think of any mantis examples in our form, but that is certainly a classic Kung Fu style.

It was also enjoyable to see the usual martial arts training sequences turned on their head and pelted with dumplings. Use what works, not what you think ought to work! That's a particularly zen/taoist attitude, and there are plenty of other examples throughout the movie. It's rare to see zen or taoism represented so well in a mainstream work. I suspect they got it right primarily because it was intended as a kid's movie, so they weren't trying to get it right. Then there's the secret ingredient, which I can't tell you; you'll just have to go see the movie. (Or you could read to the spoiler section at Useless Tree's review; he also comments on Chinese political reactions)


All pictures from here.

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Bale Before Batman

The first movie in which I encountered Christian Bale was the 1990 TNT version of Treasure Island. It is by far my favorite cinema version of the book. In part, I like it because it stays closer to the book than most other versions. But it also has the best cast of any Treasure Island movie I've seen. Sadly, TNT has not released it to DVD. It was released on VHS ... and at the moment there is exactly one copy available from a seller for $90.

As it's been a while since I've seen it, my memory is almost certainly rusty, but Christian Bale was exactly the right age and temperament for the role. When I first saw this, I was thrilled to see that they'd left in the scene where Jim Hawkins (Bale's character) has to move the ship by himself. I don't know enough about old-time ships to say how accurately the scene was done, but it looked good to me, at least. Also, the recently deceased Charlton Heston was the best (as in worst) Long John Silver I've ever seen. He was perfect for the role. He had the disarming charmer turns to cold-blooded killer bit down pat. Christopher Lee also did a nice job as Blind Pew. In fact, I can't think of a single performance that disappointed me in the movie.

The problem with the other live-action versions I've seen is that they invariably want to cutesify it. In the Disney version, for instance, Jim Hawkins is ridiculously young, and Silver doesn't have the right aura of menace. The TNT version, imo, captures the characters as they are in the book, and that is very, very rare for a movie-adaptation from a book.

So while I'm hoping this one will make to to DVD, I was rather pleased to see that the entire thing seems to be up on YouTube in 10-minute increments. Here's Part I:


How long it will stay up is anybody's guess. I figure that if TNT does decide to release it on DVD, the first thing they'll do is pull down any web-versions, but, hey, I can enjoy it while it lasts! Oh, and the permalink to the video's page is here, and links to Parts II through XV should show up as well.

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Dark Knight

First response: WOW!!11!

First off, the plot was beautifully crafted. One of the problems with Batman and Robin was the sheer number of characters vying for screen time, and a big part of that problem was that there was no real connection between most of those characters and their "creation stories". There were close to the same number of semi-major characters in Dark Knight, but all the plotlines connected. It worked. I will say that I preferred Katie Holmes as Rachel, but ya can't have everything.

There is very little chance of me spoiling anything, because to explain any one part of the plot would require explaining two or three others, ad nauseum. It's that interwoven. The music is still brilliant. I read a critic describe it as "black on black" for Batman Begins, and that is largely followed in Dark Knight as well. There was one spot towards the beginning where an unexpected bit of melody distracted me, but otherwise the bits of melody were well-placed.

There is an overall theme for the movie. You could almost subtitle it "Dark Knight vs. White Knight." The idea is that, well, wouldn't it be nice to have a hero for Gotham who (a) shows his face and (b) works within the law? There's an amusing irony in (a), which would only be a spoiler to anyone who isn't familiar with the name "Harvey Dent." Of course, there's a Joker in the deck, too.

It is a pity about Heath Ledger. Seriously. I can't imagine anyone matching his performance as the Joker. A sequel isn't as strongly implied at the end of this one as it was at the end of Batman Begins, but there are certainly hints that one is possible. And, well, very mild spoiler: The Joker is alive at the end of the movie. What they'll do about him for a sequel... *shrugs*

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Forbidden Kingdom

I dragged Fibonacci to see Forbidden Kingdom Wednesday. The primary plotline is, well, a standard one. Prophesied hero starts out as a bungling misfit, gets better as the movie goes along, and manages to save the day. So in that sense, there are no surprises. The surprises come in how well done it was. Also, it borrowed a great deal from Chinese myth, and I always find it refreshing to see non-Western sources utilized. Plus, it's the first movie ever to feature both Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

I encountered one person describing Forbidden Kingdom as "The martial arts version of the Wizard of Oz." There's a bit of truth to this, only Dorothy would have needed to rescue the Wizard from the Witch before she could go home. Also, no Toto. It can't be the Wizard of Oz with no Toto. But we do have a boy from our world magically transported to a mythical realm and needing to find his way home. He does wind up with three companions: a drunken scholar warrior, a silent monk, and an orphan bent on revenge.

The premise of the movie is that the Monkey King has been imprisoned by the Jade Warlord and has turned the Celestial Kingdom into a depraved tyranny. The only way to stop his reign of terror is to return the Monkey King's magical staff to him.

The Seeker, prophesied to be the one to return the staff, turns out to be a kung-fu-movie-obsessed teen from our world, who needs to learn real martial arts in a hurry. Though they were brief I was impressed with the training sequences. There was a bit of genuine taiji philosophy thrown in, and used "correctly": i.e. a beginning student would have very little idea what it actually meant. Also, they showed a standing meditation variant, with a much deeper stance than the one I've trained in, plus a bit of iron shirt style training (in this case, attacking bamboo both to strengthen muscle and to learn how to absorb force). Of course, I tend to remember the fabled words of a taiji master. "Yes, very useful ... if you're ever attacked by a stand of bamboo." ^/^

The timespan is difficult to judge, but as the Seeker's hair grows about 3 inches in the course of the movie, presumably the journey took a few months. That's not a completely unreasonable timespan to gain martial proficiency, particularly if that's about all that you do. It took Ben Lo either 1 or 2 years to become Cheng Man Ch'ing's best push-hands student: the one who fended off challenges to Professor Cheng. As far as I know, he was unbeaten. Someone (whose name I should remember) fought Ben Lo to a draw, and then Professor Cheng came out to face the interloper, who was quickly and soundly beaten, and immediately asked to become Professor Cheng's student. Anyway, back to the movie.

Two of the Seeker's companions embody two of the major religions in historical China. The Silent Monk (Jet Li) represents Buddhism. The Drunken Scholar (Jackie Chan) represents Taoism. Both schools emphasize a "middle path," but, by and large, the Buddhist path tends to lean more towards asceticism, and Taoist schools with more Buddhist contact tend to lean more that way as well. So we see a rather dour Silent Monk, and a very relaxed Drunken Scholar. Naturally when they first meet, there's a bit of a conflict, and there's a very nicely choreographed fight scene. They're pretty much evenly matched, and that fits the balance between the two schools that has developed in China over the centuries. There are some very famous, and very bloody, conflicts between the two sects, especially when Buddhism was first introduced to China.

Then there's the Jade Warlord. He supposedly rules under the Mandate of Heaven, but, by becoming a despot, he should have lost that mandate. That quibble aside, he represents the worst despots in Chinese history. A lot of Chinese thought was born in the Warring States Period. Despotic warlords were the norm. Life for ordinary people was chaotic, bloody and short. The Monkey King stands for someone who will stand up to the despots, and make them look like fools in the process.

The last of the major characters is Sparrow. The Jade Warlord murdered her parents when she was a baby, and her only goal is revenge. Revenge seems to define her entire existence; there's no room for anything else. That's not a healthy way to live in any philosophical system, so it's pretty clear that this will end badly from the start. I think Sparrow represents the bitterness and anger that can develop under a tyrant, as well as the self-destructiveness that they can bring.

In essence, then, Forbidden Kingdom can be seen as a microcosm of Chinese history. It can also be seen as just another quest movie, and most Americans will probably do just that. Either way, I thought it was a lot of fun. In particular, I liked that the prophesied Seeker would have been helpless without guidance from his native companions. There are certainly some corny bits, but, eh, no movie's perfect.

Oh, as far as I know, this tale is not one of the traditional Monkey stories, but it fits right in with the ones I have heard of. Just a few links for more information:
Illustrated Monkey Tales
Analysis of Journey to the West (often called simply "Monkey" in the west)
Just a touch of geography.

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Casino Royale

As in the newest edition to the James Bond canon, not the parody movie which somehow got away with using the name "James Bond." That one was fairly entertaining, if rather corny.

The newer Casino Royale, though, is extremely well done, if a bit problematical for the established canon. See, it's an origin story. Bond's only just been promoted to "double 0" status. However, it's set in the modern era with cell phones and computers and implantable microchips, etc. Once I got over the whole "Er, did the earlier films with older Bonds regress technologically?" thing, I quite enjoyed it. (There are no major spoilers ahead, but possibly a few hints at things)

I will note that there were two places where the movie could potentially have ended, but I'm just as glad that it didn't. Most of the plot loose ends did get tied up by the end. There were a few places where I just wanted to applaud the villain(s). Seriously awesome badness. I mean, tying a girl to a railroad track just doesn't compare (if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about; if not, you'll figure it out when the scene comes up). Also, there was no "lock the hero in a room and wait for a complicated device to kill him" shtick. There was a locked room, but the villain kinda needed him alive at that point. `/^

*pauses* I just noticed a bit of a plot hole... which renders that entire scene unnecessary. Ah well. It still beats the locked-room-death-device, even if torture is not an intelligent way to gather information. I can think of much better ways to get the needed "password," assuming it was genuinely needed. Probably not as spectacular on screen, however. `/^

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Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull(s)

No, that's not quite the official title, but it's easier to say. And I quite enjoyed it (which will probably horrify Matt). ^/^

I went in expecting it to be mediocre, based on the reviews. It was better than mediocre. Not awesomely great, but an enjoyable romp. A few minor spoilers below the fold.

If you've seen the first or third movies, you know the basic plot (I can't remember the second well enough to compare). There is a powerful semi-mystical artifact. Bad people want it. Good people (including our intrepid hero) are trying to stop them from getting it. The bad people in this movie are Russians, as the writers realized that WWII couldn't last forever. However, they act just like the Nazis in the other two films, just with Russian accents and the occasional Russian word. Cate Blanchett is quite fun as the head Russian.

The artifact, as you probably can guess from the title, is a crystal skull. For the record, I'm not a bit fan of skull imagery, so I was quite pleased that these skulls didn't look particularly human. There's a reason for that, probably tied up with why a lot of people didn't like the movie. I'm not sure why aliens are any less plausible than power-of-god-in-a-box or an immortality-chalice myself. *shrugs* Oh, wait, you mean cultural myths are more culturally acceptable than fringe-lunatic-myths? Sorry, but...why?

Yeah, the plot is kind of ludicrous, but no more so than any of the other Indiana Jones movies. But I definitely liked the character sub-plots, though the passing-of-the-torch gig was a bit heavy-handed. On the other hand, I did not see an incredibly obvious plot twist coming, and I kicked myself for not seeing it. Incidentally, you know that, any time one character alone takes time to grab up all the treasure that he can, particularly gold ones, he's pretty much a goner.

One part bugged me (no pun intended, and for a different reason than it bugged Matt). Okay, the one guy who can lead them to the Forbidden City Secret Temple is in the car containing the "good guys". The Russians are in another car, attempting to drive the other car off the road into a bottomless ravine. DOES NOT COMPUTE. They still need the guide. They didn't even bother to have a half-hearted "Ve need zem alife!" In fact, it was the head honchess herself driving the vehicle attempting to shove them off the road! Maybe she knew it was just a movie and so she knew she wouldn't be able to push them off the road ...? She was supposed to be psychic, after all. *mutters*

Anyway, if you go in expecting a light-hearted romp, you'll probably enjoy it. If you go in expecting a masterpiece, you'll wind up hating it.

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Language

As the old trope goes, there are no new ideas. My position on swearing/cusswords has been neatly summed up over at Evolving Thoughts:

It's not like I haven't used foul language myself - at one point in my life every second word was foul, but eventually I came to realise that in so doing I was merely debasing those swear words to nothing, so that when I really needed to swear, I had nothing left.

I never went through a period of heavy swearing, but that's largely because I realized early on that if those words became commonplace, I'd need to come up with something even worse when an event that actually merited swearing came along. I also used to amuse myself by going through movies rated R for swearing and noting the places where the swearing was absolutely appropriate to the situation. The only one I remember now is from The Crow. When he realizes that something has happened so that he can now be hurt, he says, "Ah, f***". The rest of the swearing was superfluous. Admittedly, the violence would still have merited an R-rating.

I don't find superfluous swearing offensive so much as pointless ... and annoying in large quantities. Besides, people get much more worried when you use big, complicated words and phrases to express your annoyance. `/^

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Curse of the Golden Flower

Interesting tragedy, with subtitles. Curse of the Golden Flower has the same director as Hero and House of Flying Daggers, and a very similar flavor. The emphasis is on lavish sets with flamboyant color. Oh, yes, and extremely twisted characters. There are aspects of Romeo and Juliet, and of MacBeth and of Hamlet in it. It's well-crafted, and haunting, but...I didn't really like most of the characters, and the ones that I did like, well... it's a tragedy: you can figure it out.

The story centers on the imperial family: Emperor, Empress, their two sons, and a son from the Emperor's first wife. Think of every possible soap opera plot of a scheming family, stir them around and keep the most sordid bits, and you've got a good idea of what the family is like. It's very nearly accurate to say that everyone is plotting against everyone else. And then there's the Imperial Doctor's family... I don't want to spoil details, so I'll leave the familial relationships at that.

I think the main thing I didn't like was the ending. Now the question is whether I can describe why I didn't like it without spoiling it... Lemme put it this way: the worst "bad guy," while he'll be miserable for the rest of his life, is not sufficiently destroyed for my tastes, and the character for whom I had the most sympathy is in no way freed at the end. I would have liked some resolution on both of those issues.

I'd recommend it for the flamboyant atmosphere, and the nicely interwoven plots... I'd just like to rewrite the ending a bit.

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Who's Expelling Whom?

Background: Expelled is a movie paid for by the so-called "intelligent design" crowd, "explaining" how scientists who speak up for the idea of design are expelled. I'm told it makes the stronger claim that all theistic scientists are also expelled and discriminated against, etc. So you'd think that such people would be open and inclusive and welcoming to all points of view, right? You'd think that they'd want to preserve open discussion to show how much better they are than the evil, nasty evilutionists. Well, they've proven once again that, when it comes to free inquiry and discussion, they demand rigidly defined off-limit areas. P.Z. Myers was expelled from a screening of this movie. You'll have to click to find out the best part, though. ^/^

UPDATE: Here is a post from someone who did make it in. Apparently the cdesign proponentsists are trying to spin this as PZ causing a disturbance and harassing people whilst trying to "sneak" in. Uh huh. Suuuuuure. How exactly is it "sneaking in" to put your own name on a list and show your own photo-ID, hmmm?

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The Legend of Bagger Vance

This one made quite a stir when it first came out, but at the time the previews didn't interest me at all. I became vaguely interested when I read a review that mentioned it was a modern take on the Bhagavad Gita. In fact, the name "Bagger Vance" is almost certainly tied to "Bhagavad". The protagonist is Rannulph Junuh, as in R. Junuh = Arjuna. When I saw it was on TNT this morning, I decided to give it a try. Very nicely done. It's a bit slow... and a bit heavy on golf, but still enjoyable.

Junuh (Matt Damon) is a local golf-hero who went off to WWI and lost himself. He disappears for 10 years, and when he finally does return, he has no interest in his former life. Then he gets sucked into a golf tournament, and Bagger Vance (Will Smith) shows up and offers to caddy for him. On the one hand, there's a touch of "wise black dude" syndrome...on the other, there's no sense that Smith's character knows all this because he's black, and in the Gita, it's clear that Krishna can take any form he feels like. I think if there hadn't been so many movies where the one non-white character was the font of all wisdom, this wouldn't bug me. It just gets overdone.

Anyway, back to the movie. Even though most of the movie is focused on a golf game, it's not really about golf. It's about the "game you can never win but can only play," i.e. life. Arguably, it's about golf as meditation, but that's too narrow. It's about life as meditation, as practice; about being aware of each and every moment in that life and responding as needed. It's about being in the game and participating rather than making a show of it. It's about being in the game for the game, and not for your ego or for the people watching the game.

Good movie. Good interactions between the characters. I find the context of a golf game slightly odd, but it was good in spite of that `/^ ... Actually, what I found odd was the extreme excitement people were expressing at this golf tournament, though I can sort of see it since Junuh was a local and the other players were the best of the best. *shrugs* I'm not really into sports, so I can only relate in an abstract fashion. Still, it's one I'd recommend for when you're in a thoughtful mood. If you want something fast-paced and exciting, this isn't it...on the other hand, it might do you some good if you constantly crave speed and excitement. `/^

I'll post one exchange from IMDB to give the flavor:

Bagger Vance: What I'm talkin about is a game... A game that can't be won only played...
Rannulph Junuh: You don't understand...
Bagger Vance: I don't need to understand... Ain't a soul on this entire earth ain't got a burden to carry he don't understand, you ain't alone in that... But you been carryin' this one long enough... Time to go on... lay it down...
Rannulph Junuh: I don't know how...
Bagger Vance: You got a choice... You can stop... Or you can start...
Rannulph Junuh: Start?
Bagger Vance: Walkin...
Rannulph Junuh: Where?
Bagger Vance: Right back to wehre you always been... and then stand there... Still... real still... And remember...
Rannulph Junuh: It's too long ago...
Bagger Vance: Oh no sir it was just a moment ago... Time for you to come on out the shadows Junuh... Time for you to choose...
Rannulph Junuh: I can't...
Bagger Vance: Yes you can... but you ain't alone... I"m right here with ya... I've been here all along... Now play the game... Your game... The one that only you was meant to play... Then one that was given to you when you come into this world... You ready?... Stike that ball Junuh don't hold nothin back give it everything... Now's the time... Let yourself remember... Remember YOUR swing... That's right Junuh, settle yourself... Let's go... Now is the time, Junuh...

It's worth mentioning that in the Bhagavad Gita, the context was a war rather than a golf game. Most modern readers seem to interpret that war as a metaphor for life, and in this case they've used golf as the metaphor rather than war.

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Self Inflicted Meme (Now with more than 13% more Solutions!)

I can't remember what I was searching for when I came across this meme, or if it was a random link, or whatever, but it's exactly the kind of thing I like, so I figured I'd go for it.

Meme rules:
1. Pick 15 of your favourite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions. Totally cheating, you dirty cheaters.

Left to identify:

10a. Jake, in order to buy $120,000 worth of gold, you need $120,000.
10b. You're tryin' to tell me that your little pussycat came from another planet in another galaxy in a spacecraft and landed right here on earth...?
The Cat From Outer Space Preview Here

13a. My driving is rivaled only by the lightning bolts from the heavens!
13b. Of course you know certain sceptics note that perhaps 10,000 of the nations's most elite highway patrolmen are out there waiting for us after we start, but let's stay positively: Think of the fact that there's not one state in the 50 that has the death penalty for speeding... although I'm not so sure about Ohio.
The Cannonball Run Opening Credits and 20th Century Fox Crash


Other players: John, Fibonacci, Snark.

Go over and take a look. Much to my surprise, I was unable to identify ANY of the ones posted by Snark and Fibonacci. Recognized a few, but not well enough to put them to a movie.

RE-UPDATE: New player. Fibonacci has decided to join in.

UPDATE: I've decided to label two more that required an extra quote from me for someone to guess, and I've also added an extra quote to the two other holdouts. The extra quotes ought to be obvious to anyone who's seen the movies. Particularly #10.

Note: Since mine are mostly labeled now, John has some more. And I've moved up the holdouts to make them easier to see.

1. People in your country do not like conversation? - Last Samurai

2. Ok, you people! Sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we're not back by dawn... call the president. - Big Trouble in Little China

3. I'm afraid currency is the currency of the realm. -Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

4. When someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"! -Ghostbusters

5. Either you're part of the problem or you're part of the solution or you're just part of the landscape. -Ronin

6. So, Peter, you've become a pirate. -Hook

7. Uh, begin, commence, start moving... theoretically you have been racing for about forty seconds now, and so far Mr. Schaffer is winning because he's nearest to the door. -Rat Race

8.a. When I come back, I expect to find you gone. Wait for me!
8.b. I'm not a Brewster! I'm the son of a sea cook!
-Arsenic and Old Lace

9. Beware all wenches. -Blackbeard's Ghost

11. Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere! -O Brother, Where Art Thou

12a. You remember the day I went out for cigarettes and didn't come back? You must have noticed.
12b. There's a ninety-five pound Chinese man with a hundred sixty million dollars behind this door.
-Ocean's 11

14. No crater? But I want a crater! I want wreckage, twisted metal. Something the world will not forget! -Pink Panther Strikes Again

15. Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? -Monty Python and the Holy Grail

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Sweeney Todd

It never made it to the only large theater in Pocatello during the initial release, but is finally showing in the second tier theaters. And I got to see it tonight! Very, very well done. It's not quite how I would have done it, but everything works. If you've seen any of Tim Burton's other films, especially things like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice, you'll have some idea what kind of atmosphere to expect.

Johnny Depp managed to surprise me. At the very beginning, I had my doubts. There just wasn't enough expression in his first lines. Seeing the rest of it, that must have been deliberate, perhaps as if he were feeling a bit numb to see London again. The rest of his performance is beautiful. Gruesome, but beautiful.

Helena Bonham Carter is quite good as well. I would either have cast someone with a scratchier voice for the role, or tried to train her to sing it that way. Her voice was just a bit too pretty for the role of Mrs. Lovett, imo. But maybe that's just me. Her speaking lines were wonderfully delivered, and she had just the right flair, so I can't complain about anything else.

They did leave out quite a bit that was in the musical. No tooth-pulling contest with Pirelli; no Judge Turpin lashing himself; no chorus; no "resurrection" at the end. The chorus I particularly missed. The melody ran throughout much of the movie, but no one ever sang the lyrics. I thought maybe they'd show up in the credits, at least, but they hadn't by the time Fibonacci and I headed out. As for the other elements that were omitted, I can understand that based on the way the movie ended; those elements would have been distractions. I will say that what happened at the very end of the movie was in the musical, but it was not the very end of the musical. There was a bit more closure on other plot elements.

At any rate, I would highly highly highly recommend this. Er, fair warning, it is a bit graphic: blood spurting and whatnot. I'm the type of person to note such things and begin wondering how they managed the effect, so it generally doesn't bother me. So perhaps I should amend that, and recommend it to anyone with a grand sense of the macabre. PS: if you liked the song, you'll love the way they did "A Little Priest" in the movie. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

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National Treasure

Yeah, it's a few years old now, but I only just managed to sit through National Treasure. It's been on tv several times, but when I came in right at the beginning, I lost interest. This time I came in about 10 minutes into the movie, and it immediately caught my interest. This was the scene where Nicolas Cage is going to steal the Declaration of Independence so that Sean Bean can't. It was an enjoyable movie. Weird, but enjoyable. There are a few spoilers below the fold, but as the movie is extraordinarily predictable, I really don't think they spoil much.

The first thing I noticed was that it was set up like many puzzle computer games. You collect objects, run across puzzles, and have to figure out what to do next. The second thing I noticed was that there were lots of parallels to the Indiana Jones movies. Imdb lists one that I missed, along with other movie tie-ins, but misses the three that seemed most glaringly obvious to me: (1) Father-son team seeking ancient, possibly mythical, treasure; (2) The scene where they descend into the vault of the church was shot in exactly the same way as where Indy descended into the vault of a church; (3) The moment where Nicolas Cage has to let go of either the Declaration or the girl was rather obviously borrowed from the scene where Indy has to choose between the girl and the grail. I'm sure there were others, but those stood out for me. It wasn't a parody, exactly; I'd call it more of a pastiche tribute.

One other oddity. The music just before Nicolas Cage activates the secret door was taken straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean: the music in the fog at the very beginning, with the breathy flutes. It's not the same composer. Could be coincidence, but I'm not inclined to think so. Of course, in Pirates, the music started up just before the cursed pirate ship appeared... which, if it was deliberately borrowed, would suggest that the treasure was cursed... Or maybe I'm overthinking and it was just supposed to signify "treasure" in general.

So, overall, a fun romp, so long as you make no attempt to take it seriously. I think that's what turned me off the first few times I tried to watch it; the beginning had a semi-serious feel to it. Once it got going, it was a lot of fun. An enjoyable two hours (minus commercials, which I muted). And maybe at some point, I might get around to watching the sequel. `/^

As far as the Templar treasure goes... if it ever existed, I suspect it was found long ago by someone with the sense to keep his mouth shut, or else it was scattered during the French persecution. Though I find the whole Baigent/da Vinci code version of the treasure (as the bloodline of Christ) to be extraordinarily amusing, if for no other reason than because it annoys so many people.

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