From a private blog, five years ago on May 31st.
Watched Surrogates and Avatar this weekend.
The makeup effects in Surrogates was awesome. If we really had 'surs', I wouldn't get one for the simple fact that I can't lay anywhere that long being plugged in. They were originally made for the homebound and disabled, but even then, I can't even imagine plugging in to a doll unit, no matter how well I could experience by proxy, just to walk around town or sit in a car or whatever. A job, yeah, I can see that, working from home and still being mobile, but honestly? With *my* nerve endings? I'd be the one to get weird itches and my doll would be out there constantly scratching or tweaking or doing weird things while I wiggle around in the chair and get two different sets of brain waves tangled up. I'd constantly be turning my doll off in public to get up.
Avatar. Totally jealous that we don't have a glow in the dark forest. ~But~. Ok, floating mountain. Whatever mechanism you wanna use to create this wonderful effect, shouldn't you apply the same physics to everything around it? I mean, if gravity is in any way changed enough to affect an entire mountain, how did the People run around like gravity was just fine? Sorry, James Cameron, it was really pretty, but shortcuts like that bother me. Normal flying would have been impossible in that area, as well. I won't go into the rest, like nothing having fur (too much trouble?) and the really super bad light the whole movie put on the military in joint operations with super corporations, broadly hinting at the fact that everything on Earth itself is completely and utterly evil, which in turn, I'm sure, points to our world govt badly needing an overhaul. Personally, I think the whole movie was political agenda wrapped around pretty graphics. I'm all for saving the World Tree and all, but can we please not vilify the entire human race in one fell swoop? I've seen a lot of scifi, that was possibly the crudest story line I've ever seen making future tech the Bad Guy. And the really sick irony is that James Cameron is very wealthy, living off the masses... I'm not against wealth. I'm against wealthy people who twist reality to get wealthy, while the people below them spend money they really don't have on merchandise and 'green' initiatives. How many urbanites really believed the phrase in the movie "We killed our mother! The green is gone!" (paraphrased, perhaps), while I sit here surrounded by lush forest and fields so overwhelming with pollen and vermin and critters that I don't even go outside? How many people aren't aware that our govt is currently seizing hundreds of thousands of pristine acreages as we speak? Excusez moi, but the whole movie was propaganda. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of that.
Guess I got carried away. Also watched Alien Apocalypse (Bruce Campbell) over the weekend and laughed my head off. From Alien Apocalypse (2005) (TV) - Memorable quotes
Fisherman Bob: What are you doing here?
Dr. Ivan Hood: We're looking for the president.
Fisherman Bob: The president huh? The president's dead.
Dr. Ivan Hood: Are you sure?
Fisherman Bob: No. Are you sure he's alive?
Dr. Ivan Hood: No, but we're gonna find out.
Alex, Bizzi & Tyler : [fists in air, chanting in unison] THE PRESIDENT LIVES!
Dr. Ivan Hood: Hey hey hey! Can we stop with that 'President Lives' crap, okay? You're not slogan repeating slaves anymore, you're free people! Start acting like it.
Dr. Ivan Hood: We're looking for the president.
Fisherman Bob: The president huh? The president's dead.
Dr. Ivan Hood: Are you sure?
Fisherman Bob: No. Are you sure he's alive?
Dr. Ivan Hood: No, but we're gonna find out.
Alex, Bizzi & Tyler : [fists in air, chanting in unison] THE PRESIDENT LIVES!
Dr. Ivan Hood: Hey hey hey! Can we stop with that 'President Lives' crap, okay? You're not slogan repeating slaves anymore, you're free people! Start acting like it.
Ok, tell me how, in any kind of theory, this movie is any different in plot than Avatar, just the roles are reversed, but they make the same point. And I find the super crappy one more entertaining. At least you can blame whatever poor editing on a really low budget. James Cameron had no excuse. Just once I'd like to see a wealthy Hollywood director actually do something without begging the question around every corner. If you're gonna make a point about greedy alien hostile takeover, just make it and don't drag in all the current political baggage with a line about how humans destroyed their mother and the green is gone. I like this quote from Geek Entertainment News and Commentary - Angry Zen Master Guess I wasn't the only one who came away disgusted.
"Science fiction can serve to give us hope for the future. Star Trek is all about unity and the indomitable will of humanity. Avatar is about us being total dicks to ten-foot tall blue cat people. I find that far more sinister than the noble savage aspect. Sky People suck so bad that even Jake can’t stand to be one. He spends most of the film in his Avatar. Why should we give a toss what happens to humanity when our hero doesn’t."
Back to 2015. I have a lot more distraction now chasing a tiny Sky Person around.
This is the @bonenado shelf at Hobby Lobby. No, we didn't get anything. We're as frugal as Vulcans.
Got a cute little Toshiba message letting me know my battery will be expiring one of these days and something about my SSD can be written over only so many times before it gets worn out. Basically, lappy might only have a few weeks or months left before I've gotta spend at least $100 on a battery or just flat retire it and get a new laptop. I'll be hoarding away money and being a bit selfish this year, might be a slim Christmas. Just a heads up. Since I can still see pretty good, I guess this means another year in my old glasses. I'm not too worried, the health report looks good, but as hard as I work this thing, maybe I need to stop downloading vids and toggling so many screens, give this poor thing a break.
That's it, I'm bushwhacked. Going down early again tonight.
