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Zombieland

Posted by Mr. Longmire on Oct 26, 2009 in Entertainment, Movies

I saw Zombieland at the movies this evening. It’s been out almost a month, and this was Monday, so as it turned out I was the only one in the theater. And, I had to silence my cell phone so I wouldn’t disturb myself.

Anyhoo, like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland is a fun zombie movie and I really liked it, especially its likable characters… namely, Woody Harrelson’s character. I also liked the use of super slow motion and credit graphics at the start.

Movies that deal with surviving the end of human civilization, like The Omega Man, 28 Weeks Later, etc., have always appealed to me. I think I like this theme probably because of the population drop, the total freedom and lack of rules, and access to places and possessions usually unattainable in normal life. But, the downside is the eventual scarcity of food and power… and, of course, the constant threat of zombies. It’s a nice fantasy, though.

 
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Fun with video editing

Posted by Mr. Longmire on Jul 17, 2009 in Entertainment, Movies

Recently I had a little fun with replacing some music in a clip from “To Sir With Love.” This is a great scene to use for doing just that. Enjoy…

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Tarantino does WWII

Posted by Mr. Longmire on Mar 2, 2009 in Movies

 
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WALL-E, TV converter boxes, Comcast, etc.

Posted by Mr. Longmire on Jan 13, 2009 in Entertainment, Movies

I received a $5.00 coupon from my Best Buy Reward Zone account, so I went there last night and bought a copy of WALL-E. And since I had a $40 coupon good toward a television digital converter box, I bought one of those, too. Even though I subscribe to cable TV, I might possibly need a converter. You never know.

I shuttle back and forth living at my house and at my girlfriend’s house. When I am at my house, I seldom watch television programs. I opt to choose what I put on my TV screen with movies and TV series on DVD, videogames, and NetFlix movie choices streamed through my Xbox 360. So, I went to Comcast to get rid of my cable television channels to save some money each month.

I thought it was a nice plan… a simple plan.

BOY, WAS I WRONG.

I learned that, yes, I could eliminate my channels altogether but it would make my internet bill go up $15 more each month… to block the video channels from coming in, or some nonsense like that. So, I asked them how much it would cost to keep the internet but get the cheapest , bottom of the barrel, bargain basement deal on the TV channels, and they said the very basic TV package was… guess what? $15.00 a month. Clever… they’re determined to get that damn $15.00 no matter what. So, that is where it stands, I have internet and about 12 or 13 TV channels.

Okay… whew… let me calm down a bit. All right, I feel better now. Getting back to WALL-E… I bought a DVD of the movie last night and watched it. Well, after downing a bowl of delicious Tai food as I watched, I fell asleep ¾ into the movie, but what I did see was a fascinating and beautiful little film. It had two of my favorite subjects in it. Space travel and robots. The robots don’t hardly talk save but a few scattered words here and there, so they rely on body movement to express themselves and act out emotions. I couldn’t help but notice that the body language of the characters was reminiscent of the style of the old silent film comedians such as my favorites Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. They also had to rely on communicating through motion and gestures since there was no sound in motion pictures during their heyday. The character of WALL-E also reminded me somewhat of the pre-Star Wars drones from the film Silent Running.

In summary, WALL-E is a fun film that also sends a serious message concerning we humans ruining our home planet’s environment, super commercialism of everything, and our becoming fat, lazy beings who rely totally on technology. In other words, it’s a documentary of things to come.

 
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SAMMY!

Posted by Mr. Longmire on Jan 9, 2009 in Movies

Today I uploaded my first ever video to YouTube. This is a clip from the 1968 film “Salt and Pepper” starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, two members of the Rat Pack. Notable in this clip is Sammy’s wireless electric guitar which is the sassiest axe in London, baby, where this movie takes place. As you can guess, the movie sucks generally but has a fun Austin Powers kind of feel to it. If you want to view the entire movie, check it out on Netflix. With a Netflix membership, you can watch it instantly on your computer or through your Xbox 360 console. The quality kind of sucks here, so feel free to click on the video image below to go to the YouTube site and then click on the “watch in high quality” link. Hey, I’m still learning!

Now, bring it on down and sock it to me, baby!

 
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I’m seven but I look a lot older…

Posted by Mr. Longmire on Jan 5, 2009 in Movies

benjaminbuttonThe week after Christmas, Brenda and I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which is a wonderful film. The story is very touching and the performances are great. It’s a sad tale about a man who is born into old age as an infant and grows younger as the years go by. Needless to say, he has a tough childhood and adolescence.

The special effects needed to pull off this illusion are outstanding. Aging an actor with makeup appliances is nothing new (and it is done superbly here) but taking a made-up head of an actor and digitally grafting it onto a smaller body in motion through a good third of a movie is incredible and it’s handled flawlessly in this film. 

Also, making an actor appear younger than they are is quite a feat to accomplish convincingly. The computer effects applied to create a 20 year-old Brad Pitt are astounding.

I recommend this film to everyone, but make sure to bring some tissues with you. It’s a tearjerker.

Visit the film’s website, and click the link “Enter the Site,” to enjoy the background photo montage featuring some nice Photoshop work on vintage photos of New Orleans locales.

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