Elegant Distractions

It would seem that my thinking was off: the insane Oliver Stone has found more work after the disastrous Alexander.

I broke down and rented Alexander over the weekend. What a disaster of a movie. Unbelievably bad in every category. The story was a mess, the characters non-compelling, the editing kept yanking you out of the moment to show you meaningless flashbacks, Colin Farrell was a simpering wimp nobody would follow into a coffee shop much less into a battle, the art direction was third-rate, the cinematography boring, the visual FX done on the cheap. A total wreck, the kind of movie you see only because you can't believe it can be this bad.

This direct-to-DVD B movie was better in most ways than what Stoned put on the screen.

via the adorable and talentd Malkin.

Posted by director at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Film

Tony Snow on the radio this morning: "Sometimes Scalia reminds his collegues that he's smarter than they are, and they're a bunch of dopes."

Posted by director at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

It can be argued that we are in the darkest days of the Bush (43) presidency. We are still in Iraq and losing troops three years after the initial war. The economy is being rocked by hurricane after hurricane and high fuel prices. The President's pick for the Supreme Court is killed by members of his own party. High ranking White House staffers are under threat of indictment. It's a pretty dark day. The Presidency is in danger of becoming a lame duck.
Or is he? The 2000th soldier was lost this week and no one other than Cindy Sheehan seemed to notice. Certainly not the mainstream public. Iraq just overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new constitution and appears to be on its way toward better days. Despite three hurricanes, the economy grew at a brisk 3.8% last quarter. The DOW is up 107 points as I write. Sure, Miers was nixed for SCOTUS but if the next pick is chosen carefully, it could be a rallying point for the base right before a critical election year. Karl Rove dodged a bullet and was not indicted. The Vice President's chief of staff was indicted but I suspect that not 1 in 500 Americans outside the beltway knowns his name.
If, as the press would have us believe, these are the darkest days, I'll take them. From where I'm sitting, this looks more like overcast, not dark. Dark is when you need a lantern to see any light. Right now, I doubt that my pupils are even dilated.

-Godshatter

Posted by Godshatter at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

When the Miers nomination for SCOTUS was announced, I winced. I had flashbacks to the Seuter and Kennedy nominations. Still, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Bush had not let us down before. He had nominated great candidates to the federal judiciary, the UN, the federal reserve, etc.
After running across this speech of hers though, I'm glad that she withdrew her nomination. Hugh Hewitt says the speech isn't significant but I disagree. Bush tells us that she is a conservative but everything about her past says she is a conservative in the Seuter mold. She has given to Democrats, advocated racial set-asides, advocated judicial activism (see speech), etc. She may be conservative right now, but if she wasn't just 12 years ago, who is to say she won't flop again. Without a readily established judicial philosophy her chances of succumbing to pressures on the court increase.
I think we dodged a bullet here. She would have been a disaster. That's not to say we've averted disaster though. The next nominee will have to be a conservative and that could spell deadlock. We could be in trouble here. Still, I'd rather have the possibility of a bad situation to a guaranteed one.

-Godshatter

Posted by Godshatter at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

Like the combined IQ of the hosts, the listenership of Air America is undetectable. If a radio station broadcasts but nobody listens, is it still vaccuous?

Air America, the liberal talk network carried on WWRC-AM (1260), went from bad to nonexistent. After WWRC recorded a mere fraction of a rating point in the spring with syndicated shows from the likes of lefty talkers Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Stephanie Miller, Arbitron couldn't detect a measurable listenership for the station this time around.

Via VodkaPundit.

Posted by director at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

From a young-but-experienced developer: "Why is it called a 'ship party' when they are holding it at a hotel?"

Posted by director at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Technology

Gotta love that Scrappleface guy:

"The Bush foreign policy continues to be fatally-wounded by clarity of purpose, dogged persistence and a pathetic failure to capitulate in the face of opposition," the source said. "At a time when a real leader would be paralyzed with self-doubt over the meaningless deaths of 2,000 American troops, Bush continues to act as if freeing 25 million Iraqis from decades of oppression, torture and death is somehow worth the price paid by those who volunteered to fight."

Posted by director at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

The Seahawks managed to pull out a near-miraculous 13-10 win by driving the length of the field with 2 minutes left and then getting an interception with 5 seconds left on the clock. This set up a 50-year field goal attempt which they made. Their offense looked pretty miserable today in the rain. That is especially true of their running game. Seattle rushed for a total of 72 yards, with Alexander getting only 61 of those. He averaged less than 3 yards per down. Dallas obviously has a really good run defense but it makes me wonder if Shaun Alexander is really the amazing player he seems to be or if he is just the product of a really good situation. Not everyone gets to run behind Walter Jones.

-Godshatter

Posted by Godshatter at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Sports

I just read this over at the Volokh Conspiracy [if you don't read it--you should]. The house just passed S.397, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms" act. The gist of it is that gun manufacturers cannot be found liable for the proper use of their products. Anti-gun bigots--having a hard time winning at the ballot box--were trying to win in the last refuge of the elitest left. They were attempting to circumvent the 2nd amendment by suing gun manufacturers when someone used a gun in a crime. If you've seen the movie, The Runaway Jury*, you understand what I'm talking about here. If successful, this could have the de facto effect of banning guns. The bill was previously passed by the Senate and it now on the way to the President's desk where he is sure to sign it. It's a good day for the Constitution.

-Godshatter

* Don't hold this against John Grisham. His book of the same name was about Tobacco. Hollywood decided to make evil gun manufacturers the target. I suspect that had something to do with its poor showing at the box office.

Posted by Godshatter at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

This quote from Houston says it all: "He's one of the top running backs in the league," Robinson said. "I thought last time when I played against LaDainian Tomlinson, I thought he was the best. But not now. Alexander is a big, fast running back."

I admit to being one of those who doubted Shawn Alexander was the right running back for Seattle. Forget that. Sign him and ride him to the playoffs.

Posted by director at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Sports

Take a look at the new Peter Jackson. It would appear he's putting his riches to good use.

Watching LOTR extra features you hear many of the actors talk about the incredible amount of energy he puts into each day. The thing that struck Spousal Unit and I was he must have consumed massive calories to keep that size.

Posted by director at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Film

This article from the Blogfather is more ominous than the population at-large will be able to grasp.

On the other hand, it may hasten us to a new internet standard since it won't take long for the EU/UN to strangle the golden goose. They see the threat to their monopoly and they fear the freedom the internet fosters.

"The state has grown used to treating its taxpayers as a farmer treats its cows, keeping them in a field to be milked. Soon, the cows will have wings.

"Like an angry farmer, the state will no doubt take desperate measures at first to tether and hobble its escaping herd. It will employ covert and even violent means to restrict access to liberating technologies."

The Sovereign Individual

Posted by director at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

This is one of those great Lomardi quotes that the anti-American forces would just as soon be forgotten.

Posted by director at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: General

A while back I noted that Microsoft had secured a studio to produce a Halo movie. At that time I was intrigued by the possibilities. This movie has the potential to be like Aliens. I was also scared by the probability. It could easily end up like so many other video game movies. Have you seen the trailer for Doom? Enough said.
Anyway, it was just announced that Peter Jackson will be directing the Halo movie. That relieves a lot of my fear. He can do an amazing job with this movie. I expect to see an incredible film.

- Godshatter

Posted by Godshatter at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Film

A few weeks ago I, along with a cast & crew, entered a fast-film competition hosted by Film2880. Our entry can be downloaded here. We came in 6th place with this film, learning a great deal along the way. One thing we learned is: it is tough to beat the locals for the audience choice award.

Another is: don't let your screenwriter and your editor be the same person.

Enjoy.

Posted by director at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Film