Saturday, June 30, 2012

Movie - "Prometheus"

In between The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, this was one of the movies I was most looking forward to seeing this summer. The only thing was, it was kind of hard to figure out in advance what it was all about. With that being said, once it did come out, I didn't read any reviews so I could go into it blindly. So consider this a minor spoiler warning.

It essentially starts out very similar to "Alien," in which a ship is traveling through space and then the ship's android wakes everyone up out of their hibernation units. It's not due to a distress call, but they've reached their destination. A planet that may hold the key to how the universe was created. Yeah, a lot of mumbo-jumbo about a species, called "engineers" who may have created the earth and all that. But hey, this is science "fiction," it didn't do anything to shake my beliefs.

They check out the planet and find for the most part what they are looking for but aren't sure what it all means (is this where humanity began). Not a slow moving movie at this point, but not necessarily fast paced either. A windstorm hits the planet and a couple of the explorers get left behind on the planet while the others are safely back on the ship. Not sure how the movie is going to progress and then BAM! There's a little parasite the explorers check out, which turns out not to be a good idea and thus brings on quite the squirm inducing scene. It's kinda like that scene in "Alien" where the monster bursts forth from the guy's chest, comes out of nowhere.

Ah, speaking of "Alien," the director of "Prometheus" is Ridley Scott, who also directed that one. It was rumored before release that this was indeed a prequel to "Alien." So, is it? Well, kinda. It's not a prequel in that you will suddenly come across the grandmother of Sigourney Weaver's character. However, if you have seen (and remember) "Alien" you will recognize some things. If you haven't seen "Alien" then you won't be lost seeing "Prometheus" but you won't be privvy to the significance of some plot developments (and some very recognizable sights, especially during the concluding sequences).

Not really any major stars. Charlize Theron would be the biggest one. Also has Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace. Rapace's character is pretty laid back, then she has a do it yourself surgery scene that is squirm inducing scene #2 in this movie. This brings out the action movie heroine in her (as she displayed quite well as the original Lizbeth Salander).

Worth checking out, but I can understand it would not be for all tastes. I saw the 3D version, and this was very much worthy of the effect. Be forewarned, the two squirm inducing scenes I mentioned really are that.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Book Review: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Finished reading the Steve Jobs biography, as this week we had the usual hype attached to the launch of a new Apple product.

This biography isn't a hack job, but was authorized by Jobs himself and is the result of many interviews with the author, Walter Isaacson, who also interviewed just about everyone that came into contact with Jobs over the years.

He was certainly a complex individual, and absolutely a genius. It's a fascinating book to read and very fast-paced. One theme throughout the book is just how much of a paradox he was. He could treat employees very badly and saw no middle ground. He either said of one's ideas that they were (crap) or he liked it, but virtually never heaped praise on anyone. He was a bad husband, a bad father, and didn't take responsibility for his first child from a previous relationship until many years later. Many people in the book express their frustration as to why Jobs could be so mean-spirited.

Lots of employees left Apple in frustration . . . but many stayed, and while they say he was difficult to work for, they also admit he pushed them to do things they never thought possible. When Jobs didn't like something, even if engineers spent months on it, they had no choice but to go back and redesign it, but Jobs was always right and the finished product was much better. He was a micromanager of the highest degree. Every inch of every Apple product he fussed and fussed over. He was even meticulous about what the INSIDE of the Mac computer should look like. Who cares what the inside looked like? Hmm, but then along came the later computers with transparent covers where you could see inside. He got that from his father, a carpenter who always made sure the back of a cabinet, that no one ever saw, looked as good as the front.

Apple didn't realy invent anything, but they took what was already out there and made it much better. MP3 players were around, but the iPod, coupled with iTunes, made them very easy to use. One tidbit I liked was from Bill Gates. He was totally dumbfounded over how in the world Jobs got the music companies to go along with him on the iTunes Store. This was during the days of illegal file sharing and it was assumed it was just herding cats to get music companies to agree to something like this.

What many forget is that Jobs' tenure at Apple was disrupted in the late 80's. He was kicked out of the company and left to start another computer company, which was unsuccessful. But then he began dabbling in other things, such as, what's that animation studio called? Oh yeah, Pixar! When he came back to Apple in the late 90's, he was only there about 15 years before passing away last year. But wow, the things he accomplished while he was there (iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad).

Fascinating reading, and I highly recommend it. But you don't get any warm and fuzzy feelings from Jobs and I would never want to be the kind of person he was. But I sure do like my iPod and my recently purchased iPad.












Tuesday, June 28, 2011

U2 at MSU

Sunday night I went up to Michigan State University, along with about 65,000 others, to see U2 on their 360 tour. This marked the third time I had seen them in concert, the first time being over 20 years ago . . . .and I'd gladly see them again. They are an incredible live band.

The first time I saw them was in 1987 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. This was the year they exploded in popularity with the Joshua Tree album. For this concert, I paid a whopping $5.00 for the ticket. No, I didn't get a big discount, that was face value for any ticket that night. You see, they were filming for the "Rattle and Hum" CD and movie, so to ensure a packed house, they had the huge discount. If you listen to "Bullet the Blue Sky" on the Rattle and Hum CD, that was recorded live the night I was there. They played all but one song that night from Joshua Tree, still their best CD ever.

The next time I saw them was in 1997 at Chicago Soldier Field for the "PopMart" Tour. A big stage and light extravanganza that sorta worked, sorta didn't at times. The CD was so-so. But still, a great live show overall. The Edge lead the crowd in a sing along of The Monkees' "Daydream Believer."

In 2001, I TRIED to see them again at Chicago's United Center. Myself and 2 other friends, the same ones at Michigan State this past Sunday, bought what turned out to be bogus tickets on the street (we had also bought tickets on the street for Popmart with no problem). As we entered the arena, and they scanned the tickets, we were told to go stand against the wall and they filled out a police report. So, somewhere in the Chicago police department archives, my name is on a report. We then looked at the Michael Jordan statue . . .and went home.

Sunday night at Spartan Stadium, we had actual tickets (which, by the way, were a gift from our friend Peter . . .yeah, quite a guy!). The crowd in 1987 in Arizona was all young, as U2 had just burst onto the scene. But this past Sunday night, it was mostly an older crowd like, uh, myself. This tour, the "360 tour" had a massive set with a huge screen. But as they perform, they are a rather unpretentious group. The Edge casually does his thing. I've seen bigger drum sets in a church worship band than what Larry Mullen has. Adam Clayton kinda struts around with a sly grin. Bono, of course, is the more bombastic one.

U2 took to the stage and did 3 songs in a row from "Achtung Baby" and for the rest of the night did a mix of the old and new. Yep, you had "Pride," "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," "I Will Follow" and many more. They sang for just over two hours. For the final encore, they did "With or Without You" and then one of their all-time greatest songs, "Where the Streets Have No Name" amped up in a live setting with The Edge and his awesome guitar. There was also a neat tribute to Gabby Giffords, with a taped segment from the International Space Station with her husband, Mark Kelly.

A great concert by a great band that 30 years later, isn't really showing their age. Not sure if I'll get a chance to see them again anytime soon, but over a 24 year span, I've seen three awesome concerts by the lads from Dublin.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

The Power of Forgiveness

On Tuesday at IU South Bend we had a speaker named Eva Kor on the topic of "The Power of Forgiveness." What made her qualified to give such a speech? Well, she was a survivor of the holocaust. Traumatic enough, certainly. But she also survived Auschwitz, the most infamous of all the Nazi death camps. But further yet, her and her twin sister were victims of Joseph Mengele's cruel experiments. Yes, if she can forgive after going through all that, I'll listen.


She was only 10 when she got off the cattle car at Auschwitz. She lost her father and brother in the crowd, never to see them again. Her mom held on tight to her and her sister. A Nazi guard went around asking who were twins. When her mom was asked if they were twins, her mom said, "Is that good?" The guard said yes, and took them away. Eva never saw her mom again.


All the twin girls, ages 2 - 16, were housed in a cramped barracks. On her first day, she went into the latrine and saw three dead children lying there. Eva said she made a vow at that moment to survive, no matter what. All that at age 10. Although she didn't go into great detail, she described one experiment she was subjected to when blood was drawn from one arm and some unknown substance injected into the other. This made her extremely sick and she vividly remembered Mengele laughing how she only had two weeks to live. But she did survive, both her and her sister. They hid in the barracks as the camp was being emptied out shortly before being liberated. Of the over 1,000 sets of twins that were at Auschwitz, only about 100 survived. Many of the other experiments were cruel beyond measure. Mengele was a true monster.

Through a long set of circumstances, Eva one day in 1993 found herself back in Germany at the home of a doctor that also was at Auschwitz and oversaw the gas chambers. He claimed that Mengele did not let anyone else know about his horrific experiments and, like many during this time, said he was only doing what he was told to do. But Eva was struck by the doctor's kindness and genuiness at what he claimed was the daily nightmare of reliving what he was made to do there (he was acquitted of war crimes at a trial in 1947). At that moment, she decided that she must forgive not only this doctor, but all those that had been a part of her cruel ordeal.

Eva is in her late 70's now, and the capacity crowd at IU was totally silent the whole time, mesmerized by her story. She has made it her mission late in life to travel around and tell her story and talk about how liberating it was to forgive those that many would say are beyond and completely undeserving of such.









During the day, they were led off to Mengele's laboratory. Many times, her arms were tied extremely tight with ropes and blood was drawn out of one arm and an unknown substance injected into the other. What that substance was, she never knew. But one day, she got extremely sick.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Oscar Yawner

Wow, that was a pretty boring Oscar telecast last night. I had a great time at the party I went to, but the show itself left much to be desired. Some random observations:
  • James Franco and Anne Hathaway ventured into David Letterman/Whoopi Goldberg territory as all-time worst hosts. Franco in particular was really, really bad. The taped bit at the beginning was good, but once they were live, all downhill.
  • I lost the pool because I was the only one to pick Hallie Steinfeld for "True Grit." The little punk lost and so she joins Amy Adams on my list (I lost the pool when I went solo on picking Amy Adams for "Junebug" and she didn't come through).
  • The presenter/winner combination of Kirk Douglas and Melissa Leo was pretty weird and at times a little cringe-worthy.
  • Our host, Carolyn, won the pool after a long drought (no one ever dominates, we all take turns winning). She also made some excellent shrimp!
  • Oh to be like Randy Newman where you can sing so poorly yet reap such a long career.
  • I was the only one to successfully pick "God of Love" for best live action short film. I have no idea what significance that holds, but figured I might as well put it out there.
  • One of the biggest standing ovations of the night was when Billy Crystal came out as a presenter. Hmm, perhaps the Academy should take note and book him now for 2012?
  • Humming any of the nominated songs from last night? Didn't think so.
  • Best acceptance speech? Uh, I guess the old dude who won screenplay for The Kings Speech and the Director who thanked his mom.
  • Worst acceptance speech? Pretty much everyone else, but Melissa Leo set the bar high with her F-bomb, rambling speech.
  • Carolyn kept us informed of Tweets by Roger Ebert, Bill Maher, and others. These were as entertaining as anything on the show.
  • They no longer allow the audience to clap during the dead people montage. So now, you no longer here the loud applause for the big movie star followed by a few random claps for the the costume designer from "Gigi."
  • Why do the hosts announce someone to the stage, and then this person's sole reason for being there is to announce someone else to the stage to do the actual presentation?
  • Cheesy as it often was, sometimes I miss the Oscar telecasts of old, complete with Rob Lowe and Snow White, endless clips, big production numbers, and Jack Nicholson grinning from the front row.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Oscar Movies, Part II

Some more of this year's nominees:

Best Picture Nominee: The King's Speech
Colin Firth plays Prince Albert, who becomes King of England when his brother abdicates the throne to marry his American mistress. Problem is, Albert has a major stammering problem, which wreaks havoc for someone that's expected to give public speeches. This is even more pronounced as this takes place in the run-up to World War II. So he seeks out the help of a speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush. Both Firth and Rush were nominated for acting awards, as was Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Albert's wife. Very good movie, one that seemed made for Oscars. This is considered the front runner, but I still believe The Social Network was better, but you won't go wrong seeing this one, it is still very good. Note: The movie is inexplicably rated R. This is basically for two brief outbursts of profanity, part of his "therapy," that is all done in a very humorous manner, not offensive at all. The rest of the movie is perfectly clean. Take away those instances and this is a very good movie for all ages.

Best Picture Nominee: Inception
Big summer movie that I missed when it was in theatres. Wasn't enticed by the previews, seemed too convoluted or another variation on The Matrix. But I was very wrong. This is an excellent movie. All about Leonardo DiCaprio who specializes in entering people's dreams and extracting info. But this time he is hired to enter someone's dream and plant info. I know, sounds kinda strange, but it is all easy to follow and the movie hums along quickly, even at 2 1/2 hours. Directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, Dark Knight). He knows his way around action movies. Very original concept, although movie buffs may recognize the basic concept from an 80's movie with Dennis Quaid. Highly recommended, and of the Best Picture nominees, I'd call this one my 2nd favorite behind The Social Network.

Best Picture Nominee: Winter's Bone
Obscure movie that no one saw when it was released. Young girl with a do-nothing mom is basically raising her little brother and sister. Finds out their house and land will be taken away if her dad (who long deserted them) doesn't show up for a court date. Quiet movie, rather bleak, but still well done. Oscar nominations for unknowns Jennifer Lawrence as the daughter and someone else who I can't remember as one of her uncles, who is quite good. It won't win anything, but it's worth checking out, but it's not the most uplifting movie you'll ever see.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Rooting Against the Steelers

It's not that I have anything against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it's just that, okay, yeah, I do have a LOT against them. Every team I've ever rooted for have had their aspirations one way or another thwarted by this team.

The first team I ever rooted for were the Dallas Cowboys, back in the Landry, Staubach years. Later on, after moving to Indiana, I picked up the Colts. The moving to Arizona, I was there when the Cardinals came to town and was a season ticket holder their first two years (so I can truly say I've been an Arizona Cardinals fan all my life). But woven amongst all three of those teams, have been the Steelers.
  • 1976 - Super Bowl X. Cowboys v. Steelers. Lynn Swann makes an incredible acrobatic catch that Bradshaw threw from his own end zone. This got them out of trouble and lead the way to victory.
  • 1979 - Super Bowl XIII. Another Cowboys v. Steelers matchup. Featured the most agonizing dropped ball in history as Jackie Smith, wide open, dropped an easy Staubach pass for a sure touchdown. Had to settle for field goal. They ended up losing by 4 points.
  • 1995 - AFC Championship. Colts v. Steelers. The Colts had the game won so many times, but kept letting the Steelers back in. One play left, Jim Harbaugh of the Colts throws a Hail Mary pass to the end zone. The ball bounces up and comes down right on top of a Colts receiver. I mean, it lands right on his stomach. But he can't grab ahold of it and it fall to the ground. Game over.
  • 2004 - AFC Divisional Playoffs. Colts v. Steelers. The Colts are about to lose as Pittsburgh drives for a touchdown to seal the win. Then Jerome Bettis fumbles at the goal line, Colts run it back to midfield. Peyton Manning drives them downfield. Time for a field goal to send it into over time . . . . not even close.
  • 2009 - Super Bowl. Steelers v. Cardinals. The most agonizing loss ever for a team I've rooted for. Cardinals ready to go up by 4 points at halftime and Kurt Warner throws an interception. Time has expired. But wait, the Steeler defender is still running, still running. Somebody stop him!!! No one does. Touchdown, Steelers up by 10. But in the second half, Cardinals come back. Time running out, Warner hits Larry Fitzgerald running across the field and he scampers in for a touchdown. The kickoff pins the Steelers deep into their own territory. They just have to hold Roethlisberger. They don't.

Curse you Steelers and your six Super Bowl rings. Sorry, but here's hoping you don't win another. Yes, I'm a SORE LOSER!!