What Did I Miss?

About a year ago a friend of mine that loved Buffy, let me borrow season 1 after finding out that I had never watched the show.  Yeah, I, the geek, had never seen Buffy.  It was obviously love at first sight.  I watched the entire series in less than 6 months.  This made me wonder what other shows that I missed that I should reconsider in the age of Hulu.

Babylon 5 was the next show I have started on.  Seasons 1 and 2 are on Hulu and my friends had all raved about how good the show was.  It was harder to get into because the entire show seems to be one huge story arc.  I haven’t finished the show yet.  I am only midway through the third season.  The show is truly good and I am glad that I am watching it now as I think I am at a better place to understand and appreciate this show. 

If you missed B5 the first time around, check out the first two seasons on Hulu.  Power through the bad CG and the first couple of episodes.  They are developing characters and creating an intricate plot.  I don’t say this lightly, but what I have seen, blows Buffy away.  Seriously, check it out.

Hackers-1995

This classic stars Jonnie Lee Miller and a very young and very hot Angelina Jolie.  It is great fun and was one of the first movies about hacking or even computers besides War Games a decade earlier.  The movie is completely dated now and was completely unrealistic a decade ago, but like I said.  Great fun.  I loved this movie when it came out and it hasn’t aged well.  The acting in this movie is subpar.  The plot is fun and pits a bunch of kids up against a huge corporation.  I would call it The Goonies of the computer age.  The movie launched the careers of several people.

I wanted to be a hacker after seeing this movie, but the reality is nothing like this movie.  Angelina Jolie was completely hot in this movie in a way she hasn’t replicated since.  I thought Jonnie Lee Miller was going to be a big star and I expected good things from Matthew Lillard. 

It is an interesting movie, and a lot of fun if you can suspend disbelief.  It is fairly tame, so it is pretty family friendly.  It is interesting looking at things from the movie that carry on today.  and is worth the two hours it takes to watch it. 

Technorati Tags: hackers,johnny lee miller,angelina jolie,matthew lillard,movies,movie reviews

Soldier (1998)

This movie came on ion tonight and I gave it a watch for the first time since seeing it in theaters.  This movie stars Kurt Russell as SGT Todd.  Todd is the soldier of the title and was trained since birth, with several others, to be a super soldiers.  The movie opens with a montage of different training that the soldiers went through and also different battles that they had fought in. 

Flash forward and the soldiers are all well decorated and Todd stands out as the best of the best.  The soldiers are aging and their numbers diminishing from combat.  Just in time, a new crop of soldiers show up.  This new group are genetically modified perfect soldiers.  To test the new soldiers Todd is pitted up against Cain 607 (Jason Scott Leigh).  Cain beats Todd in every test and eventually dispatches him in hand to hand combat with two other older soldiers, just to make it fair. 

Todd is left for dead on a trash planet and is adopted by the locals.  For whatever reason the ship comes back a couple of weeks later and they decide to wipe out the population of the planet as training for the new soldiers.  Todd has gained affection for these people in the two weeks, and decides to protect them while wiping out the new batch of soldiers, killing the leaders of the program, and liberating the old obsolete soldiers. 

The movie isn’t half bad.  I like the concept of soldiers raised from birth and the message that a non brain washed soldier will be a superior soldier to one that is basically a robot.  If you know what you are fighting for, you are more likely to win.  The really awesome thing about this movie is all the nods it makes to other science fiction movies.  Check out the trivia on imdb for a rundown.

Technorati Tags: movies,movie reviews,soldier,kurt russell,jason leigh,science fiction

Anathem

Technorati Tags: stephenson,neal stephenson,anathem,science fiction,book reviews,book,scifi

This book can not be explained in a short review. Stephenson creates a
world that is very complicated, has its own history, and creates a
language to go along with it. While some elements of the novel will be
very similar to what the reader is used to, some of the book can be very
confusing.

The story follows Erasamas, a young avout, as he is pulled out of his
math (a scientific monastery of sorts) with several of his companions to
solve a problem of the secular world. The beginning of the book is set
up to explain to you what a math is like before you get to the actual
plot. The pacing can be slow at times but lightening quick at others.
This is a very aggressive work by Stephenson and may be called his
masterpiece. Not that it is perfect, but Stephenson set out to write a
literary science fiction novel and he succeeded.

Readers of Stephenson know that he has a tendency to not end a book so
much as he stops writing it. In this book Stephenson did a good job of
wrapping things up on some degree and leaving a lot up to the
imaginations of his readers. A goal that he has been tweaking from day
one.

This book is hard to suggest to just anyone. People with very
scientific minds that love talking about and exploring theories and
science should really get into this book. The literary elite have
seemed to enjoy this book as well. This book is very deep and thought
provoking though. This isn't popular sci-fi. Personally, I loved it.

Dragon Ball Evolution

This movie barely makes it into the martial arts category for me. The martial arts is way over the top and not really focused on. This is strange because the movie is all about a “martial arts” battle at the end. In fact, the final fight scene was anticlimactic and disappointing.

The good news for this movie is that my kids loved it. Both of them are girls and take martial arts themselves and they thought the movie was a lot of fun. In the DVD extra features there is a training segment where they teach you how to do stuff from the movie and my girls got up and participated. The whole feature was corny and over the top, but my girls ate it up.

Overall it wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either. It is kind of fun and Jamie Chung is fun to look at. Kids from the 5-12 range will probably get a kick out of it. The martial arts content was sub part, but the movie is based off of an anime that is based off of a manga. I give it 3 exploding fists.

Technorati Tags: Dragonball,dragonball z,jamie chung,movies,movie

Well, I saw it- Spiderman 3 review, and then some

yes, yes yes

I've not traversed through these parts in a Peruvian minute

but isn't the fact that I'm here now all that really matters?



well, the year of the Geek has been smoothly rolling on, until

UNTIL

the unthinkable

BUT, before I get to the point that dragged me away from my

chronic, non-contributory, lurking laziness

let's briefly, but fondly recall the good stuff

300

'nuf said. film ROCKed! the 3 useless flesh=soft pr0n scenes were

as unwelcomed as a hot poker in my eye but overall the movie is a

keeper.

TMNT

Cowabunga dudes! my childhood heroes live on! in honor, I think

I'll heat up a Digiorno

BSG

k, I can't talk about this one. every time I remember that I have to

wait until JAN for an explanation of the watchtower I start having

seizure like tremors. It gets ugly.

only thing I'll say is: if you aren't watching the new Battlestar

then you need to seek professional help. b/c obviously you don't

like yourself very much and are this [] closest to driving off a

bridge- but that's because you can't see the gleaming guard rails

in front of you.

Heroes

heheheeeheheeeeehhhhhhgiggddinessssgggiiiddinnessssYatta!

k

Smallville

has actually continued an upward trend of good shows, especially

the LONG needed Lex-Clark friendship/nemesis conversation

4400

oh when, oh when will my show come back
show come back
show come back
oh when, oh when will my show come back
I need a replacement for battlestar

season 3 of Dr Who

not that I, an American, have actually seen it yet

hehehheeee

EXCELLENT! or should I say Brill ant!


sigh

humph

sigh

deep breathe

k

first the bull horn

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I planned out, weeks ago, an appropriately colored outfit to wear to

a place where no one important would actually see me in honor of

the movie theme

I mercilessly tormented my co-workers Friday with my fangirl

fanaticism regarding the opening weekend

I braved a torrential rainstorm that threatened to blow my car off

the road, IF I was even ON the road since I couldn't see anything

except the water, just to go to the theatre today

and I held my bladder for 2.5 hours trying not to miss the next

scene which surely would be better than the one I just saw....

k

Spiderman 3 did not suck

BUT

there was an odor

it smelled like too much Urkel
mixed with a chunk of Gilmore Girls
and blended with a LOST like disregard for character longevity

I was disappointed

a buddy of mine, by the name of Bud (can you believe I'm actually
quoting you? the world is really coming to an end)
said several months past that he was scared for Spiderman 3

since this same bloke naysays just about EVERYTHING, except zombie
movies (get the picture) I totally ignored his doubt

I said- Sam Ramie is a geek; Sam Ramie is careful; Sam Ramie

realizes with the ridiculous amount of money plopped down for this

movie people are going to have to want to see it over and over

again

Well



k- did you notice the spoiler banner above? good

I LOVE the 5 second Singing in the Rain bit in S2
perfect timing, unexpected, delightful

Why, oh WHY did they try to re-mine that bit for 30 minutes!
(maybe not that long but it sure did seem like it)

Spidey and MJ fighting, yeah it's predictable for a vain starlett

to feel like second fiddle to her top billed boyfriend
and yes, Peter should have gotten champagne in his face for sharing

the crucial kiss with another woman
and it was GREAT watching Harry twist Pete's heart with the MJ

knife
BUT
[sigh] they should have minimized the mushy stuff

yup

why, do you ask?

b/c I came to see a SPIDERMAN film- not these are the Days of a

Spider

k

I love BSG's "space opera" moments, when they ARE moments
Plus, they fit with the nature and purpose of the show

but in S3 they were long winded, over-acted, and just plain

obtrusive

Twist and Shout? Come ON!



and the final sting

why must they kill off every hard core spidey villian at the end?
I realllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyy would have loved to see a round two
with Doc Ock

hey, comic books go on for DECADES without the permanent eraser
being applied

I know there's web talk about Venom rising up from the gloppy ashes

I hope so 'cause Topher totally pwned that role

but in the meantime. in the speculation free reality- I'm ticked

plus, why did they have to off Harry? just when he started to

become actually useful? was it too much Two-Face like that they

feared a court battle?

hangs flinging up in the air

final summation

I didn't hate the film overall

and if I hadn't been drive to a demented state since LAST YEAR in

anticipation, I may even have had some words of praise (hey,

despite their flaws, I really like X3 and Fantastic Four)

but
BUT

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTt

I am disappointed

my bubble was burst

my giggles were glued to the floor

and my head shook in disbelief at various time during the movie

Ramie- you did me wrong

I suggest you and Brian Singer go sit in you rooms and THINK about

what you have done

Tisk

Wuo-What?

The rumbling, grumbling noise that you hear

is the approaching deluge of RANDOM GEEK rants!

Arrrugggalllla

300

first point- I've already thrown my three cents into the 300 debate. see comment section below
No sense continuing to beat a dead horse, unless your Spartan and you're using it as a punching beg

BSG

The End is Near! The End is Near!
a horrible frost slowly encapulates my heart as the reality of a 8-10 month hiatus pierces my pysche
sniffle, sniffle

oh but WOW! does RDM know how to whip us geeks into a passionate frenzy or what?
the military would be wise to seek his talents out during their next mass recuitment campaign

the Summar of Love

yes, my friends, the Year of the Geek is now in full swing
I've already oulined most of the Must See theatrical releases below (in my YAWN post)

now for the DVDs
Best Buy will be elated as I plan to plop down a hefty chunk this year

some of the In Comings that I've ascertained so far
the Children of Men
the Curse of the Golden Dragon
(non genere) Pursuit of Happiness

and I still haven't grabbed a copy of the Prestige yet, but I will

My collecting cravings MUST be feed

hey, how's this for a 10 point nerd shot?
Star Trek convention with Shatner & Nimoy
this may be the year I finally get my ears

don't think I'm only kidding

If you partake in such "strange rituales" as fan cons
and happen upon a giddy fangirl wearing my homemade KEANU is the Greatest Actor ALIVE T
give a wave to the WuoWho

datsfadonya (it's phonetic, leave me alone- smirk)