REVIEW: War of the Worlds

waroftheworlds2
Originally uploaded by genzod.

When I was a kid there were two books that I used to read over and over again. Both were H.G. Well's novels of The Time Machine and War of the Worlds. I've always been fascinated by outer space and at one point contemplated being an astronomer. However that involves some heavy math, so I was out of the running after a few classes in college. Wells novel and Orson Welles radio broadcast were always fascinating examples of what you didn't see, or better yet what your imagination told you these things looked like. My Grandfather used to tell me stories about people running for the hills near his house in the country during Orson Welles original radio broadcast. Then came the original George Pal movie which I loved with so much passion like The Time Machine movie. Well its 2005 and a new version has arrived. And my oh my has it arrived.
When the aliens first show up in this movie I was back to being that scared little kid reading the book again. Put your Tom Cruise personal drama behind you and buckle up for the ride your life. Spielberg has done it again. This guy must crap brilliance for breakfast. This thing is a huge, massive piece of work. I don't know where to start without giving too much away.
Steven does something really cool here that sets him apart from our other resident action big budget directors. He does not force the issue and make us say "hey look how cool my effects shots are!" He focuses on the humans and tells the story from the point of view of Tom and his family. The aliens, when they appear are looming unrelenting giants that don't take no for an answer. They are here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and they are all out of bubble gum folks. I had a few problems with the actual aliens in one scene, and had a slight issue with the usual Spielbergian sappy ending copout. But those are very minor issues housed within a mammoth spectacle.
This movie completes a perfect trifecta of summer flicks so far. (And that list does not include Revenge of the Sith) I'm talking about Batman, Land of the Dead, and now War of the Worlds. There are images of terror in this film that I had as a kid reading the book. It also recalls recent events of 9/11 and makes you remember how precious life really is and that you never really know when it could all end. All the performances from Cruise to Dakota Fanning are great. Spielberg has crafted a great alien invasion movie and more importantly adapted a great novel into yet another great movie of War of the Worlds. This is what summer movies are all about. To sum up what I think about this movie, I think H.G. Wells would love to see this movie.

Falling Hard on DVD!!!

Falling Hard
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Hey everyone this is my good friend Matt Kurtz first feature film, Falling Hard.It was made several years ago and is now finally available on DVD for rent and sale. Its a great movie about love and growing in a relationship. I didn't know Matt was this deep from all the horror movie discussions we had in college, but I guess he is. Anyway its a great flick and I suggest you pick it up! You can rent it from Netflix or you can order it here from Amazon:

Falling Hard DVD

REVIEW: George A. Romero's Land of the Dead

Big Daddy
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Whew. I am a real Zombie today. After a 10 hour editing session, a stressful game 7 of the NBA Finals, I decided at halftime last night to go see a midnight screening of Land of the Dead, the fourth zombie film in Romero's continuing saga of the undead. It began in the 60's as Night of the Living Dead, then continued in one of my favorite films of all time, Dawn of the Dead, then finished up in the 80's with the Day of the Dead. I was a huge fan of all three movies with Dawn being the movie I have probably seen more than any other movie in my life. It has such an oddness and charm about it while at the same time this utter sense of doom. But enough about Dawn, that's a whole other blog!
Land of the Dead is a worthy entry into the series. Now, I would not go as far to call it a masterpiece. But it is a fun scary ride that made me feel like I was back in High school with zits reading the newest issue of Fangoria. The movie high point to me was the social commentary that Romero is able to squeeze in between the gore. That sense of doom you feel with these movies is always related to what the general publics mood is at the time. I thought he did a nice job of tying that into the story. And the gore while at times was utterly great, there were a few instances of "digital gore" that I'm still not a fan of. But I'll give it a pass in the overall scheme of things.

The actors all did a great job, although I had some nitpicky things with Simon Baker's character as how he fit in with the rest of the leads from the previous Dead films, it is indeed a minor flaw. The main zombie, Big Daddy was a continuation of Bub from Day of the Dead. And therein lies the most interesting thing about this movie. The Zombies are beginning to think, and the line between them and us are beginning to shrink. They have evolved and are now learning. That sets up what could be an even more interesting fifth film if this film makes it off the ground this weekend. Other cast members are also solid. Dennis Hopper is pretty by the numbers, but Asia Argento's character is mainly eye candy, but she does have some good scenes with Simon Baker.
To sum up, I liked it. I'm a little tired to place it with the others just yet. I want to see it again this weekend if I can and give it another look. It was just so awesome to be back in the presence of an old friend whose movies I so cherish and have missed so much over the last decade. Its great to have a Romero Zombie movie back in theaters. This is turning out to be a great summer to be a movie fan. Batman, Zombies, Star Wars, H.G. Wells, what more can you ask for, and its only June... Be back on Tuesday with a review of War of the Worlds.

Spurs Bring it Back to Texas

Spurs Bring it Back to Texas
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Conrats all the way around the San Antonio Spurs for wining the 3rd title in the last six years. Game 7 was a close one and the Spurs found themselves in the last 5 minutes and the Pistons couldn't recover. The Pistons are a great team. They are true hustlers and I must say I am am a closet fan of how they do the things they do. But Tim Duncan and my boy Horry have grabbed some more rings for their collections. Congrats Spurs fans!

Detroit Rocks Spurs City

Game6
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Here we go. Game 7. The best of what the NBA has to offer. Man I can't wait for Thursday. This is a great week. An NBA Game 7 on Thursday, and then after 20 years of waiting comes George A. Romero's Land of the Dead on Friday. What a week!
Back to the NBA, I think the Spurs are in trouble. I'm all in favor of Texas regaining the NBA title, but you gotta love Detroit. They remind me of the 94 Houston Rockets, who just would not go away. They have a lot of pride and and a shit load of guts. The Pistons are working hard and you have to give them credit for making this a good series finally. They could have layed down after being down 2-0, but they kept moving, adapting and have really defended the Spurs great offense really well. Go Spurs, but mucho props to the Pistons for hanging in there. Game 7's in the finals are rare, and to witness one is greatness. Thursday will be a real war, and I'll be ready.

Blog Update

You can now go over to my links section and click on some short films and also some of my corporate and commercial video stuff is over there as well. Some of my short films like "The Release" have never been seen before on the web. So check them out...

REVIEW: Batman Begins

Batman
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Maybe I'm still punch drunk from seeing it for the first time, but all I can say is wow. I don't even think I can get my head around how much fun this movie was for me.

I read Batman comics heavily in the 80's, and I haven't really kept up with him since then, but this was the Batman I liked to read. My favorite comic cover was Batman slapping Superman in the face as he quits the Justice League for being too soft on criminals. This movie is that Batman. A man who is tortured by his own inner demons. He becomes a hero because of will alone. And who has not had a time in their lives where they wanted to make a difference or right a wrong. I think this is what has kept the character of Batman alive all these years. You fight with him and not watch him from afar.

Director Christopher Nolan and writer David S. (Blade) Goyer have not only made a great Superhero film, but just a plain great film. I've read some not so nice reviews that say the film is really two different films split into two. I disagree. The first half of the film gives birth to the second half. They are different and sure there are some nitpicky things here and there, but they are indeed minor distractions and complement each other perfectly.

One of the things I liked the most was the notion of Batman not against just one villain but that the whole city of Gotham was the villain collectively. Bruce Wayne's father created Gotham and his son is left to become the keeper of his creation. He may have to dress up like a bat to do it, but whatever it takes to keep his father's dreams alive he will do it. It's a very beautifully character driven film. Yes its soaked in metaphors and philosophy lessons, but that's what's fun about this film in addition to its visual grace.

The only thing I didn't care for in the film casting wise was Katie Holmes. I didn't mind her character so much as I did her in that role. She seems too young to be a major DA in a big city. And I'm not just dissing her because she is building a space ship with Tom to get back to Planet L-Ron. She is at her best in Pieces of April, but out of place here. Christian Bale is superb as Batman but not as cool as Keaton was as Bruce Wayne. His Wayne needs a bit of work, but his Batman is perfect. And that's what counts!

Batman Begins is the best film of the summer so far. I don't see much coming close. In fact I feel sorry for the Fantastic Four, because there is no way that film can fill these shoes in two weeks time. I hope Nolan stays on this franchise and instills it with even more character and care. Who knows maybe one day I'll live to see that Comic book cover come to life where Batman and Superman get into it not over whose more super but who cares more about the people. Wow. When is the next showing?

Fort Worth Symphony

Miguel
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Yo. I usually don't get to show much of my day job work, so here is the chance. I produced and edited a few TV Spots for the Fort Worth Symphony recently. My cohort in crime, Jason Todd Hampton shot them using the Sony CineAlta HD camera. You can check one of them out at:

Ft. Worth Symphony

Summer Movie Madness

Batman Begins
Originally uploaded by genzod.

Been a while since I've blogged, so here we go. First here are some thoughts on some movies that I have seen lately that deserve some attention and some that don't.
I am so hyped up for Batman that I am losing sleep over it. Yes I am a geek. I see it tomorrow night on the Imax screen, so I'll get to that tomorrow. Here are some mini reviews:

High Tension:
What a great movie ruined by a really bad ending. I won't give anything away, but the end of this movie just killed the rest of it for me. Great setup and photography and the movie really had me until the end. I felt so cheated by this movie that it made me angry that I really loved the first part so much. I have not seen the U.S. version yet, and I don't plan on it. I saw the uncut French version a few months ago, and that was enough. Go if you want to be freaked out, then leave before the ending. Make up your own, the filmmakers did.

Mr. and Mrs Smith:
Fun brainless eye candy. Two hot actors blowing shit up. Enough said. I forgot I had even seen it the next day, which is a good thing some days. Had a good time, nothing more nothing less.

Tarnation (DVD)
I had a hard time watching this documentary for the first few minutes, then after a while I was stuck in this guy's headspace for the rest of the running time. I was a little let down by the ending, but in retrospect it really ended as it should have. A really fascinating look into a person's life. This film was made on an old i mac with i movie editing software, and really illustrates what is so great about giving the power of making movies to the people.

Overnight (DVD)
Please. Please go rent this!!! Find it and watch the train wreck that ensues. This is the story of Troy Duffy who wrote this script, "The Boondock Saints" while working as a bartender in L.A. Miramax bought the script and Duffy's bar and set him up to be the next Tarantino. The only thing is Duffy really thinks he is the next Tarantino, and the documentary follows his self-destructive fall into obscurity. He burns every bridge he comes across to the point where you can't stand the sight of this guy before the documentary is over. Hats way off to the guys that made this documentary. You cats have balls, and I salute you.

And finally a few other things I've seen, Hellraiser 7:Deader was better than it should of been. And Tobe Hooper's Toolbox Murders is abysmal. What happened to the director of Poltergeist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Somebody find him. Please. Also if you enjoy people watching, check out Airline: Season One. Its an A&E series about people in airports trying to get on planes. A lot of fun. That's all for now....

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals. The Spurs vs. The Pistons. The Tivo has never been so inactive in its short one year lifespan. What can I say? I am glad the Spurs are winning and bringing it home for Texas. Maybe its because I'm not a Spurs fan I guess, but so far its been pretty boring. The Pistons defense is solid but they can't score the rock. Which means Bruce Bowen is doing his job on D for San Antonio. And all of this makes for a lot of fun for Spurs fans, but for the general viewer it makes you kind of sleepy... I picked the Spurs in 6. I may need to say "in 5" instead. Go Spurs.