The Golden Compass

I got a 'forwarded' e-mail from an acquaintance the other day...

Dear Friends, (PASS THIS ALONG TO EVEN GRANDPARENTS AND THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE KIDS!!! LET'S PULL TOGETHER AND PRAY GOD GETS THE GLORY THROUGH THIS EVIL ACT!! Satan will use your children to do evil in this world. Pray for them!!! DAILY!!!

You may already know about the kids movie coming out in December starring Nicole Kidman. It's called The Golden Compass, and while it will be a watered down version, it is based on a series of children's books about killing God. (It is the anti-Narnia.) Please follow this link and t hen pass it on. From what I understand, the hope is to get a lot of kids to see the movie - which won't seem too bad - and then get the parents to buy the books for their kids for Christmas. The quotes from the author sum it all up. I hope it totally bombs because we were all paying attention!

i checked out the snopes site, and it confirmed the facts in the email below.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND READ THE ARTICLE....IF YOU HAVE A HEART FOR GOD YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO IGNORE THIS EMAIL.
I read the snopes article and this is definitely worth passing around. It’s very disturbing. I think it is well worth spreading. Read the link below
http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

Fuck those fucking fuckers! :)

Anyone who really knows me knows that I'm of the mind... "If it pisses off the Church, I've gotta check it out!"

I loved Dogma, I love Harry Potter and I love South Park... the three most recent things that pissed off the church that come to my mind without having to do any research to find more.

It was inevitable that I was going to give "The Golden Compass" a try. I purchased this book from audible.com today and I'm a 1/2 hour into it. (I didn't buy books 2 & 3 till I see if I like book 1.) I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it.

In the meantime, I went to the movies website and answered the 20 questions honestly and this is what it came up with...

Finally saw "Shooter"

While predictable, the movie was a lot of fun in spite of Marky Mark in the lead role. As a firearms instructor I still have major issues with the casting of Walhberg in this movie since he is a convicted felon. Mark can't own a gun and even him picking up a gun is a federal felony. The extras show him shooting real guns with real ammo at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute to train for this movie. Yet another case proving celebrities follow different rules than the rest of us. Back to the movie... It was nice to see the lovely Kate Mara in another flick and If this is Lane Garrison's final acting job, he won't really be missed. I would have given it 5 stars if another actor took on the lead.

The larger question is... will Netflix post this review?

A rare & interesting conversation at work....

I'm not sure how but Brandon Lee came into conversation today, as did his death. I remembered vaguely that he died during production but didn't know much about the details.

As a firearms instructor, I was fascinated to learn that it wasn't just a live ammo vs. dummy ammo mistake...

From Wiki...

...a cartridge with only a primer and a bullet was fired in a pistol; this caused a squib load, in which the primer provided enough force to push the bullet out of the cartridge and into the barrel of the revolver, where it became stuck. The malfunction went unnoticed by the crew, and the same gun was used again later to shoot the death scene, having been re-loaded with blanks. However, the squib load was still lodged in the barrel, and was propelled by the blank cartridge's explosion out of the barrel and into Lee's body. Although the bullet was traveling much slower than a normally fired bullet would be, the bullet's large size and the nearly point-blank firing distance made it powerful enough to severely wound Lee as cameras were rolling at the Carolco Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina.

A textbook case for using a blank firing gun. Prop guns like that are not able to fire real cartridges.

An interesting footnote to that story, the actor who shot and killed Brandon Lee, Michael Massee, played Ira Gaines in 24.

"Gravedancers"

A heartfelt Irish wake for an old friend accidentally awakens three ghosts -- a rapist, an ax murderer and a pint-sized pyromaniac -- who wreak havoc on the drunken revelers who danced on their graves (Dominic Purcell, Josie Maran, Marcus Thomas and Clare Kramer). Tchéky Karyo and Megahn Perry co-star in this horrific tale of cause and effect from director Mike Mendez (The Convent).


The 3rd of the 8 Films to Die For I've seen and my favorite so far. It was nice to see Clare Kramer in something other than Buffy (I didn't even recognize her at first) and of course Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) is excellent as usual. I went into this (and all 8) knowing very little. I hadn't watched previews and I didn't read the Netflix description of the movie so I had no expectations other than the general "8 to Die For" hype. While I loved the movie, I don't see why it was "too graphic" or "too scary" for a general release.

Buy it here.

"Penny Dreadful"

After surviving an automobile accident that killed both of her parents, Penny Dearborn (Rachel Miner) has an understandable fear of cars. But her therapist's (Mimi Rogers) suggestion that they confront it together head-on turns out to have deadly consequences. Horror icon Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Weird Science) co-stars in this heart-pounding psychological thriller from director Richard Brandes.


The 2nd of the 8 Films to Die For I've seen. I really liked this movie. Some are correct that this is more of a thriller type than horror but going into the "8 Films" with very little expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by its end. Rachel Miner did an excellent job and it was nice to see Mickey Jones & Michael Berryman. The premise is just another reason why you should have a firearm in the car if you're going to drive in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! But then it would have been a different movie all together!

Buy it here.

"Unrest"

Medical student Alison Blanchard (Corri English) has no choice but to confront her fear of mortality when she and her classmates are ordered to dissect cadavers for their gross anatomy class. But Alison gets the fright of her life when she begins to suspect the corpse she's working on isn't truly dead. The only way Alison can help this cadaver's restless spirit find peace is to investigate the authorities' claim that it died from natural causes.


The 1st of the "8 Films to Die For" I've seen. The concept was pretty cool but there were certainly some issues with the script. You will get a chuckle when you see the solution for breaking off a padlock. At the very least... Corri is certainly cute enough to watch for 90 minutes. I didn't know Jessica Alba had a brother or that he acted.

Buy it here.

Netflix again...

... so back in late Winter I put my Netflix subscription on hold because I wasn't going to watch any movies until I got a high-def TV in the living room. I had forgotten that the subscription would automatically restart.

I didn't get that TV yet... (but I did get a rebuilt transmission for my Blazer... but that's another story)

After my daily ritual of checking my bank account online, I noticed that it restarted today. Not a big deal since Valerie has been asking me to renew it anyway because we've missed a lot of movies in the past several months. Here's what's on the way...

The Departed
Eragon
Snakes on a Plane
Clerks 2

I'm also checking out their "Watch Now" feature. Certainly not the best selection of movies but a GREAT feature nonetheless. Though the quality is excellent, I'd never do this for an A-List movie... I'd rather get the surround sound and larger screen... but with lesser movies, it's a great idea! They've got over 2000 movies & TV shows available for instant viewing. Since I'm on the 4 movies out plan... I have access to 24 hours of "Watch Now" movies a month and I'm pissing away 1:43 with Tremors 3.

Next Resident Evil Movie Trailer Online...

A couple of weeks late but what the hell...

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/residentevilextinction/

...not sure I like the direction they're going with this franchise, but hell... there are some elements of this trailer that are kick ass and even my brother Darren will enjoy!

What the hell ever happened to Michael Dudikoff?

So I just got finished watching American Ninja in HD. This is a movie I haven't seen in a VERY long time... I didn't remember it being so bad either. Not Supercross bad but this by no means is a "Lethal Weapon" or "Above the Law". It did look pretty good on HD though.

After a quick look on IMDB, it looks like until about 5 years ago Dudikoff was doing some straight to video shit. I haven't heard of a thing he's done since the American Ninja films. Also, I'm sad to report (albiet 13 years late) that Steve James passed away from pancreatic cancer in late 1993. I really liked him and his Curtis Jackson character and frankly... he's done more stuff that I've seen than Dudikoff has.

So anyway... just a bit of random (and worthless) information for today.

What the hell was I thinking?

Once again... the theme of It's amazing what I'll watch only because it's in HD! pops up...

I found a movie I've never heard of with Willow (Alyson Hannigan) as the star. It's called Date Movie It's amazing that 15 minutes into the movie, I actually kept it on! Okay... there were a few parts I found amusing but this movie is BAD!

As always, with the bad there's also the good... I watched Beetlejuice, The Empire Strikes Back & King Kong.

Woo Woo!

Once again, keeping the theme of It's amazing what I'll watch only because it's in HD! alive... Last night I watched a movie I've never seen before...

Hard Target

No, it doesn't have anything to do with how hard it is to return things at Target if you don't have your receipt.

Hard Target is a John Woo movie, his first American movie if I'm not mistaken. It stars mullet sporting Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Among the bad guys are the Mummy's Arnold Vosloo and the always lovable Lance Henriksen, this is Henricksen after Bishop but before Frank Black. And this was 1993... back when Van Damme's movies actually made it to the theaters!

The movie is very "John Woo"... lots of gunfire, lots of slow-mo, lots of explosions, lots of doves!

There's a lot of unsafe gun handling to be seen and while Woo goes out of his way to make 'unlimited ammo' a little more realistic, the odds are really bad that EVERYONE would be carrying a 9mm Beretta and all you have to do is grab full magazines off of the dead guys.

I must warn you though... this movie's got something REALLY DISTURBING!!!

Wilford Brimley with a really, really, really bad French accent! I MEAN REALLY BAD!

Anyway... It's a fun popcorn movie... I'm sure it's going to be on HBO again... if you haven't seen it, check it out.

It's amazing what I'll watch only because it's in HD!

Over the last several nights I've found myself reaching a new low. (Not Barry low with all of his stupid reality crap) but I did end up watching Big Momma's House 2 on HBOHD. That's pretty bad huh? I'm almost embarrassed to admit a few days before that I watched Supercross. REAL, REAL BAD!

So far I've been good at resisting the critically beaten up Mr. & Mrs. Smith and I haven't sunk to The Dukes of Hazzard low but I fear unless I get some more HD programming from DirecTV soon, the possibility is always out there.

But with the bad, there is also good... I watched Just One of the Guys & Real Genius last week. It's been a while since I've seen either of them and they looked pretty damn good considering their age.

Ocean's Twelve

It hits theater's today. I absolutely LOVED the first movie and hope that the sequel is every bit as good and even better!

Apparently some of it was shot in Chicago and a few North Shore suburbs. Check out this news report here ... (This news report link may or may not work for you... if not go to... http://www.cbs2chicago.com/video and find the videos dated 12/10/2004 and look for the story named... "Chicago Suburbs 'Scene' In Upcoming 'Oceans 12' Movie")

See the trailer here.

Hopefully I'll be able to get to the theater sometime soon!

The Bourne Supremacy Trailer Online...

I loved the first movie! The trailer looks good, so the sequel might not suck.

Check it out here.

Off to see Kill Bill Volume 2

If you need more convincing that it's a must see....

Check out these reviews...
CNN Review, Roger Ebert, Rolling Stone

See the trailer here...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/kill_bill/volume_II/trailer/

Kill Bill Volume 2 at Theaters Tomorrow!!

I bought volume one on DVD on Tuesday and I've already watched it twice. I can't wait to see the conclusion of the movie! Ebert & Roper give it "Two Thumbs Way Up!" Other reviews say volume 2 is better than volume 1.

I'm gonna go see the first show tomorrow morning.

Way to Go Lord of the Rings!!

As I'm sure you're aware, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept the Oscars last night winning all 11 of the awards it was nominated for. It was well deserved!

10 things I've learned about "The Passion of the Christ"

... in no particular order...

1. Ebert says it's the most violent movie he's ever seen (and that's saying a lot!)

2. Not a single word of English is spoked... you have to read along via subtitles.

3. Mel Gibson paid for the entire movie out of his own pocket. ($25 million)

4. A lady in Kansas had a heart attack and died while watching it!

5. It opened in more than 3,000 theaters — an unusually large release for a religious film

6. Much of the controversy surrounding the film concerns the line referring to Jews from the Book of Matthew, which reads “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Critics had asked Gibson to remove that line from the final edit but he chose instead to leave it in while deleting the subtitle that translated it.

7. Mel is a "Traditionalist Catholic" which views the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council as a conspiracy between Jews and Masons to take over the church.

8. You can REALLY PISS PEOPLE OFF by referring to the entire movie as one of the central myths of western civilization and Insisting that the Jews called for Jesus's crucifixion is an easy way to start a fight.

9. The Anti-Defamation League warned Gibson about potential consequences of the film... to fuel and legitimize anti-Semitism.

10. The movie is rated R but if it were any other movie, it would certainly get an NC-17.

A great article about the upcoming Star Wars DVDs

Once again I'm in complete agreement with Bill. Article here.

It's Official.... STAR WARS will be on DVD in September!!

"The most requested films for the DVD format will finally become a reality this September as Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox present the eagerly-awaited Star Wars Trilogy for the ultimate home entertainment format. The four-disc collection will be released on September 21"

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/news/2004/02/news20040210.html

I'd be surprised but strong rumors at The Digital Bits told us this announcement was coming. This is great news though. It's about damn time! I've read that this set will only include the 1997 versions. I guess Lucas wants to rewrite history for an entire generation of fans! That sucks!

The good news is that my kids can finally see the original Star Wars movies. I haven't allowed them to watch the trilogy because I don't want them to watch it from tape in pan & scan. It's important to me that they see it in widescreen and 5.1 sound. I'd like them to see the originals but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen any time soon.