The Pacific

The Pacific is HBO's follow up to the brilliant 'Band of Brothers' mini-series...

Across 10 parts, we find ourselves with the US Marines, fighting the Japanese (where as Band of Brothers was US Army against the Germans). While it follows much the same format as Band of Brothers (ie, the focus on characters changes through the series as people come into and go out from the unit) it lacks the 'interviews' with the 'real guys' that really drove home how REAL Band of Brothers was - of course in this case, most of the Marines featured are now dead...

Still, I was expecting another Band of Brothers, and The Pacific doesn't live up to its predecessors qualities! Still a worthwhile watch, just dont expect to be as blown away...

The Good - Scott Pilgrim and The Horseman

I cant think of two more diametrically opposed films right now, but in the case of both Scott Pilgrim vs the World and The Horseman, we have two Good Films here; Good, not Great, but well worth investing the time in them. Now I understand a number of my recent posts have been quite negative, hopefully this will balance things somewhat - but hey, I'm harsh on film... So deal with it!

Scott Pilgrim vs the World:

This is a pretty good film that I expect, had I been in a better headspace, I would have really liked (those who know me, know how rough the last few months have been on me and the severe degree of shit that has befallen me)... Ramona is WELL HOT, I love the 'video game' feel to all the action, the humour is VERY well done, well acted, well written and well shot!

So, why didn't I REALLY like this film? Simple - Love doesn't conquer all! Ok, this movie does tease us with that fact for a bit (ie, self respect, the 'other' option, etc), but if actually LOVING someone was enough, then the world would be a much nicer place and I wouldn't be where I am... But we wont go into that!


The ending is a bit cliched with 'Love' conquering, but if you're not a bitter, twisted and lonely individual, you should like this!



Now to the Horseman - an Australian Film!

A gritty, dark and fairly bloody little Australian Film, all about revenge and making some bastard pay! And the fact that it is a sole-parent father, going after those who harmed/killed his daughter, gives it a chillingly plausible feel. The character development (through the use of sort of 'flashbacks' and via the aid of a young hitch hiker that he befriends) is brilliant and really shows us both sides to a rather complex character.

It aint one for the squeamish, but a very solid Australian film! Worth the time to see!

...The Bad and the Ugly...

OK, because I have been slack, I am rolling a few things into one here... This is a crap stuff I have seen; the stuff that I really dont want to dwell on, because I feel that while some of this was at least partly entertaining, the overall effect was a bit 'meh' or 'blah' - to use the technical terms...

So lets start with the WORST - Robogeisha

Now normally I quite like Japanese B-grade; but this is a whole new world of pain. To explain how BAD and unwatchable this film is, i got LESS THAN 20mins into it, and just had to stop... The acting, the 'fight scenes', the costuming, the (and I use this word VERY loosely here) 'humour', was utter disrespectful to the fact that I am (in some ways) an intelligent, sentient being.

Just walk away from this one...

Next, The Killer Inside Me... OK, OK, Jessica Alba, so its never going to be 'ground breaking' or anything - BUT she does get killed, so that has to be a plus... Right?

This film REALLY had potential; the majority of it was well acted, well scripted, etc... But its one of those films that draws you in, engages you and then just blows it in the last 5-10mins... Like Seriously, what self-respecting Law Enforcement Officer is NOT going to notice the house they've all just piled into, has been doused from top to bottom in FLAMMABLES. And what self-respecting Law Enforcement Officer is just going to stand idly by while the bad guy plays with fire... Jesus Christ - Treat my brain with some fucken respect please!  

Killers - I did this to myself...  Yes, Katherine Heigl is hot (and others out there will echo this with Ashton Kutcher is hot), but beyond that there are a few moments of slap-stick-esque humour and a whole boat load of blah-blah-blah... Not even Tom Selleck as 'Magnum PI' could have saved this...

Still, I knew I was walking into this one... For some reason, a small (STUPIDLY INFANTILE) part of my brain went 'PING' - it may not be as bad as it sounds...

I have since removed that part of my brain for letting me down so badly!

Zombie films - you know what you're getting, so OK, you need to expect the worst. Survival of the Dead is different. I dont quite understand how on a small island off the US Coast, everyone has a MAD IRISHMAN accent, but it is a Zombie film.

Plot holes - Check, Shooting Zombies in the Head - Check, People doing FUCKEN DAFT things and getting bit - Check, Other people having to make the 'heart wrenching' choice to Zap their former loved ones in the head at close range - Check...

Only really for the Zombie Extremists... And even then, I expect many mumbled comments... George A Romero - not your best, buddy!

Now, I expect abuse for this next call... SALT.

Are you all kidding? Who the hell rates this piece of garbage at all? It has a little action, but a lot of predictable shit as well... Give me a break! Oh and Angelina Jolie still can't act - Salt is a weird combination of the Mrs Smith and that 'bending bullets bitch', and for me, it just doesnt work! I swear, I almost fell asleep during it... The North Korean's should have just tortured her to death, or shot her (as would happen in reality), in the first 2 minutes and saved me the aggravation!

If you have any love of genuine film, give it a miss!

The Men Who Stare at Goats

When one initially looks over the cover to The Men Who Stare at Goats, one may recall The Big Lebowski - a title that is compulsory viewing for all. With such a cast (George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, etc) one is justified in thinking this, I feel.

But as much as I wish, I aint the Big Lebowski.

It is a comedic look into the US Army's attempts at harnessing Psychic Powers, that just lacks a certain 'Je nesais pas' that could have made it good... Its far from a total loss, but I did expect more, particularly from Jeff Bridges.

 Worth watching, just don't hire it, race around to your buddy's or girlfriend's place and expect the same effect as The Big Lebowski would have - perhaps that is not a good comparision, as I remember talking up the Big Lebowski to a girlfriend. While I almost pissed myself at times, she just sat there, confused...

Weird...

Gun - 50 Cent and the waste of my life that it was...

Something for everyone to steer clear of: GUN... 50 Cent, a fat Val Kilmer and nothing...

I'm many ppl will love this utter garbage, but if you value your brain and time, just skip it - move along, nothing to see here... Predictable, dull, drivel... Snore... 90minutes of my life I will never get back!

Inception

Yes, I have been lazy - but I have had a rough few days, so forgive me for not being as 'current' as I should have been. So to catch up, we'll firstly start with Inception!

Now, Leonardo; this guy normally SHITS ME TO TEARS... And so does Marion Cotillard (Leo's wifey). I am happy to say that in this effort, Leo actually manages to keep a lid on most of his more annoying, pretty-boy qualities - I wish I could say the same for Marion (god she grates on me!!!). But otherwise, Inception is cool... Seeing it again on DVD wasnt quite as epic as seeing it the first time at the movies, but it was still a very positive experience.

Now I love this whole questioning of reality stuff (the Matrix blew me away when I first saw it... and second saw it, etc) as those of you who know me, will know (some of those will also know I have a half written 'skewed reality' novel myself)! And Inception does not let things down.

One or two 'weird things' that cause question - such as, why when in top level dream and the van is falling, does second level dream experience zero gravity, but third level dream maintain 'normal' gravity? And where do the guns come from? A few instances of certain guns just 'showing up' (ie, top level dream), where in the third level dream, the guns are there from the start of the dream!

We wont get into the usage of the Blaser R93 .338" either... ;)

What also could have been explained is how everyone got their 'dream world skills' - is it simply that you 'dream' of being a sniper and thus, have those skills, or are these things that you must bring in from the real world? Also interesting how the 'dream worlds' typically obeyed many of the same rules as the real-world - I know when I dream, there are times that 'real world' physics and time just do not apply!

What must be credited is the soundtrack... There is something musical going on through MOST of the movie - you dont notice it at first - but someone has put a lot of work into managing the 'emotional responce' of the audience with the soundtrack; and they did it well!

Now I'm not sure what more I can say about this that hasnt been written in the many reviews - so I will simply say it is definately one of my "must see's"...

Centurion

Tonights first of (possibly) three is Centurion - another of the "Roman Legionaire doing it tough" genre, that Gladiator seemed to kick off! However this time, we're in Britannia and its the Picts on the other side.

What it essentially is however, is a chase movie! And I have no problem with chase movies.

Compared to some of the other rubbish on the new release shelf at the moment, Centurion is actually quite good; the odd cheesey bit of dialog, but thats to be expected when we're dealing with Roman's! The locations are awesome, at times reminding me of the Lord of Rings trilogy and the cast are on the most part, competant and beleivable.

As with any Roman-esque thing, there has to be dash of political double-cross (again, fine with me, its sits well within the genre), but the 'extra' double-cross (the soldier dude, who apparently sold out his buddies to the Picts), I just didnt see the point of.

The ending also became all too predictable, once we met the "lonely, yet beautiful girl", living in the forest - though you can tell by the cover and the opening credits that this film isnt looking to break new ground or sweep the awards at Cannes. But for what it is, it does the job! Its entertaining, nothing really annoying about it, doesnt leave us scratching our heads and therefore not a bad 100 minutes!

Black Death

Normally Sean Bean turns up good movies - but no one is perfect!

What was shaping up to be a potentially good movie, takes a bit of a wrong turn halfway through and ends up rather mind numbing; ironically seeming to be giving the OK (or at least a degree of understanding) to the Malleus Maleficarum type behaviour of the 14th-15th Centuries!

This is unfortunately ANOTHER case of a film that, at least in my opinion, reviewed better than it should have been... Perhaps the reviewers were distracted by (yet again) the brilliant locations or the good cinemaphotography, but Sean Bean (Ulric) was rather predictable, Ed Redmayne (Osmund) was not beleivable and the reported 'suspense', was not really there.

Yet another that I can tick off as having seen, before quite happily moving on...

Dead Snow - Brilliant!

Now, I watched this about 2-3 weeks back again, after finally buying it on DVD - Dead Snow. It has to rate as one of the best Zombie films I have ever seen.

It has everything your run-of-mill, cliched Zombie flick needs; a group of people, isolated location, no way to get help, Zombies, a chainsaw, gore and of course, Dark Humour! But not only does it have this (as well as a good script, great location and cinematography, originality), but it also has Nazi's - in fact, what appears to be a pretty decent sized formation of SS-Einsatzgruppen! (If memory serves, these would have had to have been members of SS-Einsatzgruppe A

Our unfortunate holiday-makers, spending a little time in the picturesque Norwegian wilderness, happen to awake the aforementioned SS-Einsatzgruppe lads - and as we all know, a Disturbed Zombie, is a Hungry Zombie, and a Hungry Zombie an Unhappy Zombie. Unhappy Zombies tend to want to eat you - in fact, all Zombie, regardless of state of mind, want to eat you!

So our misfortunate civilians must make do with whatever weapons are at a hand; lumps of timber, axes, chainsaws and even a snow mobile, in an attempt at some form of rear-guard action against the Nazi Zombie Hordes, as they run-like-buggery!

Now whether you're into Zombie films, Horror films or even Action films, this is probably going to have something for you; particularly if you've a dark sense of humour. So do yourself a favour, find, borrow, buy or somehow acquire yourself a copy and enjoy the genius that is Dead Snow!

ARISE!!!!

The Expendables

Yep... Still watching movies/series and typing - at the same time; call it multi-tasking! But by the way I figure it, The Expendables in not REALLY a movie that I need to put too much intellect and focus into... And I was right.

As a cinematic work, it is nothing more than an excuse to gather up a motley group of near-geriatric action hero's, who are (to varying degrees) past their prime, add a few explosions, fight scenes and make a killing at the box office. This one of those movies that proves AGAIN, the best way to make money in cinema, is to cater for the lowest common denominator!

Governor Schwarzenegger, Sly Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lungren, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin; Jesus Christ, you have to be kidding, yeah?

Plot - Nope! (something about a girl?)
Casting - see above (shakes head)
Acting - Plastic (everyone just plays up to the action hero stereotype)
Soundtrack - Predictable (the boys are back! give me a break!!!)

All it had going for it was copious fight scenes (Jet Li was involved, so we have to have a few really good ones, yeah?) and gun play... And of course, the odd gadget, car and gun that would bring every teenage boy and redneck to a state of extreme arousal! That said, there are no excuses made for that. Its the whole point of the movie - to fill in 100minutes of your life, with a celebration of over-indulgent, testosterone-fueled, alpha-male masturbatory fantasy!

If that floats your boat, good stuff... you'll love it...

Incline Elevations - Long Range Shooting

Those of you who know me, know that one of my 'things' is long range shooting, ballistics and the mathematics behind it. One aspect of this is knowing how to correct your scope elevation for a particular range at different +/- inclines - for many applications (particularly at shorter ranges, ie <500 yards), the 'Riflemans Rule' or Cosine Rule is an acceptable approximation.

As an example of the Cosine Rule, consider the following: Range to Target: 500 yards; Incline: 30 degrees down; using typical ballistics for my M700 in .308" (Zero at 200 yards)

If I were shooting 'level', my elevation on the scope would be around about 8.5MOA for 500 yards. However, the inclination of -30 degrees requires an elevation correction; we will use the cosine rule to illustrate:

elevation range = linear range * cosine(inclination)

elevation range = 500 * cos (30)

elevation range = 500 * 0.866

elevation range = 433 yards

So, instead of 'dialing on' the elevation for 500 yards (8.5MOA), we 'dial on' the elevation for 433 yards - which is approx 5.5MOA. Now what does this really mean 'on target'? Well, remembering that at 500 yards, 1.0MOA is approx 5 inches and assuming that we didnt bother to correct for elevation, our 'point of impact' will be some 15 inches HIGHER than where our crosshairs are positioned! Now depending upon what you're shooting at, that is definately enough to cause a big miss!

However, the Cosine Rule is of course only an approximation (and there are better methods which will appeal to those of us who enjoy coding ballistics simulations) - the reason its only approximate is most simply summed up by saying that the Cosine Rule 'assumes' that bullet drop is perpendicular to the direct line of sight to target (ie, the 'line' on which the inclination is measured), where in fact bullet drop is always 'vertical' (ie, perpendicular to horizontal). So there are two issues here; i) the greater the inclination, the greater the error, and ii) the greater the range, the greater the error.

One a side note however, I will point out that as range increases the 'lower' your shots will drop, if you use the cosine rule - as an example, at 1000 yards and -25 deg, the Cosine Rule gives you a result of about 31MOA, where in reality your drop is in fact 34MOA (around 31 inches low!)...

So, where can we find more information on more 'precise methods'? Well luckily I have found a few interesting papers that I am currently working through, the best of these so far is this - Shooting On Slopes or, The Legend of Cosine-Range - well worth a read if this interests you.

Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles

Amongst the other movies, anime, series, etc, that I have been watching over the last 5 days, I've been chipping away at seasons 1 and 2 of Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Interestingly, season 1 is in 9 episodes, while season 2 is some 22 episodes - so considering I paid about $24 for each season, and season 2 is 920 minutes in length, its a pretty good deal! Plus, being a bit of a Terminator fan, it seemed like a good plan!

My main whinge about the entire Terminator series, is the 're-inventing' of people - like John Connor in particular. The series John Connor doesn't really look much like the John Connor's we see in the various movies (Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl, Christian Bale, etc) - and the series Sarah Connor doesn't have the same 'feel' as the Terminator 2 Sarah Connor (ie, Sarah is RIPPED in T2 - not in this tho!).

(and is it just me, or does Christian Bale look like a bad 1980's porn star in this photo? What is going on with that?)

Next issue - 'Cameron'... What happens to her personality? In the first episode, when she first meets John, she is basically 'normal'; there is no inkling of her later 'terminatoresque-social-awkwardness'. Plus, what is going on with that girl's eyes? The more you look at them, the weirder and creepier they get. Maybe thats why she got the part - she has messed up eyes that make her look 'not quite right'?

So, Season 1 - yeah, I dug it... Twas a bit short however. But what I want to know is, how is the T-888, different to the T-800? Is it simply a more 'human' chassis (remembering the T-800 is 'Arnie-sized')? And what model is Cameron? She isn't a T-X; according to Cromartie, she is an 'unknown cyborg'... OK, it doesnt impact at all on the story, but I just want to know; we see a T-600 infiltrator in season 2, we all know 'Arnie' is the classic T-800/-850 from the movies, 'Cromartie' is the first T-888 we see, the 'liquid metal' T-1000 from T2 and T-1001 in series 2, and finally the rather hot T-X from Rise of the Machines. Lets not forget the 'Infiltration Prototype' Sam Worthington thing from Salvation! Does he count tho?

As you'd expect, lots of gun-play, lots of Terminators fighting in the 'Terminators fighting' style - again, quite interesting how these super efficient killing machines have so much trouble killing a handful of under-armed humans with the last name Connor (and Reese), but everyone else doesnt stand a chance!

For me, stuff got more interesting with Season 2 - Shirley Manson shows up! Now I didn't know this was coming, and being a long time Garbage fan, this was cool! OK, Shirley is starting to show her age, but suits the part brilliantly! She's always had a slightly 'devious' streak...

Season 2 is, over all, a better story. We get to know Derek Reese better, see more about the future war and generally discover more about the whole 'Terminator Universe' - we see more and more glimpses of the 'Metal Resistance' (which personally, I wanted to see more of). And the season ends in a fairly unique way - John Connor and 'Shirley' jumping forward to a future where either John Connor has not yet become or never does become 'the legend' - and you get the impression 'Shirley' is a big part of the 'Metal Resistance' (remembering that even Skynet wasn't convinced that the T-1000 and subsequent T-1001 models were 'safe').

Oh and lets not forget, Danny Dyson (Miles Dyson's son, from T2) has been 'missing' for 3 months in the last few episodes - what has become of him and where will he pop up?

Alas, a quick bit of internet research suggests Season 3 was cancelled - so as usual I will not get answers to this stuff. The only hope seems to be a 'TV Movie'; maybe that will wrap a few of these things up.


So, Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles; definately worth a look if you're a Terminator fan: I liked it!... For those who are not, I can't see you getting much out of it!

Suck - Vampires Rock

Well, several hours ago, I knew NOTHING about this flick - for the first time in almost 3 years (according to the girl at the counter) I was wondering through the local video store. Then I happened upon this little gem: Suck - Vampires Rock

So, whats the big deal, I hear you ask? The cast! Let's see: Alice Cooper (Bartender and 'Vampire Dream Spirit') - Malcom McDowell (Vampire Hunter) - Iggy Pop (Recording Engineer and 'Life Guide') - Henry Rollins (Radio Shock-Jock DJ... And Food!), and thats just the tip of the iceberg! And the next cool thing is, its actually quite good - one might suggest something like a Comedy where Singles meets Spinal Tap meets Rocky Horror; or something.

The deal is, shitty band, hot bass chick (chick bass-players are ALWAYS hot) who becomes a vampire and starts eating people... And the band starts to suck less! The more of the band that becomes vampire, the more they suck less - However, they're being stalked by a one-eyed vampire-hunter (Malcom McDowell - Van Hellsing!), who is afraid of the dark!

The negatives are, the thing kind of ends rather suddenly - still worth a watch though and the cast is golden! Plus, it fills in 85 odd minutes of your life and isn't a complete waste of mental energy! :)

High School of the Dead (anime)

I watched this series the other week, in two sittings (12 episodes)... What can I say except, awesome! It is hilarious, zombie smashing fun, in a perverted highschool girl way. that only anime/manga can get away with.

OK, so right there is better part of the description - ridiculously busty highschool girls, in short skirts and tight tops, kicking the asses of thousands of zombies. And it even has a decent semblance of a plot (lets face it, most zombie movies don't, so anything beyond the normal is a plus)!!!


Its got a Samurai girl, a Bimbo School-Doctor (who's boobs have sound effects) who lesbian girl friend is a sniper, a Seedy school teacher, a fat geeky kid with a gun fetish and the 'quiet honourable' young man (in typical Japanese style!)... It even has a bath tub scene, where the school grils and doctor get all 'steamy'... Utterly ridiculous, but lets face it, thats what you're normally after when you want Zombie Anime...

This is five star goodness!

The Hurt Locker

Just spent a bit over two hours watching the Hurt Locker - and honestly, it didn't really do that much for me!

OK, was well shot, directed, acted and etc, but after all the hype and Academy Awards, I was expecting a hell of a lot more! Not to mention the somewhat unrealistic procedures/practices employed by our featured E.O.D. team.

Gripe 1 - General and communications discipline - are these guys for real? Just ignoring comm's from their team mates; not telling their team mates what they're upto; arguing about mission-critical aspects at some very 'inopportune' times!

Gripe 2 - Combat operations - what sort of three man team, without seeking permission or even checking in with anyone, goes out on a search and destroy patrol, right after an IED blast? Not only is there a massive chance of Blue-on-Blue, but a three man team (armed only with their M4's and Berreta's doesn't exactly carry a big stick!

And then they go and split up in three singletons?!?! Utter rubbish!

Same with the warehouse clearance - a three man team, ALL BY THEMSELVES, with no obvious perimeter in place or heavy support, clear an entire warehouse in a few minutes. The bad guys left kettles were still warm and cigarettes still burning!

Gripe 3 - Sniping operations - where do I start! Well, our enemy sniper was ranged out at over 900 yards; the bad guy was using a Soviet SVD (7.62x54 Russian) which really isnt that accurate at >800 yards, but he was scoring first round kills with his first three shots; until our "hero's" popped their heads up.

Now the good guys had themselves a Barret M107 (.50 cal), shooting ball ammunition (which is a little unusual - you'd expect something harder hitting in that environment, like Mk211 Raufoss ammo) - that thing will reach well out over 2,000 yards. But what surpised me, was the fact the first round fired, struck 3metres low, and thjere was not a single correction on the scope! 3metres low at that range is approx 13MOA or 3.5Milliradians (depending on how your scope is scaled) - that is a HUGE correction, that should have required some degree of elevation change on the scope!

Not to mention, we have two EOD guys who are suddenly just 'able' to pair up and operate as a pretty effective sniper team? And then make a shot on a guy running right to left at >900yards! Pretty impressive... In their defence, being EOD guys, there is a chance they are trained on the M107 as it is used for detonating ordnance - which sounds like a world of fun to me!

Still, being Hollywood, we cant be too harsh on them...

But in conclusion, The Hurt Locker - it was just not as good as it should have been! It was kind of a nothing movie, very little 'plot'... It wont make my top 10!

Post Number 1

Judging by the title, quite obviously this is the first post - nothing much to report that really needs saying at this point in time. However, it maybe worthwhile to at least state the short term intentions of this (as simple as the initial thought was) - self entertainment and sharing the gamut of experience that I am living through... That includes a somewhat high percentage of time spent watching DVD's and spending too much money on eBay and other online retail outlets.

Exciting... In a boring kind of way!