Production Values

Yesterday and today I came across some short movies. Some were fan made, others were not. Some were in between. None of them were "real" movies, in the sense that they were feature length, or big hollywood productions. While the acting, props and settings were all fine, you could see that there was a distinct texture difference between them. One of them (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf75iUZVn7Y)(1) had a very professional look. The other (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9UwlAAnlmg)(2) did not. Sure, the budgets were different, but the acting seemed similar in quality, and a behind-the-scenes look at the latter one revealed perfectly professional looking equipment, lighting and make-up. Therefor, I wonder, what's the difference in end result? Why do they look fundamentally different? Clearly it's not just a "throw more money at it" issue. Neither of these are simple home videos, they are more-or-less professional productions. The movie in between (http://kinostalker.com/?lang=en)(3) was more professional, and probably longer, than the second, but clearly suffered from the same home video look. Is this a matter of post processing or using filters or lighting or what? I'd be very happy to hear your thoughts.

Hitman Trailer Out

I just found out today that the trailer for Hitman is out. At first I had heard rumors that Vin Diesel was going to star as the Agent 47, which I think would have been spot on.
For those of you who haven't played the games, Agent 47 is a bald, buff and merciless contract killer. I think Vin Diesel could have full filled these criteria easily, but instead, the filmmakers chose to go with Timothy Olyphant. Now, as much as I like Timothy's previous work, he is in no way, shape or form cut out to play Agent 47. Not only is he too short and way to skinny to pull it off, but he also doesn't have the deep brooding silent resolve that Agent 47 seems to have. Timothy is much too happy to play this role.

The trailer does seen to follow the games quite well, so it will still be entertaining to watch, even though (as the person on whose blog I found the trailer also claims) the main character will be played by the "wrong" guy. The original author and I disagree on the possible use of Vin Diesel, but we both agree that choosing Timmy here was the wrong choice.

EDITED TO ADD: Jason Statham (The Transporter) would have been a kick-ass choice too, but apparently he declined.

Indiana Jones Is Back

I absolutely loved the first three movies about Indiana Jones. Harrison Fords portrayal of "junior", the interplay between Ford and Connery, and the lovely mix of comedy, action and drama made these movies some of the best movies I know.
The problem with the Indiana Jones franchise, is that there were only ever 3 movies made, the last one is a sturdy 18 years old already.
At various points in time, there has been talk about making a fourth movie about Indiana Jones.
Alas, all there rumors have been for naught, until now. Last I heard of Indy 4, was that they had already filming. Sadly, I had heard this on at least 2 occasions before, and it had always been a lie.
I always get cautiously optimistic when I hear Indy 4-related news, thinking that big words does not a movie make. I want the rumors to be true, but so far I have been let down. Until now.
I found this link via the "next blog" link at the bar on the top, linking to a teaser trailer for the new Indy movie. I have no idea how old this snippet is, but I can assume a couple of months at least.
Not only does it contain the essential Indiana Jones props (hat, jacket and bullwhip, in case you were wondering), but it also contains on-the-stage shots of Harrison Ford, talking to to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Harrison Ford actually looks his current age, so I'm going to assume that it is for real this time. I would really hate to be proven wrong on this one. The clip can be found here.

This Is Sparta!

I went to see 300 last night with the gang, and I can tell you that it is absolutely everything that it is hyped up to be. Whatever good things people say about this movie does not make it justice. One of the fiercest movies I have ever seen. The fact that it's loosely based on a true story makes i even cooler.
I read on imdb that the director said that they'd purposefully not gone for the historically authentic fighting, but rather chosen styles and moves that would look better on screen. Good choice, and even better that he actually says so up front, rather than having to be railed about it later.

If you haven't seen it already, you should! At least twice. I'm thinking of my second screening as we speak...

Naxxramas: The Movie

I found this today over at Ming's site. It's a movie made by a French guild about the various boss encounters and wings in the Naxxramas instance in World of Warcraft.
Like he says, much like the BWL movie of about a year ago, this is more of an artistic vision of the encounters in Naxxramas, than a "look at my interface and my big crits"-kind of thing. It is, dare I say, the best WoW movie I have ever seen. The BWL movie was pretty damn awesome, but the quality and production value of this is just so much better. Also, the stuff pictured in this looks much more interesting. If you're a WoW-fan and you like good movies, then check this out. A full, high-quality download is recommended, this movie has earned it!

Edit: You can find the rest of Jack's movies here.

Back to Life

So, I guess school starts again tomorrow. Granted, I don't have class on Mondays, but it's officially on again. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as we will later see) I've been too busy playing World Of Warcraft these past weeks to a) do something productive and b) write new posts.
The good thing about playing wow is that I've grown tired of it again, so now my only hope is that TBC (not tuberculosis) will bring some new joy into the game. If not, then I'm screwed.
It's especially good that this happens now, as I have exam weeks coming up, and I don't want to be preoccupied with slaying foul demons and whatnot.

Three of my roommates arrived home yesterday with eerie timing. I was expecting only one of them, but they all arrived within one hour of each other, so now the house is full of joy and merriment again! It was really great to have the house to myself for these last two weeks, but I can't say that I haven't missed having them around. The remaining two are due sometime this week, and sometime next week. One of which has been to the eternal darkness or Norway for two weeks. It's going to be interesting to hear what she has to say.

I also got a link from my brother yesterday about a new blog I should check out. It's at http://indexed.blogspot.com, and it's full of truths and laughs.

Other than that, very little has happened. I've become very tuned in to CNN, as it's what I watch for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I'm downstairs, so I now know in detail what's going on around the world. Not that I didn't before, but my knowledge isn't normally accompanied by moving pictures.

Me and one of my roommates spent an inordinate amount of time on youtube today. We started watching some SNL skit, which quickly got followed by some nudity (of course, it's what the internet is for, is it not?), a bit of Chad Vader (hilarious stuff), and then I showed him the wonder that is LonelyGirl15. He had not seen this before, and was not familiar with the concept of vlogging (terrible word for video blogging, I know).

All in all a good, fun, and completely useless day.
Now we're all having a delicious dinner together. Fried chicken, potatoes and vegetables. Gotta run!

Fellowship of the Ring Redux

Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring would be much better if it wasn't for these incessant hobbits. Merry and Pippin, even if they have their heartfelt moments, are at least somewhat comical, they further the side story (that makes this into 3 books instead of 2), and they don't seem to be as married to each other as Frodo and Sam. Samwise is nothing short of Frodo's wife. "You're not eating or sleeping, don't think I haven't noticed...". What the hell kind of line is that from one adventurer to another? That's like something straight out of Ally McBeal (another show that would be a million times better without the main act, Ally). These guys are out on an adventure to save the future of civilization as they know it, they're not throwing a dinner party.
I know Sam cares about Frodo, and he told Gandalf that he was going to protect him, but this is just ridiculous.

And Frodo running off by himself at the end of fotr? What was that? I know it's a set up for the rest of the tale, but please. There are probably a couple of other ways that could have been handled. J.R.R, I'm looking in your general direction.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's a great and wonderful movie, trilogy in fact, but some things are just annoyances. Merry and Pippin redeem themselves in the later movies, but Sam has absolutely no claim to fame what so ever. He doesn't even provide comic relief, he just gets in the way. If Sam had gotten turned into a toad by Gandalf when he catches him outside the window, it would have been a better movie.
I do know why Sam is there though. I know the function he fills, but I think that they could probably have done it differently. As a matter och fact, they could have thrown in an extra adventurer. Or, just not killed off Boromir and have Boromir lead the remainder of the fellowship to get Merry and Pippin, and Aragorn could have come with Frodo to mount doom. Granted, the deception parts with Gollum might have had to be re-written a bit, but still.
They could even have done a bit about the Isildur failure once they get inside mount doom, but then Aragorn redeems himself by being the one who throws the Ring in the fires. Everybody lives happily ever after.

As I'm writing this, the credits are rolling in the background, and it's just a shitload of names, no titles. Are these just people who they are thanking for some reason or another? There must be thousands, if not more!

Ohh, and after 10 minutes of editing this post, the credits are still running. What the hell?

Apathy

Christmas is almost here. I only have 2 more classes to go before I can have two lovely weeks off. I don't really have any school work left to do: I don't have anything I need to take care of outside school.
And yet, I can't bring myself to do any of the things I like.
I've promised myself to not play WoW (might have to break that promise sometime in the future).
I don't write any code (can't bring myself to start. Whenever I open the IDE, I just get tired)
I don't play any other games (other than a stint of bejewelled, but that gets boring after a while)
I don't watch any movies (I can't be bothered)

I don't do anything, and it's driving me insane. I just hope that when Friday comes, I'll be content enough with whatever it is that I can allow myself to relax and do some things I like. As it is now, I just want the days to pass. It's not like I want them to pass so that something on the horizon can happen, I just want them to pass, period.
I guess summer would be the biggest thing on the horizon, but I can't very well coast apathetically along all year just because summer isn't here (this IS what I do all winter, but lets pretend that I don't).

I'm bored, but I don't do anything about it. I watched some Family Guy and American Dad, which brightened my day, but it's one new episode of each per week, that's not nearly enough to keep me satisfied.
I don't have anything to look forward to, maybe that's it. No goal, other than being out of school for two weeks.

Shit, I've got go get out of this rut. Any suggestions on what to do would be most appreciated

I Too Want A Robotic Friend

I guess I'm going to have to build one then.
Almir Heralic, from Chalmers University in Gothenburg in Sweden did just that.
This robot is awesome! It has many of the same joins as a human, can recognize faces, track movement...
Kind of makes me wish I was in a different field of study. I don't think I have the skill though.

WATCH!

Ohh, and it talks too...

Here's Almir's page at Chalmers.

I guess this really is old news, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway.