JONAH HEX

First & foremost, the make-up for Brolin was great! Megan wasn’t unpleasant on the eyes, either. Next the story stood well. The history was presented throughout the flick. Malkovich ALWAYS plays his characters extremely well. There is a surprise I missed, Tom Wopat (one the Duke boys) is a Colonel. The mix of comic book-style, animation & live-action at the being was interesting & entertaining.

Now for the unpleasant part; first, the movie was only 80 minutes & it was CHOPPY. It was as if someone just pasted stuff together. Continuity for the main part of the flick was okay. This Jonah is representative of the newer Jonah Hex series, not the ‘70’s version I used to buy.

There was a LOT of literary license & gadgetry throughout the film & not half as much a “one-liner” movie as I expected from the trailers.

If you pay more than four dollars to see this one, you paid too much (my opinion).

“No matter where you go, there you are” is the cookie. So far nobody is wanting cookies.

OOPS!

Boy is my face RED! Here it is Thursday & I do not have an entry. To apologize to those that may want something, I shall attempt to write without thinking... It could happen! (that's today's cookie).

The news around the house is the hawks are teaching their young ones to fly. I got to see them drop out of the tree less than 100 yards from the house. Mama or Papa was squawking at them for not returning in the appropriate time. For you parents that taught your young'uns to drive can appreciate the parent hawks.

The temp & humidity have been stifling. Only a little riding could be comfortably gotten.

Tomorrow "Jonah Hex" is in the theatres. Think I'll write a review (if it isn't loaded with un-steady cam &/or short-attention span photography). Last week I made the mistake of seeing "The A-Team" rather than "The Karate Kid".

Once again, apologies for dragging my feet.

BICYCLISTS VS. MOTORISTS

Cycling is a great source for exercise & sightseeing. Packing a lunch & putting some miles under the bicycle can be & is cathartic as well. Riding with others increases the pleasure of the day.

Bicyclists seem to be everywhere, especially on two-lane country or mountain roads. This presents problems to the motorist & is not appreciated by the motorist.

Bicyclists are, by law, suppose to stop at stop signs, pull over when approached by motor vehicles, wear reflective clothing & ride single-file or staggered NOT side-by-side. When stopped, not riding, they are to be OFF the road, not standing on the road chatting.

This is some very nice scenery resplendent with deer, hawks, eagles, ospreys, guinea hens, herons, coyote, foxes & other gorgeous animals. There is Jordan Lake, Haw River & tributaries to pedal past as well. All of this is beautiful.

These enthusiasts began using the roads around my area for races & weekend cruises. They are some of the most unfriendly, obnoxious crowd I have had the displeasure to be around.

Recently, one of my brothers was driving on a back road & encountered a gaggle of cyclists riding spread-out & side-by-side. Brother had his children with him & did not want to make a scene. After a few minutes & a few honks & requests for the cyclists to pull-over & refusing to do so, Brother finally got a break & past this group. At this point, in order to make a point, Brother slowed down to 10-15 mph. At this time the cyclists began shouting (& cussing) for Brother to move on. Brother reminded the pedal pushers that he had children in the van. He also made comments on what a beautiful day it was to be out riding the bicycles. Brother left the group after a couple of minutes.

I used to ride bicycles until mine was stolen (a very nice 21-speed mountain bike). I was even on the Bicycle Patrol when I was active duty. I taught my daughter how to ride while I was in Long Beach, CA. There is a place that REALLY knows how to make a cyclist feel comfortable.

As a driver of motorcycle & car, I DO stop (completely) at the stop sign (not ahead of it) & THEN look at traffic (you can inquire about this from anyone that knows me… it drives them nuts). These people are NOT “Bikers”, cyclists is the best (pleasant) term for them. The cyclists around here do NOT stop at the signs or lights. I have even tried to stop them (non-violently). Their replies will not be transcribed here as I wish to keep this blog accessible to minors.

My request/desire/dream/hope is for all these people to READ the North Carolina laws for bicycling & adhere to them. I also want all the motorists to adhere to the same laws & be considerate to these cyclists. Remember, BOTH parties cause road-rage.

Today's cookie - "No habla English? Habla Smith & Wesson?" What movie was this?

TODAY'S MOVIES

Caveat – The first part of this will be in third person to demonstrate that time taken to enhance something improves it. The last part is completely ME.

Today when one goes to watch a movie, one does not know if what they are about to see can be kept up with visually. Will the director actually direct the actors/actresses or will he/she rely upon photographic trickery to show the action. This bit of non-directing, or non-acting in the case that the performer cannot/will not perform the action, is termed “Short-Attention-Span photography” because the director splices parts of different takes in order to get the desired performance. This is extremely jumpy & takes away from the film as the viewer is trying to focus on one part of the scene & is thrown into another part before the mind has focused.

The other notorious concept revitalized by today’s director is the “Unsteady Cam”. This usage of an OLD style of trick photography has devalued more films than imaginable. The invention of the “Steady Cam” was a GREAT day for the industry as the audience got to actually see what was being shown.

It is the considered opinion that the usage of either or both of these techniques detracts immensely from the value of the presentation & should be dropped. If the director cannot get the artists to deliver their parts to the director’s satisfaction, they should go back to school! Or the director should hire someone else. Aren’t there acting coaches on the set? These people are getting millions of dollars for doing nothing!

As for the “Shaky” photography, Human vision does NOT see like the camera when running, even if being chased by the Blair Witch herself. One of the major problems that the director forgets is when the camera shakes to simulate concussion/whatever; the loose items in the scene are NOT shaking.

There are exceptions to every rule. At the moment I cannot remember what they are.

I personally have been in/around bombs bursting, ground shaking, ocean rising & falling & other things that films use “Unsteady Cam” & NOT ONCE did I ever see the things like the movie showed them. My vision was slightly blurred, but I could see what I was looking at/for & it was steady.

Here is a suggestion/idea for the photography & special effects widgets – develop a camera that keeps the center of the visual field steady while the periphery is shaky. That’s REAL!

This concludes today’s rant & comments/suggestions/ disagreements/praises/etc. about the content/structure/delivery are welcomed. This is also how I HOPE to continue my rants.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, MAYBE

How do, one & all (or none at all).

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. Whether tis better to blog & suffer the slings & arrows of outrageous blog-readers or not to blog & perchance to miss a connection of one that may find this/these ramblings entertaining, amusing, profound (not lost & found) or just plain drek.

The humor that one is apt to find here will be dry at times (probably most), poignant at others & "merely foolish"* for the remainder.

The politics will be personal & important to at least one person (me).

The intent is to make at least one entry a week. This is to help me get back into writing as well as actually doing something with ALL the free-time on my hands. It has got to be better going blind with all that, well you know what lazy people look at on the net.

ALL comments will be read & contemplated IF & only if they make sense, are well supported or very funny. Naturally, flamers are NOT welcome, needed, ask for, tolerated, allowed to breathe, etc. Everyone is encouraged to say "Hi" at least, pontificate at the most.

So much for the opening act... "On with the show".

*The person that knows where that quote originated gets a cookie!