019 IT (First Draft)

Finally I am writing IT. 70 pages done and at least 40 more to go. The first draft was printed yesterday. IT has been a long time coming. I am obsessing again.
Putting IT on paper was the right thing to do. I'll just need 50 million dollars to transform IT into a great movie. [So clever there]
IT is turning out alright.
Having a hard time finding names for my characters. Right now IT looks like this (sample):
TRAD 1 -- Trader #1
MECH -- Mechanic
CHI -- Child
(also: SS01, PS01, NUM2, ORI, MERC, ... )

IT had a great title, but it's been done before. I got to find something new. It's critical. Hardest thing ever.

Next week I am starting 3D models for the main locations.

SS01 sketch

018 Terminator Salvation (2009) -- A few comments.

-Once again, a “pre-post-non-sequel”. What? Getting confused with all the back and forth ... ALL that time travel stuff (again!)

-In general I think that to really enjoy the film, people should have absolutely NO expectations. This movie is just what it is. No pretense. Nothing more than pure adrenaline rush action. It's gritty, harsh and violent (very Call of Duty and Halo). A true war.

-The story is basic, although being familiar with the other plots from The Terminator -- Judgment Day -- Rise of the machines is somewhat helpful, making context and background more substantial.
However, it may be that the simplicity of the story is what makes it successful. It doesn’t interfere with the viewing experience. No thinking involved in this one.

-Really cool machines. Different but better, more powerful. I liked it. and the Terminator(s) didn’t get weak all of a sudden when fighting humans. They stayed powerful and fast.

-The Gover-nator was there too ... naked ... for a while. it was ok. he just looked weird as if they had airbrushed his entire body, there was something about it that was strange. I don't know.

-Deja vu: Just like Star Trek (which I also saw recently), The other guy [i.e. Spock in ST and Markus in TR] take center stage with characters that are far more interesting and complex than the supposed Hero [i.e. Kurt in ST and Connor in TR]. What’s going on with that? Is this done on purpose? I can’t imagine that they would spend a load of money, getting Christian Bale and then not make full use of him. Although I am sure he doesn’t care, he’s got Bruce Wayne to fall back on.
Anyway, just a question. Not that I care so much about the answer, but it’s happening to often for me not to point it out.

Oh by the way, Christian … You really need to get that mole off your face. If you’re going to make movies with that many close ups. You got to get that thing off, it’s disturbing.
I’m just saying.

017 STAR TREK (2009) Random thoughts

Maybe slightly controversial review, since EVERYONE I know thought this movie was absolutely fantastic. I, on the other hand was left puzzled and mostly disappointed. Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of this genre and of course, a fan of the Star Trek franchise. I was forced to wait to see this movie for various reasons. I did try to avoid any spoilers and systematically warned everyone talking about the film, to leave the room or shut it. I think that worked out pretty well. In spite of all the precautions, I think the buzz this movie has received definitely influenced me and I walked in the theater with certain expectations.

GOOD MOMENTS
-- Liked the short but inspired title sequence that is NOT a title sequence. It’s the latest thing with the Star Trek movies, no real title sequence in the last two. So this thing was short but nice and sweet. I just thought it was cool.
-- When the ships go to warp.
-- Leonard Nimoy’s first meeting with himself.
-- Simon Pegg’s funny comebacks. I am glad he got the part even though I was rooting for Paul McGillion. Unfortunately for Paul, Simon is a shoe in for this role.
-- Quality of some of the visuals. Contrast between dark, moody atmosphere of Nero's ship vs. harsh and overexposed sequences.
-- We get to find out Uhura’s first name.

BAD MOMENTS
-- Some of the dialogues. The worst? Here it is:
I was quickly annoyed when 3 minutes into the movie, Kurt’s father is about to die, everything slows down and he says [to his wife] “I love you.” I saw it coming from so far away I kept whispering “please don’t say it, please don’t say it, please don’t say it … ” And then he said it – CHEEEESY -- I don’t like it when I can play the scene in my mind or guess the words in advance. It just means that we are going to be served some predictable, classic dialogues … and then we do.
-- I never really understood the significance of the “car over the cliff scene.” The boy actor [Kurt] was pretty bad. His facial expressions were all over the place and really didn’t convey any of the right emotions. He looked angry, scared, annoyed and brazen all at the same time. Just didn’t work for me.
-- Most of the Enterprise is still unknown. Look gigantic but we only see a minuscule part of it. disappointing.

DON’T KNOW IF IT’S GOOD OR BAD
-- Time travel. Again?
-- The bridge of the Enterprise looks like Apple’s iMAC. Bright, slick, smooth and … white.
-- The engine room looks more like a gigantic bear factory.

CHARACTERS
Throughout the movie, Spock develops nicely as character and in some ways was much better than his counterpart Kurt. The young Spock was dead on and the scene relayed all the relevant key emotions and set the right tone for the character. It turns out that Spock had depth and dealt with a variety of “emotions”. The fact that we see him in the past [Jacob Kogan], present [Zachary Quinto] and future [Leonard Nemoy] really helps build a solid and complex personality.
I was disappointed in Kurt. He came out as just a loose canon who happens to be the luckiest fool of the whole bunch. I never really got hooked. He is cute, very cute and his care free ways are fun to watch, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else there. This movie was really about discovering Spock, I never bought the Kurt character.

JJ ABRAMS AND STAR TREK
Well, we all know why he is the darling of Hollywood right now. The latest, hottest commodity and he’s not even 40 yet. He is a composer, a director, a producer and a writer. [negligible acting credits] He can do no wrong … we’ll see.
The overall story was ok, nothing very groundbreaking or interesting. I guess finding out more about the origin of Kurt and crew is a perfect place to re-start the movie franchise.
The one think that is consistent throughout the film is the oddly beautiful camera movements. The camera is never still. A lot of the scenes are shot with a moving, flowing and tilting point of view. It is subtle enough to avoid sea sickness and done in a way that really adds to the viewing experience. It moves into the scene and around the characters. Beautiful. Personally I think this is what makes this movie work.

016 Aaaaalright already

PATH 1

015 Free Will

What do you do when faced with a choice of 2 stupid options? None is appealing. I can either quit/loose my job or continue to have no life because I have to spend it in Paris. It’s an impossible choice, one that gives me no pleasure and definitely takes me down a path of more trouble and difficulties.
PATH1:
I can choose to continue to work and go live in Paris for months at a time, where I am miserable. Putting my life on hold [completely] – [again] – [and again]. I am incapable and unwilling to immerse myself in that culture, that city, that country. [Screw the French] The only thing is, I am making a ton of money there. [Thank the euro]
PATH2:
I can choose to stay in L.A. this summer and take the class I so wanted to take. It’s also where I have a better life, where I talk to and see friends, where I feel good and refreshed and also where I might not have a job in the near future. That’s a real possibility. Because I just can’t see my boss accepting what they might call “my eccentricities”, I am already expecting things to go down the drain, fast. Oh yeah, in case people don’t know this already, according to some people, if I’m not married and I don’t have kids, apparently my life doesn’t exist and I am considered fully flexible. At one point I considered getting myself knocked up just to be able to tell then to go fuck themselves … take THAT! But I quickly reconsidered. It’s a little bit drastic. And then, what do I tell the kid later, “Yes, honey, be proud, mommy made you to prove a point.” No, that wouldn’t work.

With this stupid economy, I don’t know if I can reasonably hope to find something else to do. Maybe barista at Starbucks, I go there enough.
Choices are only fun when the options open up to new exciting possibilities. I feel like I have no such luck with these things and that I am often faced with bad and worst. Which one to take? Well, I don’t want to take any of those stinking options. I just wish that one day I would be faced with something like:
A. Get 50 million dollars and go make your movie.
B. Get 50 million dollars and go design my house.
C. Get 50 million dollars and go enjoy yourself ... Oh, what the hell, take 60.

Is that too much to ask?

[To be continued]

014 EarthQuakiness

As it does everyday, the earth shook in Los Angeles again. But this time I really felt it. I always seem to miss it. Last time, I was in Paris and the time before that, I must have been somewhere else too because I don’t remember any of it.
Last night, the epicenter was deep underground which means: smooth wave-like shakes. So smooth that I though it was just a “big twuck” [nephew talk] driving by. Sprawled on my stomach, in bed, I was working on the computer -- Jumped up and ran to the nearest doorway. Which incidentally I learned (afterward of course) is not the best strategy for survival. “Really?”

I also have no water, no “working” flashlight and no food … I am not ready.

013 The show I hate ... But have to watch anyway

-- How many stupid shows do I actually watch on TV?
Answer: way too many to count, but that’s what makes TV oh so special.

Latest one to really drive me nuts is CSI: Miami. It is sooo bad, words cannot accurately express the blatant idiocy of this show. I don’t remember if it was always like that. I think I used to enjoy it. None of the characters have any depth and after 10 years they really have nothing left to say. The main supposed lovers have no chemistry, it makes me gag.

I have tried to ignore it, removed it from my DVR recording schedule and bad mouthed it all over town. And yet, here I am, watching it [I curse On Demand], I have sunk so low, I am embarrassed. Although I my defense, it’s so stupid it does manage to give me a good chuckle here and there, so just for that, I might continue to watch.

So, last week, just like every week this stupid show begins with some kind of montage of half naked drunk Miami resident getting killed. There is some definite stereotype going on here. When David Caruso [Lieutenant Horacio Caine] strolls onto the screen, holding on to his sunglasses, head titled to the side, it’s just hilarious. I bet they shoot that same scene every time. Seriously, they should just reuse some stock footage and get it over with. We also always know exactly what he’s thinking since the actor has a grand total of two facial expressions: Thoughtful and Angry-thoughtful. Well, at least we know what’s going on I guess, he’s easy to read if you know what I mean.
Invariably something stupid is said. Definitely, Caruso is the one who says it.
Last week -- “Reality just got real”

Yeah Caruso … Go!

012 Oooh Los Angeles

WED - 2AM - PARIS
I decided not to sleep during my last night in Paris so I would be tired when I get on the plane.

Idiot.

THUR - 8AM - PARIS
I was exhausted. Left town yawning.

THUR – 2PM – BOEING777
Traveling in business is the best. Tried to watch movies on the plane and never made it through a single one.
The reader, bride wars*, slumdog millionaire**, Valkyrie*** and others I don’t even remember.

* Worst movie I’ve seen so far this year. Wait, can this tripe even be considered a “movie”?
** This one is not that good. I don’t understand what all the hype is about. I feel that I have to say I liked it otherwise I look stupid. Well, I am not playing that game. So I’ll say it: I didn’t like it.
*** What the hell was TC thinking about?

Boring.

THUR – 5PM – L.A.
I just arrived in LA. Was feeling weird the whole time, not really believing I was actually here.

Smells good.

THUR – 6PM – L.A.
Had to go to the office again to get my car. Always awkward. I kind of know these people, but at the same time I don’t. I haven’t worked with them [ever]. So it’s in between saying hi or ignoring everybody, but that’s rude.

I got to find out who are the owners of the two cars blocking mine before I can leave.

Car is so dirty I can’t see through the windshield.

011 X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) -- No spoilers review

Before I start with the actual review of the movie I have to mention the smell situation, which once again prevented me from fully enjoying myself. In Paris, smells get in the way all the time. And I’m not talking about flowers, baby powder or freshly baked bread. No, I am talking about the stale smell of sweat, old urine in street corners, wet dog after the rain, crap smeared on the sidewalk, vomit in the metro and of course, the cheese. Needless to say, I have learned a lot about the subtle varieties of smells since I got here. It’s educational, definitely not pretty. In this case, every five minutes, when the air came on, we got served with a nice bouquet of urine and feces smells; The type that got left over after an unsuccessful flush and has had time to macerate in the bowl – Potent and distracting.

This movie is pretty much a mildly entertaining series of clichés and platitudes. At least for the first part. Until he [Wolverine] gets to the island, things are pretty much stale and predictable, the dialogs too simplistic. “I know, he’s a man of few words, but for Christ's sakes, when you say something, avoid the clichés.” If this movie is mainly about developing the character, it’s not going to happen with an endless succession of banalities. I'm just saying. However, there are a couple of nice scenes, a few fights and some chases that are pretty good. There is also some serious eye candy. For the girls I mean.

Once Wolverine gets on the island, things begin to improve -- unfortunately we’ve already been in the theater for over an hour (smells and all). There are a couple of twists in the plot I did not see coming. The line separating the good guys from the bad is completely blurred. Nice suspense there. And Mutant XI is surprisingly good. I never saw that one coming.
Also, there is an extra scene at the end of the movie, after the credits. It’s short and I suspect that most people don’t know about it and don't stay long enough to catch it. I think out of the 50 or so people in the theater, only five actually saw it.

Overall I was disappointed because I was expecting more out of that story line. But the end made up for the first hour.

010 Shuffle Through Paris

Just went out on a run. Well, it’s more of a shuffle really. Can’t remember the last time I did that. Listened to Abd Al Malik on the way (I recommend). Started at Louvre/Rivoli metro station then through the Louvre where tourists are already lining up at the pyramid! It wasn’t even 8.30am … Touristing, what a fascinating activity.
I then ran through the gardens of the museum all the way to Concorde and back.
Did I say I almost died? – I’m out of shape. Keyword here: OUT.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I am doing this race in a month:
20km de Bruxelles

And here is the Frenchie Abd Al Malik
Enjoy.