Nerd Alert:

I bought a Nomad Zen today and was all stoked right until I tried to get it to work. It was a nice adventure. Of course I guess I only have myself to blame - I tried installing the Zen, a new USB 2.0 controller, new drivers from Creative's web site, and 3rd party software for putting music on the Zen. Long story short - I ended up reformatting my system drive and putting a fresh copy of the OS back on the machine. This at least got it working, although I think my cheap ass USB 2.0 controller isn't the best as my transfer speed is a bit pokey. Right now I'm looking at another 120 hours or so before it's done copying music over to the Zen and I'm not even copying the whole library.

End Nerd Alert.

This weekend I felt like watching a bad movie so I rented Reign of Fire. Let's just say I got what I expected. However the was a bright moment when they mentioned the Dalton Gang (my middle name is Dalton - and yes, I'm related to them.)

I watched Down With Love last night. This is a strange, strange movie. I think I missed out on some of a fun since I wasn't really, you know, alive in the 60's to see the movies they were fondly remembering (and recreating to an extent.) The whole film is done in that style, and an over the top version of that style. This isn't like Austin Powers where there are throwbacks to 60's stylings but the film remains in the now. In Down With Love they never even flinch, and frankly, for me it got old. Plus the sexual innuendo was so strong and overt that it kind of ruined the effect. It reminded me that this really isn't a movie that was made in the 60's, it was made today - with our tolerances for that stuff, but just pretended to be from another time.

Perhaps the best way to explain it is as I was watching I thought "you probably have to be stoned to really appreciate this movie."

My brain is still chugging on The Matrix Reloaded. The cool thing about this movie is there is no shortage of people to talk about it with - everyone seems to have something to say. I just don't feel like my thoughts have solidified enough to put them in writing.

Lastly, the TV season is now over. I have some thoughts about TV too, but they'll be pretty lengthly and I'm going to wait on those as well (I know, I'm being a big wimp about writing this week.)

[Spoiler Safe - I Promise]

I must keep reminding myself that The Matrix was a breakthrough movie precisely because it introduces us to a new, original, and fascinating world concept. A sequel, by definition, has to exist in that same world. It can elaborate and expand, but cannot be a breakthough in a world concept sense. To me that's why The Matrix Reloaded didn't feel as fresh as the first installment.

That said, it was gorgeous and spectacularly well made. The CG still had an "off" look, but is better then anything else I've ever seen. The fight scenes were wonderful and it's obvious that both the actors trained some more and the choreographers learned how to better work with these actors that don't have the skills the Hong Kong guys do - with the exception of Sing Ngai (Seraph - side note: Jet Li was originally looked at for this role, how sweet would that have been...)

That's about all I have energy for tonight. Curiously I get to see it again in a few hours as part of a work morale event and I'm sure I'll have more to say after pass number 2.

The Matrix Reloaded opens tomorrow. But since I'm a bit of a hardcore fan I'll be seeing it tonight one minute after midnight. The wierd thing is I have a suprising number of friends who managed to get tickets for shows that start before midnight (some this afternoon, some this evening.) This is really suprising to me since typically studios are a bit strict about opening dates.

It's great. The last time I was this excited for a movie opening was for Episode 1. Naturally, I'm hoping to be more impressed tonight then I was back in May '99. Although I've stayed true and haven't seen a trailer yet, I haven't even seen many still shots. This natually means that I haven't read reviews, but Ebert gave it 3.5 stars and I browsed some headlines and tomatometer reviews. Bottom line: it appears to be a stellar action movie but without some of the substance of the original.

I'm sure I'll have something to say when I get home around 3:00 am. I'm just hoping it doesn't rain too much while I'm waiting in line this afternoon.

Guy and I took in X-Men 2 last night at the Cinerama (I refuse to use the title X2, that should have just been a promo thing like ID4.) Anyway, I'm happy to report that it held up well for me in a second viewing. I had a great time and was reminded how nice a theater the Cinerama is.

Then tonight I went to see They Might Be Giants play at the Crocodile Cafe. They were awesome. I don't really know any of their songs - the only ones I knew tonight are "Particle Man", "Istanble", and a cover of the Monkeys theme song. This reminded me that I need to go to concerts more often, especially at the many great small venues Seattle has. Thanks to Fozzy and Craig for going with me.

Wow, I'm a home theater snob. I got the bright idea that if I turn over the DVD of The Transporter that the other side probably wouldn't be scratched up. But of course then I'd have to watch it in full screen mode (as opposed to widescreen.) Long story short, I feel dirty now. I hate watching movies in full screen. Hence, I'm a home theater snob.

As far as the movie goes. I really shouldn't have bothered with the last third. It was just sub-par action. This movie frustrated me: so much potential, such poor execution.

I had a wonderful time rafting this weekend. I took some great friends down the river (and my sister too) on both Saturday and Sunday. There's a place that takes pictures at one of the big rapids aand pparently the pictures from Sunday were really good. My friends ordered a bunch and said they will give me copies - I'll post them up here when I get them. My sister was hardcore and rode on the front of the raft on Sunday and there's one picture where all you can see is a random paddle and one of her legs sticking out of the whitewater - I can't wait.

Trivia, my normal Monday night activity was cancelled tonight, and I was in a bit of a mood. So all I really wanted to do was watch a easy on the brain movie. I rented The Transporter. I haven't actually finished it yet because the DVD I got is scratched up and I got tired of watching through major MPEG artifacts. The last straw was when it just hung on me. But for the first two thirds it kind of annoyed me with it's potential. It's a fun concept and the main character is kind of fun in an action movie way. But it's overly stylized and cut choppily so it's hard to tell what's going on. The fight scenes are overly choreographed (the scene in the hallway with the axes was the worst offender) and perhaps most annoyingly - they sped up the film for some of the fight and action scenes. This always annoys me because it keeps reminding me that it's a movie and an artificial creation. The secret to special effects is that you don't know they're happening. You get tricked into totally implausable things becuase the look natural. Speeding up the film makes everything look unnatural - exactly the wrong effect.

I assume I'll watch the rest of it. Maybe the DVD will behave tomorrow. But if the video store offers me a credit instead of another copy of this I'll take them up on (they should, I'm what you call a frequent customer...)

It's weird how writing styles vary from day to day. As I edit this I notice I'm using a lot of extra words today (this is a problem I typically have to watch out for, but it's especially bad tonight.)

Wow, yesterday was a great day for movies.

First I noticed on the Cinerama website that tickets for Tha Matrix Reloaded went on sale, but only at the box office. So I swung by during lunch to pick some up. The line was almost a block long. It moved along pretty well, but one woman at the front bought 250 tickets ($2250!) for one of the Friday shows and it took them a while to print them all up. Anyway, I'm all stoked cause now I have tickets for the 12:01 show at the best theater in town. This is the hard core showing, I expect to see many people dressed up.

Then I was being good and getting ready for rafting this weekend (it's going to be lots of fun) when I talked to my friend Wendy. She was going to the 12:01 X-Men showing last night and invited me to go too. Well, I'd been struggling all day since with rafting and other stuff it looked like I wouldn't see it until Tuesday. I guess in the end I can't say no when a girl invites me to go to the X-Men 12:01 show - seriously, I didn't stand a chance.

And wow, am I glad I went. I just have a giddy feeling today. I love watching good movies, it's so much fun.

So here's the deal, it's still a superhero, comic book, action movie. This means the plot is thin and the characters are developed (a bit, but that's it) by their actions instead of their dialog. So if that's you thing you're going to have a great time. If it's not, well it's not.

Watching both the X-Men movies really makes me wish I was more of a comic book nerd. It turns out that I only have a slight familiarity with the X-Men universe. I know all the major characters names, their powers, and about a one sentace description of their personalities. But then I talk to friends who really know all the history and I see that they get to have a whole different kind of fun with the movie. Then there are the cheers from audience members as they recognize all the mutant cameos - I just feel like I'm lacking in my nerdiness.

The starting sequence was unreal. Then Nightcrawler continues to be a great character. Mystique comes into her own in this one - and is fun to watch. Jean Gray and Storm are better here then in part one and both get a lot of screen time. Magneto continues to rule. And the younger mutants are great too: Pyro, Iceman, and especially Rogue are good. I was impressed by Anna Paquin (Rogue) several different times. She manages to bring out one of the central conflicts Rogue has without much dialog around it (Rogue is a very sensual woman who can't really touch people - sort of a hard combo.)

My only real complaint is with the ending. I'm not going to give anything away but theres a big climax moment that didn't really make much sense to me. It felt like it was just tacked in to be a plot point - which is lazy filmmaking. I understand that it works towards the third movie, but just felt wrong. Then there is this whole preachy, show of power, style scene that didn't really jive with the rest of the film.

But other then that it's a 100 mph ride through lots of fun, excellent effects, and good comic book fun. Highly recommended.

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